Niš Constantine the Great Airport is set to announce new flights and the arrival of a third carrier next month. The head of the Regional Development Agency, Bojan Avramović, said that a third airline has confirmed plans to launch flights to Niš following talks in Zurich during the week. Both Wizz Air and Ryanair serve the southeast Serbian city. Mr Avramović refused to reveal more details, adding that an official announcement will be made in three weeks. “The management of the airport and the Agency travelled to Zurich to hold talks. We can’t disclose more at this point. The public will be informed in some twenty days. We will all be very happy”, Mr Avramović said.
The new flights are expected to begin next year, as local authorities have previously said that additional routes are not planned for 2016 other than those already announced by Ryanair. The airport’s management previously said that easyJet had expressed interest in launching services from the United Kingdom to Niš, while Pegasus Airlines was eyeing flights from Istanbul. On the other hand, the city’s tourism authority noted that either Norwegian Air Shuttle or Eurowings would announce flights to Niš by the end of the year. The city anticipates for five new routes to be added in 2017, among them Paris, Barcelona, Malta, Podgorica and Tivat.
Niš Airport estimates handling some 100.000 passengers this year and for the figure to grow to 300.000 by the end of 2017. The airport, which had no commercial flights just over a year ago, is now served by both Wizz Air and Ryanair after lowering its fees to just three euros for handling, landing and passenger services. "All those who were concerned that there wouldn't be enough travellers were mistaken, because the airport is used not only by locals, but also by people from other parts of Serbia, as well as Bulgaria, Macedonia and Kosovo", the airport's General Manager, Vladica Djurdjanović, said recently. During the January – August period, Constantine the Great Airport welcomed a record 50.554 passengers compared to the 36.258 travellers handled during the whole of 2015.
3e is more than nothing. I am not sure they will be able to achieve any developments or improvements in a future. Unless it is all about the GoS again.
ReplyDeleteYou have airports in europe that even have less fees than Nis airport and they survive. I'm supporting this project, for now.
DeleteWow well done INI. I wonder what airline/destination it is.
ReplyDeleteSo...Nis airport makes 300.000 € per anum...my God. How do they pay people, taxes, take care over infrastructure. What a niz model?
ReplyDelete...read BIZ
DeleteNis handles cargo flights, private flights, rents out space at the terminal etc so don't know how you came up with that figure.
Delete3€ per pax...so it is written in the article
DeleteAnd I am simply telling you that you made the wrong assumption that this is their only source of revenue.
DeleteHere we go again, you really don't give up, do you?
DeleteEvery airport in the world has a minimum number of passengers it needs to handle in order to be financially viable. This does not only apply to INI but to BEG, ZAG, FRA, SIN, SYD... Up until a year ago, Nis was a ghost town which means it was bleeding cash like most other government owned companies. By slashing their charges they've managed to bring in new business. Maybe they've not made a profit but at least they've reduced their losses. They are moving in the right direction.
The €3 tax you keep on mentioning only applies to passengers using the terminal. What you are stubbornly refusing to remember is that the airport also gets money from parking, restaurant and soon they will even have a duty free shop.
So when you add all this together, plus the cargo flights, the airport isn't doing so badly.
As the number of passengers grows, so will their income while their losses decrease until they eventually become a profit.
I don't see what other viable solution you have in mind for INI but as far as I can see, this one seems pretty good.
Жив ми био. Пријатно.
+1 Nemjee
DeleteThey have actually already opened a duty free shop
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PeLBIJLqGQY/V80s7NWEHbI/AAAAAAAACjA/9GHtmgJ581QYjMZgw9MDEUffLRVcfnGsgCLcB/s1600/111.jpg
I am happy for INI but this argument about parking, restaurants and one small duty free as some huge sources of revenue is a complete nonsense.
DeleteOf course it is better to have an airport with some traffic that loses money than a ghost airport that loses money, but the fact remains that INI will never be profitable with only lowcosters using it for 3 euro per pax. I don't have a problem with that but let's at least be honest enough and face it.
I don't understand the issue here with this €3 tax... if they are €1 short per pax to break even then that would equal €100000 for this year. How much have they made on parking? The different vendors internally pay rents, people buy things, and at the end of the day the increased revenue from people spending in the city is going to the people who have struggled for so long.
