Wizz Air is currently the largest airline in the Romanian market, but it wants to grow further. It has offered to take over the international routes operated by Romania’s state-owned carrier and, following negotiations, could even operate its domestic services in return. Tarom has now delivered a sharp response, while in Hungary the country’s “national airline” is also planning to expand – although the details remain unclear.
Romanian airline ‘not viable’, Wizz Air four times larger
József Váradi, the chief executive of Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air, told the Romanian news site HotNews that national airlines were not worth maintaining. He also made highly critical remarks about Malév, Hungary’s former flag carrier, and Tarom. Váradi, who was Malév’s chief executive before its collapse, argued that the market would replace any services lost in the absence of a national airline.
Maintaining such carriers merely turned them into “black holes for public money”, he said, as had happened with Malév and was still happening with Tarom.
Váradi said Wizz Air would be happy to take over Tarom’s international network, which is used by millions of Romanians travelling abroad to work for higher wages. Statistics suggest that as many as a quarter of Romania’s adult population may work abroad – roughly 4 million to 5 million people. There is therefore a huge market for air travel among Romanians commuting overseas.
As the state-owned airline also operates domestic services, Váradi said Wizz Air could provide those as well under a long-term agreement. He described Tarom as economically unviable and dependent on continuous state support, while claiming that Wizz Air was already four times larger in the Romanian market, according to Transtelex.
Wizz Air has operated in Romania for 20 years. From 14 airports, it runs 231 routes linking 83 destinations in 26 countries. In the autumn, it will open a tenth Romanian base in Brașov, adding to its existing nine, and employs more than 1,900 people in the country.
Váradi said the domestic model was already operating in Italy, while similar plans had been announced in Spain. He therefore believed there was potential for Wizz Air to pursue the same approach in Romania.
Tarom hits back
Tarom described Wizz Air’s proposal as “unrealistic and unserious”, while pointing out that the Hungarian discount airline had cancelled a number of Romanian routes in recent years.
The Romanian carrier warned that the withdrawal of a state-owned airline did not guarantee that the market would automatically replace the lost capacity. Several Romanian cities could, it argued, permanently lose their air links.
Expansion also under discussion in Hungary
A different form of co-operation is taking shape in Hungary. Dávid Vitézy, the Minister for Transport and Investment, recently held talks with Váradi about further development by Wizz Air in Budapest and Debrecen, new air links and an expansion of the carrier’s Budapest base.
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The airline is open to new investment in both cities, while the Government has promised a predictable regulatory and airport environment. No further details have yet been disclosed.
The Cabinet has, however, imposed one clear condition: Wizz Air must comply with strict rules governing night flights. This is particularly contentious in Budapest, where residents in several districts have complained that heavy air traffic is disturbing their sleep.
The ministry and the airline are also to establish a joint working group tasked with reducing night-time pressure on the airspace around the capital. The Government says that, as air traffic expands, the peace and quiet of people living near the airport must also be protected.
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