Bulgaria Air, is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, with its headquarters at Sofia Airport in Sofia. The company is owned by Chimimport Inc. and is a leader in terms of local market share. The airline operates short and medium haul aircraft to destinations in Europe, Middle East, and Russia, focus cities are Burgas and Varna.
The airline was established in 2002 as a successor to the insolvent Balkan Bulgarian Airlines and commenced operations on 4 December that year. By order of the Minister of Transport and Communications it was declared the national flag carrier in November 2002. Bulgaria Air began operations using the name "Balkan Air Tour." The airline was known by that name for just a short period of time. The name "Bulgaria Air" and initial logo were determined by a public competition. Bulgaria Air was privatised in 2006; although it was rumoured that the government wanted to sell the carrier to a major foreign investor, a group of locally owned companies, led by Hemus Air, emerged as the buyer with Italian airline Air One being the only other contender.
The charter brand of Bulgaria Air is Bul Air.
Livery
Embraer ERJ-190STD (ERJ-190-100), registration LZ-VAR, built 2011, serial number 19000496 Schiphol (AMS/EHAM), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 12 June 2016
