Sun-Air (EZ, Billund) has returned to scheduled passenger flights by resuming its route between its Billund base and London City for the first time since suspending the service on March 11, 2020. Having started on September 5, it is operating 6x weekly frequencies in a timetable that is valid until March 25, 2023.
Targeting business passengers but also leisure travellers piqued by either destination, the carrier is operating the route with a 32-seat Do328-300 in British Airways livery, as it operates under a franchise deal with the UK flag carrier. British Airways itself flies daily on an evening rotation between London Heathrow and Billund, according to the ch-aviation capacities module.
Sun-Air operates and owns a fleet of 14 of the Fairchild Dornier jets, six of which are currently active, the ch-aviation fleets module shows. It also offers charter flights and other services.
On the resumed route there is a morning flight from Monday to Thursday, supplemented by evening frequencies on Wednesdays and Thursdays. If there is enough demand, the company is ready to increase the service to 2x daily on all weekdays, according to owner and chairman of the board Niels Sundberg.
He told Danish media that Sun-Air is also looking at reopening some of its other routes in the upcoming winter schedules. Before the pandemic, besides London City, it flew from Billund to Düsseldorf, Manchester International, and Oslo Gardermoen, but so far only the Manchester route is a distinct possibility. The carrier is currently evaluating leasing offers for aircraft that can take up to 88 passengers, Sundberg told the Danish aviation news site Check-in.
Sun-Air initially set a restart of its scheduled services from Billund for October 2020, before postponing it to November while adding a new service to Brussels National. That did not happen, and it then shelved any return until August 2021 at the earliest. In January 2021, Sun-Air’s wholly-owned German unit, Sun-Air of Germany GmbH, filed for bankruptcy.
