Low cost carrier Wizz Air currently plans to introduce four new routes to the former Yugoslavia this summer season, with additional services under consideration. Growth from its three bases in Skopje, Tuzla and Belgrade will be limited. The airline will shift operations on its Skopje - Bergamo route to Milan's main international airport - Malpensa - starting March 23 and will introduce five weekly flights from Vienna to Tuzla next month. Furthermore, it will launch new seasonal operations from both Warsaw and Katowice in Poland to Podgorica, between mid-June and September. As a result, its total number of destinations from the Montenegrin capital will grow to five.
Despite keeping its operations from Skopje mostly unchanged this summer for the first time in years, the airline will add capacity in the Macedonian capital by replacing two of its four Airbus A320 aircraft with the larger 230-seat A321 jets. The first of the two aircraft will begin operations from the Macedonian capital on May 30 and the second from June 15. They will be deployed on a number of routes from Skopje including Berlin, Beauvais, Bratislava, Cologne, Eindhoven, Friedrichshafen, Gothenburg, Hahn, Hamburg, Hannover, Malmo, Memmingen, Nuremberg and Rome. Together, the two aircraft will operate a total of 42 flights per week. As a result, Wizz Air will increase its capacity from Macedonia by 23% this year when compared to 2017, offering 1.8 million seats for sale from the country. From Macedonia's second international airport in Ohrid, Wizz will maintain three weekly flights to Basel, down from four last year, and two weekly services to London Luton. Furthermore, the Macedonian government plans to start tender procedures for a three-year contract to stimulate the launch of new routes by low cost carriers, with Wizz Air likely to apply, which would lead to new destinations being launched.
Tables updated March 19
Tables updated March 19
Departing Skopje
| Destination | Frequency S2017 | Frequency S2018 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Basel | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Beauvais | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Bergamo | 2 | 0 | ▼ 2 | replaced by Milan |
| Berlin | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Bratislava | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Budapest | 2 | 3 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Charleroi | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Cologne | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Copenhagen | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Dortmund | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Eindhoven | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Friedrichshafen | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Gothenburg | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Hahn | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Hamburg | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Hannover | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| London Luton | 5 | 5 | - | - |
| Malmo | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Malta | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Memmingen | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Milan | 0 | 2 | ▲ 2 | starts MAR23 |
| Nuremberg | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Rome | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Sandefjord | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Stockholm Skavsta | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Treviso | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Vaxjo | 2 | 2 | - | - |
Tuzla Airport has held talks with Wizz Air over the introduction of two new routes from the city. It comes after the budget airline announced it would introduce five weekly flights from Vienna to Tuzla this April. "We are currently negotiating with Wizz Air and an agreement should be reached shortly", General Manager Rifet Karasalihović said, without disclosing the planned new routes. The low cost airline currently operates flights to thirteen destinations out of Tuzla, with Vienna to become its fourteenth. Unlike last summer, the carrier will no longer maintain services from Tuzla to London and Nuremberg, however, it will compensate these suspensions by upping frequencies on flights to Basel, Dortmund and Memmingen. On the other hand, services between Budapest and Sarajevo will continue to run twice per week.
Departing Tuzla
| Destination | Frequency S2017 | Frequency S2018 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | 4 | 5 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Baden Baden | 0 | 2 | ▲ 2 | starts JUN18 |
| Billund | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Bratislava | 3 | 0 | ▼ 3 | replaced by Vienna |
| Cologne | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Dortmund | 3 | 4 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Eindhoven | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Friedrichshafen | 3 | 2 | ▼ 1 | - |
| Gothenburg | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Hahn | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| London Luton | 2 | 0 | ▼ 2 | - |
| Malmo | 5 | 5 | - | - |
| Memmingen | 2 | 3 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Nuremberg | 2 | 0 | ▼ 2 | - |
| Stockholm-Skavsta | 3 | 2 | ▼ 1 | - |
| Vaxjo | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Vienna | 0 | 5 | ▲ 5 | starts APR27 |
Elsewhere, the airline will maintain the same number of operations from its Belgrade base as last summer. It will reshuffle its services so as to balance the suspension of flights to Friedrichshafen and Nuremberg with extra departures to Basel, Beauvais, Gothenburg and Malta. In Niš, the carrier will maintain the same number of operations on its existing services, with flights to Basel to run three times per week, while services to Dortmund, Memmingen, Eindhoven and Malmo will continue to depart twice weekly. Operations from Eindhoven will be suspended at the end of the winter season. Wizz Air will continue serving Ljubljana Airport this summer with flights from Charleroi and London Luton, operated two and four times per week respectively. Apart from its new routes from Poland to Podgorica, the no frills carrier will keep two weekly services from Memmingen and Milan to the Montenegrin capital but will increase operations from Budapest from two to three per week. Wizz Air will increase frequencies on its services between London Luton and Pristina this summer to three per week starting March 25, while flights from Budapest will be kept unchanged at two per week.
