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| Ryanair plans Skopje flights |
Europe’s busiest airline, Ryanair, has confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News its intention to launch flights to Skopje. It comes after the country’s Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, said last week that the government has entered negations with “one of the most prominent low cost airlines in the world”. Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Robyn Kiely, told EX-YU Aviation News, “We are currently speaking to the Macedonian government about potential Skopje routes”. The government is willing to offer subsidies and incentives to the low cost carrier, similar to the ones provided to Wizz Air, which saw it open a base in Skopje and launch services to Ohrid as well. Ryanair is believed to be negotiating not just one but a range of services from the Macedonian capital.
Within the former Yugoslavia, Ryanair operates year-round services only to Podgorica, while all of its routes to Croatia, including its base in Zadar, are run during the summer only. Mr Kiely says the airline is satisfied with its performance in the region. “We are very pleased with our Podgorica operations, which continue to perform strongly”, he notes. Last month the carrier announced it would upgrade its seasonal service from Charleroi Airport to the Montenegrin capital to year-round operations, complementing its existing summer and winter flights from London Stansted Airport.
Ryanair’s arrival in Macedonia will mark another important milestone for Skopje Alexander the Great Airport which is quickly becoming the former Yugoslavia’s low cost hub, offering cheap flights throughout the year. In June, the airport handled 118.070 passengers, up 1.5% compared to the same month last year, with the number of flight operations unchanged. Skopje is expected to boom during July, with Wizz Air recently launching flights to Friedrischshafen, Sandefjord, Barcelona, Lubeck and Nuremberg. During the first half of the year, Skopje welcomed 608.721 travellers through its doors, an increase of 13.8% on last year. In 2014, Skopje Airport added almost 224.000 passengers and recorded growth in excess of 22%. It is expected to replicate this success in 2015, with growth estimated at 25% by year’s end.
| Month | PAX | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| JAN | 88.275 | ▲ 41.6 |
| FEB | 80.079 | ▲ 22.8 |
| MAR | 95.457 | ▲ 25.1 |
| APR | 109.741 | ▲ 3.9 |
| MAY | 117.099 | ▲ 7.4 |
| JUN | 118.070 | ▲ 1.5 |
Which routes could they fly to so they don't clash with Wizz?
ReplyDeleteInteresting growth. It really makes me wonder how much longer before Skopje overtakes Croatian coastal airports, or at least until they get really close to each other.
ReplyDeleteExciting developments.
ReplyDeleteGreat move from the government strategically wise. Never put all your eggs in one basket.
One has to wonder what's left though. FKB, SXF, FCO? I guess BRU will appeal to the government.
Ryanair are not exactly famous for winning head to head battles against Wizz when the latter dig their heels in. I wonder if they care about this market to repeat the battle of Budapest on a smaller scale.
I really hope they don't launch another STN, that'd be a total overkill. It kinda seems inevitable though.
What do you mean by dig their heels in? Wizz is domestic airline in Budapest and Hungary will protect Wizz at any cost after losing Malev. Ryan is still adding more routes from Budapest. They are smaler than Wizz but stronger in some markets like UK and have about 17 routes total from Budapest, not too bad for home base of Wizz.
DeleteWhen Malev went bust, the Hungarian government supported Ryanair with subsidies in order to replace the lost capacity and they immediately based 5 aircraft. Wizz Air responded in turn with additional aircraft - they had only 3 at the time - and following the bloodbath that ensued, now Ryanair is down to 2 and WIzz Air is up to 9 (10). Ryanair "still adding" routes to Budapest is a selective representation of what's happening. Wizz Air is adding aircraft. In addition, Budapest is not necessarily "a home base" for Wizz Air, even though Ops hq are based there. There are 20 home bases. It's just another battlefield.
DeleteThe headline should be "Ryanair confirms Macedonia talks."
ReplyDeleteThese talks do seem odd. Wizz Air lawyers deserve a kicking if they have not included some strict protection clauses in their Macedonian contracts. Not much use in getting €3 (or whatever the sums are) per pax if you have to fly empty airplanes or sell seats at a loss. In any case, I have no doubt we'll hear from Wizz Air soon if these talks progress well.
Also, how common is it for Ryanair to confirm talks ahead of any deals? If not so common then it would certainly be intriguing.
