February 6, 2014,Latvian airline
airBaltic operated a special flight from Riga to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics with a truly pan-Baltic team onboard. The team departed on a specially painted Boeing 737, the Olympic livery of which
airBaltic unveiled in October last year, in partnership with Latvian Olympic Committee and Riga International Airport.
Reklāma
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “For the first time, we have designed a special livery for our aircraft to mark the Olympics. In another first, Latvia’s 58 athletes will be joined by their counterparts across the border on dedicated airBaltic flights both to and from the games, in what could be called a truly pan-Baltic team. We sincerely hope that at the end of the Olympic games, our aircraft will return just a bit heavier due to the medals won.”
Žoržs Tikmers, Head of Latvian Olympic Delegation: “Latvia is proud to send its strongest Winter Olympic team ever to Sochi. We are delighted to have World and European champions and medallists, and winners of various competitions. This is a historic moment as airBaltic flies the special Winter Olympics livery for the first time, it is an honour for the athletes, and for the airline. I am confident that Sochi Winter Olympics will be exciting for all sports fans in Latvia.”
Aldis Mūrnieks, Chairman of the Board of SJSC Riga International Airport, said: “Every time when our athletes depart for the games, the atmosphere at Riga Airport is very special, because we are aware of the fact that this is the moment when their Olympic journey begins. Latvia’s athletes have always demonstrated the performance of the global level. Their determination to achieve the best results sets a good example to all of us, because it requires great commitment and precision to reach the top – whether it be sports, aviation or any other area. The airport wishes the Olympic Team of Latvia success in reaching the highest peaks in their particular disciplines!”
As announced earlier, airBaltic has designed a special livery for its aircraft to mark the Olympics. Applying the ornament the surface area of which was a staggering 40m ² to the left side of the plane consisted of painting with four colours and applying a sticker afterwards. The colours were three different shades of green and a shade of blue, and were all used for the mountain view of the symbol. The paint itself was a polyurethane coating, one used specifically for the needs of aviation. It has a very high endurance level, which any material used in a plane’s livery needs in order to remain intact in the high speed that an airplane can reach. This paint has to be elastic also - a little rubber-like, because the airplane, once high up in the atmosphere, expands slightly. The sticker placed on the paint was made out of vinyl film, which is so strong that it can remain on the surface it is placed on for up to seven years.
airBaltic serves over 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these, airBaltic offers convenient connections via North Hub Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.
airBaltic video of creating the new livery: https://www.airbaltic.com/en/video
airBaltic photos: http://www.airbaltic.com/public/downloads.html
airBaltic in brief:
AIR BALTIC CORPORATION (airBaltic) is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. The primary shareholder is Latvian state with 99.8% of stock. The airBaltic fleet consists of 25 aircraft – five Boeing 737-500, eight Boeing 737-300 and twelve Bombardier Q400Next Gen. airBaltic offers nonstop flights from three Baltic capital cities – Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn. airBaltic received the title of Airline of the Year 2009/2010 (Gold Award) from the European Regions Airline Association. airBaltic is the winner of Air Transport World Phoenix Award 2010 – a global recognition of excellence in restructuring business. airBaltic won a special Pacesetter Award 2010 from the Jury of the Budgies World Low Cost Airline Awards, recognising achievements of airBaltic as a hybrid airline. In 2012, airBaltic was ranked by Airlinetrends among the Top 10 airlines globally for innovations.
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