Sky's the limit

Slovakia-based budget airline Skyeurope Airlines says soaring air-passenger figures in CEE mean it will break into the black in the next fiscal year.

Its chief executive, Christian Mandl, says that air traffic in the region will grow significantly in the coming years, which could help the airline offset high fuel prices and help it make a profit in the near future.

The company is growing rapidly. In the first quarter of its fiscal year, which ended on December 31, it posted a net loss of EUR R12 (zł.45) million, but revenue jumped 42.5 percent to EUR 26.2 (zł.99) million. Last week the airline opened a new base at Prague Airport to complement its services from Bratislava, Budapest, Warsaw and Kraków.

Skyeurope posted an 87 percent year-on-year increase in the number of passengers carried for the 12 months to January to 1.9 million and Mandl said he believed the trend will continue.

"Western Europeans fly about six times more than eastern Europeans," Mandl said. "The eastern Europeans will continue to match the consumer habits of western Europeans and so the market will be able to absorb more capacity."

Last year the company used an initial public offering to raise about EUR 60 (zł.227) million, which it is using to fund its expansion plans. Last year it ordered 16 new Boeing 737 aircraft and took an option for another 16 planes in a deal worth $1.8 (zł.5.7) billion.

Last week the airline also announced that it was cutting the number of its flights to and from Poland and transferring operations to its new base in Prague. (Reuters)