Finally, congratulations to the Macedonian government for shaking things up.
+1
DeleteIt's an open market. Any protection clauses would be against EU rules, and unlike others, I believe Macedonia will uphold these to the best of their abilities.
One thing is certain, the game's afoot.
what kind of protection u talking about?
Delete@Anonymous 10:09 AM
DeleteDon't be fooled. These are commercial T&Cs and every lawyer worthy of the name protects their clients. EU has nothing to do with it. Note, by protection I don't mean close the market to other operators (that's an entirely different matter), but have protective clauses in place that prevents the operator from having to fly routes for the next X years with empty planes in return for €3 per pax.
I look forward to learning how this story unfolds.
My guess is that Ryanair might end up opening a route from Copenhagen (hurting W6's MMX route).
I get you know. It makes sense with those specifics. I wonder that myself.
DeleteI agree with CPH, except that FR just terminated the base there and moved plane to KUN. It would therefore have to be operated thru a so called "M" pattern.
Hello again Anonymous 10:43 AM
DeleteNo, Ryanair is opening a base at CPH Go (see Wikipedia page). SKP is missing a route to Denmark and I think this could be it. It's just a wild guess.
Perhaps Ryanair will open routes that MK gov wants but W6 is unable to open since they don't have logistics in place to operate the routes cost effectively. That could hurt W6 though and that's why I am saying I hope they're covered legally if need be. Greece could be another destination, but I am not sure Greeks will allow direct routes for reasons that we all know. Let's see though.
Re: Ryanair in CPH
Deletehttp://corporate.ryanair.com/news/nyheder/150703-ryanair-to-move-copenhagen-aircraft-to-kaunas-following-danish-labour-court-ruling/?market=da
Re: everything else -
You're spot on. I agree completely.
Very very nice.......GO Skopje GO
ReplyDeleteI really hope for SKP-ATH, that would be so badass
ReplyDeletefew days ago there was an announcement (in macedonian media) that a BUD flight is in the making, so maybe thats Ryanair too
I think they will subsidize them only for routes that are not taken yet by Wizz (STN, CIA, BUD, PRG, BRE, FKB, CPH BLQ, CIA ... )
+1
DeleteMy thoughts exactly.
You also forgot MEL, DOH, JFK, LAX, SFO, GRU, EZE... Ryanair long-haul will make its debut from Skopje.
Delete@ last anon
Deleteyour life is full of hate obviously
SKP-ATH would be ideal actually especially in summer months, so would most of the other lines you mentioned, although I really doubt they would do well with the SKP-BUD line especially if you take into consideration that Ryanair has a 189 seat aircraft. It is true that SKP was best performing line for Malev in the region ( way more successful than ZAG or BEG) but I would assume that many of these pax transferred in BUD plus of course they had less capacity. Correct me if I am wrong, but at the peak time of Malevs SKP flights there were 2 daily Dash flights and then eventually daily B737 flight till collapse.
Deleteyes you are right about MALEV (B737 and the night flight was with a Dash) and most pax on Malev's flight to BUD were transit pax. Personally, I dont see the O&D demand for SKP-BUD, but I mentioned it because of that recent article in the newspapers (and it could only be FR or W6).
DeleteBolje da se otvori Macedonian Airways sa flotom od
Delete4 CS300
5 Q 400
Kao neki LCC model ali da imaju codeshare sa KL i AF npr.
INN-NS
What about if AS started BEG-SKP-ATH? and return. Would Macedonia allow AS 5th freedom rights?
Deletethat would work as a second daily to ATH via SKP
DeleteDo you thinh that macedonian market is big enough for 2 rival companies?
ReplyDeleteif they dont clash, yes
DeleteClash will accure soon or latter
DeleteBeter clash than crash
DeleteGood for Skopje!
ReplyDeleteNis could be a base for Ryan as well. There is a potential to capture tourists visiting Kopaonik and Stara Planina during the winter season. At 2hr drive from BG, it could be an alternative. People used to travelto Zagreb/Budapest/Timisoara in the past to catch LCC and avoid JAT rip-off. Why not 2hr to Nis? Great connection by bus and even by rail to BG .
my2cents
Stara Planina is currently easier to reach through SOF than through INI. The only road good enough to assure you that you will get there during a snowstorm is the one heading to Pirot, which is a bit closer to SOF(which is served by both W6 and FR for years now).Once they make a road to Svrljig heading Nis, it would be about an hour drive away under snow from INI..
