TORONTO — SkyGreece Airlines has signed a joint venture with Bulgaria’s BH Air to strengthen its position in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Bill Alefantis, Chief Commercial Officer of SkyGreece Airlines, and Ianko Ivanov, CEO and Accountable Manager of BH Air, announced this new strategic joint venture between the two airlines.

“By adding Sofia to Athens, Thessaloniki, Zagreb and also Budapest to our hub and strategic routes, we solidify our presence in the Balkans and Eastern Europe and become a genuine alternative for travellers and travel agents searching for direct flights between Europe and North America,” said Alefantis.

“BH Air is a great company and with the addition of its five aircraft to our program, it definitely make us an important player in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans. It will allow us to feed our various hubs but also to use the fleet as a backup for our North American operations.”

“This new partnership will enable us to maximize the utilization of our fleet in Europe and to develop a North American program from Bulgaria. Together with SkyGreece Airlines, we will develop more synergies and more alternatives for everyone, and Canada is only one of the countries we wish to offer from Bulgaria,” said Ivanov.

BH Air is an IATA and IOSA carrier that started its operations 14 years ago in Bulgaria. It has three Airbus 320s, one Airbus 319 and one Airbus 330 in its present fleet.

SkyGreece Airlines will start its North America operations on May 17, 2015 with direct flights between Athens, Thessaloniki, Budapest and Zagreb and Montreal and Toronto.