Riga. The Latvian airline airBaltic in the first quarter of 2018 has transported 729,897 or 24% more than in the same period last year to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East. In March 2018, 280,724 passengers or 25% more than last year travelled with airBaltic.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We just presented the 2017 results that were the best operational results in the history of the airline, and now we have achieved a new passenger record for first quarter of 2018 too. I am proud of airBaltic team that everyday keeps up the good work and offers our passengers great flying experience.”

“March was an exciting month for us – at the end of March we entered our summer season with three new destinations from Riga to Lisbon, Malaga, and Gdansk as well added one new route from Tallinn to London. This summer we will serve a total of over 70 routes from Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius offering the biggest variety of destinations and best connectivity for business and leisure travelers alike,” Gauss added.

In March 2018, the airline performed 4 216 flights, or 15% more than in the same period of 2017. During the first three months of the 2018 airBaltic has operated 11,591 flights. The airline’s load factor, which represents the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of available seats, was at a level of 72% in March 2018, but during first quarter of 2018 airBaltic’s load factor was at a level of 67%.

The 15-minute flight punctuality indicator for airBaltic reached a level of 90.1% in March 2018. This means that more than 90 out of every 100 airBaltic flights departed at the planned time or with a delay of no more than 15 minutes. The flight punctuality indicator during the first three months of 2018 reached a level of 89.8%.

airBaltic serves over 70 routes from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. For summer 2018, airBaltic has introduced eight new destinations from Riga to Malaga, Lisbon, Split, Bordeaux, Gdansk, Almaty as well as Sochi and Kaliningrad. In addition, airBaltic launched a new direct route connecting Tallinn and London. A complete schedule of airBaltic flights can be found on the company's website at www.airbaltic.com.