The flag carrier of Latvia ended its first quarter with a healthy profit and an uptick in passengers. AirBaltic, so far this year, has brought in €104.3 million ($114.6 million) in revenue. The quarter brings the highest-ever recorded revenue in the first quarter of a year in the airline’s history. Total revenue for the past three months is up 77% from €59.9 million ($65.8 million) in the same period in 2022.
A solid first quarter.
AirBaltic is aiming to carry over four million passengers this year. During the first three months of 2023, airBaltic had 769,600 passengers, an increase of 77% on the same period last year. The total number of flights increased by 28% to 8,700 movements over the past three months. The 2022 season saw just 6,790 flights.
This year’s total also includes some 94 flights carried out on a short-term or wet-leased basis on aircraft belonging to other airlines.
The flights also had decent load factors, with 70.9% of seats being filled this past quarter as opposed to just over half in 2022 (53.5%). Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic, expressed his delight at this year’s strong performance:
“Current indications reflect that the first quarter of 2023 has exceeded our expectations and airBaltic is on the way back to persistent profitability. For us the target and ambition is clear – EUR 700 million revenue in 2023 and a significant increase in carried passengers up to 4.4 million. In this way, the company will return to pre-crisis state and a positive result.”
The airline provides flights to more than 70 destinations from its main base Riga International Airport (RIX), alongside three other airports. The carrier also flies from Estonia’s Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport, alongside Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania. It recently debuted eight flights from its newest hub at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport in Finland, which opened in May 2022.
The carrier provides connections to a wide range of destinations in the airline’s route network in Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS, and the Middle East. Simple Flying previously explored the destinations available from each of airBaltic’s four operating bases.
Looking forward to an Initial Public Offering
The airline is poised to use the momentum from this solid quarter to position itself for a stock market debut. As a company, airBaltic is by far the best-known international brand in Latvia and responsible for more than 2.5% of the Latvian GDP. The carrier is preparing for its stock-exchange listing with a view to an initial public offering (IPO) in the autumn of 2024.
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In a statement seen by Simple Flying, airBaltic President, and CEO Martin Gauss confirmed his commitment to taking the airline public:
“Looking ahead to 2023, we continue the successful course towards reaching IPO in 2024. Our core objectives remain unchanged – to ensure the best connectivity between the Baltics – one of the key European business centres of the future – and the world, as well as enhance the passenger experience and deliver a fundamental contribution to the economy,”
The carrier recently received its 40th Airbus A220 aircraft. The latest Airbus A220-300, bearing the registration YL-ABN, is the second in the carrier’s fleet to receive a special Latvian flag livery.