DeleteWhy can't you people just be happy that finally your (and mine) airport is operational and the city is starting to live!
Think about the villagers who have to grow crops in their first season. They have to invest for a return don't they? I see no difference here either. Just useless complainers who do nothing but complain when it's good and complain when it's bad. Go back to your village with well water and gas lamps. You might he happier then.
Anon 10.36
DeleteOk, since you want to be honest can you provide us with some common sense arguments to as why restaurants and parking are not enough or are not a valid argument?
Shops at airports are a very lucrative business. Look at AMS or CPH which have basically become glorified shopping malls with air-bridges. ;)
Also, I am still waiting for you to propose an alternative solution to the current business model at INI.
@ anonymous 10,36am
DeleteI don't see that anyone has said that the airport is making huge revenue from parking etc.
All that was said that the 3€ tax is not the only source of revenue for the airport.
The airport may not be profitable (we havnt seen documents to prove anything yet), however its almost certain that any loss the airport used to have being empty has now reduced, which is positive as well.
Remember, millions were spent financing YM to TGD with no results. Without even running numbers, I am certain that the lower taxes is much cheaper for the city, and has actually stimulated huge pax growth.
@Nemjee & al.
DeleteI think anon. 10.36 has a point here.
I would add that financial situation of INI would be even better if they closed their doors and sacked all employees. Instead of loss, they would have zero. They are instead in red for the foreseeable future.
Anon. 10.36, if I am not wrong, points to a kind of controversy in argumentation. We were told so many times that the airport's success is all about profit.
People were engaging in serious and very hot arguments about the BEG profits and that this is the only measure of success; that it is a great disservice to Serbian taxpayers that airport does not prioritize profits and so on...
But when it comes to Wizz in BEG, than these kinds of arguments suddenly disappear. We hear that it was short-sighted and stupid that BEG cancelled special discounts Wizz enjoyed.
Now we see that when it comes to INI, or SKP, or TZL, or for that matter to BUD, all that argumentation flies to the window and that making losses is fine as long as passenger number increase.
The critics are sent to a village to drink a water from a well. Not terrible punishment, quite a opposite, I would say, but not really a meaningful answer to the question what is more important:
profit OR passenger numbers?
And is it really so simple?
Greetings to you all.
LOL just LOL.
DeleteFirst of all, how can you compare BEG with INI or TZL. The main difference is that BEG would be on W6's radar with or without subventions. This is not the case for INI or TZL... as we've already seen by now.
Second of all, are you seriously implying that we would all be better off if INI closed its doors? Why? Because we can't wait for another year or two until the airport starts breaking-even or at least until it is modestly profitable? Give me a break.
Both FR and W6 have already announced more flights for INI (as mentioned below). This means that there is a market and that INI's numbers will be further boosted, bringing it even closer to profitability.
Third of all, INI has already announced that it will have to hire more workers which is always a great thing to hear.
Finally, the airport plans to handle 700.000 passengers per year by 2021. With €3/passenger that should be more than enough to cover most of the airport's expenses. Add to this the ancillary revenue and you have a self-sustaining company.
Anyone who is in business knows that when you are launching a product you have to prepare yourself for a loss-making period. You need time to consolidate it and to promote it. Same thing with INI. It says a lot about the market when FR's first flight from Berlin landed with a 100% loadfactor.
They are even adding a third weekly rotation during the Christmas holiday period. Maybe we could even see three flights in summer.
But sure, let's hand our aviation market to SOF or SKP simply because you are too short-sighted to recognize the potential of this business venture.
Anonymous at 2:24 PM, 10:36 AM, 9:08 AM
DeleteWe get that you are upset that BEG and ASL finally got some competition within the country.
We also get that you wanted flying with ASL through BEG to be the only option for Serbian travelers.
We also get that you hate competitors to ASL and especially LCC's.
You have been posting it again and again and again.
Do you have anything more interesting to say?
@Nemjee
DeleteThanks for you answer.
I am not arguing against your arguments. My question was different.
When you say:
"Anyone who is in business knows that when you are launching a product you have to prepare yourself for a loss-making period. You need time to consolidate it and to promote it."
