Budget Nomad: Malév Hungarian Airlines

Showing posts with label Malév Hungarian Airlines. Show all posts

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Number 2 Wins

Two is greater than one. When you are number two you have to try harder. Two has double the power of one. One is the loneliest number you'll ever know. Just ask Three Dog Night or click here for a diversion.

What the heck is this post about, you may be asking? Well, it is official. As of May 29th, the airport formerly known as Ferihegy 1, currently known as Ferenc Liszt Terminal 1 will be called "Closed" or "Zarva". From May 30th onward, all budget airlines that were once flying out of terminal 1 will now be moved to terminal 2A and 2B depending on whether or not the flight is within the Schengen zone or not.

The pity of it is that they spent a great deal of money remodeling terminal 1 and it is quite a lovely little terminal. The railroad tracks go by it from Nyugati train station. Now those wanting to take the train from the city will need to get off and continue by bus to terminal 2. Ah, Malév, what a domino effect you have created.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Bad Timing - Mixed Messages

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New five-star Buddha Bar hotel to open in downtown Budapest next month - Read more here.

and

Malév shutdown hits Budapest five-star hotels - Read more here.

I think that April or May is very optimistic considering the global economy and the fact that major hotels occupancy has been down considerably for two years now.

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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Hungarian Transportation In the News

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There could very well be more than this, but this is what I came across in transport news.

The Budapest Airport Authority is seriously considering closing down what used to be called Ferihegy I Airport. It had since been renamed Liszt Ferenc International Airport Terminal I, but it may be again renamed as Redundant! It seems that with the demise of Malév Hungarian Airlines, there is now a whole lot of empty space at Terminal 2. This would mean transferring the budget airlines into the full service airport. What I hope it doesn't mean is higher fees for these airlines, which prompted so many of the past to cut Budapest from their radar.

The other loss here is transportation. The train from Nyugati Railway Station only extends to terminal 1. The tracks were never completed to make it to terminals 2A and 2B. Budget air passengers who opt for the train, will have to get off at the old terminal 1 stop and then continue by bus to the airport. The question lingering is whether or not the train will even maintain this stop if there is no longer a functioning airport.

Changing gears and modes of transport, yesterday Ron and I were waiting for a metro at Blaha Lujza. This shiny white tube-like apparition appeared with fancy new red seats. It stopped, but the doors never opened. There was a disenfranchised voice going blah, blah, blah or maybe it was Hungarian, but either way, we had no clue as to its meaning. A few minutes later, the old and familiar blue Russian train appeared to carry us off to our destination. Perhaps in our lifetime we will get to ride on the new cars that have been promised for the last four years. I have given up hope of ever riding on the new Metro 4 line.

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Thursday, February 09, 2012

No More Flies

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This is late news, but heck, I had computer problems. If you have not heard the news yet, Hungarian state-owned Malev Hungarian Airlines (MA) ceased all operations early on Feb. 3

Malév worked their way into insolvency and by Friday there was a cease and desist for all flights. Having been in operation for more than 60 years, they rewarded the last passengers, thousands of them in Budapest and other cities by stranding them. Passengers at the Budapest airport were informed that morning at 7:00 a.m. that all outbound flights were cancelled. Happy vacation to you! Talk about travel stress.

Meanwhile, formerly budget airline Wizz Air announced an increase in flights. They will fly to Malaga, Cluj Napoca, Bucharest, Warsaw, Sofia, Larnaca, Heraklion, Zakynthos, Rhodes and Thessaloniki. Wizz has a habit of making many of these destinations summer only, so it is really nothing spectacular.

Also on the airline front, my private student asked me to make a call for him after our lesson. This was a real switch. Usually it is I who asks him to make calls. He needed to call Expedia Travel Services in the US. He and his partner bought tickets to Ibiza for April, but bought the tickets back in November of last year. The routing is Lufthansa and Spanair. In January, Spanair quit flying after going bankrupt. According to Expredia, Spanair was paid directly, so the only recourse is to fight with the credit card company for a refund. He is hopeless that this will be effective, so they are preparing themselves for taking the loss.

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Sunday, December 04, 2011

Call Before You Come Fly With Me

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As of December 1st, Malév the Hungarian airlines is making it possible for passengers to check in for flights by mobile phones. Passengers will now have the choice to receive their boarding via their mobile phone, eliminating the waste of paper boarding pass. This service is available for Malév flights at over 20 airports across Europe.

Of course if you are a frequent flyer, you will need to save that message to rectify your statement. If by chance you were not given credit for your miles, you will need to send your mobile phone to the airline for confirmation that you did indeed had a boarding pass. Once it is confirmed, they will send you an SMS message, but of course you won't know that until they return your phone to you.

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Friday, September 16, 2011

Irony

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"It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way."
Rollo May

It is ironic that the last post was about the Hungarian airline that may be grounded due to exorbitant fines imposed by the EU. They were caught with their wings in the government coffers. Okay, drum roll please while the irony comes flying out at you.

Malév announced they will begin commence with 5 flights, one on each weekday from Budapest to Tripoli the capital of Libya as of October 23rd. Now there is a real tourist hotspot. I am sure that route will be in high demand. A half empty plane going and a full load returning. Malév will be the first European airline to resume flights into the Libyan capital. But there is even more irony, get ready for it. The Tripoli airport has not reopened to commercial air traffic. It is expected to reopen within 2 months. I guess Malév did not check their Libyan calendar.

Before you run faster to your nearest travel agent for that Malév ticket, read the post right before this one a second time or pick up a copy of a Rollo May book to slow you down.

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See Me Fly Before I Have Fallen From the Sky

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Here is a riddle for you. What is silver and blue with a red, green, and white stripe that is currently flying, but may not be for much longer? Give up? Here is a hint.

Yes, the Hungarian national airline may be permanently grounded in the near future. As it turns out, the European Union is imposing fines on the national airline for selling its soul to the 'wrong' investors just to keep the airline afloat.

Apparently, the government from which the airline calls home, is the wrong investor. The EU is fining Malév for receiving state support totaling Ft 100 billion (€355 million) to keep it afloat. Well, technically it should be keeping it airborne, but with the losses Malév have stacked up, losses of Ft 25 billion last year and expected to end this year in the red with Ft 8-10 billion, it is drowning in debt. Afloat is the better choice of words in this instance.

The real shame of it all is that each and every time we have flown Malév, we have been pleased with the service. I have never heard a non-Hungarian ever complain about the airline. Not that I have heard Hungarians complain, but since they are still telling me how awful the Budapest public transportation system is, they cannot be trusted to judge any form of people movers.

Believe me, we have heard enough airline complaints to fill an encyclopedia. The largest entry would be under Air France. Now there is a dismal excuse for a national airline. Malév, there are a few of us rooting for you!

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Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Something Special in the Air?

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I just read that American Airlines, who had the slogan "Something Special in the Air" has announced daily direct daily flights between New York and Budapest starting on April 6th. Malev, the Hungarian national carrier will have share coding with these flights. Don't even ask what Malev's slogan is. During winter months, the flights will be reduced to 4 times a week.

Save those frequent flier points~

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Friday, January 22, 2010

A Year Past

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Image via Wikipedia

Almost a year ago, on January 30, 2009, I posted an article regarding Malev Airlines having been taken over by Aeroflot.

Now, today, I received a comment on that posting. Better late than never? Does the speed of the comment say something about their attention to detail? When I went to the website and looked at the destinations that Malev is flying to, what is really telling is that they stopped their flights to both the US and Canada. The rest of the list is of interest also.

Malev Airlines has left a new comment on your post "Russian Bank, Aeroflot to take over Malév followin...":

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