The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain to Latvia HE Mr Pedro Miguel Jimenez Nacher
Director of Aviation Services department at Riga International Airport Liene Freivalde SVP Network Management at airBaltic Wolfgang Reuss.
The ATW annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards are the most coveted honour an airline or individual can receive to recognize excellence in the air transport industry.
RIGA – The Latvian airline airBaltic on March 27, 2018 participated in the 44th ATW Awards Ceremony in Dublin where the team of airBaltic received the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Award as the Airline Market Leader of the Year.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “I am proud of our team that is doing a great job and this award is just another acknowledgment of that. Last year was a record year for airBaltic and we are delighted that our achievement has earned global recognition from ATW editors. The strong performance of airBaltic allowed us to increase our market share in the Baltic region and to strengthen our position as the market leader. It is an honour to join the list of global airlines that have received this prestigious award over the last few decades.”
ATW Editor-in-Chief Karen Walker said: “airBaltic has dramatically expanded and improved commercial air service in the Baltics. This innovative airline delivers quality customer service, with advanced aircraft such as the Bombardier C Series and high performance standards. I congratulate Martin and his entire team at airBaltic for this well-deserved Award.”
ATW (Air Transport World) is the leading monthly magazine serving the needs of the global airline and commercial air transport communities. ATW provides balanced international coverage of the commercial air transport industry and reports on the trends that affect the way airlines do business.
ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards were established in 1974. They are bestowed upon individuals and organizations that have distinguished themselves through outstanding performance, innovation, and superior service. The Market Leader of the Year award goes to an airline that has set itself apart from its peers, either in a geographic region or a market sector, or that has created or stimulated a market. Over the years such leading airlines as Etihad Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Turkish Airlines have won the ATW Aviation Awards.
In addition, on January 3, 2018, it was announced that the Latvian airline airBaltic has been ranked No 1 globally in punctuality in 2017 by OAG analysts, who tracked the performance of a total of over 50 million flight records. airBaltic has been on the top of the global on-time performance ranking for the past four consecutive years.
airBaltic’s new travel experience bound for Budapest
Budapest Airport has welcomed the arrival of its first CS300 flight with its closely-held airline partner airBaltic. The Latvian flag carrier will use the next generation aircraft on its three times weekly service between Budapest and Riga – the 1,101-kilmoetre sector being the Hungarian gateway’s primary link to the Baltic States.
“airBaltic’s service has been a crucial connection for us, not only to Latvia but to further destinations within the region. As a result of the introduction of the faster, environmentally-friendlier and ultimately larger jet, even more travellers can make this enhanced journey,” states Kam Jandu, CCO, Budapest Airport. “We have a commitment to ensure our customers have greater connectivity as well as offering improved sustainability. The arrival of our partner’s new aircraft illustrates our dedication to this goal while also improving our connection to further destinations via airBaltic’s hub,” adds Jandu.
Marking the Latvian flag carrier’s eighth year with the Hungarian gateway, the arrival of the new aircraft signifies the expansion of the low-cost carrier’s (LCC) flight network and the demand on the link between the two capital cities. Previously served by the airline’s fleet of 73-seat Q400s, the new 145-seat CS300 will provide an additional 13,000 two-way seats on the airport pair, offering 30% more capacity than last summer.
In the year its home-country celebrates its centenary, airBaltic will offer close to 20,000 one-way seats from Budapest to its hub at Riga. The LCC has had a busy time serving Hungary since 2011:
- 2,430: number of flights between Budapest-Riga since 2011.
- 8: number of CS300s currently within the airBaltic fleet (with plans to have 14 by the end of 2018).
- 245: days in the air flying between the two cities each year.
- 1,662,435: approximate number of miles airBaltic has flown between Budapest and Riga since launch.
Martin Gauss, CEO, airBaltic comments: “By upgrading the route to the CS300 aircraft, and increasing the capacity offered by 38%, we will boost our competitiveness by being able to offer more comfort and more affordable prices to our passengers.” Gauss added: “Flights to Riga are popular among transfer passengers choosing airBaltic for its convenient connections via Riga. This year the most popular transfer destinations thus far have been Tallinn, Helsinki, Vilnius, St. Petersburg and Moscow among others.”
airBaltic Launches Flights Between Riga and Malaga
airBaltic yesterday launched a new direct route linking Riga with the sunny city of Malaga in Spain. The route offers convenient travel options for travelers from the Baltics to sunny Malaga, by the Mediterranean Sea, and vice versa.
Wolfgang Reuss, Senior Vice President of Network Management at airBaltic said: “This is an exciting week for airBaltic – yesterday we launched our summer schedule with three new destinations and today we add another choice for a summer getaway to the beautiful city of Malaga in Andalusia.”
Starting on March 28, 2018, airBaltic flies from Riga to Malaga two times per week and passengers will board the Bombardier CS300 aircraft for a flight that is scheduled to last 4 hours 30 minutes. One-way ticket prices start at 99 EUR, including airport fees and transaction costs.
airBaltic Launches Flights from Riga to Lisbon and Gdansk
Also airBaltic on March 27, entered the summer season by launching two new routes from Riga International Airport to Lisbon and Gdansk. This afternoon airBaltic will also launch a new route connecting Tallinn and London.
Wolfgang Reuss said: “We are delighted to start our summer schedule by launching three new routes. airBaltic passengers now have an even greater choice of destinations with convenient connections for holiday getaways. We are happy to already see strong demand from our passengers on the new routes.”
Starting on March 27, 2018, airBaltic flies between Riga and Lisbon twice a week on a Bombardier CS300 aircraft, and the flight is scheduled to last 4 hours and 35 minutes. From Riga to Gdansk, airBaltic flies three times a week on a Bombardier Q400Next Gen aircraft, and the flight is scheduled to last one hour and 20 minutes. From Tallinn to London, airBaltic will fly twice a week, and the flight is scheduled to last 3 hours.
For summer 2018 airBaltic will add nine new destinations to its route map. In total airBaltic this summer will offer more than 70 direct services from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. In addition, airBaltic will also improve service for the summer season by adding additional frequencies from Riga to such destinations as Odessa, Paris, Munich, Warsaw, Moscow, Milan among others.
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.
He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
