PowdAir (Sion) has announced it has acquired an unspecified stake in partner carrier and Danish capacity provider BackBone Aviation (Esbjerg).

The Ireland-based virtual carrier said in a statement that with its accession to BackBone Aviation's share capital, the partnership will be "ideally positioned to develop air transport routes throughout Europe, focused on increasing aircraft types and routes using technology as the enabler".

It is recalled, Powdair will charter two CRJ200s from BackBone for use in launching flights this December 14. The two jets will be used to operate regular flights from points around the United Kingdom and Belgium, to the Swiss city of Sion.

Meanwhile, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has confirmed to ch-aviation that PowdAir has yet to apply for an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC). PowdAir had earlier indicated plans to pursue its own AOC although this appears to have been superseded by the BackBone Aviation buy-in.