Market Monopoly Of Lowcost Carriers In Bulgaria Intensifies

Low cost international carriers are facing little competition from equivalent Bulgarian carriers, Pari daily reported on March 4.

Established low-cost airlines on the Bulgarian aviation market, such as Sky Europe and Wizz Air, are increasing the frequency of flights to Sofia and Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts. Meanwhile, new carriers, who rely mostly on seasonal flights to Varna and Bourgas, are finding it hard to break into the market.

Wizz Air announced on March 4 that it would expand its Sofia base by opening a new route to Brussels South Charleroi Airport starting from 24 July 2008. Tickets are already on sale on the company web site.

With the new Sofia - Brussels Charleroi service Wizz Air will offer a network of eight destinations from the Bulgarian capital, a company statement said.

Wizz Air announced earlier that it would continue to further strengthen its position in Bulgaria by deploying an additional new Airbus A320 type aircraft  starting from 12 July 2008. The airline will start new flights from Sofia to domestic Varna, Milan-Bergamo, Valencia, Barcelona and Izmir (Turkey), and will increase frequencies on existing services to London, Rome and Dortmund.

Aer Lingus announced on March 4 a new service from Dublin to Bourgas in Bulgaria. The new service marks the first Aer Lingus scheduled flight to Bulgaria and moreover, the only scheduled service from Ireland. From mid-June the airline will operate two flights weekly.
In addition to great flight deals, aerlingus.com offers discounts on over 80 000 hotels worldwide with four- star Bulgarian hotels starting from 30 euro per room per night.

Airports in Varna and Bourgas may become bases for low-cost companies after they open new terminals. The development of the airport in Plovdiv is another possibility for attracting this type of air carrier. Not long ago Sky Europe launched the idea of setting up a powerful airline based at the Plovdiv airport, which may not be the classic type of air carrier.

No Bulgarian investors are currently willing to launch low-cost carriers, according to Zahari Aleksiev, general director of Bulgaria's Civil Aviation Administration. There is also little interest in setting up new conventional Bulgarian carriers.