Low cost carrier Wizz Air will introduce at least four new routes from Macedonia by March 26, 2019 after it won a tender for the provision of state subsidies. The carrier is obligated to introduce two new routes each from Skopje and Ohrid by the end of March. The airline will also have to add a further two new destinations from Ohrid within the next year. All six destinations will have to be maintained on a year-round basis for the duration of the financial incentives, until 2022. Wizz Air was the only airline to apply for the subsidies. The tender was held for the third time this year after two previous attempts were annulled. A similar three-year subsidy policy was enforced in both 2012 and 2015, with the no frills airline being the sole beneficiary. It resulted in Wizz Air basing four aircraft in the Macedonian capital and launching over a dozen new routes.
The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Goran Sugareski, said, "The Government of the Republic of Macedonia is strongly committed to the development of air transport by creating conditions for airlines to launch new routes. At the Public Call, only one application for financial support was submitted to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, from Wizz Air. After the Commission responsible for the implementation of this Public Call evaluated the bid, it was established that Wizz Air met all the conditions and criteria specified in the call". He added, "I want to congratulate Wizz Air. They remain a serious partner in developing air traffic in Macedonia. As a responsible government, we promised to continue stimulating air traffic. Our goal is for the public to get as many new destinations as possible at affordable prices".
Wizz Air will receive benefits amounting to five million euros over the next three years. It will be granted some 1.4 million in 2019, 1.7 in 2020 and 2021 each, as well as 277.000 euros in 2022. Furthermore, the government will grant the low cost carrier a one-off payment of 40.000 euros for each new route launched, as well as nine euros per passengers for each new destination from Skopje for the first year, eight euros during the second year and seven during the third. On the other hand, the carrier will receive thirteen euros per passenger during the first year of operations on new routes out of Ohrid, twelve during the second and eleven euros per traveller in the third year.
The low cost airline is soon expected to announce its new routes from Macedonia. It previously noted, "In the last seven years, since we first started to operate in Macedonia, Wizz Air has become the leading airline in the country and gained the confidence and loyalty of more than 4.6 million passengers transported since 2011 across the nation by constantly investing in local operations and bringing affordable travel opportunities for passengers. This year, the Wizz team in Macedonia has grown to more than 140 local members, and according to industry standards, Wizz operations have facilitated more than 900 indirect jobs in 2017". It added, "Wizz Air underlines its commitment to Macedonian customers by expanding its low fare network and creating more affordable travel opportunities from Skopje and Ohrid airports, currently offering thirty routes to fourteen countries and 1.6 million seats on sale in 2018, a 23% growth compared to 2017". During the first three quarters of the year, Wizz Air handled 1.098.511 passengers on flights to and from Macedonia, resulting in a passenger share of 60.3%. Among low cost carriers operating to the country, Wizz Air holds a 92% share.
Great... another subsidized route by Wizz from SKP. Would be nice to get some diversity.
ReplyDeleteSo the poor Macedonian taxpayer gets to subsidize an international corporation, brilliant.
Deletethe reason why is already included in your post. thanks to this now the Macedonian taxpayer can afford to travel everywhere in Europe which wasnt the case before
Deletein fact, we pay for more income, holy sh***, capitalism, we arrived!!! https://mazedonien-nachrichten.blogspot.com/2018/12/jahresvergleich-jan-okt-13-prozent-mehr.html
DeleteWhat cities are left for them to launch to Germany and Sweden?
ReplyDeleteSeveral still left in Germany. My money is they will launch Karlsruhe/Baden Baden from Skopje.
DeleteAs far as Sweden goes, they serve Skopje from each of their Swedish destinations.
DeleteFinally the tender saga is over.
ReplyDeleteI think the government realized that W6 has total control of the market. There is no point in having more tenders in the future as no one is willing to go against Wizz Air in a relatively small market.
DeleteI'm very surprised that no other airline has EVER applied to any of these tenders and there have been a total of 5 now. Pitty.
DeleteIf I need to guess, I'll go with a destination in Italy, Bologna maybe?
ReplyDeleteAlso should we assume that they will place one more aircraft in SKP?
I was hoping for some diversity, easyJet or Ryanair but I guess they are focused elsewhere.
Kutaisi maybe
DeleteThe interesting thing will be the new routes from Ohrid and how they will make make it work year round. It won't be easy from such a seasonal destination.
ReplyDeleteAnd also any route they start from Ohrid can't be served from Skopje. Rather limits the destinations.
DeleteThere will probably be a route from Poland.
DeleteAgree with last anon. Possibly Gdansk.
Deleteanon 9.20: thats not true
DeleteATH would be a no brainier addition.
ReplyDeleteAlready operated by Aegean. Won't happen.
