AirBaltic is an airline that has interested me for a few years, they mostly caught my eye because they exclusively fly A220 aircraft. AirBaltic was one of the early orders for the then Bombardier C-Series C300. They even took delivery of some directly from Bombardier before they were re-branded to the A220-300. I love the A220(I’ve reviewed it a few times from different airlines), it’s a super comfortable, ultra modern aircraft. In the narrow body space, that’s somewhat rare.
As the name implies, airBaltic is headquartered in Riga and focused on service in the Baltics. Our trip between Vilnius and Tallinn is the perfect example of this. airBaltic is a low cost carrier, but they do offer a business class. We didn’t spring for that so we’re in the back in economy. I’ve seen a few reviews that said airBaltic was very strict on luggage weight, I purchased the excess carry on weight option, but was still a little nervous.
Bottom Line: airBaltic is a great airline for an economy flight. The A220 is super comfortable in economy due to the 2-3 seating arrangement. The flight was punctual, planes are clean, and the attendants are friendly.
airBaltic Boarding VNO
We arrived at the gate just about 5 minutes before the boarding process started. It’s a very snowy day here in Lithuania. We did spend a few minutes in the lovely Narbutas Business Lounge VNO before walking down to the gate.
The airBaltic boarding process was very simple but a little hectic. There were only two boarding groups, Priority (business class and frequent flyers) and Economy class. Business class was called first, then economy class. Everyone just lined up in their correct line then, when called, boarded the plane.
airBaltic Carry On Baggage
airBaltic is one of the only airlines that I’ve seen that allows passengers to purchase heavy cabin baggage allowance. The standard allotment is 8kg between a carry on bag and personal item. I paid a few extra Euro to increase that to 12kg. Their were plenty of warnings on the website and during check in that oversize bags would need to be checked at an increased cost. I also saw a few reviews indicating they were somewhat strict about this.
My bags are ok, but we’re pretty sure Val is overweight. Fortunately it wasn’t an issue, they didn’t weigh bags. Our bags are the correct dimensions, just probably overweight. They did have a sizer with a built in scale at the gate, so they certainly have the ability to check bags.
Boarding was called just about 25 minutes before departure time. Got a great view of the airBaltic C220-300 that’s going to take us up to Tallinn. This particular plane is less than 4 years old. It’s very snowy here in Vilnius today, lots of people taking pictures of the plane in the snow, it’s very pretty.
airBaltic A220-300 Economy Cabin
The A220-300 has 3-2 seating in the economy cabin. On the right hand side there are 3 seats. The airBaltic cabin was modern and clean.
The left hand side has 2 seats. We didn’t select seats, that would have cost extra(I’m cheap) so we were given seats on the 3 seat side of the plane.
We stowed our large bags overhead and put our backpacks under the seat in-front of us. We’re seated on the right hand side in an aisle and middle seat. Boarding was completely in just about 15 minutes and the door was closed.
airBaltic A220-300 Economy Seat Review
We saw that there was a set of seats on the 2 seat section of the plane and so we slid across the aisle. The plane isn’t very full today, probably about 50-60% so lots of people spread out for a little more space. This is the great thing about the airBaltic A220-300, 2 individual seats with no middle. The leg room is somewhat tight, not terrible, just about what you’d expect from a low cost carrier.
There’s no in seat entertainment on the airBaltic A220. There’s also no in seat power to charge devices.
There is a very large tray table on the airBalitc A220. Much bigger than you’d find on other low cost carriers on short haul flights. You could easily enjoy a meal or setup your computer and get some work done if needed.
airBaltic A220-300 Overhead Monitors
The safety video was shown on the overhead monitors. These are somehow both very old school and modern at the same time.
In flight the overhead monitors on the airBaltic A220 show a moving map along with flight data. For younger people, this was really common in the late 90s early 00s. Before every seat had a screen, they’d put one screen every few rows. On short flights it was just flight information. On longer flights they’d show a movie, yep, one movie for all the passengers. If you didn’t like it, tough.
These ones are really nice. They are not big, but there’s one per row so you can quickly glace up and see the flight status.
airBaltic A220-300 Departure and Takeoff
The pilot made his welcome announcement and told us that it would be just about an hour in flight from Vilnius to Tallinn. Also that we’d have to take 5-10 minutes to de-ice the plane here at the gate due to the snow. But the good news is that Tallinn has nicer weather.
Outside the de-ice crew was hard at work in the cold to prep us for takeoff. Like the pilot said, this was a pretty fast process and we pushed back from the gate a few minutes later.
We taxied through the snow over to the runway. I really loved Vilnius and the VNO airport. I cannot wait to get back.
We soon tookoff into the snowy morning. I oddly love traveling in this type of weather, it just feels so cozy inside.
To show how cloudy and snowy it is, you can just barely see the snow covered ground just a few seconds after takeoff. We took off towards the south into the snowy clouds. We made our turn north and towards Vilnius.
Once we passed through the tops of the clouds it became a very nice day for flying. There were a few bumps, but nothing major to keep the seat belt sign on.
airBaltic A220-300 Buy-On-Board Snacks and Drinks
The flight attendants began their buy on board service program. A few people took part for things like coffee or soda. We didn’t, no need on such a short flight.
airBaltic is a low cost carrier and doesn’t offer a complementary on board service. It’s a buy on board program, the menu is featured in the onboard magazine.
airBaltic offers a selection of soft drinks, beer, wine, and liquor. While the selection was good, I did think the prices were a little on the high side, but nothing crazy. Nothing like Allegiant’s buy on board program(Review here).
There’s also some food options. You can also pre-order a selection on the airBaltic website while booking or during check in. The options looked decent, they did have a few takers, but nothing like the popularity of easyJet’s buy on board program(Review here).
airBaltic A220-300 Lavatory
The airBaltic A220-300 has two lavatories, one in the front and one in the rear. This is the rear bathroom and it’s quite large. It was also very clean for the flight. Though, it was a little odd that the hand lotion was stored in the sink, not sure about that one.
airBaltic A220-300 In Flight Review
The A220 is one of my favorite aircraft to ride in, especially in economy. The 2-3 seating is just so comfortable. You can see this morning VNO-TLL flight isn’t particularly full, I’d guess about 60% of the seats were occupied.
This isn’t a very long flight. Just about an hour in flight. Outside we haven’t gotten a great view of the ground below since we took-off. Here above the clouds is very pretty though.
airBaltic A220-300 Approach and Landing
With about 20 minutes left in the flight, the pilot again made an announcement. We’d be landing soon in Tallinn. The seatbelt sign was turned on and the flight attendants then came through the cabin one last time for their safety checks.
This is where the overhead screens are really nice. Little updates so that you can see your progress in flight.
We’re below the clouds now and it’s a great view of snowy Estonia. Looks like it might even be a little sunny out today.
And on the ground here in Tallinn right on time.
airBaltic A220-300 Final Thoughts
I enjoyed my economy flight with airBaltic. Their A220-300 is extremely modern, comfortable, and clean. The economy seats on the airBaltic A220-300 are plenty comfortable. More so than most low cost carriers. I liked the large tray tables and the 2-3 seating arrangement. Less middle seats is something everyone can agree on. The only part of the whole trip I was nervous about was the carry-on baggage weight, fortunately it was a non-issue.
Because this flight to Tallinn was less than an hour, we didn’t partake in the buy on board program. From the menu options, the prices seemed fair, but not amazing. The selection was pretty good though, lots of options for drinks, snacks, and larger meals.
I’m already looking forward to visiting the Baltic Countries again and airBaltic will certainly be apart of that trip. airBaltic is a great little airline.
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