According to Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic, this aircraft design was created to mark the growing demand of airBaltic's services in the Lithuanian market.
“The Lithuanian market is very important to us. Today we offer more than 80 direct routes from the Baltic countries and we are committed to continue our sustainable growth path. In order to serve the growing passenger demand, we will be operating a modern Airbus A220-300 aircraft in Vilnius starting from this winter season,” Martin Gauss said.
According to the company, during the first half of 2019 airBaltic flew to and from Lithuania over 240 thousand passengers, which is 20 percent more than at the same time last year.
According to Marius Gelžinis, Head of Lithuanian Airports, such a symbolic gift - an airplane painted in the colours of the Lithuanian flag – is also a great way to mark the long-standing partnership between airBaltic and Lithuanian airports.
“We are very pleased and appreciate the initiative of airBaltic to strengthen its presence in the Lithuanian market. It is one of the three airlines that carry the most passengers in Lithuania. In the first half of 2019, the number of passengers, flights and cargo carried at Lithuanian airports increased. Many factors influence this and successful cooperation with air carriers is also very important,” commented M. Gelžinis.
It took 15 painters, 1000 hours of work and 250 litres of ground, paint and varnish to paint the Airbus A220-300 with the Lithuanian tricolour. Earlier this year, airBaltic aircraft also featured the colours of Latvian and Estonian flags, so from now on the skies will be painted in the colours of all three Baltic States.
About Lithuanian Airports
The Lithuanian airport network includes three air gates in Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga. During 2018 they served $ 6.3 million passengers and 61 thousand flights. During the summer season, 14 airlines fly directly from Lithuanian airports to 86 destination in 67 cities in 27 countries.
