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European airline to continue to fly frequently to Budapest in summer 2024

Air Baltic flight travel Hungary

Air Baltic has published its summer schedule for 2024. Eleven new destinations have been announced, with two flights a week to Budapest in the winter and three in the summer.

As in this summer, Air Baltic will operate three flights a week between Riga and Budapest in 2024.

The airline will operate Airbus A220-300 aircraft between Riga and Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.

The winter timetable for 2023-2024, which starts at the end of October, will not be discontinued. Air Baltic will then operate twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays between the Hungarian and the Latvian capitals.

The Latvian airline has also announced new routes. Most of the new routes will start in May and will be operated from Riga, airportal.hu reports. New destinations will include Alicante, Billund, Sofia, Tirana, Ljubljana, Malta and Krakow.

Almost 900 drones to entertain the public today in Budapest

August 20 celebration photo

Every year, the highlight of the 20 August/St Stephen’s Day programme is the fireworks and drone show in Budapest. This year will be no different: however, the show will be greater than ever before. Nearly 900 drones will be seen dancing in the sky during the Fire and Lights show (Tűz és fények játéka).

St Stephen’s Day in Budapest will again feature an impressive series of events this year. The highlight of the evening today, on 20 August, will be the dazzling Fire and Lights show. It will feature 34,000 pyrotechnic effects, a grand light show, building painting, a floating carpet of fire flowers, a laser show and the clockwork flight of hundreds of drones, turizmus.com reports.

Drones to create symbols of Hungarian history

MTI/Lakatos Péter

According to the portal, the special feature of the 20 August drone show is that a total of 896 drones will take to the skies in two locations during the evening, forming beautiful shapes from the symbols of Hungarian history.

The drones will fly in two stages per location as part of the Fire and Lights show. The first stage will consist of 152 drones and the second of 296 drones. The flight duration will be 2 hours 50 minutes and 1 hour 35 minutes. The drones will take a variety of impressive shapes in the skies above the Danube. They will fly up to 285 metres. The shapes created will vary in width from 106 to 264 metres, descending to 77 metres at their lowest point.

Where will the drone show happen in Budapest?

The drone show will take place in two locations: above the Parliament and the Petőfi Bridge. Thus, visitors will be able to watch the show from many different locations in Budapest. The safety of the audience is guaranteed by a 130-metre long drone net at Petőfi Bridge.

The programmes of St Stephen’s Day, as well as detailed information about the performers and programmes, are available on the event’s official website and mobile app, with more information as it becomes available. The English version of the website is available HERE.

An English-language video of St Stephen’s Day 2023:

Wizz Air prepares spectacular air show for 20 August celebrations

WIZZ_first_chinese_Airbus_A321neo_aircraft

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest growing and most sustainable airline, is preparing a special and spectacular air show to celebrate St Stephen’s Day on 20 August. As every year, the three-day event surrounding Hungary’s birthday will bring hundreds of activities to the capital, and Wizz Air will contribute with a breathtaking performance.

Wizz Air on 20 August

Once again, the airline’s most experienced pilots will be on hand to wow the crowds celebrating in the capital. Wizz Air’s aim is to pay tribute to the celebration of the founding of the state, as well as to entertain the public with an unforgettable attraction in the centre of Budapest. Wizz Air’s aircraft will fly from the Chain Bridge to Margaret Island at a low altitude rarely seen by a large audience.

Most experienced pilots

Wizz Air’s A321neo aircraft will be flown by Gergely Oláh, József Budai and Ákos Pethes over the scenic view of Budapest. Oláh has been flying with WIZZ for 16 years, is an instructor and examiner captain and currently a training manager with more than 10,000 hours of flying experience on various types of Airbus 320 aircraft. József Budai, Instructor and Examiner Captain, has been with Wizz Air for 13 years, has flown more than 8,000 hours with the aircraft family in his career and is currently Deputy Chief Training Officer. Ákos Pethes, Instructor Captain, has been flying with the airline since 2011 and has 7,500 flying hours in the air so far.

Airbus A321neo

The Airbus A321neo aircraft on display is the most efficient single-aisle aircraft in its class, with the lowest fuel consumption per passenger-kilometre. Wizz Air’s next-generation Airbus A321neo is powered by two Pratt and Whitney turbofan engines. With 239 seats in a single-class configuration, it offers maximum flexibility and low operating costs for the airline, while also delivering exceptional fuel savings thanks to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption compared to the A321ceo.

