Blue Wings AG was a

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

based in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, focusing on serving

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

from its base at

Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düsse ...

. The headquarters were located on the airport property.

History

Early years and growth

Blue Wings was established in 2002, received the AOC on 27 June 2003 and started operations in July of the same year. It initially operated charter flights from Düsseldorf using a wet-leased

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

. In June 2006, the Russian National Reserve Corporation (NRC) acquired a 48 percent shareholding through its

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

based subsidiary ''Alpstream AG'', which was intended to lead to a close co-operation between Blue Wings and

Red Wings Airlines Red Wings Airlines is a Russian regional leisure airline based in Moscow Domodedovo Airport. The airline provides both scheduled passenger and cargo services. History Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian ac ...

, also belonging to NRC. On 6 October 2006, Blue Wings signed a purchase agreement with

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation, stylized as jetBlue, is an American major airline headquartered in Long Island City, in Queens, New York City. Primarily a point-to-point carrier, JetBlue's network features six focus cities including its main hub a ...

for five second-hand

Airbus A320-200 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

aircraft. For cost-saving reasons, Blue Wings adopted a nearly identical color scheme compared to JetBlue. On 17 October of the same year, another order - this time for 16 new Airbus A320 and 4

Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...

was signed, and subsequently announced during the

Farnborough Air Show The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...

of the same year.

Development since 2009 and closure

On 30 December 2009, the

Federal Office for Civil Aviation of Germany The ''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt'' (LBA, "Federal Aviation Office") is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig.Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, had signed a charter agreement with Blue Wings. Subsequently, the license was reinstated on 5 May. On 5 August 2009, it was announced that

Iraqi Airways Iraqi Airways Company (), operating as Iraqi Airways, is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on the grounds of Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad. It is the second Oldest airlines, oldest airline in the Middle East. Iraqi Airways ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

's national airline, had signed a contract to lease three Blue Wings

Airbus A320-232 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

, which were used on European routes. On 13 January 2010, Blue Wings ceased all operations, filing bankruptcy due to the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

and the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, which reduced investor interest. The airline's corporate head office was located in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, at

. Before closure it was in Terminal A. Previously it was in Hangar 8 at the same airport.

Destinations

Blue Wings Airbus A330-223 at Cologne Bonn Airport

Blue Wings operated the following international scheduled destinations in November 2011:

Africa

; *

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

Marrakech-Menara Airport Marrakesh Menara Airport (, , , ) is an international airport serving Marrakesh, the capital city of the Marrakesh-Safi region in Morocco. It is an international facility that receives several European flights as well as flights from Casablanca, ...

Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

Agadir–Al Massira Airport Agadir–Al Massira Airport (; ; ) is an international airport serving Agadir, a major city in southwest Morocco and the capital of Souss-Massa region. The airport is located in the commune of Temsia, southeast of Agadir proper. In 2023, Al M ...

; * Monastir - Habib Bourguiba International Airport

Asia

; *

Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...

Sary-Arka Airport Sary-Arka Airport () is an international airport which serves the city of Karaganda and its satellite town in Kazakhstan. It is located southeast of the city. History The initial airport was built in 1934, on a site at the edge of the city ...

; *

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport Beirut ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the fourth-largest city in the Levant region and the sixteenth-largest ...

Europe

; *

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Berlin Schönefeld Airport Berlin Schönefeld Airport () was the secondary international airport of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It was located southeast of Berlin near the town of Schönefeld in the state of Brandenburg and bordered Berlin's southern boundary. It w ...

Base *

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Hamburg Airport Hamburg Airport () , is a major international airport in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany. Since November 2016 the airport has been named after the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. It is located north of the city centre in t ...

focus city *

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (German: ''Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden'') is the international airport of Karlsruhe, the third-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also serves the spa town of Baden-Baden. It is the sta ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

/ Halle -

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and allows 24 hour take off and landing for cargo flights. In ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Münster Osnabrück Airport Münster Osnabrück Airport , formerly ''Münster/Osnabrück International Airport'' and ''Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück'' in German, is a minor international airport in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located near Grev ...

; *

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Athens International Airport Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' , commonly initialised as AIA, is the largest international airport in Greece, serving the city of Athens and region of Attica. It began operation on 28 March 2001 (in time for the 2004 Su ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Heraklion International Airport Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a municipal population of 179 ...

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Corfu International Airport Corfu International Airport "Ioannis Kapodistrias" () or Ioannis Kapodistrias (Capodistrias) International Airport is a government-owned airport on the Greek island of Corfu at Kerkyra, serving both scheduled and charter flights from European c ...

; *

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

- Alghero-Fertilia Airport *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Rome Ciampino Airport G. B. Pastine–Rome Ciampino Airport is the secondary international airport serving Rome, the capital of Italy, after Leonardo da Vinci–Rome Fiumicino Airport. It is a joint civilian, commercial and military airport situated south southeas ...

; * Faro -

Faro Airport Faro International Airport (, ), officially Faro - Gago Coutinho International Airport (''Aeroporto Internacional de Faro - Gago Coutinho''), is located westAI of the city of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965 being the main ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

Funchal Airport Madeira Airport () , informally Funchal Airport (), formerly Santa Catarina Airport () and officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is an international airport in the civil parish of Santa Cruz in the Portuguese archipelago and auton ...

; *

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Sheremetyevo International Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport (, , Internal code: ШРМ) is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states, as well as the ninth-busiest airport in Euro ...

; *

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

- El Prat Airport *

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

Gran Canaria Airport Gran Canaria Airport () is a passenger and freight airport on the island of Gran Canaria. It is an important airport within the Spanish air transport network (owned and managed by a public enterprise, AENA), as it holds the sixth position in te ...

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

Reina Sofia Airport Tenerife South Airport () , also known as Tenerife South–Reina Sofía Airport, is the larger of the two international airports located on the island of Tenerife (the other being Tenerife North Airport) and the second busiest in the Canary I ...

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

Palma de Mallorca Airport Palma de Mallorca Airport — also known as Son Sant Joan Airport – is an international airport located east of Palma, Mallorca, Spain, adjacent to the village of Can Pastilla. In 2024, the airport handled 33.3 million passengers, making ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

Ibiza Airport Ibiza Airport (, ) is the international airport serving the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera in Spain located southwest of Ibiza Town. In 2020, the airport handled 2.1 million passengers (after more than 8.2 million in pre COVID-19 c ...

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Málaga Airport Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Spain after Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid–Barajas, Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Barcelona–El Prat and Palma de Mallorca Airport, Palma d ...

; *

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Boryspil International Airport The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...

; *

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

Trabzon Airport Trabzon Airport is an airport near the city of Trabzon in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The airport opened in 1957. In 2009, it served 1,596,905 passengers, of which most (95%) were on domestic routes. In 2009, Trabzon Airport ranked ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

- Adnan Menderes International Airport *

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

Antalya Airport Antalya Airport is a major international airport located northeast of the city centre of Antalya, Turkey. It is a major destination during the European summer leisure season due to its location at the country's Mediterranean coast. It handled ...

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

Çarşamba Airport Çarşamba is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 774 km2, and its population is 140,664 (2022). It is in the center of the Çarşamba Plain. The mayor is Hüseyin Dündar (Independent). Ferhan Şensoy - writer ...

Fleet

The Blue Wings fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at 25 November 2012):Blue Wings Company Profile (Page 12)
/ref>

References

External links

Blue Wings
(Archive, 2009)

(Archive, 2005-2007)
Blue Wings
(Archive) {{Airlines of Germany Defunct airlines of Germany Airlines established in 2002 Airlines disestablished in 2010 2002 establishments in Germany German companies disestablished in 2010 German companies established in 2002