Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional It ...
airline headquartered in
Fiumicino
Fiumicino () is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 80,500 (2019). It is known for being the site of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the busiest airport in Italy and the eleventh-b ...
operating scheduled and charter flights mostly to domestic and international leisure destinations. As of late 2021, the airline was in the process to change its brand name to Luke Air also retiring their former ''Blu-express'' brand used for domestic and short-haul destinations. Additional business charter flights used to be operated under the name ''Executive Blue''. As of late October 2021, it suspended all operations until further notice and was subsequently liquidated in late 2022.
History
Blue Panorama Airlines
Blue Panorama is a private Italian airline operating intercontinental, international, and national charter and scheduled flights. It was founded in Rome in 1998 by Franco Pecci, and has been an
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
member since 2002 (IATA code BV). Since 2005, Blue Panorama Airlines'
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
fleet has operated national and international flights for the Blu-Express low-cost division.
In 2012,
Alitalia
Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The ai ...
declared interest in a merger with Blue Panorama, as well as with Wind Jet, another Italian airline, but decided not to proceed with the acquisitions. In October 2012, Blue Panorama entered bankruptcy protection. This license gave the airline the ability to restructure itself. On 25 November 2013, Blu-express started flights from Italy to Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza after
Belle Air
Belle Air Sh.p.k (stylized as ''belleair'') was a privately owned Albanian low-cost airline headquartered in Tirana.
History
Belle Air was founded in 2005. It ceased operations on 24 November 2013 stating economic difficulties. Their fleet has ...
ceased operations there.
In January 2014, Blue Panorama Airlines requested to be admitted to extraordinary administration procedure and the abandonment of the composition procedure in continuity. The management of the airline is left to the company's founder. Blue Panorama confirmed that company business and flights are fully operational.
In 2018 the airline came under fire as it has been the policy of Blue Panorama Airlines to charge significant fees to passengers for minor name changes.
Luke Air
In October 2019, the airline announced it would be changing its name to ''Luke Air'' by the end of 2019, revealing a new yellow-blue livery on an
Airbus A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A3 ...
which was then due to be delivered.austrianaviation.net - "Blue Panorama becomes Luke Air" (German) 26 October 2019 On 7 March 2020, the first A330-200 was delivered. However, the rebranding had yet to take place. In late 2020, Blue Panorama retired their last
Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
. In January 2021, it was announced that the rebrand will go ahead. As of September 2021, the airline's official website had its content changed to ''Luke Air operated by Blue Panorama Airlines''.blue-panorama.com retrieved 28 September 2021
On 27 October 2021, the airline announced the suspension of all flights stating financial difficulties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Blue Panorama went through recurring restructuring proceedings in recent years.ch-aviation.com - Italy's Blue Panorama suspends flight operations 27 October 2021 Shortly after, it filed for
bankruptcy protection
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...
. In June 2022, it has been reported that the grounded airline retired both of their
Airbus A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A3 ...
Blue Panorama operated a network of Italian domestic destinations branded as ''blu-express'' as well as long-haul leisure flights mainly around the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...
.
Codeshare agreements
Blue Panorama Airlines maintained
Codeshare agreement
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with the following airlines:
*
Albawings
Albawings is an Albanian low-cost airline headquartered in Tirana and based at its hub at Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza.
History
Albawings was founded in February 2015. Albawings was awarded the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) by t ...
*
Cubana de Aviación
Cubana de Aviación S.A., commonly known as Cubana, is Cuba's flag carrier, as well as the country's largest airline. It was founded in , becoming one of the earliest airlines to emerge in Latin America. It has its corporate headquarters in Ha ...
Fleet
As of November 2022, the Blue Panorama fleet no longer included any aircraft. The following types have been operated before:
Accidents and incidents
*On 16 July 2004, a
Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
operating as flight 1504 experienced an uncontained engine failure on takeoff from Rome-Fiumucino Airport. The plane returned and conducted a successful emergency landing. Investigation revealed that a high pressure fuel hose leaked approximately 700 kilograms of fuel into the engine's nacelle during taxi, which ignited upon takeoff.
*On 22 September 2018, a Blue Panorama Spanish pilot, Emilio Leone, was arrested by Albanian police as his colleagues reported him for trying to fly the aircraft intoxicated.
In popular culture
*A Blue Panorama
Boeing 757-200
The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978.
The prototype completed its maide ...
and
Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...