The race continues: Audacious plans for 2010
For 2010, Blue Air expects the low-cost aviation market to reach 5 million passengers. In this context, both companies came up with expansion plans to get a bigger slice of the aviation industry pie.
As for Blue Air, the company targets 2.2 million passengers and a turnover of €200-220 million.
In order to achieve these objectives, Blue Air will introduce new routes as of March: Bucharest-Dublin, and Bucharest-Florence. Constanta – Brussels and Bucharest-Nice routes will be added in the summer timetable.
The airline also plans to open new bases, in Larnaca (Cyprus) and Sibiu. “Cyprus is an important market for us. We have a 65% share of all flights to and from Romania”, said Ionascu at the opening of the base in Cyprus.
To serve the new routes, the company will increase fleet by 5 aircrafts (3 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation and 2 SAAB 340). “We will increase headcount by 30%. We plan to recruit 200 persons in 2010, mainly cabin crew staff (around 30-50 pilots) and engineers”, said Ionascu. The company currently employs 830.
In 2010, the Romanian market will remain one of the top priorities for the Hungarian-based airline Wizz Air as well. The company plans to carry 2 million passengers on the routes to and from Romania.
Wizz Air’s strategy for this year will be based on the consolidation of the existent routes. “We will remain focused on routes to and from Italy, which is the most important market, especially after the bankruptcy of My Air, but also on Romania-Spain air routes, for which the business segment declined but was offset by the growth on leisure travel”, said the representative of Wizz Air.
The company said recently it added a new aircraft to Cluj base, enabling the company to operate new flights from Pisa and Cuneo /Torino as of June 2010.
As for Blue Air, the company targets 2.2 million passengers and a turnover of €200-220 million.
In order to achieve these objectives, Blue Air will introduce new routes as of March: Bucharest-Dublin, and Bucharest-Florence. Constanta – Brussels and Bucharest-Nice routes will be added in the summer timetable.
The airline also plans to open new bases, in Larnaca (Cyprus) and Sibiu. “Cyprus is an important market for us. We have a 65% share of all flights to and from Romania”, said Ionascu at the opening of the base in Cyprus.
To serve the new routes, the company will increase fleet by 5 aircrafts (3 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation and 2 SAAB 340). “We will increase headcount by 30%. We plan to recruit 200 persons in 2010, mainly cabin crew staff (around 30-50 pilots) and engineers”, said Ionascu. The company currently employs 830.
In 2010, the Romanian market will remain one of the top priorities for the Hungarian-based airline Wizz Air as well. The company plans to carry 2 million passengers on the routes to and from Romania.
Wizz Air’s strategy for this year will be based on the consolidation of the existent routes. “We will remain focused on routes to and from Italy, which is the most important market, especially after the bankruptcy of My Air, but also on Romania-Spain air routes, for which the business segment declined but was offset by the growth on leisure travel”, said the representative of Wizz Air.
The company said recently it added a new aircraft to Cluj base, enabling the company to operate new flights from Pisa and Cuneo /Torino as of June 2010.