Spanish charter start-up Bravo targets 16 July launch

Proposed Spanish start-up Bravo Airlines is planning to launch charter operations on 16 July serving North Africa and European destinations.

The Madrid-based carrier will operate services with a pair of Boeing 757s on lease and is currently negotiating with an undisclosed European operator regarding the aircraft.

Airline CEO Miguel Castro says: “We are a Madrid based operator and will start operations on 16 July.”

He adds the airline will start by operating flights to Egyptian destinations such as Aswan, Cairo, Luxor and Sharm-el-Sheikh as well as to Senegalese capital Dakar. In Europe the carrier is considering flights to the Canary Islands and Budapest. He did not disclose any agreements with tour operators on these routes.

Bravo is being supported by US company Viva International, formerly called the Auxer Group, which says it has acquired a minority stake in the Spanish start-up.

A Viva International executive, who asked not to be named, says the company has acquired a 30% shareholding in Bravo and is also providing the capital for the 757 leases.

He says the airline has signed a letter of intent for the two 757s with a European operator and that it hopes to complete the agreement in the coming days. The carrier needs to take the aircraft in time for a 20-day inspection period by the Spanish authorities after which time it expects approval for Bravo’s air operator’s certificate (AOC).

Viva is backed by American and Dominican Republic investors and is a US publicly traded company. For some time Viva has been working on launching operations out of Santo Domingo. It has previously announced acquisitions of 49% shareholdings in Dominican carrier Queen Air as well as proposed start-up Royal Aruban Airlines (RAA). In February the latter revealed it was no longer working with Viva and was seeking other funding.