Cities where you can get to cheaper by train than by plane from Budapest

Hungary plane train travel

Greenpeace conducted a survey, quite an interesting one at that. The NGO compared the plane and train prices of 112 European journeys. The result was that the price of travelling by train is four times higher than travelling by plane. However, there are exceptions, and many routes starting from Budapest are among those.

According to turizmus.com, in some cases, the difference can be up to 30 times, for example, between London and Barcelona. Train companies are unable to compete with plane tickets costing merely GBP 11. However, as the Independent pointed out, “swapping planes for trains could save more than 450,000 tones of harmful emissions.”

Anyway, only 23 of the analysed 112 routes were almost always cheaper by train than by plane, which is quite a low number. In six cases, there were no direct flights between the two cities. Interestingly, several train routes that are cheaper than their flight counterparts start from Budapest.

A nice train ride somewhere in Hungary:

Travel to Prague from Budapest by train: it is worth it

Among them is the Budapest-Prague journey (Ryanair), which was always cheaper by train in 2022. Despite that, more than 100,000 people travelled by plane between the two astonishing Central European capitals. In the case of the Budapest-Berlin train journey, out of the nine days analysed, train was cheaper on six days. Budapest-Bucharest was always cheaper by train. Interestingly, the Budapest-Paris, Budapest-Venice and Budapest-Brussels directions were 12 times more expensive by train than by plane. The Budapest-Brussels route showed the second highest price difference in the analysis, preceded only by the London-Barcelona, the London-Bratislava and Madrid-Brussels directions.

HERE you may check out Greenpeace’s report.

Read HERE about the luxury train rides from Budapest to Paris and London on the Orient Express. Meanwhile, HERE is a crossover article analysing how an Austrian train development project will make it easier for people to travel from Budapest to exotic destinations like the USA, Canada or the Far East.

Wizz Air strengthens with China

Wizz Air Istanbul Airport

The Hungarian airline Wizz Air uses aircraft assembled in Tianjin, China.

Bloomberg reports that Wizz Air will take delivery of Airbus A321neo aircraft manufactured at a plant in Tianjin, China. The Hungarian airline is the first European customer to take delivery of its aircraft.

According to aircraft tracking websites, the plane made its first flight on 9 June. The plant in Tianjin has so far assembled aircraft from parts shipped there, mainly for China and other Asian countries. Thus, this is the first aircraft to be returned to Europe. In addition to the Chinese production line (FAL Asia), some versions of the narrow-body type are produced in Hamburg (Germany), Toulouse (France) and Mobile (USA), airportal.hu reports.

The plant in Tianjin will play an important role in increasing the global production capacity of the Airbus A320 family to a total of 75 aircraft per month in the second half of the 2020s.

New Wizz Air route is coming in autumn

Wizz Air plane flight

In the autumn, Hungarian airline Wizz Air will launch a flight from Budapest to Cairo, Egypt.

From the end of October, Wizz Air will operate 3 flights per week to Cairo. The Hungarian airline will now operate flights to three Egyptian cities from Budapest. In addition to the Egyptian capital, flights are available to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Tickets are available from 15 June, with opening prices starting from HUF 18,690 (EUR 50). Flights run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Hungary.

“We are delighted to announce our newest route, which is the third Wizz Air destination to Egypt from Hungary, bringing the total number of tickets offered from Hungary to the North African country to over 170,000 annually. The new flight is also proof of our commitment to offer our passengers the widest possible choice by continuously expanding our destinations. We are looking forward to welcoming our passengers flying to this exotic destination on board soon”, said Zsuzsa Trubek, Communications Manager at Wizz Air.

Wizz Air is the worst in a particular indicator for the second year in a row

Wizz Air plane flight

A recent study has ranked the Hungarian low-cost airline as the worst large airline in terms of delays at UK airports. For the second year in a row, Wizz Air has won this less than honourable recognition.

Wizz Air delays in the UK

According to a recent survey, Hungarian airline Wizz Air had an average delay of 46 minutes, 6 seconds in 2022. The data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was researched by the Press Association. Wizz Air is the worst performing of the major airlines.

