Low cost carrier Wizz Air will introduce flights from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Belgrade and Podgorica next summer season. The decision comes following the bankruptcy of Alitalia, which served both cities from the Italian capital until the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March of last year. Flights to both Belgrade and Podgorica will launch on June 2 and run three times per week. Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways plans to introduce services from Rome to the Serbian capital next August, while Air Serbia also maintains flights to Rome. On the other hand, Podgorica has been without flights to Italy’s largest city since March 2020. ITA has not indicated Montenegro as being part of its future plans.
Wizz Air will be making a second attempt at serving the Rome - Belgrade route. It previously flew from Ciampino Airport to the Serbian capital twice per week in 2012. However, at the time, the airline said flights were discontinued due to high seasonality. Another budget carrier, easyJet, also tried its luck on the service from Fiumicino Airport in 2014. However, flights only lasted over the summer before they were discontinued. Later on that year, the European Commission ordered Air Serbia and Alitalia to make slots available for a third carrier to enter the route after Etihad Airways acquired a stake in the Italian national airline. However, there was no interest from third parties.
In the pre-pandemic 2019, a total of 153.726 passengers flew between Belgrade and Rome, while 45.748 travelled between Podgorica and the Italian capital. In addition to flights to Rome, the Serbian carrier also maintains services from Belgrade to Milan, while Venice is due to be restored next year. In addition, Ryanair maintains services from Niš to Bergamo. On the other hand, Wizz Air operates from Milan to Podgorica, while Ryanair serves the Montenegrin capital from Bologna on a seasonal summer basis. Further flight details for Wizz’s new service from Rome to Belgrade can be viewed here, while additional information for the Podgorica flights can be found here.
Let's see if its third time lucky for LCCs on this route from Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteHas anything changed since they last operated this route?
DeleteAlitalia is no longer on the market
DeleteDoes anyone know which routes has Wizz tried from BEG which have been suspended and didn't work out for them? Other than Rome.
Delete^ I think only Charleroi. They ended Sandefjord but resumed these later.
DeleteDidn't they also fly to Corfu way back?
DeleteThey flew also BEG-NUE and BEG-FDH.
DeleteNUE would be a perfect destination for JU if they had a regional jet. It's good that they are not trying it now as I fear they would send the ATR very often like they occasionally do to STR and like they did to Berlin.
DeleteSalzburg as well.
DeleteThey terminated almost everything from Salzburg.
DeleteDidn't they launch Salzburg at a time when lockdowns started again?
DeleteIt did but I think their plans to develop Salzburg as a focus city failed completely and they abandoned all plans relating to Salzburg, not just the BEG route.
DeleteLyon also operated for just one season.
DeleteWizzair also terminated their flights to Oslo Torp from Belgrade.
DeleteYes but they restored them this year.
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteYESSSS
ReplyDeleteGood that the flights are from Fiumicino.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Ciampino closer to the city?
DeleteNooo, I was hoping for Ciampino, much closer, and there is bus-metro line for 1.5e, from Fuimicino bus for 8e. Too bad...
DeleteLet's see how this will impact JU prices on the route
ReplyDeleteFantastic!
ReplyDeleteBad news for JU and YM though.
YM went bankrupt a year ago.
DeleteAir Montenegro doesn't fly to anywhere in Italy so it doesn't really affect them. Although it is a missed opportunity.
DeleteWho cares about JU. What matters are the interests of the Serbian customer.
DeleteSomething tells me JU will be just fine as it offers more frequencies as well as transfer options.
DeletePlus better schedule.
DeleteAir Serbia competed against Alitalia which had daily flights so I'm sure they will be fine with Wizz Air's three weekly.
DeleteJU also beat Wizz Air in Larnaca and Oslo so it's not like they will lose by default wherever the two clash.
DeleteNo surprise, with the arrival of a third Wizz plane in BEG next month, I expect we will see at least one more new route introduced.
ReplyDeleteMontenegro keeps winning!
ReplyDeleteWe missed you. Where were you? You are usually the first who posts.
DeleteI wonder if ITA and Air Serbia will make a codeshare deal like they had with Alitalia.
ReplyDeleteThey probably will. They have started concluding codeshares with former Alitalia partners, one by one.
