Wizz beating Sky Europe in Poland

[LGS6753]

According to the Wizz Air website, Sky Europe have cut several Polish routes, including Warsaw-Stansted and Bratislava, Poznan-Amsterdam and Krakow to Stockholm and Bologna.
Wizz have comparable services on many of these routes.

[Cyrano]

Yes, a bit of a catfight going on here.
From the XXXXXXX website

Wizz Air offers free tickets to help stranded SkyEurope passengers
2006. 02. 14.
"Wizz Air, the largest low fare - low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe offers free tickets to help SkyEurope passengers stranded as a result of cancelling 5 Polish routes.
Following SkyEurope's recent move to significantly downscale its Polish operation by cancelling the Warsaw-London and Warsaw-Bratislava routes and not starting the earlier announced Poznan-Amsterdam, Krakow-Stockholm and Krakow-Bologna flights...
SkyEurope's drastic capacity reduction in Poland falls in line with earlier experienced performance issues of other low cost airlines including Air Polonia, :ooh: Air Berlin and Maersk Air leaving many passengers stranded."

And from the news release on the XXXXXX website:
"Company angered by ridiculous Wizz Air statements.
SkyEurope is outraged about the incomplete and misleading information by Hungarian Wizz Air after announcing the cancellation of some routes out of Poland...
Wizz Air has in its short history cancelled a lot of flights and reduced many more. Here are some examples of Wizz Air's routes cancelled from Poland:
...
Moreover and to prove false Wizz Air's statements and its ridiculous campaigns, the airline just recently quietly reduced capacity on several routes, including ..."

(I've abridged this to save bandwidth - the SkyEurope release goes on to compare the (very different) levels of "taxes and charges" the two airlines levy on their tickets (a comparison unfavourable to Wizz Air).
Interesting times... :)

Edited to remove advertising links.

[FlightDetent]

Also SkyE just announced new base in Prague which is a rather large step ahead.

[toledoashley]

This is Ryanair/EasyJet, eastern style. Think Wizz is in a stronger position - SkyEurope seems to have an odd business plan - why pull out of the fastest growing market in europe - very odd.

[sickBocks]

What the SkyEurope website also describes is the large expansion out of Krakow. Yes they are chopping a few routes but they are adding a whole load more. The first of the 73Gs arrives in a few weeks and the first few are going to be flying out of KRK to support the expansion. Loads are good.

Sky now have 12 737s split between KRK, BTS and BUD with a load of 700s on the way. PRG should do well.

Sky had issues with WAW airport in the past (overnight parking charges, fines for landing after 22:00) which resulted in routes being chopped. Maybe Sky and Warsaw will have a renaissance when the low-cost airport North of the city is open.

Sky was floated a few months back and is doing well. I wish them success as Sky is a much more pleasant experience from the traveller's point-of-view - Seat numbers allocated/treated like a human not cattle etc.

sB

[WHBM]

Doubtless both Easy and Ryan are happy with this bunfighting between the two largest Eastern Europe low-costs, they'll eat up most of their cash and value squaring up to each other while developing plenty of markets, then they will be a cheaper buy for the two majors in a couple of years time.

In equipment terms presumably Wizz will fit better into Easy and Ryanair will buy out Sky Europe.

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

Wizz certainly has interesting ethics. In Poland they advertise (on posters) services from Krakow to Manchester, but in reality the route they fly is Katowice to Liverpool! Perhaps they need geography lessons.

Meanwhile, Sky Europe really does fly Krakow to Manchester and in my experience provides excellent service on the route.

I wonder if Poland has an 'Advertising Standards Authority?'

[sickBocks]

It won't be long before Ryanair move in - they have to put their thousands of new 800s somewhere. Last year they said they would start in Eastern (sorry, the newly-rebranded Central) Europe in 2-3 years. They have many routes into the provincial cities of Poland and Krakow and Gdansk. Just wondered if they are waiting for Modlin to open North of Warsaw before they hit the area big style.

It would be nice if some of the smaller firms like Sky and Wizz could get in first and grab the market. The German and Dutch employment laws should allow the new EU joiners to work unrestricted this year so lots of routes are going to be needed.

Any airline with a callsign like 'Relax' deserves a break...

[LGS6753]

SkyEurope only have 16 flights per week into Stansted throughout Summer 06. They have been operating almost exactly four years.
Wizz will be operating 61 flights per week into Luton this summer, after less than 2 years.
OK there's more to it than that, but if Sky can't get market share to London they will struggle elsewhere.
My money's on Wizz (perhaps their choice of London airport was more sensible?)

[CAP493]

SkyEurope only have 16 flights per week into Stansted throughout Summer 06...Wizz will be operating 61 flights per week into Luton this summer....My money's on Wizz (perhaps their choice of London airport was more sensible?)
Apart from seeking work in the agricultural sector in rural East Anglia and the Fens, STN offers our east European colleagues nothing whereas LTN and the surrounding area (Beds) offer considerable employment opportunities and relatively cheap housing. Oh, and direct train services to the East Midlands (lots of Poles living in Derby) and four 30-minute train rides per hour (plus a 23-minute hourly Midland Mainline service), direct to five central London stations...

;)