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| Pristina Airport in contact with Wizz Air over potential flights |
Pristina Airport has confirmed it is in talks with low cost carrier Wizz Air over potential flights but warns that pricing remains an issue. Managing Director, Haldun Fırat Kokturk, confirmed that the airport is also negotiating with several other well-known carriers, noting that its airline subsidy scheme is producing results, with easyJet recently announcing it would launch flights from Berlin to Pristina starting March 27, 2016. Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, recently said, "We can confirm talks with Kosovo. However, airport costs are a problem and we have been dragged into long negotiations”. Mr Kokturk concedes that fees are proving an issue for the Turkish-run airport. "Because of the fees, airlines are hesitating to start operations to Kosovo since they want to get cheaper prices from the airport. Our fees are set in our concession agreement, we are not the decision makers. In our concession agreement, there is an annex describing the fees. So we are paying the concession fee to the government, which is calculated according to those fees. We can make a discount but we need the approval of the government, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Public Private Partnership Unit", Mr Kokturk explains.
Last year, Pristina Airport launched a subsidy program to encourage airlines to operate more flights to the city and attract new carriers as well. "We worked hard to convince the government that we have to offer discounts in order to attract airlines. If we increase the passenger quantity we can compensate these discounts. With more passengers we will generate more revenue. We made a lot of discounts for additional frequencies and new routes", Mr Kokturk says. However, the Managing Director emphasises that the subsidy scheme is fair, balanced and open to all airlines, unlike, according to him, the one offered at nearby rival Skopje Airport. "Our incentive program is fair to all airlines. It says - bring me additional passengers, get more discounts. Put an additional flight, get more discounts. Open a new route which is not served from here, get more discounts. Base an aircraft here, leave the aircraft here and get more discounts. It has worked". Pristina Airport spent 300.000 euros on its incentive program in 2014, with the figure set to grow this year. For the 2016 summer season, the airport has requested input from other carriers, among which is Wizz Air.
Pristina Airport has staged a recovery this year following the collapse of its busiest airline, Belle Air Europe, in December 2013, which had a major impact on its passenger performance throughout 2014. Over the past eleven months, the airport handled 1.443.714 travellers, an increase of 11.7% compared to the same period last year. "Depending on passenger flow during this last month of the year and the Christmas period, we expect to close at around 1.55 - 1.60 million passengers in 2015", Mr Kokturk says. The airport anticipates to register similar passenger numbers next year as well. The Managing Director notes that if Kosovan passport holders are granted visa free travel to the European Union in 2016, the airport will see a surge in numbers, but if not its figures are expected to stay at similar levels to the year before.
Interesting that the concession agreement allows the government to set up prices. Is it the same in Zagreb? I know in Ljubljana Adria was unhappy with Fraport for increasing fees.
ReplyDeleteWhat's their issue with Skopje o.O
ReplyDeleteThey are jealous and afraid.
DeleteAlso, today's article is not a news item. Just reiterating PRN's position. Cheap PR.
Wouldn't Wizz Air in Pristina affect their Skopje flights?
ReplyDeleteNope
DeleteI think it will significantly.
Deletelol
DeleteBut aren't SKP and PRN owned by TAV?
ReplyDeleteNo Limak owns PRN, TAV owns SKP. Both from Turkey but different companies.
DeleteOk, thanks. Was TAV one of the contenders for PRN back when it was being privatized?
DeleteNot sure whether they were bidding. I know Fraport was. They came second and wanted to pay pay back an average 30.37 per cent of gross income. Limak pays an average of 39.42 per cent.
DeleteTrue, FRAPORT came second. Kosovar authorities only allowed entities that did not operate airports within 250 kms (or so) of PRN to bid, hence TAV could not bid. Not sure if they would have though.
DeleteHahahahahah, what a rigged RFP. No operators from within 250 km :)))
DeleteThis is the strongest point yet against their baseless complaint. I see a possible counterclaim if anything!
If you're dumb enough then please go ahead and 'counterclaim.' You clearly know not what you are talking about.
DeleteNije mi jasno sto svi trce prema W6 umesto da postupe pametnije i dovedu FR ili U2 sto bi po meni bilo mnogo pametnije.
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
Verovatno je W6 najvoljniji da dodje u ove krajeve.
DeleteNije problem u tome nego iz Aerodromskih uprava verovatno nisu culi za nista drugo.
DeleteINN-NS
U2 vec leti do PRN.
DeleteShteta shto si hejter bez poznavanja gradiva. Al to tako verovatno i biva.
Zar U2 ne leti isto iz Svicarske za PRN?
