airBaltic’s A220s Head To Scotland With A New Edinburgh Connection

Yesterday, airBaltic launched a new service between Riga and Edinburgh. The Latvian airline, which also has hubs in Lithuania and Estonia, will connect the two cities with a twice-weekly service.

A two-and-a-half-hour service

On July 2nd, airBaltic launched its new Riga-Edinburgh service, connecting the capital cities of Latvia and Scotland. Launched in the middle of the 2021 summer travel season, the service is meant to serve both leisure and business travel. Indeed, this route has commenced a month ahead of Edinburgh’s incredibly busy and popular International Festival, which takes place during much of August.

“Riga is a dynamic city and the key business centre of the Baltic states and has a lot to offer to both business and leisure travellers. It is also a very convenient transfer point with excellent connections within our wide route network. Our expanding 2021 route map reflects the demand we see for destinations after the reopening of more countries for travellers.” – Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer, airBaltic, via statement.

Flight details

The new, twice-weekly service operates on Mondays and Fridays. Outbound, the flight departs Riga at 16:00 and arrives in Edinburgh at 16:50 as flight BT669. This service is scheduled to take two hours and 50 minutes. The returning service, flight BT670, departs Edinburgh at 17:35 and arrives back in Riga at 22:15.

In addition to the airline’s new route, airBaltic also offers two other connections between the United Kingdom and Riga: London and Aberdeen. However, the airline will also launch a non-stop Riga-Manchester service tomorrow. This service operates on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Overseas expansion

airBaltic and its all-Airbus A220 fleet are confidently charging ahead with expansion and growth. Indeed, last month Simple Flying reported that the airline, in conjunction with Delta Air Lines, has applied with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for approval for a codeshare relationship. The filing will have Delta place its code on some of airBaltic’s flights.

The following routes have been submitted as intended Delta codeshare flights operated by airBaltic. This should open up the three Baltic capitals to more connecting traffic from North America via other major European cities.

1. Amsterdam (AMS) – Riga (RIX)
2. Amsterdam (AMS) – Vilnius (VNO)
3. Amsterdam (AMS) – Tallinn (TLL)
4. Barcelona (BCN) – Riga (RIX)
5. Brussels (BRU) – Riga (RIX)
6. Brussels (BRU) – Tallinn (TLL)
7. Copenhagen (CPH) – Riga (RIX)
8. Copenhagen (CPH) – Tallinn (TLL)
9. Dublin (DUB) – Riga (RIX)
10. Dusseldorf (DUS) – Riga (RIX)
11. Edinburgh (EDI) –  Riga (RIX)
12. Frankfurt (FRA) – Riga (RIX)
13. Madrid (MAD) – Riga (RIX)
14. Munich (MUC) – Riga (RIX)
15. Munich (MUC) – Tallinn (TLL)
16. Munich (MUC) – Vilnius (VNO)
17. Milan (MXP) – Riga (RIX)
18. Nice (NCE) – Riga (RIX)
19. Paris (CDG) – Riga (RIX)
20. Paris (CDG) – Vilnius (VNO)
21. Paris (CDG) – Tallinn (TLL)
22. Prague (PRG) – Riga (RIX)
23. Stuttgart (STR) – Riga (RIX)
24. Zurich (ZRH) – Riga (RIX)

As travel continues to increase as the global health crisis improves, airBaltic should do well with its new routes – especially during this post-pandemic summer travel season.