New carrier takes off, but will it fly?
It is aiming for budget travellers who are storming airports throughout the country, but the competition is heavy.
Details of the new service, which has been given the operating title Nowy Przewoźnik (New Carrier), were unveiled just days before Europe's biggest budget airline easyJet launched its new London-Warsaw route. EasyJet, with an impressive annual revenue of L52 million in 2003, is potentially the new Polish flyer's strongest competitor.
Nowy Przewoźnik will run charter flights previously managed by LOT Charters and offer regular timetable routes from the first quarter of 2005. An internet booking system will be available to customers at the end of this year.
Over the next year Nowy Przewoźnik hopes to carry 800,000 passengers using five Boeing 737s. Achieving this target, however, will require spectacular growth because the total passenger figure for all budget airlines in 2004 is estimated at around 1.2 million. Undeterred, the company's newly appointed president Piotr Kociołek asserts: "In a young and developing market like ours, capturing such a significant share is not a daydream."
Airport traffic in Poland increased by 23 percent in the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period a year ago. Some regional hubs reported even higher numbers: Katowice airport doubled it's number of passengers, to almost half a million until September this year. Poles, who earlier would not consider flying because of high costs, are now switching from buses to airplanes on their way to other European cities.
Although a new player in the market always causes a stir, the well established low-cost carriers seem confident of their position.
"Traditional carriers have many times in the past tried to set up a low cost carrier without much success," says marketing manager for the CEE region at easyJet Yannis Capodistrias, citing British Airways, KLM and SAS as examples.
While doubting the possibility of Nowy Przewoźnik's success, Capodistrias welcomes new competition
In Nowy Przewoźnik's favor, it brings with it qualities others budget carriers lack: confidence and trust in its parent company among travellers. "In the airline business, the customers' sense of security decides the consumer's choice," underlines Kociołek.
Details of the new service, which has been given the operating title Nowy Przewoźnik (New Carrier), were unveiled just days before Europe's biggest budget airline easyJet launched its new London-Warsaw route. EasyJet, with an impressive annual revenue of L52 million in 2003, is potentially the new Polish flyer's strongest competitor.
Nowy Przewoźnik will run charter flights previously managed by LOT Charters and offer regular timetable routes from the first quarter of 2005. An internet booking system will be available to customers at the end of this year.
Over the next year Nowy Przewoźnik hopes to carry 800,000 passengers using five Boeing 737s. Achieving this target, however, will require spectacular growth because the total passenger figure for all budget airlines in 2004 is estimated at around 1.2 million. Undeterred, the company's newly appointed president Piotr Kociołek asserts: "In a young and developing market like ours, capturing such a significant share is not a daydream."
Airport traffic in Poland increased by 23 percent in the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period a year ago. Some regional hubs reported even higher numbers: Katowice airport doubled it's number of passengers, to almost half a million until September this year. Poles, who earlier would not consider flying because of high costs, are now switching from buses to airplanes on their way to other European cities.
Although a new player in the market always causes a stir, the well established low-cost carriers seem confident of their position.
"Traditional carriers have many times in the past tried to set up a low cost carrier without much success," says marketing manager for the CEE region at easyJet Yannis Capodistrias, citing British Airways, KLM and SAS as examples.
While doubting the possibility of Nowy Przewoźnik's success, Capodistrias welcomes new competition
In Nowy Przewoźnik's favor, it brings with it qualities others budget carriers lack: confidence and trust in its parent company among travellers. "In the airline business, the customers' sense of security decides the consumer's choice," underlines Kociołek.
