AirBaltic originally signed a letter of intent for 10 CS300s, plus purchase rights on a further 10, at the 2012 Farnborough Airshow. The deal was firmed in December 2012, with deliveries scheduled to run between the fourth quarter of 2015 and 2017.
The order was further boosted at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow when Bombardier revealed airBaltic had firmed three options, taking its total commitment to 13 CS300s plus seven options.
In an exclusive interview, Gauss told ATW that delays to the CSeries program have caused airBaltic’s first delivery to slip from the final quarter of 2015 to September 2016. At the signing of the LOI in 2012, Gauss said he would have taken the aircraft immediately in 2012, if possible.
For the time being, airBaltic’s growth remains constrained by its European Union (EU)-approved restructuring plan. “We are restricted to 25 aircraft and to a certain level of capacity until April 2016 under the EU restructuring plan, but we are well within this. After 2016, we will have to do something because we have just enough aircraft [on order] to replace the current fleet and we want to grow again,” Gauss said.
AirBaltic currently operates five Boeing 737-500s, eight -300s and 12 Bombardier Q400s—hitting the ceiling of its 25-aircraft cap—but Gauss is keen to substitute the 737s with CS300s as soon as possible.
(Victoria Moores - ATWOnline News)
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