"Cześć!"

 

Driving on a Polish licence in the UK...

 

A large number of Poles driving in the UK seen to be under a serious misapprehension.

 

It is widely “believed” that you can drive for six or twelve months (the story varies) in the UK on a Polish licence and that as long as you don’t exceed that period you can simply whip out of the country for a couple of days and then return to the UK to start another six or twelve month period of using a Polish licence in the UK!

 

Beware! It isn’t like that!

 

A non-EU national who is RESIDENT in the UK can use their foreign licence in the UK for up to one year. After that they MUST have a British driving licence.

 

A non-EU national who is a VISITOR to the UK can only use their foreign licence in the UK for a short period.

 

For the purpose of these regulations a RESIDENT is someone spending most of their time and carrying out most of their activity in the UK.

 

A VISITOR is someone in the country for a short period of time and predominately living abroad.

 

So if you are a non-EU national effectively living in the UK you cannot legally get away with effectively driving indefinitely on your foreign licence by whipping out of the country for a few days from time to time.

 

If you try that trick and have an accident or otherwise come to the attention of the Police you could find yourself charged with driving without a valid (valid in the UK) driving licence. Your insurance is also probably invalid.

 

Incidentally the so called “International Driving Licence” cards do not alter the matter. They are simply internationally widely accepted evidence that you have a valid licence in your own country. How you can use that licence abroad is determined by local regulations.

posted by: Oborski at 14:38 | link | comments (2) |

That Polish Place...

For those of you London based opening on 12th September is a new restaurant...

"That Polish Place", 191 New Kent Road, Elephant & Castle, SE1 4AG

077 423 79785 & 020 7403 5880

Just love the name!

Look forward to first review!

posted by: Oborski at 01:55 | link | comments (3) |

Wyre Forest Anglo-Polish Society Programme

All at 8.00pm at the Polish Ex-Servicemens Club, St.George's Terrace, Kidderminster on Fridays...

12th September - Kariera Nikosia Dyzmy

26th September - Dzien Swira

17th October - Quo Vadis

7th November - Zemsta

28th November - Ogniem i Mieczem

19th December - Christmas Party (Tickets £4.00 in advance)

16th January - Warsaw My Warsaw - multimedia presentation.

6th February - Zloto Dezerterow

27th February - Fuks

19th March - Stacja

16th April - Visit to Jasna Gora - Multimedia presentation

7th May - Poland Comes Home. As Poland joins EU what next?

28th June - Przedwiosnie

18th June - Sezon na Leszcza

19th July - End of Season Party (Tickets £4 in advance)

posted by: Oborski at 00:22 | link | comments (3) |

Property prices in Poland...

The Observer (September 7th) reports large detached houses in Poland available at £99.350 (http://www.immobel.com)

posted by: Oborski at 23:21 | link | comments (1) |

Cheap Air Flights to Poland?

With all the rumours circulating about possible cheap air flights to Poland the following article from Polish Voice (a Warsaw Voice supplement) may be of interest...

Cover Story: Welcome to the Cheap Seats
28 August 2003

Leading European budget airlines are getting ready to launch connections to Poland. Small domestic carriers are also interested in offering cheap connections.

European air travel market liberalization has led to the increased importance of smaller airlines offering considerably cheaper connections than those of large national airlines. In the European Union since the complete liberalization of the market six years ago, budget carriers have taken over more than one-third of passenger traffic, forcing traditional lines to reduce ticket prices by 41 percent on average. The success of budget airlines is based on the maximum reduction of their operating costs. They offer minimal passenger service and use airports that are considerably cheaper, especially in Western Europe. Budget airlines also use their aircraft very economically. Practically all of their airplanes are in the air at one time. The planes arrive only to depart immediately.

However, according to experts, budget airlines will no longer develop as fast as they have to date, or at least not in the markets where they have already gained a strong foothold. Passengers can be divided into those who prefer to pay a bit more and be guaranteed more comfortable travel conditions and those who want to pay less in exchange for longer travel times and relatively lower service quality. In order for budget airlines to develop further, they have to seek customers in countries like Poland where the income per capita is still lower than in Western Europe. In Poland, cheaper airlines will be more attractive.

