700 new jobs, 2 additional aircraft, 2 million passengers per year

Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would invest HUF 25 billion (USD 100 million) into expanding its operations in Budapest. As of March 2012, the airline will add two Airbus A320 aircraft to its Budapest base, a 66% increase in overall capacity.

Wizz Air has increased its projections for the number of passengers carried yearly from 1.4 million to 2 million. This will result in the addition of approximately 700 new (direct and associated) jobs in Hungary. The airline will launch one new route and increase frequencies on several existing routes. The number of available flights per week will nearly double from 67 to 129:

The Budapest-Bucharest flight will initially operate three times per week. With the addition of three flights to London Luton, Wizz Air will now offer triple daily service. Flights to Eindhoven and Brussels Charleroi will double in frequency, now operating twice daily. The frequency of flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, and Malmo will also double and be available at least daily.
Destination / Weekly frequency today / Summer 2012 / Change
Bucharest (NEW) 0 4 4
London Luton 18 21 3
Brussels Charleroi 7 14 7
Eindhoven 7 13 6
Milan Bergamo 5 11 6
Rome 4 10 6
Barcelona 3 7 4
Malmo 3 7 4
Madrid 2 7 5
Stockholm Skavsta 2 4 2
Bourgas 0 3 3
Bari 2 3 1
Dortmund 2 3 1
Gothenburg 2 3 1
Tirgu Mures 2 3 1
Frankfurt Hahn 2 3 1
Naples 2 2 -
Bologna Forli 2 2 -
Turku 0 2 2
Catania 0 2 2
Pisa 2 2 -
Palma de Mallorca 0 1 1
Corfu 0 1 1
Antalya 0 1 1

"Wizz Air remains highly committed to Hungary, our homeland. We have been growing year-on-year since the start of operation in 2004. We will continue to meet the increase in consumer demand and continue to offer new jobs in Budapest" - said József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air.

Wizz Air 03/02/2012

Bombardier Aerospace and Air Nostrum of Valencia, Spain yesterday celebrated the delivery of the airline’s 75th Bombardier commercial aircraft at Bombardier’s Mirabel facility in Québec, where the CRJ aircraft are manufactured. The aircraft, a CRJ1000 NextGen regional jet, was accepted by Miguel Ángel Falcón, General Manager, Air Nostrum.

The 75th aircraft follows nine CRJ1000 NextGen, 11 CRJ900, and 35 CRJ200 regional jets, as well as 19 Q300 turboprops that have previously been delivered to Air Nostrum.

“Bombardier’s CRJ and Q-Series aircraft have served Air Nostrum’s operations exceedingly well and I’m delighted to be here today to accept our latest CRJ1000 NextGen regional jet for our fleet,” said Mr. Falcón. “Since their entry-into-service in 2010, we have deployed our CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft on high-frequency routes to feed the hubs of our oneworld® alliance partner, Iberia. The CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft are performing beyond our expectations, delivering reduced costs per seat, increasing efficiencies, reducing environmental emissions and providing an enhanced passenger experience.”

“As a launch customer for the CRJ1000 NextGen regional jet, Air Nostrum has been a steadfast champion in the aircraft’s entry-into-service, and we are delighted to hand over the airline’s 10th model of the type,” said Sylvain Leclerc, Vice President & General manager, CRJ Programs, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, during the delivery event. “We wish Air Nostrum much continued success as one of Europe’s leading regional airlines,” added Mr Leclerc.

Air Nostrum is one of the largest regional airlines in Europe and a member of oneworld airline alliance. With some 2,000 employees, the airline operates more than 150,000 annual flights on more than 120 routes, and carries over 5 million passengers per year.

Air Nostrum is the only regional airline in Europe that has been chosen as "Airline of the Year" (Golden Category), by the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) on five occasions. The airline has also been awarded with the "Palme D’Or," by the same association. In 2011, Air Transport World named Air Nostrum as its “Regional Airline of the Year.”

In total, Bombardier has recorded firm orders for 1,709 CRJ Series regional jets and 1,084 Q-Series turboprops.

