Lufthansa
has finally firmed up its acquisition of a 10% stake in Riga-based Latvian flag carrier airBaltic
. The move, which was announced on Wednesday evening, follows rumors of the same that emerged back in October. The latest acquisition also follows Lufthansa’s continued interest in expanding its reach across Europe through investments, with the recent finalization of the purchase of 41% of Italian flag carrier ITA Airways
as a testament to this.
A 10% convertible share in airBaltic
The agreement announced this evening covers a €14 million ($14.6 million) investment in airBaltic, signed between the Latvian Ministry of Transport and the Lufthansa Group. It gives the Lufthansa Group both a minority stake and a seat on the Supervisory Board. Initially, the investment provides Lufthansa with a 10% convertible share in the airline.
Photo: MBekir | Shutterstock
The agreement also provides for their conversion into ordinary shares, “upon a potential IPO of airBaltic” for which a date has not been set. The initial public offering (IPO) was initially delayed to the spring of 2025, although earlier this month it emerged that it could even be stalled to early 2026, per Reuters. airBaltic said the following in a statement:
After IPO, the size of Lufthansa Group’s stake will be determined by market pricing of the potential IPO, with Lufthansa Group’s holding amounting to no less than 5% of airBaltic. The transaction builds on the existing strategic partnership between Lufthansa Group and airBaltic. Lufthansa Group will also appoint a Supervisory Board member upon closing of the investment. The closing of the transaction is planned for Q2 2025, and is subject to antitrust review.
With the new agreement, airBaltic will receive the financial backing it needs to continue to grow, including the expansion of its wet-lease agreement with the Lufthansa Group. It is not exactly clear what that expansion could look like, although the existing agreement already provides for airBaltic wet-lease capacity to the Lufthansa Group for upcoming summer periods. Lufthansa says that with the investments it “intends to strengthen airBaltic’s role as a strategic partner of Lufthansa Group.”
Photo: Karolis Kavolelis | Shutterstock
airBaltic’s relationship with Lufthansa Group
airBaltic’s relationship with the Lufthansa Group dates back to 2019 and currently includes a significant amount of wet-lease capacity. A large slice of airBaltic’s Airbus A220-300 fleet is currently earmarked to operate for the Lufthansa Group’s airlines over the course of this summer period. The agreement, which has been extended “for a further three years beyond the summer of 2025,” will see planes deployed with Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines as of March 2025. Service with SWISS will also continue.
This covers 21 planes. In total, airBaltic has 49 examples per ch-aviation data of which 15 are listed as inactive. Schedules are slowly being loaded in by the Lufthansa Group’s airlines for their airBaltic A220 plans. For its part, Austrian Airlines loaded flights to Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin, and Nice, for example, from its Vienna base. More recently, Brussels Airlines added its plan for this summer, which indicates service to Lyon, Venice, and Ljubljana, among others.
Related
New Uruguayan Airline To Debut With Wet-Leased AirBaltic Airbus A220s
Uruguay’s new national carrier, Sociedad Uruguaya de Aviación, is about to officially announce its plans.
Lufthansa added:
“With the additional capacities of airBaltic, destinations in high demand in the route networks can be served even more flexibly in future. At the same time, it strengthens the quality and stability of connections to Lufthansa Group Airlines’ intercontinental services at the Group’s hubs.”
airBaltic has significantly expanded its wet-lease operation this year. Earlier today it confirmed that it would be supporting Uruguay’s new national carrier, Sociedad Uruguaya de Aviación. The contract covers up to five Airbus A220-300s as of October 2025. The agreement also includes support to SUA in “such areas as operational set-up, pilot training, know-how sharing, IT and automation, and the airline’s sustainability initiatives.”
Photo: Renatas Repcinskas | Shutterstock
Lufthansa’s European expansionism
Lufthansa’s interest in other European airlines does not begin with airBaltic. The Lufthansa Group currently comprises eight main airlines, notably:
- Lufthansa (and its regional partners)
- Brussels Airlines
- Eurowings
- Discover Airlines
- SWISS (and Edelweiss Air)
- Austrian Airlines
- Lufthansa Cargo
- ITA Airways
ITA Airways, Italy’s flag carrier, is the most recent addition to the Lufthansa Group. The airline joined earlier this month after Lufthansa’s €325 million ($333 million) transaction for 41% of ITA Airways went through.
