At the end of June 2022, the Bucharest Law Court approved the 12-month extension of the preventive composition procedure opened by the company in Romania since June 2020.
Oana Petrescu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Blue Air: “This fact reaffirms the creditors confidence in Blue Air’s restructuring plan and in the established strategic directions. As the entry into this procedure in June 2020 allowed us to resume the activity of scheduled flights immediately after the end of the state of emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the extension until June 2023 of the preventive arrangement procedure allows Blue Air to ensure the stability and predictability of the company’s operations this summer – and until the stabilization of the European air transport market and the clarification of the situation of Blue Air shares and assets pledged in favor of the Romanian state.”
Blue Air thanks its trading partners for the vote of confidence received. Along with the continuation in good conditions of the preventive composition procedure approved in Italy in February 2022, the extension of the procedure in Romania confirms the importance of Blue Air for the aviation market in the region. At the same time, it is an important pillar of ensuring the success of the Blue Air restructuring program and ensuring the good operational functioning in the future, starting with the 2022 summer season.
“This summer, the entire European aviation industry is facing significant difficulties both due to the inability of large airports to cope with the sudden increase in people’s desire to resume air travel, and the doubling of the price of fuel (compared to last year). That’s why, since May, Blue Air’s commercial and operational teams have done a detailed analysis of the risks associated with each route and destination and reduced the flight schedule – prioritizing those destinations we can serve with minimal risk to passengers.
For the Blue Air team, it was essential to reschedule and cancel as quickly as possible the flights from July to September, considered to be at operational risk, before the vast majority of passengers could start planning their holidays ”continues Oana Petrescu.
“We do not expect to have other rescheduling or cancellations except for those that occurred as a result of notifications from airports or related to flight safety,” says Cristian Rada, the main shareholder who, starting yesterday, July 11, 2022, took over the mandate of general manager of the company.
“I thank all my colleagues for the professionalism and dedication they have shown throughout the pandemic and especially recently, which has proved extremely difficult for the entire European and global aviation industry. I still rely on their entire collaboration.
We want this summer to mean a return to normal for our passengers and to ensure, as far as it depends on us, safe travel. My colleagues are happy to resume their activities at maximum levels and are ready to offer passengers a comfortable and pleasant flight experience ”.
Blue Air’s restructuring and recovery plan, reconfirmed by the creditors, has two main directions, i.e. resizing and reorganizing the business around the bases and destinations that the company can profitably serve in the current conditions of flight demand and fuel price (including completing the outsourcing of non-core activities), and resuming the process of attracting external funding, for to make possible the return as soon as possible, in maximum 2-3 years, to the activity levels before the pandemic.
“The extension of the concordat must be seen as a necessary period to identify the legal mechanism for implementing the measures provided by the laws approving the emergency ordinances on granting state aid to BLUE AIR, opening both the option for the Romanian state to behave as a prudent private investor and the possibility of ensuring the financing of the company by a third investor ”states KPMG Restructuring, the Concordat Administrator.
About Blue Air:
Blue Air is the largest Romanian airline in terms of the number of passengers transported, with an Ultra – Low – Cost (ULC) business model and with an approach focused on passenger needs. With a team of about 800 aviation professionals, the Blue Air group has an impeccable history of flight safety. The company operates Boeing 737 aircraft. In its 19 years of operation, Blue Air has transported over 35 million passengers and flown over 400 million kilometers. The company is certified IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for exceptional operating standards and is a full member of IATA.
About Cristian Rada:
Cristian Rada is the main shareholder of the Airline Invest group and Blue Air Aviation S.A. He joined Blue Air in 2007 as a first-officer pilot, and since 2013 he has taken over 33% of Blue Air’s shares as a result of the tender organized by CITR in the Romstrade group’s insolvency process. In 2018, the Company’s shareholders carried out a strategic clarification process following which they decided to return the company to the low-cost business model, the separation of ground management and partially distribution activities and their reallocation between shareholders.
As a result of this process, starting with April 2019, Cristian Rada became the main shareholder of the company and started the program of organizing the group structure and preparing the company for listing on the London Stock Exchange – program interrupted due to the Covid pandemic. 19. As of July 11, 2022, he took over the position of CEO of the company, following the resignation of Steven Greenway for personal reasons. Cristian Rada is 47 years old and attended the courses of the Academy of Economic Studies – Faculty of Company Management (1994 – 1998) and of the Romanian Aviation Academy (2003-2007). He has the training, the experience, and the motivation to ensure the successful fulfillment of the Restructuring Plan presented to the creditors and to the Romanian State through the Concordat Offer approved on June 27, 2022.
