MALEV Cease Operations

[starrymarkb]

A week after Spanair's collapse the Hungarian flag carrier MALEV ceased operations at 6am this morning

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/malev-stoppage-idUSL5E8D30E920120203

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Hungarian flag-carrier Malev announced on Friday that it had stopped operating because its liquidity situation has become unsustainable and all its flights had been grounded as of 0500 GMT on Friday.

The airline had been placed under extraordinary protection from creditors and a receiver was appointed earlier this week.

Malev said its suppliers had lost confidence in the airline and started to demand payment, while the government could no longer provide cash injections for the company.

"This has accelerated the outflow of cash to such an extent, that by today the situation of the airline has become unsustainable," Malev's board said in a statement.

The stoppage comes after the airline was ordered by the European Commission last month to repay millions of dollars worth of state aid received between 2007 and 2010. (Reporting by Krisztina Than)

 

[Schnellzug]

Good heavens. Well, I suppose this is another result of the EU Government dictating what individual countries have to do in order to try to salvage the Euro. [/Daily Mail]
Of course, they've been no more interesting than any other European airline since they started to use 737s.

 

[starrymarkb]

Good heavens. Well, I suppose this is another result of the EU Government dictating what individual countries have to do in order to try to salvage the Euro. [/Daily Mail]
Of course, they've been no more interesting than any other European airline since they started to use 737s.

To some extent, they were one of the few still operating the B736 which much like the A318 is a shrink too far (burns the same fuel as any 737 but seats at least 50 less then a Ryanair example). You could probably replace the 737-6 with a E190 (much cheaper to run) on most routes, of course it's too late for MALEV

 

[WestCoast]

RYANAIR TO OPEN BUDAPEST BASE IN TWO WEEKS WITH 31 NEW ROUTES, 2M PAX P.A., SAVING UP TO 2,000 JOBS FOLLOWING MALEV’S CLOSURE


RYANAIR MEETING WITH HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT AND BUDAPEST AIRPORT TODAY TO FINALISE RESCUE PLAN

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline today (3rd Feb) at a press conference in Budapest announced its intention to launch a rescue plan for Budapest and Hungarian tourism following the grounding of Malev airline last evening. Ryanair confirmed that it will base 4 brand new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft at Budapest Airport commencing in just two weeks time on Friday 17th February where it will open 31 new routes, offering lower fares (€9.99/HUF2,999) than any other airline, and delivering up to 2m passengers p.a., replacing most of the traffic and routes lost by Budapest following last night’s grounding of Malev.

Ryanair, which currently employs over 700 Hungarian pilots and cabin crew, will be holding an open recruitment day in Budapest on Tuesday next (7th Feb), inviting job applications from Malev pilots, cabin crew and engineers to help Ryanair gear up for this 4 aircraft, 2m passenger p.a. base at Budapest Airport. The International Airport Council figures confirm that this 2m pax p.a. will support 2,000 jobs at Budapest Airport.

This largest ever investment in Hungarian aviation and tourism is subject to reaching final agreement with Budapest Airport today on costs, facilities and handling, and Ryanair’s Deputy CEO Michael Cawley has travelled to Budapest to finalise these negotiations with Budapest Airport and the Hungarian Government. Because Ryanair has grounded up to 80 aircraft this winter, it has the capacity to respond immediately to the Malev grounding by moving aircraft, pilots and crews to Budapest within two weeks, in order to minimise the disruption to Hungarian consumers/visitors and tourism as a result of the Malev closure.

From here..www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryana...se-in-two-weeks-with-31-new-routes

 

[Schnellzug]

From here..www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryana...se-in-two-weeks-with-31-new-routes

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline

 

[WestCoast]

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline

All of Ryanair's propaganda press releases start like that. Aviation would be a duller place if it wasn't for Ryanair's outlandish statements.

I suspect ex-Malev staff will take up the kind offer from Uncle Mick.

 

[trentside]

All of Ryanair's propaganda press releases start like that. Aviation would be a duller place if it wasn't for Ryanair's outlandish statements.

I suspect ex-Malev staff will take up the kind offer from Uncle Mick.

Whatever opinions people have of Ryanair, this is a good PR move. Not only that, it will hopefully help many of the Malev employees remain in the aviation industry. Not always an easy thing, especially in the current climate.

It's a shame to see a second airline go under in a single week.

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To some extent, they were one of the few still operating the B736 which much like the A318 is a shrink too far

The A318, otherwise known as the world's most surprising trans-Atlantic airliner

 

[Schnellzug]

If Ryanair take over, can we be sure that Malev will still operate to Hungary? Maybe they'll choose Zagreb as the new hub or something. Or find some mothballed Hungarian Air Force base somewhere within a mere four hours' bus ride of Budapest.

 

[WestCoast]

If Ryanair take over, can we be sure that Malev will still operate to Hungary? Maybe they'll choose Zagreb as the new hub or something. Or find some mothballed Hungarian Air Force base somewhere within a mere four hours' bus ride of Budapest.

Ryanair have jumped at this opportunity and will have negotiated a good deal with Budapest Airport, which has a very interesting "low cost terminal" - T1. I've been to T1 and it's architecturally impressive - built in 1939 as the original airport terminal, it uniquely resembles the shape of an aircraft from above. It reopened in 2005 after years of closure, fully refurbished for use by low cost airlines. Exterior and Interior.

It certainly beats the "Ryanair terminal" in Bremen, which has to be seen to be believed, think an old office building with wall-to-wall Ryanair advertising slogans, maps and snide remarks about other airlines.

 

[Schnellzug]

Ryanair have jumped at this opportunity and will have negotiated a good deal with Budapest Airport, which has a very interesting "low cost terminal" - T1. I've been to T1 and it's architecturally impressive - built in 1939 as the original airport terminal, it uniquely resembles the shape of an aircraft from above. It reopened in 2005 after years of closure, fully refurbished for use by low cost airlines. Exterior and Interior.

It certainly beats the "Ryanair terminal" in Bremen, which has to be seen to be believed, think an old office building with wall-to-wall Ryanair advertising slogans, maps and snide remarks about other airlines.

What a pity they couldn't have done something similar with Berlin Tempelhof...

 

[WestCoast]

What a pity they couldn't have done something similar with Berlin Tempelhof...

Yes, indeed, although there were good reasons to combine the Berlin Airports into a modern super-hub (Brandenburg) at Schönefeld (noise, transport, land e.t.c). Tempelhof was great, but the original (and current) Schönefeld screams dated Eastern Bloc.
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Back on topic, in Europe there is certain amount of nationalistic pride in having a full-service "flag carrier", and in certain countries governments are not keen on seeing these disappear even when they are no longer viable. However, the countries regulated by EU directives on this matter, know full well that they cannot 'prop up' their national carriers. In some ways, it's unwise for them to do this anyway, as it can end up being a black hole for a government's tax revenues.

Of course, Hungary has produced a huge airline success story in Wizz Air, arguably the top low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, which first brought low fare travel to the likes of Lithuania, Estonia, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia and Bulgaria by setting up subsidiaries. No mean feat considering the non-EU status of some of these countries, which meant they had to negotiate hard with relevant governments to gain permission.

 

[Ascot]

They've been on life support for a while so was only a matter of time until the plug was pulled. Didn't think much of the service when I had to fly with them and not exactly a big gap in the market, unless you are a oneworld flyer then I wish you all the best of luck with American, Air Berlin and LAN not exactly peachy.