But it applies to any other company, including Air Serbia, doesn't it? Of course it does.
That said, why are you so outraged with the questions about Niš, but quite relaxed when the same "LOL" arguments were used against Air Serbia over and over again?
You don't want to hand over potential business to SKP or SOF. It makes sense. But equally why would anyone hand over the existing market to W6 or to SA? You should be probably even more outraged, because airport costs are only a smaller part of airline business.
Greetings!
There is a lot of competition in BEG. For almost every destination legacies offer, including ASL, passengers can chose an alternative LCC connection to the same or nearby airport. Good for BEG!
DeleteUnfortunately, those choices are not available for passengers in other EX-YU airports. And that is a real shame.
Anon 21.08
DeleteAs far as subsidies for JU go, I made it clear on here a few times that I was in favor of them. Jat was a disaster and Air Serbia needed a cash injection to transform itself into a competitive carrier. However, I also said that these subsidies should be given for a short period of time, as was, anyway, the case.
The situation in Nis is a bit different though. These new conditions are available for everyone, Air Serbia included. If American Airlines wanted to launch LAX-INI they they would get the same treatment as W6 and FR.
No one wanted to pay a premium to fly out of Nis. Airport management had to become far more realistic in its approach to doing business. They did it and today we have results, great results. As someone mentioned earlier, in a few months/years they can increase this charge from €3 to €4.
That said, I am not in favor of shutting down the airport simply because they are, currently, losing money. INI needs work, needs an investment just like JU did back in 2013.
Extremely smart decision by the airpirt not to get tied down to just one LCC airline.
ReplyDeleteSo will it be flights from Switzerland since the talks took place there or was it just neutral territory :D
ReplyDeleteINI needs to persuade W6 to open a base. Look:
ReplyDeletehttps://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/about-us/news/shownews/2016/09/23/wizz-air-opens-25th-base-in-kutaisi-georgia#/
Very smart and they do not need to rely on TBS.
OT:
ReplyDeleteNorwegian no flights in Jan-Mar from BEG to ARN :(
I think they will make it seasonal.
Huh? Flights are bookable on their website. Until April they operate every Wednesday, from April they add a flight on Saturdays.
DeleteExciting times for Nis. Who would have thought a year ago?
ReplyDeleteFor the people talking about €3 fee.
ReplyDeleteThis is not written in the constitution of Serbia, but it is a decision made in the city parliament.
Once the number of pax gets closer to 300-400k, an increase in the fee will follow. Do you think Ryanair and Wizz and the third company would be like: oh, now you're not the cheapest airport in Europe, now we are packing our bags and leaving? If they achieve good results until then, they won't mind.
I am sure this increase will not be followed by drastic increase in ticket prices since even today the tickets cost pretty much the same is in other European countries where those two fly to.
So please.. This is a fantastic way to attract pax and also a good tactic to have three airlines instead of one (Tuzla).
Summer 2017
ReplyDeleteWizz Air to increase INI-DTM from 2 to 3 weekly.
More great news! This shows that there is a market for these kind of airlines.
Also, around holidays FR will add an extra weekly departure to Berlin and Bratislava! Both will have three weekly.
DeleteSkopje is going down after this !
ReplyDeleteBelgrade airport is much more affected by ths than Skopje.
DeleteSKP is closer to INI than BEG is, not to mention that SOF is also close to SKP. BEG is the furthest from all of them.
DeleteWhy do you think that SKP would go down after this? Because of 3 euro cheaper pax handling fees than INI? I would like to see both of the airports grow and offer different destinations so we who live nearby would have more places to fly to.
DeleteSouthern Serbia no longer needs to go to SKP to fly.
Delete1 I najbolja opcija je svakako za liniju ZRH-INI je DS i svakako ko god bude leteo ostvarice veliki uspeh.
ReplyDelete2 Moguce je da ce leteti GM i vise je verovatno od 4T
3 Postoji mogucnost da ce leteti mozda F7 posto se spominju TGD i TIV
4 Takodje bi bilo odlicno kad bi FR pojacao jos letova prema Skandinaviji.
INN-NS
Ja bih voleo kada bi FR dosao u BEG ali sada sa drugim avionon W6 ne verujem.
