Low cost carrier Ryanair is temporarily suspending 23 routes from cities in the former Yugoslavia next month, the majority of which are from its new base in Zagreb. It comes as the airline heavily downsizes its network across Europe and North Africa next month in the wake of plummeting bookings as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus Covid-19 causes havoc. The carrier has not ruled out extending the suspensions into February and March. A spokesman for Ryanair said, "The impact of government travel restrictions has lowered Ryanair's expected December traffic from between ten to eleven million, to a lower range of between nine and 9.5 million. In response to these restrictions, Ryanair has now cut its January capacity by 33%, reducing its expected January traffic from approximately ten million to between six and seven million”.
The bulk of the suspensions in the region for next month will affect Zagreb as Ryanair’s only year-round base in the former Yugoslavia. The airline will temporarily suspend operations from the Croatian capital to Baden Baden, Basel, Charleroi, Hahn, Malmo, Manchester, Memmingen, Naples, Podgorica, Sandefjord, Sofia and Weeze. Frequencies on other routes from the Croatian capital that will continue to run throughout January have been reduced. Elsewhere, the airline will suspend all of its three operational routes from Niš, all of its services from Banja Luka, with exception to Memmingen, as well as its flights from Podgorica to London Stansted and Krakow. The suspensions will begin to be implemented from January 7 onwards and last until the end of the month.
Despite these suspensions being in place until the end of January, the airline has warned more flight cancellations could be ahead. "In light of the current uncertainty about the Omicron variant and intra-Europe travel restrictions, no schedule cutbacks have yet been decided for February or March 2022. These schedules will be revisited in January as more scientific information becomes available on the Omicron variant, its impact on hospitalisations, European population and/or travel restrictions in February or March", Ryanair said in a statement. The budget carrier has revised its loss forecast in the current financial year ending March 31 and now projects a loss of up to 450 million euros compared to its previous pre-Omicron forecast of a maximum loss of 200 million euros.
Everything is going downhill again.
ReplyDeleteYep seems like things are going backwards.
DeleteLufhansa is also mercilessly cutting in January and February. Bookings have gone soft and demand has collapsed. On top of that many of their crew is sick so they are experiencing major staffing shortages. I think their US network was decimated.
DeleteIt seems that people here forgot about corona.
DeleteI was rebooked with LH now for the third time in January. Demand hast reached almost 0 after the 9th of January.
DeleteGod I hate these idiotic comments like 'it seems that people here forgot about corona.'
DeleteNo, we did not. We are merely looking at the schedule that as released by the airline. So if anyone forgot about covid it's them. Stop coming here with the same comment each time because it's becoming pointless.
+100
DeleteSeems like LCCs are really struggling.
ReplyDeleteLife is more difficult when you don't have governments bailing you out year after year.
DeleteRyanair has only itself to blame for that. They are very difficult in good times and they resort to extortion so no government is really willing to help them out when the going gets rough.
DeleteFor example that's not the case with Wizz Air which received millions from the Hungarian government. No one knows how much they were paid for the cargo flights to China. Many are saying that it was one way for Wizz Air to get funding from Budapest.
Wizz brings so many devize to Hungary that they will never let them go bankrupt. Imagine all of their money (except Luton and AUH base) gets deposited in Hungary.
DeleteI bet if Ryanair would be more friendly, they would get 9bn EUR from Germany, like Lufthansa. Right.
DeleteWizz Air's financial headquarters is in Geneva, so all money (and tax, including employees) goes through Switzerland.
Everyone is struffling, not just LCCs.
DeleteAnon 09:11. Remember that Ryanair didn’t let go a single crewmember since the plandemic started, and Wizz let go hundreds.
DeleteAnon 09:58. No Geneva any more.
DeleteActually when you purchase a ticket it says that the account is in Hungary, at least it does when it comes to Serbia.
DeleteFrom their last financial report:
Delete"The Company, that is Wizz Air Holdings Plc, has a tax rate of 13.97 per cent (2020: 13.97 per cent). The tax rate relates to Switzerland, where the Company is tax resident."
Really bad news for all markets, particularly ZAG.
ReplyDeleteBanja Luka is much more impacted than any other city. Over 90% of their flights were operated by Ryanair.
DeleteIt's not true at all that "over 90%" of Banja Luka Airport's flights are operated by Ryanair. They have the same number of flights as Wizz Air from Banja Luka.
Delete@09.09 that was the case last year, but not any more since Wizz Air expanded.
DeleteThanks to Wizz Air, Banja Luka has done very well this year. They will reach around 85% of 2019 traffic this year and 2021 should be their second busiest year after 2019.
Seems like there are markets where Wizz performed better than at other ones. In Belgrade they launched HHN in December and are not suspending it for a month in January. They re-scheduled BLL and BCN from March to mid-February and I noticed that FCO was moved from 02.06 to 27.03.
DeleteHopefully this means loads are not bad which could make sense since Serbia is open to fully vaccinated tourists.
