The German holiday airline Sundair is getting a sister company in Croatia. Owner Marcos Rossello founded a second airline under the project name “Fly Air 41”, which is already in the approval process. The new airline will fly under the AOC and operating license of Croatia.

Rossello confirmed to Aviation Direct that “Fly Air 41”, the preliminary project name, is trying to obtain the certificates. It is expected that the Croatian Civil Aviation Authority will grant approval at the end of April or beginning of May 2021. “The airline in Croatia is not a replacement for Sundair, nor is it a subsidiary. The owner is the same and that's the only thing in common, ”says Rossello. “The brand name has not yet been determined and a final decision has not yet been made about possible routes”.

Speaking to Aviation Direct, the manager emphasized that the activities in Croatia will have no impact on Sundair. “Sundair is committed to Germany as a location. We are currently assuming that the protective shield proceedings can be abandoned at the end of April 2021, ”said Rossello. “Currently three aircraft are being serviced by Croatia Airlines. These will fly for Sundair and there is no connection with the start-up in Croatia. Croatia Airlines has been our reliable maintenance partner for several years ”.

Sundair received no state aid

In contrast to Lufthansa and Condor, the holiday airline received no state aid. Nevertheless, the coronavirus pandemic affected the country badly. With the help of Protective shield proceedings, which Condor and now Friedrichshafen Airport had also applied for, Sundair tackled a realignment.

These proceedings have helped Sundair to renegotiate numerous contracts and to be able to reposition itself. In this context there was also one Change in the shareholder structure, because Schauinsland-Reisen sold the minority stake to Marcos Rossello, who has been the sole owner for several weeks. When asked about notifications in the commercial register, the manager referred to the peculiarities of the protective shield procedure, which is still quite new in German insolvency law. “There will be no downsizing and there will be no closures. As already said, we are currently assuming that we will be able to leave the protective shield at the end of April 2021, ”said Rossello.

According to the notification of the bankruptcy court, a daily statute will take place on April 7, 2021 at 14 p.m., in which the restructuring plan will be voted on. This means that on this day the green light could be given to leave the protective screen. "Sundair will then be flying in a new set-up in the summer of 00 and the long-term cooperation with Schauinsland-Reisen will continue", says Rossello optimistically.