Boeing Passenger Jets to Be Purchased by New Hungarian Airline

The chair of Hungary Airlines has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the American manufacturer for the purchase of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, Airportal.hu reports.

The site quotes a report by Chinese portal Xindaobao/Új Szemle (published on Thursday but since removed) that a memorandum of cooperation on the future purchase of 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was signed at the 2nd China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo on November 27.

With the new generation of passenger aircraft, Hungary Airlines would strengthen passenger traffic between Central and Eastern Europe and China, using Budapest Airport as a hub, with the aim of becoming a global brand, the report says.

The Chinese article reportedly states that the airline plans to launch cargo flights from Budapest to Hong Kong in December 2024.

The portal adds that to further increase passenger traffic flow to and from China, the most important step would be to create a local-based hub airline that could continue to transport Chinese airline passengers to and from Budapest within the Central and Eastern European region and even across the continent.

The launch of Hungary Airlines and the memorandum of cooperation for the significant number of aircraft could serve this ambition, although the volume mentioned in the report seems overly ambitious both in Hungarian and European terms.

The launch of a European airline may also be in the Chinese interest because the major European airlines are calling for EU action against the expansion of Chinese airlines in Western European hubs.

The company, registered in 2021, changed its name to Hungary Cargo Airlines Kft., then to Hungary Airlines Kft. in spring this year. The company previously operated in the air cargo transport between China and Hungary, initially as Universal Translink Airline Hungary Kft. As reported by Hungary Today, the company even started recruiting staff and developing the airline’s image in May this year, but its website is no longer available.

Airportal.hu points out that the majority owner of the company is the Chinese businessman Wu Jiang. The management includes two Hungarian professionals, Gábor Talabos and Gábor Varga, in addition to Duan Bo, who signed the agreement with Boeing.

According to press reports, the company is preparing to take over the operation of the Airbus A330F cargo aircraft currently operated by Wizz Air, and is in the process of obtaining its own Hungarian Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC).

The aircraft was purchased by the Hungarian government in 2020, for USD 57.5 million. On December 11, 2021, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that the commercial operation of the cargo aircraft purchased following the first wave of the COVID outbreak would begin, with Wizz Air flying the aircraft three times a week between Hungary and China.

Via Airportal.hu, Featured image: Photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter