Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) will begin domestic Romanian operations almost four months ahead of Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) following the announcement that 6x weekly Bucharest Henri Coanda-Cluj-Napoca return flights would launch on July 22 of this year.

“We’re excited to be adding new, low-fare service in Romania where our traffic numbers grew 16 percent in 2015," Gyorgy Abran, Wizz Air Chief Commercial Officer said. "We’ve been working on these routes for some time as part of our continued commitment to Romania, where more and more people continue to respond to our low fares and excellent on-board service.”

Last week, rival LCC Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) announced plans to establish its first base in Romania at Timisoara in November this year. Aside from regional European flights, Ryanair says it will also offer return flights to Bucharest Otopeni.

For its part, Wizz Air has a strong existing presence in Romania operating bases at Bucharest Otopeni, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Iasi, Timisoara, and Tirgu Mures.