airBaltic announces fleet expansion and ten new routes for spring 2006 14.02.2006 Latvian airline airBaltic has announced that it will be opening ten new routes and expanding its fleet by the addition of one more Boeing 737-500 aircraft this spring. From Riga, direct flights will be opened to six new locations: Baku, Bergen, Düsseldorf, Tbilisi, Simferopol and Warsaw. From Vilnius, direct flights will be opened to Budapest, Düsseldorf, Stockholm and Warsaw. Commenting on the announcement, airBaltic president Bertolt Flick said, "Adding these cities to our network of direct destinations, we are continuing to implement our strategic plan of performing as many direct flights as possible and furthering Riga's development as an important aviation transit hub between East and West, as well as increasing the number of visitors coming into the Baltic states." airBaltic flights from Riga to Düsseldorf will begin on 1 March 2006 and will operate four times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The price of a one-way ticket will start at LVL 49*. On 26 March, airBaltic will open flights from Riga to the Polish capital, Warsaw. Flights will operate six times per week, and the price of a one-way ticket, if bought on the Internet, will start at LVL 27.60*. Flights from Riga to Simferopol in the Ukrainian Crimea are planned to start on 11 April and will operate twice per week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The price of a one-way ticket will start at LVL 59*. airBaltic plans to begin flights from Riga to Bergen in Norway on 14 April. Flights will operate three times per week, on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. The price of a one-way ticket bought online will start at LVL 13.60*. In May 2006, airBaltic plans to open flights to two new Eastern destinations, Baku and Tbilisi. Flights to both destinations will operate twice per week; however, final confirmation for the flight to Tbilisi is yet to be received from the Georgian authorities. This spring, therefore, airBaltic will be offering direct flights on 45 routes, 30 of them out of Riga, and 15 out of Vilnius. Also in the spring, a further Boeing 737-500 aircraft will be added to the airBaltic fleet. This will be used on flights from Vilnius. The airBaltic fleet will thus consist of seventeen aircraft: eight Boeing 737-500s and nine Fokker 50s. *All ticket prices include the relevant airport taxes. Published: airBaltic other article back