White Eagle begins flying charters in less regulated skies
Taking advantage of the airline market's recent liberalization, a White Eagle Aviation airplane will take off from Warsaw's Okecie Airport on Wednesday, headed for Iraklion on the Greek island of Crete.
The planned flight, which will employ a Boeing 737-400 leased from transport company Hapag Lloyd, will be the first chartered passenger flight carried out by a Polish airline other than LOT Polish Airlines.
"This would be a boon for the civil aviation business in Poland," said Pekka Immonen, Finnair's director of sales for Central and Eastern Europe.
Introducing a commercial passenger service on long-haul flights is a step forward for the 6-year-old White Eagle, which until now has focused on cargo and aerotaxi services, while LOT and its subsidiary Eurolot remained the only passenger-carrying Polish airlines operating in the country.
For the present, White Eagle will be offering only charter flights to sun destinations in Spain, Greece, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and Morocco. Eleven flights are scheduled in May and 66 planned for July.
But White Eagle's vice president, Pawel Dabkowski, did not rule out eventual fixed-route flights. "I cannot say in the near future, but in the mid-term future, yes," he said. Although he did not mention what possible fixed routes the airline might fly, he did mention flights could be to "any destination that is profitable."
Government officials were also upbeat about another Polish air carrier operating on the market. "Of course (we're glad), because it's competition," said Jacek Klaudzinski, vice director of the Transportation Ministry's civil aviation department. Klaudzinski mentioned the possibility of a third charter airline in the future, but would not elaborate.
While not pessimistic about White Eagle's future in passenger aviation, Klaudzinski expressed reservations about the company's lack of passenger equipment. "I wish them good luck, but operating with only one aircraft is a bit risky," Klaudzinski said. Although there is no existing regulation against operating an airline with only one aircraft, the fledgling airline would have to ask another airline for equipment should technical difficulties arise. "It may happen any time, it is only a machine," Klaudzinski said.
White Eagle will indeed be looking to increase its fleet, but for now it is unclear by how much, Dabkowski said, noting that the airline will be closely monitoring the market. "Then we can match our market demand," he said.
Immonen also warned that starting a new airline requires a great deal of financial backing, particularly in the first years of operation. "You only break even in about five years or so," he said.
Dabkowski declined to comment on White Eagle's financial situation, but industry figures were not worried about the company having trouble operating charter services out of Poland. "It is an established airline, not a new project. They know what they are doing," said Ole Johansson, country manager for SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
White Eagle might be helped by the fact that LOT is said to be making some changes in its services. "LOT is actually lowering its charter activities a little bit, so that might leave space open for other charter services," Johansson said.
Generally, said Immonen, the financial situation is easier for airlines making only chartered flights, since "you don't have to build routes."
