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| Founded | 2002 | |||
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| Hubs | Sofia Airport | |||
| Focus cities | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | FLYMORE | |||
| Airport lounge | Vitosha Lounge Sofia Business Lounge Sofia VIP Lounge Sofia |
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| Subsidiaries | Hemus Air | |||
| Fleet size | 16 (+7 Orders) | |||
| Destinations | 32 | |||
| Parent company | Balkan Hemus Group EAD | |||
| Headquarters | Sofia Airport Sofia, Bulgaria |
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| Key people | ||||
| Website | www.air.bg | |||
Bulgaria Air (Bulgarian: България Ер), is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, with its head office on the grounds of Sofia Airport in Sofia.[1] The company is owned by Chimimport Inc and is a leader in terms of market share. In 2008, according to the company's Annual Report, Bulgaria Air had 1,185,430 passengers. Bulgaria Air’s fleet consists of 16 aircraft, designed for short and medium range flights.
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[edit] History
[edit] Company
The airline was established in 2002 as a successor to the insolvent Balkan Bulgarian Airlines. By order of the Minister of Transport and Communications it was declared the national flag carrier in November 2002, starting operations on the 4th of December, 2002. The name and initial logo were determined by a public competition.[2] Bulgaria Air was privatised in 2006; although it was rumoured that the government wanted to sell the carrier to a major foreign investor, a union of locally-owned companies, led by Hemus Air, emerged as the buyer with Italian Air One being the only other contender.[3] Hemus Air reportedly paid €6.6m and promised to invest a further €86m over the next five years.[4] Since then all flights and operations of Hemus Air and its subsidiary Viaggio Air are under name and management of the merged company, Bulgaria Air.
On 20 November 2008, Bulgaria Air became a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).[5]
Bulgaria Air initially began operations by the name of "Balkan Air Tour." The airline was known by that name for a short period of time; in November 2002, public contests were held in Bulgaria to determine a name and logo for the new airline. Thousands of people showed their creativity and voiced their opinions and after searching through countless submissions, the name and logo were chosen.[5] The design was used for about 4 years, until 2006, when an improved, more professional design was created.[4] That logo design was used into early 2010 and a Cyrillic version was even created which was to replace the English titles on one side of the planes.[2] However, after the full fleet merge of Hemus Air and Viaggio Air, a new livery had to be developed once again. After some leaked photos of a new design surfaced in online forums, they were met with public distaste and critique. This seemingly sent the designers back into development and postponed the new livery's release even further. Finally, in mid-2010, the first Bulgaria Air Airbus A319 was rolled out wearing the finalised colour scheme.
In mid-2011 Bulgaria Air announced that after a thorough analysis of their destinations they had chosen to purchase 7 new Embraer E-190 aircraft. The aircraft will most likely come with a 108 seat configuration (8 Business, 100 Economy). The delivery of the first examples is scheduled for early 2012, whilst the remaining aircraft will be delivered in spring/summer 2012.
[edit] Destinations
Bulgaria Air operates 27 routes from Sofia Airport, including two domestic routes to Burgas and Varna. During the summer season Bulgaria Air operates seasonal flights to and from Burgas and Varna airports.
[edit]
Bulgaria Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[6]
[edit] Charter flights
Currently the company serves over 60 leading tour operators, air transport brokers, airlines and other companies of the aviation and tourist industries, performing charter flights to over 80 destinations in Europe, Africa and Asia.
[edit] Fleet
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Total | Orders | Passengers |
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| C | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 132 | 144 | |
| Airbus A320-214 | 3 | 0 | — | 180 | 180 | |
| Avro RJ70 | 1 | 0 | 26 VIP | private and VIP charters[9] | ||
| BAe 146-200 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 76 | 84 | |
| BAe 146-300 | 3 | 0 | — | 110 | 110 | |
| Embraer ERJ-190 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 100 | 108 | Deliveries first and third quarters of 2012[10][11] |
| Total | 12 | 7 | Last updated: January 2012 | |||
[edit] Private business flights
Thanks to Bulgaria Air’s new Avro RJ70 Business Jet, starting in 2009, the company now offers a new service for business and VIP clients – booking a luxury flight with a custom schedule for their business trip. The passenger compartment of the new aircraft is equipped with 26 armchairs, couches, dining tables and multiple LCD displays, as well as on-board Wi-Fi Internet access.[12]
[edit] Accidents and incidents
- On 10 December 2010: a Bulgaria Air Airbus A320-200, registration LZ-FBE performing flight from Sofia Airport to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport with 29 passengers and 7 crew, lost part of the right hand engine's cowling during rotation for takeoff, the debris caused an oil leak. The crew shut the engine down and returned to Sofia for a safe landing about 20 minutes after departure.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "Contacts." Bulgaria Air. Retrieved on 10 May 2010. "Head office 1, Brussels Blvd Sofia Airport Sofia 1540" Address in Bulgarian: "бул. "Брюксел" № 1 Летище София София 1540"
- ^ a b About Bulgaria Air. Air.bg (2009-09-23). Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
- ^ Candidate for Bulgaria Air selected – Business. The Sofia Echo (2006-10-30). Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
- ^ a b Bulgaria Air Deal Completed – Bulgaria. The Sofia Echo (2007-01-05). Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
- ^ a b Bulgaria Air – News About Flights to/from Bulgaria. Air.bg. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
- ^ Bulgaria Air Partners. Air.bg (2009-09-23). Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
- ^ "Bulgaria Air – Fleet". Bulgaria Air. 2009. http://www.air.bg/en/airplanes/airplanes. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Bulgaria Air - Details and Fleet History". Planespotters.net. 23 October 2011. http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Bulgaria-Air. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^ "Bulgaria Air – Business flights – Conditions". Bulgaria Air. 2009. http://www.air.bg/en/business-flights-conditions. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ Reals, Kerry (31 May 2011). "Bulgaria Air to lease three E-190s". Flightglobal. Sutton: Reed Business Information. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/05/31/357351/bulgaria-air-to-lease-three-e-190s.html. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ http://www.airleasecorp.com/index.php?option=com_pressarchives&pagenum=1
- ^ Bulgaria Air – Business Flights. Air.bg (2009-09-23). Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
- ^ http://avherald.com/h?article=4346e6f4
[edit] External links
Media related to Bulgaria Air at Wikimedia Commons
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