The Hungarian airline already won this less than honourable distinction last year. It’s not a good sign that the airline’s figures have worsened compared to 2021, with delays of more than 46 minutes almost three times as bad as the year before.

A consumer group called Which? described the data as “worrying”. They also believe it demonstrates the need for the CAA to be given stricter powers.

The full list

TUI came in second with an average delay of 40 minutes, while Qatar Airways came in third with an average delay of 31 minutes and 48 seconds. Norwegian Air Shuttle is on the other side, with an average delay of just 13 minutes 42 seconds.

Interestingly, most delays occurred in May and June. The Daily Mail explains this by the fact that the airline industry was unable to cope with the sudden surge in demand for travel after the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions.

‘These figures are worrying, but will be no surprise to passengers who’ve had to endure shoddy treatment from airlines for years” said Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel magazine.

Boland says stricter regulation is needed. “To better protect passengers, the Government must give the CAA effective powers to clamp down on poor airline behaviour, which includes the ability to hand out hefty fines when they continually flout the law” said Boland.

Another problem is that court cases can drag on for years. The UK government consulted on greater powers for the authorities in early 2022, but no decision was taken.

CAA consumer director Paul Smith said “[w]e’ve already raised concerns about Wizz Air and are working closely with the airline to improve outcomes for consumers”.

The CAA already indicated in 2022 that Wizz Air was often late in paying refunds. While travel demand is not decreasing, everyone hopes that the delays are a thing of the past, but strikes can still cause disruption for tourists.

Major airlines based on flight punctuality from UK airports in 2022

  1. Wizz Air: 46 minutes and 6 seconds
  2. Tui: 40 minutes and 18 seconds
  3. Qatar Airways: 31 minutes and 48 seconds
  4. Turkish Airlines: 29 minutes and 30 seconds
  5. Pegasus Airlines: 27 minutes and 18 seconds
  6. Flybe: 26 minutes and 6 seconds
  7. Air Portugal: 25 minutes and 48 seconds
  8. Air Canada: 25 minutes and 18 seconds
  9. British Airways: 23 minutes
  10. Vueling: 22 minutes and 12 seconds

Read also:

These two popular European destinations are available for pennies from Budapest!

Hungarian Budapest airport

Sweden and Denmark are two highly popular destinations for tourists travelling from the Hungarian capital. The good news is, we can still get to these two countries relatively cheaply with low-cost flights from Budapest.

Cheap flights from Budapest

Wizz Air and Ryanair both have promotions, but napi.hu advises everyone to also check the major flight search sites. In May, we can book flights to Billund, Denmark, for a bit more than HUF 10,000 (EUR 26.64 at the time of the writing of the article).

The airlines available in Budapest fly to Stockholm for around HUF 6,000 to 30,000 per flight. That is, if we settle for the basic services. In case we need more than that, e.g. more leg space or we bring more luggage, that will obviously be a bit more expensive.

Why fly to Billund?

The headquarters and the factory of the company that produces our beloved toys, Lego, is located in Billund, Denmark. The municipality is home to around 6,000 people. Napi.hu especially recommends the place for families with young children. There’s a huge zoo and a slide park, Legoland, and a long hike can be taken in the surrounding nature reserves and forests.

Denmark with Ryanair…

Ryanair flight Budapest
Photo: facebook.com/ryanair

Ryanair is offering a ticket to the Danish city for HUF 6729 (EUR 17.92) with departure on 16 May. The ticket includes a small baggage, no insurance and no seat selection, and the same price for a return trip if we stay for a week, with similar parameters. Thus, we have a return ticket for HUF 13,458 (EUR 35.84). Quite a bargain, isn’t it?

…Sweden with Wizz Air

Hungarian brands Wizz Air
Source: @wizzair FB

Napi.hu checked Skyscanner, the website of a travel company, as well. Using Skyscanner, you can filter tickets by price. What is more, the website provides a separate option for the cheapest flights available on airlines. According to Skyscanner, if we make Stockholm our destination, the Wizz Air price drop is unfortunately over. Now, a direct flight departing on 1 May and returning on 5 May starts at around HUF 50,000. Furthermore, you have to take into account that you land in Skavsta on the way there and take off in Arlanda on the way back.

