Post by LHR02 on Nov 25, 2003 20:51:34 GMT -5
From CNN's travel page comes the following most welcomed news! How often has it been bemoaned here that none of the cheap airlines fly to Poland? Soon to change it seems. Might even offer a budget alternative to those heading towards Prague, in a round about way. 
Polish Air Polonia expands network
Monday, November 24, 2003 Posted: 0445 GMT (12:45 PM HKT)
WARSAW, Poland (Reuters) -- Polish low-cost airline Air Polonia will launch its first flight from Warsaw to London on December 15, offering a minimum return price of 282 zlotys ($73) including taxes, says the company.
Air Polonia, the first airline in Poland to launch cheap flights to foreign and domestic destinations, also said it would expand its network next year to cover Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Rome and Madrid.
Successful low-fare ventures like EasyJet and Ryanair, which are looking to expand in Eastern Europe, have not yet begun flights to Poland, the largest country in the region, which is joining the European Union next May.
Air Polonia will be the first local rival of state-owned LOT airline, which last month joined the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance to strengthen its position ahead of an expected battle with budget airlines.
"We will fly from Warsaw to London Stansted airport six times a week from December 15," Air Polonia's deputy chief executive Jan Litwinski -- LOT's former CEO -- told a news conference.
"Additionally, there will be three flights a week to London from Katowice and two from Poznan," he said.
Litwinski also said Air Polonia would offer cheap connections from Warsaw to the northern city of Gdansk and to Wroclaw in the south-west.
The lowest one-way fare on domestic flights is set at 19.9 zlotys (excluding taxes) and at 55.55 zlotys on foreign routes.
In the first stage, Air Polonia wants to achieve a load factor - a profit benchmark showing the percentage of paying passengers per seat flown -- of above 40 percent on foreign flights and 70 percent on domestic routes.
The airline owns two Boeing 737-400s and wants to increase its fleet to five next year.
Polish Air Polonia expands network
Monday, November 24, 2003 Posted: 0445 GMT (12:45 PM HKT)
WARSAW, Poland (Reuters) -- Polish low-cost airline Air Polonia will launch its first flight from Warsaw to London on December 15, offering a minimum return price of 282 zlotys ($73) including taxes, says the company.
Air Polonia, the first airline in Poland to launch cheap flights to foreign and domestic destinations, also said it would expand its network next year to cover Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Rome and Madrid.
Successful low-fare ventures like EasyJet and Ryanair, which are looking to expand in Eastern Europe, have not yet begun flights to Poland, the largest country in the region, which is joining the European Union next May.
Air Polonia will be the first local rival of state-owned LOT airline, which last month joined the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance to strengthen its position ahead of an expected battle with budget airlines.
"We will fly from Warsaw to London Stansted airport six times a week from December 15," Air Polonia's deputy chief executive Jan Litwinski -- LOT's former CEO -- told a news conference.
"Additionally, there will be three flights a week to London from Katowice and two from Poznan," he said.
Litwinski also said Air Polonia would offer cheap connections from Warsaw to the northern city of Gdansk and to Wroclaw in the south-west.
The lowest one-way fare on domestic flights is set at 19.9 zlotys (excluding taxes) and at 55.55 zlotys on foreign routes.
In the first stage, Air Polonia wants to achieve a load factor - a profit benchmark showing the percentage of paying passengers per seat flown -- of above 40 percent on foreign flights and 70 percent on domestic routes.
The airline owns two Boeing 737-400s and wants to increase its fleet to five next year.