DeleteMaybe yes soon.They have code share with Bulgaria Air and other airlines again.
DeleteGood to hear, because Alitalia offered many attractive destinations for transfers.
DeleteEspecially to Sicily.
It really depends. ITA CEO said this morning that they hope to be bought by Lufthansa and that they are in Sky Team for just one year. Crazy.
DeleteAgree. It's crazy why they voted for skyteam if they want to sell the company to LH. However the whole alitalia story is crazy. EU leaders would not allow the same procedure for any airline unless they have some interest in it.
DeleteNice. And with A321 no less
ReplyDeleteGood news for Serbian and Montenegrin passengers, bad news for JU!
ReplyDeleteJU does even better when competing.
DeleteCompetition forces you to improve your services and lower prices stipulate more demand.
The more the merrier. Fares will go down and passenger numbers up.
ReplyDeleteNext Wizz should try Bratislava from BEG and attack the Austrian/Air Serbia monopoly and the woeful equipment both of them send on these flights most of the time.
ReplyDeleteLast time an airline tried that (Niki) they failed big time. Back then Austrian/Jat jointly slashed prices on the route and squeezed them out. But you are right. They do work together as monopolists on this route.
DeleteIn their latest expansion this December and next year, Wizz is really going after routes already operated by JU.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how bookings are going for the new routes?
Delete@9.22 WIZZ is attacking Air Serbia with much lower costs.
DeleteWizz delayed a bunch of routes from the region but those stayed so I suppose sales are good. It also helps that they have an A320 which is easier to fill.
DeleteLet's see. Belgrade-Italy seems to have been a no go for LCCs. If I remember correctly Air One also failed from Milan.
ReplyDeleteNot that they tried much
DeleteBoth AZ and JU had transfer pax to help boost loads which none of the LCC's have.
DeleteJU is ok with a load of 90-100 pax while for while for LCC's this isn't a good load.
There isn't much for them to try. This is Wizz's third attempt at BEG-Italy. And I doubt they will last long, if they ever launch the route.
All the best to Wizz on these routes. Wish them success so they will add more.
ReplyDeleteLet's see how Air Serbia will compete against a growing Wizz. My guess is not very well.
ReplyDeleteSo far JU has reacted well. JU last year was quick to jump into OSL when W6 announced it.
DeleteW6 also announced MXP and has since abandoned it, not even operating 1 flight.
W6 isn't doing the best competiting in LCA with JU.
JU just boosted FCO to daily in June!!
DeleteStill waiting for them to reinstate plans for BEG-LIS flights which were supposed to launch under 2020 expansion.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteExcept for Portugal, what other routes are really left for them to add from BEG?
DeleteCorfu,Kos,Mykonos,Bari,Naples,Catania,Geneva,Nice,Friedrichshafen,Zakynthos,Valencia and others.
DeleteThey have big potential in BEG.
Madrid ...
DeleteWizz has a very small network from Madrid.
DeleteI'd also add seasonal SKG as a potential route. Also I don't think they could fly to GVA from BEG unless they get a Serbian or Swiss AOC.
DeleteWhy wizz never tried varna, bourgas or lviv from beg
DeleteCan they even operate Ukraine from Serbia? Honestly I'd rather see a Ukrainian carrier or JU fly into LWO.
DeleteBulgaria might not be as popular among people from Belgrade. I think volume is not there to make it work for Wizz Air. I have a feeling they would rather add another Greek island than add Bulgaria.
Bulgaria might be great bussiness in summer months.
DeleteIt makes sense. Big diaspora in Italy and a good destination for tourists.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air flies where it sees opportunities. Gasto markets are the biggest opportunity in low yielding ex-Yu markets. Same as for JU and others.
DeleteGreat news :)
ReplyDeleteThis time around Wizz Air is much stronger not only in Serbia but in Rome as well. I believe TGD is launched now that they are basing their fifth A321 at FCO. Will be interesting to see how this route develops now that circumstances have changed. Italy seems to be responding well to Wizz Air's product. After all, they currently run a total of 8 bases in Italy which is impressive.
ReplyDeleteI am curious to see where they will fly on Thursdays after Rome. It will have to be a short flight, not longer than 90 minutes unless they plan on returning to BEG way past midnight.
