French corporate charter and sublease provider Blue Line is set to launch its transatlantic operation. The move comes within weeks of it clinching from the US Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Transportation its foreign air carrier permit for its fleet of executive and VIP-configured Boeing MD-83s.
"We are optimistic that operations can begin at the end of February," says Blue Line vice-president for sales Pierre-Emmanuel Allard.
The transatlantic service will be targeted at existing and potential European customers needing to transport large groups across the Atlantic as well as US customers requiring corporate transport to the Caribbean and Europe.
"We are in a unique position with the MD-83," Allard says. "There are few aircraft of this size and configuration available for charter. We have spent several months working on our marketing strategy and we have now established a dedicated US customer base."
Allard says Blue Line's charter operation is aimed at users who typically travel with large groups of dedicated personnel and passengers and whose requirements cannot be serviced by the scheduled carriers. These include sports teams, rock and pop bands, manufacturers launching new products, the corporate hospitality industry and heads of state.
Paris Charles de Gaulle-based Blue Line also operates two short-range Fokker 100s - one in executive configuration and one on sublease to airlines - and plans to add an Airbus A310-300 in VVIP configuration at the end of August.
Source: Flight International
