airBaltic (BT, Riga) will take delivery of its first of twenty A220-300s on order from Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) in November the Canadian manufacturer's Vice President & General Manager (CSeries), Rob Dewar, has said.

Speaking in Riga where the CS300 testbed has arrived for its European route-proving flights, Dewar told the Kasjauns daily that the delay in delivery of the jet to launch operator airBaltic had been caused by delays in the supply of engine components by Pratt & Whitney. However, the company notes that these issues have since been resolved.

During its stay in Riga, the CS300 will conduct route-proving flights to Vilnius, Tallinn Lennart Meri and Abu Dhabi International as part of its European certification protocols.

As the launch operator of the CS300, airBaltic will use the incoming aircraft to replace its ageing Boeing (BOE, Washington National) fleet which currently consists of seven B737-300s and five B737-500s. In addition to the B737 Classics, the carrier also operates eleven Dash 8-400s. The airline initially plans to deploy its first CS300s to Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt International and Helsinki Vantaa.