airBaltic Training, a subsidiary of the Latvian airline airBaltic, is honored to announce the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) with Diamond Aircraft for the acquisition of three all-electric eDA40 and two DA42-VI aircraft. Thus, the airBaltic Pilot Academy’s fleet will grow to 15 aircraft in total. The signing took place during the Baltic International Airshow in Liepaja (Latvia) on August 15-16, 2024. This strategic move underscores airBaltic’s commitment to sustainable aviation and the expansion of its Pilot Academy.

The eDA40, which will be the first EASA/FAA certified electric airplane in its category, marks a major step towards zero-emission flight training. It uses advanced electric motors with over 94% efficiency and a dual winding/controller for better reliability and safety. Its all-electric design ensures zero emissions and lower noise levels, making it perfect for eco-friendly pilot training. Moreover, the eDA40 features dual string battery system and a fast charging system that can recharge the aircraft in 20-30 minutes, reducing downtime and increasing training efficiency.

Pauls Cālītis, Chief Operations Officer of airBaltic: “The upcoming arrival of these innovative aircraft is a significant milestone in our mission to provide top-tier, sustainable training for future pilots. We are dedicated to expanding our fleet with cutting-edge technology to meet the growing demand for highly skilled aviation professionals. Therefore, we have decided to continue our successful cooperation with a long-term partner Diamond Aircraft, by jointly agreeing on the delivery of an additional five aircraft, gradually until 2030. The airBaltic Pilot Academy, which recently celebrated the addition of its 10th Diamond DA40 NG aircraft, continues to invest in advanced training technologies.”

“We are excited to announce that our long-term customer airBaltic Training will acquire our all-electric eDA40 and additional DA42-VI aircraft. This investment underscores their commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology and sustainability in flight training,” says Jane Wang, Sales Director Diamond Aircraft Austria.

“We look forward to continuing our strong partnership and supporting their growth in the years to come,” Wang added. 

There are 136 active students at the airBaltic Pilot Academy at the moment. Most of them are from the Baltic countries, however, there are students also from other EU countries such as Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Spain and Italy among others. Overall, more than 10% of airBaltic Pilot Academy students are female. As for now, 99 students, after graduating, have joined airBaltic.

More information about the Pilot Academy: www.pilotacademy.com.

airBaltic operates more than 130 routes from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere and, seasonally, Gran Canaria, offering connections to a wide range of destinations in the airline’s route network in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region. A complete schedule of airBaltic flights and tickets are available on the company’s homepage at www.airbaltic.com

 airBaltic in brief:
airBaltic (Air Baltic Corporation AS) is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 97.97% of the stock, while the rest of the shareholders hold 2.03%. airBaltic offers connections to more than 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus region. Over the last 28 years airBaltic has developed as a strong and internationally respected airline, which employs more than 2 500 employees. The airBaltic fleet consists of 47 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, making it one of the youngest fleets in Europe. The airline has received several international awards for excellence, innovative services and significant achievements. Skytrax has awarded airBaltic two years in a row as the best airline in its region. Furthermore, in 2022, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) awarded airBaltic the Diversity and Inclusion Team Award. In 2023 the airline received the APEX Passenger Choice Award of Best Cabin Service in Europe. Additionally, in 2024 airBaltic was awarded with PROS AI Innovator Award of leveraging AI to drive transformative outcomes and optimize operations.

airBaltic Training, a subsidiary of airBaltic, is a training facility offering a wide range of aviation training services in its modern and purpose-built training centre in Riga, Latvia. It was established in 2010 and since then each year provides training to approximately 3 000 professionals from across the world – more than 1 500 pilots, almost 1 000 cabin crew members and several hundred of ground handlers, cargo agents, security personnel and others.

Diamond Aircraft in brief:
Diamond Aircraft, headquartered in Austria with facilities in Canada and China, is amongst the leading aircraft manufacturer in General Aviation. Founded in 1981, Diamond has pioneered many aviation firsts and achieved numerous milestones and industry expert accolades.

Today, Diamond Aircraft has more than 1 500 employees worldwide and offers the most complete range of certified piston aircraft models: from the 2 seat single DA20 to the stunning 7 seat DA62. With its complete line of piston aircraft including a dedicated flight training concept with Single Engine Piston (DA40 NG, DA40 XLT) and Multi Engine Piston (DA42-VI) trainers, the soon to be certified aerobatic turboprop tandem trainer DART along with type-specific flight training simulators and proprietary engines, Diamond Aircraft is the only sole source provider in the fleet training market. Diamond Aircraft also made a footprint in the special mission market with the remote sensing turnkey solutions DA42 MPP and DA62 MPP.

Additionally, the company is currently developing the eDA40, an all-electric training aircraft, which will be certified in the near future.

Diamond Aircraft uses proprietary lead-free jet fuel piston engines, made by Austro Engine GmbH (part of the Diamond Aircraft Group), for the DA40, DA42 and DA62.

Every one of Diamond’s aircraft shares a common DNA, incorporating leading edge technology, not for the sake of innovation, but for superior performance, efficiency and safety.

Over 5 500 Diamond airplanes are flown by private pilots, professional flight training operators and institutions worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.diamondaircraft.com .