DeleteVidim odlicno razumete srpski ali ne toliko dobro da njima ponude da otvore bazu a ne da dovode jos W6 ;)
DeleteINN-NS
Ovaj puta apsolutno se slažem sa INN-NS. Potpuno!
DeletePRN radi potpuno krivo što se toliko ulizuje Wizzu i pokušava ih dovesti. Jednostavno na taj način im pokazuju da su očajni i ostavljaju im mogućnost daljih ucjena i nerealnih zahtjeva koji znače financijsku propast zračne luke. Isto je bilo u INI, ali tamo ima tko pokrivati minuse (lokalna zajednica, država...), a ovdje je privatni kapital.
Ono što bih ja napravio:
- easyJet već ima tri linije. Daj im što god traže (sve besplatno i još nešto novaca) neka baziraju jedan avion, pa da vidiš kako će Wizz odjednom promjeniti ploču. Konačno easyJet je daleko kvalitetnija kompanija
ako ne onda:
- Norwegian (već imaju dvije linije)
- Ryanair (ako im se ponudi dobra lova dojurit će iste sekunde, ali i ucjenivat za godinu-dvije gore nego Wizz, Wizz je tu daleko bolji i pouzdaniji partner)
- Blue Air (otvara baze izvan Rumunjske, ima nove vlasnike i vrlo se kvalietno širi)
- Eurowings (Germanwings već ima 7 linija iz PRN i nije baš tako nevjerovatno da bi novi Eurowings koji je najavio otvaranje baza izvan Njemačke mogao otvoriti bazu u PRN)
- Germanija (već ima 7 linija iz PRN od kojih su samo 3 u Njemačkoj, nastoje se profilirati, zašto nebi otvorili bazu u PRN)
- naravno ostaju i Vueling, Transavia, Pegasus, Volotea... koji nisu baš realna opcija da baziraju avion ali svakako bi ih se moglo pokušati "motivirati"
Ja ne bih uopće pregovarao sa Wizzom u ovom momentu, ali bi zato upro sve snage i novac da neka druga firma bazira avion, pa bih potom pregovarao i sa Wizzom.
Jel dovesti Wizz da otvori bazu u PRN, a u neposrednoj blizini već imaju baze u SKP, SOF, BEG, TZL, TSR i letove iz INI je u najmanju ruku nelogično. Uvijek češ biti tek ostatak nakon što se podrži ekspanzija SOF i SKP
DeletePurger, would you be so kind to provide us with evidence that PRN have approached W6, not the other way around? Your premise is built on this false (unless proven otherwise) assumption.
DeleteAirport operators must negotiate with all operators that want to use their facilities, surely. Do you disagree?
Wouldn't it be more logical for PRN to have contacted W6 than the other way around?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKoliko vidim nema vise ni jedan slobodan Slot u PRN , nema potrebe da se lazemo nisu samo napravili gresku u PRN vec i u INI .
DeleteDa su pitali bilo koga za savet u INI su trebali dovesti FR ili U2 i bolje bi bilo nego W6 sigurno.
INN-NS
Nemjee, I wrote in response to Purger writing that "PRN radi potpuno krivo što se toliko ulizuje Wizzu i pokušava ih dovesti." Hope that gives you a bit of context. The question is how does he know that Wizz Air is not trying to serve PRN with over 135 A321 orders in its books?
DeleteWell, truth be told most of what we do here is speculate and I doubt there is anyone on here that knows what exactly is going on there.
DeleteHowever, if we are to think logically then we can assume that it's PRN that's after these flights as they are more 'desperate' than Wizz Air is.
Fact is that most of airports contact Wizz. They have more than enough „candidates“ for their planes. Also, I know how they negotiate with ZAG and TZL. Also you can see that those „negotiations“ last for more than a year now. Of course assumption is that negotiations would not last for so long if Wizz came to PRN, also assumption is that they negotiate with PRN same way as in ZAG and TZL. Assumption is that PRN needs Wizz much more than Wizz needs PRN. Unfortunately, today in business, especially in air business you must react (and make your own business moves) on assumptions. Facts or contracts are rarely available. But for sure, forum is place where you mostly discuss with assumptions and speculations.
DeleteBut even if Wizz came to PRN it is about what they should do. For sure they will not tell them F.U. but, as PRN give subventions for those flights, they should decide what is their best option. And Wizz is not concerning they have 5 bases very near + flights from INI. I would put most (or all) of money to one LCC company and ask all others to come if they want. Something like SKP with Wizz.
ne razumes se ti nesto previse LCC
DeleteTo se slazem sa Purgerom da W6 dolazi na Aerodrome nizeg profila i da vecinom Uprave tih Arodroma na bilo sta pristanu da bi se pisalo da imaju neke letove .
