A Bulgarian airline will fly directly to New York three times a week. At the beginning of last month, the native startup GullivAir has received official permission from the US Department of Transportation to operate charter and scheduled flights from the EU to the US, Monitor bg writes.
The company plans to launch regular flights from Sofia to New York, John F. Kennedy Airport – one of the main service airports in the metropolis. The airport is the busiest international air passenger portal in North America and the 20th busiest airport in the world.
The non-connecting flight to America will certainly be shorter and cheaper. If you now fly to America in 15-16 hours, a direct flight will be about 10-11 hours.
The startup GullivAir acquired its first Airbus A330 in July 2020, when it received the LZ-ONE registration. Less than two months ago, the company leased a second aircraft of the same type, and within a month GullivAir is expected to acquire a third Airbus A330.
The aircraft are for flights from 5600 to 13 430 km and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in 2 classes.
With its three wide-body machines, the company plans to start regular direct flights from Sofia to New York three times a week. Currently no airline offers direct flights from Sofia to USA and all flights to this destination are connecting.
For example, the Polish LOT offers flights from Sofia to New York with connections to Warsaw, Turkish Airlines – via Istanbul, Lufthansa – via Frankfurt, and the Bulgarian national carrier Bulgaria Air connects Sofia with New York through its partners Air France / KLM via Paris and Amsterdam.
GullivAir was founded in 2001 by Yanko Ivanov and started operating in January 2002 with flights from Sofia to Great Britain for the needs of the tour operator Balkan Holidays. There has been talk of a direct airline to the United States for years.
Over the years, another company of Yanko Ivanov tried several times to obtain permission to fly to New York, and subsequently to Chicago, where most Bulgarians live.
There have been no direct routes to the United States for more than twenty years. The last direct flight of the Balkans, which flew to New York, was in 1999.
– .
