What a time to be an Eastern European aviation enthusiast! Especially if you hail from the fish-shaped country, Romania. There are four (!) new airline start-ups in the country that are promising to give hell to the competition. We are talking about FlyLili, Legend Airlines, Hello Jet and AirConnect. While for the first three is not enough information out yet, yesterday was a great day for the ATR operator AirConnect. Here’s what happened.
The operator
AirConnect was launched in January 2022 and since its reveal, the management of the organization has been on a hunt for experienced aviation professionals willing to join the airline. According to Gabriel Bobon at BoardingPass.ro, the Airline has ordered 2 ATR 72-600, both built in 2014, and so far one has been received, M-ABPU. According to the information that can be retrieved on tracking websites, the aircraft is registered in the Isle of Man and the history of the aircraft suggests that it was painted in Shannon.
As said in previous articles, Romania is a poorly connected country that relies on air transportation to keep the wheel of the economy turning. AirConnect is aiming to help the cause by operating in underserved Romanian airports like Sibiu and Tirgu Mures, and connecting them to Bucharest Baneasa, the old low-cost carrier dedicated airport, now a hub for private jets and flight schools. The airline will also fly charter flights to Bulgaria and Greece and has agreements with the major tour operators of Romania.
August 9th, 2022
Yesterday was probably the biggest day of this young operator’s life: it got its Air Operator Certificate. Basically, the Civil Aviation Authority authorized AirConnect to operate commercial flights based in the national territory. And this means that the airline is finally ready to take off.
