Hungary’s Wizz Air announces strong expansion in Romania after Blue Air collapse

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air, already the market leader in Romania by the number of passengers carried, announced another strong expansion of its operations in the country. The announcement came one day after local rival Blue Air announced it will suspend flights for a week. Blue Air was already struggling with financial problems and a bad reputation due to the high number of delayed or cancelled flights and the new scandal could push the company out of business.

In this context, Wizz Air said it would bring five more aircraft to its Bucharest base starting in October, raising the number of aircraft serving this base to 17. The company will also increase its operational capacity in Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Bacau and Sibiu.

The company also announced it will launch new routes linking Bucharest to Athens, Prague and Larnaca, three destinations previously covered by Blue Air, and that it will increase the number of flights on the existing routes, including those to London, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, Madrid and Tel Aviv.

Overall, Wizz Air says it will add 2.6 million new seats for routes to and from Romania.

"Wizz Air is delighted to make such an important investment in Bucharest and Romania. We know how important it is for passengers to be able to travel and we want to ensure our customers have options to plan their journeys. With 13.8 million seats that will ensure operations on new and expanded routes at reduced fares to 36 destinations from Romania, as well as our special fares for Blue Air customers, Wizz Air strengthens its commitment to the Romanian market, continuing our expansion and firmly confirming Wizz Air as the market leader. We now offer approximately 200 routes from Romania," said Evelin Jeckel, Acting Network Officer of Wizz Air.

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