Blue1
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| Founded | 1987 | ||||||
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| Frequent-flyer program | EuroBonus | ||||||
| Airport lounge | Scandinavian Lounge | ||||||
| Alliance |
Star Alliance (affiliate) Regional member 2004–2009 Full member 2009-2012 | ||||||
| Fleet size | 0 (the Boeing 717 have not yet been replaced.) | ||||||
| Destinations | 28 | ||||||
| Parent company | CityJet | ||||||
| Headquarters | Vantaa, Finland | ||||||
| Key people | Janne Hattula, CEO | ||||||
| Employees | 350 | ||||||
Blue1 Oy[1] is a Finnish airline owned by CityJet. It formerly used to be a subsidiary of the SAS Group and flew to around 28[2] destinations in Finland, Scandinavia and other countries in Europe mainly from its base at Helsinki Airport. It carried over 1.7 million passengers in 2011.[2] The airline also used to be a member of Star Alliance and has its head office in Vantaa.[3][4][5]
History
Early years
The airline was established in 1987 and started operations in 1988 as Air Botnia, flying Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes on night cargo flights and on passenger services from Helsinki to Kauhajoki and Seinäjoki.[6] It started to supplement its unpressurised Bandeirantes with leased British Aerospace Jetstream 31s in 1993, but cash flow problems in the summer of 1995 caused British Aerospace to repossess the Jetstreams and brought Air Botnia to the point of bankruptcy, with last minute negotiations needed to save the airline, which continued operations in a reduced scale.[7]
The airline was purchased by SAS Group in January 1998, with the new owners re-equipping the airline, replacing its Jetstreams with Saab 340s later that year, and receiving its first jets, Fokker F28 Fellowships in 1999. The elderly F28s were soon replaced as their high noise levels restricted operations, with Avro RJ85s being received in 2001, with its Saab 340s being replaced by larger Saab 2000s at the same time.[8]
Development since 2004
Air Botnia was renamed Blue1 in January 2004,[9] and joined the Star Alliance as the first regional member on 3 November 2004. Blue1 became a full member of the Star Alliance on 1 January 2010/2009. Blue1 left the Star Alliance in November 2012 and became an affiliate of Scandinavian Airlines.
In 2005 Blue1 became the second largest Finnish airline with more than 100 daily flights and biggest operator between Finland and Scandinavia. In 2006 Blue1 started 10 new non-stop routes to Europe increasing its total capacity by more than 50%. In 2008 Blue1 moved its London operations from Stansted to Heathrow Airport, and undertook strong expansion on domestic business routes. In 2009 new routes to Lapland, including Paris-Kittilä were opened for the winter season and routes to Biarritz, Dubrovnik and Split for summer travel.
Blue1 was the first network airline in Northern Europe to be granted ISO 14001 environmental certificate.[10] On 1 November 2012, Blue1 became a service producer for SAS. This means that marketing and sales are now handled by SAS (including the use of the SAS internet domain name), and its flights carry the SAS flight prefix "SK".
In March 2015, it was announced that Blue1 will sell their entire fleet of Boeing 717-200s to Volotea and Delta Air Lines and was to replace them with Boeing 737-600s from its parent, Scandinavian Airlines,[11] however Scandinavian Airlines later said that this plan had been cancelled and that they were instead considering to transfer some Bombardier CRJ900 from Cimber.[12]
In October 2015, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) announced the sale of Blue1 to CityJet, which will continue to operate the company on behalf of SAS as part of a larger relationship.[13] However, as of December 2015, Blue1 does not operate any aircraft and its own website has been shut down.[14]
Destinations
Fleet
Current fleet
As of December 2015, Blue1 does not operate any aircraft as the Boeing 717-200s previously operated have been phased out and not yet replaced.
Retired fleet
Blue1 has also operated the following aircraft types:
| Aircraft type | Years active |
|---|---|
| Boeing 717-200[15][16] | 2010–2015 |
| ATR-72[15] | 2009–2012 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90[15] | 2006–2011 |
| Avro RJ100[15] | 2003–2009 |
| Avro RJ85[15] | 2003–2009 |
| Saab 2000[15] | 2001–2006 |
| Fokker F28 | 1998–2001 |
| Saab 340 | 1998–2001 |
| Jetstream 31 | 1993–1998 |
| Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante | 1987–1993 |
| Cessna 402 | 1987–1988 |
Onboard services
Blue1 offers two service classes, Economy and Economy Extra (previously Blue1 Premium).[17]
- Economy Class: Coffee and tea are included on all Blue1 operated flights. Sandwiches and other drinks are available for purchase from "Cafe1".[18] Flights with very short flight time may have reduced service.
- Economy Extra: Fast Track security and Business Class check-in is included where available.
References
- Citations
- ↑ "Blue1 Oy". Business Information System. Helsinki: The National Board of Patents and Registration and the Tax Administration, Finland. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- 1 2 Annual Report 2011 sasannualreport2011.com Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- ↑ "Blue1 – Star Alliance". Star Alliance. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ↑ "Blue1 Head office." blue1. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ↑ "Privacy Policy." Blue1. Retrieved 25 February 2010. "or by visiting Rahtitie 3, 01530 Vantaa in person, where also the description of the data file is available for review."
- ↑ Pagiola 2004, p. 42.
- ↑ Pagliola 2004, pp. 42–43.
- ↑ Pagiola 2004, p. 44.
- ↑ Pagliola 2004, p. 45.
- ↑ Flight International 27 March 2007
- ↑ http://ch-aviation.com/portal/news/35651-finlands-blue-to-offload-b717-fleet-to-volotea-delta
- ↑ http://www.flygtorget.se/Aktuellt/Artikel/?Id=11085
- ↑ businesswire.com - SAS Enters into Agreements with Cityjet for Wet Lease and Sale of Blue1 1 October 2015
- ↑ ch-aviation.com - Blue1 retrieved 20 December 2015
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Blue1 Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ↑ Blue1 aircraft types
- ↑ "Blue1 Premium". blue1.com. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ↑ "Mmmmmmm Mmmmmenu" (pdf). blue1.com. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- Bibliography
- Pagiola, Stefano. "Stars In Their Eyes: Finland's Blue 1 Regional Airline". Air International, Vol 67 No 4. pp. 42–45.
External links
Media related to Blue1 at Wikimedia Commons
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