Wizz Air expects 2 mln passengers in Romania this year, sees industry slowly out of crisis

Low cost airline Wizz Air transported 1.6 million passengers on flights to and from Romania in the first nine months of the year, with an airplane load factor of 86 percent, the company has announced. The company's profit margin in Romania is of 4 to 5 percent, said its vice-president John Stephenson. Romania is one of the company's most successful markets, said Stephenson, who thinks the airline industry is coming out of the crisis. The airline hopes to reach a number of 2 million passengers for its 2010 Romanian flights. The company plans to increase the number of flights to and from Romania and also the size of the fleet serving Romanian routes. Wizz Air will have nine airplanes serving Romania, three bases and work on 45 routes to and from the country from December this year. A new airplane will allow the company to launch flights to Larnaca in Cyprus and Malaga, in Spain. The first one will be launched in December this year, and the second, during the summer next year. The airline estimates it holds a 54 percent market share, outrunning competitor Blue Air, according to Stephenson. Wizz Air entered the Romanian market in 2007 and employs over 300 people in the country. editor@romania-insider.com