DeleteNo it wouldn't. Aegean would destroy them. Also Wizz Air kind of failed on the Balkans-Athens market.
DeleteIt can't be Athens. The tender says they can't launch a route already operated from the airport. So it will be unserved routes.
DeleteW6 can launch ATH if they want to but they wont be receiving any subsidies for it.
DeleteI don't see it happening, especially with A3 being able to offer lots of connections from ATH.
Anonymous at 09:32
Delete+1
Same situation with VIE, no subsidies available for that route and OS able to provide many connections.
+1 W6 can also launch PRG (long overdue!) but it probably gonna wait one IATA season so they they can cash in
DeleteMy guess from Skopje is Madrid and Geneva
ReplyDeleteBut if Barcelona went seasonal, I'm guessing Madrid would have similar results.
DeleteWhy should Wizz care when they are not going to pay for the losses? Taxpayers will.
DeleteI think they can't launch Geneva because of administrative barriers.
DeleteWhat administrative barrier?
DeleteWay too many frequencies from Sofia to Madrid, I doubt it.
DeleteGVA sounds reasonable, yes. Maybe NCE?
lol guys how many times one should tell you: GVA is not EU
DeleteDoesn't Macedonia have a free sky agreement with Switzerland.
DeleteWizz is not a macedonian airline
DeleteAny chance they might announce the new routes today?
ReplyDeleteDon't know if it will be today but it has to be soon. These flights have to launch in less than 4 months.
DeleteWell Skopje has secured its passenger growth for next year. TAV probably can't believe how easy they got it operating airports in Macedonia.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteTAV made a very wise decision investing in the airports!!!
They just shit back and see money flowing to their pocket.
"They just shit back" :D
DeleteFreud! :D
DeleteWell done Skopje and Ohrid :)
ReplyDeleteYes these taxpayer funded success stories are wonderful. Why invest in healthcare or education when you can fund a Hungarian lowcost airline.
DeleteAnonymous 24 December 2018 at 09:21
Delete+1000
+10000
DeleteI think Macedonia is trying to gain prestige just like what Croatia is doing, hence investing in new routes to give a good image of the country,
DeleteStill, the number of millions of EUR is smaller than investing it in a national airline that keeps on sucking money...*cough*Croatia*Serbia*cough
DeleteMaybe they will add 1 more plane to their hub in SKP? Who knows..
ReplyDeleteNext year Wizz passenger share in Skopje 80%.
ReplyDeleteSkopje Wizzport
DeleteLove them or hate them, they have done wonders for Skopje.
DeleteGreat News!
ReplyDeleteStill hoping W6 to introduce Skopje - Moscow flights
not possible
DeleteU would need AOC from either Macedonia or Russia.
DeleteAeroflot should launch them. With superjet
Deleteor Pobeda. It would be popular with such a name for an airline
DeleteThis is good news however Skopje desperately needs wizz air routes in other capitals or attractive business and vacation destinations like Prague Bucharest Madrid Lisbon Nice Bari Torino, Geneva... Not villages like Vaxjo.
ReplyDeleteGood news, but there must be some attraction in SKP for legacy carriers.
ReplyDeleteCongrats. Macedonia has nowhere to go but up.
ReplyDeleteI mean, when you reach the bottom, how can you go further down?
DeleteUnfortunantely guys, I doubt we will get anything creative from W6. My guesses from Skopje are placed like Bremen and Karlsruhe/Baden Baden.
ReplyDeleteI think they will look at the bigger picture and see which routes might attract passengers from South Serbia and from Kosovo and Albania. Maybe Lyon?
ReplyDeleteLyon isn't even served from BEG.
DeleteI really can't see how SKP can support such a flight even with subsidies helping.
I bet on Varna, Nice, Prague. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds plausible except for Prague, because Prague was served (from Skopje) within the last two seasons and according to the tender it can't be.
DeletePossibly Malta from Skopje.
ReplyDeleteOr Larnaca? These two destinations would finally be something more exotic from Wizz in SKP.
DeleteIs there really market demand for such a route?
DeleteMalta is alredy served by Wizz from SKP
DeleteGrohotom. there is already MALTA from SKP !!!!
DeleteGood news, but SKP must attract some legacy carriers. The demand is there for Frankfurt, Moscow, Munich and Amsterdam which are being covered by Croatia, Air Serbia and Adria through Zagreb, Belgrade and Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteYes, we really need a frankfurt direct, and amsterdam and london Heathrow so that all major alliances get represented. Im sick of star alliance domination, gimme oneworld, gimme skyteam!!!!!!!! And Moscow for connections to asia! End vienna monopoly!
DeleteNo surprise, I would be expanding like crazy if I had privileged status, no competition and assistance for new routes.
ReplyDeleteGreat news for Macedonian consumers again.
