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Blue1

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Blue1
File:Blue1 logo.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
KF BLF BLUEFIN
Founded1987
HubsHelsinki-Vantaa Airport
Focus citiesStockholm-Arlanda Airport
Frequent-flyer programEuroBonus
AllianceStar Alliance
Fleet size13
Destinations26
Parent companyOy Nordair AB
HeadquartersHelsinki, Finland
Key peopleStefan Wentjärvi (CEO)
Mats Jansson (CEO SAS Group)
Websitehttp://www.blue1.com/

Blue1 Oy is an airline based in Helsinki, Finland. It is a regional airline feeding into the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) network via Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen from five cities in Finland. It also operates services from Helsinki to domestic destinations as well as to several cities in Europe. Its main base is Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, with hubs at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport[1].

History

The airline was established in 1987 and started operations in 1988 as Air Botnia. It was purchased by SAS in January 1998. In January 2004, when the first low cost regional airline in Finland, Flying Finn went bankrupt, the airline was rebranded as Blue1. It started flights within a few months to the most profitable destinations of Flying Finn. The first destination was Oulu, later came Kuopio, Rovaniemi and Vaasa. [citation needed]

Blue1 became the first regional member of Star Alliance on 3 November 2004. In 2006 the airline opened up new routes to 11 European destinations[1].

Destinations

Fleet

The Blue1 fleet includes the following aircraft as of February 2008:

Blue1 Fleet
Type Total Passengers
(Economy Extra/Economy)
Routes Notes
Avro RJ85 5 84 Short– medium range
Avro RJ100 1 99 Short– medium range
McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 5 166 Medium range

The airliner plans to sell three of its Avro aircraft and obtain one more MD-90, in line with its planned focus on the domestic market in Finland.

Retired fleet

Blue1 / Air Botnia retired fleet
Type Years Routes Notes
Saab 2000 2001-2006
Fokker F28 1998-2001
Saab 340 1998-2001
British Aerospace Jetstream 32 1993-1998
Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante 1987-1993
Cessna 402 1987-1988

Cabin

Economy Class
Sandwiches and drinks are available for purchase from "Cafe1".
On short flights to Sweden; cinamon roll and coffee is served free.
Economy Extra
Fast-track security at some European airports, lounge access to passengers travelling in C,D and J classes, a three-course cold meal or cold breakfast is served

References

  1. ^ a b Flight International 27 March 2007