DeleteAko vec dovodim dovescu FR ili U2.
INN-NS
Ko tebe sta pita. Ili bilo koji aerodrom uostalom.
DeleteMeni uopste ne lici da je iko od vas ikad u realnosti radio ovaj posao o kome toliko volite da raspravljate.
Nemjee and Purger,
DeleteIt is one thing to speculate and to state so, and it's entirely another to draw conclusions on a false premise. This statement had no caveat whatsoever and was given as a fact: "PRN radi potpuno krivo što se toliko ulizuje Wizzu i pokušava ih dovesti."
Also, I don't know how can you 'logically' assume that PRN is more desperate than W6. PRN punches above its weight and is seeing double digit growth this year without W6 (if that's desperation for you two guys then you need a reality check). Would PRN like W6 to serve the airport? Yes, the more the merrier. Would an airline with a fleet consisting of ~60 A320 aircraft and an order book of ~140 A321 aircraft (more than doubling in size over the next decade), and that primarily serves Central and Eastern European destinations be interested to expand in what it considers to be it's 'home' market? You bet!
Now, if they can come to an agreement over how this could work for both parties then great. If not, both can continue operating without one another, that we don't need to speculate over. Moreover, how does Purger know that PRN is not talking to U2 (who are adding SXF, and have recently increased frequencies to BSL and GVA), DY (who from June turned OSL into a year-long route), or ST (who have recently added two routes from Switzerland and are the busiest operator out of PRN)?
Btw, if JU were to open the BEG route, as expected, then it would also be entitled to the discounts offered to all PRN operators. I'd rather them make use of this incentive rather and get a new operator at PRN offering connections to Norther America, Europe and the Middle East than W6 be treated differently to other operators that have been serving PRN since 2000.
I do agree with you more the merrier. Of course no one is so stupid to refuse one carrier. Especially one as Wizzair.
DeleteBut this negotiation is on for more then one year, isn't it. And for sure that shows Wizz try to make out of that deal more than it is normal. Because of that I would stop negotiations for some time and start much more to negotiate with other company.
In same time I can not say if PRN is negotiate with U2 or not. But I did not say so. I just said where I will put my money and most of my efforts.
I hope you do agree with me that for PRN much better option would be U2, FR, 0B, ST, 4U... One more time, for sure no one should refuse Wizz, but I hope they do not put lot of money, time and effort in it. Use it for better options.
Now, Purger, I agree with every word you wrote. In particular I agree with you that U2, FR, 4U would be better options, in my opinion.
DeleteThanks again for your contributions here, as always.
Thanks you for your contribution here too! As Always!!! :-)
DeleteThis is old news. The passenger increase remains a mystery to me considering PRN offes zero new destinations and ticket prices are among most expensive in the Balkans!
ReplyDeleteShoku, you don't need new destionations to increase passenger numbers. That can easily be achieved using increased capacity: higher frequencies and/or larger aircraft (more seats) on existing routes.
DeleteWhat new destination is PRN missing in your opinion? I could probably tell you the number of PRN passengers that fly there catching a connecting flight.
OT: Great pic!
ReplyDeletehttp://i.imgur.com/HsLtn2F.jpg?1
It is an awesome looking building.
DeleteThe real stunner! Absolutely fabulous.
DeletePRN: We offer subsides from our and Government's pocket. SKP, while doing the same, is no good.
ReplyDeleteGo figure.
SKP subsidies have mostly evaporated by now. All routes taht are operated there are self-sustaining.
DeleteWell, PRNs €300k scheme VS. SKPs 5 mln in subsidies to Wizz exclusively makes quite a difference. The impact is obvious! Wouldn't you agree?
DeleteI agree, especially when you don't use the same measure. ;)
DeleteJust to make things clear: 300k is for one year and 1(?) new destinations. 5 million is for 2 *based* aircraft, 3 years and ¬12 year-round dedicated destinations.
Their problem is with base charges being too high and not willing to give this excellent source of revenues up. Of course, these costs trickle down to the customers, this much is obvious if you look at the ticket prices.
In other words, they want "i jare i pare". Their current model is unsustainable and all they can do is try and undermine the competitors. Too bad for them they don't have any proper claims.
Na kraju ce u exYu ostati samo ASL i W6. Kako je to dosadano?
ReplyDeleteMislim da ce i JP preziveti... kao i uvek.