DeleteZašto da ne? I u SOF i u BUD lete obe kompanije. Što ne bi i sa BEG? Ja se iskreno nadam da hoće zbog interesa nas putnika.
DeleteJa bih voleo kada bi W6 i FR došli malo i u ZAG. Bogatije tržište, veći potencijal, catchment area, stotine hiljada postojećih i budućih turista... Koji im je vrag pa nikako da dođu?
DeleteVerovatno je preskup a vidis i sam da svi ili smanjuju letove ili u potpunosti ukidaju.
Delete"Svi", a?
DeleteNevjerojatno...
I sa 300 000 hiljada putnika INI ce biti na grbaci budzeta siromasnog i prezaduzenog grada Nisa. Njega bi trebalo ponuditi koncesionaru, jer je aerodromu potrebno ogromno ulaganje za koje je vrlo upitno da li i kada ce se vratiti. Drzava nema para da investira veliki novac u Nis, a kao vecinski vlasnik ASL ignorisuci svaki oblik saradnje sa INI pokazuje koliko veruje u niski projekat.
ReplyDeleteATCO
Brate vidi se koliko se ne razumes u vazduhoplovstvo kada vidis resenje u tome da ASL saradjuje sa INI mesto da jure sto vise niskobudzetnih kompanija.
DeleteSa 300.000 putnika, aerodrom ce samo od putnickih taksi zaraditi €900.000 sto izadje negde oko €75.000 mesecno.
INI je jako mali aerodrom i mislim da €75.000 mesecno je vise nego dovoljno za pokrivane osnovnih troskova.
Dodao bih da ako pratimo tvoju logiku onda ASL vise veruje u BNX nego u INI. ;)
DeleteIt's €3 per DEPARTING passenger. That means for 300.000, it would be closer to €450.000.
DeleteThats still €37.500 per month. It's not bad. Most employees earn like €300 per month. ;)
DeleteIf they earn €300 per month then you need also additional €200 per month for taxes ,so it is minimum €500 . They have 150 employees so it is €75000 per month minimum ,but it is probably closer to €100000 . That is without any other cost like electricity,water,oil and other..
DeleteI sa 300.000 putnika primace u proseku €75.000 plus na to dodaj rentu za restoran, duty free, parking, bus... i eto ti, na nuli su. Sve preko 300.000 putnika se pretvara u profit. ;)
DeleteIsto, ne zaboravimo sve kargo letove sto imaju. To se isto naplacuje i tu uzimaju dobre pare. Nisu daleko od zlatne nule.
DeleteOno sta bi bilo zanimljivo je da vidimo koliko manje para uzimaju iz budzeta.
oni su desetak miliona eura daleko od momenta kada ce im 500 000 putnika omoguciti zlatnu nulu, naravno desetak miliona investicija u opremanje aerodroma koji u ovom stanju ne moze zaradjivati.
DeleteNajlakse je kritikovati tudji rad i trud. Barem se krecu u pravom smeru, stici ce do cilja.
DeleteAbsolute best case scenario would be if Swiss starts flying from ZRH to INI with their new Cseries.
ReplyDeleteIt would offer connections to many major airports. LCCs are great, but INI would greatly benefit from a legacy carrier.
+100 plus connections to NA
DeleteTo bi bilo najbolje, ali svi znamo da je taj region izuzetno siromasan, pa se bojim da se ne bi dugo zadrzali.
DeleteS druge strane, ako budu imali cene kao iz BEG za Severnu Ameriku mogu pokupiti veliki broj putnika!
Svakako ce INI dosta napredovati jer je stao na noge i uz podrsku drzave lako ce biti to odrzati.
If Swiss came, ASL would fly INI-ZRH until they leave. As Swiss did with Etihad Regional.
DeleteToday's picture is worth a thousand words.
ReplyDeleteWell, the only airline that has its HQ in Zurich is Helvetic, which already operate SKP and OHD... It's beyond reasonable doubt, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the fast development of INI from Sofia
Easyjet Switzerland: Flights from Zurich, Basel and Geneva
DeleteWell, they say that talks will take place in Zurich, while EasyJet's HQ is in Basel. And In general, EasyJet seems a bit more conscious about low-yield flights, which INI-ZRH might be...
Delete