"Malév performed better than the European average in 2009, a year that saw a downturn in the air transport industry as a whole. In the face of the European trend, the Hungarian national carrier was actually able to increase the number of its passengers. The airline carried a total of 3.3 million scheduled and charter travellers, 6% more than in the previous year (indicator omits long-haul passengers). This enabled the airline to up its market share by two percentage points to 43,5%.Malév was able to achieve a 6% increase in its passenger traffic despite the fact that in the first quarter of 2009, when Malév was also impacted by the economic crisis, its passenger numbers declined significantly. Following this serious loss in turnover the company was able to "take to the skies" again with a new, proactive commercial strategy targeting a wide segment of the travelling public. The airline reached the most dynamic - more than 10% - increase in passenger number in October and December.
Last year, Malév was able to give its passengers a pleasant surprise, and its competitors an unwelcome shock, with numerous exciting initiatives. These included a new pricing strategy, which allowed the airline to take up the challenge of competing against low-cost carriers, guaranteed best group rate, a five-fold increase in the number of corporate clients, numerous special travel packages offered together with the airline's partners and the opening of three new destinations.
Karim Makhlouf, Chief Commercial Officer of Malév, emphasized: "All our efforts brought the hoped-for results last year, and we were able to increase our load factor on European and Middle Eastern routes by two percentage points to 66,5%. This year we aim to further raise the load factor, which is why we are placing even more emphasis on our new commercial strategy and we are going to provide new offers throughout the entire year. I am very positive that our successful move towards a dynamic and leading quality airline in the region continues this year. For the 1st quarter of 2010 we expect double digit growth in passenger numbers which brings us closer to our aim to increase further our market share and be the first choice in Hungary and in the region."
The following Malév destinations attracted a particularly high number of passengers (percentage increase indicated in brackets): Hamburg (+49%), Helsinki (+22%), Copenhagen (+10%), Rome (+54%), Stockholm (+21%), Larnaca (+16%), Beirut (+40%), Skopje (+18%) and Tirana (+34%)."
Source: Malév Hungarian Airlines
04.02.2010