Today’s video is something special and a little different. It is, in fact,
a flight review video! While there are plenty of flight review YouTube channels out there, we would
love to know what you think of an occasional flight review video here on Long Haul by
Simple Flying. This won’t completely replace the explainer and analysis videos we’ve been producing
for the past two years but will instead show up every now and then to offer something different.
Leave your opinion as a comment and include any feedback you might have about this new format-
we’d love to hear what you think! But with that out of the way, let’s get started….
Recently, Simple Flying was presented with an excellent opportunity to fly with
airBaltic on their inaugural flight from Vilnius, Lithuania to Hamburg, Germany.
This new service launched on May 3rd and connects Lithuania’s capital city
to one of Germany’s largest cities and a major industrial center. Indeed, on the outskirts of
Hamburg are Airbus’ facilities where various widebody and narrowbody jets are assembled!
While you may never fly this exact route, this video will show you a little bit
of Vilnius Airport as well as the airBaltic business class experience.
Generously hosting one of our team members, the journey began at Vilnius airport a little bit
before check-in was available. Since there was no need to check any bags for the trip,
check-in was done online and a digital boarding pass was collected,
Being a guest in business class, we were given access to the Narbutas Business lounge
at Vilnius airport. This next section will review the lounge-
so if it’s something you’re not interested in, skip to this section of the video.
The Narbutas Business lounge is much smaller and simpler than many lounges found at larger
hub airports, but it offered all the basics: A variety of quiet spaces to work or relax,
a small selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and a small selection of food.
Food options were unfortunately limited to pre-packaged salads and sandwiches,
vegetables, and soft cheeses rather than the hot meals served at other lounges.
Moving closer to boarding the aircraft, we reached the gate early to see staff
from the airline and airport present to celebrate the launch of the route.
With the Vilnius to Hamburg service being a fairly short and low-key flight,
the celebration was equally subdued, with a few photos taken for the airport’s social media,
as well as a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony.
With the route’s launch taking place on a Tuesday evening, the flight was rather empty. This meant
that few members of the public were around to enjoy the free treats being handed out.
In fact, much of the flight’s experience would be affected by the low load factor
of this particular service. With so few people,
boarding at the gate was quick and easy, as was getting on and off the shuttle bus.
Boarding was completed in less than 15 minutes and the plane even began rolling a few minutes ahead
of the official departure time at 18:15. airBaltic has used jet bridges at Vilnius airport before,
so travelers might experience either method of boarding and de-planing here.
The aircraft used for this inaugural flight was a nearly four-year-old A220-300 registered YL-CSK.
This particular Airbus A220 is instantly recognizable
as the only aircraft in the airBaltic fleet painted in the colors of the Lithuanian flag.
This is one of three aircraft in the fleet which have special liveries. The first was
painted in the colors of the Latvian flag and the other in the colors of Estonia’s flag.
As is common with all commercial passenger A220s, economy class seating takes a 2-3 configuration.
With airBaltic being a European carrier, it wasn’t surprising that the airline takes a euro-business
approach for its premium cabin. That is to say that business class consists
of standard economy seating with these seats blocked off between passengers.
This gives the airline the ability to shrink and expand its premium cabin as is necessary,
allowing for much more operational flexibility.
This might be a little disappointing for travelers expecting a true business class- perhaps fitted
with recliners. While you’ll find larger seats in the premium A220 cabins of Air Canada, Delta Air
Lines, and Breeze Airways, this won’t be found on airBaltic - or Air France for that matter.
We were initially assigned seat 1D. At this point, the first downside of taking Row 1 on these jets
was quickly discovered: The front wall of the cabin limits the amount of legroom available
to business class passengers seated up at the front. While passengers in rows further back
might be able to stretch their legs out in the space under the seat in front of them,
this is not something available to the seats in the front rows.
As a result, the only advantage of sitting up in the very front row
is a chance to get off the plane first. Otherwise,
it might be preferable to take a seat further back - unless you're on the shorter side, of course.
Being an Airbus A220, airBaltic’s overhead bins are some of the largest in the industry.
This makes it incredibly easy to load a carry-on bag and should, in theory, reduce the amount of
frustration for even economy class passengers when trying to find overhead locker space.
All seats in the A220-300 cabin are a creamy white leather and have a decent amount of recline. The
pitch between the seats is 32 inches, which is on-par with legacy carriers in Europe.
Seat width is often a feature highlighted with A220 carriers. The middle seat is 19 inches wide,
offering more space than other narrowbodies. The window and aisle seats are 18 and a half inches.
Unfortunately, airBaltic’s seats don’t have in-seat power to charge your devices. This
might be fine for a short hop like Vilnius to Hamburg, but could be more of a problem if you’re
flying one of the airline’s longer services - like Riga-Tenerife, or Riga-Dubai - especially since
there’s no inflight entertainment system to keep you distracted on those longer flights. Overall,
however, the majority of airBaltic’s flights are shorter hops within Europe, meaning a fully
charged tablet or laptop should survive the trip - just don’t forget to charge it before your flight!
Getting seated, a flight attendant brings a drink menu and asks if you
would like a pre-flight beverage (this can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic).
About 15 minutes after take-off, an inflight meal is served. On this occasion, the meal
consisted of warm bread rolls with butter and a rucola-tomato-quinoa salad to start.
The main course was chicken with sun-dried tomato in a horseradish sauce with asparagus,
potatoes, and grilled red peppers. Following the meal (or during dessert), tea or coffee
is served. Dessert was a chocolate mousse with blueberries and mint leaves on the side.
Considering the duration of this flight - which was just an hour and 40 minutes,
the meal service takes up most of the available time at cruising altitude.
With empty plates and cutlery taken away, it was then time to make the descent into Hamburg.
Touching down in Hamburg, we rolled towards the terminal and received a water cannon salute-
a traditional act conducted for inaugural flights and other important services.
Concluding the flight, passengers disembarked using a jet bridge.
All in all, business class with airBaltic and its A220s was a fairly nice experience! The seats are
comfortable, the food is delicious, and the service from all crew members was fantastic.
Taller people looking to fly business class with the airline should definitely
keep the front-row legroom issue in mind when selecting seats.
Additionally, you’ll need to remember that these aircraft lack inflight entertainment
systems - so bring a device with you if you need some digital entertainment to pass the time!
Our thanks again to airBaltic for hosting us on this inaugural flight from Vilnius to Hamburg
in business class. If you didn’t already know,
airBaltic is Europe’s largest A220 operator and the world’s largest operator of the A220-300.
The airline’s headquarters and largest base is located at Riga international airport. However,
it also has bases in Vilnius (Lithuania), Tallinn (Estonia), and Tampere (Finland).
From these bases, the airline services much of Eastern and Central Europe, as well as
Scandinavia. So, if you’re flying to any of these cities, airBaltic might be worth checking out!
Have you flown airBaltic - or do you have plans to in the future? Share your experiences and plans
by leaving a comment! And again, do let us know what you thought of our attempt at a flight review
and if this is something you’d like to see more of! Thanks for watching!