AirBaltic to Name Plane After Lewd Czech Slang Term

After an overwhelming online response, Latvian airline AirBaltic will name 48 of its Airbus A220-300 planes after Baltic cities, determined by an online fan poll. One of these names, however, has received great demand for its name alone.

Kunda A Big Deal

In 2025, AirBaltic will name 48 planes after cities found in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. One of the choices, however, has garnered the attention of Czech Republic online users, as it's actually considered a lewd term in the Czech language.

Voters unanimously voted Kunda as one of the names for AirBaltic's planes. In the Czech language, it's an inappropriate slang saying alluding to a woman's inguinal area.

Kunda is a town in Estonia with a population around 3,000. The town originally got its name from the Kunda culture that was prevalent in Northern Europe thousands of years ago.

The poll from AirBaltic took place online from August 5 to 22 during the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way, a peaceful political movement that involved two million people forming a near 700-kilometer chain across the three Baltic states at the time, declaring sovereignty from the Soviet Union on August 23, 1989.

The rules specifically state that any visitor from any country could vote, making it easy for international users to access the web page and vote in the fan poll. Users could also cast votes once per day during this time span.

Results are reporting that Kunda was the overwhelming favorite with over 265,000 votes. The second most-popular town in the ballot was Püssi, an Estonian town of less than 1,000, with nearly 17,000 votes. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, rounded out the top three with around 9,000 votes. The Baltic Times has reported that more than a million votes were cast overall.
 

An Enthusiastic CEO

While AirBaltic did not specifically mention the involvement of Czech visitors or the reception of Kunda, the company is said to be extremely pleased with the amount of voter participation. 

CEO and president of Air Baltic Martin Gauss had this to say after the 48 names were revealed:

"We are delighted by the overwhelming enthusiasm and engagement this contest generated...By naming our aircraft after cities in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, we honor this event and strengthen the connection among nations. It is a privilege to have our fleet carry the names of these cities worldwide, showcasing our unity and pride."

With no apparent objections, it seems like the Kunda name will stay, with some social media users advising the airline to station the Kunda plane on routes between Riga, Latvia and Prague, Czech Republic.

What do you think of this online poll? Did AirBaltic make a mistake or are they willing to embrace a part of their history despite the attention of lighthearted Czechs? As always, leave us a comment down below to voice your thoughts.