Braathens Regional Airlines

Last updated
BRA Sverige AB
BRA Braathens Regional Airlines
Company type Aktiebolag
Industry Aviation
Predecessor Sverigeflyg
Malmö Aviation
Founded2016 (2016)
Headquarters Bromma Airport, Stockholm
Area served
 Sweden, Europe
Key people
Ulrika Matsgård, CEO
Owner
Number of employees
400
Subsidiaries Braathens Regional Airways
Braathens International Airways
Website flygbra.se

BRA Sverige AB, trading as Braathens Regional Airlines, often shortended to BRA(Swedish for "Good"), is a Swedish virtual airline headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, which operates wet lease flights, primarily for Scandinavian Airlines. [1] Between 2016 and 2024, BRA operated its own route network with its main operational base at Stockholm Bromma Airport. [2]

Contents

Established in 2016, the airline was created to unify the brands of Malmö Aviation and Sverigeflyg under a single identity for the Swedish domestic market. [3] [4] BRA does not hold an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) or operate its own aircraft; instead, it charters aircraft and crews from its sister companies, Braathens Regional Airways and Braathens International Airways. [5]

In September 2024 Braathens Regional Airlines announced that it would discontinue its regular flight services and cease operations at Bromma Airport, and move to operating wet lease flights for Scandinavian Airlines from Stockholm Arlanda. [6] [7]

History

Predecessors and formation

In 2007, Braganza formed Braathens Aviation as a holding company for its aviation ventures in Sweden, including Malmö Aviation. [8] By 2012, Braganza acquired Golden Air, a regional airline in Sweden, which was subsequently rebranded as Braathens Regional Airlines in 2013. The consolidation continued with Braganza’s acquisition of approximately 80% of Sverigeflyg in 2011. Full ownership was achieved by 2013, integrating Sverigeflyg’s routes into the Braathens network. [9] [10]

In February 2016, Braathens Regional Airlines was officially established following the merger of Malmö Aviation and Sverigeflyg. [11]

COVID-19 pandemic

From early April 2020 until late May 2020, BRA suspended all flights in response to a sharp decrease in demand due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Swedish Government and Public Health Agency's recommendation that people not travel around the country. [12] BRA filed in court for a debt restructuring on 6 April 2020. [13] BRA relaunched limited charter operations on October 1, 2020, and then resumed scheduled domestic operations later in the final quarter of 2020. [14] [15]

Investment and restructuring

On October 15, 2021, Swedish pension fund AMF announced a SEK 200 million investment in Braathens Regional Airlines, securing a 19% stake in the company. [16]

Between 2022 and 2024, BRA undertook significant restructuring efforts to address financial and operational challenges. [17] In October 2023, BRA applied for creditor protection in Sweden for seven of its thirteen affiliated companies. The restructuring plan, approved by creditors and the Solna District Court in February 2024, included a SEK 114 million investment from existing shareholders. [18] During this period, BRA focused on three main areas: domestic flights within Sweden, charter services, and ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) agreements. The airline also obtained a second Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for the newly formed Braathens International Airways, which focuses on charter flights. [19]

Move to Arlanda Airport and shift to contract flights

Braathens Regional Airlines announced in September 2024 that it would discontinue its regular flight services and shift its operations to wet-lease flights under a new seven-year contract with SAS, valued at 6 billion kronor. As part of this transition, the airline ceased operations at Bromma Airport and moved its services to Stockholm Arlanda Airport. [20] BRA stated that this decision was in response to a decline in domestic air travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. BRA planned to lay off approximately 70 employees in ground services and administrative roles while simultaneously recruiting around 100 new pilots and cabin crew to support its new operations at Arlanda. [21] The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce indicated that BRA's departure could result in the loss of approximately 90% of Bromma's air traffic, raising concerns about the Bromma Airport's potential closure. [22]

Braathens marked its final flight, from Visby Airport to Stockholm Bromma, flight TF427, with a heart-shaped flight path over western Stockholm before landing on 30 December 2024. Following this flight, the ATR 72-600 aircraft conducted a ferry flight to be relocated to Stockholm Arlanda Airport. [23]

Starting in January 2025, the Braathens Regional fleet of 14 aircraft was repainted in SAS livery. [24]

Former destinations

In December 2024, Braathens Regional Airlines discontinued all its scheduled routes as part of the transition announced in September 2024. The airline ceased operations at Bromma Airport and shifted to providing wet lease services for Scandinavian Airlines from Stockholm Arlanda. [25]

