Ryanair arrived last April on Henri-Coanda (Otopeni) airport of Bucharest, initially with flights to London and Dublin and in summer will come to operate flights toward four destinations: London, Dublin, Madrid and Brussels.
“We want to become number one on Romania’s low-cost market in a few years. Reaching this target is just a matter of time. According with our estimates, we now rank fourth on the market,” said Katarzyna Gaborec McEvoy, Ryanair sales and marketing manager for Romania.
She offered no details about the new flights the airline is set to introduce from the Bucharest airport.
Ryanair already leads markets such as Spain, Italy, Belgium and Poland. In Poland, Ryanair has 7 million passengers annually.
The leading low-cost carrier in Romania is Wizz Air, with over 3 million passengers annually, followed by Blue Air, with around 1.5 million passengers.
Ryanair, which entered Romania in 2008 with flights from Constanta airport to Pisa (Italy) and from Arad airport to Bergamo, has shunned Bucharest for many years and remained a marginal presence on a market heading toward 11 million passengers annually.
In late 2013, after talks that lasted for one year and a half, Ryanair announced it would enter Bucharest’s Otopeni airport. The first flight to London and Dublin were operated last April.
Ryanair official also says the carrier will work with hotel owners of Romania to promote Bucharest as a travel destination through its website, and not only.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)