HiSky expects to reach one million passengers in 2023

HiSky continues to break records in the growth rate of passenger numbers. 537 thousand people flew with HiSky in 2023, according to the traffic data, reported after the first two quarters. By comparison, in the first six months of the previous year, the company recorded 194 thousand passengers. According to estimates based on the scheduled flights this season, the number of one million transported passengers, this year, will be reached in September. The report consolidates HiSky’s position as the fourth largest airline operator in the Romanian market, after Wizzair, Ryanair, and Tarom, and the second most important airline registered in Romania.

The most significant traffic volume was recorded in June, with 160 thousand passengers, double compared to 2022, followed, in order, by the months of May and April with 110, respectively 107 thousand. The growth trend is expected to remain constant, with August predicted to be the busiest month in the company’s history.

“We anticipated that this year’s summer season would get close to 2019 values in terms of demand for passenger air transport services. Our company started operating in 2020, so this is the first season where we have the opportunity to demonstrate our capacity in a well-performing market. The pandemic years, although extremely complicated, gave us time to prepare for this growth. We purchased new aircraft and managed to build a fleet that we can rely on, so as not to have to cancel flights due to technical issues. We operate on regular routes to the most sought-after destinations and have concluded partnerships with the largest tour operators. This series of good decisions that we managed to make is fully reflected in the figures.” says Iulian Scorpan, CEO of HiSky.

In terms of traffic by operational base, Otopeni remains the airport with the most significant contribution to recorded volumes, with 252 thousand passengers, followed by Chișinău airport, with 152 thousand, and Cluj, with 92 thousand.

The spectacular increase in the number of passengers, this spring and the first month of the summer season, is also due to the addition of operational capacity, up to eight aircraft. Along with the two Airbus A321LRs, included in the fleet at the beginning of April, another aircraft was contracted, leased from a foreign company. Thus, HiSky reaches a capacity of nearly 1500 seats.

HiSky operates direct international flights from Romania departing from the airports of Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, and Baia Mare to Barcelona, Malaga, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Paris, and Dublin. From the Republic of Moldova, passengers can travel with HiSky to nine foreign destinations: Milan, Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, Rome, Bologna, London and Venice.