Personally I would have preferred a completely new destination but anything at this time is good. I am certain that at some point they will launch VIE-BEG. Market is too big for them to ignore it.
I don't think they have an issue of their flight returning past midnight. They have/had a couple of those.
DeleteActually, looking at their timetable, the only flight that was supposed to have an atrocious arrival time was LIS (02.45).
DeleteAll others seem to be arriving between 22.30 and 00.20. I think they have to be cautious when it comes to their schedule so as not to be less appealing than their competition.
For example, take their network in Sofia or Bucharest. They have so many flights that arrive in the middle of the night.
It might also have something to do with trying to avoid paying duty times for crew for two days instead of one.
DeleteSo BEG will be operated by BEG based plane, while TGD will be operated by Rome based plane right?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteHow many weekly flights did Alitalia have to Belgrade?
ReplyDeleteDaily flights.
DeleteThanks. And what equipment did they use?
DeleteStarted with a mix of E75 and E90 (or E95) and then shortly after the route was upgraded to A320. They also had a lot of connections onto JU's network in Belgrade.
DeleteAirbus319/320/321
DeleteI remember the time when AZ was flying 3 times daily MXP-BEG with E145.
DeleteThat plane is sooo narrow (2 meters inside the cabin and even less close to ceiling).
That was the golden AZ age, I remember you could buy tickets to MAD for less than 200 EUR return at a time when air travel was much more expensive than it is today. Then again it's probably why AZ went bankrupt :D
DeleteLet's see how Air Serbia performs to Rome now.
ReplyDeleteThey should have seen it coming since Wizz planned Milan in their cancelled expansion from last year. So it is obvious they were targeting Italy-Serbia market.
DeleteBoth will be fine. The market to Rome is big enough so I am sure there will be room for everyone.
DeleteThere is still much room for improvement of offer from Italy to Belgrade.
DeleteMilano and Catania on my mind...
I really hope Wizz brings back the plans for BEG-MXP because the JU prices are atrocious. You can rarely find a return ticket below 250€ with luggage.
DeleteThat's what Wizz charges to places where they don't have much competition like BVA or EIN.
DeleteAt least JU now flies to Milan with their Airbus jets, the worn out Aviolet 737s were not much attractive ..
DeleteIn all honesty the worn out A319's are just a bit better than the B733.
DeleteThese middle of the day schedules are not very appealing.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt BEG-FCO market has good potential
ReplyDeleteOf course with over 150,000 passengers per year.
DeleteItaly is full of immigrants from Albania and Podgorica airport is easy to reach from Shkoder.
ReplyDeleteI doubt someone would go through the hassle of crossing the border when there are so many daily flights to Italy from TIA.
DeleteAir Serbia has to stop pretending they can coexist with Wizz. Wizz is not just flying to remote villages, they are also after Air Serbia charter routes and after their routes to primary airports. New leadership has to be bold in exploring every possible legal option to reduce or neutralize Wizz at Belgrade airport.
ReplyDeleteYaaaaaas!!
DeleteLet's go back to the days when air travel was regulated. Those were the golden days... if you were an incompetent government employee working for the airline, not so much if you were a passenger.
Norway was smart enough to recognize what is better for the country. The only goal behind Wizz is to make a small number of people super rich.
DeleteLets not forget their Dortmund and Riga base closures.....they are now focusing on Western Europe.
ReplyDeleteWell JU already added more flights to Rome. Good response.
ReplyDeleteE kad je još JU uveo tačke na rep tek sad to pokušavaju naslednici Sabena.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised to see JU add extra flights to FCO on the days Wizz operate. On those days JU only have morning flights.
DeleteJust had a look at the prices, only 2.000 din difference in price between W6 and JU.
My good friend, JU already responded with daily flights
DeleteNorwegian flying to OSL is very tough competition to WizzAir, no wonder they stayed out for more than a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBecause a foreign Hungarian airline can't fly between two non EU countries unless it is stipulated in a bilateral air agreement.
DeleteBut why isn't WizzAir flying between Belgrade and Podgorica?
ReplyDeleteAs the ticket prices on this short route are higher then to London.
What a pity.
ReplyDeleteWizzair would surely bring these unreasonable prices down.