Departing Belgrade
| Destination | Frequency S2017 | Frequency S2018 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Baden | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Basel | 2 | 3 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Beauvais | 3 | 4 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Dortmund | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Eindhoven | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Friedrichshafen | 2 | 0 | ▼ 2 | - |
| Gothenburg | 3 | 4 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Hannover | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| Larnaca | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| London Luton | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Malmo | 5 | 5 | - | - |
| Malta | 2 | 3 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Memmingen | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Nuremberg | 2 | 0 | ▼ 2 | - |
| Stockholm Skavsta | 3 | 3 | - | - |
In Croatia, Wizz will resume seasonal flights from Warsaw and Katowice to Split on June 16, with both services to run three times per week. As was the case last year, the airline will also operate daily flights from London Luton to Split between June 28 and September 17. Operations from Basel to Osijek, which were introduced in 2017, will be increased from two to three per week this summer. The tables above display the peak weekly frequency on each route during the course of the summer season.
There will be a Wizz press conference in Vienna today. Wonder if they might add some new route to ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteI don't see tnem adding anymore flights from Vienna to ex-Yu. Maybe only Podgorica or Pristina.
DeleteThey have already increased Vienna-Tuzla from 3 to 5 per week and Nis and Ohrid have been upgraded from A320 to A321 next winter. There is obviously a lot of demand so maybe we see a few new routes from VIE to ex-Yu.
DeleteUnfortunately not a single ex-Yu route from Vienna.
DeleteThey just announced that they will base two planes from VIE next summer. They will start Nice, Reykjavik, Catania, Milan Malpensa, Lisbon, Madrid, Malmo, Stockholm Skavsta and Kharkiv
Just one Eastern European route from in their new Vienna expansion. As expected they are focusing more and more on West-West routes.
Deletespectacular though
DeleteIt's fantastic how they will have daily flights to Madrid and Malpensa on top of daily to Rome and Tel Aviv which were previously announced.
Deletethis could be a turning point for Wizz or are they considering VIE East Europe :D
DeleteThey have started doing that from London too.
DeleteRIP Austrian Airlines.
Deletebecause of 5 aircrafts?
Deleteif Vueling really wants to open a base in VIE the time is now.
Deletei think Laudamotion will have few rakijas this morning
Well 4 A321 and 1 A320 is not nothing.
DeleteAlso they will compete directly with them on many routes. Austrian Airlines has high costs and now they will have to lower their fares.
If I am not mistaken until recently they even had a monopoly on VIE-TXL. easyJet launched flights only recently.
Austrian will have to compete with Wizz Air to Tel Aviv, Larnaca, Varna, Nice, Milan ... on top of that Wizz will fly to Malmo which is right across from CPH.
All in all I think the mood must be rather somber in Vienna.
Long term this is bad for OU and JP. If I were them I would prepare to start shifting capacity away from VIE and towards MUC.
Delete@last anon huh?
DeleteIf W6 starts to attack OS in VIE they will start to reduce flights to Europe meaning that their hub model will become weaker.
DeleteOS is uncompetitive because of their costs. How can they compete to NCE or to TLV with Wizz Air? They can't.
nobody has heard of Wizzair in Austria. lets wait and see
DeleteNo one heard of them a decade ago yet here they are.
