Blue Panorama Airlines was an Italian scheduled and charter airline founded in Rome in 1998. Its main bases were Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Malpensa airports. It operated charter flights, primarily in conjunction with trips organized by the tour operator Settemari. Under the Blu-express brand, it also operated medium- and short-haul low-cost flights. Business flights uwere operated under Executive Blue brandfonte: Executive Blue web site. Due to financial constraints, it ceased operations on October 27, 2021.

History

The beginning

Blue Panorama Airlines S.p.A. was a privately owned airline. It was founded in Rome in September 1998 by Franco Pecci, Sandro Giulianelli, and Antonio De Ponti. At first it operated in cooperation with Astra Travel, a Rome-based tour operator. The company's purpose was to fly intercontinental, international, and domestic charter flights for tour operators, companies, and private customers.

Blue Panorama established operating bases at Rome-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci" Airport and Milan-Malpensa Airport airports. Flights began at the end of December with two Boeing 737s. Charters related to religious pilgrimages, such as those carried out for Pastoraltour, were also of a certain importance. Scheduled flights began in September 2000, with a first one, a biweekly to Ukrainian capital Kiev and, immediately after, to Barcelona. The airline was admitted to IATA membership in 2002. The first Boeing 767-300ERs were delivered in 2002. In that same year, the air carrier ownership passed to the Distal & ITR Group (66.6%), owned by Franco Pecci family.

Low-cost subsidiary Since November 2005, some Boeing 737s operated under the low-cost brand Blu-Express from Rome and Milan, both domestically and internationally, to around twenty destinations, some of which were seasonal.

Between 2011 and 2012, Blue Panorama attracted interest from Alitalia. The proposed acquisition raised concerns from ENAC (Italian civil aviation authority) due to the alleged risk of a dominant position. In April 2012, the failure to reach an integration agreement was announced. On 25 November 2013, Blu-express started flights from Italy to Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza after Belle Air ceased operations.

Partly due to this unexpected situation, the company ran into difficulties in 2012 and, after a period of bankruptcy proceedings, was placed under extraordinary administration by the Rome Court in 2014. The management of the airline was left to the company's founder Franco Pecci. After a couple of unsuccessful sales attempts, at the end of 2017 Blue Panorama was acquired by UVET Group, which had previously acquired Settemari. In 2019, UVET announced that it would purchase several Airbus A330-200s for the subsidiary to replace its Boeing 767-300ERs. In October of the same year, Blue Panorama announced that it would change its identity, taking on the name Luke Air by the end of the year. A new livery was painted on the first Airbus A330-200, received in March 2020, while a second aircraft arrived in November. In October, the UVET Group received a €uros 45 million government compensation fund.

The name change leads to nothing In January 2021, it was announced that the rebrand would go aheadch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama proceeds with rebranding 6 January 2021. As of September, the airline's official website had its content changed to Luke Air operated by Blue Panorama Airlinesblue-panorama.com retrieved 28 September 2021. However, the general situation had reached a point of uncontrollability. On October 27, 2021, Blue Panorama suspended all flight operations stating financial difficulties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Milan Court admitted the airline to a composition with creditors procedure. The carrier was given until February 28, 2022, to find a solution. In June 2022, it was reported that the grounded airline had retired both of their Airbus A330-200sch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama retires both A330s 3 June 2022. In September, ENAC extended the suspension of its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) until March 2023, but on December 15, the Milan Court issued a decree of "inadmissibility to the composition with creditors procedure", effectively ending the company's history. It was announced that the airline would be liquidated and not resume operationsch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama, EGO Airways to be liquidated 23 December 2022.

Destinations

At the beginning of 2021, Blue Panorama Airlines operated to 41 destinations from both its main hub, Rome-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci" Airport, and other Italian airportsBlue Panorama brochure, 2006, Rome headquarters:

Africa: Cape Verde, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal, Tanzania. Caribbeans: Bahamas, Cuba (Avana, Cayo Largo, Holguin, Santa Clara, Santiago), Dominican Republic (La Romana), Jamaica (Montego Bay), Mexico (Cancun). Middle East: Egypt. Europe: Albania, Greece (Corfu, Crete, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Preveza, Rhodes, Santorini, Skiathos, Zakyntos), Russia (Moscow), Spain (Ibiza, Minorca, Palma de Mallorca), Turkey (Bodrum).

Blu-express operated a network of Italian domestic destinationsBlue Panorama brochure, 2006, Rome headquarters: Bari, Catania, Lampadusa Island, Milan, Palermo, Pantelleria Island, Reggio di Calabria, Rome, Turin.

Codeshare agreements Blue Panorama Airlines maintained Codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Albawings Cubana de Aviación

Fleet As of November 2022, the fleet included no aircraft. The following types have been operated in previous years:

AircraftTotalImageIntroducedRetiredRemarksAirbus A330-200220192022in the proposed Luke Air liveryATR 72-200120152015leased from Avanti AirBoeing 737-300220002000leased from Sterling European Airlines220022003leased from Ukraine International Airlines120152020Operated with bluexpress titlesBoeing 737-4001619992020some leased from Air Horizont and Hapag-Lloyd Flug 2 operated with bluexpress titlesBoeing 737-500120132016Boeing 737-8001020002022Boeing 757-200220052012Boeing 767-300ER1020022020Piaggio P.180 Avanti320092014Operated under the "Executive Blue" brand.

Accidents and incidents On 16 July 2004, a Boeing 767-300ER operating as Flight 1504 experienced an uncontained engine failure on takeoff from Rome-Fiumicino Airport. The plane returned and conducted a successful emergency landing. Investigation revealed that a high-pressure fuel hose leaked approximately of fuel into the engine's nacelle during taxi, which ignited upon takeoff.Archived at Ghostarchive and the :

On 22 September 2018, a Blue Panorama Spanish pilot, Emilio Leone, was arrested by Albanian police as his colleagues reported him for trying to fly the aircraft intoxicated.

In popular culture A Blue Panorama Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-300ER appeared in John Legend's music video for "Show Me".Archived at Ghostarchive and the :

References

Further reading M. & S. Iarossi (curators), Compagnie Aeree (in Italian language), EDAI, Firenze, 1999/2000 edition "World Airline Directory", Flight International weekly magazine supplement, years 1999-2013, Reed Business Publications Ltd., U.K. N. Pedde, Almanacco delle Linee Aeree Italiane 1947-2007 (in Italian language), "Landra Helicus", GAN, Roma, 2007, "World Airline Guide", Airliner World monthly magazine supplement, years 2014-2019, Key Publishing, U.K.

See also List of defunct airlines of Italy

External links