Malev ceases trading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16866872

Ho hum...

maybe nowadays Easy and Ryan Air are the only safe bets. I hate the aviation business now!

Nivsy

50p says it reappears as a Lufthansa subsidiary once the debt has been written off.

Ryanair to replace most Malev routes

Ryanair has announced plans to open a new base in Budapest following the grounding of Hungarian airline Malev.

The Hungarian national airline folded after being unable to sustain its financial situation.

Ryanair said it will base four new Boeing 737-800 aircraft at Budapest Airport from Friday February 17 to operate 31 new routes, replacing most of the routes lost by Malev.

These routes include Budapest to Bristol, Dublin, London Stansted, and Manchester.

Ryanair, which currently employs over 700 Hungarian pilots and cabin crew, will be holding an open recruitment day in Budapest on Tuesday for pilots, cabin crew and engineers.

Meanwhile, easyJet is offering those passengers stranded by the Malev cancellations a special rescue fee of €60 to return home.

The offer is for any Malev passenger due to travel inbound until midnight Thursday 9 February.

EasyJet operates from Budapest to London, Paris, and Berlin.

With permission from Travelmole

Budapest looks to fill Malev routes

Budapest Airport is taking action to fill slots left empty by the failure of Hungarian national carrier Malev last week, but is urging the country's government not to put obstacles in the way.

The airport has launched a special route recovery incentive programme to attract the most appropriate operators to replace the services.

"We are, of course, saddened by the collapse of Malév," said Jost Lammers, the airport's CEO.

"But we now move into the post-Malév era with a degree of optimism. We are open for business as usual and would like to thank the airlines who have already stepped in to operate some of the routes previously flown by Malév - we will continue to work with these airlines and others, with a view to offering sensible long-term solutions."

The airport's operator, Budapest Airport Zrt, is urging the Hungarian authorities to remove obstacles currently preventing airlines from picking up the lost Malév capacity.

"For example, there are four regulated agreements which allow only one Hungarian airline to fly routes to Turkey, Israel, Russia and the Ukraine," it said.

"On flights to and from these destinations, only Malév had the right to fly. It is imperative that the Hungarian authorities move quickly to close these gaps; otherwise the road to recovery will be much slower."

Following Malev's collapse, airlines including British Airways, Air France, KLM, Germanwings and Brussels Airlines increased frequency on their Budapest routes.

Lufthansa & Wizz Air increased capacity on some of their existing routes from Budapest and also announced new routes to help market recovery.

Air Berlin launched a new service between Budapest and Berlin starting this week, while Ryanair announced the start of five new routes in March.

With permission from Travelmole

Bless them - departure boards at Budapest were still showing Malev departures as simply cancelled. That would be the case with about half the fleet already been on transit through Shannon.

I am waiting for credit card company to sort out my booking "issues".

Nivsy