Bŭlgarska | MD-82

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Bŭlgarska
Aircraft - McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | LZ-PUY
Delivered to Air Canadien, 1983
Sold to AeroInternational, 2007
Sold to Bŭlgarska, 2013
Sold to Realines, 2018
Livery - Standard 1996
Country - Bulgaria

Bŭlgarska is the flag carrier of Bulgaria, founded in 1996 after the collapse of the previous flag carrier - Air Bulgaria - due to adverse economic conditions in the country. The airline started operations with several Tu-154s, and one ex-Air Bulgaria A320. Struggling from the outset, Bŭlgarska sold off the A320, and worked to replace the Tupolevs with second- and third-hand DC-9s. In the early 2000s, various MD-80 variants supplemented, then replaced the DC-9s. Starting in around 2010, Bŭlgarska expanded by buying a few more MD-80s and leasing 737-300s and -400s, and some of these 737s were painted in a new livery. However, due to increasing financial difficulties after 2014 the airline found it hard to keep up on lease payments, resulting in all the 737s being returned to their lessors by 2017. This left Bŭlgarska with seven MD-82s and six MD-88s, all owned by the airline, and all in original livery introduced upon the airline's inception - the one shown here, featuring the colors of the Bulgarian flag and a traditional folk pattern. However, continuing economic issues has led to some of these MD-80s now being sold to other carriers, and Bŭlgarska continued survival is now in question.