Bombardier Commercial Aircraft delivered the first CS300 aircraft to launch operator Air Baltic Corporation AS (airBaltic), the flag carrier of Latvia, on 28th November. The CS300 is the larger variant of the C Series regional jet, which is designed to carry between 130 and 150 passengers.

The handover to airBaltic comes just five months after the successful entry into service of the smaller CS100 to SWISS, where it will gradually replace the carrier's existing Avro RJ100 fleet. SWISS has ordered 15 CS100s and 15 CS300s.

The maiden commercial flight of airBaltic’s first CS300 aircraft, which will take passengers from Riga to Amsterdam, is scheduled for December 14, 2016. The carrier has ordered a total of 20 CS300s. They will feature a two-class cabin layout with seats for 145 passengers.

Established in 1995, airBaltic connects the Baltic region with 60 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. airBaltic is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state. Its fleet currently consists of 12 Boeing 737s and 12 Bombardier Q400 turboprops.