airBaltic

Light green tail, slim fuselage, big engines: an airBaltic jet stands out at the spot right away. It only gets exciting at second glance, though. The Latvian airline flies just a single aircraft type, often is not flying under its own flight number at all, and in 2026 is in the middle of a far-reaching restructuring. This page shows you how to identify airBaltic cleanly – and why a green tail over Frankfurt does not always mean a BT flight.

airBaltic at a glance

airBaltic is Latvia’s airline, based right at Riga Airport. It was founded on August 28, 1995 as a joint venture of Scandinavian SAS and the Latvian state. The first flight departed on October 1, 1995 in Riga – with a Saab 340, a small turboprop. SAS at times held just under half of the shares and exited in 2009. Today airBaltic belongs for the most part to the Latvian state; since 2025 the Lufthansa Group has also held a 10 percent stake and sits on the supervisory board.

The business model has two parts. On one hand, airBaltic runs a classic connecting network via Riga, supplemented by the hubs Tallinn and Vilnius. That way the airline links all three Baltic capitals with numerous destinations in Europe and beyond. On the other hand, it leases a large part of its fleet, including crew, to other airlines. For spotters, this second part is the most interesting.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code BT: appears in the flight number, so on the departure board, on the ticket and in the airport’s flight schedule.
• ICAO code BTI: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers when airBaltic flies under its own name.
• Callsign AIR BALTIC: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio.

With airBaltic, the codes alone are not enough, though. If a jet flies on wet lease for another airline, it can show up on the tracker under that airline’s flight number and code. Why flight number and callsign are two different things is explained in the post Callsign and flight number. For an overview of the code system, see IATA and ICAO codes explained.

The fleet: only Airbus A220-300

airBaltic is one of the rare cases of a true single-type fleet. Since 2023 the airline has flown exclusively the Airbus A220-300. The type was developed by Bombardier as the CS300 and has only been called the A220 since Airbus took over the program. airBaltic was the launch operator: the first aircraft arrived in late November 2016, and on December 14, 2016 the first scheduled flight followed from Riga to Amsterdam. The shorter sister A220-100 had debuted earlier at Swiss.

Before the A220, the fleet was a mixed bag. Over the years airBaltic flew Saab 340s, Avro RJ70s – a smaller sister of the Avro RJ85 –, Fokker 50s, Boeing 737-300s and -500s, Boeing 757-200s and the Dash 8-400. The Boeing 737 left the fleet by 2020, the last Dash 8 in early 2023. In the same year airBaltic briefly leased a few A320s to bridge shortages.

Phase	Types	Spotter tip
Founding years from 1995	Saab 340, Avro RJ70, Fokker 50	Today only on old photos
Jet expansion	Boeing 737-300/-500, Boeing 757-200	Boeing disappeared from the fleet by 2020
Turboprop on short routes	Dash 8-400	Green tail on a propeller aircraft – now history
Since late 2016	Airbus A220-300	Today the only fleet

The A220s are powered by Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines. It is exactly these engines that have recently caused airBaltic problems: because of extended maintenance times, aircraft were repeatedly grounded, which cost the airline capacity.

2026: restructuring and a smaller fleet

For a long time airBaltic planned strong growth, a stock market listing and a fleet of around 100 A220s. Little of that is left in 2026. In April 2025 longtime CEO Martin Gauss had to go; since December 2025 the airline has been led by Erno Hildén, who previously worked at Finnair and SAS. In August 2026 airBaltic presented a much more cautious business plan: instead of around 54 aircraft, it foresees only about 36 by the end of 2026, then around 40 again by 2031.

In September 2026 airBaltic voluntarily filed in New York for a restructuring proceeding under Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy law. The aim is to reorganize debts and adjust contracts – including a large aircraft order that airBaltic has canceled. Flight operations continue during the proceeding. Among the background factors are high fuel costs, weaker demand, geopolitical crises and the engine bottlenecks. In the first half of 2026, despite rising revenue, a loss of around 128 million euros was on the books. airBaltic also announced it would cut staff, reduce activities outside the Baltics and fly fewer routes in summer 2027.

Another chapter concerns a single aircraft: in June 2025 the A220-300 YL-AAO caught fire in Riga during an auxiliary power unit ground run in maintenance. At the end of 2025 the jet was written off as an economic total loss – according to trade reports, the first total loss of an A220.

