France’s Aigle Azur airline in 2019 plans to service 9-10% of passenger flow between Kyiv and Paris, which is around 16,000 passengers, Aigle Azur President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frantz Yvelin has said at a press conference in Kyiv.
“I believe in the Ukrainian market and we have long term plans. In the future, we hope for more flights than three per week,” he said.
According to him, the airline counts on passenger traffic in the amount of about 16,000 passengers in 2019.
“About 160,000 passengers travel between Kyiv and Paris, and we expect to receive about 9-10% of this passenger traffic,” Yvelin said.
According to him, there is practically no competition among air carriers on the Kyiv-Paris route, which makes these destinations attractive for Aigle Azur.
The airline will operate flights between Paris-Orly and Kyiv-Boryspil airports three times a week: from Paris on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and from Kyiv on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. A one way trip will cost around EUR 74.
As reported, Aigle Azur airline will launch a direct flight between the airports of Paris-Orly and Kyiv-Boryspil from April 18, 2019.
At the moment, UIA and Air France operate direct flights to Paris from Kyiv.
The State Aviation Service of Ukraine has posted on its website the new rules of air transportation of passengers and baggage that have come into force.
The document, in particular, does not contain the norm on the mandatory free baggage allowance of a certain weight (previously 15 kg).
According to the new edition of the rules, information on the maximum amount and weight of baggage, accepted by the air carrier for transportation without payment, is specified in the rules of the air carrier and the contract of carriage provided to the passenger.
The State Aviation Service also legalized the new rules for charging fee for registration at the airport.
“Check-in at the airport is free of charge if it is provided for by the rules for applying the fare according to which the ticket was purchased and also if registration cannot be done via the airline’s website or using the self-service kiosk. Otherwise, the air carrier may charge an additional fee for check-in at the airport,” according to the rules.
The deadlines for check-in and boarding have also changed: now airlines can close check-in counters no earlier than 45 minutes before departure, and boarding gates no earlier than 15 minutes before departure (earlier 40 and 10 minutes respectively).
The Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport in February 2019 serviced 185,200 passengers, which is 41.7% more than in February 2018.
According to statistics released by the airport’s press service, the number of passengers serviced on international flights in February was 180,000, on domestic flights – 5,200. The number of flights in February was 2,007 for arrivals and departures, which is 21.8% more than the same period of 2018, including1,680 international flights, and 327domestic flights.
The most popular international destinations in February 2019 were Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), Warsaw (Poland), Minsk (Belarus), Ankara (Turkey), Vienna (Austria), Berlin (Germany), Budapest (Hungary), and domestic destinations were Odesa, Zaporizhia and Lviv.
Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport (Zhuliany) is located in the business center of the capital, seven km from the city center. It is the second largest airport in Ukraine in terms of the number of flights and passenger traffic.
The airport has three terminals with a total area is 21,000 square meters. Terminal B is a separate facility for business-class service, it is part of the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) system. The airport’s runway is able to handle B-737 and A-320 aircraft.
In 2018, the airport serviced 2.812 million passengers, which was 52% more than in 2017. The number of flights was 30,248, which was 30.1% more than 2017.
The Zaporizhia international airport in January and February 2019 serviced 60,800 passengers, which is 16.5% more than a year ago.
The number of passengers on international flights over the period grew by 20.5%, to 44,400 passengers, and on domestic flights it rose by 7%, to 16,380. The number of flights did not change year-over-year, being 448.
In February of this year, the total volume of passengers who used the services of the airport in Zaporizhia increased by more than 20%, from 24,800 passengers in February 2018, to 29,800 passengers.
An increase of almost 22.5% was recorded in international destinations (up to 21,400 passengers), and on domestic routes by 15% (up to 8,400 passengers).
As reported, the Zaporizhia Airport serviced 400,300 passengers in 2018, which is 15% more than in 2017.
Ukrainian airlines carried around 12.5 million passengers in 2018, which is 18% more compared with 2017, according to tentative data from the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine posted on its website. According to the report, passenger flow via the country’s airports first in the history exceeded 20 million passengers, growing by 25%, to 20.55 million people.
Transportation of cargos and mail grew by 21%, to 100,000 tonnes.
The share of low cost airlines of the total services provided increased to a record hitting 30%.
Growth in passenger flow at the Lviv international airport was 48%, and 1.598 million passengers used airline’s services. The passenger flow of the Boryspil international airport was 12.6 million passengers in 2018, which is almost 20% more than in 2017.
As reported, in January-September 2018, Ukrainian airlines boosted passenger transportation by 18.1% year-over-year, to 9.671 million people.
Hungary’s low cost airline Wizz Air in January-July 2018 carried over 700,000 passengers on flights from/to Ukraine, which is twice more than a year ago. “In the first seven months of 2018 ending July, Wizz Air transported more than 700,000 passengers on Ukrainian routes, which is twice as much as in the same period last year, which makes Wizz the first largest low-cost air carrier in Ukraine,” the airline’s press service said.
This year, 13 new destinations have been launched from Ukraine, including flights to Katowice, Gdansk, Dortmund, London Luton, Lisbon, Tallinn, Frankfurt, Berlin Schoenefeld and Vienna (37 routes to 11 countries in total). “Our constant expansion of activities in Ukraine underscores Wizz Air’s commitment to the country, and also continues stimulating the development of local tourism,” Communications Manager at Wizz Air Sorina Ratz said. Wizz Air is the largest low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe.