The Latvian national airline airBaltic will continue to lease its aircraft to other airlines next year, but currently does not plan to lease aircraft for its own flights. This was stated by the company's CEO Erno Hilden in an interview with the Latvian Public Media Holding (LSM), as reported by LETA.
"We will continue to lease our aircraft to other airlines, but currently we do not plan to lease aircraft for airBaltic flights," said Hilden.
He noted that the business model in which airBaltic leases some of its aircraft to other airlines is the best possible positioning strategy.
"We currently have 51 aircraft, and looking at the summer season next year, we plan for an almost equal distribution between scheduled flights and aircraft leasing operations, where we operate flights on behalf of other airlines. This is important for both financial stability and mitigating seasonal impacts, which are very pronounced in this part of Europe," Hilden explained.
Currently, airBaltic only operates Airbus A220-300 aircraft, and according to Hilden, the company does not plan to include other types or modifications of aircraft in its fleet for now, as using a homogeneous fleet provides numerous advantages, such as reduced costs and simplified maintenance.
As previously reported, Hilden took over as CEO of airBaltic on December 1 of this year.
It was also reported that on April 7 of this year, the board of airBaltic decided to dismiss the chairman and CEO of the airline, Martin Gauss, who had held this position since November 1, 2011.
In the first nine months of 2025, the airBaltic group achieved a turnover of €594.303 million and a profit of €4.249 million.
At the same time, in 2024, the airBaltic group ended the year with an audited loss of €118.159 million compared to a profit the previous year; however, the group's turnover increased by 11.9% compared to 2023, reaching €747.572 million.
At the end of August this year, the German national airline Lufthansa became a shareholder of airBaltic. Currently, the Latvian state owns 88.37% of airBaltic shares, Lufthansa owns 10%, financial investor, Danish entrepreneur Lars Tusén through Aircraft Leasing 1 owns 1.62%, and 0.01% is owned by other shareholders. The company's authorized capital is €41.819 million.
After the initial public offering (IPO) of airBaltic, Lufthansa's stake will be determined by the potential market price of the shares. The deal also stipulates that after a possible IPO, Lufthansa will own at least 5% of airBaltic's capital.
On August 30, 2024, the Latvian government agreed that after the IPO, the state should retain at least 25% plus one share of the company's capital. On August 19 of this year, the government decided that Latvia, like the German Lufthansa, would make joint investments of €14 million in airBaltic before a possible IPO.
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