FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Latvian-based Air Baltic says a deal by Airbus (>> Airbus SE) to invest in Bombardier (>> Bombardier, Inc.) is positive news for it as a customer of the Canadian company’s CSeries jet, but hopes it won’t affect the pricing of a planned new order.

Air Baltic is currently flying the larger variant of the CSeries, the CS300, having ordered 20 of them.

"We took the decision in 2012 not to take the (Airbus) A319, but to go for the CS300 and now Airbus confirmed that it was the right decision," CEO Martin Gauss told Reuters of the sidelines of an A4E event in Brussels.

"It means we have a stronger partner in the back now, so for us it’s very positive."

Air Baltic is also in talks for a further 14 CS300 jets plus options to replace its turboprop planes, and Gauss said he hoped the Airbus deal would not alter the purchase price, with talks already at an advanced stage.

"Our potential order is there and I hope we don’t have to completely change the evaluation of whether it is a good step because we are replacing our turboprops with it. I hope they respect what we have done so far," Gauss said.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing Arno Schuetze)

Stocks treated in this article : Airbus SE, Bombardier, Inc.