DeleteRyan doesn't fly to Sofia according to the website. Only Plovdiv in Bulgaria.
DeletePerhaps one more reason for Ryan to fly to Nis.
With 20 buses to/from Belgrade per day by Nis Ekspres and potential for train station at the airport, this is perfect for the likes of Ryan.
Establishing connections could put Nis on the map and revive the region.
my2cents
Oh sorry, I stand corrected for FR regarding their presence on SOF. However, W6 is undergoing a major expansion there.
DeleteAnd the reason whz FR is not willing to serve INI at this moment is pure technical. Theres no ILS and they insist on it.
As I see W6 flights from INI achive reached impressive loadfactors so far, Id like to know whether there are remote passengers from Belgrade, Vojvodina, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Macedonia boarding them. Does anyone have info on that?
yeh right from Vojvodina *facepalm*
DeleteFacepalm at your knowledge of geography.
DeleteNIS-BGD R/T by bus is 13 euros. I can see people flying from INI
DeleteILS ($2-3 million)
+INI stop for NIS-BGD bus service (negligible cost)
+build train station (~$250K)
= decent small airport.
Cheapest Air Serbia R/T fare to CPH in September is EUR 168.
DeleteFor comparison INI-MMX is EUR 60 (large cabin bag).
For someone on budget with time to spare, INI is good alternative.
Uvek je bolje leteti sa full service abiokompanijiom nego LCC ima mnogo razloga.
DeleteINN-NS
Ma nemoj? Evo primjera. Iz Trevisa za Cataniju Ryanair, jeftino i esencijalno. Alternativa iz Venecije, tri puta skuplje i nesto manje esencijalno. Ne lupetaj gluposti.
DeleteAha, da, zaboravih, alternativa je Alitalia.
Delete@INN-NS
DeleteA po cemu je to uvek bolje leteti sa full service kompanijom nego LCC-om? Ako recimo idem na let od sat i po-dva, na dva-tri dana, city-break, umem da putujem, nisam specijalna kategorija putnika, nemam posebnih zahteva, treba mi samo rucni prtljag ( koji je po novim pravilima Ryanaira, za razliku od Wzza, cak 2 komada, i normalnih dimenzija, mogu da si isplaniram vreme i kupim kartu dovoljno unapred, zbog cega ne bi to napravio i ustedio na karti i do 200-300 evra, putujuci npr. FR-om, a ne nekom "full service kompanijom", i onda taj novac potrosio na kvalitetniji smestaj ili nesto drugo sto ce mi boravak na odredistu uciniti lepsim? Samo za tvoju informaciju, imam 30-tak letova sa FR-om, nikada, ali bas nikada, nisam imao nikakvih neprijatnosti, a najduze kasnjenjeje bilo jednom, oko sat i po. Ovaj "score" mi je sa "ful servis" prevoznicima puno slabiji, a imam na stotine privatnih letova (kazem privatnih jer kao zaposlen u civilnoj avijaciji imam naravno i sluzbene). A to sto ti vise volis jedan oblik poslovanja u industriji, ne daje ti za pravo da drugima nameces svoje poglede i svoju volju i drzis bukvice drugima o tome sta je dobro a sta nije, ali to kao i po obicaju sa drugim temmama radis i sa ovom temom
Ja sam samo rekao svoj komentar a ne znam sto se palite kao i uvek nije mi jasno.
DeleteMeni je bolje putovati full service zato sto slecem na glavne Aerodrome i isto dodje kao sa LCC skoro.
INN-NS
@9:27 Drago mi je da to možeš tako mlad sebi da priuštiš. Jel ti palo na pamet da nemaju svi takvu mogućnost?
DeleteKad se sracuna neka racunica razlika je 50-80 eur tako da bolje cu vise da platim radije i leteti kao covek .
DeleteINN-NS
@9:46 Drago mi je zbog tebe. Verovatno zato "letiš" busom u otadžbinu.
DeleteJa cesto idem busom za srbiju zato sto me mrzi da presedam u VIE i zato sto putovanje izadje oko 12 sati isto je kao da idem busom i prijatelji su mi.
