AirBaltic Signs For New Lufthansa Wet Leases, But With Fewer Aircraft

airBaltic has announced a new wet-lease agreement with Lufthansa Group that will see up to six Airbus A220-300 aircraft operated with Lufthansa’s crew for airBaltic. The deal, described as a wet lease, entails Lufthansa providing the aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance for the operation of the A220-300s under airBaltic’s network. The agreement covers a summer-season operation of up to six A220-300s and a reduced four-aircraft commitment for the winter season, according to AeroTime's reporting on the arrangement dated November 9, 2026.

AeroTime notes that this latest wet-lease arrangement is part of a broader plan to reduce airBaltic’s own Airbus A220-300 fleet to 36 aircraft in 2027. The publication highlights that the 2026 statement from airBaltic clarifies the seasonal allocation: up to six A220-300s with crew for Lufthansa during the summer and four during the winter. The reporting emphasizes that the agreement is intended to support airBaltic’s network while maintaining Lufthansa Group capacity through ACMI operations.

The Aviation Week coverage confirms the core detail that airBaltic and Lufthansa Group have signed a wet-lease agreement for up to six A220-300 aircraft. It explains the scope but does not provide specifics on routes, launch dates, or the start of operations. The publication reiterates that the arrangement involves Lufthansa providing the aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance for the operation of the A220-300s, under airBaltic’s umbrella.

AeroTime adds context from airBaltic’s broader strategic moves, linking the wet-lease to a plan to stabilize finances and reorganize capacity in line with a new business plan. The article mentions that Lufthansa’s commitment was extended previously, with a 2024 extension to the wet-lease for three more years starting in summer 2025, and indicates that the current arrangement continues and expands that cooperation.

According to AeroTime, airBaltic will maintain its existing wet-lease cooperation with Air Serbia as part of the same strategy, with four aircraft planned for the summer season and two for the winter season. This detail helps illustrate airBaltic’s broader ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) strategy and how it distributes capacity across partner airlines.

Mantas Vrubliauskas, airBaltic’s VP of Network Management, is quoted in AeroTime’s coverage praising the partnership with Lufthansa Group, underscoring airBaltic’s role as a reliable ACMI provider with consistent operational performance and positive feedback from partner airlines and their passengers. The statement also reinforces airBaltic’s emphasis on offering the A220-300 as a modern, fuel-efficient, and comfortable product that fits into partner networks.

The reporting notes airBaltic’s ongoing financial and structural adjustments, including earlier in 2026 when the airline filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States and announced plans to reduce its all-A220-300 fleet from 54 aircraft to 36, with a gradual return toward about 40 by 2031. Additional context from October 2026 indicates potential job cuts of between 500 and 700 staff as part of the carrier’s cost-cutting measures tied to its new business plan announced in August 2026 to prioritize financial stability first and growth second.

While the sources agree on the core elements of the deal—the wet-lease nature, the involvement of up to six A220-300s for Lufthansa during summer and four during winter, and the broader context of airBaltic’s fleet-reduction strategy—discrepancies remain on exact launch dates, routes, and the precise start of operations. Aviation Week emphasizes the lack of route and timing detail in its report, whereas AeroTime provides more granular seasonal allocations and ties the arrangement to the airline’s broader corporate plan and prior extensions of wet-lease agreements.