Bluebird Nordic, formerly ''Bluebird Cargo'', was a cargo airline based in Reykjavík,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, operating scheduled and chartered

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

services to and from Iceland and within

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

out of its base at Keflavík International Airport, with a special focus on Liège Airport &

East Midlands Airport East Midlands Airport is an international airport in the East Midlands of England, close to Castle Donington in northwestern Leicestershire, between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is () to the south and Lincoln () nort ...

as freight hubs.

History

Bluebird Cargo was established in 1999 and started operations in March 2001. Operations began with daily freighter services between Iceland, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with a single

Boeing 737-300F The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

. It was wholly owned by Icelandair Group"Icelandic Conversion", ''

Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

'', January 8, 2007. until 2010 and had 63 employees as of 2007. In 2014, the airline was bought by Haru Holding and Steinn Logi Björnsson became

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. In 2017, the company changed their name from Bluebird Cargo to Bluebird Nordic In January 2020, Avia Solutions Group acquired 100% of Bluebird Nordic. In August 2021, Bluebird Nordic announced plans to increase its Boeing 737-800 fleet to 25 units by 2024. On 4 January 2022, Bluebird Nordic acquired a

Boeing 777-300ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...

which was formerly operated by

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

. On 25 January 2022, Bluebird Nordic acquired another 777-300ER which was formerly operated by

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...

. In April 2022, Bluebird Nordic appointed Audrone Keinyte as new

. Bluebird Nordic ceased operations on 30 April 2024 and returned all aircraft to their lessors.aerotelegraph.com - "Bluebird Nordic ceases operations"
(German) 4 May 2024

Destinations

, Bluebird Nordic operated freight services to the following scheduled destinations in addition to ad-hoc and charter services:bluebird.is - Air Freight
retrieved 8 February 2021 * Billund - Billund Airport *

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

–

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...

* Reykjavík – Keflavík International Airport, base

Fleet

Prior to its closure, the Bluebird Nordic fleet consisted of the following aircraft:planespotters.net - Bluebird Cargo Fleet Details and History
retrieved 8 February 2021

References

External links

Official website
{{Airlines of Iceland Defunct airlines of Iceland Airlines established in 1999 Airlines disestablished in 2024 Defunct cargo airlines Icelandair 1999 establishments in Iceland