airBaltic Reviews 899

So first the good things: flights left as expected and were almost puntual. Boarding, booking everything was uncomplicated. Staff is friendly. There were no problems.

But only two stars for the horrible unstable seats. It feels like you‘re sitting on wooden seats from the medival ages. One of my flights was in the middle of the night and I was sooo uncomfortable, didn‘t sleep one minute. There is also super little space, so hard to move around with your bags.

Tried to change my flight date and airBaltic wanted to charge me 293€, even though the exact same new ticket costs 223€.
How does that make any sense?
It feels like they don’t care about customers at all — just pushing people to pay more. Very disappointed.

Air Baltic lost my case. I then waited in all day for my case to be delivered. It didn’t show up. I called DPD who told me that Air Baltic didn’t add my address details for the courier. So now I need to wait in another day. Two days of my five day holiday, ruined because of Air Baltic. I have no medicine, no clothes, nothing! I am so angry.

Terrible customer service!

During the boarding for the flight the personell asked everyone to put their handluggage on the scale. They did not ask anyone before us to put other than their suitcase on the scale. People had handbags/backpacks in addition to a suitcase. When it was our turn they asked only my husband to put his backpack in addition to the suitcase on the scale. They did not ask anyone else to do this and as it was a bit over 8kg and they charged 30€ for that. Other people went to the plane with multiple bags without any charging or were not asked to put their other bags on the scale. When we asked about this we got no answer why only my husbands luggage was checked like this. It feels unfair because I think everyones luggage should be checked the same way and treated equally.

This is the worst airline company I have ever flown with. They harass you for 30 euros if your hand luggage (purse plus carry on suitcase) is heavier (even just a gram heavier) than 8 kilos COMBINED - even though you have paid for extra check in luggage and have not checked in any luggage. Every single person having both a purse and a carry on suitcase will have a combined weight more than 8 kilos. It is very misleading that you can select a ticket type costing extra where both backpack/purse and small luggage is allowed, when they slam you with even more extra money when you check in. The information is very poorly communicated in advance. In addition the personnel is really rude and horrible. One of the employees of the airline company told me to just leave the luggage in the airport if I had a problem with the 30 euros fee. «No problem, if you don’t feel it is fair to pay extra you can just say goodbye to all your belongings». In the end it turned out I didn’t have to pay the extra fee after all, as I hadn’t checked anything in - which I had told them multiple times and they dismissed. It feels like they are trying to trick us to pay 30 euros. The process of weighing every single hand luggage during boarding takes a very long time and delays take off. I will never ever - EVER - travel with AirBaltic again. Seriously, avoid this company if possible. It’s a scam and they are fine with abusing customers verbally. Hard to describe how sad this experience has been.

Absolutely rude staff from check-in to boarding. They arrive late without a notice then move as slow as possible with pride and creating the longest line in the airport as if it’s in the employee hand book.

Arriving 3 hours prior to the Riga Airport and still making your flight is risky at best…

Small, cramped, and uncomfortable seats all enhanced the unpleasant experience of poor hygiene practices of fellow traveler's.

You pay for water and coffee as if you are buying an expensive cognac. Then you pandered to buy perfumes and overpriced products moments after that bitter instant coffee you just paid for.

The one bright light is they do proudly provide free Star Link in flight wi-fi. Be aware though, this free service will drain a fully charged new Apple phone battery during the hour and a half flight like nothing. Fortunately for your average traveler, the flight attendants patrol the isle ways reprimanding them for charging their phones while in flight. Yeah, I forgot to mention there are no charging stations/ports on the plane.

With an inexcusable late departure we arrive to the next destination fashionable late ensuing passengers get in their exercise running to their connecting flight.

Basically, it’s Ryan Air, but worse.

This airline is terrible. My Air Baltic flight from Vilnius to Lisbon arrived late, which caused me to miss my connecting flight from Lisbon to Porto. As a result, I was forced to stay overnight in Lisbon and had to cover the cost of accommodation at a hotel. Upon contacting the airline a refund was denied. I'm proceeding with a formal complain through offical channels.
Moreover during the flight the crew declined to serve me food (paid) as they were on a break while they were serving in business class.

Nice new planes, but as all other reviews noted, also experienced this random 8kg combined personal item policy and was charged 30 eur for having 9kg in Riga. Yeah they are going to say their rules state it's gotta be 8kg online, but only cheapstakes go for dalaying plane departures and charging 1 kg over, so if possible will avoid in the future.

Edit: yeah, no - 1 kg has nothing to do with safety. I can take out a winter jacket out of the bag, put it on and then it's suddenly safe? Stop it. You know it's a predatory tactic when 30% of plane gets charged and when it's not done by other star alliance companies that has identical weight rules.

