You won’t fly far from Szczecin

At the beginning of 2009 the management of Ryanair airline announced the launch of a new international line from Szczecin-Goleniów airport. Late in March we were supposed to be able to fly from Szczecin to Dusseldorf.

“We have selected a town situated in the west of Germany, near the German – Dutch border, in the hope that not only Poles and Germans but also Dutchmen will use it, as the new line considerably facilitates access to the region. – stated at the time Laszlo Tamas, the sales and marketing manager at Ryanair. These plans came to nothing though, because before the first plane flew in that direction, the line was closed.

“No flight took place on that route, since the interest corresponding to ticket booking was at the level of 10 – 15 percent” – explains Krzysztof Domagalski, the press spokesman for Szczecin – Goleniów airport – “In order to make sure that the flight will be profitable, the ticket sales should reach approximately 50 percent a month in advance”.

A year earlier the same carrier decided to close the connection with the British city of Birmingham, however in this case some flights were actually made in the period between October 2008 and March 2009. Little interest of potential passengers was also the reason given for suspending flights.

At the same time, Ryanair continues to fly from Poznań to London, Dublin, Liverpool as well as to other cities such as Barcelona, Milan and Alicante. These airlines can take us from Wrocław to as much as 17 different cities in Europe and to 19 from Cracow. What is more, another low-cost carrier, i.e. Wizz Air, offers connections from Poznań and Wrocław as well.

The same can be said about domestic routes. In autumn last year Jet Air opened two domestic connections from Szczecin-Goleniów airport. The one to Cracow was launched in September, with flights taking place four times a week, and the one to Warsaw started in November and was intended as a biweekly connection. The spokesman for the airlines assured that the connections answered the needs of business clients, but both lines were closed at the beginning of December nonetheless.

We tried to enquire about the reasons why Jet Air withdrew from Szczecin, but no one was wiling to answer our questions.  Krzysztof Domagalski, the press spokesman for the airport also refrained from comments. Yet, he admits that as with all airports, Szczecin – Goleniów values each new connection very highly, because only by expanding the range of available flights the airport can attract new clients who now still tend to think Berlin rather than Szczecin – Goleniów when planning their flights.

“We strive to change the habits that passengers have so far developed” – he stresses.  “We would like our airport to become the first choice airport for the inhabitants of the region. If and when it turns out that we cannot offer a particular route, they should look for connections from Berlin.”

At present we may take scheduled flights from Szczecin – Goleniów to Warsaw, Oslo, London and Dublin. The flights to Liverpool which were opened in May have been suspended for the winter, but Krzysztof Domagalski assures that they will be back on the timetable in March.
Approximately 300 thousand passengers a year fly from Szczecin – Goleniów airport.   About 90 thousand of them take the Szczecin – Warsaw route, and approximately 50 thousand use charter flights.

Paulina Łątka