Bulgarian carrier Hemus Air to start flights to London, Berlin.
2007-09-19 10:00:00
Bulgarian private carrier Hemus Air will launch flights from Sofia to London and Berlin from April 9 and intends to operate a regular service to all European capitals within 2 years, said the company's executive director Dimitar Pavlov. Hemus Air will fly to London's Heathrow Airport on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays. Hemus Air will become the first Bulgaria carrier to resume flights to Heathrow after the landing and take-off slots of bankrupt national flag-carrier Balkan Airlines were sold for Gatwick slots. The flights to Berlin will be available on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays. The return fares to London and Berlin start at 199 euro without airport charges. Hemus Air said it is also in talks with potential partners to launch flights to Istanbul. Pavlov said the company will try to join one of the existing airline alliances. The company executive confirmed Hemus Air's interest in the upcoming privatisation of national flag-carrier Bulgaria Air. The flag-carrier is in bad shape and should be privatised as soon as possible, said Pavlov. The privatisation of the flag-carrier should be used by the Bulgaria air carriers as an opportunity to form an alliance, said Pavlov, adding that the native airlines will find life very difficult after Bulgaria joins the Open Skies agreement in the fall. The privatisation strategy requires eligible strategic investors to have sales of 150 mln euro for each of the past 2 years and 750,000 passengers, a requirement that none of the local carriers can meet. Hemus Air, owned by Balkan Hemus Group, intends to bid for Bulgaria Air in the capacity of financial investor via the Central Co-operative Bank (CCB). According to the DAXI legal information system, Balkan Hemus Group is wholly-owned by foreign trade company Chimimport. Chimimport owns CCB Asset Management which, in turn, controls CCB. Liechtenstein-registered Chiminvest Institute owns 98% of Chimimport.

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