Avoid this airline if you can!
They left our luggage behind and it took 2 days to get to us! They could have put it on an earlier flight but claimed they couldn't because of baggage restrictions. I checked and the flight wasn't full so it could have come on an earlier one! The customer service was pathetic and they wouldn't even cover the minimal costs of us having to buy essentials because of their delay.

Weight bags of every pasesenger. Poor service on the board. Asks for the ticket for preordered meal….aks documents for purchase with card….i feeled like in jail and needed to ask what can i do and what cant

Been at the airport in Riga 2hours before flight. Gate was c6 all the time. Was near the c6 at least 30min before boarding. Never heard one announsment for our flight.. nothing. The boarding time came and went. Nothing. Other people also waiting. All of the sudden someone said the gate has been moved to B9 and it was time for final calls!!! Not a single annousment regardin gate change or our flight mentioned!
Luckily we made it to the plane, but won't be using AirBaltic never again!!!

I arrived at Riga Airport for my scheduled AirBaltic flight to Amsterdam, traveling with my two emotional support dogs.
My confirmed booking clearly included 12 kg of hand luggage. The check-in employee refused to acknowledge it, insisting the limit was 8 kg and declining to verify the booking in the system — even after I showed proof on my reservation.

For over an hour and a half, I went between multiple counters trying to check in. I remained calm and cooperative while asking staff to verify the information, yet none did. Every employee repeated the same incorrect claim instead of checking the booking properly. As a direct result, I was not checked in on time and missed my flight.

I had to rebook everything myself, which cost approximately €800.
After the incident, I contacted AirBaltic with full documentation, including my booking confirmation and correspondence. I also reached out to Riga Airport, which officially confirmed that this incident took place on their premises and that I was in a state of visible high distress while repeatedly trying to resolve the situation.

Despite that confirmation, AirBaltic still dismissed my complaint and took no responsibility for the financial or emotional consequences caused by their employee’s error.

This was not a misunderstanding — it was a clear example of negligence, unprofessional conduct, and refusal to acknowledge evidence.
The entire issue could have been avoided if one staff member had simply checked the system instead of insisting on misinformation.

If you expect competence, empathy, or any sense of accountability, AirBaltic will disappoint you.
In their world, the passenger is always wrong — even when the facts prove otherwise….

I formally complain about an unfair and inconsistent baggage policy enforcement at the gate.

At boarding, only a few passengers had their cabin luggage weighed, while the majority were allowed through without any checks, despite visibly exceeding cabin baggage size or weight limits. When I asked the staff why only certain passengers were being checked, I received no explanation, and staff remained silent. This lack of transparency and inconsistent enforcement is both unfair and unprofessional.

Passengers expect equal treatment under airline policies. If baggage restrictions are to be enforced, they should apply to all passengers equally, not selectively.

Company scams you of baggage charges. They made me pay for my carry on bag on an international connection even though I had paid for a checked bag on my ticket and would have checked my bag instead. Late contacted Customer service who just pushed standard language without understanding that I was charged for something I had already paid for.

This airline is shit. The flight got delayed because of greedy emplyees weighing EVERYBODY's bags and taking a fee for their bullshit commission. The company should really take a hard look at the employees and the standards of the company

I am travelling by plane since 2011 as an European sales manager. That’s the first time ever I am seen a lady checking the weight of every luggage before we can get into the plane. A special boarding attention. They invoice 30€ of you are above 8kg ! Basically if you travel with a cabin luggage and a laptop you are above. 11kg on the balance… so 10€ per kg ! That’s what Airbaltic is doing. Run away from this company. No need to tell me to read the rules before flying, you have catched 50 people today and the only reason was to make good money on our back. That’s a shame

Few month ago I flew from Amsterdam to Riga, had booked more baggage allowance 46 kg total. It didn’t say clearly that it shall be 2X 23 the highest. My first bag was 18 kg and second 27 kg. I put my first bag, check in agent send it away before I have put the second bag on the scale. He told me either I shall pay or take something out. I was not aware and wait that I’d rather put from one to the other bag. But the first was gone. So agent was also bit rood. At the end they sent my bags but my second bag arrived 2 days later to the place I stayed.
I would have never said anything about this experience but another happened few days ago from Riga to Amsterdam.
I had again 2 big bags to check in. None of them exceeded 20 kg. But my hand baggage had to be put on a scale. I had only my electronic devices , book to reed, neck holder, bit water and some snacks. They all was in total around 11 kg. Check in agent asked me to remove something- to put my laptop in check in bag. Again I was speechless about the way they treat customers especially if I already book flex class for more baggage, which didn’t even reach the weight. The service provided by air Baltic airline is low class and really not even close to hospitality. So I’m disappointed of this airline. I’ve been traveling with different airlines including exclusive and budget. No wonder I can’t read any good reviews.
Experience in the airplane, crew and flight duration, was good though. Thank you for that.
Kris

My flight was delayed two hours. When passengers went to gate, no apology or explanation. I asked a young man of theirs why not. He said, as if talking to idiot, Why should we say we are sorry? It's not our fault.

