Blue Wings
IATA ICAO Callsign
QW BWG BLUE WINGS
Founded2002
Ceased operations31 January 2012
Operating basesDüsseldorf Airport
Fleet size11 (at time of closure)
Destinations23
HeadquartersBocholt, Germany
Key peopleUdo Stern (MD)
Websitebluewings.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.

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.[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.[2]

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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

On 13 January 2010, 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,[6] at Düsseldorf Airport. Before closure it was in Terminal A.[7][8] Previously it was in Hangar 8 at the same airport.[9]

Destinations

Blue Wings Airbus A320-200, 2007
A Blue Wings Airbus A321-111 at Düsseldorf Airport in 2005
A Blue Wings Airbus A330-200 at Cologne Bonn Airport (February 2005)

Blue Wings operated the following international scheduled destinations in November 2011:[10]

Africa

 Morocco
 Tunisia

Asia

 Kazakhstan
 Lebanon

Europe

 Germany
 Greece
 Italy
 Portugal
 Russia
 Spain
 Ukraine
 Turkey

Fleet

The Blue Wings fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at 25 November 2012):[11][12]

Aircraft Total Orders Passengers
(Business/Economy)
Airbus A320-200 11 16[13] 150 (12/138)
168 (0/168)
Airbus A321-200 3 3[13] 207
Tupolev Tu-204 — 5[13] TBA
Total 14 24

References

  1. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 87.
  2. ↑ "German carrier Blue Wings orders Airbus A320 Family aircraft". www.airbus.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-04.
  3. ↑ "LBA Öffentlichkeitsarbeit". Archived from the original on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Iraqi Airways to lease 3 Airbus A320-232 for Europe flights
  6. ↑ "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."
  7. ↑ "Contact." Blue Wings. 12 June 2005. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Blue Wings AG Duesseldorf Airport Terminal A 5. OG 40474 Duesseldorf, Germany"
  8. ↑ "Wilkommen." Blue Wings. 14 March 2012. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Blue Wings AG . Düsseldorf Airport . Terminal A . D-40474 Düsseldorf . Germany"
  9. ↑ "Blue Wings AG." Blue Wings. 23 March 2003. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Airport Düsseldorf Hangar 8 40474 Düsseldorf"
  10. ↑ Blue Wings Timetable Archived November 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Blue Wings Fleet
  12. ↑ Blue Wings Company Profile (Page 12)
  13. 1 2 3 Kylie, Nicole (13 January 2023). "What Happened To German Charter Carrier Blue Wings?". Simple Flying. Retrieved 4 March 2023.

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