DeleteReally great development for Vienna. I am sorry they are not trying Belgrade at the moment but they must be playing on a safe side.
DeleteWhat could the 2 new routes from Tuzla be? Any guesses? Hope it not more German destinations.
ReplyDeleteParis is highly likely.
DeleteBeuvais I should say.
DeleteThat would be fantastic!
DeleteIs Sarajevo being affected by all this growth at Tuzla?
DeleteI'm sure it takes away some passengers. The passenger difference between Tuzla and Sarajevo is becoming smaller and smaller.
DeleteCharleroi would be a good options from Tuzla as well.
Deletelol Paris - Tuzla sounds funny. I think charleoi is more realistic
DeleteWhy is Paris-Tuzla funny?
DeleteIt's unfortunate they didn't add any frequencies from INI like they said they would to make up for Eindhoven suspension.
ReplyDeleteWell they are launching VIE-BTS with the A321. More flights and more seats than to EIN.
DeleteYes but that starts in winter. No summer increases (for now at least).
DeleteINI might get some A321 flights this summer since I think some of Nis's flights are operated by Wizz planes from Skopje.
DeleteI was hoping they would increase Basel at least.
DeleteI have a feeling Wizz Air won't be expanding in Belgrade any time soon. On some days in February they merely had two flights per day.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if their BSL increase had something to do with easyJet launching their own flights. Wizz Air's biggest missed opportunity was Berlin. Now it's too late.
Overall they covered their gasterbajter destinations and unless they are ready to be adventurous I have a feeling it might be a while before we see a third A320 at BEG.
It's easy for them to grow at INI, SKP or TZL where they virtually have no competition. BEG is a different story.
It will be interesting to see how the competition between Wizz and easy develops on Basel route. To me it still makes little sense for easy to launch this route.
DeleteIt's interesting that Malta is growing. Seems to be successful for them, even more than Larnaca.
I agree it's doubtful we will see them grow anytime soon from BEG. Would be fantastic if they added Vienna - Belgrade or Bratislava p Belgrade.
I think easyJet is launching the route so as to defeat and push Wizz Air out. I doubt their goal is to simply co-exist and share the market with them.
DeleteDon't forget that JU flies three times per week to MLA while they have daily flights to LCA in summer plus three weekly around the Christmas holidays. So JU is much more aggressive (though not enough) in LCA. Geographical location also plays a role. From LCA they can carry transfers to western Europe while they can't really do that from Malta.
BEG-BTS would make little sense as OS-JU duopoly would have the advantage of flying out of VIE.
I could see Wizz Air launch VIE-BEG in the future. They will need to be careful with this route as both JU and OS have convenient times and a lot of frequencies.
If Wizz Air launches two weekly BEG-VIE with odd hours then they would be stealing customers from bus companies, not JU/OS.
But could they really sustain VIE-BEG and VIE-INI?
DeleteIn theory yes as both airports have large catchment areas and a lot of O&D demand.
DeleteFrom what I could see, Wizz Air skipped on SKP-VIE while they introduced OHD-VIE. It could be a sign that they don't want SKP and INI to compete against each other. That said, INI would be the triumphant one as they would 'steal' some passengers from Kosovo and Metohija who used SKP in the past either to fly to VIE on OS or to BUD on W6. I think it was reported on here that roughly 17% of INI's passengers come from K&M.
Moving the VIE traffic away from SKP to OHD and INI could be also a way to reduce the negative impact of VIE's relatively high charges.
I think the primary reason they started OHD and not SKP is because TAV has a policy for LCCs not to directly compete with full fare airlines on routes to Skopje. That's why they don't overlap on a single route.
DeleteCould be, that I wouldn't know. It still doesn't change the fact that both OHD and INI will receive Wizz Air to Vienna while SKP will be stuck with overpriced OS.
Deleteyou forgot that Wizz is flying to BTS from SKP. You only get POPUST from VIE for new destinations. thus INI and BEG ;)
DeleteWizz is only opening routes to INI which will not affect their SKP operations a lot (where demand is enough for paralel routes, thus Malmö i ostali gastarbajters).
DeleteWizz Air is launching flights to destinations already being served by others such as LCA, TLV, FCO ...