DeleteA OU će po vama otići u roportarnicu povijesti? Gluposti. OU će sigurno preživjet. Kao državna firma (u sadašnjem obliku), kao feeder nekom velikom igraču, ili na treći način. Ali sigurno neće nestati sa zrakoplovne scene! To si Hrvatska kao turistička zemlja, za razliku od Makedonije, BiH ili Kosova, ne može dozvoliti.
Deleteuz duzno postovanje komsijama, scenario bez CTN i MGX je vrlo moguc i kako stvari trenutno stoje, veoma izvestan. do samo pre neku nedelju bilo je gotovo izvesno da ce ADR pod led zajedno sa MGX, medjutim ocigledno je da slovenija ima jacu poziciju u evropskim institucijama od hrvatske i doslo je do preokreta. jedno je sigurno, mesta nema za oba operatera i jedan ce nestati. videcemo ko ce to biti, a za sada bolje stoji ADR.
DeleteAlso we see that AF and KL are becoming more aggressive in ZAG. This will surely have undesirable consequences on OU, their loads might be doing okish but God knows if the yields are fine. After all, seems like OU's profit evaporated this year.
DeletePurgeru OU je u situaciji Alitalie, ali bez prekookeanskih letova ni oni ne voze previse turista iz Evrope. Sve pare pokupise carteri. Imate preveliku
Deleteflotu za 9 meseci godisnje.
Koliko je putnika prevezla OU u ovoj godini? Jel bilo promena?
Delete@ Anon 1.55
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2015/11/ex-yu-flag-carriers-handle-over-5.html
Thank you for the link. God bless your soul. :)
DeleteInteresting, with JP's expansion I wonder if the gap with OU might be even further reduced.
DeleteSituation is not even near to Alitalia.
Delete1. CTN does not have debts at all.
2. CTN is losing not so much money. With new management they can be real profitable in no time.
3. Third they have assets to sell. 1x A320 and 4x A319 are 100% in ownership, they have slots (14 in LHR + CDG, FRA…), they have hangars and other assets. Also they have very profitable maintenance to sell.
4. They are still no 1 in exYU region with good connection especially during winter where most of SPU, DBV, ZAD, PUY and OSI passengers have no alternative but to fly with OU.
Number of seats per week (13.474):
6806 Croatia Airlines (50,5%)
4988 Air Serbia (37,0%)
1680 Adria Airways (12,5%)
Number of flights per week (171):
82 Croatia Airlines (47,9%)
69 Air Serbia (40,4%)
20 Adria Airways (11,7%)
Numbers of routes (19):
8 Croatia Airlines (42,1%)
7 Air Serbia (36,8%)
4 Adria Airways (21,1%)
I would be glad if you can tell me more about mentioned staristics. What they reffer to? Thx
DeleteRoutes, flights, seats to where?
DeleteI think it means the number of seats, flights, and destinations each airline serves inside Ex-Yugoslavia only.
DeleteComparison of JU, JP and OU in inter-exYu routes
DeleteNumber of seats per week (13.474):
6806 Croatia Airlines (50,5%)
4988 Air Serbia (37,0%)
1680 Adria Airways (12,5%)
Number of flights per week (171):
82 Croatia Airlines (47,9%)
69 Air Serbia (40,4%)
20 Adria Airways (11,7%)
Numbers of routes (19):
8 Croatia Airlines (42,1%)
7 Air Serbia (36,8%)
4 Adria Airways (21,1%)
Sarajevo (3)
OU 13x Q400, 988 seats per week
JU 7x AT7, 462 seats per week
JP 4x CR9, 336 seats per week*
Skopje (3)
JP 7xCR9, 588 seats per week*
OU 7x Q400, 532 seats per week
JU 7x AT7, 462 seats per week
Priština (2)
JP 6x CR9, 504 seats per week*
OU 3x Q400, 228 seats per week
JU no flights
Podgorica (2)
JU 21 x AT7, 1386 seats per week
JP 3x CR9, 252 seats per week*
OU no flights
Split (1/2)
OU 22x A319 and Q400, 2148 seats per week
JU seasonal route
JP no flights
Dubrovnik (1/2)
OU 22x A320 and Q400, 2358 seats per week
JU seasonal route
JP no flights
Pula (1/2)
OU 6x Q400 via ZAD, 231 seats per week
JU seasonal route
JP no flights
Tivat (1)
JU 7x A319, 896 seats per week
JP and OU no flights
Ljubljana (1)
JU 12x AT7, 792 seats per week
JP and OU no flights
Zagreb (1)
JU 12x AT7, 792 seats per week
JP and OU no flights
Zadar (1)
OU 6x Q400, 231 seats per week
JU and JP no flights
Banja Luka (1)
JU 3x AT7, 198 seats per week
JP and OU no flights
Osijek (1)
OU 3x EM2 by Trade Air, 90 seats per week
JU and JP no flights
* presumption, no official data of the equipment
Thx ...I see now
DeleteYou are welcome.
