Wroclaw likely new Ryanair base
By: Andrzej Wrobel, 06. 02. 2006
Warsaw, Poland—Europe’s largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, has long said that it sees Poland as the most promising market in Europe, and the city of Wroclaw now seems to be topping the Irish carrier’s list as best location for its Eastern European base.
Last week, Bernard Berger, Ryanair’s business development director, and Michael Cawley, the company’s chief operating officer, visited various airports throughout Poland, but seemed to be leaning toward Wroclaw’s Copernicus airport in Lower Silesia.
The final decision won’t be made until early spring. But Leszek Karwowski, the airport’s vice president of the board, is confident Copernicus will win out: “I estimate the chances of Wroclaw [receiving the Eastern European base] at 80–90 percent.”
Dublin-based Ryanair began flying to Central and Eastern Europe in October 2004, and, besides Poland, now operates in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania. Service to Hungary is expected to start this year.
Although last year’s negotiations limited the number of potential candidates for the Eastern European base to three cities — Wroclaw, Lodz and Poznan — the officials’ appearance in Krakow last week threw that city’s Balice airport into the running. Krakow already acts as a Polish base for Sky Europe (headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia), which intends to expand its destinations from Krakow to eight cities by the end of this year.
However, there are still several obstacles facing Balice airport. “With the existing infrastructure facilities, Krakow airport is too small to establish a Ryanair base. The same situation is in all other regional airports in Poland,” said Tomasz Kulakowski, the carrier’s sales and marketing executive for Central Europe, adding that the Wroclaw airport seems best positioned to overcome those obstacles.
Ryanair’s first flights to London from Poland took off from the Wroclaw airport in March 2005. Currently, Ryanair flies from Wroclaw to four destinations: London Stansted, Nottingham East Midlands in England, and Dublin and Shannon airports in Ireland. This gives Wroclaw the highest number of Ryanair flights from Poland. That position, however, isn’t enough to seal the deal. “First we have to reach a low-cost agreement that would make a long-term partnership and cooperation extremely valuable for both parties,” Ryanair’s Kulakowski said.
Infrastructure presents yet another obstacle. For its part, Krakow’s Balice Airport has already begun the first phase of its expansion. It also has plans to fulfill the requirements of the Schengen Agreement, which Poland will sign in 2007. The Schengen Agreement allows free movement of people among member countries.
http://www.cbw.cz/phprs/2006020619.html