Wizz Air is continuing to suspend operations from cities in the former Yugoslavia with the list of temporarily cancelled routes surpassing forty. The latest markets to be affected include Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The airline now plans to shelve its flights from Skopje to Salzburg until March 2021. In addition, the resumption of some fifteen routes from the Macedonian capital, planned for late September, have been pushed back until October. The budget airline is also cutting its operations between Vienna and Podgorica, just a month after their launch. The final service of the year is scheduled for September 19, with flights to resume on March 30, 2021. Furthermore, the carrier will temporarily discontinue services between Malmo and Niš on September 19, which will be restored on March 30 of next year.
As previously reported, all markets in the region have been impacted by Wizz Air’s reduction in operations. So far, Skopje remains the airline’s most affected base in the former Yugoslavia, followed by Tuzla. Wizz Air has warned it may have to “park planes” to preserve cash as the coronavirus crisis wreaks havoc on the industry during the leaner winter months. The airline also said that if ongoing travel restrictions continue over the next three months, it will fly at 60% capacity rather than the 80% previously guided. Despite suspending over forty routes in the former Yugoslavia, Wizz Air has opened ten new bases across Europe over the past few months, launched dozens of new routes and has not deferred aircraft deliveries.
Commenting on the latest developments, Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, said, “It is a difficult time for the whole industry and certainly we are not immune to the situation. Clearly, this has become kind of a rollercoaster, so we are seeing markets and countries going up and down. This is a hardship and a time to get very focused in order to get through this situation”. Mr Varadi added, “We are going up and down [with the markets] at the same time. We are very focused at managing the situation as it unfolds every day but at the same time, we keep an eye on our future”.
This is going from bad to worse.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Wizz saying how they will be operating their full schedule by a July?
ReplyDeleteYes, under the premise the health situation would improve.
DeleteThey still opened the most routes and basis while others have been shrinking.
DeleteThey have been shrinking themselves even in newly launched bases like TIA
DeleteYes but they still opened new bases and routes. Wheather it is less than previously planned, is not that important. Airports need everything they can get at the moment.
DeleteAt this point it seems like they are randomly opening bases hoping something will stick. The other day they announced Catania.
DeleteBetter for the general public then having planes sit idle.
Deletewrong. its the gamble of entering new markets.
DeleteYes much better for the public to have empty planes flying around wasting precious kerosine.
DeleteI was saying better for the public which gets more choice and cheap fares.
DeleteThis is going to be a disaster from Skopje.
ReplyDeleteA warning not to let 70% of your traffic depend on one airline.
DeleteIt is true. As someone from SKP I believe the government should have diversified the offer by offering subsidies to different airlines.
DeleteDon't worry about us. As a reminder there is a pandemic globally and only the ones who really need to fly do it, and for that there are connections from SKP.
DeleteYou should not justifying a near monopoly by Wizz
DeleteBut why they never bringed more airlines to SKP? Like Transavia, Ryanair, Volotea, Vueling, Easy jet... why not to pay these airlines to fly and not only Wizz.
DeleteDo you people listen to yourselves? (why not pay airlines? SMH) The market isn't there. It doesn't matter if it's Wizz or anyone else. When the demand returns, so will Wizz. Stop freaking out. The airline industry is struggling worldwide. This article is simply about one airline that has significant market share in the region.
DeleteHe asks why not pay since Wizz was paid to launch flights to Skopje and has been paid for over 8 years to launch new routes.
DeleteI do not exepct from SKP to pay to these airlines now. I was just asking why not to bring new airlines and not only Wizz.
DeleteBecause the last time they tried doing it Wizz threw a hissy fit.
DeleteWrong again! Those tenders were opened to other airlines. Wizz was the only one showing interest. I wouldn't pay any airline to start service in this environment. Availability of flights or pricing is not what's driving the decline. Those people traveling today are the ones that HAVE to travel and don't really have a choice.
DeleteSeems as if they are mainly focusing on Italy now.
ReplyDeleteWestern Europe in general.
DeleteThey are launching Wizz Air Abu Dhabi in a few weeks.
DeleteThey are the plague that has brought down the standards of a once noble industry. A true symbol of globalism delivered through mutual funds with worst service in the sky. I wish them personally to park their planes forever.
ReplyDeleteAre you for real????
DeleteLOL
DeleteGreat. When they park all their planes traffic at ex-Yu airports will decline significantly and locals will lose their jobs. Geat thinking.
DeleteThe only people missing that "noble industrial" era are those who worked for the state owned dinosaurs.
DeleteAnd their children who wished to be hired there. Nobody else!
Hater. Just don’t fly with them, and don’t read articles. Imagine that they park the planes and spear us of your hateful opinions.
DeleteAnon 09:09 probably misses the time that only the most wealthy could afford to fly, air traffic was 1/20th of what it is today and you could only get hired to the national carrier if you knew a party apparatchik.