However, it is important to add that if you book your trip before the end of April, you have to pay much less. It would cost you a bit more than 30,000 HUF, with departure on 17 and return on 23, on the same booking site.

Buying tickets from airlines or travel agencies?

It is also worth bearing in mind that passengers who do not buy their tickets directly from airlines but through online travel agencies can contact travel operators about flight cancellations or any other issues that affect them. This can complicate the payment of compensation or the handling of a passenger complaint, napi.hu warns.

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Hungarian air force tests Airbus helicopter in western Hungary

airbus h225 helicopter hungarian air force

The Hungarian air force will take delivery of a batch of Airbus H225 helicopters in the summer, one of which was tested at the Várpalota army base, in western Hungary, on Thursday, the defence minister said.

The Hungarian air force will be the first in the world to have its H225s fitted with the cutting-edge HForce weapon system, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in a video on Facebook.

He called the new weapon system “a significant 21st-century development compatible with a digital military force soon to be deployed by the Hungarian armed forces”.

Read also:

Wizz Air plane could not land at its destination, passengers taken elsewhere – UPDATE

wizz air a321 aircraft

The flight of the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air from Budapest to Madeira failed to land despite repeated attempts. According to a Wizz Air statement, the passengers were taken to Tenerife. There, they were provided with accommodation and meals.

The Budapest-Funchal flight was unable to land at the local airport after several attempts due to strong winds in Madeira, the airline informed Index.

“The passengers were flown by Wizz Air to Tenerife, where the aircraft landed safely. The passengers will be provided with accommodation and board tonight and will be flown to Funchal tomorrow morning. Passengers on the Funchal-Budapest flight will therefore only be able to fly home on the morning of 5 April,” Wizz Air wrote.

Wizz Air apologises to all concerned for the inconvenience caused. They state that the safety of passengers, crew and aircraft is the airline’s top priority.

The last time this happened was in early March. Then, a Wizz Air flight from Budapest landed in Marseille instead of Nice due to weather conditions. We reported on the incident in detail here.

Continuation: Wizz Air plane could not land, two hundred stranded on Madeira

UPDATE: Find our Reader’s letter about the truth behind this ordeal HERE.

Read also:

New flight announced between Budapest and Saudi Arabia!

Wizz Air Hungarian airline

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest growing and most sustainable airline, has launched its third flight to Saudi Arabia from Budapest, following an announcement in January. The new Middle East destination of Dammam is now available to travellers at an affordable price and without connecting flights.

Tickets for the twice-weekly flight can be purchased via the Wizz Air website and the airline’s app for as little as HUF 7,790.

The airline started the year 2023 with two flights to Saudi Arabia, now adding another exotic destination. Until now, the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh and the gateway city of Jeddah have been available, and from today, Dammam is also available.

The airline started the year 2023 with two flights to Saudi Arabia, now adding another exotic destination. Until now, the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh and the gateway city of Jeddah have been available, and from today, Dammam is also available. A dazzling port city on the shores of the Persian Gulf, Dammam is home to a wealth of cultural attractions, museums and architectural masterpieces. Following the discovery of oil, it has now been transformed into a modern metropolis with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a vibrant economy.

The three Saudi flights to Budapest are part of Wizz Air’s ambitious target to fly one million passengers to the country this year. The airline is supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 30 programme, which aims to triple passenger traffic to the country by 2030.

“We are delighted that with the launch of the Dammam flight, our airline now connects Saudi Arabia with Budapest on three routes. Passengers departing from Hungary will now have a more accessible, affordable travel alternative to explore the wonderful cities the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has to offer. The Wizz Air team is excited to welcome passengers on its flights to the city of Dammam!”

said Zsuzsa Trubek, Communications Manager at Wizz Air.

“As the capital of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Dammam encompasses both the tranquil atmosphere of the Arabian Gulf and its unique, bustling infrastructure. Wizz Air’s flights to this modern metropolis are another fruit of our close cooperation with Saudi Arabia. We have no reason to doubt the success of these routes, as the country is becoming increasingly popular from a tourism perspective,” said Balázs Bogáts, Director of Flight Development at Budapest Airport.

