New Malév strategy aims to connect east and west

Malév Hungarian Airlines’ Russian owners are implementing a new strategy as they try to make Hungary’s flag carrier profitable after years of being in the red. Yet analysts in the commercial airline industry recognize that the countries Eastern Europe and, in fact, all of Russia, represent great growth potential for any airline, especially at a time when competition in the west is fierce, due to the establishment of no-frills airlines, and as the looming spectre of a recession hangs over western Europe.

Malév, which was privatized last year and bought by Russian business interests, stands to benefit from the growth potential that Eastern European and Russian markets have to offer. As such, Malév is wide anticipated to focus on eastern destinations in Ukraine, the Balkan countries (especially Romania and Bulgaria, both of which are now EU members), as well as the Baltic states. Malev will now also be given access to the AiRUnion network, an alliance of privately owned Russian airlines, thank to its move from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to Domodedovo earlier this year.

Although this carrier is much smaller in the size of its fleet and the number of passengers that it transports than Western European giants, the Hungarian airline has built a reputation for itself in the region, after its sixty years of existence. Moreover, the fact that Hungary’s fag carrier joined the oneworld alliance last spring offers western passengers traveling to destinations in Eastern Europe a guarantee that in-flight and ground service is fully equal to that found on most western airlines.

www.malev.hu