Brussels Airlines adds Riga to its network with a new airBaltic codeshare deal
Starting 4th August, Brussels Airlines passengers will now be able to take daily flights to Latvia, as the capital, Riga, will henceforth be part of the large European destination of the Belgian airline thanks to a new codeshare deal with airBaltic.
One of Brussels Airlines principal objectives is to offer the easiest possible connections between the capital of Europe and the Member States of the EU. Latvia, which joined the EU and NATO in May 2004 and is the largest of the Baltic states, has been up until now missing from the Brussels Airlines map. Today, thanks to the new codeshare deal with Air Baltic, that gap has been filled.
From 4th August onwards, Brussels Airlines customers will be able to connect with Riga from Brussels on board airBaltic aircraft, at a frequency of 7 flights per week during the first month. From the beginning of September, the frequency will extend to 10 flights per week, with a morning and evening flight on weekdays.
All flights are operated on airBaltic Boeing 737s. On board, passengers may choose between Business and Economy Class. From today, bookings are open via Brussels Airlines own distribution channels (travel agents, website brusselsairlines.com, call centre and airport ticketing offices). Privilege loyalty programme miles are available for flights booked in codeshare.
The new Brussels-Riga-Brussels schedules fit perfectly with Brussels Airlines other schedules. Passengers flying via Brussels to and from Riga will benefit from rapid transfers and convenient connections with the rest of the Brussels Airlines Europe and Africa network.
By establishing a partnership with airBaltic, Brussels Airlines has expanded the geography of its destinations further to the East, as the following cities have now become more easily available – Almaty (Kazakhstan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Chisinau (Moldova), Kaliningrad (Russia), Minsk (Belorus), Odessa (Ukraine), Simferopol (Ukraine), Sochi (Russia), St. Petersburg (Russia), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Tbilisi (Georgia), Yerevan (Armenia).
“This new partnership with airBaltic responds perfectly to the requirements of our business passengers, as well as offering exciting new possibilities to leisure passengers, given that Riga is a world heritage site”, explains Erik Follet, EVP Strategy & Business Development, Brussels Airlines. “Moreover, the excellent connections allow easy transfers between other Baltic states and on to the Brussels Airlines European and African networks. This is an important step forward in the enlargement of our offer to our customers’.
Bertolt Flick, President and CEO of airBaltic: “airBaltic’s partnership with Brussels Airlines is particularly good for the customers of both airlines, as route networks essentially do not overlap, but are actually complementary. airBaltic has an excellent product offering for flights to the CIS countries (former Soviet Union) and regional centres in Scandinavia, while Brussels Airlines serves over 50 European and 16 African routes.”