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Sat, Feb 11 2012
Budget airlines see Bulgarian operations grow
Photo: Assen Tonev
No-frill airline carriers Wizz Air, EasyJet, Germanwings, Aer Lingus and Sky Europe served around 26.5 per cent of passengers carried through the Sofia airport in the first half of 2009, the airport said on its website.
The airport serviced 1.523 million passengers in January to June 2009.
The five low-cost airlines controlled about 20 per cent of the market in 2008 and 12 per cent in the first half of that year, with growth largely driven by new flights by Wizz Air and EasyJet.
Hungarian Wizz Air, tipped as the market leader servicing one domestic and seven international routes, plans to launch a flight to Eindhoven, The Netherlands, from October 2009.
Wizz Air will fly from Bucharest to Catania, Naples and Bologna from September to handle passengers previously serviced by Italian May Air, which sliced 2 per cent of the market in 2008 but lost its licence in July 2009.
Irish Aer Lingus will fly again from Sofia to Dublin in the autumn-winter season using until then the Black Sea Bourgas airport, while Germanwings will service flights to Hamburg from the fall.
The five short-haul carriers posted mixed results for January to June.
While British EasyJet was scooping profits in the period, Slovakian SkyEurope slipped into insolvency and sought bankruptcy protection after losing 27.5 per cent of its passengers by the end of June.
Wizz Air has not published fist-half financial figures yet but said it expected a surge in passenger traffic to 8 million in 2009 from 5.8 million the year before.
Aer Lingus saw a 6.5 per cent drop in passengers in the first six months of 2009, while Germanwings reported a 7.7 per cent decline, after it had scaled down its capacity by almost 10 per cent.
On a global scale, air traffic dwindled by 7.2 per cent in January to June 2009, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed.
International players captured 74 per cent of the Bulgarian aviation market and carried 2.574 million passengers, according to numbers of the Bulgarian Airline Association (ABA).
Source: Dnevnik.bg
The airport serviced 1.523 million passengers in January to June 2009.
The five low-cost airlines controlled about 20 per cent of the market in 2008 and 12 per cent in the first half of that year, with growth largely driven by new flights by Wizz Air and EasyJet.
Hungarian Wizz Air, tipped as the market leader servicing one domestic and seven international routes, plans to launch a flight to Eindhoven, The Netherlands, from October 2009.
Wizz Air will fly from Bucharest to Catania, Naples and Bologna from September to handle passengers previously serviced by Italian May Air, which sliced 2 per cent of the market in 2008 but lost its licence in July 2009.
Irish Aer Lingus will fly again from Sofia to Dublin in the autumn-winter season using until then the Black Sea Bourgas airport, while Germanwings will service flights to Hamburg from the fall.
The five short-haul carriers posted mixed results for January to June.
While British EasyJet was scooping profits in the period, Slovakian SkyEurope slipped into insolvency and sought bankruptcy protection after losing 27.5 per cent of its passengers by the end of June.
Wizz Air has not published fist-half financial figures yet but said it expected a surge in passenger traffic to 8 million in 2009 from 5.8 million the year before.
Aer Lingus saw a 6.5 per cent drop in passengers in the first six months of 2009, while Germanwings reported a 7.7 per cent decline, after it had scaled down its capacity by almost 10 per cent.
On a global scale, air traffic dwindled by 7.2 per cent in January to June 2009, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed.
International players captured 74 per cent of the Bulgarian aviation market and carried 2.574 million passengers, according to numbers of the Bulgarian Airline Association (ABA).
Source: Dnevnik.bg
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Hole in the sky
After the collapse of no-frills airline SkyEurope, its competitors prepare to fill the void on the market
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Appointments
British Council
Lyubov Kostova was appointed country manager of British Council Bulgaria effective January 1, replacing Tony Buckby, who left in October 2011 to take a similar position at British Council Greece. Kostova has been with British Council Bulgaria for 11 years, as public communications manager and, since 2008, as the head of project and partnerships department. Prior to joining the British Council, Kostova was head of international activities at the National Academy for Theatre and Cinema Arts (NATFIZ). She has a degree in Indian studies from Kliment Ohridski Sofia University.
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Stefan Apostolov is the new chief executive of CEZ Razpredelenie Bulgaria, the power transmission subsidiary of Czech energy company CEZ in the country. He replaces interim chief executive Ales Damm, who remains the chairperson of the CEZ Razpredelenie management board. Apostolov has 30 years of experience in the energy sector, joining CEZ in 2007 as director of customer service and was later appointed as head of business development. Apostolov has a master's degree in electric systems from the Belorussian National Technical University in Minsc, management diplomas from Open University London and New Bulgarian University, as well as a master's degree in business administration from Plovdiv University.
BASF Bulgaria
Valentina Dikanska is the new general manager of chemical industry giant BASF subsidiary in Bulgaria, taking over from Herbert Fisch, BASF vice president for Southeastern Europe. Dikanska, who started her career as an expert in the Finance Ministry, joined BASF Bulgaria as director of finance and administration in 2002. She becomes the first Bulgarian to hold the top management position in the company in its 40-year history on the Bulgarian market. Dikanska holds a master's degree in economics from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia.
Rompetrol Bulgaria
Alexander Albin has been appointed chief executive of fuel distributor Rompetrol Bulgaria, replacing Nichita Sorin, who left to become chief executive of Rompetrol Gaz in Romania. Albin was previously chief executive of Rompetrol Georgia. He has more than 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry; prior to joining Romania's oil group Rompetrol in 2008 as an adviser, he oversaw operations at Atyrau refinery in Kazakhstan, owned by Rompetrol's parent company KazMunaiGaz. He previously held top management positions at two other leading Kazakh oil and gas companies.
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Well done to wizzair flying from london/Luton to Varna all year round.
Totally agree with Carl. A local airport at Gorna would boost the locally economy and make travelling so much easier to the centre of Bulgaria.
When will an airline fly to an Airport Nr Veliko Tarnovo in the north this will stop the long drive from Sofa, Or the coast
if bulgaria is the place to go this year why dont they put more flights on and get all the hotels full again,3 years ago flights were 50% cheaper.
When will more flights be offered to Bourgas from Germany again?
Services to Bourgas were so limited and expensive that many Guesthouses were empty for July and even now!