от so » 02 Май 2007 19:00
SkyEurope ready to challenge 'weakest hub carrier' at Vienna
SkyEurope Airlines is planning to expand aggressively from its new Vienna base, possibly to 15 aircraft, in order to challenge Austrian Airlines' "Focus East" strategy, CCO Karim Makhlouf told ATWOnline.
SkyEurope opened its Vienna base in March with two 737NGs (ATWOnline, Feb. 6). The fleet should grow to six during the winter timetable and to "up to 15" in the long term, We want to be the leading [low-fare] airline into Eastern Europe and use Vienna as bridge between West and East."
He also confirmed that SkyEurope has applied for the traffic rights from its BTS base to Russia and Ukraine that became available following the February demise of Slovak Airlines, in which AAG had a 62% shareholding. It anticipates launching service for the winter schedule.
by Cathy Buyck
atwonline