Trip Report: Riga (RIX) to Dubai (DXB)
Hello everyone, Here’s a quick rundown of my latest flight from Riga to Dubai clocking in as the 10th longest Airbus A220 route at 6 hours and 40 minutes.
Flight Details:
- Airline: airBaltic (BT)
- Flight Number: BT 791
- Aircraft: Airbus A220-300 (YL-ABA, 4 years old)
- Departure: Riga International Airport (RIX; EVRA)
- Arrival: Dubai International Airport (DXB; OMDB)
- Flight Time: 6 hours 40 minutes
- Schedule: 12:05 AM → 7:55 AM (Local Time)
Pre-Flight
The day kicked off at the stand at Riga International. My ride? A 4-year-old A220 registered YL-ABA, with 115 passengers onboard. After a quick briefing with the co-pilot, we were set to go.
We pushed back 2 minutes early and lined up for departure on Runway 36. At 12:23 AM, the engines spooled up, and off we went, climbing out of Riga and heading southbound for the long haul to Dubai.
Cruise
Cruising at FL300, the A220 handled the long trip well. The flight was smooth, with clear skies most of the way. It was just keeping an eye on the systems and enjoying the view. Passengers were calm, and the cabin crew had things running smoothly.
Approach and Landing
After just over 6 hours, we began prepping for descent into Dubai. The cruise was clear, but that luxury didn’t extend to final as visibility dropped to 3 SM. With the help of the ILS, we were lined up nicely and touched down on Runway 30L at 7:49 AM local time.
From there, it was a short taxi to the stand, where we shut down the engines, switched to APU, and handed things off to the ground crew. Watching them work was always a satisfying end to a long flight, as they hustled to get the plane ready for the return leg.
That’s it for this trip! Flying the A220 on a scenic route like this is always fun, away from the larger jets typically associated with the medium to long haul range. Let me know what you think!