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Budapest will be connected to this European city 31 times a week this summer!

klm royal dutch airlines

The Dutch royal airline, KLM, will further increase the number of its flights to Asia in the summer schedule. 96 intercontinental and 69 European destinations will be available. In total, there will be 31 flights to Budapest a week.

Flights to Budapest

The airline will fly to Budapest 31 times a week during the summer season, airportal.hu reports. There will be 5 flights between Ferenc Liszt International Airport and Schiphol on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, 4 on Tuesday and Thursday and 3 on Saturday.

Asia

With the relaxation of restrictions on the COVID pandemic in Asia, KLM will continue to expand its services there. It will fly to a total of 16 destinations on the continent, double the number of flights last year. Flights to Beijing and Shanghai will operate daily, Hong Kong will reopen three times a week, and Taipei will be accessible via Seoul twice a week.

The Americas

In North America, 18 destinations will be available. Destinations in the US will include New York, Atlanta, Austin, Washington, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Flights to Toronto will be expanded to 13 per week, while Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver will be added to the Canadian network.

KLM has 10 destinations in South America in its network until the end of October. São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Panama City will be served daily, while Costa Rica will be served three times a week until mid-May.

Read also:

Wizz Air has been named airline of the year!

Hungarian brands Wizz Air

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest growing and most sustainable airline, has been named Airline of the Year at the Air Transport Awards. The gala evening in Montreal was attended by some of the industry’s leading figures and was personally accepted by CEO József Váradi.

Wizz Air receives Airline of the Year Award

The Air Transport Awards aim to recognise excellence in the air transport industry at an international level. The awards are presented annually to the leading organisations, companies and executives in the sector.

“On behalf of the entire Wizz Air team, I am grateful to receive the Airline of the Year Award. Wizz Air is one of the fastest growing and most sustainable airlines in the world. Our network covers 1000 routes to 55 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We are committed to providing our passengers with the best possible flying experience at affordable fares. This award is recognition of the tireless efforts of our 8,000 employees, with whom we work to make flying accessible to all,”

said József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air.

Budapest Airport named the best for the 10th time

Budapest Airport has been named “Best Airport in Eastern Europe” at the World Airport Awards in March for the tenth time in a row. The Skytrax award is based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires, which are completed by air passengers of more than 100 nationalities over the 8-month survey period. The survey asks respondents to rate their travel experience and the various airport services, from arrival, through check-in and security screening, to departure at the boarding gates, bud.hu reports.

The award was presented during a ceremony at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam on 15 March. The Skytrax Award is not the first major recognition that Budapest Airport has received in 2023; the operator also won the Airport Service Quality award for Best Airport of 15 to 25 Million Passengers in Europe this year, based on passenger feedback.

Budapest Airport passengers
Read alsoEverything you need to know about Budapest’s 2023 summer flight schedule

New airline comes to Budapest

Budapest Airport queue useful

A Romanian airline plans to establish a new air connection between Bucharest, Brassó (Brasov) and Budapest this June.

New airline comes to the Hungarian capital

According to airportal.hu, the Hungarian capital will not be Dan Air’s only new destination, but it would be a scheduled flight between Romania and Hungary. Based on the information of Boardingpass.ro, the airline’s planes will fly twice a week between Brassó (Brasov, Transylvania) and Budapest: on Tuesdays and Sundays. The first plane will take off on 15 June.

The Romanian news outlet wrote that the airlines might establish another flight between Bucharest Otopeni International Airport and Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. That would commute once a week, on Saturdays. They would serve passengers with Airbus A320s having 12 business class and 162 economy class seats. According to Boardingpass.ro, the official announcement of the new flight may come in days, just like ticket sales.

Air Serbia arrived this week to Budapest:

Budapest in a prestigious position

Dan Air, officially called Just Us Air, has been operating since 2017. Its founder is a pilot, captain Dan Iuhas. Before, it lent its planes to other airlines with their crew, including Air Serbia, Transavia, and the Hungarian Wizz Air. But now they begin air passenger transport under the Dan Air brand. The fleet consists of three Airbus 320s (YR-DSE, YR-JUL and YR-RAM) and one Airbus 319 (YR-URS).

