The largest Bulgarian company for civil aviation aircraft maintenance, Electra Trans Global, is launching a project to build one of the largest hangars with 7 lines at Burgas Airport. It will also include an apron, workshops, a training center, offices, parking lots and other facilities. The investment amounts to 120 million levs (60 million euro) and will create 1,500 jobs. The group, founded by Stefan Trifonov, also includes Electra Airways, which operates 11 aircraft and is expecting its 12th.
The main issue with the Burgas project, which has been in discussion for over 10 years, was the land. Now this will be resolved with the help of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which will lease out 7.4 hectares of land next to Burgas Airport for 100 years.
Thus the Burgas technical maintenance base of Electra Trans Global will become the second-largest in Bulgaria, following the one in Sofia operated by German giant Lufthansa Technik, which has 8 lines.
This will be the second base for Electra, as it has been operating in Varna since 2016. With its 3 lines there and 7 in Burgas, the company will become number 1 in Bulgaria (at least until Lufthansa Technik expands). While most maintenance companies concentrate in Sofia, Electra is the only one developing this industry at the two coastal airports.
The investor
Stefan Trifonov has a long professional background in aviation, specifically in the operation and maintenance of civil aircraft. Before starting his own business, he worked as an aviation engineer at Balkan Bulgarian Airlines (BGA), the country's flag carrier until 2002.
Electra Trans Global was registered in 2008 as a small tour operator offering minibus transfers for tourists. However, it soon decided to pivot into aircraft maintenance. Today Electra Trans Global is known as ETG Maintenance. It began training technicians, obtained a license, and started servicing aircraft, initially for Ararat International Airlines. The team grew to 100 technicians and engineers, and a workshop for repairing aviation parts was set up in Sofia.
Meanwhile, since Sofia was overcrowded with maintenance bases, Trifonov managed to persuade the Varna Airport concessionaire Fraport to reopen the old BGA hangar built in 1980, which had been used as a garage for decaying Soviet equipment for over a decade. A 5-year lease was signed. In 2016 the first line started operations and there are now three.
The circle closed with the registration of an airline, Electra Airways, acquiring its first aircraft in 2017. The following year a contract was signed with Enter Air, the second-largest Polish airline. As of now, Electra Airways is expecting its 12th aircraft and its revenue for 2023 reached 135 million levs. It operates charter and ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) flights.
The airline stands on the solid foundation of Electra Trans Global's technical services, a business proven more resilient during pandemics and wars and enjoying strong demand. Maintenance is the group's strength. The business model allows the acquisition of older aircraft at a lower cost and their refurbishment in-house, thus keeping expenses down. The maintenance company serves Electra Airways but also about 50% foreign clients.
Since early 2023 the Bulgarian company has had foreign partners and together they founded Vectr Group. The alliance includes four companies with different activities. Two are Electra Trans Global and Electra Airways. The others are the tour operator Classic Air, with offices in Tel Aviv and Italy, and the Irish lessor Maverick Horizon, which buys aircraft and leases them to Electra Airways. The Irish company is currently a co-owner of the two Bulgarian firms.
The new base in Burgas
Stefanov's idea for the base in Burgas dates back over 10 years. Around 2022 the project began in partnership with Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, the concessionaire of Varna and Burgas airports. The main issue was securing the land. The initial plan was to locate the base within the concession area. However, during the phase of financial planning conducted by an Irish consultant, a significant issue arose, Trifonov explains. The concession for Burgas Airport has about 22-23 years remaining. After it ends, everything built within the concession area becomes state property and the investor would not be able to recoup the large investment of 60 million euro within that timeframe.
Other options were explored. It turned out, quite by chance, that neighboring land - two plots totaling 7.4 hectares - was owned by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which cooperated in finding a solution. Thus the project will proceed and the investor will lease the land for 100 years. Construction is expected to take about three years.
Plans call for 1,500 jobs, starting with 500 in the first phase. The company is investing in training highly qualified workers and has its own cadet program for training technicians and engineers.
The largest Bulgarian company for civil aviation aircraft maintenance, Electra Trans Global, is launching a project to build one of the largest hangars with 7 lines at Burgas Airport. It will also include an apron, workshops, a training center, offices, parking lots and other facilities. The investment amounts to 120 million levs (60 million euro) and will create 1,500 jobs. The group, founded by Stefan Trifonov, also includes Electra Airways, which operates 11 aircraft and is expecting its 12th.
The main issue with the Burgas project, which has been in discussion for over 10 years, was the land. Now this will be resolved with the help of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which will lease out 7.4 hectares of land next to Burgas Airport for 100 years.