DeleteThanks but no thanks!
Seems that you all like to fly for 20e with earphones in your ears and like to be treated like "potatoes"; that is your choice and yes you can LOL but yes indeed I miss the times of proud companies and their decent service and there is nothing wrong with that! Anon 9:56 I have no connections to working with airlines but I happen to be a frequent passenger who over the years witnessed the old and the new style of services both on the ground and in the air. I am sure that some aparatchiks were hired by Eastern companies but not so sure that it was the case with such as Swiss, AF, KL, BA, PA ...etc.
DeleteLCCs enabled people to travel regardless of their socio-economic status.
DeleteIf you just want to fly from A to B, go with LCCs. If you want to be dined and wined pay accordingly, go with legacy carriers. Simple as that.
@10:19 - Yes, as if flying over the Atlantic with legacies is not cattle class or like "potatoes" as you say. LOL!
DeleteMomko, it is 2020 and not 1960 anymore. The times of pride for national carriers are gone. Welcome to the new world, where travel is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Thanks to LCC you are able to fly from Lisbon to Sofia for 29€, from Dublin to Larnaca for probably the same amount, Bangkok to Bali for 30$ and the new Latin American revolution with the domestic flights in Argentina that just 5 years ago costed 300$ return and now the price is as little as 30$.
So, please save us the pride thing and lets stick to reality. If you don't fancy an LCC just don't book it. C'est simple !
Someone has been living under a rock, or is plain stupid. LH got 9B EUR governmnet help so the pride for national carriers is very much alive. Travel in 2020 and beyond is not longer necessity as most businesses shifted to online for meetings, conferences and education. People vacation locally more than ever. Price of 29$ is limited, marketing pricing and below cost for any airline. Average ticket price on LCCs is several times higer and that's what average passenger pays.
DeleteOh yes famous argument in terms of defebding unprofitabile national carrier... LH got 9 billion. Germany paid 9 billion to the LH not because they love so much to see their flag carried everywhere but because they wanted to save about 140.000 jobs in the company which pays every year more then 500.000 in taxes directly. And yes, flag carrier is a dead system in most of the coutntries because airlines were privatizatied.
DeleteNo one will be willing to protect LCCs unlike flag carriers, government owned or not. LH is just one evidence, AZ, AF/KL, OU and others will be saved.
DeleteThe three largest LCCs in Europe have either enough cash to survive, or good enough balance sheet to raise cash in the financial markets, unlike many of the flag carriers who need "no questions asked" financial injections from their governments.
DeleteNot to mention business travel (on which flag carriers rely heavily) is unlikely to recover anytime soon. A lot of people in Europe are still working from home - I don't see them flying around, if they don't even go to their own office every day.
Didn't easyJet and Wizz Air get favorable loans from the UK government?
DeleteYes, Ryanair got it as well I think.
DeleteIt was available to any company (not only in aviation) that has a significant amount of business in UK and has a good credit rating (which means they could get the same loan from the bank essentially).
Nis finally succumbs to their cancellations.
ReplyDeleteWithstood quite well to this point.
DeleteThis is ridiculous now, I mean most of the Balkan countries are not that bad with covid cases compared to lets say some of the EU countries but they're shutting down the border for these people and it will affect the economies of these countries much more compared to the EU countries which have relatively more relaxed border rules.
ReplyDeleteSomeone with cold head needs to rethink this approach because this will be very hard to recover from if the borders remain closed for longer
PLANdemic boys and girls:)
DeleteThey should get a Serbian AOC and launch ZRH, IST, TGD, TIV, KBP, MOW, TLV...
ReplyDeleteIST is an expensive airport, I hardly believe any LCC will fly there.
DeleteWizzair couldn't compete against TK and Pegasus in Budapest - Istanbul (IST + SAW) route, and they quit some years ago.
There is 3 airlines flying in BEG - Istanbul route with a high capacity (most aircrafts are A320, A321, A321NEO), I don't think it's possible any other airlines introduce flights on that route.
They could not fly most those routes even with a local AOC because they would be limited by bilaterals which already determine which airlines can fly certain routes or between certain countries. Unless the bilaterals are renegoatiated, Wizz would not have much to gain.
DeleteThere is reciprocity so there is room for another Serbian carrier to Turkey. Also the market from Belgrade to ISTANBUL is bigger than the one from Budapest.
DeleteRussia and other markets are open skies.
No, it's not a matter of another airline just opening a route. Read the bilateral.
DeleteThis will never happen because of JU protectionism, that has lasted for decades.
DeleteYou are suggesting Wizz Air should fly to Zurich which is one of the most expensive in Europe and from which Wizz Air does not fly at all?
DeleteBEG ZRH is the biggest market with close to 400.000 passengers per year. Wizz flies to FRA, ATH, OSL...si they will fly from an expensive airport of there is demand.
