Blue Wings
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| |||||||
| Founded | 2002 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 31 January 2012 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Düsseldorf Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 11 (at time of closure) | ||||||
| Destinations | 23 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bocholt, Germany | ||||||
| Key people | Udo Stern (MD) | ||||||
| Website | bluewings.com | ||||||
Blue Wings AG was a charter airline based in Germany, focusing on serving Turkey, the Middle East and Russia from its base at Düsseldorf Airport.[1] The headquarters were located on the airport property.
Contents
History[edit]
Early years and growth[edit]
Blue Wings was established in 2002, received the AOC on 27 June 2003 and started operations in July of the same year. It initially operated charter flights from Düsseldorf using a wet-leased Airbus A320. In June 2006, the Russian National Reserve Corporation (NRC) acquired a 48 percent shareholding through its Zürich based subsidiary Alpstream AG, which was intended to lead to a close co-operation between Blue Wings and Red Wings Airlines, also belonging to NRC.[1]
On 6 October 2006, Blue Wings signed a purchase agreement with JetBlue Airways for five second-hand Airbus A320-200 aircraft. For cost-saving reasons, Blue Wings adopted a nearly identical color scheme compared to JetBlue. On 17 October of the same year, another order - this time for 16 new Airbus A320 and 4 Airbus A321 was signed, and subsequently announced during the Farnborough Air Show of the same year.[citation needed]
Development since 2009 and closure[edit]
On 30 December 2011, the Federal Office for Civil Aviation of Germany revoked the operating license of Blue Wings because of solvency fears,[2] forcing the airline to shut down all operations. Blue Wings was saved for once on 23 April of the same year, when it was announced that Elite Aviation, a VIP charter airline from Abu Dhabi, had signed a charter agreement with Blue Wings.[3] Subsequently, the license was reinstated on 5 May.
On 5 August 2011, it was announced that Iraqi Airways, Iraq's national airline, had signed a contract to lease three Blue Wings Airbus A320-232, which were used on European routes.[4]
On 31 January 2012, Blue Wings ceased all operations, filing bankruptcy due to the financial crisis which had led to a pull-out of investors. The airline's corporate head office was located in Düsseldorf,[5] at Düsseldorf Airport. Before closure it was in Terminal A.[6][7] Previously it was in Hangar 8 at the same airport.[8]
Destinations[edit]
Blue Wings operated the following international scheduled destinations in November 2011:[9]
Africa[edit]
Asia[edit]
Europe[edit]
- Berlin - Berlin Schönefeld Airport
- Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf Airport Base
- Hamburg - Hamburg Airport focus city
- Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden - Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport
- Leipzig/Halle - Leipzig/Halle Airport
- Münster/Osnabrück - Münster Osnabrück International Airport
- Athens - Athens International Airport
- Crete - Heraklion International Airport
- Corfu - Corfu International Airport
- Barcelona - El Prat Airport
- Gran Canaria - Gran Canaria Airport
- Tenerife - Reina Sofia Airport
- Palma de Mallorca - Palma de Mallorca Airport
- Ibiza - Ibiza Airport
- Malaga - Malaga Airport
Fleet[edit]
The Blue Wings fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at 25 November 2012):[10][11]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Business/Economy) |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-232 | 11 | 150 (12/138) 168 (0/168) |
| Airbus A321-200 | 3 | 207 |
At closure in January 2012, Blue Wings had unfilled orders for 16 further Airbus A320, 3 Airbus A321 and 5 Tupolev Tu-204.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 87.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2009-04-24.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Iraqi Airways to lease 3 Airbus A320-232 for Europe flights[dead link]
- ^ "Germans reinstate grounded Blue Wings' operating licence". Flight Global. 2012-05-05. "Germany's civil aviation regulator has reinstated the operating permit for Dusseldorf-based carrier Blue Wings, weeks after grounding the airline."
- ^ "Contact." Blue Wings. 12 June 2005. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Blue Wings AG Duesseldorf Airport Terminal A 5. OG 40474 Duesseldorf, Germany"
- ^ "Wilkommen." Blue Wings. 14 March 2012. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Blue Wings AG . Düsseldorf Airport . Terminal A . D-40474 Düsseldorf . Germany"
- ^ "Blue Wings AG." Blue Wings. 23 March 2003. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Airport Düsseldorf Hangar 8 40474 Düsseldorf"
- ^ Blue Wings Timetable Archived November 12, 2009[Date mismatch], at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Blue Wings Fleet
- ^ Blue Wings Company Profile (Page 12)
External links[edit]
Media related to Blue Wings at Wikimedia Commons
- Blue Wings (Archive, 2009)
- Blue Wings (Archive, 2005-2007)
- Blue Wings ‹See Tfd›(in German) (Archive)
