Touchdown of Airbus A320-200 G-EUUE on October 29th 2023 marked the first British Airways flight between London and Riga in over 15 years. An important moment for the British flag carrier and the airport of the Latvian capital. Why is it important for the airline and the airport and how will the flight operate in the BA network and schedule. Let’s take a deep dive into this all.
- Why Is The Flight Important For Riga And British Airways
- How Will BA’s New London Heathrow to Riga Flight Operate?
- Which Plane Will Operate The Flight?
Why Is The Flight Important For Riga And British Airways
The flight is important for British Airways as it marks the re-entry of the carrier into the Latvian aviation market. For the last 15 years the carrier hadn’t offered any flights between London Heathrow and Riga. The social and economic landscape of the baltic country has changed dramatically since then. BA suspended flights just as the world entered the 2008 economic crisis when less people where keen on travelling.
Now though there are more travellers making their way in and out of the country therefore offering flights to a market which has been attracting investment and had sustained GDP growth makes a whole lot of sense. Also Riga has become a quite important aviation hub for the baltic states as it is home to the very successful Air Baltic.
For Riga Airport (RIX) and Latvia this new flight translates to the possibility of accessing the vast BA network to over 65 countries in the world via London Heathrow (LHR).
How Will BA’s New London Heathrow to Riga Flight Operate?
The flight launched on October 29th 2023, therefore is already available for booking and travel. However regarding the scheduling and the operations of this new, returning, flight here’s how it’ll work and operate.
Initially the airline will operate 3 weekly frequencies between London Heathrow and Riga with flights available every:
- Tuesday
- Thursday
- Sunday
As for the schedule of the flight here’s what it’ll look like for the foreseeable future:
| Days of Week | Flight Number | Departure Airport | Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Code | Arrival Time | Flight Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Tuesday Sunday | BA880 | London Heathrow | LHR | 07:55 | Riga | RIX | 11:50 | 1hr 55min |
| BA881 | Riga | RIX | 12:35 | London Heathrow | LHR | 14:30 | 1hr 55min | |
| Friday | BA880 | London Heathrow | LHR | 07:30 | Riga | RIX | 11:25 | 1hr 55min |
| BA881 | Riga | RIX | 12:10 | London Heathrow | LHR | 14:05 | 1hr 55min |
Which Plane Will Operate The Flight?
The plane for the flight is and will be the British Airways A320 family of jets. Specifically the carrier will be utilising the A320 and A321 planes in its fleet to connect the two cities. Flight from London Heathrow to Riga will offer 2 classes of travel, albeit with the European version of business class. That means a 1 class cabin with the middle seat blocked off in business class.
Both aircraft types offer 6 seats abreast in a 3-3 layout with a capacity of 180 passengers on the A320 and and 220 on the A321.
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