February 3, 2012 — Toronto, Bombardier Aerospace

RYANAIR TO OPEN BUDAPEST BASE IN TWO WEEKS WITH 31 NEW ROUTES, 2M PAX P.A., SAVING UP TO 2,000 JOBS FOLLOWING MALEV’S CLOSURE RYANAIR FARES START FROM €9.99/HUF2,000 FROM 17 FEBRUARY

RYANAIR MEETING WITH HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT AND BUDAPEST AIRPORT TODAY TO FINALISE RESCUE PLAN

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline today (3rd Feb) at a press conference in Budapest announced its intention to launch a rescue plan for Budapest and Hungarian tourism following the grounding of Malev airline last evening. Ryanair confirmed that it will base 4 brand new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft at Budapest Airport commencing in just two weeks’ time on Friday 17th February where it will open 31 new routes, offering lower fares (€9.99/HUF2,999) than any other airline, and delivering up to 2m passengers p.a., replacing most of the traffic and routes lost by Budapest following last night’s grounding of Malev.

Ryanair, which currently employs over 700 Hungarian pilots and cabin crew, will be holding an open recruitment day in Budapest on Tuesday next (7th Feb), inviting job applications from Malev pilots, cabin crew and engineers to help Ryanair gear up for this 4 aircraft, 2m passenger p.a. base at Budapest Airport. The International Airport Council figures confirm that this 2m pax p.a. will support 2,000 jobs at Budapest Airport.

This largest ever investment in Hungarian aviation and tourism is subject to reaching final agreement with Budapest Airport today on costs, facilities and handling, and Ryanair’s Deputy CEO Michael Cawley has travelled to Budapest to finalise these negotiations with Budapest Airport and the Hungarian Government. Because Ryanair has grounded up to 80 aircraft this winter, it has the capacity to respond immediately to the Malev grounding by moving aircraft, pilots and crews to Budapest within two weeks, in order to minimise the disruption to Hungarian consumers/visitors and tourism as a result of the Malev closure.

Ryanair’s new Budapest base will start on Friday 17th February at fares from €9.99/HUF2,999 and these 31 new routes go on sale at these HUF2,999/€9.99 fares on www.ryanair.com/hu
today.

Ryanair’s 31 new routes to/from Budapest from 17 Feb
Routes / Starts / From €
Alicante APR 49.99
Manchester FEB 9.99
Baden Baden FEB 9.99
Munich West FEB 9.99
Barcelona FEB 9.99
Milan (BGY) FEB 9.99
Birmingham MAR 29.99
Warsaw (Modlin) JUL 29.99
Bologna MAR 9.99
Oslo FEB 9.99
Bristol MAR 29.99
Palma APR 49.99
Brussels (CRL) FEB 9.99
Paphos APR 49.99
Chania APR 49.99
Paris FEB 9.99
Dublin FEB 9.99
Pisa APR 49.99
Eindhoven APR 29.99
Rhodes APR 49.99
Gottenburg FEB 9.99
Rome (CIA) FEB 9.99
Hamburg (LBC) FEB 9.99
Stockholm (NYO) FEB 9.99
Krakow FEB 9.99
Thessaloniki FEB 9.99
London (STN) FEB 9.99
Trapani APR 49.99
Madrid FEB 9.99
Venice( TSF) APR 29.99
Malaga APR 49.99

Ryanair 3/02/2012

Seen this morning on Malev Facebook's page ...

Dear Passengers, Dear Friends,

We hereby inform you that in order to minimize damages, the board of directors of Hungarian national carrier Malév Hungarian Airlines decided to order the cease of operations this morning. According to the decision, from 6 AM 3 February 2012, after 66 years of almost uninterrupted operation, Malév aircraft will not take off any more.

Until recent days, we had hopes to continue our operation, and experienced uninterrupted passenger trust, but financial information circulated in the near past resulted in a loss of trust from the side of our partners; therefore the normal financial operation of the company became impossible.

The passengers of Malév Hungarian Airlines will be informed by our customer service regarding their travel options and their compensation options. Please see the websites http://www.malev.com, http://www.bud.hu/english and http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-na ... evelopment for more information.

In the name of the management and employees of Malév Hungarian Airlines we hereby thank you for your trust, and express our apologies for any inconveniences and we are sorry that Malév Hungarian Airlines has come to this fate despite our best efforts.

Yours faithfully,

Lóránt Limberger (CEO) and all employees of Malév Hungarian Airlines

British Airways is to welcome airberlin to oneworld in March, as part of its plans to strengthen its network in Germany, and throughout south and central Europe.

British Airways is sponsoring airberlin’s membership of oneworld, and has just completed a thorough review of airberlin’s processes and procedures. airberlin joins oneworld alongside Austrian airline NIKI, a member of the airberlin group, who together form Europe’s sixth largest carrier.

Joining oneworld will significantly strengthen the carrier’s network both in Europe and around the world. It also precedes the opening of Brandenburg Airport in Berlin in three months time, when airberlin, British Airways and all other oneworld carriers operating to the city will co-locate in the same terminal, sharing lounges and other facilities. oneworld passengers connecting through the city will benefit from an altogether smoother transfer experience.

