Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines gain a quarter of Romanian market

Foreign airlines Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, the latter of which was integrated into the German group last year, together carried 900,000 passengers on the Romanian market in 2009 and gained a quarter of the local airline market, their officials say.

The acquisition of Austrian Airlines by Germany's Lufthansa in a 377 million-euro deal last year, led to the creation of the largest air operator on the European market, as well as the biggest competitor of state-held Tarom.

"Romania has become a key market for Lufthansa's investment strategy over the last few years and this trend will continue. The growth recorded last year in Romania, despite the globally difficult economic context, marks our success on the Romanian market," said Stefan Versemann, sales general manager for Romania and Moldova, He did not specify what the investments made on the Romanian market amounted to.

The two airlines, which operate 171 flights per week to Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and Vienna, are planning to consolidate their presence by boosting capacity, flight frequency, and implicitly market share.