Egyptian-born Sherif Ussama, 36, who took the reins of the biggest Romanian privately-held airline, Blue Air, less than five months after he joined the company plans to secure "a bigger exposure in Western Europe" for the carrier, but is unwilling to provide concrete details about the strategy he will pursue this year. "I came to Romania last April, urged by my wife who is Romanian born. I used to provide assistance in aviation for several airlines on the Romanian market and not only, including Blue Air. Blue Air representatives proposed that I join the company and in November I took the position of sales and marketing manager," stated Ussama, who has a 15-year expertise in aviation. Gheorghe Racaru, a strategy manager with the group of firms controlled by Nelu Iordache (owner of Blue Air and Romstrade builder) specified expansion was one of the strategic lines for Blue Air this year. "For 2010, we'll pursue the strategic directions announced at the beginning of the year. Blue Air has already started developing strong partnerships with important players in the field of international aviation. To boost the number of international destinations, we'll consolidate this type of partnerships," Sherif Ussama stated.

Egyptian-born Sherif Ussama, 36, who took the reins of the biggest Romanian privately-held airline, Blue Air, less than five months after he joined the company plans to secure "a bigger exposure in Western Europe" for the carrier, but is unwilling to provide concrete details about the strategy he will pursue this year. "I came to Romania last April, urged by my wife who is Romanian born. I used to provide assistance in aviation for several airlines on the Romanian market and not only, including Blue Air. Blue Air representatives proposed that I join the company and in November I took the position of sales and marketing manager," stated Ussama, who has