Turkish Airlines has held talks with the Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Economic Affairs, Fatmir Bytyqi, and a delegation from the country, including airport operator TAV Macedonia, concerning their expansion on the market. The Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines, Ahment Bolat, said, “During our meeting with the North Macedonian delegation headed by Fatmir Bytiki, Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of the Economy, we had a productive meeting regarding increasing our flights to Skopje and strengthening our presence in the country with new routes. We thank them for their visit and hope that our cooperation will continue to grow”.
Turkish Airlines is already Macedonia’s busiest legacy and transfer carrier and has recently grown its presence in the country through its lower cost unit AnadoluJet, which maintains seasonal operations from Antalya and Bodrum to Skopje. However, Turkish has seen increasing competition from its local competitors on the Macedonian market. Pegasus Airlines has increased its capacity between Istanbul and Skopje, as well as introduced a new summer service from Izmir, while several other carriers have launched scheduled seasonal flights from the Turkish coast, including SunExpress and Corendon Airlines from Antalya. On the other hand, despite its strong appeal to travellers, Ohrid currently has no nonstop flights to Turkey.
The Macedonian Ministry for Transport and Communication has previously said it has discussed the possibility of Turkish Airlines operating transatlantic flights from Skopje as well, although there has been no further progress on the matter since. Macedonia and Turkey have an Open Skies Agreement in place with both the United States and Canada, which permits for a Turkish carrier to be issued fifth freedom rights by regulators from all parties involved. "As TAV Airports, we are actively promoting both Skopje and Ohrid airports in various fields in order to attract new airlines and expand the route network and passenger numbers. We have always established close relationships with our airline clients through our world-wide airport operations. This is also the case in Macedonia, and we are ready to provide the utmost support to an airline which would consider flying transatlantic from Skopje. Skopje Airport is operationally capable to handle such transatlantic flights and ready to support carriers which would consider operating", TAV Macedonia said at the time.
I hope they finally start flights to Ohrid. I'm surprised they don't fly there already.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOhrid has a lot of potential and the tourism is still not developed to its full potential. So I think we will only see flights grow more and more in the future.
DeleteHopefully we see TK there next year and JU is also negotiating return to Ohrid.
DeleteThey should start imediately flight from ohrid to istanbul with tk
DeleteTheyre 50k people fly to usa every year from that area
Ohrid struga debat kiveco prespa
Than korca elbasan and pogradec from albania thousands of passengers flying from usa to albania every summer
Maybe 5 to 10k from may to end of september
How many flights does Turkish Airlines have to Skopje?
ReplyDeleteDouble daily.
Delete14 per week
DeleteThanks. Is there potential for more?
DeleteBefore the pandemic they announced third daily flight which didn't materialize
DeleteWhat equipment does TK use mostly to SKP? Do they send a lot of A321s?
DeleteMix of A321s and 738s.
DeleteWhat new routes could they introduce?
ReplyDeleteI think Ankara is a real possibility.
DeleteYes they started their flights to Ohrid. What a suprising news.
ReplyDelete?
DeleteThay don't fly to OHD yet
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if TK starts transatlantiv flights, especially if they get some form of subsidies from the government or TAV
ReplyDeleteIt would be crazy if Skopje gets flights to the US before Zagreb
DeleteWhat are the main Macedonian diaspora centres in the US?
DeleteDetroit and Chicago
DeleteAbsolutely zero chance for that.
DeleteI don't think there is a chance of it happening but Skopje could serve Albanian and Kosovo passengers too and that market is quite big
DeleteAnon 09:20 These kind of fairytales you read every day in these comments. Obviously it won't happen anytime soon.
Delete9.32 yes there are no Macedonians to serve but milion miiiilion of albanians :)))
DeleteThat's not the way Turkish is working since they want to bring as many passengers as possible through their hub and I'm not seeing them launching direct flights to USA/Canada from other airports then IST.
DeleteMaybe what they can do is do something like Air Albania and place one/two planes to fly to major unserved hubs in Europe, but then again that will mean they will will divert passengers away from their hub.
Honestly, most what I'm seeing here is potential third flight to IST on some days, direct flights to Ankara, and maintaining flights to Izmir year round.
It would be an interesting concept for TK. And I wouldn't be so quick to write it off like some here
Delete"most what I'm seeing here is potential third flight to IST on some days, direct flights to Ankara, and maintaining flights to Izmir year round."
DeleteThat's not bad either :)
Long haul was initiated by TAV but when TK calculated the numbers, it just didn't make sense.
DeleteFyi NYC is the biggest unserved market from SKP
DeleteIt's not that simple. How big is the Macedonian diaspora in US? Is it big enough to justify the Macedonian government to spend taxpayer money for long-haul flights? Would TK be willing to operate 2-3 weekly from SKP instead of funneling these passengers from their own base?
DeleteIt's not so much about the Macedonian diaspora as it is about the Albanian one.
DeleteSo let me get this straight, in order to serve the Albanian diaspora TK would fly from SKP instead of PRN or TIA where they even have their own airline set up and everything?
