Romanian airline Blue Air up for sale

Newsroom 12/04/2013 | 05:56

The new board of administration of Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air – owned by Romanian businessman Nelu Iordache – has decided to put the company up for sale, according to local media reports this Thursday.

“A new board of directors was appointed yesterday. Nelu Iordache was suspended from his position. The new board (Rudolf Vizental, Adrian Ionascu – general deputy director and Elenne Philip) has decided to attract a new investor and to put together selection procedures,” said Rudolf Vizental, the representative of Casa de Insolventa Transilvania, the judicial administrator of Romstrade.

Construction company Romstrade, owned by Iordache , is the main shareholder of Blue Air.

Blue Air representatives said that about six investors have shown interest in the airline so far.

Iordache is presently in custody after being charged of having embezzled RON 25 million (approx. EUR 5.6 million) out of the funds allocated for the construction of the Nadlac-Arad highway.

Low-cost airline Blue Air has a fleet of nine leased Boeing aircrafts. In 2011 the company reported a turnover of RON 575.5 million (approx. EUR 136 million), a loss of RON 48.5 million (approx EUR 11.4 million) and debts worth RON 393.8 million (approx. EUR 93 million), according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

The company reported fewer than 1.5 million passengers in 2011, down by about 200,000 against 2009. The decrease came after the airline reduced its flight capacity by 15 percent in 2011, following a restructuring program.