Connections provided by budget carriers could cause a major expansion of the market in Poland, since those who have never traveled by air due to ticket prices might do so if a carrier offers round-trip tickets for international flights at zl.300-zl.400 instead of the current price which is four times higher. Cheap carriers with connections to cities of interest to tourists such as Gdañsk, Cracow, Poznañ and Wroc³aw, can also expect foreign tourist traffic. Until now, a hub of international connections has prevailed in Poland, with Warsaw playing the central role, and liberalization is a chance for local airports to develop.

Several well-known European carriers of this nature are already interested in the Polish market. Irish Ryanair is conducting talks with authorities at several airports in Poland, including Cracow and Szczecin. According to unofficial information, one obstacle to a quick agreement are tough conditions set by the Irish partner. In exchange for contracts signed for 15-20 years, the Irish demand very low airport fees. They also want the airport service to ensure the plane's departure 25 minutes after landing, while the usual time is about one hour. Other conditions also include access to neighboring urban areas-Ryanair launches a new connection when it has an 85 percent "load", and runways that are able to accept medium-sized aircraft.

British Virgin Express and Easyjet also intend to provide connections to Polish cities. Virgin Express plans to launch a Warsaw-Brussels connection. Easyjet would like to fly on the London-Warsaw route. Germany's Germanwings has initiated talks concerning the launch of Cologne-Warsaw connections. A potential starting date for these cheaper connections is this autumn, but next spring seems more probable.

Another obstacle to cheap connections with Poland in the near future are bilateral agreements in force with Germany and the UK regulating the performance of passenger connections. According to the Polish/British agreement, British authorities can indicate two carriers operating flights to Poland and this limit has already been reached. The situation is similar with German carriers. The Polish/German agreement provides for a limit on connections between Poland and Germany; introducing a new carrier might require changes in the agreement.

It is unknown whether British and German authorities will want to renegotiate these agreements, considering that they will be in force no longer than through May of next year. Upon Poland's accession to the EU, agreements between Poland and other EU member countries will no longer be binding and all carriers will be able to open connections to Poland. Some foreign budget airlines might begin flights to Poland as early as May.

Most likely cheap domestic lines will have appeared earlier. The first is expected to be GetJet, owned by Silesian Air. According to Eugeniusz Piechoczek, president of Silesian Air, the carrier's planes will fly from Katowice to London, Paris and Rome, once a day throughout the week. Silesian Air wants to open similar connections from other Polish airports, including Gdañsk and Poznañ. The firm's further plans include the launch of connections to Brussels and Milan, and perhaps also to German and Scandinavian destinations.

A one-way ticket from GetJet at a promotional price will cost zl.99 plus airport fees. Tickets will be sold through the Internet, a paid info-line and by mobile phone. Also they will be sold at 3,000 outlets by year's end all over the country.

Silesian Air is not the only Polish airline wishing to launch cheap connections. Air Polonia is planning a similar venture, now mainly serving Boeing B737 charter traffic. The firm is considering the launch, possibly under a new logo, of connections to London and German airports. Another Polish airline planning cheap transport is the Wroc³aw firm Dream Air, which is also considering London and several other Western European ports in addition to low-priced scheduled domestic flights.

The entry of budget airlines is a major challenge for the Polish national carrier LOT, whose Polish passenger transport market share exceeds 51 percent. Those firms are not expected to threaten LOT's position in Warsaw. Poland's largest airport is already overtaxed and a new terminal is expected to open in 2005. Until that time, Polskie Porty Lotnicze and service firms are unlikely to be interested in reducing their fees in order to meet the expectations of cheap carriers since even with current prices the airport's capacity is insufficient for the number of passengers that carriers would like to transport from Warsaw. As far as the remaining Polish airports are concerned, budget carriers can become serious rivals for LOT and other national airlines.

posted by: Oborski at 22:19 | link | comments (1) |

Welcome...

Welcome to the online diary and information service of the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Kidderminster in the heart of the United Kingdom.

All sensible views and comments are very welcome so please feel free to contribute!

Please keep coming back to keep up to speed!

Cllr Mike Oborski (Consul RP)

posted by: Oborski at 18:08 | link | comments (4) |