Budget airline Ryanair to operate Budapest-UK route from October
BUDAPEST, Hungary: Ryanair, Europe's fastest-growing airline, on Thursday said it will launch flights four times a week between Budapest and Nottingham, Britain, from the end of October.
Tomas Kulakowski, the budget carrier's business and marketing director for Central Europe, said Ryanair was expecting 60,000 passengers to fly the route in its first year.
Although Kulakowski did not disclose whether the airline planned to launch additional flights from Hungary, he said "this is not the last route" that Ryanair hoped to operate from Budapest airport. He said within a month new routes could be established.
Ryanair's success was linked to the airline's offer of the lowest fares in the market, Kulakowski said, and indicated the promotion of one million free tickets in Europe.
Kulakowski said Hungary, however, was not part of the airline's current "travel for free" promotion.
In a statement, Budapest airport reported a 4.6 percent increase in passenger traffic in April compared to 2006. In the last year it has handled 8.3 million passengers.
Ryanair, the first of its kind to offer "free flights plus tax," started its services three times a week between Stansted and Balaton, a popular holiday destination in the country's west, in 2006.
With a total of 19 hubs, Ryanair operates more than 480 routes in 25 countries. It estimates its airline traffic for 2007 at 50 million, exceeding last years figure by 8 million.
source: The Associated Press
picture from Boeing
Labels: Budapest airport, Budget airline, Ryanair
