The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Blagoj Bočvarski, has announced that Wizz Air will commence operations between Skopje and Abu Dhabi. The Minister said ticket sales would likely commence this month. The new route would mark the first time the two cities have been linked through a scheduled nonstop air service. It would face no direct competition on the route. Flydubai, based in the neighbouring Emirate of Dubai, suspended operations to the Macedonian capital at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with plans to resume the service on March 29, 2021 with two weekly rotations. Mr Bočvarski said the agreement with Wizz Air for the launch of the new Abu Dhabi route has already been signed.
Wizz Air recently established a subsidiary in Abu Dhabi. Although the carrier is operationally ready, its launch has been delayed time and again due to strict entry conditions currently enforced by authorities in Abu Dhabi. Foreigners travelling to the Emirate must be tested for Covid-19 at the airport and then undergo fourteen days of mandatory self-isolation, which is tracked through a medically approved wristband given to each arriving passenger. As a result, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi now plans to launch operations on January 15, with flights to Yerevan, Sofia, Larnaca, Alexandria, Kutaisi, Athens, Budapest, Katowice, Bucharest, Cluj and Odesa now on sale. Further launch date changes remain possible.
Prior to the pandemic, in February, Wizz Air shortlisted Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro as potential markets that could be served from Abu Dhabi. Skopje currently has no flights to the Middle East. In addition to Flydubai’s temporary suspension, Qatar Airways has also cancelled its service from Doha to the Macedonian capital until March 29. Mr Bočvarski said the government would continue to subsidise and facilitate low cost operations to the country, with 1.1 million euros in funds set aside for the flights in 2021.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 26.262 | 28.767 | 24.270 |
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| / | 29.874 | 29.856 |
If they signed an agreement with them for the route then it can only mean they are getting some subsidies for it?
ReplyDeleteI guess it's bye bye FZ.
Why would bye be bye bye FZ. FZ provides connections onto Emirates. Wizz Air won't provide any connections.
DeleteThis route is definitely subsidised.
Deleteand there are no subsidies.
Deletelast anon +1
Deletesame like Salzburg
DeleteSo what agreement are they signing with them? All newly introduced routes got subsidies so why not this one?
DeleteFZ carries a lot of locals as well. These will now shift to Wizz.
he didnt say they signed an agreement with the gov so chil out with your subsidies dreams or nightmares.
DeleteHe literally said that. You are the one who needs to take a chill pill.
DeleteFrom the article: Mr Bočvarski said the agreement with Wizz Air for the launch of the new Abu Dhabi route has already been signed.
can you launch a flight without signing an agreement?
DeleteOf course. Usually airlines have agreements with the airport where general terms and conditions are defined. When they launch a new route those apply. Here they are signing it with the government which is a whole different story.
DeleteLet's see how this works out. I doubt the P2P market is very big between Abu Dhabi and Skopje.
ReplyDeleteits low cost. they create a market!
DeleteThere is only so much they can create. Don't forget this is an almost five hour flight with a lot of seats to sell.
DeleteDo Macedonians need visa to enter UAE?
ReplyDeleteNope
DeleteYes they do.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_citizens_of_North_Macedonia
Quite ambitious plan. With low demand to DXB and DOH, wonder how a P2P route would work.
ReplyDeleteWhy not LJU or ZAG? Both need more Gulf connections.
do you know how low were ticket prices to DXb with them??
DeleteThere is almost no O&D demand between ZAG and Dubai. Only a route with transfers can work. Air Arabia would make more sense than Wizz.
DeleteAnd if I just remember introducing DXB-ZAG by EK...
Deleteand why would Air Arabia make more sense? o_0 (especially in Hrvatska *giggle*)
DeleteBecause it offers connection with Etihad through Abu Dhabi.
DeleteI really wonder what it means "especially in Hrvatska"? :-)
DeleteHe probably believes they are too good to be served by an LCC from the Middle East.
DeleteI never trust politicians when they announce new routes. I will wait for the official announcement.
ReplyDeleteGreat addition!
