airBaltic to open new routes to Scandinavia

The Latvian airline airBaltic will offer several new routes to regional centres in Scandinavia during the summer season of 2008 – Billund in Denmark, Ålesund in Norway and Kuopio in Finland. The first flight from Riga to Kuopio will be on April 17, the first to Ålesund – on April 20, and the first to Billund – on May 1.

airBaltic President and CEO Bertolt Flick: “Over the last several years airBaltic has worked very successfully in developing routes to capital cities. Now the time has come to focus on regional centres in Scandinavia, to make use of the potential of travellers in those regions, too.”

Nonstop flights from Riga to Kuopio will initially be offered three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The flights will be offered on Fokker 50 aircraft and will last for 2 hours and 5 minutes. One-way ticket prices will start at LVL 26, including airport fees and transaction costs.

Nonstop flights from Riga to Billund will be offered twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. The flights will be offered on Boeing 737-500 aircraft and will last for 1 hour and 50 minutes. One-way ticket prices will start at LVL 26, including airport fees and transaction costs.

Flights from Riga to Ålesund will be offered twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. The flights will be offered on Boeing 737-500 aircraft and will last for 2 hours and 5 minutes. One-way ticket prices will start at LVL 26, including airport fees and transaction costs.

Ålesund is a Norwegian port city with unique Art Nouveau architecture. The presence of the Atlantic Ocean is an attraction, too, and Ålesund boasts an ocean park with one of the largest aquariums in Northern Europe. On an island not far from Ålesund, visitors can find one of the largest caves in the country – the Dollstein cave.

Billund is an excellent destination for families with children, because it is home to Legoland – a park made of more than 45 million Lego blocks. The Givskud zoo and safari park with more than 1,000 animals is located just 17 kilometres from Billund.

Kuopio offers families the water entertainment and leisure centre Rauhalahti, as well as a zoo. Visitors will enjoy the mosaic of blue Finnish lakes which can be surveyed from the 75-metre television tower. Cruises on the lake are available. Local vintners will demonstrate their skills and offer wine tastings, too.