Low cost carrier Wizz Air has recorded strong passenger growth on its flights to and from Pristina in 2018. The airline welcomed 100.000 travellers on board its flights, up 155% on 2017. Wizz entered the Kosovan market in April 2017 with services from Budapest and London Luton. This was followed with the addition of flights from Memmingen, Basel and Dortmund during the fourth quarter of last year. The airline has now positioned itself as the tenth busiest at Pristina Airport. It performed better than a number of other carriers which have long-established links to Pristina including Austrian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Swiss International Air Lines.
Commenting on its operations in Pristina, Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, recently told EX-YU Aviation News, "I think we are still trying to learn the [Kosovo] market. We have a limited presence in Pristina". Asked whether the airline could base an aircraft in Pristina, the CEO said, "Not at the moment. Maybe at a later stage but at this point in time, no". Germania, which will base an aircraft in the city next month remains Kosovo's busiest airline. It is followed by easyJet, Edelweiss Air, Orange2Fly and Turkish Airlines. Adria Airways, which operates a handful of routes from the city saw its figures decrease when compared to the year before.
Busiest airlines at Pristina Airport in 2018
| Airline | PAX | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Germania | 321.499 | ▲ 9.1 |
| easyJet | 241.809 | ▼ 5.5 |
| Edelweiss | 240.200 | ▲ 13.4 |
| Orange2Fly | 200.278 | ▲ 280.8 |
| Turkish Airlines | 179.218 | ▲ 24.4 |
| Eurowings | 163.982. | ▲ 24.3 |
| Adria Airways | 157.931 | ▼ 10.9 |
Meanwhile, Pristina Airport started the new year off on a strong note. It welcomed a record 168.777 passengers through its doors in January, representing an increase of 17.1% on the same month last year. The number of aircraft operations stood at 1.321, up 17.8%. "There is interest from various airlines to launch flights from different countries to Pristina. We intend on supporting these carriers in order for them to introduce new destinations and provide a greater choice to passengers", Pristina Airport's Scheduling Manager, Driton Hyseni, said.
| Month | PAX | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| JAN | 168.777 | ▲ 17.1 |
With Germania about to go bankrupt, this is a real opportunity for another carrier to take over in Pristina. Wizz or Adria both seem well positioned to take over the routes.
ReplyDeleteIf Germania goes bankrupt we will see anothe reisen airline take over like Orange2fly. Look at how much their numbers grew in a year.
DeleteSo which destinations you would take over from Germania?
DeleteGermania might go bancrupt but Germania Flug not.
DeleteThey could take over Basel, Geneva, Hanover...
DeleteThis shows that there is enough demand for Wizz from both SKP and PRN.
ReplyDeleteGreat news for W6. Poor Adria just can't seem to catch a break.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBasically WIZZ is doing very well in all ex-Yu markets they serve.
ReplyDeleteYes
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/01/wizz-air-registers-serbia-market-growth.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/01/wizz-air-posts-record-macedonia-results.html
Excellent news. Plus a great start to the year at PRN.
ReplyDeleteAnother market where Adria will fail as PRN gets linked with more cities. Will be curious to see how SKP performs in January and if this growth affected them.
ReplyDeleteIt already is failing. Look at their passenger numbers.
DeleteI mean fail as in cut back flights or maybe suspend them completely.
DeleteSince we are talking about Adria, it is very possible.
DeleteAdria has 50% more pax then Austrian at PRN. its feeding LH from FRA and MUC basically. there is very little O&D on JP flights
DeleteHopefully Copenhagen-Pristina will be launched next.
ReplyDeleteCEO seems quite cautious in his comments about PRN expansion.
DeleteBecause the airport is expensive and under the concession agreement, the government sets the airline fees and prices, which is ludicrous.
Delete^It is. I have never head of a concession arrangement like this one.
DeleteIn the end Wizz will chase away all the smaller airlines and increase its ticket prices. That's their strategy.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen them do that I any ex-Yu market.
DeleteLook at their growth in SKP and OHD. With their domination there almost no one can compete.
Deleteof course no one can compete- W6 offers by far most competitive prices
DeleteExactly, dumping fares until someone gives up and leaves.
DeleteThey can afford that because their costs are low.
DeleteThey will base a plane in Pristina sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteExpansion is inevitable and they are targeting underserved regions, such as ex-Yu.
DeleteI doubt they will open a base in Pristina, having SKP nearby.
DeleteNot gonna happen. SKP has higher yields and a bigger market. Why put that in danger when they can already dominate like this.
DeleteIt will happen. Most pax using W6 in SKP are Albanians.
Deleteand most of the Albanians using W6 from SKP either live or have lived in Macedonia- why would they use PRN?
DeleteMacedonia and Skopje are becoming really popular tourist destinations, Kosovo isn't. PRN will always be a gasto destination while SKP sees a mix of gasto, business, tourism... That's why airlines do well in SKP while easyJet, Adria... fail and airlines such as Orange2Fly and Wizz thrive.
DeleteAnon 10:26 thats quite ironic to say
DeleteAnon 10.26. I don't agree with you. Kosovo has a great touristic potential: the world tourism market is searching for new destination. The area is touristically undiscovered this is attractive for many visitors. Backpackers e.g. loving it already, groups there for cultural,religious tourism too.
DeleteI am sorry but I don't think there is much religious tourism in Kosovo. Muslims go elsewhere while most Orthodox churches and monasteries are unsafe due to constant attacks.
DeletePRN will primarily serve as a gasterbajter destination with very limited outbound demand. As someone mentioned, family run tour operators dominate the market.
I don’t think basing the Germania A319 will happen. They have not payed the wages of their employees.
ReplyDeleteThey were paid in Germania Flug AG, Switzerland. ZRH and GVA are secured.
DeleteYeah but the German part is in trouble, once the German part goes down it won’t last long for the Swiss part.
DeleteOnce the German part goes down it won’t last long with the Swiss part.
DeleteYou will be surprized about the outcome. Swiss GSW will not go down and liquidated German GMI will be consolidated.
DeleteBelieve me, I hope it won’t fail, just afraid they both will. Small Planet, Belle Air etc are some examples
DeletePristina needs Wizz to Vienna, Eindhoven. Plenty of immigrant there!
ReplyDeleteWe need Transavia for AMS to PRN
DeleteThere are plenty of opportunities from PRN. I'm sure whatever they launch will be a huge success. Market potential was never the issue.
DeleteAnd Basel please..
DeleteeasyJet flies BSL-PRN.
DeleteCongrats Pristina!
ReplyDeleteGreat news
ReplyDeleteWe could see a Wizz base in Pristina once visas are removed.
ReplyDeleteYes but no one knows when visas will be removed. I don't see it happening with the ongoing spat over taxes where the EU is furious at the Albanian side.
DeletePRN market: Switzerland has a share of 36%, Germany 31%
ReplyDeleteIs it now available any public transport to Pristina airport? I don't like the taxi only policy.
ReplyDeleteI think they just signed a contract with some bus company to operate between the airport and the city.
DeleteHope it's for real. Thank you for answering.
DeleteDoes Wizz get subsidies to fly from Pristina like in Skopje?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeletePRN offers incentives to all airlines when they launch new flights, as is common at many airports around the world.
DeleteOk, thank you
DeleteWizz milking the ex-yu market for all its worth.
ReplyDeleteThe West is milking us in general since we decided to fight each other.
DeleteLets bring back the communist days!
Delete