Sibiu's richest man sets up airline

The owner of the Atlassib holding, Ilie Carabulea, has received an air operator license (AOC), has already bought an aircraft and has announced his intention to set up an airline. “I’ve been working on this project for more than a year now. It is a good time for such an investment and we will take it step by step. We already have an aircraft, which we have received the AOC license with. We will buy two more aeroplanes and we’ll most likely become operational in the September-November period,” Ilie Carabulea told ZIARUL FINANCIAR on Wednesday. He specified that the acquisition of the new ATR 72s, with a capacity of 52 seats, would be done in leasing, with the initial investment standing at about 2 million euros. Carabulea says air transport services will have reasonable costs, complementing the road transport services that Atlassib is developing. The investment of the Sibiu-based businessman comes at the same time as the entry on the Romanian market of several airlines offering low-cost air transport services, as is the case of Wizz Air.