Air Serbia is prepared to compete against the growth of low cost airlines which are expected to recover faster from the travel downturn caused by the pandemic than their legacy counterparts. Responding to a question at last week’s CAPA Critical Thinkers summit, Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, said, “We will compete [against Wizz Air] by being faster and ‘Wizzier’”. The low cost airline, which boasts a base in Belgrade, plans to launch two new routes from the city this coming summer season, down from the initially planned nine new services, but will also expand in the region with a new base in Sarajevo from which it will launch a number of key routes. Last year when Wizz Air initially announced plans to commence flights from Belgrade to Sandefjord near Oslo, Air Serbia introduced services to the Norwegian capital within a month.
Air Serbia increased its market share from Belgrade Airport this January by accounting for 53.1% of all passengers carried. It represents growth of over eleven points from the 42% passenger share in January 2020, although fewer airlines now operate flights to the Serbian capital compared to a year ago. “The recorded result represents an outcome of strategic planning and quick traffic adjustments to all the changes taking place on the market. The past year was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a significant reduction in air traffic, but Air Serbia, even in such circumstances, managed to achieve good results in terms of load factor on a large number of routes”, Mr Marek said. He added that the collapse of Montenegro Airlines did not significantly impact Air Serbia’s result because the company only had a 4% market share at Belgrade Airport in January of last year. “With its expansive network of direct and codeshare destinations, Air Serbia contributes to Belgrade continuing to be the main gateway of the entire region to Europe and the world”, the General Manager for Commercial and Strategy noted.
Air Serbia currently operates flights to 26 destinations out of Belgrade, and one from Niš. In a statement, the carrier said it responds to competition by acting fast. “Air Serbia further solidified its position as a regional leader by showing readiness to quickly react to all changes in the market environment. Several days before the collapse of Adria Airways, Air Serbia increased its frequencies and capacity to Ljubljana, while when Montenegro Airlines ceased operations in December 2020, it did the same to Tivat and Podgorica. Air Serbia is currently the leading airline in terms of flights to Montenegro and connects the country with the world through Belgrade”, Air Serbia noted.
The best thing they did to better compete against Wizz and the likes was transitioning into something between a low cost and full fare airline on European routes.
ReplyDeleteGuys be realistic, Wizz Air has far superior fleet and operations than Air serbia. Wizz has one of the youngest fleets, far bigger network and all of that with high cash supply as oposed to Air Serbia as they have to rely on goverment to help them survive. Wizz just started a new airline in Abu Dhabi as well so another huge pile of cash to be added. JU is still living off of goverment and arab money, till when that is the question ?
DeleteYes, they do have younger fleet. So, what is the point here? Does it justify their terribly expensive prices from BEG? Certainly not.
DeleteFar bigger netowrk? Well yes and no. Their netowrk is far bigger from total perspective but much smaller than Air Serbia's network from BEG perspective where Serbian citizens mostly fly from.
I hope you know Wizz air does not offer connecting flights so that somene who flies from BEG can fully use the potential of their big network. For passenger from BEG it is absolutely irrelevant that W6 flies for example KTW-KEF,but it is quite important to know what JU can offer from its hub.
Let's not forget they mostly fly to secondary airports, they have very strict hand luggage policy and they do not have FF program.
Last but not least there is no LCC that will buy you a ticket on legacy carrier in case their plane suffers technical problem and their flight is cancelled. They will leave you waiting for their next flight even if it is in few days.
Good luck with them and their young fleet.
I know a few other airlines that prided themselves on how young their fleet was/is: Norwegian and Etihad. We know how that worked out for them.
DeleteThe jury is still out on Wizz Air. They are not undefeated, not just in Serbia, elsewhere as well. Look at what happened in Vienna. At one moment they suspended all flights from there. OS which is loss-making like JU, stepped in and saved both Vienna and Austria.
Like we know very well, aviation is about geopolitics. Wizz Air's problem is that no country wants to step in and protect them if things go south.
Of course their market share increased when there are fewer airlines flying to BEG.
ReplyDeleteThey also kept a decent network so it's not just because others left. Don't forget that some like Belavia boosted Belgrade and Nordwind launched flights.
