Romanian Airline Revives Route to U.S. City After 24-Year Gap

Romanian low-cost carrier HiSky announced Wednesday that it will launch nonstop service between Chicago and Bucharest next year.

HiSky A330
A HiSky A330 (Photo: HiSky)
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

Romanian low-cost carrier HiSky announced Wednesday that it will launch nonstop service to a major U.S. city.

Starting June 4, 2026, the airline will connect the Romanian capital of Bucharest with Chicago. Flights will operate twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays.

Chicago will be the carrier’s second destination in the U.S. It currently serves New York-JFK from Bucharest.

No airline has flown nonstop between Bucharest and Chicago in 24 years.

HiSky said it has timed the service so that passengers from several cities in Romania and neighboring Moldova, as well as Tel Aviv, Israel, can fly first to Bucharest and then catch the connecting flight to Chicago.

In a statement, HiSky CEO Iulian Scorpan said the airline was encouraged by the success of its New York route and wanted to begin service to another U.S. city with special cultural ties to Eastern Europe.

“For this second transatlantic service, we chose a destination of great interest not only for tourists and the business community, but also for the diaspora,” Scorpan said. “The Romanian and Moldovan community in Chicago is one of the largest and most established in the United States and, considering that nearly 25 years have passed since the last direct flights, we realize that an entire generation has lacked the chance to maintain this direct link with the homeland.”

HiSky operates a fleet of eight Airbus A320-family aircraft. It flies mainly within Europe.

Zach Vasile

Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of commercial aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.
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