ReplyDeletethis will be very popular with people from neighbouring countries as well
ReplyDeleteIf you mean Kosova and Albania, yes. This is not the case for Serbia and Bulgaria.
DeleteWhy? All neighboring countries have their own Dubai flights. BEG has them and so do SOF and SKG.
DeleteW6 will also run three charters each way SKP - OTP in June for Euro 2021
ReplyDeleteSeats are also being sold on their website.
DeleteSo SKP is going to get AUH flights yet here we are in Ljubljana, promised each year how Gulf flights are right around the corner for us but they never seem to happen. Good job for SKP!
ReplyDeleteSKP will not be the only airport they will launch in the newest expansion so you can stil hope but the said something like they won*t fly to VIE because its too far away for their A321 ...
DeleteYeah, we love LJU management. I wonder if they will ever reduce costs.
DeleteI think VIE is just an excuse. FZ flies or used to fly to BTS which is right next door. If B737 can make it then sure an A321neo can as well.
Deletethats the case with FZ. W6 must produce at lower costs then FZ
Deleteits not a question of range
DeleteIt's a question of competition. Vienna is not a poor market which is why EK send the B77W and A380. Imagine Wizz competing with that.
DeleteImagine Wizzair offering 150€ return vs. 500-600€ with EK?
Deletethatswhy Ryanair and easyjet are big in WEST Europe because its not a poor market!
There is also a reason why legacy carriers did not go bust like they did in the old communist east. People can afford to pay €600 to fly to Dubai or Chicago or Singapore. That's why airlines like Norwegian collapsed on the long-haul market.
DeleteThis is how politicians killed some of the last piece of connectivity in SKP.
ReplyDeleteI doubt FZ will return in this case.
Really sad
lol
Deletepoliticians have nothing to do with it dude. Its the airline that wants to fly.
dude or dudette, this route is clearly subsidized
Delete@9.21 lol sure
DeleteIf you read the article, this route has everything to do with politicians because they are the ones who have to sign the agreement with Wizz Air. What we do not know is what will be included in it.
DeleteYea, sure... "politicians have nothing to do", dont be ridiculous.
Deleteand again they SIGNED WITH THE AIRPORT not with that Bocvarski
DeleteIt may be a political route as well such as BUD-NQZ.
DeletePolitical route between MKD and UAE?
Deletepolitical, read subsidized
DeleteActually politicians are smart here. Look at the mess Wizz made in Tirana. So much fanfare and celebration, three A320s, dozens of new routes... a few weeks later almost all of them were moved to spring. Same with Vienna, until 12.12 they have NO flights from there.
DeleteNo, this comparison is bullocks.
DeleteHere we are taking about an event with a political presence, we don't see Varadi or any press from W6 which is a clear indication that this is a political and subsidised route. Nothing wrong about it, though.
@10.28 please give it up for once mr.notorious
Delete"event with a political present" :D :D made my day!!
DeleteNebuloza, can you for once come and present a valid argument in stead of just calling people mr. notorious? Your comments make absolutely no sense since all new W6 routes from SKP were subsidized including Turku, Larnaca and so on. Why would AUH be any different?
Deletewhining at the end of 2020 that some airport is subsidizing flights is like being stuck in the last century
Deletewow nice!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, W6 was delaying AUH several times for the existing destinations. Flights are to resume in mid-January but it's still doubtful. I don't think W6 will be successful in AUH.
ReplyDeleteEK/FZ already well covered Europe.
SMFH . delaying because of the pandemic
DeleteIt says in the article why they are being delayed.
Delete"Although the carrier is operationally ready, its launch has been delayed time and again due to strict entry conditions currently enforced by authorities in Abu Dhabi. Foreigners travelling to the Emirate must be tested for Covid-19 at the airport and then undergo fourteen days of mandatory self-isolation, which is tracked through a medically approved wristband given to each arriving passenger."
Meanwhile Air Arabia has been expanding and launching new flights from AUH, more recently they introduced flights to Oman.