DeleteOT: JU starts codesharing with EY on services to BKK, Phuket and Nairobi. That explains the bilateral from a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteBEG-AUH-BKK r.t. on JU/EY €705, not bad! Go JU!
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the time of the year, that is actually on the expensive side since just by searching some random days now I found plenty of tickets for around 560 euros. During certain time periods of the year with QR you can find tickets as low as 450-500.
DeleteSame thing is with Air China flights from Vienna, so in terms of prices those code shares do not mean much to travelers.
lol u must be paying the highest prices for BKK in BEG
Deleteeven Germany-BKK with Etihad is 490€ (in Feb for example)and even cheaper if u want to spend 10 hours in AUH 705€ is a rip off!
hahahah I mean, come on... what's the point of this if no one will use the flight?
DeleteWell, no one ever considers the other side, pax ex BKK, PEK, etc. Try getting a ticket from Beijing to Belgrade, suddenly JU is not the most expesive option. I'm just afraid we'll have the same story regarding JFK once they start selling tickets... Around 500-550 from BEG is what I expect. A premium for a direct flight, rather than going into a price war with LH, AF, AZ, etc. for poor Serbian market. The real money is in JFK.
Delete€550 is really not that bad and it's not like others are chronically at around €400. I have a feeling tickets will be somewhere around €600 to €700 though, that is for passengers from Belgrade, not transfer ones.
Delete:( Awful prices!
ReplyDeleteOT
ReplyDeleteSome more news from Athens. The airport reported that in the period 2013-2015 connecting passengers increased by 59%.
This past June the airport introduced a special scheme called 'TAG Athens' which should promote ATH as a connecting airport.
The first two to join this programme were Singapore Airlines and Aegean while more airlines are expected to join the programme.
There are roughly 300.000 passengers they want to attract from central and eastern Europe as well as from the Balkans travelling to Asia/Pacific and Africa.
In 2015 the airport will break all of its previous records when it will handle over 17 million passengers, up from 15.196.369 last year.
2010: 15.411.000 (-5%)
2011: 14.446.000 (-6%)
2012: 12.944.000 (-10%)
2013: 12.536.000 (-3%)
2014: 15.196.000 (+21%)
2015: 16.902.000 (+20%)*
*Jan-Nov 15
Next year Aegean will launch scheduled flights to Jeddah and Amsterdam and seasonal to Krakow, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Lille, Ljubljana, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Nice, Palma de Mallorca and Riga. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these end up being year-round in the end.
Ryanair will add its 5th aircraft to ATH while Volotea will add some domestic flights.
+1000
DeleteZa dve godine ima sigurno da signu 19-20 milijona putnika.
Im affraid IST is just too near for ATH to be able to become a connecting point to anywhere
DeleteIST and ATH are further apart than many competing hubs such as ZRH and MXP, CDG and LHR, DOH and DXB.
DeleteThe thing is that ATH already has a decent amount of connecting passengers. If I remember correctly it should be somewhere around 2 million, though I might be wrong.
DeleteVassilakis did say in an interview that they are trying to establish a serious hub before the new IST airport is set up. They have at last another 4 years which is not bad. Plus, let's not forget that TK and A3 are actually cooperating and that the evening TK flight fits perfectly into A3's evening bank of departures.
As for the two airports being close to each other, well what are we supposed to say about Pegasus and SAW? They seem to be building their own hub in TK's backyard.
Stalno se uporedjuje Turisticka zemlja sa prosecnom nije mi jasno .
DeleteINN-NS
Cicko, rast od 59% tranzitnih putnika nema veze da li je Grcka turisticka ili ne.
DeleteI bet the sales of one way tickets from ATH was even higher than 59%
DeleteEspecially to/from BEG!
DeleteOT: Why is there WZZ805 flight from BEG to BUD, it just took off 10 minutes ago.
ReplyDeleteRepositioning aircraft probably.
DeleteMaybe there was also fog in BUD the other day, or maybe it's the one from Tuzla that couldn't land there.
DeleteStarting soon W6 will base its 2nd aircraft in Belgrade, initially as backup to Tuzla foggy ops and later on as permanently based acft.
Delete