airBaltic has reported total revenue for the third quarter of 2023 of €219.3 million – a 28% increase over the prior-year period – with EBITDAR of €72.7 million with a 33.2% EBITDAR margin. For the first nine months of 2023, airBaltic total revenues are up 41% over the prior-year period to €510.6 million, with comparable EBITDAR of €129.5 million, surpassing the 2022’s figure by over €74 million.
“Throughout Q3 and the first nine months of 2023, airBaltic consistently demonstrated strong financial and operational performance,” said Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic. “This period included a record-breaking summer, with nearly half a million passengers monthly and a steady increase in overall demand. Such growth is reflected in our revenues, surpassing the half-billion euro milestone. Despite challenges with spare engine supply and reliability leading to grounded aircraft and impacting Q3 performance, airBaltic still achieved one of its highest ever Q3 EBITDAR margins. The results could have been even stronger without the engine issues.”
During the first nine months of 2023, airBaltic carried 3.4 million passengers, representing a 41% year-over-year increase. The number of total performed flights, including ACMI-out operations, also increased by 36%, leading to 51 thousand.
Also announced today, airBaltic and Delta Air Lines have begun their codeshare partnership effective from November 22, 2023. Gauss said that this partnership marked an historic achievement for airBaltic and Latvia. “The collaboration with the renowned US partner Delta Air Lines, known for its expansive network and international cooperation infrastructure, holds tremendous opportunities,” he said. “It will not only attract new passengers to airBaltic, but also elevate the Baltics’ global visibility and connectivity. We are looking forward to a successful, long-standing collaboration together.”
This new codeshare relationship will see Delta place its code on 20 airBaltic-operated routes to three of the Latvian airline’s bases – Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius.
“Enhanced partnerships are integral to our long-term strategy to better connect Delta customers around the world,” said Alain Bellemare, Delta’s Executive Vice President and President International. “Working closely with airBaltic will further strengthen Delta’s connection to this vibrant European region by offering more customers unrivalled access to destinations across the US.”
The opportunity to codeshare follows the Latvian Civil Aviation Association gaining the Category 1 rating from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Under the IASA program, the FAA determines whether another country’s oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the US, or codeshare with a US air carrier, complies with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).