ReplyDeleteSKP needs more flights to Madrid, Lisboa, Birmingham, Kiev and Mallorca,
ReplyDeleteCould they launch Tel Aviv? Is it part of the European free sky agreement or does Macedonia have to negotiate a bilateral air agreement?
ReplyDeleteBilateral would have to be negotiated. It would be much easier if Wizz just got a Macedonian AOC.
DeleteRaykjavik if IndigoPartners (owner of Wizz Air, Frontier, Volaris etc.) will succeed to buy Wow, and it looks like it is finished deal. On that way Skopje will have just one stop to several destinations in USA and Canada.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it already have one stop through Austrian Airlines?
Deleteand Turkish, Swiss ... and JU
DeleteYessss!!!! I want this to be the case!! Yes we do have connections with vienna, istanbul, and zurich, BUT WE DONT HAVE THE MONNEY FOR EXPENSIVE STAR ALLIANCE LUXURY!!!!
DeleteI hate that all low cost options from Skopje and Ohrid are only with Wizz.
ReplyDeleteThere is also Pegasus and Fly dubai.
DeleteI hate it too but i gave up on the others. their loss
DeleteOhrid-Malmö
ReplyDeleteOhrid-Dortmund
Ohrid-Memmingen
Ohrod-Bergamo
Yes, bergamo dormund march, others later. Those are similar to some rumours ive heard from airports.
DeleteSKP - Karlsruhe/Baden Baden
ReplyDeleteSKP - Turku
Can be SKP-TIA an option?
ReplyDeleteinteresting. teoretski da :D
DeleteI fear Wizz are not that experimental.
correction. not even in theory unless one of them join EU
DeleteSo, in march 2019 (Brexit) SKP-LTN will be suspended? Or even TIA-LTN? Both countries will not be EU members?
Deletepossible!
DeleteThey would have to switch from Wizz to Wizz UK to operate this route
DeleteUnless they sell tickets for 20 euro return, no
Deletehaters gonna hate
DeleteMK and UK will be able to negotiate a new bilateral. If both agree it can include carriers not registered in other countries, 5th, 6th and 7th freedom rights etc.
DeleteThe flights between TIA and LTN are alredy operated by Wizz UK, flith nr W9 4466
DeleteSKP has the busiest Luton route in the entire ex-Yu.
DeleteAlbania (and even Kosovo for that matter) have already signed aviation agreements with the UK for the post Brexit time. So no, LTN-TIA flights won't be suspended. In fact, Wizz had already increased the flights to daily for next summer.
DeleteWizz opened a UK subsidiary and got all AOCs and stuff so they can now operate from the UK to anywhere without any problem
DeleteMaybe thessaloniki woud be a good idea
ReplyDeleteLOL, it is way to close by road.
DeleteRoutes will be to places where albanians & kosovars live. Italy from OHD and Germany/Scandinavia/Swiss from SKP.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened with the TK plans to launch transatlantic flights from SKP?
ReplyDeleteWasn´t the plan to fly to the Big Apple via SKP ¿
I think the 787 is the perfect aircraft for the route.
If not Turkish, then maybe LOT as they launched BUD-JFK.
SKP wont get US flights anytime soon
DeleteI'm hoping in 2019 Wizz Air will base a fifth aircraft in Skopje.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSafe to say Skopje's big growth is guaranteed until the end of next year. To me it looks like they will base an fifth aircraft there.
Since Wizz started OSL, i think they maybe will add OSL from OHD. Also Bergen possible. Are there any chances for Tel Aviv, Larnaca, Tenerife or Reykjavik??
ReplyDeleteregarding the second part of your post: its 4x no
DeleteThey won't start Oslo from Ohrid because it is operated from Skopje, so they wouldn't get subsidies for it.
Deletenot true. that was a requirement only in the first tender
DeleteMonopoly
ReplyDeleteHardly, just cronopoly
DeleteI hope that next will be SOF, TLV and IEV
ReplyDeleteMeh! how many times one should tell you that they can only EU destinations ... HOW MANY TIMES?
DeleteNice destinations, but i think they ll start KIV, GVA and MSQ
Deletemaybe ohrid to geneva, vienna, madrid, lisbon
ReplyDeleteskopje to paris, munich
Paris and Munich are already covered in SKP. Do you expect them to fly to CDG and MUC?
Deletesure why not ! Beauvais airport is 54 miles from Paris and Memmingen is 70 miles from Munich, way to far from big European cities
DeleteSKP-SOF or OHD-SOF would be a great additions. In theory SOF is close, but travel by car/bus is a pain (~4+ hours.) It's a short flight that could greatly improve travel between the two countries. With a short flight (low fuel burn) tickets can be really cheap and even stimulate the market for a double daily service. Think day-trip in either direction.