The entry of airberlin will add 70 destinations to the oneworld network, including 18 within Germany, and will make regional markets in Europe easier to reach than ever before. airberlin’s routes will be available through oneworld’s full and extensive range of alliance fares and sales products.

British Airways customers are already benefiting from links with airberlin, as the airline signed a codeshare agreement last June on more than 40 routes around Europe.

British Airways, Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Wizz Air, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would move its entire Warsaw based operations to the soon to open Warsaw Modlin Airport as of 18 July 2012.

Wizz Air took the decision to move its Warsaw network and operational base from Chopin Airport to Warsaw Modlin in order to reduce fares on the market. The Warsaw Modlin Airport is conveniently situated north of the capital, about a 40 minute drive from the city center. The new airport will operate on a 24/7 basis and will allow Wizz Air to fly its schedule more efficiently without the operational constraints that exist in the main airport. Most importantly, costs associated with Warsaw Modlin Airport operations will be significantly lower, enabling the airline to slash fares for the travelling public. These considerations reinforce Wizz Air’s commitment to customers to offer an exceptional travel experience at truly affordable fares.

Prices start from 125 PLN (one-way, all inclusive) and to help us celebrate our move, Wizz Air is offering customers 20% off all seats, all flights to/from Warsaw Modlin Airport until midnight on Friday 3 February 2012. Book now on wizzair.com to take advantage of this incredible deal!

Wizz Air offers customers direct connections to/from Warsaw to the following business and leisure destinations:

Destination / Warsaw Modlin Weekly Frequencies
Stavanger NEW 3
London Luton 25
Brussels Charleroi 7
Stockholm Skavsta 7
Rome Fiumicino 5
Oslo Sandefjord Torp 5
Milan Bergamo 4
Paris Beauvais 4
Barcelona 3
Eindhoven 3
Gothenburg 3
Liverpool 3
Malmo 3
Doncaster Sheffield 2
Forli Bologna 2
Madrid 2
Glasgow Prestwick 2
Cork 2
Bourgas 3 (seasonal)

Customers who have already booked flights scheduled to depart from Warsaw Chopin Airport on or after 18 July 2012 will be contacted directly about the change.

“Wizz Air is pleased to reduce fares for passengers flying to/from the new Warsaw Modlin Airport. We are confident that customers will welcome the cost-savings we can now provide and follow us in our move,” said John Stephenson, Executive Vice President, Wizz Air.

“For all Warsaw Modlin Airport employees, this is a special day. Today, we finally have the sense that our airport is coming alive and our efforts over the years are bringing results. Wizz Air is a respected and well-known brand amongst passengers. Wizz Air’s decision to move operations to Warsaw Modlin Airport gives us the opportunity to become an important hub serving the Warsaw region. In the same turn, this raises expectations about the Warsaw Modlin airport and we need to meet that challenge. We are prepared to meet Wizz Air’s expectations as well as those of their passengers. We are convinced that together we will achieve success,” said Piotr Okienczy, President of the Board Warsaw Modlin Airport.

Wizz Air, 02/02/2012

Wizz Air, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would provide a special rescue package to passengers impacted by the suspension of Malev’s operations by offering re-routing alternatives to/from Budapest.

Passengers who hold a valid Malev electronic ticket for travel between February 3rd, 2012 and March 24th, 2012 can call the Wizz Air call centre at +36 1 358 6565 to benefit from the 9900 HUF fares (all inclusive, one way). Seats are subject to availability and flights must be rebooked by 6pm February 13th, 2012.

Rebooking Conditions:
Passengers must have the Malev electronic ticket number available when calling the Wizz Air call centre to rebook their travel. Passengers will also need to present a printed copy of their original Malev electronic ticket (in addition to the Wizz Air itinerary), upon check-in for their Wizz Air flight. Passengers without a Malev electronic ticket will not be allowed to travel.

Additional charges apply for optional services such as checked baggage, pre-boarding, etc. Please check wizzair.com for these details along with information about baggage size and weight restrictions.


“As the largest airline in Central and Eastern Europe, we deem it important to extend a helping hand to passengers whose travel plans have been interrupted by Malev’s decision to suspend operations. In the past, we have provided similar support to passengers who have been stranded by failing carriers and we will continue to do so. We will continue to grow throughout the region, and are here to provide our passengers a reliable and trusted travel experience for great value and customer satisfaction”, said György Abrán, Chief Commercial Officer of Wizz Air .

