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Blue Panorama Airlines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Blue1 or Blue Air.
Blue Panorama Airlines
Luke Air
IATA ICAO Call sign
BV[1] BPA[2] BLUE PANORAMA
FoundedSeptember 1998
Commenced operations
26 December 1998
Ceased operations
27 October 2021
Operating bases
  • Rome Fiumicino airport
  • Milan Malpensa airport
Focus cities
  • Rome Fiumicino airport
  • Milan Malpensa airport
  • Bergamo
AllianceUkraine International Airlines
Parent companyGruppo UVET
HeadquartersFiumicino, Rome, Italy
Key peopleFranco Pecci President 1998-2017 Luca Patanè President from 2017
Net income€2.7 Million (2018)
Employees624 (in 2020)
Websitewww.blue-panorama.com

Blue Panorama Airlines[3] was an Italian scheduled and charter airline founded in Rome in 1998. Its main bases were Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Malpensa airports. It operated charter flights, primarily in conjunction with trips organized by the tour operator Settemari.[4] Under the Blu-express brand[5], it also operated medium- and short-haul low-cost flights. Business flights uwere operated under Executive Blue brand[6]. Due to financial constraints, it ceased operations on October 27, 2021[3].

History

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The beginning

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Franco Pecci in 2011

Blue Panorama Airlines S.p.A. was a privately owned airline. It was founded in Rome in September 1998 by Franco Pecci, Sandro Giulianelli, and Antonio De Ponti[4]. At first it operated in cooperation with Astra Travel, a Rome-based tour operator. The company's purpose was to fly intercontinental, international, and domestic charter flights for tour operators, companies, and private customers[5][7].

Blue Panorama established operating bases at Rome-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci" Airport and Milan-Malpensa Airport airports. Flights began at the end of December with two Boeing 737s. Charters related to religious pilgrimages, such as those carried out for Pastoraltour, were also of a certain importance. Scheduled flights began in September 2000, with a first one, a biweekly to Ukrainian capital Kiev[8] and, immediately after, to Barcelona. The airline was admitted to IATA membership in 2002[9][10]. The first Boeing 767-300ERs were delivered in 2002. In that same year, the air carrier ownership passed to the Distal & ITR Group (66.6%), owned by Franco Pecci family[11].

Low-cost subsidiary

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Since November 2005, some Boeing 737s operated under the low-cost brand Blu-Express from Rome and Milan, both domestically and internationally, to around twenty destinations, some of which were seasonal[5].

Between 2011 and 2012, Blue Panorama attracted interest from Alitalia[12][13][14][15][16][17]. The proposed acquisition raised concerns from ENAC (Italian civil aviation authority) due to the alleged risk of a dominant position[18][19]. In April 2012, the failure to reach an integration agreement was announced. On 25 November 2013, Blu-express started flights from Italy to Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza after Belle Air ceased operations[20][21].

Partly due to this unexpected situation, the company ran into difficulties in 2012 and, after a period of bankruptcy proceedings, was placed under extraordinary administration by the Rome Court in 2014[22][23][24][25][26]. The management of the airline was left to the company's founder Franco Pecci. After a couple of unsuccessful sales attempts, at the end of 2017 Blue Panorama was acquired by UVET Group, which had previously acquired Settemari. In 2019, UVET announced that it would purchase several Airbus A330-200s for the subsidiary to replace its Boeing 767-300ERs. In October of the same year, Blue Panorama announced that it would change its identity, taking on the name Luke Air by the end of the year. A new livery was painted on the first Airbus A330-200, received in March 2020, while a second aircraft arrived in November. In October, the UVET Group received a €uros 45 million government compensation fund.

The name change leads to nothing

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In January 2021, it was announced that the rebrand would go ahead[27]. As of September, the airline's official website had its content changed to Luke Air operated by Blue Panorama Airlines[28]. However, the general situation had reached a point of uncontrollability. On October 27, 2021, Blue Panorama suspended all flight operations stating financial difficulties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Milan Court admitted the airline to a composition with creditors procedure. The carrier was given until February 28, 2022, to find a solution. In June 2022, it was reported that the grounded airline had retired both of their Airbus A330-200s[29]. In September, ENAC extended the suspension of its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) until March 2023, but on December 15, the Milan Court issued a decree of "inadmissibility to the composition with creditors procedure", effectively ending the company's history. It was announced that the airline would be liquidated and not resume operations[3].

Destinations

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At the beginning of 2021, Blue Panorama Airlines operated to 41 destinations from both its main hub, Rome-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci" Airport, and other Italian airports[30]:

  • Africa: Cape Verde, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal, Tanzania.
  • Caribbeans: Bahamas, Cuba (Avana, Cayo Largo, Holguin, Santa Clara, Santiago), Dominican Republic (La Romana), Jamaica (Montego Bay), Mexico (Cancun).
  • Middle East: Egypt.
  • Europe: Albania, Greece (Corfu, Crete, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Preveza, Rhodes, Santorini, Skiathos, Zakyntos), Russia (Moscow), Spain (Ibiza, Minorca, Palma de Mallorca), Turkey (Bodrum).

Blu-express operated a network of Italian domestic destinations[31]: Bari, Catania, Lampadusa Island, Milan, Palermo, Pantelleria Island, Reggio di Calabria, Rome, Turin.

