Romanian airline AirConnect postpones flights to Budapest until spring

Photo: AirConnect

The newly founded Romanian airline AirConnect will postpone the launch of its domestic flights in Romania and Budapest until the end of March, the Profit.ro portal reported, citing a statement by the company.

The company explained the postponement by the delay in the delivery of the second aircraft it had ordered, as well as a delay in the operational preparation of the launch of the flights.

AirConnect also said that it would inform by e-mail and telephone those who had already booked tickets for the period from 15 October 2022 to 25 March 2023. They will be able to get a refund or book a later date of travel. They will also receive a free ticket as compensation, which they must book by 15 January 2023.

The airline AirConnect announced at the end of August that it will launch flights between Cluj-Budapest and Bucharest-Budapest from 15 October. However, following its announcement, the Hungarian airline Aeroexpress Regional has also launched flights connecting Budapest with Cluj-Napoca and Debrecen with Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) and Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely).

The Romanian airline AirConnect was created by five Romanian private investors to serve the regional market, according to its website. The airline started operations in July with a 68-seat ATR-72-600 aircraft, operating charter flights to coastal destinations popular with Romanian tourists. It had previously announced that it would add two more ATR-72-600s to its fleet in August. These would be used to operate domestic flights to Romania in addition to flights to Budapest. By mid-October, it planned to launch flights connecting Bucharest with Sibiu, Sibiu, Târgu Mures and Suceava.

In related news, the debt-ridden discount airline Blue Air has postponed the resumption of its flights for the second time, with no flights taking off from 10 October, the Romanian airline said on Friday. In the Romanian air transport market, Blue Air is a competitor to Wizz Air and Romanian state-owned airline Tarom.