The Latvian airline airBaltic has proudly revealed its 50th Airbus A220-300 in Mirabel, Canada together with the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The celebration marked the first, in-person reveal of airBaltic’s 50th A220-300 with a special livery.
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This 50th aircraft features an artistic portrayal of the Latvian flag and unique livery elements representing all three Baltic States – Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. This striking livery portrays an artistic depiction of a girl soaring through the clouds with long, flowing hair crowned by a traditional wreath and proudly featuring the Latvian flag. The design also incorporates several other elements that are inspired by the rich heritage and nature of the Baltic region – a ladybug, a swallow, and a stork.
The final sketch of the design was modified and redesigned by airBaltic to meet the technical requirements of the aircraft. The specially painted A220-300 is set to join the airBaltic fleet later in February 2025.
Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic: “More than eight years ago, we became the global launch operator of the Airbus A220-300, which has since become the backbone of our operations. This milestone aircraft represents the completion of our initial order and brings us halfway to our goal of doubling in size and operating a single-type fleet of 100 A220-300s by 2030.”
In late 2023, airBaltic launched an exciting design contest, inviting global participation in creating the livery for its milestone 50th Airbus A220-300. A total of 840 entries were submitted, and following voting by over 28 000 airBaltic Club loyalty program members, 21 designs were shortlisted. The top three designs all were acquired by airBaltic and represented national or Baltic region heritage, with the winning design receiving over 30% of the total shortlisted design votes.
The painting of this A220-300 livery was completed over an 18-day period. A total of 21 colours were used to bring this design to life, and for the first time ever, a stencil overlay technique was used to layer colours by the Airbus A220 paintshop teams in Mirabel, Canada.