Codeshare agreements

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Blue Panorama Airlines maintained Codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

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As of November 2022, the fleet included no aircraft. The following types have been operated in previous years[34]:

Aircraft Total Image Introduced Retired Remarks
Airbus A330-200 2 2019 2022 in the proposed Luke Air[29] livery
ATR 72-200 1 2015 2015 leased from Avanti Air
Boeing 737-300 2 2000 2000 leased from Sterling European Airlines
2 2002 2003 leased from Ukraine International Airlines
1 2015 2020 Operated with bluexpress titles
Boeing 737-400 16 1999 2020 some leased from Air Horizont and Hapag-Lloyd Flug

2 operated with bluexpress titles

Boeing 737-500 1 2013 2016
Boeing 737-800 10 2000 2022
Boeing 757-200 2 2005 2012
Boeing 767-300ER 10 2002 2020
Piaggio P.180 Avanti 3 2009 2014 Operated under the "Executive Blue" brand.

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 16 July 2004, a Boeing 767-300ER operating as Flight 1504 experienced an uncontained engine failure on takeoff from Rome-Fiumicino Airport. The plane returned and conducted a successful emergency landing. Investigation revealed that a high-pressure fuel hose leaked approximately 700 kilograms (1,500 lb) of fuel into the engine's nacelle during taxi, which ignited upon takeoff.[35][36]
  • On 22 September 2018, a Blue Panorama Spanish pilot, Emilio Leone, was arrested by Albanian police as his colleagues reported him for trying to fly the aircraft intoxicated.[37]
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References

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  1. ^ "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Elenco delle imprese titolari di licenza di trasporto aereo". enac.gov.it. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b c ch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama, EGO Airways to be liquidated 23 December 2022
  4. ^ a b "Blue Panorama Airlines". Archived from the original on 2014-11-02. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "Blu Express - ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  6. ^ fonte: Executive Blue web site[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Profile on Blue Panorama Airlines - CAPA - Centre for Aviation". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  8. ^ G. Endres & Air Transport Intelligence. ""World Airlines"". Flight International Directory (2001). Baintree (Essex - U.K.).
  9. ^ IATA. "IATA - Current Airline Members". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Blue Panorama Airlines". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  11. ^ G. Endres & Air Transport Intelligence. ""World Airlines"". Flight International Directory (2002). Reed Business Information Ltd.
  12. ^ "Alitalia plans merger with Blue Panorama and Wind Jet". Reed Business Information Limited. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Alitalia to merge with Wind Jet and Blue Panorama Airlines". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Airline merger The integration of Blue Panorama, Wind Jet and Alitalia - eTurboNews.com". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Alitalia, Blue Panorama and Wind Jet plan to merge". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Alitalia moves ahead with a merger with Blue Panorama and Wind Jet". World Airline News. February 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Alitalia plans merger with Blue Panorama and Wind Jet". Retrieved 7 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ "Integration of Wind Jet operations with Alitalia receives board approval". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Avionews.com - Alitalia will integrate Wind Jet: operation approved". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  20. ^ Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso. "Albania, Belle Air stops flights". Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  21. ^ "Belle Air ceases operations - Business Traveller". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Italy's Blue Panorama enters bankruptcy protection". Retrieved 7 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  23. ^ N. Tchallabes. "volaspheric". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Blue Panorama Airlines enters into bankruptcy protection and reorganization". World Airline News. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  25. ^ N. Tchallabes. "volaspheric". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Blue Panorama applies for bankruptcy protection, continues operations". ch-aviation. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  27. ^ ch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama proceeds with rebranding 6 January 2021
  28. ^ blue-panorama.com[dead link] retrieved 28 September 2021
  29. ^ a b ch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama retires both A330s 3 June 2022
  30. ^ Blue Panorama brochure, 2006, Rome headquarters
  31. ^ Blue Panorama brochure, 2006, Rome headquarters
  32. ^ "Route Map". www.albawings.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  33. ^ "Blue Panorama Airlines". Aeropuertos.Net (in Spanish). 11 June 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  34. ^ Pedde, N. (2007). Almanacco delle Linee Aeree Italiane 1947-2007 (in Italian). Roma: GAN. ISBN 978-88-89640-06-7.
  35. ^ "Accident Boeing 767-3G5ER EI-CXO, 16 Jul 2004".
  36. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Air accident real voice recording and flight data". YouTube.
  37. ^ "Ekskluzive/ Rinas, shmanget tragjedia në avionin me 200 pasagjerë, kapet i dehur piloti i Blue Panorama - Shqiptarja". Shqiptarja.com.
  38. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "John Legend - Show Me (Official Video)". YouTube.

Further reading

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  • M. & S. Iarossi (curators), Compagnie Aeree (in Italian language), EDAI, Firenze, 1999/2000 edition
  • "World Airline Directory", Flight International weekly magazine supplement, years 1999-2013, Reed Business Publications Ltd., U.K.
  • N. Pedde, Almanacco delle Linee Aeree Italiane 1947-2007 (in Italian language), "Landra Helicus", GAN, Roma, 2007, ISBN 978-88-89640-06-7
  • "World Airline Guide", Airliner World monthly magazine supplement, years 2014-2019, Key Publishing, U.K.

See also

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Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Blue Panorama Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

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