AirBaltic Sees Imminent Return To Normal A220 Engine Maintenance

AirBaltic’s problems with maintenance delays on the Pratt & Whitney engines that power its fleet of Airbus A220s are easing, and the situation is expected to return to normal by November.

The Latvian airline, which has an all-A220 fleet, has been hard hit by problems and delays related to maintenance of PW1500G engines in recent months and was forced to wet lease some aircraft to operate its schedule over the summer.

AirBaltic still has six wet-leased aircraft in its fleet today, down from as many as 13 during peak summer weeks, but that will be reduced to zero by November.

“The engine issue is easing at the moment; we get many engines back from service—with that, of course, the pressure reduces to take so many wet leases, so we have a lot less flying now,” AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss told Aviation Daily on Sept. 19.

“We’ll soon come to a situation where we have no engines missing,” Gauss added. Normal engine maintenance cycles will continue and while AirBaltic does expect to experience a minor engine shortage next year too, that should not be as extreme as those experienced this year. The airline is looking to wet-lease three-to-six aircraft to cover that expected shortfall.

In its most recent update on engine issues disclosed Sept. 11, Pratt & Whitney set out a fleet management plan affecting A320neo operators, which does not affect Air Baltic. “I think we have been through the hardest times,” Gauss said, noting that more and more aircraft are being produced now, with more mature new-generation engines, easing the pressure on availability.

The airline had a “very good summer” transporting a million passengers in July and August, Gauss said, and took delivery of its 44th aircraft in September.

The airline chose to wet-lease to fulfill summer schedules rather than canceling flights but found that customer satisfaction in the form of its net promoter score fell when wet-leased aircraft were used. The score is now growing again as wet-leased aircraft are reduced, Gauss said. “If I look at it now, it was the right decision,” Gauss said. “But this [A220] aircraft is really something passengers like. If we could, we would not use any other aircraft.”  

The carrier expects a further three A220s to arrive this year and three more next year, completing the 50 aircraft it has on firm order from Airbus.

Looking beyond those latest arrivals, the carrier is already in discussions with Airbus over the exercise of options for 30 more A220s as well as further aircraft beyond those options, Gauss said, as AirBaltic moves ahead with its long-term growth plan for a minimum fleet of 80 aircraft in 2030.

AirBaltic might also have to turn to lessors to bridge the gap between the last deliveries from its 50 already-ordered aircraft and the first options, which are not likely to arrive before early 2027, Gauss said.  

“You need to secure aircraft positions to deliver growth,” Gauss continued. “That we will do by exercising options and by securing additional options. That’s the current plan. Details on that will come once we announce an order. But at the moment we are, like many airlines, discussing with Airbus.”

In addition to fleet growth, the airline also plans to start replacing some of its older aircraft beginning around 2028, to maintain its status as an airline with a young fleet.

Any future reopening of Ukrainian airspace or routes would also require AirBaltic to add more aircraft, Gauss said, although for now the airline has excluded Ukraine from its business strategy and calculated its growth targets based on having to circumnavigate its airspace. Before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine was an important market for AirBaltic, accounting for 7.3% of the airline’s revenues. Gauss plans to return quickly whenever that becomes possible, with opportunities to provide connectivity through AirBaltic’s Riga hub as and when Ukraine rebuilds.

Referring to overall booking trends, Gauss said he did not see any sign of economic gloom reflected in booking trends, which are stable at 30% above last year’s numbers with revenues coming in as expected.

AirBaltic is planning is planning an initial public offering (IPO) which should take place at the earliest in September or October 2024. Despite being at least a year away, the airline is moving forward with preparations for the listing by launching a request for proposals (RFP) to secure an adviser, which should be finalized in the coming weeks, after which an RFP for banks will follow.

“We’ll then start the process to have everything ready for the half-year results 2024,” Gauss said. “Once they are audited, we’ll do the roadshow and then plan for the IPO at the earliest in a year for now.”