Air operators do not reconsider plans for Romania

Air operators say they will continue to develop in Romania and are announcing new flights, despite international traffic cutbacks registered amid the global economic crisis.

Recently, Lufthansa announced new flights from Romania to Italy, Austrian Airlines added Baia Mare to its flight schedule, while low-cost operator Wizz Air plans to double traffic to and from Romania. In parallel with domestic expansion plans, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) has reported the weakest indicators of the past 25 years for traditional European airlines: 4.8% fewer passengers in September. So far, a single drop has been reported domestically, the one registered by TAROM in the third quarter, of around 8%, according to company data. Many foreign operators do not publish their Romanian figures, but maintain they are still seeing a positive trend. British Airways says it has not registered traffic drops to and from Romania, despite the 5.7% decrease it reported in September at an international level. Alexandru Dobrescu, country manager of Air France-KLM for the Romanian market, made a similar announcement. Internationally, Air France saw its number of passengers shrink by 2.6% in September, while KLM saw a 1.6% increase. Lufthansa has embarked on one of the most aggressive expansion programmes in Romania. Starting February, it will operate direct flights from Bucharest to Milan. Lufthansa boosted its domestic presence recently by adding Sibiu-Munich and Cluj-Munich flights. Internationally, the airline posted a 0.7% decrease in the number of passengers in September compared with the same month of 2007. Besides traditional airlines that have cemented their domestic presence, EU integration has brought new airlines, particularly on the low-cost segment. Low-cost airlines that have entered Romania in the past two years include Wizz Air, easyJet, Germanwings and Ryanair. However, the biggest market share is further held by Blue Air, followed by Wizz Air and MyAir. Despite having a strong presence in Europe, Ryanair and easyJet do not have extensive activities domestically. However, low-cost operators are still considering expanding on the Romanian market.