DeleteThey have been winning the state aid competition for a while, and there's no sign of them forfeiting the 1st place.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air has been recipient of state subsidies in quite a few countries as well.
DeleteWhich airline didn't?
DeleteTo the extent of around 1m per aircraft every year? Don't think so.
DeleteWizz is allergic on financial help. They run away as soon as they see it.
DeleteJU gets much less than some other airlines while offering so much more.
DeleteCan this neverending complaining on AirSerbia getting money form state ever end?! Is it illegal? No! Is government the owner? Yes. Can they do whatever they want with own company? Yes! Is Serbia part of EU and AirSerbia able to use any benefit EU companies have? NO!!!
DeleteSo, stop trolling and crying over what is happening!
Yes, I think they are good company and I am happy they exist and with the service and connectivity they offer and most of the time I fly with them as they turn to be the best option! Who doesn't like has other choices, but listening to the same "but they get money form the government"s*it is simply pathetic!
ASL has received after all €850 million aid ever since it was created but W6 usually tries to go for subsidised routes. Big difference!
DeleteSurely you meant 8.5 billion.
DeleteVladimir, Vladimir, Vladimir ... c c c c c ...
DeleteI think they compete relatively well in BEG against Wizz. They managed to beat them on a few routes.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that most airlines around the globe will be too big in terms of their fleets for the demand that will be there in the next few years. This is going to kill some of them - so I do not necessarily agree to "LCC will recover faster". Any opinion on why that would be so?
ReplyDeleteBecause they have bigger cash reserves, P2P traffic will recover first and people will look for cheaper options to fly.
DeleteExactly.
DeleteBoth LCCs and Legacy carriers will have excess capacity for some time. LLCs may have more cash reserves but Legacy have more gov support. I think management being able to react quickly to changing market conditions and trends, and demands will have a better chance to whether the continuing tough times.
DeleteWizz Air is the second busiest airline in BEG and surely them basing a third plane in BEG would not help JU.
ReplyDeleteBut they gave up on that plan. And what they did is reveal to everyone which routes next they are going to launch if they decide to expand.
DeleteI think it's pretty clear which routes are missing out of BEG.
DeleteMaybe they could bring thrid plane back soon.
DeleteToday Serbia overtook the US in terms of vaccinated people per 100.000 inhabitants. We had those massive illegal parties yet covid didn't erupt yesterday. This is already a first sign of herd immunity. So far we vaccinated 18.4% of the population. I expect many new markets to open up and both JU and Wizz will profit from that. If demand recovers fast then expect their timetables to be rebuilt very fast.
Deletehere we go again... daily vaccination report.
DeleteAnd please do not spread false information for issues you obviously have no clue:
for herd immunity at least 60% of immunization is necessary, and even this is not sure as it is a completely new viral disease, meaning this percentage may eveen need to be higher.
^You seem to have an issue that Serbia has vaccinated quite a high percentage of its population. You always seem so triggered.
DeleteActually, my only point is that such information is totally irrelevant for an aviation blog.
DeleteIt is very relevant.
DeleteAs soon as certain country gets herd immunity throug vaccination its citizens will be able free to fly by plane from on country to another.
And flying by plane is certainly aviation topic.
Covid crushed the air travel industry. Vaccine fights covid and Serbia is among the TOP COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD in terms of fighting this evil phenomenon. We helped Macedonia, Montenegro and now Srpska. Planes fly from those countries too, no? Vaccines will help recover them in airports found in those places.
DeleteLet's take a moment to appreciate what Serbia has done to recover air travel.
Actually their most impressive reaction was in Tirana when Adria went under.
ReplyDeleteThey had good reaction also in the case of Atlas
DeleteIn Tirana i think they have more frequencies than Austrian.
DeleteDo keep in mind that Albanians can also enter Serbia without any restrictions (not even a PCR test).
DeleteTirana 2020:
Deletedestination BEG 31,585, destination VIE 69,090
market share: Air Serbia 2%, Austrian 5%
Adria had 4% market share in 2019
Source?
DeleteYes in covid times JU positioned itself quite nicely in Tirana. Good for them.
