Blue1
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1987 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Helsinki-Vantaa Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | EuroBonus | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (full member, 2004-2012, now affliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 22 | ||||||
| Parent company | SAS Group (Finland) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Vantaa, Finland | ||||||
| Key people | Janne Hattula (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www.sas.fi | ||||||
Blue1 Ltd (Finnish: Blue1 Oy) [1] is a Finnish airline owned by SAS Group, with a hub at Copenhagen Airport. Blue1 flies to around 20 destinations in Finland, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. It carried over 1.4 million passengers in 2009.[2] The airline is a former member of Star Alliance and has its head office in Vantaa.[3][4][5]
History
The airline was established in 1987 and started operations in 1988 as Air Botnia, flying Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes on night cargo flights and on passenger services from Helsinki to Kauhajoki and Seinäjoki.[6] It started to supplement its unpressurised Bandeirantes with leased British Aerospace Jetstream 31s in 1993, but cash flow problems in the summer of 1995 caused British Aerospace to repossess the Jetstreams and brought Air Botnia to the point of bankruptcy, with last minute negotiations needed to save the airline, which continued operations in a reduced scale.[7]
The airline was purchased by SAS Group in January 1998, with the new owners re-equipping the airline, replacing its Jetstreams with Saab 340s later that year, and receiving its first jets, Fokker F28 Fellowships in 1999. The elderly F28s were soon replaced as their high noise levels restricted operations, with Avro RJ85s being received in 2001, with its Saab 340s being replaced by larger Saab 2000s at the same time.[8]
Air Botnia was renamed Blue1 in January 2004,[9] and joined Star Alliance as the first regional member on 3 November 2004. Blue1 became a full member of Star Alliance on 1 January 2010.
In 2005 Blue1 became the second largest Finnish airline with more than 100 daily flights and biggest operator between Finland and Scandinavia.
In 2006 Blue1 started 10 new nonstop routes to Europe increasing its total capacity by more than 50%.
In 2008 Blue1 moved its London operations from Stansted to Heathrow Airport, and undertook strong expansion on domestic business routes. In 2009 new routes to Lapland, including Paris-Kittilä were opened for the winter season and routes to Biarritz, Dubrovnik and Split for summer travel.
Blue1 was the first network airline in Northern Europe to be granted ISO 14001 environmental certificate.[10]
On 26 March 2012, Blue1 changed hub from Helsinki-Vantaa to Copenhagen Airport. Although Helsinki-Vantaa is still the largest airport to operate from.
On 1 November 2012, Blue1 was turned to a service producer for SAS. This means that marketing and sales are now handled by SAS (including use of SAS internet domain name), and flights carry the SAS flight prefix "SK".
Destinations
Fleet
Current fleet
As of December 2012, the Blue1 fleet consists of the following aircraft, with an average age of 10.7 years:[11][12]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | Y | Total | ||||
| Boeing 717 | var. | 115 | ||||
Retired fleet
| Aircraft type | Years active |
|---|---|
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90 | 2006–2011 |
| Avro RJ100 | 2001–2009 |
| Saab 2000 | 2001–2006 |
| Fokker F28 | 1998–2001 |
| Saab 340 | 1998–2001 |
| Jetstream 31 | 1993–1998 |
| Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante | 1987–1993 |
| Cessna 402 | 1987–1988 |
Onboard services
Blue1 offers two service classes, Economy and Economy Extra (previously Blue1 Premium).[13]
- Economy Class: Coffee and tea are included on all Blue1 operated flights. Sandwiches and other drinks are available for purchase from "Cafe1".[14] Flights with very short flight time may have reduced service.
- Economy Extra: Fast Track security and Business Class check-in is included where available.
References
- ^ "Blue1 Oy". Business Information System. Helsinki: The National Board of Patents and Registration and the Tax Administration, Finland. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ http://www.blue1.com/en/fi/About-us/Press-room/Press-releases/14-million-passengers--flew-with-Blue1-in-2009/
- ^ "Blue1 – Star Alliance". Star Alliance. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Blue1 Head office." blue1. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ^ "Privacy Policy." Blue1. Retrieved 25 February 2010. "or by visiting Rahtitie 3, 01530 Vantaa in person, where also the description of the data file is available for review."
- ^ Pagiola 2004, p. 42.
- ^ Pagliola 2004, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Pagiola 2004, p. 44.
- ^ Pagliola 2004, p. 45.
- ^ Flight International 27 March 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ Blue1 aircraft types
- ^ "Blue1 Premium". blue1.com. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Mmmmmmm Mmmmmenu" (pdf). blue1.com. autumn 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
- Pagiola, Stefano. "Stars In Their Eyes: Finland's Blue 1 Regional Airline". Air International, Vol 67 No 4. pp. 42–45.[year needed]
External links
Media related to Blue1 at Wikimedia Commons
