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.
History
Early years and growth
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.
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.
Development since 2009 and closure On 30 December 2009, the Federal Office for Civil Aviation of Germany revoked the operating license of Blue Wings because of solvency fears, 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. Subsequently, the license was reinstated on 5 May.
On 5 August 2009, 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.Iraqi Airways to lease 3 Airbus A320-232 for Europe flights
On 13 January 2010, Blue Wings ceased all operations, filing bankruptcy due to the Great Recession and the 2008 financial crisis, which reduced investor interest. The airline's corporate head office was located in Düsseldorf, "Germany's civil aviation regulator has reinstated the operating permit for Dusseldorf-based carrier Blue Wings, weeks after grounding the airline." at Düsseldorf Airport. Before closure it was in Terminal A."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" Previously it was in Hangar 8 at the same airport."Blue Wings AG." Blue Wings. 23 March 2003. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Airport Düsseldorf Hangar 8 40474 Düsseldorf"
Destinations
Blue Wings operated the following international scheduled destinations in November 2011:Blue Wings Timetable
Africa
Marrakesh - Marrakesh Menara Airport Agadir - Agadir–Al Massira Airport
Monastir - Habib Bourguiba International Airport
Asia
Karaganda - Sary-Arka Airport
Beirut - Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport
Europe
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 Airport
Athens - Athens International Airport Crete - Heraklion International Airport Corfu - Corfu International Airport
Alghero - Alghero-Fertilia Airport Rome - Rome Ciampino Airport
Faro - Faro Airport Madeira - Funchal Airport
Moscow - Sheremetyevo 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 Málaga - Málaga Airport
Kyiv - Boryspil International Airport
Trabzon - Trabzon Airport İzmir - Adnan Menderes International Airport Antalya - Antalya Airport Samsun - Çarşamba Airport
Fleet The Blue Wings fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at 25 November 2012):Blue Wings FleetBlue Wings Company Profile (Page 12)
Aircraft typeTotalOrdersPassengers(Business/Economy)Airbus A320-2001116150 (12/138)168 (0/168)Airbus A321-20033207Tupolev Tu-204—5TBATotal1424
References
External links
Blue Wings (Archive, 2009) Blue Wings (Archive, 2005–2007) Blue Wings (Archive)