DeleteYes, the difference is that Air Arabia is launching flights within the GCC and Middle East where there are fewer entry restrictions and massive expatriate communities.
DeleteWhen I say fewer restrictions, I mean fewer for citizens/residents of UAE.
DeleteThat's because Air Arabia is more realistic. Wizz has illusions about their global importance. That's why they will fail like they failed in almost all of their newly launched bases. Even Oslo is scaled back.
Deletewell most of their ExYu and none of their SKP routes failed so far so they better keep looking at this part of the world
DeleteBecause they have a 5 year paid agreement . The airport and the airline.
Delete@10.30 utter fake news
DeleteOk, not 5 but 3.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/11/macedonia-to-invest-17-million-in.html?m=1
Dude this is Wizz Abu Dhabi
DeleteWhich airport in ex-Yu has the best connectivity with UAE?
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it's BEG as it has FZ and soon EY will be back. FZ also increased BEG to 5 weekly this December.
DeleteBelgrade and Sarajevo are currently the only ex-Yu cities with flights to the UAE.
DeleteThank you
DeleteWow great!!
ReplyDeleteWizz knows it all: the geographical position of SKP is a winning formula for them. Even if a route seems thin at first they know they can get additional pax from anywhere in that region (Tirana-Pristina-Nis) to make it work and get popular. count newly created lowcost inbound traffic from the Emirates and you got it
ReplyDeleteSKP offering subsidies is a winning formula for them
Delete@13.38 Yawn!
DeleteIt's not a broken record if the tune it sings is true. LCA, TKU as well as the last round of expansion were all subsidized by the government.
Deletea winning formula is a winning formula
DeleteExactly, no one is doubting that. But people are acting like this is some well studied super strategic route from Wizz lol. They're using every subsidy opportunity they can get
DeleteI think Skopje will work. it not only serves the Macedonian market. due to its location it basically can serve everything from Tirana to Nis
ReplyDeleteAlthough Flydubai and Qatar have not had so much success, I think Wizz would be different due to brand visibility in Macedonia and the fact that they have a relatively large base in Skopje.
ReplyDeletegreat! now please St.Petersburgh (once this pandemic goes down)
ReplyDeleteOr Russia in general
Deleteyes but Wizz can only offer LED for the time being
DeleteTrue because Russia let European LCCs fly from any other European country to LED. Other airports are under bilateral air agreements.
DeleteMacedonia is included in the list of allowed airports that LCCs can operate, which means that they can fly between LED and Skopje. Very likely that soon there will be a flight between SKP and LED once the pandemic goes down. Come on, Wizz!!! We can't wait.
DeleteWizz flew to Dubai sometimes for €20-30. With those sort of prices they could easily fill a plane from SKP.
ReplyDeletethats what im talking about!
Deletewow that's cheap
DeleteWill Wizz offer the possibility of connecting flights?
ReplyDeleteNo, you can buy two separate tickets.
DeleteI'm really surprised by Wizz Air with this decision to open base in Abu Dhabi. Hope it works out.
ReplyDeleteIt's smart that they got the local government to splash out money for it (with 51% ownership).
DeleteWouldn't be Wizz if it were any other way.
DeleteIs there any plans for wizz to fly in some Asian cities from AUH? India?
ReplyDeleteVaradi said in some interview that there is a possibility for them to serve India.
DeleteWithout expansion on the east (India, Kazakhstan,Thailand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia) I really dont see reason to open wizz AUH base.
DeleteAs if anybody needs them there.
DeleteYou would be surprised.
DeleteWondering if this will be a red eye
ReplyDeleteI think the majority of their Europe to Dubai flights were.
DeleteWhat sort of frequencies can we expect?
ReplyDelete2x weekly
DeleteWith no any connection from AUH this is mission impossible
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean?
DeleteI prefer eastern europe ex sssr expansion over middle east
ReplyDelete"Foreigners travelling to the Emirate must be tested for Covid-19 at the airport and then undergo fourteen days of mandatory self-isolation, which is tracked through a medically approved wristband given to each arriving passenger."
ReplyDeleteThe world has gone mad