This young man clearly knows as little of the English language as of compassion and sympathy. Another ground attendant also had this sneering attitude toward me.

You can see on this website where they get it from--as the saying goes, the fish stinks from the head. Very condescending, sneering "answers," including one person who snootily corrected the reviewer's spelling in the answer.

So, please, airB, do not reply to me, do not advise me to contact your "Customer Service" (ie, Drop Dead) Department as in your other identical replies. If you have any decency, quit your nasty job and go home and learn some manners.

I am writing to complain on your baggage policy. I took the flight in reference to return to my place after flying to Lithuania from Rome with another airline. I had my luggages weighted in Vilnius, my trolley was below 8 kg but, due to your rule that also the bag had to be weighted, I finally had to pay 30 euros for the extra weight. I find your policy not correct if not even just a methodology to get some extra money from the passenger since: 1) You are the only airline that combine trolley and bag to the max weight. 2) if you travel with two different companies and the first company does not apply your silly rule, and you travel back with air Baltic there are no solution to stay below the 8 kg, especially if you buy souvenirs like I did. 3) I was on a business trip paid by the Lithuanian government that will not pay for the extra weight. 4) at the second flight from Riga to Vilnius no baggage check was performed by your staff. Finally I think this rule is just a trick that you use randomly to get some extra money from the passenger. I formally complain against you and your baggage policy and I ask for a reimbursement. In case of negative reply I will post in all the social media extremely negative review of air baltic and I will suggest to my travel companion to do the same. Sergio santon

What Went Wrong with my departure from TLL via RIX to VNO.
I paid the ticket which includes a 23 kg checked bag and a cabin trolley 8kg.
At TLL aieport, the check-in agent weighed my checked in bag as 16 kg and my cabin bag as 9 kg, totaling 25 kg. I was traveling as flight crew POS back from duty from different airline,and had with me a laptop, a tablet, and one uniform, which is mandatory for me to carry as company items in cabin bag.

The check-in agent did not warn me of potential problems at the gate and have not suggested I could relocate items as they have strict rule. At the first boarding gate there were no issues or measurements. When I arrived at RIX for my next flight to VNO, I simply remained in the departure area as there were no measurements at that moment as my arriving gate was same to depart for connecting flight to VNO.

When boarding began, they started weighing. I had only one cabin bag (9 kg), and the agent said I needed to pay. I asked what I had to pay for, since I had already paid for check-in and the trolley. He said I exceeded the limit by 1 kg. I explained that I had only a uniform, the company tablet, and the company laptop, which I could put aside if necessary; my bag weighed 6.5 kg when I boarded. A supervisor or the agent behind him stated that I could not board because that weight would be carried onto the aircraft.

I was shocked. I explained that I had only in my checked in bag 16kg ch
and a 9 kg cabin bag, totaling 25 kg, which is less what I paid for (31 kg). I insisted that the 9 kg cabin bag and 16 kg checked bag were within my paid allowance. They said I was 1 kg over, and insisted I pay. I asked to join my checked bag with my carry-on, explaining I am crew. They then told me to stand to the side because I am crew.

A woman checked my ticket and claimed I lied; she said we were offloading you. I was stunned and asked, “What is going on?” She even called security. I have never experienced security involvement over a weight discrepancy before. I tried to explain that my weight was within what I paid for, and I was boarding the same aircraft with my 16 kg checked bag and 9 kg cabin bag, totaling 25 kg, for which I had paid 31 kg.

They said I could not board the plane unless I paid €30. I paid the surcharge as other passengers did, but I believe this is fraud. The TLL staff did not warn me at all, and we were allowed to proceed with AirBaltic earlier. In Riga, the flight was delayed, and I felt abused; as crew, my balance and the weight policy should be corrected by air Baltic . This experience is absurd; I have never encountered an airline treating people with such a lack of logic or sense and overcharging.

AirBaltic should apologize to their passengers for this mismanagement and for not communicating the policy clearly at check-in. Honestly, I felt disgusted by the conduct at the Latvia airport. There was no clear alternative option, even though I had the kg included in my paid package. The 1 kg overage led to an additional €30 charge.