Deletelol. instead of fanboys fantasies i presented you official airport numbers which are available on the net (but who knows to read these days ...)
DeleteIf they are on the net then you wouldn't have a problem sharing a link with us? Also the guy was speaking about current times yet you went back to 2019 so you are comparing apples to oranges.
DeleteFurthermore, if you look at the overall number of carried passengers (OS vs JU) then proportionally JU does much better than OS.
If I remember correctly OS carried 13 million passengers in 2019 while JU had around 2 million.
Here's the link since you wanted it so much: https://tirana-airport.com/media/600ff3ca4cf8b.pdf
Deletehttps://tirana-airport.com/media/600ff3ca4b31a.pdf
In winter Air Serbia had more frequencies than Austrian.
DeleteDon't forget TIA-VIE has massive O&D.
Taking that into account figures are impressive.
Also it puts BEG right behind ATH.
DeleteLet's see the figures for this year.
DeleteYou seem to be very bothered that JU has a respectable presence in Albania.
DeleteAlso, don't forget that most of JU pax are long-laul which is definitely more profitable.
He's just frustrated.
DeleteSo basically JU handled the same number of pax in TIA as LH and just behind Aegean.
DeleteI would call that bad.
Had W6 opened Vienna-Belgrade it would have crushed the Austrian/Air Serbia duopoly and there would be nothing either could do.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't they?
DeleteDon't know. I think they made a mistake in not doing that.
DeleteI don't think there's enough demand for an A320...
DeleteDidn't Niki try and fail?
Delete@9.12 they wouldn't fly daily. Plus prepandemic Austrian and Air Serbia used to send A319s.
DeleteW6 failed in Salzburg.
Deleteyet W6 is profitable ...
DeleteWizz wasn't profitable for the first 17 years of their existence.
DeleteW6 commenced operations in 2004. I had a quick look at their annual reports from 2015... Net profits per financial year below:
Delete2015: 157.0m
2016: 223.9m
2017: 225.3m
2018: 275.1m
2019: 291.6m
2020: 281.1m
Fake news- W6 has been making profit at least since 2012, and it was founded in 2003.
DeleteWhere does it say there was no net profit in 2012? Figures show from 2015 and on-wards. Founding and commencing operations are two different things.
DeletePlease refrain from using bombastic words like fake news, when you really do not know what it means and how to use it. There is nothing fake or misleading about what was written above.
They are an airline that never misses a chance to brag. If they were making money before 2015 we would know everything about it. Since we don't then we know Indigo was pumping billions into them.
DeleteIf Ryanair came to BEG and opened as many lines like they did in SOF, it would be the end of JU's short-haul profitability.
ReplyDeleteYou're assuming JU short-haul is profitable in the first place.
DeleteThey have been losing money (if we disregard the state aid) every year before the pandemic.
It would be the same in ZAG
DeleteAnd do you have JU cost structure so you know where they lost money?
DeleteJust because JU isn't profitable overall doesn't mean all of its routes are loss making. It just means it's overall revenue isn't higher than all of its expenses.
DeleteAviation 101
Yet, miraculously, Bulgaria Air, which is much weaker than Air Serbia, survived.
DeleteI really wonder what would happen in that case to OU in ZAG as they have no Wizz, Ryanair or easyJet there.
DeleteIn BEG you have at least W6 and U2.
You have OU, FR and U2 at virtually any coastal airport. The ZAG ops is also what JU does for the coast. LON-ZAG-SPU vs. LON-BEG-SPU. So the competion is there.
DeleteIt's not there because ZAG can be compared to BEG while the coast can't. If you insist then you have to look at the coast's failure to fight seasonality.
DeleteAlso if LCCs came to ZAG I doubt it would impact OU much since they have a rather modest network.
Of course not.
DeleteFirst of all coastal airport can't be compared to non coastal airport. Just have a look on AYT - almost a village in Turkey but on the coast. They had in 2019 more passengers than Brussels, capital of EU.
AYT 28.635.000
BRU 26.360.000
It very simple shows that apples and oranges can't be compared especially in the case when LCC's fly to coast only seasonally and Belgrade is covered all the year with W6 and U2.
