With promises to connect Europe to Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Bosnian Wand Airlines is the latest airline in former Yugoslavia with grand ambitions, according to Digital Journal.
With a name to make Harry Potter proud, newly-registered airline Bosnian Wand Airlines has announced its intention to start flights from Sarajevo to four European cities early next year.
The proposed flights to Amsterdam, Stockholm, Athens and Frankfurt are part of a more comprehensive destination network, which includes Middle Eastern destinations such as Jeddah, Tehran, Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, the latter two of which are located in Iraqi Kurdistan. An explanation of the magical name stems from that of its owners, the Al Wand Group in Iraq.
“Our vision is for BWA to become a recognizable national brand on the aviation market. We believe it is possible. An analysis by some 100 experts, who determine which parts of the world are best to invest in, have pointed towards Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the airline said in a company statement.
The company, which was registered in June this year, is currently undergoing the procedure to obtain the appropriate licenses, and its initial crew recently completed training at the Turkish Airlines flight centre in Istanbul. According to the company website, the airline plans quick expansion to 60 destinations globally.
The announcement has been greeted with some skepticism on local forums in a region which has experienced a number of start-up airline announcements, which has yet to happen, including Dalmatian and Air Croatia. On the other hand, the success of the Etihad investment in Air Serbia and the first direct flights into Zagreb from the Middle East with Qatar Airways and Fly Dubai, indicates that there is a potential growth industry with long-haul flights to the wider Balkan region.
