AirBaltic Boeing 737-300
Air Baltic announced at the start of the month that they will only use their Airbus A220s once this pandemic ends. The airline originally suspended the use of their Boeing 737-300s and their De Havilland Dash 8-400s. They also suspended all operations until the 14th of April.
However, after contacting the AirBaltic Corporate Communication Unit, they stated: "As the Coronavirus crisis continues, significantly affecting demand for air travel, airBaltic was forced to further decrease its overall capacity between April 15 and October 31, 2020, cancelling approximately 50% of its flights.""The airline previously had intended to retire its Boeing 737 fleet after summer season of 2020. With the adjusted flight schedule for the summer season, the airline plans to operate up to 22 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, effectively retiring its Boeing 737 fleet."
It is brilliant to see the gorgeous and modern Airbus A220 becoming an actively used aircraft for many airlines. However, it is a pity to see the majestic Boeing 737-300 slowly disappear from the skies.
Boeing decided to develop the idea of the Boeing 737-300 after their Boeing 737-200 became a major success. The company wanted to extend the aircraft’s capacity, range and modern specifications while also keeping the features of the Boeing 737-200. They began the development of this brilliant aircraft in 1979. By 1980, they decided to reveal their initial aircraft specification in the Farnborough Airshow. The development of the -300 series was not only a brilliant breakthrough in fuel efficiency but it was also an engineering challenge. It was similar to the Boeing 707 in the way that it had low ground clearance. However, with the introduction of the CFM56 Turbofan, the aircraft became better fuel efficient at the time and reduced noise. Due to the aircraft having low ground clearance, Boeing and CFM International solved this issue by placing the engine ahead of (rather than below) the wing, and by moving engine accessories to the sides (rather than the bottom) of the engine pod.
There was multiple efforts to try and increase aerodynamic. However, it wasn’t straight forward. The wing tip was extended 9 inches (23 cm). The leading-edge slats and trailing-edge flaps were adjusted. There was an optional electronic flight instrumentation system on the flight deck and the passenger cabin incorporated improvements similar to those on the Boeing 757. The first flight of the Boeing 737-300 took place in February 1984 for USair.
However, it wasn’t until December 2006 that the first Boeing 737-300 joined AirBaltic’s fleet. This aircraft was registered YL-BBL at the time. It was previously used by EasyJet from 1998 until 2005 where the aircraft was leased to SkyEurope Airlines Hungary. The plane was withdrawn from service on the 6th of December 2016 and was taken to storage at Tucson International for storage. It has since been leased to Plane Business Leasing, LAW - Latin American Wings, back to Plane Business Leasing and eventually Lineas Aereas Suramericanas (LAS Cargo). This aircraft is still in service and is registered HK-5312. It’s most recent flight is Leticia to Bogota on the 15th of April 2020.
However, for AirBaltic‘s remaining four Boeing 737-300, they will sadly leave the Latvian airline’s fleet. It will be a sad sight to not see these beautiful aircraft in AirBaltic livery in the future.
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