“We decided to withdraw from the Romanian market. The flights to Milan will be operated until October 29, while flights to Madrid will be operated until January 15,” said Peter Voets, easyJet’s marketing manager for Switzerland, Austria and Eastern Europe.
Profitability of the routes operated from Romania was not as high as aimed for because of high operating costs. The resources used on those routes will be better allocated to more profitable destinations, Voets added.
easyJet operated seven flights to Madrid and five to Milan a week on the Romanian market. It carried 200,000 passengers in 2009.
No data about revenue was made public, but according to ZF’s estimates, it stood at EUR30 million, if taking into account an average revenue per passenger of EUR150.
The company’s international revenue was GBP2.9 billion (EUR3.3 billion) last year, while net profit amounted to GBP121 million (EUR138 million).
Major low-cost airlines in Europe have only a marginal presence on the local market. easyJet was not the only to have carried few passengers compared with rivals Wizz Air and Blue Air, but also GermanWings and Ryanair.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)