Huge, huge difference.
I’m not sure if you are joking. Antalya has double of the habitats of Brussels...
DeleteBut how much does an average Antalyan earn compared to an every Brussels resident?
Delete@quarantine
DeleteIt seems you are funny guy here. Check your facts. We are not talking about Antalya province, but Antalya city.
Brussels population 1,2 mil
Antalya 1,0 mil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antalya_Province
Looks like Air Serbia is going to be the winner this summer certainly, as Wizzair has removed one of its aircrafts from BEG and will operate with one equipment only.
ReplyDeleteIt's only temporary until summer as there is no point for the plane to sit idle in BEG due to decreased network at the moment. Planned size of network required two planes.
Delete*requires
DeleteLooking at the Wizz summer schedule at BEG, the network is planned exactly for one unit. Hope things change and even third based plane arrives, but that is what it is now.
DeleteWinner is relative. Wizz removes the plane, because they see no/less demand. How could JU remove it, since BEG is their base? Moving it to INI would make no difference. Moving it to some other base (which they don´t have) maybe.
DeleteThey can return the plane to lessor as they did it already with ATR72 and A320.
DeleteThis is why LCCs are generally highly profitable in normal times - flexible approach when it comes to basing the aircraft.
DeleteThey finally removed the 737 from the servise. Although it is not official yet as it literally came overnight, the 737s are grounded indefinitely.
ReplyDeleteAny source?
DeleteIf it is true it is a shame they did it silently without a farewell flight being organized. B733 definitively deserves a farewell. I am very sad to see it becoming retired.
DeleteLast 10 days 737 was not active on FR24, I hope that this is temporally, but if it is true it is really shame. Maybe they should look how the other companies with tradition make farewell, like British, Quants , United, El Al for 747 last flights.
DeleteAir Serbia really did a great thing in Oslo.
ReplyDeleteWizzair did not even start flying there and Norwegian, due to internal problems, stopped flying to BEG.
It was big W6 mistake actually to show to everyone where they intend to fly with third plane based in BEG and later on to give the whole plan up.
Well they didn't give up on the whole plan. They still plan to launch 2 routes. And Norweigan comes back this summer.
DeleteBut I do agree it was smart for JU to launch this route.
Delete2 routes comparing to 9 is really not much.
DeleteNobody knows what will happen to Norwegian. They try to survive and I wish they could return to BEG, but it is not for sure.
Let's not forget that earlier JU did not have problem with Norwegian competition on ARN route. Don't think it would be problem with OSL as well.
I don't think it would be a problem either. I'm just saying Norwegian has not dropped BEG from their network (they dropped many other cities). Whether they will actually manage to fly the route is a different story.
DeleteI find it interesting that Wizz plans to go ahead with Oslo in just over a month.
DeleteIf Wizz is going ahead with Oslo then it must mean advance bookings were good enough.
DeleteWhat are the two new routes that Wizz will launch from Belgrade?
ReplyDeleteOslo (Sandefjord) and Hamburg.
DeleteWithout a doubt JU has proven to be proactive rather than reactive in the past few years (demise of JP, Covid-19, etc..) . But how is this any different than FR and U2 forcing national carriers and direct competitors (EI, BA, LH, AF) into adopting the hybrid model on short haul European routes (and maybe on transatlantic in the future when FR gets their 737-10) ? Not sure if "being wizzier than Wizz" is the right thing to do, yet alone possible...
ReplyDeleteFR has no 737-10s on order and there is not much evidence of a profitable long-haul low-cost operation.
DeleteRight, it's the high-density MAX200... got lost with all the designations and remarketing to hide the infamous "MAX" name
DeleteBeing Wizzier than Wizzair may be damaging for the serbian economy, as I understang this strategy as now having to pay for Cacak cips, thus people will consume less cips and will damage the economy.
ReplyDeletehilarious...
DeleteHilarious...not
DeleteFirst I read it as kakak kips, unit i realized what the poster 'meant' to write.
DeleteIs it so hard to write it properly? Čačak čips!
For me the easiest way to write it is Чачак чипс. It's also the most beautiful version which makes sense since those chips are the highest quality from them all.