I'm surprised by some of the routes they are suspending from Zagreb since Charleroi and Hahn were one of their best performing ones. I think they even planned to increase frequencies.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Naples is also cut. It was launched just 10 days ago.
DeleteWell to me it would make most sense if they culled routes that were launched in the last round of expansion, but it seems very few of those are.
DeleteJust goes to show how bad the situation is.
ReplyDeleteThere you go, the beginning of the end of Ryanair in Zagreb. OU were right in what they predicted that Ryanair would be gone before long.
ReplyDeleteDon't get your hopes up.
DeleteOU has also reduced flights.
Deleteat least OU's network did not collapse and they still offer respectable connectivity.
DeleteBecause there is no network to collapse.
DeleteHahahahahahah
DeleteLOL my friend you obviously didn’t get the memo. I will say it again. RYR is here to destroy competition AT ALL COST. This for them is just a walk in the park.
DeleteBut OU will never go away.
DeleteThe Croatia gov gets money funneled to them from Brussels, indefinite amounts of.
@An.09.06
DeleteSorry to spoil your wishes about "the end of FR in ZAG" but in percents, ZAG cuts are the smallest within ex-yu. Also, FR cuts didn't affect only ex-yu, but the entire network for one third, due to omicron scam, low winter season and no gvt help. FR is staying very much alive, precisely because of these cuts, and its presence both globally and in ZAG will be just more and more visible, once histeria about "pandemic" scam is over
OU is not funded by Brussels, it is funded by taxpayers in Croatia. OU will go away when Brussels gets fed up with endless subsidies.
DeleteSad :(
ReplyDeleteWhat a disaster.
ReplyDeleteLockdowns and quarantines will kill the aviation sector.
DeleteAt least Ljubljana is not affected 😀
ReplyDelete:D
DeleteBut it is....in a positive way
DeleteI'm sure most of these routes won't be back at least not before summer 2022
ReplyDeleteThey will likely offer a very reduced network for a while.
DeleteTemporary suspension of ZAG-SOF/TGD is good news for JU as they are now once again the fastest and most convenient option from Zagreb to Sofia and Podgorica.
ReplyDeleteFlights are suspended because booking are soft. I doubt JU will have much to gain.
DeleteOuch
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be suspending routes on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteLCCs fly only if it makes financial sense. That's why they suspend routes.
ReplyDeleteStart of 2022 seems to have hit LCCs hard.
ReplyDeleteIt's hitting all the airlines, which are run as a business.
DeleteWith all the travel restrictions, quarantines, etc. people are just not going to travel. Demans has dropped significantly for all airlines in the last month.
When demand drops like this, the airlines can't really keep flying, why do you think Lufthansa is also cancelling flights en mass?
Next cancelation will be till summer.
ReplyDeleteYes, unfortunately seems to be heading that way.
DeleteI don't know what they expected in ZAG. They expanded really fast during the height of the covid wave in Croatia. ZAG is also traditionally quiet in winter when most of their new routes were announced. Most of them should have started from March/April 2022.
ReplyDeleteI am especially surprised about CRL and HHN as those have a lot of local demand. CRL was even boosted a while ago.
Just a way for them to grab money by scheduling so many routes.
DeleteIt's not about grabbing money it's about reduced demand. They are not cutting just destinations to Zagreb as you can see from the article.
DeleteFebruary will be the worst
ReplyDeleteI wonder if eventually they will resume all the routes or some will stay permanently suspended.
ReplyDeleteThey will resume sooner or later.
DeleteIn summer they will return for sure .
DeleteThey will all resume because the virus will conveniently disappear for 3 months in the summer so countries can have their summer tourist season. Just like last year and this year. Then we will be back to doom and gloom from late September.
DeleteThis too will pass.
DeleteIt makes sense that most of the cancellations are from Zagreb since they have the most flights out of Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteRyanair has literally cut flights from every single market they operate from. There are huge reductions from Ukraine, Spain, UK, Ireland, Germany... everywhere.
ReplyDeleteNo sympathy for the airline, whose CEO thinks only vaccinated passengers should be allowed to fly and make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for air travel passengers.
ReplyDeleteI'm no fan of FR, but the idea to only carry vaccinated people is great. It would make me feel much safer on board.
DeleteLol
DeleteVaccination is the only way out of this mess and return to somewhat normal life.
DeleteBut sure, if you want to see the entire airline industry suffer for a few more years, let's all be afraid of science.
I don't see how much safer would you feel on board considering that vaccinated people can still spread the virus.
DeleteIn the UK Covid is spreading rapidly even with 90% of the population having received 3 doses of vaccine. It's the cost and trouble of getting numerous PCR tests for a trip which is causing low demand in travel.
Delete@A 09:57 If you were fully vaxed, why would you be scared to fly with unvaxed passengers? LOL
Delete@Anon 11:18: 32.3m people in the UK received 3rd dose so far, which makes it about 48%, not 90%.
DeleteI can see FR focusing on countries where the population take covid seriously and get vaccinated.
DeleteI would too, if it had any effect.
