Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
Last year, I wrote about Moldovan-Romanian low-cost carrier, HiSky, launching nonstop flights between Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP) and New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in June 2024. Now, the low-cost carrier has announced its second US route with flights to/from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) planned for June 2026. This route was last flown nonstop 24 years ago by Romanian flag carrier, TAROM.
This new route will operate 2x weekly on Thursdays and Sundays using Airbus A330-200 aircraft equipped with 24 Business Class and 250 Economy Class seats. The route is currently for sale and fares seem reasonable across travel classes (starting at €349 and going up to €1,199 for one-way tickets). I find this route interesting and would love to go back to Romania. We had a great time spending Halloween in Bran Castle back in 2023 (more here).
Iulian Scorpan, CEO of HiSky, said:
What some called risk, we called vision, and it turns out we were right. Two years ago, we trusted in our passengers’ need to travel quickly, safely and comfortably across the ocean and we embraced this role of pioneers. After the results of the first year of operations on the New York route, with the same confidence, we are ready to become the airline that operates both direct connections with the US. 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. 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 has become Romania’s second-largest airline by passenger volume. It was founded in 2021 and carried its five-millionth passenger in June 2024. The carrier operates a fleet of eight Airbus aircraft and offers regular flights from seven airports in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. These include:
- Baia Mare’s Maramureș International Airport (BAY)
- Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP)
- Chișinău Eugen Doga International Airport (RMO)
- Avram Iancu Cluj International Airport (CLJ)
- Iași International Airport (IAS)
- Oradea Airport (OMR)
- Timișoara Traian Vuia International Airport (TSR)
In addition, the airline provides charter services to popular leisure destinations throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 2024, HiSky launched its first direct transatlantic route to New York. This marked the return of nonstop service between Romania and the United States. after 20 years.
Anthony’s Take: I need to convince my husband to come along, but I think it would be fun to take the inaugural flight to Bucharest. Let’s see if I can make this happen in June 2026.
(Image Credits: HiSky.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