DeleteAlso, why would they get a discount for BEG but not for SKP?
Also, VIE is a much superior airport compared to BTS, in many, and not just one way.
Mislim da je Nemjee u pravu što se tiče Bratislave i Beča. Zašto bi iko sa Kosova ili iz Vranja išao u Skoplje da bi leteo za Bratislavu kada iz Niša može leteti za iste pare za centralniji aerodrom?
DeleteSo it begins. SKP didn't get VIE because of INI.
Deleteit was meant OHD and not BEG
Deleteno, SKP didnt get VIE because of 13 weekly OS
Deletesame for BEG probably
DeleteBEG-VIE is more competitive because it has:
DeleteAustrian Airlines: 18x
Air Serbia: 14x
Highway and buses.
BEG-VIE is flown mainly by small aircraft so be careful.
DeleteINI-VIE will most likely be flown by the A321 which has a huge capacity.
SKP-VIE is flown by mixed A319 or A320 sometimes E195.
INI-BTS - now extended for winter 2018/2019
Also SOF-VIE is second busiest route after London
SOF-BTS 4 weekly flown by A321
As you can see, there is HUGE market:
SKP/INI/SOF <-> VIE/BTS
I notice that all their flights from Budapest to Ex-YU seem to be performing well. Surprising really.
ReplyDeleteThat's impressive having 2 A321s in SKP. Amazing how fast that base has developed for them.
ReplyDeleteI think we can expect 5th W6 plane based in SKP from the winter season 2018/19.
Deletethe are waiting for the tender
DeleteTheir expansion last summer was probably the worst bunch of destinations they have ever chosen from ex-Yu as illustrated by the number of routes they suspended.
ReplyDelete+1
Deletein particular NUE
DeleteSurprised NUE didn't work. I though it was a solid gasterbaiter route.
DeleteFriedrichshafen seems weak too.
DeleteI have flown once each NUE-SKP and FDH-SKP both were packed to the max
Not quite sure about NUR-BEG, it was always fully packed, now north-Bavarians have to use FMM-BEG route..
DeleteNothing new from LJU for some time now regarding Wizzair?
ReplyDeleteNothing. They have kept everything the same, even the frequencies for years now. Hope they consider some new routes soon.
DeleteGood to see another primary airport served from SKP.
ReplyDeletekopje now has very long list of routes provided by Wizz. Which destinations you guys think will work from SKP which are currently not served but Wizz is operating at that airport?
DeleteATH, PRG, LJU ...
DeleteThey have a more impressive network from ex-Yu then some national airlines.
ReplyDeleteYeah right especially with 2 and 3 weekly flights to most cities.
DeleteWill we ever see Wizz Air at Zagreb Airport again?
ReplyDeleteDoubt it.
DeleteIt's more likely to see a hub in LJU
DeleteMy money is that the next base they open will be PRN.
ReplyDeleteNo way Jose. Costs are way too high.
DeletePRN can't do much about that. According to the concession agreement prices are set by the government and not by the airport which is ridiculous. That's why PRN has introduced so many incentives because the government does not wan't to decrease fees.
DeletePlease launch SJJ!
ReplyDeleteActually I think Banja Luka will be next for them. This winter.
DeleteIt's a shame about SJJ. They wanted to start a few destinations but talks fell apart :/ I still hope they manage to find some agreement with them.
DeletePotential Wizz bases in my oppinion are PRN, TGD and SJJ. I'm just not sure the market is big enough for a base in INI.
ReplyDeleteDon't count on SJJ.
DeleteAre these flights from Poland to Podgorica being used mostly for tourists to get to the Adriatic coast?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteWouldn't it make more sense for flights to operate to Tivat then?
DeleteTivat is operating full to capacity and it is prbably more expensive.
DeleteNot really, Podgorica is much better positioned for those visiting mountains/lakes plus you can reach most resorts on the coast in about an hour. Basically if you are going anywhere other then Boka bay then Pofgorica is fine.
DeleteStill waiting for them to start their first inter- Ex-Yu route.
ReplyDeleteWhat would that be?
