Bulgaria Air

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Bulgaria Air (Template:Langx) is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria,[1] with its headquarters at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport in Sofia.[2] The company is owned by Chimimport AD and is a leader in terms of local market share. The airline operates short and medium haul aircraft to destinations in Europe and the Middle East. Focus cities in Bulgaria are Burgas and Varna. In 2018, the company carried a total of 1.267 million passengers on 5,995 flights.[3]

History

File:Bulgaria Air BAe-146-300 LZ-HBF ZRH 2011-08-02.jpg
A Bulgaria Air BAe 146-300 in 2011

The airline was established in 2002[4] as a successor to the insolvent Balkan Bulgarian Airlines and commenced operations on 4 December that year. By order of the Minister of Transport and Communications, it was declared the national flag carrier in November 2002. Bulgaria Air began operations using the name Balkan Air Tour. The airline was known by that name for just a short period of time. The name Bulgaria Air and the initial logo were determined in a public competition.[5] Bulgaria Air was privatised in 2006. Although it was rumoured that the government wanted to sell the carrier to a major foreign investor, a group of locally owned companies (led by Hemus Air) emerged as the buyer, with Italian airline Air One being the only other contender.[6] Hemus Air reportedly paid €6.6 million and promised to invest a further €86 million over the next five years.[7] Since then, all flights and operations of Hemus Air and its subsidiary Viaggio Air are under the name and management of the merged company, Bulgaria Air.

In November 2008, Bulgaria Air became a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).[8] In mid 2011, Bulgaria Air announced that they had completed a thorough analysis of its routes and had decided to acquire the new Embraer E190 aircraft. The delivery of the first new Embraer E190 aircraft occurred in March 2012.[9] In February 2020, the airline’s CEO Yanko Georgiev stated that the carrier was in talks with two aircraft manufacturers to place an order for a single-aisle jet. They plan to order 5-6 of these aircraft to modernise their fleet and to extend their network with more aircraft available.[10]

Corporate affairs

Bul Air

Bul Air is the charter brand of Bulgaria Air. The company was founded in 1954, but after merging with the Bulgarian national carrier, TABSO became part of Balkan Bulgarian Airlines. In 2015, the company was revived by Bulgaria Air.[11]

Frequent flyer program

Fly More is the name of the Bulgaria Air frequent flyer program. There are three levels of membership: Basic, Silver and Gold Privilege.[12] Central Cooperative Bank issues Visa Classic and Visa Gold co-branded credit cards with Bulgaria Air.[13][14]

Livery

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. After searching through the submissions, the name and logo were chosen.[8] The design was used for about four years, until 2006, when an improved, more professional design was introduced.[7] After the full fleet integration of Hemus Air and Viaggio Air, a new livery had to be developed once again. In mid 2010, the first Bulgaria Air Airbus A319 was rolled out wearing the finalised colour scheme.

Catering

In 2010, Bulgaria Air and LSG Sky Chefs created a new airline catering company called Silver Wings. The total investment for Bulgaria Air totaled $1.3 million. Future investment plans envision a new canteen to serve the airport staff at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport.[15][16][17]

Media

Bulgaria On Air: The In-Flight Magazine - Bulgaria Air's in-flight magazine. Its first edition was in 2003.[18] In April 2011, the in-flight magazine was extended with an edition which is distributed in some hotels and shopping centres, Bulgaria On Air: The Business Magazine.

ACMI leasing

Bulgaria Air is currently operating wet leases (provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance) for Air Serbia.[19]

Destinations

Bulgaria Air operates 21 routes from Vasil Levski Sofia Airport, including two domestic routes to Burgas and Varna.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In June 2024, the airline begin seasonal service from Varna to Frankfurt and Prague.[20]

Codeshare agreements

Bulgaria Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[21]

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Interline agreements

Bulgaria Air has special interline agreements with the following airlines:

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Charter flights

Bulgaria Air performs charter flights for over 60 leading tour operators, air transport brokers, airlines, and other companies of the aviation and tourist industries. During the summer season, the airline mainly operates flights from Burgas and Varna airports to destinations in Germany, Israel, Lebanon, and Poland. In addition, the company operates charter flights from Sofia Airport to popular holiday destinations in Egypt, Greece, Italy, Mauritius, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey.[27]Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Fleet

File:Bulgaria Air A220 landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.jpg
Bulgaria Air Airbus A220-300
File:Airbus A320-214, Bulgaria Air JP7388467.jpg
Bulgaria Air Airbus A320-200
File:Embraer 190-100IGW, Bulgaria Air JP7414546.jpg
Bulgaria Air Embraer E190

As of August 2025Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Bulgaria Air operates the following aircraft:[28]

Bulgaria Air fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A220-100 2 — 8 110 118
Airbus A220-300 5 — 8 135 143
Airbus A319-100 1 — 8 132 140
Airbus A320-200 5 — 10 150 160
8 156 164
— 180 180
Embraer E190 4 — 8 100 108
Total 17 —

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ "Contacts." Bulgaria Air. Retrieved 10 May 2010. "Head office 1, Brussels Blvd Sofia Airport Sofia 1540" Address in Bulgarian Script error: No such module "webarchive".: "бул. "Брюксел" № 1 Летище София София 1540"
  3. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ About Bulgaria Air Script error: No such module "webarchive".. Air.bg (23 September 2009). Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Candidate for Bulgaria Air selected – Business Script error: No such module "webarchive".. The Sofia Echo (30 October 2006). Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  7. ↑ a b Bulgaria Air Deal Completed – Bulgaria Script error: No such module "webarchive".. The Sofia Echo (5 January 2007). Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  8. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  20. ↑ Bulgaria Air begin seasonal service from Varna to Frankfurt and Prague S24
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".

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External links

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  • Script error: No such module "Official website".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (Bulgarian)
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