FROM BRNO AIRPORT TO FIVE NEW DESTINATIONS

Press release
Brno, December 14, 2017

Milano, Roma, Barcelona, Brussels, Lviv with the all-year operation, and from June – September also Split and Dubrovnik. Those are the new destination, where passengers from Brno Airport can fly from next year. Representatives of South Moravian Region on their meeting on 14th of December 2017 made a huge step into developing air transportation of the region. They approved founding a company Blue Air Moravia Transportation to be a subsidiary company of Jihomoravská rozvojová společnost, in which the region will have a 35% share.

The South Moravian Region and the city of Brno declare in the long run common interest in the development of air transportation. For this purpose, South Moravian Region, which is the only associate of Jihomoravská rozvojová společnost, approved the intention to sell 50% of shares of the company to the city of Brno. Afterwards, representatives of South Moravian Region approved founding a company Blue Air Moravia Transportation to be a subsidiary company of Jihomoravská rozvojová společnost. In this company will be the major shareholder company BLUE AIR (S.C. Blue Air-Airline Management Solutions S.R.L.) with a 65% share.

„This is a great opportunity for the region, that will help in further development. Approval by the representatives is the first step, followed by founding a collective company in next few days and finalizing all the contracts, that will contain all the details of our cooperation and guarantee monitoring of the investment for the region. In the approved budget for the next year, we have prepared 60 million Czech crowns, which is markedly less than other regions invest in air transport development. Our estimation is that the following year this amount will be lower and in the third year we expect a balanced budget of this newly founded company,“ says Governor of South Moravian Region Bohumil Šimek.

The project with participation of Jihomoravská rozvojová společnost s.r.o. and low-cost airline Blue Air as a strategic partner counts with increasing the number of passengers annually by 130 000 to the current situation. Jihomoravská rozvojová společnost conducted a market research and asked about the costs (prices of flights to designated destinations) and the willingness of the approached carriers to enter the joint venture and invest in it. Of the three carriers contacted, only the low-cost company Blue Air submitted a complete offer. The principle of a private investor has already been preliminarily approved by the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission in another case with the development of airlines from Brno Airport.

"We selected the destinations based on of an expert study by the reputable German company MKMetric. The advantage of Blue Air's offer is the aircraft with the base at Brno Airport, which will allow us to adapt the flight schedule to the needs of future passengers. Once the last details of the contract with the carrier have been fine-tuned, we will be able to present the detailed flight schedule, final ticket prices and the standard of on-board services. The assumption is that we will be able to publish this information in January 2018," said Daniel Mahovský, CEO of Jihomoravská rozvojová.

The strategic partner Blue Air offered a Boeing 737-500 aircraft with a capacity of 126 seats for the joint project. This aircraft will have a base at Brno Airport throughout the year. In the first phase, the following destinations were chosen: Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Brussels and Lviv with the year-round operation and in the period from June to September also destinations Split and Dubrovnik. The frequency of flights is set to be three times a week for Milan and Brussels, and two times a week for other destinations. The flight schedule will, of course, respond to current changes in demand by adjusting the number of frequencies.

"We believe that the new lines will find their passengers very soon. Brno Airport has a great advantage that it is compact, check-in is fast, and passengers do not have to spend unnecessary time waiting. I believe that the comfort and speed that the airport can provide will help increase the attractiveness of the lines," says Milan Kratina, CEO of the Accolade Group, owner of BRNO AIRPORT. "First of all, I want to appreciate the work of the South Moravian Region and the city of Brno, that their vision to develop air transportation is becoming a reality," adds Kratina.

Blue Air company has been on the market since 2004, with a fleet of 28 Boeing 737s, and another 12 aircraft ordered by carriers, making it one of the fastest-growing carriers in Europe.

Media contact:
Jakub Splavec
Media representative of LETIŠTĚ BRNO and Accolade group
+420 724 012 623
jakub.splavec@amic.cz