DeleteAli zato ubek kad sam u SRB letim u BNX i ostali region hvala bogu .
INN-NS
Air Serbia sigurno nece leteti liniju INI-BEG, tako sa je o tome glupo vise pricati i spominjati.
DeleteSa njima ce se razgovarati o liniji za Bec.
Vi ste stvarno neverovatno ne pismeni ja nisam iz nisa ja sam sa Manjace i Novog Sada kakav crni Nis niti gde spominjem INI.
DeleteINN-NS
Considering that 80 euros is 20% of the average monthly salary in Serbia, I'd say it's pretty material difference.
DeleteLet me run few myths about 'full service' airlines:
1. On board meals. I find them pathetic, you get peanuts or apple on Austrian, small chocolate bar on Swiss, etc.
2. Miles. Lowest fares don't even accrue miles anymore. Try redeeming them and you'll face stratospheric fees, unless you fly transatlantic, where there are still some good deals. But good luck accumulating 65K miles, if you don't fly Business and very frequently.
3. Central airport. EasyJet has flown to major airports for some time. Ryan is focusing on major airports now, slowly squeezing 'legacy' carriers. As long as there is a good connection, I'm OK. STN is closer to Square Mile than LHR, Even SEN is closer to City than Heathrow, if you take public transport.
4.Air bridge is not even guaranteed, and I'm talking about flight London/Vienna flight. If you fly VIE/BEG, the airplane is parked closer to Munich than to the terminal. It takes a 10min bus ride to get there. .
Have I missed anything ?
my2cents
5. Seat pitch. Legacy carriers still have more leg room, but they've been squeezing more rows as well. Lufthansa's A319/320 and Ryanair's 738 both have 30" pitch, according to SeatGuru. BA is better.
Delete^^
Delete5. Unless you live near the hub airport, you will always have to catch connections with legacy carriers.
Until LCCs became a thing, everyone would have laughed at you if you told them that one day it would be possible to fly non stop to 9 cities from Tuzla.
That is why Air Serbia must become a network LCC carrier such as JetBlue or Alaska because they will suffer the same fate as Tarom or LOT. Those carriers lost their entire domestic market to LCCs which now have bases in every village.
@10:07 znači, smor ti je da presedas u VIE a nije ti smor da presedas u BEG za tri puta manje rastojanje kada letiš za BNX, zanimljivo.
Deletevi ste neverovatno NE PISMENI rece najpismeniji i najpametniji kao i uvek ovde koji iskljucivo putuje ful servis kerijerima i to sigurno u bizMis klasi
DeleteRyanair is right on insisting to the airport having an ILS. Wizz is shooting itself in the leg with flying to INI this winter season. The same with TZL with shit weather every morning/evening.
DeleteWhat airline is most likely to launch SKP-MOW? Maybe when Aeroflot accepts more SSJs?
ReplyDeletemaybe Pobeda ;)
DeleteThey can start international routes (incl. Balkan destinations) in the coming winter season
http://tass.ru/en/russia/801438
Or Yamal, which has winter service to INI can make it DME-SKP during summer at least.
DeleteI miss this cheap flights from Skopje : Berlin, Budapest, Prague and Ljubljana
ReplyDeleteOT: KLM W15 Europe Operation Changes as of 13JUL15
ReplyDeleteAmsterdam – Zagreb Reduce from 7 to 5 weekly, Day 26 cancelled
Source: http://airlineroute.net/2015/07/13/kl-europe-w15update1/
Could it be that OU is winning on this route? What are they planning this winter when it comes to Amsterdam?
DeleteOU is guilty for forcing them out of ZAG. Not good for ZAG.
Delete@4:41
Deleteha-ha, forcing them out, like they were ceasing operations. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but they are staying in ZAG, unlike BEG, and reducing from 7 in summer to 5 in winter season is rather good, as all airline in europe reduce their winter schedules compared to summer, very often in much bigger percentage than this one
Double standards. When JU reduced winter frequencies comments were negative, when KL does at ZAG it - it's "rather good". When Wizz reduced presence at BEG comments were "BEG and JU are reducing options for consumers" but in ZAG "they are staying". Complete double standards.
DeleteComplete hypocrisy if you ask me.
Deleteonly hypocrisy and only double standards are calling "forcing out" frequency reduction usual for winter period. Forcing company out of the market, if you knew a single thing about civil aviation, is completely different stuff than winter frequency reduction.