DeleteYes it can serve both markets and government and airport operator are ready to support it.
DeleteOk, I'll be waiting.
Deletesorry but New Jersey is where most Macedonians in the US congregate folowed by Detroit/Chicago
DeleteTheyres almost 65k albanians live in usa mostly in new york new yersey and ct
DeleteAnd some of them from kicevo and struga are in chicago
Some macedonians are in chicago and north east to
Ik from population count was this year from 65k albanians only 30k registered on population count
Because it was a mess application for to register
They made is so hard so people don’t register or gave up
Yeah, as a Macedonian living in NYC I must say unfortunately there are many many Macedonians in the tri-state area, just as there are Albanians. The way airlines decide on nee flights is a bit more complicated but totally uneducated guess would be that Skopje <-> NYC would be a better option than Tirana or Pristina, geographically. Skopje is at worst 4h away from Tirana, Pristina, Sofia and Thessaloniki. Think about BG and GR diaspora as well :)
DeleteI understand albanians are there to
DeleteBut im saying theyre albanians from Macedonia in that area more than 40k people and in all usa 65k
Plus albanians from albania and kosova 1 milion people
SKP geographically would best serve all both MKD and Albanians. There are lots of people living in TRI-State area that can produce alot of passengers for a JFK-SKP route.
DeleteNorth macedonia diaspora in ny connecticut and new yersey are 40- 50k plus
DeleteWho said the main one is chicago
Theyre 16k people frok debar live in new yersey and new york
Struga people another 10 to 15k in new yersey and Connecticut
Ohrid people another 5000 in Connecticut nnew yersey and new york
Macedonian muslims 10k in Connecticut new yersey pensylvania and Connecticut
Only albanian from north macedonia are 65.000 people
Plus turkish and macedonian muslims 15 to 20k
Thats almost 80k
Flights to Ohrid are a must.
ReplyDeleteSo maybe we see TK start third daily flight to Skopje and introduce some new routes via Anadolujet?
ReplyDeleteMost likely
DeleteWhere does Anadolujet have bases?
DeleteAnkara, Antalya and Istanbul Sabiha SAW.
DeleteAnkara-Skopje flights incoming
ReplyDeleteI wonder what demand there is for these flights.
DeleteThere was an article here a year or two ago that it is among Skopje's top unserved routes.
DeleteYes, Ankara is 9th
DeleteNice but we already have flights to/ from Turkey. Focus on securing LHR, AMS, CDG and MUC. Thank you
ReplyDeleteOr bringing back airlines that flew before the pandemic like Qatar and Flydubai.
DeleteGreat airline. Would love to see them do more on the market.
ReplyDeleteSooner or later TAV will finally make some deal with TK in Macedonia. They have been trying to get them on board for the new national airline
ReplyDeleteDon't think the current government is interested in any sort of national airline.
DeleteGood that they have the initiative.
ReplyDeleteI think they could introduce OHD as seasonal next summer.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently in Ohrid and there are a lot of Turkish people visiting the lake town
DeleteSKP needs a national carrier. A joint venture between the government and Turkish Airlines, similar to what they have in Albania would be perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a waste of money. Similar to previous national airline attempts.
DeleteHope to see more of them in SKP.
ReplyDeleteWe see a lot of them already :D
DeleteGreat. Finally some new flights to Skopje
ReplyDeleteWe already have multiple flights and options to IST so it woukd be nice to see another point in Turkey added.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer if SKP would try and attract some European legacies like Air France, KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa that can offer good onward connections. We already have so many flights to Turkey
ReplyDeletelol. There is simply demand for Turkey
Delete20% of the tourists in Macedonia are from Turkey so this is no surprise
DeleteTK flies to almost every village in the world and has more connections than all of the carriers you mentioned.
DeleteAlso, they offer a better product both in economy and premium compared to e.g. BA
Delete@10.02
DeleteWhat are the other main tourists in Macedonia?
I want to see Norwegian, TUI and Eurowings from Macedonian airports.
Delete^ ok...
Deleteyou have TUI already ... with two routes
DeleteAnkara, at least maybe for 2 or 3 times per week.
ReplyDeleteGood job, Macedonia!
ReplyDeleteTK is a good airline and with TK there is a future.
ReplyDeleteTK should add more frequencies on route Skopje-Istanbul, there is large demand.
ReplyDeleteThey probably will. That was the plan before the pandemic.
DeleteAfternoon departure
Delete3rd daily Skopje flight and that pendant means we will never see QR and FZ again.
ReplyDeleteYes don't we will see them back
Delete"We"
DeleteAnadolujet's Antalya flights could go year round.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWould there really be demand for Antalya in winter?
DeleteSouthern Turkey has lovely weather all year round and is perfect for tourist visits
DeleteYes it can
DeleteExcellent development.
ReplyDeleteI think we may see
- 3rd daily TK flight to Skopje
- TK launching seasonal Ohrid flights
- AnadoluJet launching Ankara-Skopje flights
Agree. I believe all three are realistic and will happen next summer.
