The Latvian flag carrier and Airbus A220 operator is eager to begin serving Ukraine again as soon as circumstances permit. Russia, however, will remain off airBaltic's route network for the rest of 2022 at the least, the airline's Chief Executive Officer Martin Gauss said during the carrier's earnings call on Thursday.

The fallout from Russia's military invasion of Ukraine is impacting airBaltic's revenue prognosis for the remainder of the year. The loss of traffic to Ukraine for the full year would account for a drop of 6.8% of the airline's revenue, while the Russian market would constitute a 2.3% loss of planned earnings. Martin Gauss stated,

"We can already say we will not be flying to Russia this year, but once there is peace in Ukraine, we will start flying there. We have the capacity to immediately return and help to rebuild Ukraine, that is something airBaltic wants to do, and traditionally we were very strong."

Three destinations in Ukraine, two in Russia

For now, airBaltic has shifted the capacity normally reserved for Ukrainian destinations to other routes. Under normal circumstances, airBaltic flies from Riga to Kyiv, Odessa, and Lviv, and from Vilnius to Kyiv. The airline also has codeshare agreements with Ukraine International Airlines from Vilnius and Riga to Kyiv. The two carriers cooperate on the Kyiv to Riga route since 2013 and to Vilnius since March last year.

airbaltic-aircraft-1
Photo: airBaltic

In March this year, airBaltic announced that it was exiting the Russian market indefinitely. Before the suspension, the airline operated flights to Moscow Sheremetyevo and St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport from Riga Airport. None of the Russian airports can any longer be found on the airline's route map, as opposed to the Ukrainian destinations that still have their dots.

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Bookings have tripled compared to last year

However, there are also positive trends to look to with optimism for airBaltic. Bookings are up over 300% from last year, with individual weeks reaching 500% of those of 2021. Gauss said that this was a very clear sign that airBaltic is on its way out of the COVID-19 crisis.

The substantial recovery is mostly driven by leisure and 'visiting friends and family' demand. While the industry expects a full recovery for business travel only by 2023 - 2024, airBaltic is currently seeing more bookings for its premium product than ever before.

airBaltic A220 Fleet
One of airBaltic's newest Airbus A220-300 has been making stops within the Asia-Pacific region to show off the aircraft's capabilities. Photo: airBaltic

Near 100% increase in revenue year-on-year, depending on geopolitical developments

airBaltic is planning to deliver a revenue of €400 million this year, up 96% compared to 2021, transporting 3.3 million passengers, up 106%. This will be across 98 routes that are already bookable and additional destinations that will be added in the summer.

What may happen if Russia makes good on its recent threats to increase its presence in the Baltic Sea region due to Finland and Sweden both signaling this week that they could potentially be prepared to launch NATO membership negotiations, and how this could impact airBaltic going forward, remains to be seen.

The three states in which airBaltic has bases are all already members of the military alliance. However, the carrier is set to launch its first base out of the Baltics in Finland's Tampere, operating six routes out of the airport from next month.