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airBaltic – the Regional Airline of the Year – Receives Award by CAPA

Riga. The Latvian airline airBaltic has received CAPA Regional Airline of the Year award. CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence is held annually since 2002 with professionals participating from airlines around the world.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “It is such an honour that airBaltic has been recognized as the CAPA Regional Airline of the Year. We have had an exciting year – our fleet is being modernized, we have added 13 new destinations, our team is growing and more passengers are traveling with us. The great success and this award is a result of the work that our team does every day.

The CAPA Regional Airline of the Year is awarded to the regional airline that has been the biggest standout strategically, has established itself as a leader and demonstrated innovation in the regional aviation sector. (Note that this award is not limited to operators of regional aircraft; it is intended to recognize smaller airlines – fewer than 10 million annual passengers – that either do not operate any long-haul services, or only operate limited long haul services.)

In 2016 airBaltic completed a multi-year restructuring, increased passenger numbers for the first time in five years, secured a capital increase and a private investor, became the launch customer for the Bombardier CS300 and returned to positive EBIT. It is the biggest airline operating out of the Baltic region, with hubs at Tallinn and Vilnius in addition to its main hub at Riga.

CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence are regarded as the pre-eminent awards for strategic excellence in aviation. Candidate organisations worldwide submit information about themselves, along with their justification towards being rewarded for their performance over the past year. Initially limited to Asia Pacific and the Middle East, the awards were expanded by CAPA in 2012 to include all regions.

airBaltic operates direct flights from Riga to over 60 destinations. airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. In addition, airBaltic also offers direct flights from Tallinn and Vilnius.