‍DALLAS — On February 20, airBaltic (BT) became the launch customer for Starlink connectivity in Europe. The morning after the demo flight, I returned to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) on board the airline’s A220-300.

airBaltic serves the Dutch capital with two daily, non-stop flights from Riga (RIX). Flight BT617 is the first to leave in the morning, followed by BT619 in the afternoon. The airline also flies its A220s to Amsterdam from Lithuania’s Vilnius (VNO) and Estonia’s capital Tallinn (TLL).

In 2016, Riga-Amsterdam saw the introduction of the Airbus A220-300 for the first time on a commercial route. BT is the largest customer of the type and plans to operate up to 100 units before the end of the decade.

Recently, the airline welcomed its 50th A220-300, which features a special livery dedicated to Latvia’s flag.

I arrived at the airport around two hours before departure. On this flight, I had the pleasure of being hosted by BT as part of the media plan for the Starlink event. The airline provided me with today's business class ticket and lounge access. 

At the check-in gate, I asked to be seated in the window seat, not knowing I would spend most of my time in the aircraft’s cockpit.

Similarly to priority security, the dedicated business class check-in took a few minutes. I then headed to the lounge for a quick breakfast before arriving quite late at gate C3 for boarding.

A large queue had already formed, so I decided to sit down and board last, not taking advantage of my priority boarding.

All Aboard

Today’s aircraft is YL-AAR, a 5.8-year-old A220-300. Interestingly, it was parked immediately next to YL-CSL, airBaltic’s first aircraft equipped with Starlink.

Once on board, I headed to seat 1F on the left side of the cabin. The aircraft is equipped with 145 seats in the traditional 2-3 layout. At the front, the business class section is divided by a tiny curtain, which can be moved depending on the load factor. 

Only three people were flying in business class today, including myself. After boarding, I received the printed menu with the breakfast offering and the drink list, which was a lovely and rare touch in Europe.

The bulkhead seat offers plenty of legroom. The tray table is stored in the armrest, and the in-flight magazine is in a pocket in front. Each row is equipped with an LCD screen featuring in-flight information and promotional videos of BT’s destinations.

This somewhat reminded me of the information on board Alitalia’s old Boeing 767s, which did not feature individual in-flight-entertainment (IFE) monitors.

The cabin crew asked us for our choice of welcome drink, and as they noticed me filming and taking pictures, we started talking about the Starlink launch. 

Before pushing back and heading to runway 18, the cabin manager asked me if, after take-off, I would have liked to join the pilots in the cockpit for the remainder of the flight, to which I happily said yes. 

We took off slightly behind schedule, and I could enjoy the beautiful views of snowy Latvia from my seat. Breakfast service started shortly after; however, I was already quite full from the lounge experience, so I skipped the meal.

The Best Office in the World

Once in the cockpit, we spoke with the captain and first officer about the new Starlink product and a plethora of aviation topics, spanning from BT to other airlines and aircraft. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat; it reminded me of the passion many individuals put into our day-to-day aviation jobs.

I had only been inside the A220 cockpit at the 2022 Farnborough Airshow, where BT showcased its aircraft. I had no active memories of the aircraft, and the cockpit felt as large as the one on board a widebody aircraft. 

The jump seat gave me an incredible view of the ongoing operations, and I could easily change the camera and lenses throughout the flight to record and take pictures properly.

The weather was mostly cloudy for the whole flight, and we talked more about the A220 capabilities with the pilots. They guided me through interesting switches, such as the control priority and emergency descent. 

The large screens make this glass cockpit feel modern and elegant, and all the information can be displayed according to the flight’s phase. We were soon flying above the Netherlands, where the weather improved. I could see for tens of kilometers as we flew above Groningen.

Large onshore and offshore wind farms accompanied us on our descent, which took us above North Holland, Amsterdam’s region. We followed a China Southern Boeing 777F to line up for AMS’ runway 18C.

The pilots prepared our landing, which included Rotterdam-The Hague (RTM) as an alternate airport. Once above the Dutch city of Alkmaar, we turned left to intercept the ILS.

I noticed one of my favorite aircraft, KLM’s (KL) Boeing 787-10 aircraft with the special 100-year sticker, lining up next to us for runway 18R. The early morning light made the parallel approach even more unique, as the first officer disconnected the autopilot for the final part of our approach.

After a smooth touchdown, we parked at a remote gate in Amsterdam Schiphol, which made our taxi time incredibly short for Amsterdam’s standards. 

Here, another BT aircraft joined us as passengers started to disembark. I thanked the cabin crew again for allowing me in the cockpit before leaving the aircraft. 

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