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Jes Air was estabilished in 1991 and was one of the first privately owned airlines in Bulgaria. The airline was supported by investment capital of Singapore-based companies. At the beginning, flight operations were on an irregular basis. However some of those eventually became regular schedules. Jes Air became famous for delays, but remained popular due to its low fares.[citation needed]
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 Airbus A310 before delivery at Zurich Airport, Switzerland, in 1991 | |||||||
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| Founded | 1991 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceased operations | 1992 | ||||||
| Hubs | Sofia Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Tan Son Nhat Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 3 | ||||||
| Destinations | 6 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||||||
| Key people | Milen Keremidchiev [1] | ||||||
History
editThe first route for Jes Air was Sofia–New York City, after an agreement between the two nations. After this the air carrier expanded its routes towards Canada and Asia.
One of the aircraft - LZ-JXB was wet leased to Region Air Pte. LTtd, Singapore and was instrumental in the creation of the "new" Vietnam Airlines. Jes Air went bankrupt only one year after it started flights and at the end of 1992 was re-registered in the Middle East and renamed.
Following the bankruptcy, Region Air employed ex-JES Air pilots and engineers to continue with the development of Vietnam Airlines. The company's director, Milen Keremidchiev, from 2007 became Deputy Foreign Minister of Bulgaria. He is currently a member of the populist party There Is Such a People.
Destinations
editIt operates long-haul flights to Southeast Asia, Australia, North America and Middle East from its respective hub in Sofia.
Australia
Bulgaria
- Sofia - Sofia Airport (hub)
Canada
Singapore
United Arab Emirates
United States
Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh City - Tan Son Nhat Airport second hub
Fleet
editThe JES Air fleet included the following aircraft:[2]
| Aircraft | Total | Registrations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-200 | 1 | LZ-JXB | Hijacked as Flight 850 and sold to Vietnam Airlines |
| Airbus A310-300 | 2 | LZ-JXA LZ-JXC |
Both returned to lessors JXA was leased by Air Niugini |
| Total | 3 | ||
Accidents and incidents
edit- 4 September 1992: Vietnam Airlines Flight 850, registration LZ-JXB, leased from Jes Air, with 127 occupants on board en route from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, hijacked by Ly Tong, a former pilot in the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. He then dropped anti-communist leaflets over Ho Chi Minh City before parachuting out. Vietnamese security forces later arrested him on the ground. The aircraft landed safely, and no one on board was injured. Tong was incarcerated in a Hanoi prison, where he remained until 1998.[3]
Notes
edit- ↑ "Министерство на външните работи - Милен Керемедчиев, заместник-министър на външните работи". Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ↑ Photos - JES Air aircraft captions on BGspotters.net Archived 2015-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Accident description for VN850 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 3 June 2018.
External links
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