airBaltic is one of Europe’s fastest-growing carriers, with a stated goal of reaching 15 million passengers by 2025. Ahead of his keynote address at World Routes 2019, CEO Martin Gauss outlined its plans to develop a network which spans from its heartland in the Baltics to new airports and bases across Europe.
The new Tallinn - Edinburgh route will certainly stimulate demand in a market that currently see around 2,500 indirect passengers a year. However, when this city pair was previously served by low-cost carrier Ryanair on a three times weekly basis between January 2011 and the end of the summer, generating just under 30,000 annual passengers, according to UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.
Although it likely to be a couple of decades before the transport project is completed, subject to financial backing, a new high-speed connection between Helsinki’s Pasila station with Ulemiste station in Tallinn will impact travel dynamics between the two cities with single fares of around €36 (£26) being suggested in promotional literature.
airBaltic has an order for 13 CS300s, the first of which is due to arrive in the third quarter of 2016 and is understood to be considering converting options for a further seven aircraft. It plans to use the aircraft for a mix of short- and medium-haul flying, including its Riga – Abu Dhabi route which it serves in partnership with Etihad Airways.
During the past couple of days we have been in conversation with many delegates during Routes Silk Road in Tbilisi, Georgia and here are some of the snippets of information we picked up from our discussions.