DeleteAnon at 10:37 only quoted Anon at 9:01, so you are wrong Anon at 12:17. We were talking about Wizz and KLM, you are wrong about both when it comes to JU "forcing company out of the market".
DeleteIf you knew a thing about civil aviation, you would realize JU did not force out Wizz out of BEG, they are still operating as one of the top airlines there. And if you really knew a few things about civil aviation, you would also know KL stopped flying to BEG years before Air Serbia was born, so Air Serbia has nothing to do with it. Confirms your double standards and hypocrisy.
The thing is that people on here have been praising AMS as one of the biggest and most lucrative markets out of ZAG.
DeleteNow, we all expected to see at least daily flights with KLM, especially since they are dispatching their regional aircraft. To me it can only indicate that this winter they are expecting between 60 and 80 passengers per flight which is not that much.
Makes me wonder, what would the situation look like if Zagreb was to get direct flights to Eindhoven and Dusseldorf. It would certainly take away a considerable share of the AMS passengers.
To add, imagine if Nis built a train station by the airport. It doesn't have to cost much or be fancy, just functional and convenient. Couple of platforms, pedestrian overpass and there you go.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Nis express makes a stop at the airport on the way to Belgrade.
Nis Airport is practically in the city center. Both bus station and railway station are so close to the airport that if there weren't for tha luggage, one could walk the distance, and taxi is dirty cheap. So, no need for either train platforms, nor nisexpress stopping by the airport, especially with current amount of traffic/passengers
DeleteOT: As seen in GDS, FZ decreases winter operations from BEG and ZAG back to 3 weekly (New Year period excepted)!
ReplyDeleteMa skoro svakih 4-5 dana flydubai mjenja red letenja...to nije jos nista sigurno..
DeleteHow is FZ doing in BEG, ZAG, SKP, and SJJ recently? I remember back in March or April aviokarta.net posted a mini trip report on FZ flight and they said that there were over 150 pax. I also heard that SJJ is doing great right now ( 5 or 6 flights p/w) although during winter only 2 flight per week will be operated.
DeleteAlso, I am surprised especially when it comes to BEG that they did not consider boosting frequencies and trying out the market a bit more. FZ started BEG 4 years ago with 2 p/w and till now 3 p/w is the maximum they have undertaken.
Landed from DXB on FZ last week (BEG)... flight filled to capacity, even business was full - looked to me like Arab pax... or Iranian upfront... def not Serbian...
DeleteOT : What's happening to aviokarta.net ? No new articles since 3rd,July.
ReplyDeleteKoliko je dobra ta LCC taktika toliko je i losa posto uskoro u SKP necete moci jeftino da letite izvan Evrope .
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
Jel bi mogao da mi pojasnis svoju misao?
DeleteMnogo bolje bi bilo dovesti A3 i TK nego toliko LCC posto ako neko zeli da leti do ORD morace da plati 2000eur.
DeleteINN-NS
Slaba ti je ta računica aj ti to još jednom.
DeleteVrlo ste duhoviti ali ne mozete me nervirati posto sam u Srbiji do Septembra ;) I imam toliko zanimljivih poslova svaki dan .
Deleteinn-NS
Ne, nisam duhovit. Objasni mi kako karta iz SKP -ORD kosta 2.000.eura?
DeleteOf course it does not cost 2000 EUR....TK look no further - 2 daily flights.
DeleteOT: solinair returns last aircraft to lessor http://ch-aviation.com/portal/news/38806-slovenias-solinair-returns-last-aircraft-to-lessor
ReplyDeleteAny update on current BEG cargo operators? What's with SR Technics, any development?
DeleteLJU-SJJ is now operating a Let 410 and
DeleteLJU-BEG a SW4 Cargo (Swiftair Hellas)
Ако врате Велимира Бобића за директора бањалучког аеродрома, можда Рајан Ер дође и у Бању Луку. Бобић се још прије 10 година заузимао за ту компанију али није било разумијевања од стране тадашњег министра. Али сад кад је министар промијењен...можда би се нешто могло направити!
ReplyDeletePlease , can you tell me when Ryanair will start to flight from Skope, if start?!?There will be Skopje-Roma direction?
ReplyDeleteGrazie