DeleteOnly inter ex-yu routes with massive demand is Belgrade - Podgorica/Tivat. And those they can not open at the moment. Other attractive one would be Belgrade - Skopje, again with regulatory challenges. Ljubljana - Belgrade might work for weekend breaks. With their capacities (A320) probably only seasonal flights from Ljubljana and Belgrade to Dubrovnik and maybe Belgrade - Split could work.
Umm... Ljubljana-Skopje, three daily buses (~90eur return), daily flights from Adria. Lots of students and people working in Slovenia could easily fill those flights with prices around 50-60eur return
Delete3 daily buses is maximum 150 passengers. Not even enough for one Wizzair plane.
Delete3 dayly buses not good? .. then count 2-3 weekly flights do the math. mr einstein
Delete@AnonymousMarch 3, 2018 at 1:44 AM
DeleteThanks, I absolutely forgot about Skopje - Ljubljana. Exactly, that must be troublesome with bus and definitely there is a market for 3x week. Not to mention that new demand for city breaks would be created with cheap flights.
All in all, there is still room to grow on inter ex-yu routes! Hope we get more inter regional connectivity with cheaper tickets.
Ryanair is falling behind in the region (except for Croatia)
ReplyDeleteI gave up on them for MK.
DeleteMust say there growth this summer is quite muted compared to previous years.
ReplyDeleteThe Poland-Podgorica flights are running with this rotation
ReplyDeleteWAW-TGD-KTW-TGD-WAW
Why no Skopje to Poland? I guess there is market at least for summer. LOT will start to fly to Skopje from Warsaw in June 2018 too.
ReplyDeleteI think they should have started Warsaw and Katowice to Ohrid, summer seasonal.
Deletebecause they have no seasonal flights to/from MK yet
DeleteIsn't London seasonal from Ohrid?
Deletethat one is "special", sponsored by Ohrid city
Deletejep :)
DeleteI am absolutely convinced that W6 could easily re-establish seasonal routes to Corfu and Rhodes, as they were crowded during 2013 summer season, as I remember. Also, as Corfu is less than an hour flying, it could definitely be operated within the existing schedule.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that W6 should seek for winter seasonal routes from BEG, because their capacity in BEG during winter is not fully occupied.
I am still puzzled why BEG is one of the weakest performers for W6.
DeleteThey cut so many routes and never even considered stationing the A321.
Come on, BEG is one of the biggest cities in CE Europe.
BEG also has JU which covers most of Europe and a decent number of other airlines flying there.
Deleteor locals do not fancy flying in sardine cans to village airports 200km from the main cities..
DeleteBEG is a big city but not many of its residents can afford to travel by plane to other cities in Europe for the weekend.
DeleteHopefully as the economy continues to develop this will change fast.
Yeah you are so right. That's why there is 5.3 million passengers per year at BEG. Wonder where they all come from. Don't say tourists as I'm sure you would be the first to write "Belgrade is a big city but has no tourists" ;)
Delete1. Diaspora
Delete2. Tourists
3. Businessman, politicians, journalists from Europe, China, UAE, Russia to have some work in Belgrade
4. Politicians and civil servants from Serbia to go to international institutions
5. Local residents is not better than position 5th
BEG je napravio predobar rezultat sa legacy carrier- Kompanijama tako da im nisu ni prekopotrebne LCC.
DeleteINN-NS
INN-NS, the myth, the legend of this forum is back :)
DeleteI think it is just because the fees are enormously high for them as a LCC. I used to work for W6, and as I remember in BEG W6 was paying per pax 6 EUR in 2010, 12 EUR in 2011, 22 EUR in 2012 and in 2014 they were paying 32 EUR - that's why they removed one aircraft out of BEG. As I don't work for them years now, I have no clue how much they do pay.
ReplyDeleteFor sure there is a demand, but most of demand is based on seasonality.
Good news. Hope more route announcements will be coming up.
ReplyDeleteBice zanimljivo da se vidi kako ce se snaci u VIE.
ReplyDeleteOdlicno je sto vise nisu toliko zaintresovani za BEG kao pre sto su bili zaintresovani.
INN-NS