airBaltic (BT, Riga) has confirmed the arrival of its first of thirteen A220-300s on order from Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) has been delayed.

Janis Vanags, Vice President Communications Air Baltic, told ch-aviation that the twinjets, originally scheduled to be delivered towards the end of this year, will now only arrive in September 2016.

The Latvian carrier, which also holds options for seven more of the type, is expected to issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the sale/leaseback of its CS300 fleet from the third quarter of this year onwards.

Once deliveries begin, the CS300s will begin to replace Air Baltic fleet of thirteen B737 Classics (eight B737-300s and five B737-500s) used on flights throughout Europe, the CIS, and the Mediterranean.