Ryanair returns to Budapest

Ryanair returns to Budapest with five routes for summer-

After an 18-month hiatus, Ryanair has announced that it will be returning to Hungary this summer, with the introduction of five routes to Budapest. London Stansted will be served four times weekly, while Birmingham, Bologna, Bristol and Dublin will each get two weekly flights. Both the Bristol and Dublin routes were operated when Ryanair first started serving the Hungarian capital back in late 2007. At that time, apart from those two routes, the carrier also served East Midlands, Glasgow Prestwick and Liverpool in the UK, as well as Bremen and Frankfurt Hahn in Germany. The five new routes are expected to deliver around 200,000 passengers per annum and sustain 200 local jobs.

Direct competition will be provided by Aer Lingus and Malév on the Dublin route. Ryanair has chosen not to target any Wizz Air markets directly, but its London Stansted service will offer an alternative to Wizz Air’s three daily flights from London Luton, as well as easyJet and Malév at London Gatwick, and British Airways from London Heathrow

Ryanair sees inbound tourism as key to route success

During Michael O’Leary’s press conference in Budapest, it was stressed that the key to the markets was inbound tourism. Being outside the Eurozone, Hungary currently offers good value for money for visiting tourists, which possibly explains the focus on routes to the UK.