As it looks to expand its operations in Europe while “growing its fleet to 25 aircraft in the next couple of years” - most recently taking delivery of its fifth B737-800(F) - Bluebird Nordic (Reykjavik Keflavik) has announced plans to obtain an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in Slovakia.
The cargo ACMI/charter specialist said in a statement that the decision to launch the additional certification drive “comes as a strategic move to enter new and prominent markets.”
Bluebird Nordic chief executive Audronė Keinytė explained that “Slovakia is ideally positioned in the middle of Europe, which offers great opportunities for wider geographical coverage. The new AOC in the country will aid in expanding our airline routes and destinations, and strengthen the airline’s name in the region.”
Keinytė told ch-aviation in an interview in February that Bluebird Nordic - which is owned by Lithuania-based capacity provider Avia Solutions Group and is planning a rebrand to BBN Airlines Nordic - was looking for other opportunities around the world to set up AOCs. It is working on establishing startups BBN Airlines Indonesia (7B, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) and, according to its own managing director Göksenin Seyhan, BBN Airlines Türkiye (B5, Antalya).
Besides the five B737-800 freighters (two B737-800(SF)s and three B737-800(BCF)s), Bluebird Nordic currently operates one B737-300(F), five B737-400(SF)s, and one B737-400(BDSF), the ch-aviation fleets module shows. Its plan to increase the fleet to 25 aircraft foresees retaining a focus on the Boeing NG segment.
Earlier this month, Avia Solutions Group, which also owns Avion Express, SmartLynx Airlines, and KlasJet, announced that it had “transferred its controlling headquarters” to Dublin, Ireland, which in the words of the group’s CEO Jonas Janukėnas was “a strategically important step for us in terms of our further development plans [as] Ireland is known as the hub of aviation.”
