British Airways Romania airline, which operates regular Bucharest - London flights, posted an occupancy rate of 85% in the first five months of the year (the company's fiscal year starts on April 1st and ends on March 31st), an increase of 10% against the similar period of last year, say the company's representatives.
At the same time, in the April - August period, the company saw its number of passengers rise by 65%, compared with the corresponding months of last year.
"This year we added a day flight to London, which means that the number of flights doubled to 14 per week," says Corina Enciu, Country Commercial Manager for Romania and Moldavia.
The surge in passenger number occurred amid a higher interest in London as touristic destination, too.
"The leisure segment started growing more, once the morning flight to London was introduced," says Enciu. Tourists account for 70% - 75% of the airline company's passengers, with the rest of passengers preferring business class. The British company considers the accession to the European Union will bring even more tourists on the leisure segment. "Once the visas for the UK are no longer necessary, there will be more tourists who will prefer London as destination," says Corina Enciu.
The integration into the European Union will have a positive impact on the entire company, not only on the leisure segment.
The elimination of the visas for the UK will also trigger the surge in the number of British investors on the domestic market, as well as the liberalisation of workforce circulation, given the less restrictive policy in this field, promoted by the British for the new member countries.
The flights towards London account for 70% of the company's turnover, with the rest of 30% being secondary flights from London to New York, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Hong Kong.
The company also considers adding new flights to London, from other cities in the country, such as Iasi, Cluj or Timisoara, in 2007. Regarding the low-cost airlines, Corina Enciu thinks they only increase the competition.
"The competition shouldn't scare us, there is enough room for low-cost airlines too, says Enciu. The Romanian market has become refined over the last few years and more and more clients become go for services," she adds.
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