The dust has not yet settled on the sudden demise of Hungarian national carrier Malev on Friday, yet airliners are already swooping in to mop up the passenger base and available slots at the airport.
Over the weekend, Ryanair announced it would be opening a base at Budapest with four based Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline will operate routes to 31 destinations from the airport, starting 17th February 2012.
Now, Wizz Air has announced it is to base an additional two Airbus A320 aircraft at Budapest to boost its schedules. It will operate flights to 21 destinations, increasing weekly frequencies from 67 to 129 flights.
This will strengthen the presence of both airlines at the airport, and make it very difficult for any new or restarted national airline in Hungary to gain a foothold in the future. It also seriously diminishes the full service options for passengers.
Sadly the news has come through today that Malev Hungarian Airlines has ceased flying today, following a number of days of uncertainty about the carrier’s future in light of it’s deepening financial crisis.
The airline had been placed under bankruptcy protection, but as of 6am this morning all flying had ceased. Hungary’s government had previously sought funding to help keep the national carrier going, but amid intense competition from the likes of Ryanair and Wizz Air, the market has become very hard to operate in.
Malev was founded in 1946. As of yesterday it operated a fleet of mixed Boeing 737NG models, and DHC-8 Q400′s. It had 15 Sukhoi Superjets on order.
Whether the airline will remain grounded is not known yet, but it’s definitely a sad state of affairs. Budapest Airport may see its fortunes change drastically, or see the low cost airlines move into the impressive new terminal previously used by Malev.
Those of you passing through Budapest Ferihegy airport any time soon should see a sight that hasn’t been seen for a while – an Ilyushin IL-14 aircraft in Malev colours.
The aircraft – HA-MAL – is part of the smart little museum collection of Russian types outside the main terminal at the airport.
For many years the aircraft has been in the colours of Hungarian Air Force and registered 04 RED. But now, as you can see from the colours, it has been restored to the 1950s colour scheme of Malev, who used to fly the type.
The team would be happy to accept donations for continuing restoration of the aircraft. Details to follow soon…
Budapest Airport has an excellent little museum outside Terminal 2. It houses a collection of former Malev and Soviet airliners.
It costs 800 HUF for admission to the museum.
Inmates include:
HA-MOA Ilyushin IL-18, Malev
HA-MOG Ilyushin IL-18, Malev
HA-LCG Tupolev TU-154, Malev
HA-LBE Tupolev TU-134, Malev
HA-LIQ Lisunov LI-2T, Malev
04-RED Ilyushin IL-14, Soviet Air Force
HA-MHI Antononv AN-2M
HA-BCB Mil MI-2
All aircraft can be seen and logged from the approach road to Terminal 2 without actually entering the museum.
The dust has not yet settled on the sudden demise of Hungarian national carrier Malev on Friday, yet airliners are already swooping in to mop up the passenger base and available slots at the airport.