From mid-June, they will fly to Brussels, London-Gatwick, Milan-Linate, Munich, Nürenberg, and Stuttgart from Brasov. However, those flights will take off weekly from the Transylvanian city’s airport. The only exception will be Budapest, with flights twice a week. Furthermore, from Bucharest, they plan to serve passengers travelling to Barcelona, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, London-Gatwick, Milan-Linate, Munich, Nürenberg, Rome-Fiumicino, Stuttgart, and Tel-Aviv.

Blue Air, a Romanian low-cost airline went bankrupt last year, and Hungarian Wizz Air planned to fill the gap. Therefore, they started to recruit new staff and began new flights from Romanian cities to Western destinations where Romanian people work. That was a successful project, but it seems they could not conquer the market. As a result, new airlines would like to enter the market like Dan Air.

Wizz Air Hungary airline Romania
Read alsoWill Hungarian Wizz Air become Romania’s national airline?

Good news: Daily flights between Dubai and Budapest from June!

emirates

From 1 June, Emirates, one of the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates, will increase its weekly flights between Budapest and Dubai to seven. Now, the flight operates only five times between the Hungarian capital and the most populated city of the UAE.

More flights between Budapest and Dubai from 1 June

From 1 June, Emirates will increase the number of its flights between Budapest and Dubai to seven a week, Utazómajom reports. Meanwhile, the airline will also expand its services on several routes popular with Hungarian travellers. It will also introduce its legendary A380 giant aircraft to new destinations.

The world’s largest international airline will increase its capacity by almost a third across its entire network from 26 March. In response to growing demand as the summer season approaches, it has already announced further expansions.

More entertainment, even more routes

From 1 June, the airline’s aircraft will fly daily between the Hungarian capital and Dubai, instead of the current five weekly flights. Hungarian flight attendants will be waiting for passengers on flights, who can even enjoy Hungarian-language content (films, music) during the flight. This is possible thanks to the airline’s in-flight entertainment system, Utazómajom writes.

Emirates is also increasing its services to popular Far East destinations such as Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo. Meanwhile, those flying to Australia, New Zealand and Africa will also have a wider choice of flights.

Wizz Air
Read alsoVIDEO: Two Wizz Air planes collided, resulting in huge delay

Hungarian Wizz Air launches training programme for female pilots

Wizz Air plane Ukraine All You Can Fly

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has launched a cadet programme to support the careers of female pilots. The training will last for 18 months. The cadets will be able to repay the tuition fees in equal instalments over six years after passing the pilot’s exam, the airline said on Wednesday.

She Can Fly pilot programme

With only 5 percent of pilots being female, Wizz Air is committed to breaking down gender stereotypes and promoting gender equality in this profession, too, the company said. The new cadet programme for women over 18 offers opportunities for those who want to become pilots on Wizz Air commercial flights, airportal.hu reports.

The She Can Fly pilot academy programme provides a unique, simple and financially rewarding opportunity for those who want to become pilots on the airline’s commercial flights. The training programme, which is open to applicants with no previous pilot experience, will run for 18 months and is run in partnership with Trener Flight Academy in Hungary.

The training

At the beginning of the training, cadets acquire the theoretical knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become a pilot, index.hu writes. Successful cadets can progress to advanced training, after which candidates will undergo Wizz Air-specific training before becoming full-fledged first officers with the airline, they said.

The financial part of the training

Cadets will have to pay a fee of EUR 800 at the start of the course. The remaining EUR 60,668 will be paid in advance by Wizz Air if applicants meet the requirements after the fifth month of training. The tuition fee can be paid back in equal instalments over a period of six years after the successful completion of the pilot’s exam, the airline said.

Attila Tóvári, Head of Education at Wizz Air’s pilot training school, pointed out in the statement that only 5 percent of commercial airline pilots worldwide are women, and it is time to change this.

Wizz Air
Read alsoReader’s letter: An urgent call to regulators to stop Wizz Air’s unacceptable behavior immediately

Positive change at Wizz Air: Hungarian agency satisfied

Wizz Air Hungarian airline

An agreement has been reached between the Hungarian Consumer Protection Authority and Wizz Air. As a result, the Hungarian low-cost airline will improve communication in the future.

The Consumer Protection Authority’s investigation into Wizz Air’s commercial practices has been launched in August 2022. Now, it has finally come to an end and an agreement has been reached, Utazómajom reports.

