May 23, 2023

NOT MUCH GOING ON, so I’ll bore with you some details about my vacation flights with airBaltic.

A young company that got its start 1995, Air Baltic lacks the recognition factor of the mainstay European airlines. But it’s maybe a bigger company than you’d expect, with a 40-strong fleet of Airbus A220s and a network touching every major city in Europe. New routes extend all the way to Dubai and Armenia. Its main hub is in Riga, Latvia, with smaller hubs out of Tampere, Finland, and the Estonian capital of Tallinn. We flew up to Tallinn, then down to Riga a few days later.

airBaltic follows a quasi low-cost carrier (LCC) model, with a la carte pricing and a streamlined onboard product. There’s a small, unfussy business class up front with complimentary hot meals. Economy class is no-frills, but with ample legroom and a reasonable selection of buy-on-board food and drink. Similar to jetBlue in the United States, airBaltic is more of a hybrid than a true LCC. Service-wise they’re leagues ahead of European budget giants Ryanair and easyJet. (They also borrow jetBlue’s and easyJet’s unusual branding affectation, using a lowercase “a” and the camel-cap “B.”)

I wasn’t hungry, so I can’t vouch for the quality of that buy-on-board food, but the guy next to me ordered a tasty looking wrap. He also got annoyingly chatty after two very large cans of Latvian beer.

The seats in airBaltic’s A220s feature an unusual design in which the tray table pivots from the bottom of the seat structure. If you’ve got food or a laptop on your tray, this avoids any pinching or crushing when the person in front of you reclines.

There’s no entertainment system or seat-back screens, but most of airBaltic’s flights are under three hours long.

The airline’s website is straightforward and user-friendly.

The airports in Riga and Tallinn are quiet and compact. Both have Priority Pass lounges that, surprise of surprises, were pleasantly uncrowded. My only gripe was the third-degree experience at the security checkpoints. The lines were short, yet it still took half an hour to get through because the guards pored through our bags, scrutinizing every last container of liquid, no matter how small.

Overall grade: B

Most people couldn’t care less which airline they fly with. Many can’t remember which carrier took them to their last vacation. I guess it’s different for airline geeks, with our weird notions of posterity. It always excites me flying on an airline for the first time, and this was no exception. A new one for my list.

PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

For pictures from Estonia and Latvia, visit the author’s Instagram feed.