Polish charter market targeted

Published: 6/1/2000

Warsaw-based White Eagle Aviation (WEA), Poland's largest private airline, has set its sights on the growing charter market with its introduction of a Boeing 737-400 on 15th May and its first commercial flight on 17th May, challenging flag carrier LOT's current monopoly of the market. The ten-year old 167-seat aircraft, which will be serviced under the supervision of CSA, is reported to be the first of three the airline intends to acquire, and was bought from German operator Hapag Lloyd. The aircraft will be used by the airline to access the Polish charter market currently dominated by LOT, who have a 65% market share of the 460,000 passengers a year. According to WEA's owner Zbigniew Niemczycki, the largest group of passengers for the charter activities will come from Poland's Orbis agency, although contracts have been signed with a number of agencies including Itaka, Rainbow Tours, Ving and Neckermann to destinations primarily in the Mediterranean. According to WEA, the primary motivation for agencies and tour companies to choose the airline is their low cost relative to competitors. The Polish charter market has been a growing segment of the air transport market over the last few years with a growth rate reported to be in the region of 10-15%. In response to the growth, LOT introduced two 737s in tourist charter layout two years ago and have commented that this is not adequate to meet demand and they have recently added another aircraft. LOT is however, reported to be unconcerned by the entry of smaller Polish competitors, arguing that the market is growing fast enough to satisfy the smaller and larger carriers and that they have been providing training to some of the smaller carrier's pilots. More cynically, the development of local carriers also helps LOT avoid the charge of being a monopoly player in its home market. WEA attempted to start in the market last year when they discussed the possible acquisition of an Airbus, but the plan was postponed for a season. The new plane will join WEA's fleet of 15 aircraft, including two helicopters, primarily operating a cargo and charter operation. The airline currently operates three Yak-40s in corporate and charter roles, Let-140s on parcel delivery for the Polish Post Office, with two Fokker F-27s undertaking a similar role for TNT and UPS. The company intends to increase its cargo carrying capacity with the introduction of two or three ATRs.

Article ID: 1828