Captain Radoslav Vassilev talks about the historic flight of the new Airbus A220-100 from Montreal to Sofia

Pilot Radoslav Vassilev, who is a commander and instructor at the national carrier Bulgaria Air, made a historic trans-oceanic flight with an Airbus A220-100 passenger aircraft without refueling. On December 18, 2024, he was the pilot in command of the flight that brought the sixth new aircraft, registered LZ-VIE, from the manufacturer's factory in Montreal, Canada to its home base in Sofia.

On January 7, 2025, Captain Radoslav Vassilev was a guest on Bulgaria ON AIR's Bulgaria in the Morning program, where he talked more about the direct flight of the brand new aircraft and shared what are the current challenges in civil aviation.

"Flying over the ocean is a very specific case. There are a lot of requirements there and it's a bit different flight than a flight over Europe where there is radio communication everywhere. When the priority is time, we drive at a slightly higher speed. The whole flight, from take-off to landing, was 9 hours and 21 minutes. My personal record. There was some fuel left, there were no problems," the pilot said in the studio.

Vassilev is adamant that people are far from the stage of having an unmanned passenger aircraft in civil aviation. "More and more planes and drones are being operated from the ground, but we are still far away because the development of technology solves some problems but creates others," the guest explained on air of the morning block.

Captain Vassilev, together with co-pilot Zlatina Batischeva, brought to our country the sixth modern Airbus A220 aircraft, which increases and renews the air fleet of the national carrier. The A220 model is the most modern in its class, with lower fuel consumption, a spacious and quiet cabin, offering excellent on-board conditions for an even more comfortable journey for Bulgaria Air passengers.

A video of Commander Vassilev's full interview can be seen on the official website of Bulgaria ON AIR TV – HERE.