Delta, airBaltic codeshare set to fly

Airbaltic and Delta Air Lines are ready to make good on a codeshare plan announced in 2021. With regulatory limits now cleared Delta will add its code to airBaltic flights in 20 markets across Europe, connecting to airBaltic’s three bases in Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius.

The codeshares will take effect from 22 November 2023.

The collaboration with the renowned US partner Delta Air Lines, known for its expansive network and international cooperation infrastructure, holds tremendous opportunities. It will not only attract new passengers to airBaltic, but also elevate the Baltics’ global visibility and connectivity. We are looking forward to a successful, long-standing collaboration together.

– Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic

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“Enhanced partnerships are integral to our long-term strategy to better connect Delta customers around the world,” said Alain Bellemare, Delta’s Executive Vice President and President International. “Working closely with airBaltic will further strengthen Delta’s connection to this vibrant European region by offering more customers unrivalled access to destinations across the U.S.”

Offering codeshare connections to the Baltics is a key component of airBaltic’s operating plan. The carrier has similar arrangements with nearly two dozen airlines across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It can provide better connection options into the Baltics than any of those carriers, and it often does so at common connection points, further boosting demand for its operations. Adding Delta to the mix marks the expansion of that approach across the Atlantic (though some of the larger European partners already sell transatlantic itineraries including those codeshares).

Read more: AirBaltic to double A220 fleet

While the initial application for the codeshare services was filed in June 2021 it could not be implemented until the Latvian Civil Aviation Association gained a Category 1 rating from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Under the IASA program, the FAA determines whether another country’s oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the US, or codeshare with a US air carrier, complies with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

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At the time of the original announcement Delta indicated it would “review opportunities for elite reciprocal loyalty benefits for members.” Such opportunities have not yet been announced.