Airbaltic flies only Airbus 220, review of Milan Riga flight
This was the first flight with my daughter post-pandemic, or rather during the pandemic. Airbaltic is the company [...]
AirBaltic
RIX
This was the first flight with my daughter post-pandemic, or rather during the pandemic.
Airbaltic is the company founded in Latvia 25 years ago and today is the leading carrier in the Baltic countries. Over the years it has come to connect Italy with Latvia, and since 2019 it has also activated direct connections with Lithuania.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- a220
- Class:
- Economy
- Treat:
- MXP - RIX
- Price:
- 393 €
- Book
Just at the same time as flights restarted post-lockdown, Airbaltic revamped its fares, or rather renamed them to make it stand out more as the greenest airline in operation.
In fact, Airbaltic operates only Airbus 220, the most modern single-aisle aircraft and the one with the lowest fuel consumption per passenger carried.
Here are the new types of tariffs:
- Green. It is the basic economy no frill ticket, does not provide a choice of seat on board, and allows only one carry-on baggage to be carried
- Green Plus. A 20kg checked baggage allowance is included in the cost of the ticket.
- Green Classic. It is the ticket that includes your choice of seat and checked baggage, plus the ability to check in at airport counters and total flexibility on changing your reservation
- Business. As the name implies, it is the business class ticket
Reservation
Airbaltic does not participate in any alliance, but operates in partnership with many airlines-Alitalia, Lufthansa, British Airways. It is possible, therefore, to book through the portals of these companies and earn/use miles, but at costs that are by no means competitive.
The round-trip ticket from Milan Malpensa to Riga for two people, an adult and a six-year-old girl, cost €393 in Green Classic fare.
On board
The green classic fare includes chek-in at business counters and priority boarding, two great benefits when traveling with children.
During boarding, the staff distributed an envelope containing a self-protection kit: a face mask and two disinfectant wipes. A choice that deserves praise from the company, since many others, even more emblazoned ones, hand out only a wipe with which the passenger should sanitize his or her seat.
At the time of booking, the company specified that the middle seat in row 3 would remain free. Unfortunately, as soon as we got on board I found out that the policy had changed, and to our surprise we found ourselves with a stranger between me and my daughter.
Since at the time of booking in my ticket I had a choice of seats, I would have appreciated communication from the company about the return to normal. I would have changed the seat choice by opting for the right row in the aisle, where as it is known only 2 seats are available.
No limit on filling the flight in fact was sold out
The plane is quiet, very spacious and comfortable to close the overhead compartments, compared to the classic and more popular B737s and A320s.
All rows have a small screen available where the security video and some flight information is projected. Otherwise, of course, no IFE or WiFi, even for a fee.
At least for legs, the available legroom is 81 cm, in line with other European airlines and a good 10 cm more than Wizz Air offers.
During the flight, which lasted about 2 hours and 30 minutes, the cabin crew offered traditional paid food service.
In conclusion
The surprise of the occupied middle seat was not nice, otherwise flying on this plane is really pleasant. Quiet and with better air quality (even with a mask) than other planes.
Pro
- Flying on Airbus 220/300 is very pleasant
Against
- Does not participate in any alliance