There have been promises and glimpses of what the Bombardier CSeries can do. Well it seem airBaltic is to put this to the test, with a planned service between Riga and Abu Dhabi.
airBaltic Bombardier CSeires – Image, airBaltic
The airline will launch a four-times-a-week service between Riga (Latvia) and Abu Dhabi (UAE). The service is planned to commence on the 29th October 2017.
In terms of operations, the service will be codeshared with Eithad Airways, to provide feed beyond Abu Dhabi.
The following timetable has been deduced:
DEPART RIX 23:25 ARRIVE AUH 07:25+1 DEPART AUH 09:45 ARRIVE RIX 14:00 Operates: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Riga Operates: Mondays Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays from Abu Dhabi Booked Equipment: Bombardier CSeries CS300 Data: airBaltic
For those interested, this segment is booked at a 6 hour 15 minute length – which is long, especially in a plane that is a step up from a regional jet.
The plane is configured with 145 SlimPlus seats from Zodiac Aerospace in a 2-3 formation (and I had a brief look at them at Aircraft Interiors Expo – with the magic 19″ middle seat.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic is happy with the route launch, stating:
“We are delighted to link Latvia and the UAE with our brand-new Bombardier CS300 that fly longer distances and reach airports that we were not able to serve with our fleet before. Our codeshare cooperation with Etihad Airways will offer convenient connections to passengers travelling from the Baltic airports to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi and further to key destinations in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as provide new travelling opportunities from Abu Dhabi to European and Scandinavian airports.”
Lead-in prices on the route start at €129 in Basic, €249 in Premium and €799 in Business Class.
With a Great Circle distance of 2,715 miles, it’s going to be a long journey.
Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper – copyright © Karl L. Swartz
It’s a major step forward for the CSeries project, which so far has been pottering around Europe on short to mid-haul routes. It’ll be interesting if the CS300 is viable on this route in the medium term.
But as an innovative route? Thumbs up. I’m just not sure about the comfort factor…
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