The new Hungarian airline company Hungary Airlines is set to launch its first cargo flight this month, December 2024, according to the Hungarian business news site Világgazdaság. The new company’s maiden flight will be from Budapest, Hungary to Hong Kong, China.
Hungary Airlines was founded in May 2021, originally under the name Universal Translink Airline Hungary Kft. It has only recently changed its name to Hungary Airlines. Their headquarters is registered in Vecsés, Hungary, in the cargo centre of the Ferenc Liszt Budapest International Airport.
Earlier this month, the new company signed a deal with the American aircraft manufacturer Boening to acquire a hundred Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes, the local aviation industry site BUDflyer reports.
Initially, the new airline will be servicing cargo flights. It is unclear if it is planning on branching out to passenger flights as well at some point. There is speculation about that, given that even Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó of Hungary has talked about the need to increase direct passenger flights between major Chinese cities and Budapest, given the increase in the number of tourists coming to Hungary from the Asian country in recent years. Currently, 21 flights leave from Hungary to China per week.
Budapest Airlines’ focus will be direct flights between China and Central Europe. The company is headed by a Chinese national, Chairman Duan Bo and is majority-owned by fellow Chinese businessman Wu Jiang. However, two Hungarian nationals, Gábor Talabos and Gábor Varga were also present when signing the acquisition deal with Boening. Both men are listed as ‘company leaders’ for Hungary Airlines Kft in the Hungarian national company database Nemzeti Cégtár. Talabos is one of the prominent aviation experts in the country.
‘The country’s strategic location, highly developed infrastructure, and commitment to promoting innovation and cooperation make Hungary a natural bridge between East and West,’ Gábor Jenai, director for the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) has said about the new Budapest-based cargo airline, as quoted by Forbes.hu.
The last Hungarian airline MALÉV ceased operations in February 2012, after over 60 years of carrying passengers in the air.
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