Budapest Airport welcomes inaugural airBaltic flight from Riga.

Wednesday 18th May 2011

Budapest Airport yesterday welcomed the first airBaltic flight linking the Hungarian captial city with the Latvian capital city of Riga. Flight number BT491 touched down ahead of the 12:15 scheduled time to a welcoming committee, including representatives of Budapest Airport, Budapest Mayor's Office, the Latvian Ambassador and representatives of the Hungarian National Tourist Office (HNTO).

AirBaltic has launched four flights weekly between the two cities with the new schedule representing Budapest Airport's first flights to the increasingly important commercial hub of Riga. The route is expected to carry 24,000 year-round passengers. The flight schedules are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays:

Depart Riga 11:00 Arrive Budapest 12:15 Depart Budapest 12:40 Arrive Riga 15:55

Gregory Pomerantsev airBaltic senior VP Sales & Marketing, Nils Usakovs Mayor of Riga and other airline and Riga municipality dignitaries as well as Latvian journalists were on the two-hour fifteen minute maiden flight, which was operated by a Boeing 737 aircraft, although the route will usually be operated by a Bombardier Q400.

The delegation was greeted by Budapest Airport's Jost Lammers Chief Executive Officer and Kam Jandu Director of Aviation, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Budapest and the Latvian Ambassador to Hungary. HNTO, which supported the launch, was also present in the welcoming commitee. The aircraft was greeted with a traditional water cannon salute, complemented by a ribbon and cake cutting ceremony to celebrate the new arrival.

Jost Lammers, CEO of Budapest Airport said: "It is always a very good feeling to celebrate a new flight inauguration, this occasion is especially exciting as Latvia and the Baltic region has been missing from Budapest Airport's route network. Senior personnel from airBaltic and Budapest Airport have been working on the opening of this new flight for almost two years and I'm sure this destination will be very popular among travellers to the Baltics and Northern Europe. We are very proud that airBaltic - the biggest airline in the Baltic countries - has chosen Budapest as it's new destination."

The Budapest Tourism Office welcomed passengers of airBaltic's Riga flight personally at Budapest Airport. The passengers were greeted with a special promotion; 20% off the Budapest Card, which provides incentives including free public transport, free and discounted museum entries, discounted city walking tours and many more. The Budapest Cards are available at the tourist information desks in each terminal at Budapest Airport.

The new flights will provide passengers travelling via Budapest with improved transit connections to destinations in Scandinavia, Russia and the CIS. Lead-in fares for economy tickets start from just 49 Euros for a one way fare; airBaltic is also offering the commercial traveller a business class service. Tickets can be purchased via the airBaltic website - www.airbaltic.com.

About Budapest Airport:Budapest Airport Zrt. operates Budapest Airport. This is a public private partnership with the Hungarian State holding 25% and the remaining 75 percent owned by German company HOCHTIEF AirPort, one of the world's biggest independent airport managers, together with a further four financial investors: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Montreal; GIC Special Investments, Singapore; and KfW IPEX-Bank, Frankfurt. In July 2008, Aero Investment S.á.r.l. became a new shareholder.

Through its BUD Future project Budapest Airport aims to be the aviation hub of the CEE region. Leading projects include:

SkyCourt - a new centrally located building which formally opened on 27 March 2011, and links the existing terminals 2a and 2b. The contemporary glass structure offers an impressive view of the apron and aims to provide passengers with a unique travel experience.

Cargo City - New on-airport cargo facilities will feature 140.000sqm of cargo and logistics terminals designed for airlines, handlers and integrators.

Budapest Airport incorporates two terminals. Terminal 1 is a dedicated low cost carrier terminal and Terminal 2 services the traditional carriers. The airport is also the base for Malev, Hungary's national airline and part of the One World alliance and is home to a further 32 airlines, serving over 92 destinations which represents 40 countries worldwide.

For images please go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/budaviation/AirBaltic16052011#

www.bud.hu