DeleteAnd there is even greater demand from FRA to ZRH but they still don't fly it because it is expensive.
DeleteMaybe because they don't have a base at either airport?
DeleteThey don't fly from a single base to Zurich, say Milan which has a million passengers to Zurich each year because ZRH is EXPENSIVE! How can't you get that?
DeleteThen how come they fly from other expensive airports? Had it crossed your mind that they can't get slots at ZRH? Not to mention that there is a lot of competition and a lot of business traffic has corporate contacts.
DeleteIf it's slots as you say, then why would they launch this imaginary BEG-ZRH route?
DeleteSerbian AOC for 2 or 3 aircraft in BEG? Which part of low cost is difficult to understand?
DeleteBecause they would not need as many slots from BEG to be competitive. They could have 4-5 weekly from Belgrade while on ZRH FRA they would need at least three daily flights to remain competitive.
DeleteWell they don't need the AOC but they are staying away from some of the biggest markets. They could fly double daily to Tivat without a problem.
DeleteThe question is, is the yield there to cover the increased cost and complexity of another AOC for a relatively small base? I don't think so.
DeleteAre you saying flights to Switzerland, Russia, Turkey and Israel aren't good enough? Lol
DeleteSwiss alone planned triple daily flights this summer. If they can make money then ghetto LCC can too as well.
Montenegro as well.
Delete"Ghetto LCC". Gosh. Maybe you should compare "ghetto" Wizz Air results with those of noble ex-Yu carriers.
DeleteHe said a lot of bullshit. My favourite: we are "investing" 100 million in your economy (means he based aircraft in some airport).
ReplyDeleteVaradi is the king of bullshiters.
DeleteI would be upbeat if I just pocketed millions from shares like Jo did.
Delete@Anon 12:09
Delete+1
But just behind Ryanair's MOL and ahead of Qatari AlBaker.
Until the virus situation improves, things will not get better.
ReplyDeleteSooner or later we will have to learn to live with it
DeleteNot sure all those routes being pushed back to October will resume until March next year.
ReplyDeleteI don't see Malta and Larnaca resuming till summer but let's wait and see.
DeleteRoutes not depending on gastos traffic may be cancelled.
DeleteThey seem to be suspending routes om a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteBecause the situation is deteriorating on a daily basis.
DeleteThe Hungary border closure will really hit Wizz Air hard.
ReplyDeletenope they will increase open some new base
DeleteThey said it won't affect them too much because Hungary makes 10% of their traffic.
DeleteI'm not so sure Hungary is unimportant to them.
Delete^ they never said it wasn't.
Deletethey are stil gambling and opening Doncaster.
ReplyDeleteCatania too.
Deleteomg Ijust read that (Catania)
Deleteso one plane from TIA left for CTA ... diletanti
DeleteWow really?
DeleteHow many planes did they have a TIA? 2 or 3?
DeleteThey still have 3
Deletenot after summer season
DeleteThis has nothiing to with low demand from Yugo this is a perfect time-hole to enter the west european market. Yugo will get their planes back next year.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it has nothing to so with demand. Remember LCCs have to have a very high LF to make a profit on a flight.
Deletethere is no high lf at the moment anywhere
DeleteHope all the routes are restored.
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason why they shouldn't be.
DeleteIt will depend on if there is still demand after borders reopen.
DeleteAlmost all Wizz routes from ex-Yu are gasto heavy routes. They will fly no matter what.
DeleteHope so
DeleteHow long did all these Salzburg flights last for?
ReplyDeleteA week
Deleteits not only the exyu routes from SZG that were pushed back
DeleteDo they have a base at SZG?
DeleteThere will probably be over 50 routes suspended come winter.
ReplyDeletePity they treat the ex-Yu market this way.
ReplyDeleteIt's nothing personal haha
DeleteYou can't enter the EU from almost all ex-Yu countries. What are they supposed to do? Fly empty?
DeleteMore to come
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be ditching Eilat this year. My guess is that they might launch flights to Europe from Alexandria like they did with Milan.
ReplyDeletethe July numbers for Germany-ExYu given the prohibited entry into EU are not bad. just saying
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear. Do you have some numbers?
DeleteAre they suspending routes elsewhere or just ex-Yu?
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not forget this route start and closures, continous ticket sale until last minute etc. is basically feeding the company which at the same time for sure picks some airport/state benefits where they start up the new routes. Their unique way of surviving this by fooing the pax and airports. Some of them very commited and now at level of break down. And pax furious, because COVID restrictions is one, but targeted false marketing and sucking funds is something else. All covered in nice stories and hype about expansion.
ReplyDeleteAviation is going down progressively
ReplyDeleteMalmö- Ohrid also suspended untill late october...
ReplyDelete