DeleteIt's survival of the fittest at the moment and I think Air Serbia has done a relatively good job.
ReplyDeleteIt helped that they got 100 million from the government.
DeleteAll the airlines got a lot of help. Even those in EU.
DeleteEven? It's actually been mostly the EU airlines that have been receiving exuberant amounts of money.
DeleteI wrote "even" as in EU it should not have been done.
DeleteBut I agree it was mostly done there. And then we hear something like "Air Serbia 100 got 100 mil EUR".
Pathetic.
Don't feed the troll please. I think it's the same person who wrote more or less similar comments on here against JU.
DeleteI really don't like fanboys who idealize their object of worship, no matter is it JU, OU, or any other ex-yu airline. And I am trying to be neutral and objective. And it is true that both JU and OU are heavily subsidised and wouldn't be able to function without state aid. However, JU is the one which is definitely doing much better job, which managed to grow from almost nothing in last days of Jat Airways to decent company today, in relatively short time, and the most important for this crisis time, is much more flexible and trying much harder to at least stay on its position or improve it which I can't say for OU, which actually has much more potential and advantages, which unfortunately, due to inertness and incompetence, remain unused.
DeleteBut is just being quicker with opening new routes when LCCs announce them enough to repel Wizz and other competitors?
ReplyDelete“We will compete [against Wizz Air] by being faster and ‘Wizzier’”. in what, subsidiaries and crap service ????
ReplyDeletethey are winning in subsidies anyway (state owned) i hope not in the crap service
DeleteWell Wizz Air has been receiving unrealistic discounts from airports which is also a form of subsidy. Even in BEG they insisted on getting better terms than JU and all other players there... which they did until a few years ago. Once their charges were hiked they threw a hissy fit but still returned and even brought a third aircraft.
DeleteIt's a very sad state of affairs if national airlines would like to copy Wizz Air. The only way out is to distance themselves from cheapness and tackyness as much as they can.
ReplyDeleteI understood they try here to compete with them and not to copy them.
DeleteAfter all, it is obvious that they still offer much more than any LCC.
ASL reminds me of JP in LJU or W6 in SKP. The market share of 53,1% is sure not small at all. It would be better to have at least 2 more airlines and not have a dominant monopoly.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to read the article. The share increased because we are in the middle of a pandemic when other airlines have decreased flights. Their share in January 2020 was 40% and in 2019 38%. On top of that Wizz Air's share in Skopje is close to 70% not 50%.
DeleteAnd JP share was getting smaller and smaller each year
DeleteOU's share in Zagreb is probably around 80% at the moment.
DeleteOU's share in ZAG is over 90% now. There are days when it's just them and KL or TK.
DeleteI don't have exact numbers but I think it's definitely not 90 or even 80 percent. I think it's between 60 and 70. Even some domestic flights are operated by Trade Air. And on international, in addition to Turkish and KLM, Eurowings, Air France, Austrian, LOT, Air Serbia, Windrose, Qatar Airways operate as well, and usually with bigger planes and bigger capacity than Q400 which is on most of OU flights.
DeleteLOT and Austrian have not been flying to Zagreb for some time now.
DeleteI was speaking about OU share now in covid, not before it.
DeleteIts a hillarious statement. They tried to be Wizz in INI with very bad results. They should keep being a flag carrier in BEG to distinguish themselves from the low costers. I dont get this statemnet
ReplyDeleteGovernment forced them to launch INI, it was not their decision.
DeleteINI base is the result of a poorly planned government tender made for JU. No surprise the results havnt been great. The product and offering in INI is almost identical as that in BEG, minus business class, operating to main airports (other than FCO) and no transfer options in INI to sum it up.
DeleteNot too sure what you mean by your comment overall. JU distinguishes itself from the LCC's by:
- Flying to main airports.
- Frequent Flier Program.
- Interline agreements & other transfer capabilities.
- Structured network catered to a variety of pax.
Other than that, I don't see a problem with their statement. The fact that they are committed to being competitive is a good thing overall, whether one flies JU or not.
Drop down prices to Wizz level then. And decide if you are low-cost or not. Legacy carrier prices with Ryanair level of service. But yea they need to pay all those parasites in offices who were employed by sns party.
