airBaltic (BT, Riga) could delay its long-awaited IPO until 2026 as the chances of a stock market listing in 2025 have "significantly decreased," the company's first-quarter report reveals. The airline intends to be careful with its budget as it aims to bridge liquidity until the anticipated 2026 float.
In the report, the airline did not rule out the possibility of seeking additional funds from the Latvian government, the current majority stakeholder, should the economic climate worsen.
"If market conditions do not improve compared to Q1, or if fuel prices rise significantly or engine shortages worsen, the airline’s financial performance and liquidity may deteriorate," it warned.
The prime minister of Latvia, Evika Siliņa, has ruled out the possibility of intervention due to European Commission regulations on state support. She approached the governments of Lithuania and Estonia regarding potential investment but with limited success.
Quarter of the fleet on the ground
airBaltic had, on average, thirteen A220-300s on the ground during the first quarter of 2025 due to issues with the Pratt & Whitney PW1000 engines. This number was up by ten year-on-year but was the same level as in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company expects the engine issues to persist in 2025 and 2026.
In order to mitigate the problem with the grounded jets, airBaltic entered into a wet-lease agreement with Carpatair for two A319-100s and one A320-200.
In an exclusive interview with ch-aviation, airBaltic's interim chief executive and chief operating officer, Pauls Cālītis, said the three aircraft will continue operating in that company's network during the Summer 2025 season. He noted that airBaltic wet-leased the jets as a contingency due to the A220 engine issues. The airline expects on average eight A220s to be grounded at any given time during the summer season but i does not plan to add more ACMI capacity this summer.
airBaltic currently operates a total of fifty in-house A220-300s and expects the delivery of 40 more of the aircraft.
Increasing reliance on ACMI-out
airBaltic's ACMI-out contracts continue to yield a significant revenue boost for the carrier. The Latvian airline revealed that up to seven A220-300s were wet-leased to the carriers of Lufthansa Group. It leased out, on average, 6.2 aircraft during the first quarter, up from 5.2 in the same period of 2024.
Under the existing ACMI deal with Lufthansa Group, airBaltic is set to provide up to nineteen A220-300s to Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines. In order to better facilitate ACMI and in-house operations, airBaltic has opened crew bases at Munich, Zurich, Vienna, and Brussels National.
The company’s aircraft lease revenues for the first quarter rose from 10% to 13% of the total revenue year-on-year.
