A German investment house is set to expand Hungarian regional carrier Carpathian Air Transport after having effectively rescued it from bankruptcy. Carpathian had been forced to cancel several of its routes prior to a cash injection from Deutsche Balaton Broker-Holding (DBBH), which says that it has plans to exploit Hungary's closed skies in an alliance with Malév.
The airline plans new routes in Eastern Europe, subject to acquiring a Fairchild Dornier 328JET and finalising codeshare talks with Hungary's flag carrier. Its only current route is to Ljubliana, Slovenia, with Belgrade, Yugoslavia, set to start in the last quarter of this year.
Hungary is an attractive market in which to expand a regional service, says DBBH's managing director, Jürgen Dickemann, because of the combination of unexploited destinations, growing regional business and a protected market.
Foreign ownership laws restricted DBBH to a 49% stake, with its own Budapest-based subsidiary, Nemet Befektesi, taking 31% and leaving the original management company Catair with a fifth of the shares. DBBH says there is no cap on the investment "for the right expansion plans".
Several Romanian cities top the list for future destinations, with Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia close behind.
Carpathian operates a 32-seat Yakovlev Yak-40, and two Saab 340s, which it aims to replace.
Source: Flight International
