New airline in Europe – Ryanair launches Buzz
With instability reaching new heights in Europe regarding Brexit,airlines were preparing for the worst case scenario set up their own subsidiary in Austria, while airlines registered outside the UK, namely Ryanair and Wizz Air, obtained AOC’s in Britain. If a no-deal Brexit goes through, the aviation industry could lose billions.
However, seems like the European Union has set up a safety net for the aviation industry. At least for airlines that are registered within the European Union, preventing complete disaster.
And Ryanair seems not to be worried about the whole ordeal. They decided to relaunch their Polish subsidiary Ryanair Sun and brand the airline as Buzz. The new rebranded airline will further expand Ryanair operations in Eastern Europe.
From a charter airline to its own entity
Ryanair Sun started out its life in 2017 as a charter airline, providing aircraft to various Polish tour operators. It did not provide any scheduled flights to passengers. The airline obtained a Polish AOC in the beginning of 2018 and began the summer season with 5 Boeing 737s.
Shortly after, Ryanair Sun began providing scheduled services under its parent company‘s name, Ryanair. As Ryanair Sun‘s operational scale grew, Ryanair decided to close down their own Polish bases. Ryanair Sun would take over the operations from the beginning of 2019. At this point, Ryanair Sun’s fleet grew to 17.
However, Ryanair incorporated some dodgy employment practices. When the company closed down their Polish bases, they told their pilots and cabin crew to become self-employed workers. This move was done to save more money.
For example, if a crew member got sick, the airline was not liable to pay them sick leave. Also, according to Polish law, people working under self-employment contracts cannot form into unions. In summary, Ryanair has done this to avoid the consequences of agreements they reached with their worker unions after they went on strike multiple times throughout 2017 and 2018. In other words, they want to save even more money on their employment expenses.
On March 14th, 2019, Ryanair announced that they are rebranding Ryanair Sun into Buzz.
Buzz-ing
The airline will start Buzzing in the European skies in autumn of 2019. Including a completely new brand identity, the Polish airline will have its own website and mobile app.
Customers will be able to purchase both Ryanair and Buzz flight tickets on the new website and app. Buzz will continue to provide charter flights as well. Buzz’s CEO promised that the airline’s fleet will grow from 17 aircraft to 25 by the summer of 2019.
As I mentioned previously, the move to expand operations of Buzz is to grab a bigger slice of the Eastern Europe market. Juliusz Komorek, the Chairman of Buzz, expects “that Buzz will be Poland’s No.1 airline.”
Anyway, at least their branding is definitely very unique and looks absolutely fantastic. Definitely a candidate to join the list of the most beautiful airline liveries!
And to be honest, we are Buzzing to see the new airline in the skies.
