Gardyloo

Hungarian flag carrier and Oneworld member Malev has ceased operations as of Friday morning, 3 February. The board decided that continued operations were untenable, following EU legal determinations that ongoing Hungarian government support of Malev ran counter to EU regulations.

This is very disappointing if not surprising news, and leaves something of hole (a big one) in Oneworld's coverage in Eastern Europe.

qwovadis

Bummer not surprising with Euro eco collapse eminent and Hungary at the center of that in the east. wizzair.com www.carpatair.com cheaper not ideal but might fill
some of the gaps have a flight VCE BUD with them in April.
skyscanner.net other options. Malev always overcharged
me compared to the others probably one reason they crashed. insuremytrip.com always wise in these days of musical chair airline bankruptcy. Thanks for posting GL.

qwovadis

Wizz Air offers rescue fares to Malev passengers

Wizz Air, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe provides a special rescue package to passengers impacted by the suspension of Malev’s operations by offering re-routing alternatives to/from Budapest.

Passengers who hold a valid Malev electronic ticket for travel between February 3rd, 2012 and March 24th, 2012 can benefit from the 9900 HUF fares (all inclusive, one way).

To be eligible to the 9900 HUF fare you must hold a valid MALÉV ticket. You may be required to present a printed copy of your Wizz Air itineraries and your MALÉV ticket at the airport.

Rescue fares can be accessed online or by calling the Wizz Air call centre at +36 1 358 6565 . To reach assistance in English please call: +48 22 351 94 92

Jeff_Costa_Rica

"Wizz Air"?

I flew Malev a couple of times, once in the days of Communist Hungary (Ugh!) and again in post-1989 Hungary (a vast improvement in service). I'm sorry to hear they're having difficulties.

P_M

We were looking at Malev for a trip in 2013, this is very disappointing news. I hope One World will pick up a new partner to replace it. Thanks for the info.

P_M

Hey Gardy, do you think AA will dump the non-stops from JFK to BUD? When we lost Swiss Air from the One World Alliance they discontinued non-stops to ZRH.

mamamia2

When we were planning our European trip a year ago, one of the flights I checked into was with Malev and I was shocked at how PRICY it was. Then I read a few more complaints about their fares being more expensive than other on comparable routes.

An airline collapsing is always a sad thing. Especially when it's a national airline, and more sad for those who already bought tickets with them and made trip plans.

Gardyloo

<i>Hey Gardy, do you think AA will dump the non-stops from JFK to BUD? When we lost Swiss Air from the One World Alliance they discontinued non-stops to ZRH.</i>

No idea, but I wouldn't be shocked. AA had already delayed the route's re-start (it's only seasonal anyway) and reduced the frequency (flights per week) so I'd guess they'd probably say that it was a route that had to be cut due to their bankruptcy restructuring anyway. AA is doing a lot of route shuffling at the moment - canceling ORD-DEL, ditching JFK-NRT and re-starting JFK-HND, and so on. Tempestuous times.

Swissair was never a Oneworld member, just an AA partner. However AA still flies to ZRH nonstop from JFK. Too many bankers and UN suits to ignore, I'd wager.

P_M

I didn't know they still ran the JFK-ZRH flight, I was referring to the DFW-ZRH flight that was cancelled when Swiss changed it's alliance. I loved connecting thru ZRH as they sold such good chocolates.

Gardyloo

<i>Hey Gardy, do you think AA will dump the non-stops from JFK to BUD? </i>

Gone as of April.

P_M

I must be psychic. ;-)

Jeff801

That's odd, I booked it for December just a few hours ago.

JoyC

Was it a direct flight? Or did you have to go through LHR?

There are no more non-stop, direct flights from JFK-BUD, although I still can see it in my reservation. I'm expecting to be re-routed in the next few days.

P_M

Just to avoid any confusion, non-stop and direct are not the same thing. A direct flight DOES stop somewhere but the same flight continues. Joy, please correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you are asking if Jeff has a direct flight, meaning there will be a stop.

Gardyloo

<i>That's odd, I booked it for December just a few hours ago.</i>

Well I'd check your booking; it's been pulled from AA's timetable and the GDSs.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/agency/Travel...nofService.jsp

Jeff801

I got notice of the schedule change this morning. As it happens, that's when my return flight became available for booking. Rather than take a non-stop from DFW to LHR, I am traveling DFW-JFK-LHR-BUD. The non-stop flights to LHR arrive too late to make the 08:30 BA departure to BUD. The later flights get to BUD so late that we would end up at our hotel no earlier than 7:00 p.m., making the night's hotel cost a waste IMHO.