Latvian airline airBaltic on November 9, 2018, in a special event with its partners and employees at the Riga International Airport presented a gift to Latvia on its centenary – a special livery of Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
Now airBaltic’s Airbus A220-300 aircraft registered as YL-CSL will carry the flag of Latvia and the name of its capital – Riga. On behalf of the Latvian nation, the President of the Republic of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis accepted this gift at a special ceremony.
Raimonds Vējonis, President of the Republic of Latvia: “As a patron of Latvia’s centenary celebration, I am twice as pleased to receive this gift, because every gift to our country on its anniversary is a gift to each of us. The red-and-white flag is our sanctity and our symbol. This is a proof of the determination of our people to fight and safeguard our freedom. Thanks to airBaltic for this gift, which will allow us to look in the sky with pride!”
Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic: “airBaltic team is delighted and honoured to present a special gift to Latvia on its centenary, which is a historical event for every Latvian. We at airBaltic perceive ourselves as ambassadors of Latvia, and we use every opportunity to spread the word about Latvia as a beautiful, successful and flourishing country.”
“Now the flag of Latvia will proudly wave above our heads high in the skies and travel around the world. On behalf of airBaltic, I wish Latvia continued growth and prosperity, and every Latvian to feel proud of his country and its achievements when stepping on board of this aircraft,” Martin Gauss adds.
This is the first time in the history of airBaltic that an aircraft is painted as an artwork with a national symbol – the Latvian flag. To create this artwork 15 professional painters worked 1 000 hours. In total 250 litres of ground tint, paint and lacquer were used to cover the aircraft, which constitutes the layer of 120 microns or 0.12 mm.
airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. For summer 2019, airBaltic has introduced three new destinations from Tallinn to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen. In addition, next summer airBaltic will launch new flights from Riga to Stuttgart and Lviv.
airBaltic in brief:
airBaltic (AIR BALTIC CORPORATION) is the world’s most punctual airline connecting the Baltic region with 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. airBaltic is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 80.05% of the stock, while Lars Thuesen holds around 20% through his fully-owned Aircraft Leasing 1 SIA. The airBaltic fleet consists of 36 aircraft – 13 Airbus A220-300s, 11 Boeing 737s and 12 Bombardier Q400Next Gen aircraft. airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence, innovative services, and achievements in reshaping its business. In 2017, the airline received the CAPA Regional Airline of the Year awards, while in 2018 airBaltic received the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Award as the Market Leader of the Year. airBaltic achieved the best on-time performance globally in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
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