Low-cost airline arrives in Bulgaria, causing turbulence for rivals
Web posted at: 9/26/2005 2:18:8
SOFIA: The touchdown of Wizz Air aircraft in Bulgaria's capital city of Sofia last week marked the arrival of the first low-cost airline in the country, spelling an imminent shake-up for the local travel industry.
Wizz Air, the number one low-cost carrier in central and eastern Europe, obtained a government license in June and launched its first flights from Sofia to Budapest in Hungary last week.
Hailing the company's expansion, chief executive of Wizz, Jozsef Varadi, said that in two years the airline would be the biggest in the country, a pledge that struck fear into its two Bulgarian competitors, the state-owned Bulgaria Air and Hemus Air.
"We call on the government to revise its decision for liberalizing the air transport market by letting in foreign low-cost companies ahead of the country's accession to the European Union in 2007," said the chief executive of Hemus Air, Dimitar Pavlov.
He added: "The priority of the government should be to protect the Bulgarian air carriers and not to promote foreign ones."
Konstantin Taskov, a director of state-owned Bulgaria Air, warned that the group would suffer a 20-30 percent decline in customers to Budapest after the start of Wizz Air flights.
Bulgaria Air has a leading position in Bulgaria with a 34-percent market share, followed by Germany's Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Air France and Alitalia, Jordan Karamalakov of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said.
Cheers,
White Cap
