airBaltic grabs Lufthansa Group investment, Uruguayan operations

The Lufthansa Group (LHG) is already a significant partner of airBaltic’s. Up to 21 of the A220s fill in to help boost the Group’s capacity in the summer season, with five are available in the winter. And now Lufthansa Group is a part owner of the operation. It invested 14 million euro in the airline in exchange for a convertible share representing 10% of the Latvian airline. It will convert to regular shares upon IPO of airBaltic, with a guaranteed floor of 5% ownership. LHG also gains a seat on the airBaltic Board.

LHG and airBaltic recently extended their wet lease agreement to run through Summer 2028. The companies also disclose “a further product development of the wet lease services in line with [Lufthansa Group] customer expectations is planned.”

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Part of a broader strategy

Lufthansa Group was the exclusive partner with airBaltic for wet lease capacity in 2024. In 2025 that expands to Uruguay. And airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss believes the model can be exported more broadly around the world.

The carrier has 50 A220s in its fleet today and plans to double that over the next five years. Thirty percent of the fleet operates for wet lease, meaning by 2029 he anticipates 30 of the planes being somewhat permanently allocated to flying for other airlines, while the remaining 70% continue to connect the Baltics to Europe and beyond. Gauss is confident that market will continue to grow, seeing airBaltic as “the only airline in the world which offers you a brand new aircraft with the with the lower cost of fuel and emissions; normally that wet lease business is done with old aircraft.”

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An Uruguayan Adventure

As part of those efforts to expand its wet lease footprint airBaltic will expand to South America, serving as a strategic partner and underlying operator for SUA Lineas Aereas. SUA is a state-backed carrier, aiming to launch service in Q4 2025 connecting Uruguay to key markets in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.

airBaltic intends to wet lease up to five of its Airbus A220-300 aircraft to SUA are part of the plan. It will also support the upstart with operational set-up, pilot training, IT and automation, and the airline’s sustainability initiatives. The planes (and crew) are expected to arrive in Uruguay for operations from October.

Uruguay sees relatively low traffic levels, with just over 20 daily departures from the country per Cirium data. LATAM provides a quarter of the flights, connecting to Sao Paulo, Santiago, and Lima. Iberia provides the most ASMs, thanks to its daily service to Madrid. Copa’s frequent service to Panama and Aerolineas Argentinas to Buenos Aires are also notable.