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Saturday, November 23, 2024

Airline Startup – Bees Takes On Ryanair’s Buzz In Eastern Europe

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When Ryanair rebranded its Ryanair Sun division to the name ‘Buzz,’ Wizz Air took legal action claiming similarities to its own name. Whether or not Ryanair’s move was intentional, it looks like it will now be on the receiving end of a similar move. That’s because a Ukrainian charter airline named ‘Bees’ is moving on to the scene. Let’s take a look at what this new airline is all about and how much overlap it shares with Buzz.

The airline currently has a single Boeing 737-800 but will acquire a second in the weeks to come. Photo: Bees

“With the advent of Bees Airline we start our page in the history of Ukrainian aviation…We will be pleased to meet everyone on our planes and make your dreams of comfortable, safe and enjoyable travel come true. U can BE anywhere with us!” -Nikolay Savostyanov, CEO of Bees Airline (December 2020)

What’s the buzz about Bees?

At the end of 2019, Bees Airline was registered. The paper airline has been working hard to attain its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from the State Aviation Service of Ukraine ever since. The airline had targeted the end of January 2021 to start its operational activity.

While it’s almost two months late, Bees is no longer just a paper airline. With an AOC and its very own 737-800, the carrier is now able to welcome new customers.

The airline is based at Ukraine’s Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport, also known as Kyiv Zhuliany. “The airline chose this airport due to its convenient location just seven kilometers from the city center… it should contribute to the passengers’ comfort during their journey,” it said in a statement.

Bees initially plans to operate charter flights but wants to introduce regularly scheduled services later on.

The airline is starting out with charter services to holiday destinations in Egypt. Photo: GCMap.com

Bees’ fleet will consist of two Boeing 737-800s, configured with 189 seats and manufactured in 2010. The airline says that it has plans to add two more 737-800s aircraft to the fleet later this year. Bees has plans to increase its fleet to six jets in 2022.

According to an airline statement, it is already scheduled to perform its first flight on March 18th, which will be a charter flight from Kyiv to Sharm el-Sheikh on behalf of tour operator Tez Tour Ukraine.

“The first international charter flights will be operated by Bees Airline to the popular resorts of Egypt and Turkey, but the geography of the airline’s flights will not be limited to charter flights and in the nearest future the airline will announce regular flights.” -Bees

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Brand battles

When Ryanair Sun was rebranded to Buzz, it was understandable why Wizz Air would raise a fuss. After all, both airlines…

  • …operate on a low-cost model
  • …are based in Central Europe (Wizz in Hungary, Buzz in Poland)
  • …have four-letter-names ending with two Zs.
Wizz Air Airbus A320
Wizz Air took legal action against Buzz last year for having a similar name. Photo: Getty Images

This is what Ryanair’s CEO had to say about the controversy in a statement last July:

“Due to Buzz’s unbeatable combination of lower fares and industry-leading service, it is on track to become Poland’s number one airline. It’s clear that Wizz Air is terrified of Buzz’s lower fare competition, which is why they are trying to block Buzz using its Buzz brand in Hungary where Wizz are cutting aircraft and capacity in Budapest. They should stop wasting time with lawyers and start focusing their energy on reducing their costs to rival lower cost Buzz.”

Now, with Bees on the scene, it will be interesting to see if Buzz will be taking similar action to Wizz.

After all, both airlines…

  • …operate on a low-cost model
  • …are based in the same part of Europe (Buzz in Poland, Bees in neighboring Ukraine)
  • …have four-letter-names starting with B
  • …have similar bee-themed branding and colors

If the above list wasn’t bad enough, the two carriers operate charter services to holiday destinations. Both are planning service to Turkey, but if both airlines expand, there could be significant overlap across the Mediterranean.

Buzz took its current name in 2019 and was previously known as Ryanair Sun. Photo: Ryanair

Can the two airlines co-exist?

One saving grace may be the fact that each airline serves a different market. Perhaps as long as each airline’s flights don’t land in the other’s destinations, the two carriers can co-exist with their separate hubs (or should we say hives?). After all, it would be terribly confusing to show up at an airport and find the two carrier’s aircraft parked at adjacent gates with services to similar destinations.

We’ll just have to wait and see if Bees will get stung by its branding decision.

What do you think of this Ukrainian startup? Is there conflict on the horizon with its similar Buzz-style branding?



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