Since Malév Hungarian Airlines closed
its doors in February 2012, smaller airlines such as Wizz Air have
managed to increase their presence and international profile by filling
the large gap left in flight schedules from Liszt Ferenc International
Airport. The newest name to enter into the air-transport
business is Sólyom Hungarian Airways, a company with big plans despite
its just having opened offices at Liszt Ferenc.
Sólyom
director József Vágó announced his company’s leasing of six aircraft
for its fleet last week and ticket sales will begin in August, though
the company has yet to release a flight schedule. Sólyom also released
the first photos of its Airbus A320 craft, which features the familiar
Hungarian tri-color on the tail fin along with a stylized version of the
turul, a mythic bird of national folklore similar to the falcon from
which the airline gets its name.
Along with the announcement, Vágó also laid out the company’s plans
for expansion: Sólyom will begin with 350 to 400 employees and plans to
raise that number to 700 in August. In 2014, Sólyom expects to transport
3 million passengers, and by 2017, the airline’s 50 aircraft will be
carrying 8 million.
Those plans seem to have suffered something of a setback, however, as Hungary’s National Transportation Authority (NKH) has rejected the application of Sólyom
Investment and Asset Management Inc. for commercial air transport
permits. Sólyom had previously acquired Avicraft Kft in hopes of
employing that company’s licenses for Sólyom Airways. While Avicraft’s
license covers small aircraft, it is not valid for commercial air
transport, judged the agency, and the application must be resubmitted
for consideration.
Sólyom Airways is financed by investors from
the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and is owned by three private
individuals in Hungary.
Source: http://www.bbj.hu