Blue Air Cites Financial Difficulties In Dropping Plans To Acquire Five Of The Aircraft

The Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air said in a statement Thursday that it has cancelled orders for five Boeing 737 aircraft it had ordered in 2008. The carrier's parent company Romstrade cited financial difficulties as the reason for scrapping plans to acquire the new aircraft.

The French news service AFP reports that the order was worth over $462 million to Boeing. "Blue Air in agreement with Boeing has cancelled an order made in 2008 for five Next-Generation 737 that were expected to be delivered between 2015 and 2016", the airline said in the statement.

Romstrade's CEO Nely Iordach was reportedly arrested in December on charges of fraud and money laundering. He is accused of taking millions of Euros earmarked for the construction of a highway in Romania and using some of the money to finance the low-cost airline. Such transfers are not allowed under European Union rules.

Blue Air said it is operating normally, and that the cancellation of the order would not affect the "activity of the airline." The airline's current fleet consists of six Boeing 737-400s and one 737-500.

FMI: www.blueairweb.com