DeleteAwesome, im glad your unvaxxed ass will not be flying with civilized people any more. Stick to your unga bunga cave and the keep swallowing the conspiracy theories.
DeleteHow did you come up with the conclusion that my ass is unvaxxed?
DeleteIssue with vaccines is that everyone hoped they would kill the virus which they didn't. They are probably not meant to because they want us to renew it each six months so that Pfizer can add another $26 billion in yearly billing. I guess they were not happy with flu shot sales.
DeleteI'm just curious what they will do once they run out of letters from the Greek alphabet to name their new variants. Luckily Omicron is a joke.
Oh and just to add, best proof this is a scam is that no one is putting antibodies as a requirement for travel. Why do you need a vaccine if you have the antibodies? Actually getting a vaccine when you have them could be counterproductive.
DeleteBecause no sane, vaccinated person will be hating on a company just cause its policy is to follow global medical guidelines.
DeleteBecause if someone is vaccinated it automatically means they are pro mandates. Gaslighting is real.
DeleteFeel sorry for some airports that have heavily tied themselves to Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel a bit sorry for those airports. They did it to themselves. They relied on only one carrier. Bad management .
DeleteDoes this mean they will remove one aircraft from Zagreb or will they just park it there?
ReplyDeleteThey are cancelling flights all over Italy as well. And Italy has a bigger demand than Zagreb. So no place for useless speculations. It is just covid once again.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see Ryanair's results in ZAG. What is their average load factor. They expanded so quickly from there.
ReplyDeleteExpected. Even the diaspora is no longer flying.
ReplyDeleteFunny that the likes of Malaga and Paphos have been not been affected from ZAG.
ReplyDeleteOr Thessaloniki, which gets crowded by all the tourists from Croatia ...
DeleteMálaga planes are always full and passengers order many drinks and food, of course they won't suspend this route.
DeleteAfter Wizz Air, now Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteBad news for INI
ReplyDeletewow that's a huge number of routes
ReplyDeleteNo surprise
ReplyDeleteRoute cuts are irrelevant with FR or any other airline. They happen because of bans, testing requirements and quarantines. FR is very proactive in restarting flights and all of these routes will return.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so
DeleteIt's really unfortunate for ex-Yu. Quite a lot of routes.
ReplyDeleteThe serfs really think the things will be back to normal. Only those who rule you will be able to fly. If they are merciful, they will allow you to fly for the summer holidays.
ReplyDeleteSadly, as time passes, this seems more and more plausible.
DeleteArticle says its cancelling from 7th January, anyone have more information about this as I have flight from BNX to Arlanda on 8th January?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
It says the cancellations will begin to be implemented from January 7 onwards . Not all start on that date. The last flight from Banja Luka to Arlanda before it is suspended is on the 8th of January. So your flight is going ahead.
DeleteHopefully this will be the case.
DeleteOn a side note it would be great if there's more transparency from RY regarding this cancellation, or we should check time table when doing "fake" purchase on the site.
If this is the case than BNX-Arlanda is going to be paused from after 8th till end of January...
My guess is that we will not see the super low prices for awhile. Secondly, Ryanair will probably raise there fees right across the board .
ReplyDeleteEU countries are failing to show the coordinated approach to the situation all over again. However the data shows the omicron is far less dangerous ... but still people hve to be locked down again. Omicron will magically vanish in June so I am already thinking which virus name will they find out in september next year. Anybody see they are making fools from us?
ReplyDeleteYes totally, but the problem is it's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
Delete"Katastrofa". As they say in the Balkans. Not! Stop the drama people. This is very short term and the affects will be minimal on profits and passengers.
ReplyDeleteThat's what people said 2 years ago and here we are
DeleteMiroslav NY, optimist when ZAG is in question, pessimist when Air Serbia is in question. Sounds familiar?
DeleteActually those were my first thoughts when I read his comment.
DeleteI wish they never come back.
ReplyDeleteIn order never to come back first they would have to leave. And they haven't left, and they don't intend to. They just reduced their capacity from ZAG by one third, like everywhere else, during the lockdown scam in low season. And if you wish ZAG to be poorly connected, and its citizens and guests ripped off while using dearest precious nation pride OU, then you either work there or have some serious troubles with rational thinking
DeleteAll air carriers are reducing flights in the forthcoming period, not only Ryanair. Wizzair also, Lufthansa and many others
ReplyDeleteRyan Air should look to flying to Afruca especially a non stop flight from London to Harare in Zimbabwe, at least Think about It,there will beno empty seats
ReplyDeleteWhere are the "OU won't survive FR this is their last winter" comments now???
ReplyDeleteBetter so. Don't wish for OU to die, this would be a dissaster to ZAG. We all know FR can leave any day, that's what they often do.
DeleteI think Ryanair should be banned in the EU! In Croatia it's time to give opportunities back to Croatia and maybe another local airline (Trade air...). In Slovenia there is fortunately no Ryanair - a local airline should be established or give Air Dolomiti second home. In Hungary - it's high time to get a new Malev. The predator Ryanair should be erased.
ReplyDelete