Direct Flights Between the US and Romania Will Soon Return After a 14-Year Absence

HiSky, a Moldovan-Romanian low-cost airline, has announced plans to launch its inaugural transatlantic service to New York JFK. This announcement comes shortly after the United States Department of Transportation granted permission for HiSky to launch flights to the country.

Romania to JFK

On June 7th, 2024, HiSky will launch nonstop service between Bucharest, Romania (OTP) and New York. This service will run four times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

*Local time for the departure or arrival city

The route is approximately 4,755 miles, and an A330-200 that HiSky recently leased is expected to be utilized. The carrier also has a fleet of two A321neo LRs that it has hinted would operate to JFK but with a stopover in Dublin. The stopover in Dublin would have been for refueling as the A321neo, even the LR, cannot fly the 4,755-mile route nonstop.

[OTP, JFK]

However, it appears that HiSky will deploy the A330 on a nonstop routing for the summer season. This A330-200, registered YR-KID, is a 13.5-year-old airframe that Sichuan Airlines originally incorporated into its fleet. It was removed from Sichuan's fleet in 2022. The plane was even intended to fly with unsuccessful UK carrier Sentra Airways, but quite literally never "took off."

HiSky's new route to New York marks the first time Romania has had a nonstop flight to the US since Delta ended its route from JFK to Bucharest in 2009. Romanian flag carrier TAROM also operated the same route before its cancellation in 2003. Other routes between North America and Romania include Air Canada's services from Toronto and Montreal to Bucharest, both terminated in 2019.

Is There Demand?

The Bucharest to JFK route only sees about 72 passengers daily in each direction. Between June and October 2023, that adds up to roughly 22,000 passengers round-trip between the two airports. HiSky has currently scheduled the New York route to operate from June to October 2024. It's unclear whether the airline intends to operate the route seasonally for the summer or has yet to release its winter schedule.

Either way, Bucharest is mainly reliant on point-to-point (P2P) traffic. As such, nearly all passengers flying between New York and Bucharest on HiSky will terminate in either of these cities. Bucharest is a relatively small connecting airport, and it's unlikely that HiSky will offer connecting itineraries elsewhere in Europe. HiSky is a rather small airline; therefore, its JFK flight will entirely rely on those wanting to visit Romania or vice-versa.

The Bucharest-JFK route does see an increase in daily passenger traffic during the summer months. However, it's still a small metric at 90 passengers each way daily. HiSky's A330-200 can accommodate 295 passengers, and its A321LRs can handle 220 passengers. No matter what aircraft the carrier chooses, it must find some method to increase demand between Bucharest and JFK.

While there's no doubt the carrier will see some success in its initial summer operation, the long-term viability of this unique route remains to be seen.