Air VIA

Air VIA
Ер Виа

IATA ICAO Callsign VL VIM CRYSTAL
Founded	1990
Operating bases	Sofia Airport Burgas Airport Varna Airport
Fleet size	2
Destinations	Charters
Headquarters	Sofia, Bulgaria
Key people	Tom De Geytere
Revenue	€55.8 million (2015)[1]
Net income	€0.2 million (2015)[2]
Website	air-via.com

Air VIA is a charter airline with its head office in Sofia, Bulgaria,^[3] that operates charter flights on behalf of European tour operators. Most Air VIA flights operate from European destinations into Varna Airport and Burgas Airport, the airline also offers wet lease subservices.^[4]

History

Air VIA Tupolev Tu-154M in 1997

The airline was founded and started operations in 1990 as Varna International Airways. The company is licensed and certified according to the national and European standards for non-regular transport of passengers. In 1990, Air VIA started operations with five new Tupolev 154M. After the airline was founded by a group of private Bulgarian investors the company initially performed charter flights for Bulgarian and leading European tour operators (Neckermann, TUI Travel, Jetair and Prodintour) to and from Bulgarian seaside resorts.

In 2005, Air VIA's management decided to completely change the fleet due to the ever growing competition, EU regulations, environmental responsibility, increasing fuel prices and last but not least - higher customer requirements. Since the summer of 2006, Air VIA is the first Bulgarian airline to operate the Airbus A320 family. In 2013, the company had 217 employees. On 28 August 2015, Air Via added its first Airbus A321-200 to its fleet.^[5]

Destinations

Air Via mainly operates charter flights between the Bulgarian seaside airports Bourgas and Varna and countries in Western Europe and the Middle East.

Fleet

Air VIA Airbus A320-200

As of November 2016, the Air VIA fleet consists of the following aircraft:^[6]

Air VIA Fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Passengers	Notes
Airbus A320-200	1	180
Airbus A321-200	1	220

Incidents and accidents

• On 24 May 2013, Air VIA flight 502 from Leipzig to Varna overshot the runway at Varna Airport after touchdown because of tailwind. Two people on board were injured during evacuation.^[7][8]
• On 4 July 2014, in clear weather and calm winds, the Air VIA's A320 flight 501 from Varna to Leipzig failed to land within length of runway 08R and touched down hard short of the runway threshold. The aircraft bounced and touched down for a second time at the very beginning of the runway (in the area of the ‘piano keys’) in a nose-high attitude resulting in a tailstrike. The landing run was completed normally and the A320 taxied to the main apron without assistance. Nobody was injured. Substantial damage occurred to the aft fuselage and a longer repair is expected.

References

1. http://www.capital.bg/k100/?y=2016&ranktype=K100%20-%20%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82#rating-menu
2. http://www.capital.bg/k100/?y=2016&ranktype=K100%20-%20%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82#rating-menu
3. "Contacts". www.air-via.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
4. Flight International 27 March 2007
5. "Skyliner - aviation news & more". www.skyliner-aviation.de. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
6. "Aircraft and Fleet Lists". www.ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
7. "Самолет излезе от пистата на летище Варна, две жени са със счупени крайници (допълнена и видео)". www.dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
8. "Accident: VIA A320 at Varna on May 24th 2013, runway excursion". avherald.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.

External links

Media related to Air VIA at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website