Air Slovakia financial difficulties are related to major outstanding debt besides its business partners, its employees and insurances. Like others airlines, Air Slovakia also met troubles regarding to irregularities with unpaid taxes and health-insurance payments

After the failure of Seagle Air and Sky Europe, This is the third Slovakian company which will probably stop its activity the last 6 months. The east European aviation market is a major issue, especially for low cost airlines. Few months ago, some rumours spread about the possible bankruptcy of Wizz Air. How long it will take to Ryanair to be in control of this market?

From spring, WizzAir will fly from Riga to London Luton (thrice-weekly), Oslo Torp (thrice-weekly) and Turku (twice-weekly).

“Wizz Air’s opening of the Riga market is a natural next step in the airline’s expansion in Central and Eastern Europe,” commented József Váradi, the company’s CEO.

“Important preconditions to our cooperation were the advantageous geographical position of Riga and our new tariff policy, which is one of the friendliest among the airports of the European capitals,” said Krisjanis Peters, Chairman of the Board at RIGA International Airport.

So one wonders, what about the losses reported by WizzAir?

Indeed, according to The Budapest Business Journal “The low-cost Budapest-based airline company WizzAir recorded group-level losses of 9.5m in the business year ended in March 2009”.

SkyEurope’s remake?

According to the Czech online paper Napi Gazdaság, the company never managed to post profits over the five years of its operation, and has now accumulated losses of €78 million.

The article adds that“at the same time, WizzAir has spectacularly increased the number of its passengers.” Here I think this is not a very good indicator to understand Wizzair situation. Indeed, SkyEurope was also increasing its passenger traffic several months before its end.

More strange, Wizzair manager has always declared that his company is profitable. More information will come soon I think, for now this is quite surprising.

WizzAir will add a third aircraft, an Airbus A320 to its fleet in Cluj Napoca that will fly to Pisa and Cuneo Torino. Timisoara will also benefit from a new flight to Forli Bologna, while Bucharest will receive a new route to Pisa.

Tickets start from 17 euro and can be purchased online or via the call center. Here are the new routes and the date when they’ll be made available:

• Cluj-Napoca – Pisa, starting from June 12, 2010
• Cluj-Napoca – Cuneo Torino, starting from June 12, 2010
• Bucharest – Pisa, starting from June 12, 2010
• Timisoara – Forli Bologna, starting from March 29, 2010

“We are very proud that in such a short time we have become the airline of choice of the Romanian passengers as well as those who travel to Romania. Being the largest airline in Romania is not only matter of prestige but also our level of commitment to growth and development to the benefit of the country and its passengers. We are confident that the third aircraft in Cluj-Napoca will further strengthen our positions on the market and add value to the local economy.” said György Abrán Chief Commercial Officer WizzAir.

With these new flights, WizzAir wants to consolidate its leader position in Romania. 1.4 million passengers flew with the company this year, an 85% increase since 2008.7XAS6D83V8JG

WizzAir’s flight was scheduled for take off on November 9th, 19:00 and should have arrived at 22:00 in Romania. The plane flying Cluj-Roma and return was hit by a lightning mid-flight; no one was harmed but the plane had to be grounded for several hours for maintenance, according to airline procedures.

Passengers had to wait for several hours without food or water before someone told them what happened to their flight. At around 1 AM they were checked-in at a 4* hotel but had to wake-up early the next morning and wait a few more hours to board their plane home. They landed safely on the Cluj International Airport, but with a bitter taste for WizzAir’s quality of services.

It’s not the first time a WizzAir plane is late but this time, the budget company takes the cake this time. What adds to the gravity of the situation is the company’s total disrespect for their customers. What would you have done if you were confronted with a similar situation?

One way all inclusive fares start from as low as EUR 22.49 if you plan ahead. Flights can be booked on their website, wizzair.com or via the call centre.

Also, from mid-March, WizzAir’s flights to Dortmund, Liverpool, London Luton, Lübeck, and Stockholm Skavsta will increase in frequency, and three new routes will be opened: Gdansk-Bournemouth, Gdansk-Coventry, and Gdansk-Gothenburg.

Wizz Air operates six bases in Central and Eastern Europe, and is the leading low-cost carrier in Eastern Europe. The airline recently announced that their 12th base will be opened in Wroclaw in July 2010.