Previously, BRA had operated routes from its hub at Bromma including to Aarhus in Denmark, Helsinki in Finland, and a wide range of destinations in Sweden, including Gothenburg, Malmö, Umeå, Kalmar, Ronneby, and seasonal routes such as Sälen and Norrköping. [26] [27] The airline also had codeshare agreements with Finnair and Widerøe, established as of 2020. [28]

Fleet

BRA ATR 72-600 operated by Braathens Regional Airways SE-MKH ATR 72 BRA VBY.jpg
BRA ATR 72-600 operated by Braathens Regional Airways

As of October 2024, the fleet operated for BRA Braathens Regional Airlines consists of the following aircraft: [29]

AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
BRA Braathens Regional Airlines fleet
ATR 72-600 14—72operated by Braathens Regional Airways
Total14—

    See also

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    References

    1. ↑ "Braathens Regional Airlines Becomes SAS's Prime Wet-Lease Partner | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
    2. ↑ Sipinski, Domonik (September 18, 2024). "Sweden's BRA to end scheduled ops in favour of SAS ACMI". Ch-Aviation . Retrieved December 30, 2024.
    3. ↑ "Braathens Aviation wird BRA: Airline wählt Namen, den es schon gibt". aeroTELEGRAPH. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
    4. ↑ "Flygbolag i Sverige med Operativ Licens (OL)". Svenskaflygbolag.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
    5. ↑ Popovic, Vanja (14 Mar 2024). "Sweden's BRA completes latest bout of restructuring".
    6. ↑ Österberg/TT, Johanna Ekström/TT, Tobias (2024-09-17). "BRA slutar att flyga från Bromma flygplats". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN   1101-2412 . Retrieved 2024-09-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    7. ↑ Tamm, Heike (2024-09-17). "SAS and Braathens sign long-term wet lease partnership". AviTrader Aviation News. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
    8. ↑ "History". www.braganza.com. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    9. ↑ "Braganza flyttar till Sverige". Realtid (in Swedish). 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    10. ↑ "Behance". Behance. March 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
    11. ↑ "Med planen att lyfta landets inrikesresor". 2016-04-19.
    12. ↑ Mayberry, Kate; Uras, Umut; Najjah, Farah (2 April 2020). "Global coronavirus cases surpass 900,000: Live updates". Al Jazeera . Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
    13. ↑ Somnell, Mikaela; Ahmadi Högfeldt, Farida (6 April 2020). "Flygbolaget BRA hotas av konkurs". SVT Nyheter.
    14. ↑ Editor, Business (2024-03-20). "BRA – Braathens Regional Airlines Completes Restructuring and Plans Fleet Expansion" . Retrieved 2024-09-01.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
    15. ↑ "Sweden's BRA to relaunch international flights in 3Q21 - ch-aviation". archive.is. 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    16. ↑ "AMF investerar i flygbolaget BRA | Placera". www.placera.se. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    17. ↑ "Sweden's BRA completes latest bout of restructuring - ch-aviation". archive.is. 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    18. ↑ Orban, André (2024-03-15). "Braathens Regional Airlines successfully concludes restructuring process". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    19. ↑ "BRA – Braathens Regional Airlines: after restructuring, life goes on". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
    20. ↑ KARL MEYER VON BREMEN (2024-09-17). "Flygbolaget BRA byter lämnar Bromma". Mitt i Stockholm.
    21. ↑ Nyheter, S. V. T. (2024-09-17). "BRA lämnar Bromma för Arlanda – ska flyga för SAS". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
    22. ↑ Österberg/TT, Johanna Ekström/TT, Tobias (2024-09-17). "BRA slutar att flyga från Bromma flygplats". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN   1101-2412 . Retrieved 2024-09-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    23. ↑ Orban, André (2024-12-30). "BRA farewell flight from Bromma draws heart in sky over Stockholm". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
    24. ↑ "Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
    25. ↑ flygbra.se - Destinationer (Swedish) retrieved 4 September 2022
    26. ↑ "Braathens Regional Airlines (B.R.A) opens a new route from Helsinki to Bromma Stockholm city airport | Flygbolaget BRA". via.tt.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-01-01.
    27. ↑ "Färre inrikesflyg tynger flygbolaget Bra". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). 2024-07-23. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
    28. ↑ "Flygtorget » Flygnyheter » Flygnyheter » Finnair bygger skandinaviskt linjenät". www.flygtorget.se. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
    29. ↑ "BRA - Braathens Regional Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.flygbra.se. Retrieved 12 Dec 2023.

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