airBaltic confirms ‘more than’ 20 Airbus A220-300s have Starlink
Previously, airBaltic expected to retrofit its whole fleet of Airbus A220-300 aircraft by the end of the year.
airBaltic, which recently took delivery of its 52nd Airbus A220-300 aircraft, has confirmed that “more than” 20 aircraft of the type are equipped with the Starlink in-flight connectivity (IFC) solution.
On January 2, 2026, airBaltic celebrated the delivery of its 52nd A220-300, which arrived at Riga Airport (RIX) on a direct delivery flight from Montreal Mirabel International Airport (YMX) on January 1, after departing YMX at 17:50 local time (UTC -5) on December 31.
Flightradar24 records showed that after arriving at RIX, the aircraft had already operated four commercial flights, including two round-trip journeys from RIX to Vilnius Airport (VNO). At the time of publishing, the A220-300, registered as YL-BTB, is scheduled to fly to Copenhagen Airport (CPH) on flight BT 139.
The Latvian airline highlighted that the newest aircraft will only strengthen its all-A220-300 fleet, which is operated “across the airline’s route network,” as well as on flights on behalf of other airlines as part of its aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI), otherwise known as wet lease, agreements.
At the end of Q3, the company’s nine-month operating revenues were €594.3 million ($697.4 million), of which €128.5 million ($150.7 million) was ACMI-related revenue.
Cirium’s Diio Mi indicated that in January, airBaltic has scheduled its A220-300s to operate 282 weekly flights on behalf of Air Serbia and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), with another 776 weekly departures being flown on its own network from the Baltic States, as well as bases at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport (TMP) and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA).
Nevertheless, while it was a regular press release, one detail was noteworthy: airBaltic’s progress with installing Starlink’s IFC on its A220-300s.
According to the statement, now, “more than 20 aircraft are equipped with this technology, and installations are continuing on additional aircraft, allowing passengers to remain connected from boarding to landing throughout their journey.”
When airBaltic began offering Starlink-powered internet on its commercial flights on February 20, 2025, it said that it had expected “to complete the full fleet integration by the end of 2025.”
At the end of Q3, the Latvian carrier had 16 aircraft with the IFC solution, which covered more than 25% of its scheduled flights during the quarter. In its presentation to investors, airBaltic detailed that flights with Starlink, on average, have a nine-point higher net promoter score (NPS), “supporting the thesis that Starlink could provide [a] significant boost to customer loyalty and enhance yields.”
Having used Starlink on an airBaltic flight in December 2025, I have to say that the service is great. I will refrain from commenting on the owner of SpaceX, which provides the IFC solution, but subjectively, if I knew that a flight on the same route is operated with an aircraft with Starlink and without, I would choose the former any time of the day. Except if the price difference is too high, haha.
Read my review of the flight here:
Rytis Beresnevicius
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