Blue Air
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| Founded | 2004 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 2004 | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Hubs | Henri Coandă International Airport | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Turin Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | My Blue | ||||||
| Fleet size | 25 | ||||||
| Destinations | 48 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bucharest, Romania | ||||||
| Key people | Gheorghe Răcaru, CEO | ||||||
| Website | blueairweb.com | ||||||
Blue Air is a Romanian airline headquartered in Bucharest,[1] with its main hubs at Henri Coandă International Airport and Turin Airport.[2] In 2015, the airline carried over two million passengers, and as of May 2016, Blue Air flies to 48 destinations in 12 European countries.
History
Blue Air started its operations in December 2004. In its early years, although largely focusing on international flights, Blue Air also operated domestic Bucharest-Timișoara and Bucharest-Cluj flights, though these were soon discontinued due to low demand and competition from TAROM as well as Căile Ferate Române, the Romanian rail company. Due to the growing economy and increase in air travel, Blue Air resumed its domestic operations in 2015 starting with Bucharest-Iasi flights, followed by several new routes in 2016 between major Romanian cities, including Cluj-Napoca, Oradea and Timisoara.
On 12 April 2013, Blue Air's management announced that the airline was for sale.[3] On the 17 May 2013, the company was purchased by four Romanian shareholders, and BlueAir Transport Aerian SA's flight operations were transferred to Blue Air - Airline Management Solution SRL, a company that bailed the business out with EUR 30 million.
The airline transported 1.5 million passengers in 2014, an increase from the 1.35 million passengers in 2013.[4] In 2015, the airline transported for the first time more than 2 million passengers.[5] With a total of 25 new routes announced for 2016, the airline forecasts carrying close to three million passengers in 2016.[6]
Blue Air became a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on 19 January 2016.[7] Furthermore, Blue Air received the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification in December 2015,[8] and is a member of the ICH (IATA Clearing House).[9]
The company had a turnover of €203 million in 2015.[10]
Operations
Bases
Blue Air has used Bucharest as its primary hub for most of its history. Initially, the airline's hub was located at Aurel Vlaicu International Airport until the airport became overcrowded and was increasingly surrounded by urban development, thus leading to the airport's closure for commercial airlines in 2012. Officially the airport was not closed, but the operating taxes for airlines were suddenly increased until no airline could afford them.[11] As a result, all airlines moved their operations to Bucharest's largest airport, Henri Coandă International Airport. Blue Air now uses this airport as its primary hub.
The secondary hub is Turin Airport in Italy from November 2014. The total number of destinations to and from Turin are 15.
The third operating base for Blue Air is located at Bacău International Airport. BlueAir Transport Aerian SA (the original owner) managed to get a concession contract for 50 years of private administration of the airport. BlueAero was the secondary company that held the contract. The airport needed urgent investments which the company promised to complete, but not even 10% of those promised investments were realised in the following two years. In Blue Air is now the only airline operating from the airport. TAROM and Carpatair had domestic and international flights from here, but were discontinued.
Blue Air's bases also include Larnaca International Airport (2 aircraft based) in Cyprus and Iasi International Airport (2 aircraft based), the primary international gateway for the north-eastern part of Romania, serving a catchment area of over 3.7 million people
Destinations
Blue Air has been operating for 11 years and now offers flights to over 70 scheduled destinations in Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, under its own brand and with the slogan “Follow your dreams and fly”, Blue Air operates charter flights on behalf of leading tour operators and holiday destinations throughout Europe and West Asia, mainly the Mediterranean region
Starting on 25 October 2015 the company has also inaugurated daily scheduled domestic flights. Daily services are currently being provided between Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Oradea and Timisoara.[12]
Fleet
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As of August 2016, the Blue Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:[13][14]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 3 | — | var 136 - 148 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 9 | — | var 150 - 170 | |
| Boeing 737-500 | 6 | — | var 120 - 126 | |
| Boeing 737-700 | 1 | — | 144 | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 6 | — | 189 | |
| Total | 25 |
In the past, Blue Air also operated Saab 2000 and Saab 340 aircraft, the latter one leased from Direct Aero Services.
Accidents and incidents
- On 7 January 2016, a Blue Air Boeing 737-400, registration YR-BAS performing charter flight 0B-9301 from Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (Romania) to Barcelona (Spain) was supposed to land at Cluj International Airport (Romania) to pick up several passengers. While landing, with 110 passengers and 6 crew, on Cluj's runway 25 at 08:02L (06:02Z), the plane overran the end of the runway by about 10 meters (32 feet) and came to a stop with all gears on the paved surface of the runway end safety area. No injuries occurred, the aircraft sustained no damage. The passengers disembarked normally via mobile stairs and were bused to the terminal.[15][16] Cluj-Napoca International Airport was closed for cca. 3 hours due to the incident.
See also
References
- ↑ "Contact." Blue Air. Retrieved on 26 December 2010. "Romania, Bucharest, Sector 1, Buzesti,l street 71, 5th floor, Tax reg no 16091846"
- ↑ "Contact." Blue Air. Retrieved on 7 September 2010.
- ↑ http://www.mediafax.ro/economic/compania-aeriana-blue-air-scoasa-la-vanzare-10735346
- ↑ http://newsair.ro/blue-air-estimeaza-ca-a-transportat-15-milioane-de-pasageri-in-2014.html
- ↑ "Peste 2 milioane de pasageri transportati de Blue Air in 2015". T2T.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2015-12-27.
- ↑ Blue Air "suflă" în ceafa TAROM (Romanian)
- ↑ Blue Air joins IATA
- ↑ "Blue Air a primit certificarea IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)".
- ↑ IATA Clearing House Members List
- ↑ http://www.economica.net/afacerile-blue-air-au-depasit-pentru-prima-data-pragul-de-200-de-milioane-de-euro-in-2015_120586.html
- ↑ http://www.zf.ro/companii/inchiderea-aeroportului-baneasa-dezvaluie-o-comoara-imobiliara-de-un-miliard-de-euro-9369706
- ↑ "Bucuresti – Iasi cu Blue Air".
- ↑ https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Blue-Air
- ↑ Blue Air at airfleets.net
- ↑ "Incident: Blue B734 at Cluj on Jan 7th 2016, runway excursion on landing". Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Blue Air plane slips off the runway at Romania's Cluj airport". Retrieved January 9, 2016.
External links
Media related to Blue Air at Wikimedia Commons
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