According to bluWave Airlines COO Johnathon Neilsen, the company’s half-year results for 2012 are enroute to climb above past earnings records set by the firm since its inception in 2010. This interview comes after the airline released its Q2 results on July 26, demonstrating stabilization and a positive outlook for the rest of the year. However, the company was hit hard by high fuel cost as it entered its second year of operations, triggering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada in January 2011.

Although Neilsen joined the airline earlier this year after it resumed normal operations, he says that the firm has a lot to offer its market and that the management is steering the company clear of any obstacles that get in their way. The COO was formerly the Vice President of Operations at Qantas Virtual, which has since closed.

Late last week, we were able to speak with Neilsen on the phone where he was excited to talk about the airline’s progress and his prospects for the rest of the year.

VAFlash: We’ll get to the results in a moment, but earlier last month you and Connor Levens [President and CEO of bluWave] visited Embraer’s facilities in São Paulo, Brazil. Did anything come out of that trip? Or was it “just for show.”

Neilsen: Connor’s “Celebrating the Fourth of July in São Paulo?” blog post was “just for show” as we didn’t really spend the holiday in Brazil, but in terms of anything that came out of it, I can’t really say too much. We took a tour of their facilities with some of Embraer’s executives, exchanged a few business cards, and walked through the cabin of a few of their aircraft. But, honestly, the trip was only to get a feel of what they had to offer. We don’t intend on buying any regional aircraft any time soon, and we don’t expect to have anything come out of this except for a few occasional calls from Continue reading →