Low-cost airline Blue Air is expecting to double its turnover in 2006 to a level of 36 million euros following the introduction of new flights and increased frequency of existing routes, said Adina Camara, the company''s marketing manager.
"We expect at least double turnover because the number of flights has risen. We have launched a second flight to France (Paris) and, by the end of this year, we will introduce more European destinations," said the company representative.
This year the company is expecting 18 million euros in turnover.
"Next summer, our fleet will include four Boeing 737s and 4 regional planes," Camara added.
The company recently invested 2 million euros to add two Boeing and two CRJ aircraft to its fleet.
This week saw Blue Air launch its first flight to Paris (Beauvais airport), which it will operate three times a week to serve an expected 1,000 passengers per month.
The company''s other routes are Rome, Milan (Bergamo), Lyon, Maastricht, Barcelona (Reus) and Istanbul.
The majority stakeholder in Blue Air is Romanian businessman Nelu Iordache.
As of November 4, Blue Air will also operate flights to Madrid, and, in the near future, will introduce regular flights to Central and Eastern Europe, Germany and Italy, the company representative said.
The company''s aircraft have had an average occupancy rate of 70% this year, a percentage also estimated for the new flight to Paris.
Higher oil prices have hurt the company''s operations.
"One month ago, we were forced to raise the taxes for passengers by 5 euros. With low-cost airlines, all the costs are well calculated and as soon as some imbalance arises, this leads to losses," concluded Camara.
The most congested flights are those to Italy and Spain, countries where many Romanians work and travel. For the time being, Blue Air is the only entirely Romanian-owned low-cost operator. A series of foreign low-cost operators recently announced their intention to enter the Romanian market, though some of these will wait until Romania enters the EU before making this move.
Passenger air traffic has surged by around 20% over the last two years due to closer business ties between Romania and the EU member states, as well as the rise in Romanians who work abroad and tourists. cristina.marina@zf.ro
