European Air Charter (Bulgarian airline)
Charter airline of Bulgaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
European Air Charter (Bulgarian: Юръпиън еър чартър)[3][4] (formerly Bulgarian Air Charter)[4] is a Bulgarian charter airline headquartered in Sofia.[5]
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| Founded | 2000 (as Bulgarian Air Charter) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | May 2021 (as European Air Charter) | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Fleet size | 10 | ||||||
| Destinations | Charter and ACMI[1] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||||||
| Key people | Apik Garabedian | ||||||
| Revenue |  €82 million (2017)[2] | ||||||
| Net income | €8.4 million (2017)[2] | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
Bulgarian Air Charter
European Air Charter was established as Bulgarian Air Charter in 2000 and started operations on 14 December 2000 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aviation Service Group. It operates flights for several tour operators to destinations mostly in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel and Poland.
Since the period the airline was founded, it has transported more than 3.5 million passengers. The company has 330 employees.[6] The airline has its own maintenance unit which has capabilities on McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series and Airbus A320 series aircraft covering airframe, engines and landing gear services and overhaul of aircraft components.[7]
The airline started operations with five Tupolev Tu-154s. In 2004, the airline retired these aircraft and replaced them with seven McDonnell Douglas MD-80. By 2011, the Bulgarian Air Charter fleet had grown to 12 MD-80s. In September 2015, Bulgarian Air Charter added its first Airbus A320-200 to its fleet.[8]
European Air Charter
In May 2021, Bulgarian Air Charter announced it was changing its name to European Air Charter.[4][3]
In October 2023, European Air Charter phased out their remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-82s as the last European operator.[9]
Destinations
European Air Charter operates flights for various airlines on wet-lease and ACMI contacts and tour operators in Europe, Middle East and Africa.[1]
Fleet
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Current fleet
As of August 2025[update], European Air Charter operates the following aircraft:[10]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 10 | — | 180 | |
| Total | 10 | — |
Former fleet
Bulgarian Air Charter also used to operate Tupolev Tu-154s[11] and - as one of the last European airlines to do so - McDonnell Douglas MD-82s,[9] which have since been phased out.[citation needed][citation needed]