ReplyDeleteDown to Wizz level? When was the last time you took a flight to a destination Wizz has (remote) competition to? I've seen JU 90% of the time being cheaper than Wizz.
Delete@anon 11:38
Delete+100
Wizz Air charges close to 30.000 without luggage to BVA! MMX is rarely under 17.000 without luggage and so on. It's a myth that Wizz is cheap.
DeleteBTW JU is selling GVA for €23 one way. Go and buy your ticket otherwise you might be stuck on Wizz to BSL for ten times that.
Air Serbia is really flying high for the last few years. Well done. If it wasnt for pandemic we would see a boom in new routes and number of passengers this summer.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why don’t they station a plane in Podgorica/Tivat and Banjaluka and make a base in these airports?
Air Serbia is really flying high for the last few years. Well done. If it wasnt for pandemic we would see a boom in new routes and number of passengers this summer.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why don’t they station a plane in Podgorica/Tivat and Banjaluka and make a base in these airports?
i like JU's approach - new year, new strategy
ReplyDeleteYou can't say they are not flexible to market changes
DeleteHow's your strategy in 2021 Petar? Still the same one as in 2019?
DeleteHope it doesn't result in "fizzier" than Wizz.
ReplyDeleteYou can be Wizzier or cheesier all you want but unless you have lower cost it's hard to win. There could be two paths to beating Wizz in BEG:
ReplyDeleteAirport operator new pricing and incentives for hub carrier and new difficult conditions for lowcosters.
CAA (DCV) making life impossible for airlines that base aircraft at BEG without AOC, or some other reason to keep them away.
Serbia should allow Israeli tourists entering Serbia if they got vaccinated .
ReplyDeleteCyprus is already doing so .
Maybe we could then get El Al back in Belgrade ...
I think a group of the same people always comes back here with the same anti-JU arguments. For the love of God no country around teh world is willing to shut their airline down because the losses it might make are tiny compared to what they offer in return. Air Serbia is here to stay, deal with it. The government needs them to bring tourists and keep Serbia connected to the rest of the world either directly or via code-share partners. What matters is that at least JU is trying and they have reformed themselves over the past several years. People seem to have forgotten what it was like having Jat around.
ReplyDelete"For the love of God no country around teh world is willing to shut their airline down because the losses it might make are tiny compared to what they offer in return."
DeleteApart from Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, just to mention the ones in the vicinity of our area.
Will Serbia allow entry for Israeli citizen ?
DeleteI know people who would be interested to visit Belgrade with their families .
Serbia allows entry of all foreign citizens no matter the country.
DeleteKako bi er srbija naduvala cene za sve samo da moze, kao za moskvu. Voleo bih da ta zla firma propadne zauvek. Pitanje je vremena kada ce svi avioni biti proslost....
ReplyDeleteKako bi samo Wizz naduvao cene za sve na 1000 eur samo da moze. Voleo bih da ta zla firma Wizz propadne zauvek.
DeleteKakani Wizz.
DeleteThey can be as "Wizzy" as they like, I would still choose Wizzair over the grossly imcompetent Airserbia.
ReplyDeleteHow are they incompetent? Air Serbia managed to safely transport every single passenger they picked up. They didn't leave a single passenger up in the sky.
DeleteWhat about the passengers who had the tickets, but didn't get picked up?
DeleteAs if all other airlines in the world pick up every single passenger and never ever had passengers left on the ground? Are you really not smart or just playing one?
DeleteBTW Wizz was selling tickets for routes they ended up cancelling or postponing. How come Anon 8:02 never called Wizz "grossly incompetent" for that? I don't understand why was Anon 8:02 comment allowed in the first place when it was obviously just another piece of unfounded anti-Air Serbia hate comment. There is no evidence or facts behind that statement.
DeleteThey are useless, despite paying for baggage I had multiple emails from them saying "You didn't purchase baggage", I turn up at the airport and the same again at check in. They were convinced I needed a visa to fly to Ukraine, when I didn't. They double charged me for my flight twice. That's enough to start with, once the plane is actually in the sky then it's ok.
Delete