The investigation

In addition to the airline’s commercial practices between 1 January 2022 and 15 August 2022, the Authority examined the following aspects: denied boardings, long delays and compensation to passengers in the event of cancellations. They also checked the airline’s practice of responding to compensation claims within 30 days.

In the course of the procedure, the Authority found that Wizz Air had committed omissions during the period under investigation. The airline therefore offered commitments in cooperation with the authorities during the procedure.

The results

These commitments have a direct and positive impact on consumers through the compensation provided by Wizz Air, the news portal writes. They also serve the public interest through effective IT improvements. These improvements will facilitate the provision of assistance to passengers in the event of problems with flight operations: both through the self-service facilities available on the airline’s website, at airports and through the customer service channels available.

In addition to the above, Wizz Air conducts an extensive passenger rights education campaign to ensure that passengers are properly informed and prepared for unexpected situations. Wizz Air remains ready to cooperate with the Ministry of Justice and the Government Office of Budapest to improve the quality of services, Utazómajom adds.

Wizz Air is the market leader in Hungary

According to their January statement, the airline set a new record last year with 3.7 million passengers in Hungary. It expects to carry more than 4.8 million passengers in the country this year. Their Budapest base of 12 aircraft will be expanded by another aircraft this summer, Infostart writes. With 64 destinations in 30 countries, Wizz Air is the market leader in Hungary.

budapest_cogwheel
Read alsoTourists’ favourite means of transport restarts in Budapest

New flights from Budapest this spring and summer – UPDATED

Budapest Airport destinations

We wrote earlier about several new destinations reachable from Budapest. Good news is that there is some progress concerning them, Budflyer, a Hungarian air travel news Facebook page, wrote. Furthermore, Air Serbia would like to make Budapest one of its most important European travel hubs providing North American, Middle-Eastern and African destinations.

Mongolia may become reachable from Budapest this year

According to Budflyer, a direct flight can be established between Hungary and Mongolia this year. Sandag Byambatsog, a member of the State Great Hural (the Mongolian parliament) and minister for transport development, wrote about the latest government session, during which the cabinet discussed options for air travel development. According to his statement, the Mongolian leadership would like to liberalise air transport and traffic. They would like to reestablish domestic trips and aim to make the Chinggis Khaan International Airport, also referred to as New Ulaanbaatar International Airport, an air travel hub.

Therefore, the cabinet would sign an air travel agreement with the Hungarian government. The statement of Mr Byambatsog did not talk about the airline that would commute between Ulaanbaatar and Budapest. It can be the Mongolian state airline, MIAT, or the Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air.

In the latter case, the start will need to wait until the arrival of the Hungarian budget airline’s brand-new A321XLR planes. That is because Wizz Air does not have suitable aircraft to serve the route without flight interruptions. Furthermore, the direct travel time between the two capitals is longer due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to the Facebook page of Egyptair, there will be “4 weekly flights from Budapest to Cairo starting from 26 March on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”

Kyrgyzstan, Chicago, Shanghai, Africa

Meanwhile, Budflyer wrote that the system of Wizz Air already has a route to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. However, the destination is reachable only from Abu Dhabi instead of Budapest. Thus, you can travel there only after a transfer in the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates. The first flight will depart on 1 June.

Turizmus Online writes that the first direct flight of Air Serbia to Belgrade will take off from the Budapest international airport on 13 March (Monday). The frequency will gradually increase during spring. In May, there will be 17 flights from Budapest. As a result, you may reach 87 destinations from the Hungarian capital with a transfer in Serbia’s capital.

Bojan Arandjelović, the head of network planning and scheduling of Air Serbia, said they launched their first flight to New York before the pandemic. Now it commutes daily. By end-2023, they will have flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. He said that multiple exotic destinations would open up for passengers coming from Budapest, and the transfer time would be a maximum of 45 minutes, thanks to the size of their Belgrade HUB. Mr Arandjelović added they would serve Budapest with ATR 72-600 planes.

In the summer, they plan to launch new routes to, for example, Chicago, Tel-Aviv, Cairo, and several Italian, German, French and Mediterranean cities.

moldova Moldova's integration to the EU
Read alsoWizzAir stop Moldova services