Wizz Air, Budapest, Hungary, 03/02/2012

Strike action in the airline sector from 6 to 9 February: advice to passengers

Following a call for strike action from 6 to 9 February made by several unions in the airline sector, Air France is doing all it can to limit the impact of this strike on its operations and to inform its customers in advance, as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Air France apologizes to its passengers for the disruption and inconvenience that this strike may cause, which will affect the whole French air transport industry.

Air France will directly inform its customers

In case of cancellations, delays or postponed flights, Air France will directly inform its customers of the disruption affecting their flight by telephone, text message or e-mail.

In order to be informed personally, Air France advises all its customers to ensure they provide reliable contact details where they can be contacted during their trip (mobile phone and e-mail).

Passengers can give their contact details online at www.airfrance.com, on the Air France mobile website (http://mobile.airfrance.com), iPhone, Android and Blackberry apps, in the “Manage your reservations” section.

This service is free of charge and is available to all passengers worldwide. The confidential information will only be used to inform them in case of disruption.

Consulting flight information

Information concerning flights for any particular day and the following day can be consulted at any time:

• At www.airfrance.com, in the “Flight information and schedules” section.
  
• On the Air France mobile website (http://mobile.airfrance.com) and on the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps, in the “All flight schedules” section.
  
• By texting their flight number to 6 36 54. For example, if your flight number is AF6250, text ‘AF6250’. In just a few minutes, you will receive the information in real time. This service is only available on Metropolitan France.
  
• By calling +33 1 57 02 10 58 (from 08.30 to 20.30 Paris time) and abroad by calling the number indicated in the "Contact us" section at www.airfrance.com.

Last minute delays and cancellations are possible

Air France will do its best to adjust its flight schedule depending on how many of its employees join the strike. However, as they are not obliged to inform the Company in advance of their intention to strike, some last minute delays and cancellations may arise.

Changing travel dates and information on traffic forecasts

Passengers due to travel between 6 and 9 February will be able to modify or postpone their journey. Practical information is available online at www.airfrance.com.

On Friday 3 February, Air France will provide traffic forecasts for Monday 6 February.
Air France, Thursday 2 February 2012

Finnair continues to optimize its narrow body fleet and has signed an agreement on the sublease of four Embraer 170 aircraft to Estonian Air. The sublease opportunity is in part made possible by Finnair’s continued work on network optimization and rationalization, and the company achieves considerable savings with this agreement. Fleet optimization is a part of Finnair’s savings program that targets annual savings of 140 million euros.

The sublease periods begin in the first quarter of 2012 and end during 2015. Finnair operates its narrow-body fleet in its domestic and European network.

Finnair announced on August 5, 2011 that it targeted decreases in its annual costs of 140 million euros by 2014. Finnair has already announced that it:

- optimizes its narrow body fleet by discontinuing the lease agreements of four Airbus A320 Series aircraft
- has transferred baggage and apron services to Swissport
- is evaluating the optimum size of its fleet in European air traffic
- has begun analyses of different alternatives to improve cost-efficiency of maintenance service
- continues to investigate partnership opportunities for catering production and Finncatering
- is streamlining its support functions and marketing and distribution activities
- has initiated, and is initiating, numerous smaller savings measures throughout the company.

Lufthansa is resuming flights to Tripoli on 2 February. The Libyan capital will be served thrice weekly – on Mondays, Thursday and Sundays – from Frankfurt.

Flight LH1312, operated by an Airbus A319, will depart from Frankfurt in the morning hours on those days, landing in Tripoli three hours later. The return flight as LH 1313 will depart from Tripoli in the afternoon. Last year Lufthansa temporarily suspended flights to and from Libya because of the political unrest in the country.

Flights to and from Tripoli can be booked online at www.lufthansa.com or via the Lufthansa Call Center in Germany on 01805 805 805 (calls made within the German landline network cost €0.14/min; calls from mobile networks will be charged a maximum of €0.42/min.). Customers can also book their flights through Lufthansa-designated travel agencies or at Lufthansa sales counters at airports.

The reinstated service at a glance:

Frankfurt – Tripoli (Libya)

Airports/Three-letter code/Time zone
Frankfurt, Terminal 1 (FRA); UTC + 1 hour
Tripoli (TIP); UTC + 2 hours

Flight schedule
Flights operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays

Flight duration (on average):
Frankfurt – Tripoli: 2 hours 55 minutes
Tripoli – Frankfurt: 3 hours 15 minutes

Distance: 1,976km (1,227 miles)

Aircraft type: A319

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Communications Lufthansa German Airlines, 01.02.12