cryptocurrency payment

The national carrier began accepting crypto payments in 2014.

Passengers flying with Latvian airline airBaltic now have more cryptocurrency payment options.

According to an announcement on the airline’s website on Monday, passengers can now pay for flight tickets using Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Other accepted digital currencies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and four U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins: USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Paxos Standard (PAX).

The airline began accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments back in July 2014. Indeed, the Latvian national carrier is touted as being the first airline in the world to offer cryptocurrency payment options.

As part of its announcement, airBaltic clarified that despite accepting crypto payments, ticket prices are not denominated in the supported cryptocurrencies. The prices are displayed in euros, with cryptocurrency payment gateway service BitPay handling the conversion of digital currency payments to fiat upon ticket purchase.

Commenting on the airline’s decision to expand its supported crypto payment options, airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss stated:

“As an innovative airline, we always strive to search for ways to improve the customer experience starting from the booking process. Over the years around 1,000 clients have used the payment option, which may not seem like a lot, but still offers passengers a unique payment option hard to find elsewhere.”

Crypto adoption is gaining momentum in the travel and hospitality industry with travel agencies, airlines and hotels allowing customers to make bookings using cryptocurrencies.

Crypto-friendly travel agencies like Travala boast an extensive network of supported airlines and hotels that accept digital currency payments.

Apart from flight tickets and bookings, the aviation industry is also deploying blockchain technology for a variety of use cases. The need for digitalization amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic seems to have also encouraged a greater focus on utilizing the emerging tech.

Back in February, Air France announced a pilot scheme that would involve using a blockchain-based system for verifying the COVID-19 test results of passengers.