Meeting Tour Operators At Budapest Airport

This mutually beneficial enterprise was outlined at a coordination meeting of Budapest Airport and tour operators attended by aviation director Kam Jandu and corporate affairs director Mihály Hardy as well as almost all major tour operators of the charter segment.

It was stated at the meeting that Budapest Airport was unable to lower airport charges unilaterally since charter passengers use the same services as passengers of traditional scheduled airlines operating from Terminal 2, but the airport operator proposed that the possibility of providing off-peak discounts and/or parking and retail discounts for package-holiday passengers should be jointly examined.

Budapest Airport also offered premises for an Ultra Last Minute kiosk where trips left over for the last 24 hours may be sold only 4 hours before departure, which was especially well-received by tour operators. The staff of the kiosk which would offer equal opportunity for all would be paid by the agencies, while the kiosk itself would be provided by Budapest Airport free of charge.

The essence of the model which has been successfully operating at several places in Western Europe is that passengers can go on last-minute trips at a significant discount if, say, they prefer a sunny destination but do not care whether they end up in Egypt or Greece. The operation of the new kiosk is planned to commence in May 2010.

It was also agreed at the meeting that tour operators and Budapest Airport would provide links pointing at each other on their web sites and intensify the exchange of trade information and the monitoring of market trends, and that the airport would organize site visits for representatives of charter operators and offer an extended range of airport information materials."

Source: Budapest Airport