German group buys 10% in Romania’s low cost airline Blue Air

German Zeitfracht Group, with operations in aviation but also in logistics, naval transport, and real estate, bought a 10% stake in Blue Air, the largest Romania air carrier and the second largest player on the local market after Hungarian rival Wizz Air.

Last month, Profit.ro announced that the German group wanted a control position in the Romanian company.

Last year, Blue Air became the strategic partner of the Zeitfracht Group on the German market, where it operates in Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, and Stuttgart. Last autumn, Blue Air bought Moldovan national carrier Air Moldova for EUR 2.5 million, also taking over the company's EUR 61.2 million debts.

Blue Air was established in 2004 and has developed over the years to become a pan-European air operator with bases in Romania, Cyprus, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The business was launched by Nelu Iordache, a businessman sentenced in December 2017 to six years and three months in prison for misappropriation of public funds. The company is now controlled by two Romanian investors: Rada Cristian and Marius Puiu Mihail (general manager), holding 45% each.

In 2016, Blue Air became the largest Romanian airline, surpassing for the first time state airline Tarom by the number of passengers transported. In 2018, Blue Air carried over 5 million passengers.

(Photo source: Facebook/Blue Air)