DeleteI believe Anadolu will want to open SKP-Dalaman seasonals (it was reported earlier that both cities want a summer connection). Beside that resumption of OHD-Istanbul (was it Onur until 2019?). Pegasus announced charters from Izmir in 2019 but then Corona came
ReplyDeletePegasus suits OHD better I think
ReplyDeleteI think it is not possible for direct flight from Macedonia to the USA or Canada. There are no more then 100.000 people of our diaspora living there as of some results from statistic , so it is not financially good not for airline neither for a government to support that.
ReplyDeleteIn other hand there is a option Skopje - New York or Newark ,via Istanbul with stop , and
Not even EU ZAG, LJU or OTP have flights to the US...
DeleteYou have to understand that they are more than half Million Albanian from Kosova in USA and from prishtina to skopje he takes not even 50 minutes ride so the Macedonian government needs to finish the highway from the border of macedonia to skopje Airport because Kosovo already spend it $600 million in a highway from prishtina to the macedonian border if they do that that you have a potential to fly from skopje to New York because 80% of the albanians which flying to Europe to come to Kosovo they will fly directly from USA to Skopje
DeleteI press publish wrong: Or Skopje - Toronto with stop in Istanbul , that is more likely to be more realistic scenario.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe Turkish will add some airports as Frankfurt , Amsterdam or even Paris , I think Tav ,Turkish and Macedonian government wants to connect Skopje with more european cities , and also here will be Istanbul 3x daily , Ohrid and maybe some new Turkish cities where tourist from both countries will go.
I don't see an airline of a sovereign country acting as a national carrier of another. Unless they set up a local airline.
DeleteIt is not that uncommon. Chile's LATAM has national airline status in Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador. Ethiopian Airlines flies from several African countries to third destinations too.
DeleteMaybe we see more competition on the Macedonian market among Turkish carriers. Pegasus just announced some new routes from Ankara. Maybe they try to be quicket than TK and also launch Skopje soon.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the plan is Macedonia be the centre of connecting the country to the US and Canada for Macedonia , Albania , Kosovo citizens , but I still believe that direct flight is not financial good, unless with stop in Istanbul.
ReplyDeleteWith stop in Istanbul? What are you talking about?
DeleteOnly option is using SKP as work-around for slots. TK always looking for extra slots from LAX/JFK and if there are enough demand they might consider this as a work-around option. I don’t think Macedonia/Albania/Kosovo can even fill up narrow body for US flights.
DeleteIf Turkish starts flying from SKP to US, where will additional transfer passengers come from? The only option is Air Albania bringing trasfers from TIA and PRN to SKP, but those airports also want US flights.
ReplyDeleteFrom Skopje to Istanbul then Newark/Chicago , additional passengers will get in the plane from Istanbul , because in Skopje there will be probably not enough passengers , I know alot of routes like that .. I waa flying with KLM from Aruba to Amsterdam via Aruba ..
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't make any sense.
DeleteVia Bonaire*
ReplyDeleteSKP, the leader of the Balkana! No flights to Europe but let's launch long-haul JFK! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteWhy not , Macedonian diaspora is strong in North America!
ReplyDeleteLike 80k
Delete65k of them are albanian
Plus albanian from kosovo will
Come
Potential 400k to 500k of them are in usa
I'll be Happy if TK stars direct Istanbul-Detroit, as many mention here before, one of the biggest Macedonian diaspora is in Detroit and unfortunately at this point there is no option to Fly DTW-SKP with one stop. Only 2+ stops are possible and the tickets are crazy expensive. Even there are many flight from Detroit to AMS(4 daily), CDG(2 daily), FRA (2), LHR, ROM, Lufthansa is starting MUC also, because SKP doesn't have any direct flight to any of the Europe's main hubs we can't go DTW-SKP with one stop.
ReplyDeleteI hope UNESCO will never allow mass tourism in Ohrid and surrounding lake. North Macedonia in general and Ohrid in particular should be protected, not only against mass tourism but also against the terrible pollution and foreign (USA/EU) interference in the country.
ReplyDeleteIt is this kind of thinking that keeps a place poor and undeveloped…
DeleteOhrid plans to extend the terminal to 1 milion passengers
ReplyDeleteIf number extends 800k tav will request goverment to invest into new terminal for 2 to 3 milion passengers.plus runway will have to extend to 3km
Ohrid airport is 1km more closer with struga city than ohrid
Defacto is more like in struga side than ohrid
Making a new terminal for couple milion people doesnt effect the lake and the fauna of ohrid at all
Hopefully, they started their flight as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteTransatlantic flights from Skopje while not even offering any kind of long-haul except IST. Only possibility if TK couldn’t get JFK/LAX spots and needs another flight desperately so they can try this work-around. But first they need to establish ESB and ADB flights from Skopje and start flights from Ohrid.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer if SKP would try and attract some European legacies like Air France
ReplyDelete