airBaltic Battles Aircraft Groundings

airBaltic is battling aircraft groundings as it moves into the 2024/25 winter season, and additional capacity is required to cope.

As part of more short-term plans, the Latvian national carrier will turn to the wet lease market to replace lost capacity from its grounded aircraft.

The problem relates to the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines, which are the only aircraft type they operate in. It is impacting their fleet of Airbus A220s.

airBaltic believes the Airbus A220 is the solution to its long-term flying needs. While the aircraft has proven incredibly efficient, it hasn’t been problem-free.

airBaltic will likely add up to five aircraft over the winter to cope with its schedule.

The need for backup strictly relates to engine availability, which airlines worldwide face, and a lack of timeframe concerning when a replacement can be sourced.

That clarity comes only in the form of some six months at a time, and this means that for airBaltic, which plots its schedules well in advance, securing jets under a wet lease becomes difficult, considering the terms.

airBaltic, however, has stated that things could and have been far worse, and if anything, there have been significant improvements concerning the Pratt & Whitney engine troubles in recent times.

Looking ahead, the airline hopes that things will stabilise in the coming years and that the role of the A220s will only increase, with deliveries beginning to smooth out as well.

Despite these turbulent times, growth is still hot on the airline’s radar with several recent movements, including the further acquisition of A220s in the future.

airBaltic’s Recent Loss

In the first half of 2024, AirBaltic reported a loss of some 90 million euros, which sparked concerns about its overall performance.

The CEO said that the concerns were hysterical and had no fundamental backing, and this was generally unwarranted.

That engine shortage has caused rather accelerated depreciation costs for engines that are forced to undergo shop visits ahead of schedule.