Wet lease: green jets with another airline’s flight number

For spotters, the wet-lease business is the most exciting part of airBaltic. Here airBaltic provides the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance, and the other airline sells the tickets under its own flight number. From 2022 airBaltic flew this way mainly for Swiss, later on a large scale for further airlines of the Lufthansa Group. At times almost half of the fleet was leased out; in the second quarter of 2026 it was an average of 26 aircraft. According to the new business plan, airBaltic continues to rely on partnerships of this kind and is aiming more at year-round contracts.

You see the result right at the spot: a green A220 taxis to the runway in Frankfurt or Munich, but the tracker shows an LH flight number. airBaltic jets can also turn up on Lufthansa, Swiss or Austrian routes – which airlines buy capacity in which season varies. How these contracts work in principle is explained in the post Wet lease explained.

How to recognize airBaltic

The livery is striking and quickly learned: white fuselage, dark blue “airBaltic” titles and a light green tail. Since late 2019 the green extends over the rear fuselage below the tail, and only the tail cone stays white. The engine cowlings and the wingtips are green as well. Together with the A220’s typical silhouette – slim fuselage, large engines under the wing, a continuous window band – you can recognize airBaltic even on approach.

Some aircraft wear special liveries in the national colors of the three Baltic states: two in Latvian, one each in Estonian and Lithuanian colors. There is also a dedicated livery for the fleet’s 50th A220. These jets are sought-after subjects – how to search specifically for special liveries is shown in the post Finding special liveries.

Spotting airBaltic in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

airBaltic connects Riga with many major airports in the German-speaking region, including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Vienna and Zurich, seasonally also destinations such as Salzburg or Innsbruck. In addition there are the wet-lease operations, in which green A220s fly on Lufthansa Group routes. Since airBaltic is shrinking its fleet and network in 2026, it is best to check the current schedule before every trip.

Good places for airBaltic photos:

• In Munich, the visitors’ hill gives a good view of Lufthansa Group traffic – and thus also of A220s on wet lease.
• In Zurich, observation deck B is ideal for comparing Swiss and airBaltic A220s directly side by side.
• In Frankfurt, the Zeppelinheim viewing platform offers close-up approaches.
• In Düsseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg the observation decks help, for example at Düsseldorf Airport, at BER and in Hamburg.
• In Vienna, the spotters’ hill is a classic.

The A220 is fairly compact for a narrowbody jet. For frame-filling photos on the runway you therefore often need a bit more focal length – tips are in the guide to focal length for plane spotting. And whether you are standing on the right side of the airport depends on the runway direction in use.

airBaltic compared

In the Baltic Sea region you often meet airBaltic alongside Finnair and LOT Polish Airlines. Finnair is a oneworld member, LOT belongs to Star Alliance; airBaltic is not tied to any alliance, but is closely connected to the Lufthansa Group through the stake and the wet lease. On type it is simple: Finnair and LOT fly, among others, Airbus A320 family aircraft and Embraers respectively, while airBaltic flies only A220s.

Airline	Country	Registration	Typical short-haul fleet	Alliance
airBaltic	Latvia	YL-	only A220-300	none
Finnair	Finland	OH-	A319, A320, A321	oneworld
LOT	Poland	SP-	incl. Embraer E-Jets and Boeing 737 MAX	Star Alliance
Swiss	Switzerland	HB-	A220-100/-300, A320 family	Star Alliance

Common mix-ups

• Taking a Swiss A220 for airBaltic – Swiss also flies the A220, but with a red tail and Swiss cross and HB- registrations.
• Equating an LH flight number with a Lufthansa jet – on wet lease a green YL- A220 often flies.
• Logging an A220-300 as an A220-100 – airBaltic has only the longer -300 in its fleet.
• Taking airBaltic for a Star Alliance airline – the Lufthansa stake does not make airBaltic an alliance member.
• Confusing BT with the country code – BT is a pure airline code and has nothing to do with any country.
• Using old fleet lists – in 2026 the fleet shrinks significantly, and many overviews quickly go out of date.

Conclusion

airBaltic is a rewarding airline for spotters: a striking green livery, only one aircraft type and an unambiguous registration prefix. The appeal lies in the details – in the wet lease that brings green jets under another airline’s flight number to German runways, in the special liveries in national colors and in the upheaval of 2026 that noticeably shrinks the fleet. If you note the registration and tracker code, you keep the overview.