Hozzászólás: Malév Hungarian Airlines on brink of bankruptcy according to report

Szerző: Árpád

Árpád — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:12:36 +0000

Bobbygee, you’ve got a point. The European Union technically limits how far member states can go in bolstering failing airlines. But these rules are broken all the time–just look at the emergency loan that Alitalia received earlier this year. As for the Hungarian Socialist Party–it’s socialist only in name. They should consider Malév’s nationalization, if it looks as though it may go bankrupt. This way thousands of jobs can be saved and Budapest Ferihegy Airport would not experience a dramatic decline in passenger traffic, until a foreign carrier comes in and takes Malév’s place. Malév is a Hungarian national icon–it’s one of East/Central Europe’s oldest airlines and I would say that it deserves to be saved.

Szerző: bobbygee

bobbygee — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:47:10 +0000

Regarding Árpád’s comment, would the government (as he writes, the “socialists”) be able to intervene at all? Remember this is a private company, not a state company. Is it in the interest of the public finances – i.e. we the taxpayers – to financially support a private company owned by a Russian individual? Of course I know all the benefits to business of having malev flying between Budapest and many routes around Europe… but if there is a market there, other airlines will step in to fill the gap. Welcome to capitalism.

Szerző: bobbygee

bobbygee — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:41:13 +0000

It’s an interest question because I believe that the operating company (which is the one which would go bankrupt) is a separate entity from the one that holds the malev tradename and other rights such as membership of oneworld. If this is accurate, and the operating entity fails, and the entity that holds the tradename contracts with another entity to operate flights as Malev, then possibly you retain your points through all of this. A lot of ifs there though!
If I were you I’d go on a few holidays asap.

Szerző: Sz. András

Sz. András — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:32:37 +0000

My understanding is that accumulated points can be used to redeem tickets on flights operated by any oneworld alliance airline, but they cannot be transferred directly from one account to another. I’m still positive about Malév. We should remember that the airline predicted a couple of weeks ago that it would break even next year. Let’s hope that this is accurate.

Szerző: Arthur

Arthur — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:01:01 +0000

I’ve got a quick question and I’m hoping that someone here might be able to answer it for me: If Malév does go bankrupt, will members of the Duna Club loyalty program lose all of their accumulated points? Is it possible that they might be able transfer them to another oneworld alliance airline? I’ve got quite a lot of air miles–-fingers crossed that Malév survives. I wouldn’t like to lose them.

Szerző: Pápai Balázs

Pápai Balázs — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:33:02 +0000

Azt kellett volna csinálni amit a Berlusconi tett az Alitaliával. Talán a Malévre is lehetett volna találni egy olyan konzorciumot, amely belföldi üzletemberekből áll és ezt pedig egy nagy külföldi partnerrel lehetett volna erősíteni. A Malév a oneworld szövetség tagja és így természetesen a British Airways lett volna a legjobb partner. De most már sajnos késő.

Szerző: Árpád

Árpád — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:24:28 +0000

Keeping Malév alive is in our national interest and the socialists should act if it becomes clear that the airline is in trouble. But something tells me that they will just sit back and do nothing, allowing foreign carriers to dominate the Hungarian market.