Summary
- flydubai is launching latest routes to the Baltic States and Basel, Switzerland.
- The brand new routes provide increased connectivity through Dubai’s aviation hub, offering convenient travel options for passengers.
- While airBaltic has a codeshare agreement with Emirates, flydubai goals to expand its network and supply more destinations for travelers.
flydubai has launched 4 latest routes in Europe, connecting Dubai International Airport (DXB) with the three Baltic States’ capitals, in addition to Basel, Switzerland. Flights to Basel start in August, while routes to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia begin in October 2024.
Competing with airBaltic
The DXB-based airline is launching flights to Europe including Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL), Vilnius Airport (VNO), Riga Airport (RIX), and Tallinn Airport (TLL). This is able to be the low-cost carrier’s first entry into the Baltic States market, where other no-frills airlines and airBaltic have largely dominated for the past few years.
Photo: flydubai
While BSL and TLL don’t have any direct connection to DXB currently, each VNO and RIX do, with airBaltic serving the routes with its Airbus A220-300, which has a maximum range of two,470 nautical miles (4,575 kilometers). TLL and DXB are separated by 2,414 NM (4,471 km).
While theoretically, the A220-300 could fly the route, it will need to undergo Russian airspace, which was closed to Western airlines following sanctions imposed on the country after it illegally invaded Ukraine and started its war.
Nevertheless, Ghaith Al Ghaith, the chief executive officer (CEO) of flydubai, noted that the airline now has a various network of 126 destinations, 60% of which had no previous connection to DXB.
![Emirates Airbus A380-800 at Prague Airport](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/shutterstock_608765744.jpg)
How Emirates & flydubai Work Together As A Competitive Force In The Middle East
Last yr, Emirates and flydubai had a combined 337 aircraft and served 177 destinations.
airBaltic’s codeshare with Emirates
Nevertheless, airBaltic also has a codeshare agreement with Emirates, which was signed in November 2021. On the time, the statement said that the agreement would offer passengers from the Middle East, West Asia, Far East, and Australia greater access to the Baltic States.
Consequently of the codeshare, Emirates has placed its ‘EK’ flight code on airBaltic’s flights between DXB and RIX, TLL, VNO, and Helsinki Airport (HEL), while airBaltic has its ‘BT’ flight code on flights from DXB to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) and Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK).
Photo: airBaltic
On the time, Martin Gauss, the President and CEO of airBaltic, highlighted that Emirates was a real global connectivity provider, with the Latvia-based airline being enthusiastic about starting its partnership with the carrier. The codeshare agreement would allow airBaltic’s passengers to seamlessly travel between the Baltic States and destinations in Asia, Australia, and beyond, Gauss added then.
Based on data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, airBaltic began flying between RIX and DXB in September 2021, ramping up the route starting in October of the identical yr. Meanwhile, flights connecting VNO and DXB began in November 2023, with each routes being operated year-round.
![airbaltic, Emirates, Codeshare](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/DSC0408.jpg)
Emirates Partners Up With airBaltic At The Dubai Airshow
Fortress Baltics
flydubai advertised that its economy class fares from VNO, RIX, and TLL to DXB start at €380 ($408, including VNO and RIX) and €490 ($526.4), respectively, while business class fares start at €1,370 ($1,471) and €2,100 ($2,256), respectively.
Meanwhile, when airBaltic opened the route between VNO and DXB, the airline said its lowest one-way economy class fares began at €239 ($256.7) in May 2023. When airBaltic presented the RIX – DXB route, its lowest one-way basic economy fare was €339 ($364.2) in September 2021.
At the identical time, each Baltic countries have suffered from record-breaking inflation over the past few years, peaking at 22% in Latvia and 22.5% in Lithuania in September 2022, in response to European Central Bank (ECB) data. As such, the costs could have modified since, with inflation cooling down recently as well.
Nevertheless, the three Baltic States are the house turf of airBaltic, where it has been the de facto flag carrier of all three states since each flyLAL, the Lithuanian flag carrier, and Estonian Air, and its successor, Nordica, collapsed or exited the industrial flight business.
Photo: Tom Boon | Easy Flying
In an announcement to Easy Flying, an airBaltic spokesperson affirmed that the carrier stays the leading airline within the region, including that it’s the most important airline operating out of the three countries.
The representative emphasized that the A220-300 is one of the crucial efficient aircraft within the skies, adding that airBaltic cooperates with local authorities to advertise Dubai within the Baltics and the region within the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
![airBaltic Airbus A220-300 in the Lithuanian flag livery](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/airbaltic-airbus-a220-300-in-the-lithuanian-flag-livery.jpeg)
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