ReplyDeleteI could also see SKP-VAR, SKP-OTP, SKP-BOJ working.
Cannot agree more on this one.
DeleteAlmost 400,000 thousand Bulgarians visited Macedonia IN 2017, which means that this figure might reach 500,000 by year end:
http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/7054/trips-bulgarian-residents-abroad-months-and-country-destination
The figure was also very high for Serbia, too - 462,953!
+1
DeleteOHD-SOF would be a great addition
What about Ljubljana?
ReplyDelete🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 ljubljana airport is too protective of adria. The only LCC that opened with a warm welcome was i believe Eurowings, which is adrias partner(its owner is Lufthansa, so its politics)
DeleteI bet HEL and PRG will be the destinations from SKP. From OHD we can expect WAW, GDN, Baden/Baden and Amsterdam or Maastricht.
ReplyDeletePRG, WAW, AMS and MAS won't happen, they are being served by other airlines
Deletenot true
DeleteWAW is possible because it was served only by charters (not scheduled flights) although unlikely
Deletenot sure if AMS or MAS were strictly charters
AMS and MAS are seasonal scheduled flights (served by TUI and Corendon)
Deletethat rules them out then
DeletePoreban je jos jedan zastitni plan za konzervaciju ciste prirodne vode Ohridskog jezera i detaljni akcioni plan za zastitu cistog vazduha iznad grada Ohrida.Unesco i Evropol ce ponovno da zastite cistu sredinu za grad Ohrid preko neku novu naredbu Ujedinjenih naroda a to se odnosi na sve aviokompanije i vozila koji koriste dizel pogonsko gorivo.Samo automobili na benzin,elektricne i novi avioni su prihvatljivi u razumnom broju da nisu previse.
ReplyDeleteDa budemo razumni i odgovorni ,vazduh koji se nalazi iznad grad Ohrid i osobito iznad manastirski kompleks Sveti Naum je apsolutno najbolji u Makedoniji i u Europi taj vazduh nije zagadjen stetnim gasovima,to treba sacuvati,aerodrom Ohrid ne treba da ima subvencije za nove aviokompanije i gusti saobracaj sa dizel vozila,a to se odnosi i na putni saobracaj,fantasticno ljepa i cista priroda treba bude i dalje cista za da budemo zdravi,vitalni i da nasa buduca djeca budu zdrava i prosperitetna.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, does anyone know why the base in Skopje only employs ethnic Macedonians, even tho the majority of the passengers flying with wizz from Skopje are Albanians (from Macedonia and Kosovo). I’ve flown Malmö-Skopje loads of times and never had an Albanian flight attendant.
ReplyDeleteWizz air is a Hungarian airline located in Budapest
Deletenor is the majority of passengers Albanians nor it it is true that there is no Albanian cabin crew. I had one alb. male cabin crew member recently
DeleteI think it depends a bit on the route tho. There are probably not many Albanians flying to eg Malta or Bratislava, while I can imagine the flights to Basel and Malmö have more Albanians than Macedonians. I've several times observed the interesting communication between the extremely rapidly speaking Macedonian crew and Kosovo Albanians living in Sweden speaking limited to no Serbian on Skopje-Malmö flights.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteRight kiddos,
ReplyDeleteIt has been a pleasure reading your over enthusiastic comments, now here are the votes of the televoting;
From SKP ALL YEAR ROUND flights:
BHX/ LGW/ VAR/ PGD/ TIA/ BUC/ IEV/ SVO/ LCA
From OHD ALL YEAR ROUND flights:
SVO/ SKG/ TIA/ LGW/ BHX/ PRN/ ESB/ SOF/ ATH
Most of the short regional flights are a bitch to travel by road in any capacity especially one-day business trips. Very complicated operations worthy of trying them on.
Flights in the far north of Europe flying over EU airspace are very complicated and expensive beginning with fuel cost etc.
Providing genuine european air connectivity is in the spirit of the openskies agreements. They have never been fully tried on the southern Balkans if you exclude the period between the two World wars and prior.
I for myself am against any more influence on low-cost airlines like Wizzair because they give a VERY FALSE hope and image of better future for ALL of the citizens of Macedonia. Fighting this much for a low-cost airline is bizarre and utterly irresponsible buy the f***ing government throwing taxpayers money into jet engines. These subsidies are way to large nevertheless illegal by Eurocontrol and EU commision regulations.
Mr. Sugareski needs to fly off back to his home planet and stay there. A person from donkey/train transport proficiency from populated yet rural regions from Macedonia is in no extremum verbum "codeshare agreement".
Thank you very much.
MM
One more thing:
ReplyDeleteAllow BA to fly to Macedonia on their own terms or forget about UK support for NATO & EU.