Wizz Air will cut capacity across its network from mid-January until mid-March due to a global issue with Pratt & Whitney-manufactured engines. As reported back in September, aerospace supplier and parent company of Pratt & Whitney, RTX, is performing quality control on engines installed in hundreds of planes across the world, which need to be removed and examined. As a result, Wizz Air will temporarily discontinue three routes from the former Yugoslavia during the two-month period, including Skopje - Luxembourg, Skopje - Bologna and Dortmund - Niš, while frequency reductions will impact Skopje, Belgrade, Niš, Ohrid, and Pristina. Its only two bases in the former Yugoslavia - Skopje and Belgrade - will be most impacted as they boast the largest volume of flights.
Wizz Air plans to temporarily relocate two of its six Skopje-based aircraft from mid-January until mid-March. This will result in the temporary suspension of the two abovementioned routes, with the Luxembourg service only having been introduced last week. In addition, over thirty weekly flights have been removed from its Skopje network. Services to Basel and Memmingen will sustain the biggest frequency reductions. In Belgrade, the budget airline plans to maintain its entire network, but has removed over fifteen weekly flights during the affected period, with one out of its four aircraft to be relocated for two months.
Skopje base network revision
Belgrade base network revision
In Niš, the airline will suspend flights to Dortmund during the two-month period and reduce services to Basel from three to two per week. In Ohrid, flights to Vienna will be decreased from the originally planned four weekly rotations to three weekly, while in Pristina the airline will cut down services on the Memmingen route from seven to five per week. "The company continues to take proactive action to mitigate any financial and operational impact and will be seeking financial compensation from Pratt & Whitney”, Wizz Air previously said.
Shame, especially about SKP-LUX since route just launched.
ReplyDeleteThat flight isn’t performing well so far
Delete^And how would yo know that? You do realize there have been just 3 flights since it launched.
DeleteMaybe W6 should launch and advertise a route a few months before the actual flights start.
DeleteAnd stick to it for a few months more before reducing frequencies or suspending it completely.
Anon 9:11, my thoughts as well. This route makes absolutely no sense. Even OTP "struggles" to maintain it without subsidies. Besides, LUX is just very close to Frankfurt and Hahn. Still waiting for that clever SKP fanboy predicting 300k in January with his crystalball :D :D
Deletethe baba Vangas having a chat around morning coffee
DeleteBut can someone tell me what is the logic of launching Luxembourg, operating it for two weeks and then suspending it. Why didn't they just start in mid March?
DeleteBecause they wanted to get the lucrative holiday traffic. Makes sense to me.
DeleteI predict 300k in January you accept or not , SKP is not related to couple routes from Wizz and this will not destroy the growing of the airport , and you know this very well ;)
DeleteWhen someone predict 300k + in January also count and the Wizz cutting routes , so you can laughing how much you want , but this cutting will not affect SKP success!!
DeleteLufthansa sending all december 320 and 321 to its Skopje-Frankfurt route , and will continue with this trend in 2024 ,and you think that SKP is only blessed from Wizz ? Dont be stupid and accept the reality
DeleteI will finish with last comment , SKP will achieve new routes in 2024 and the success is yet to come , for pax numbers , for routes , and will have the most succesull year in its history. Just saying country with less then 2 m citizens have 43 all year round routes and 50 in summer ;))
DeleteBecause they have many ppl living abroad and because they have poor land connections…
DeleteThe flights to LUX last Wednesday and Friday had over 160 seats sold out and full or 180 seats sold out on the return flight to Skopje.
DeleteSKP will not have 300k in January. January ( after the holidays ) and February are slow months for everyone. It is normal that W6 cuts frequencies and suspend routes, just like JU will suspend 6 routes, so what? They are not success? Of course they are but during that period the demand is lower which makes them unprofitable DURING that period. This is called common sense. Also flights to LUX are full, which was expected. Bologna will also be suspended, and yes Bologna is also a success but it is mostly tourist destination and we all know how many people travel during february. Hoever the guy above is right, with those cuts 300k is not possible. Around 250k will be the numbers and this is still good and still an improvment compared to 2021 and 2019.
DeleteSKP will never achieve 300k. As usual, like everything in NMK, it is based on pure fantasy. With so many cuts and the whole of Europe lowering flights except ski destinations, why should SKP be any exception? The gastos would return to where they belong the first week of January and the show is all over. LUX does not make any sense as a route. Nobody argues about the success of LH but it was also expected. There are barely any proper transfer options in the airport.and the anon talking about LUX figures those 2 weeks is just useless because it is the peak of the season. SKP has reached its limits and the market is basically covered. It may serve additional Turkish routes, because of the visas but German and Swedish villages are covered.
DeleteHhahaha now SKP has still not reached the limits. Wait and see in 2024, i dont plan to argue with you.
Delete@12.16 dude you are OBSESSED with SKP in such a negative way its beyond explanation.
Deletehe is just jelous of ifk what.
DeleteYes the reality is that the year is still not finish and SKP is improving its pax number every single month since the summer. Cant wait to see next monts results for all who hating the achievements.
Deletecant hack SKP's continual success
DeleteIf W6 managed to make SKP airport handle 330k in August with 5 planes, then with 6 planes next year and hopefully 7th to come soon will make even new records. Not to mention the charters to Antalya, Tunis and Egypt.
Deletehe hates everything about Macedonia just look at that fantasy-sentence i se ke vi bide jasno
DeleteKoi shvedski sela zhiti se, alo chovek Geteburg, Stokholm i Malme li? Bog da chuva
Deletelikot e A. od Slovenija
DeleteJasno mi e sega, ima prichina da bide negativen za Skopje posho sme mnogu pred niv. Kutrite gi nema na mapa nemaat za kade da patuvaat pa se teshat so nashite germanski sela. Zhalno
DeleteReply for the last few comments in Macedonian: Луѓе зберете си паметот, немојте само со Словенија да не споредувате, понапред се од нас со светлосни години во се, вие стигнавте да си ги мерите по број на патници. И да има моментално Скопје повеќе патници, тоа е поради тоа што пола Македонија е надвор од границите и релативно лесно е да се стигне назад дома за ефтина цена, не оти нешто Македонија е туристичка дестинација или па луѓето што останаа тука се толку моќни па патуваат повеќе од порано. Ние во нашата вукојебина сме кутри, Словенците оставете ги, неможеме да ги стигнеме во ништо.
DeleteAmm nobody compared Macedonia with Slovenia. I replayed to the slovenian guy above who is hating the success of SKP airport on every possible article, not accepting the fact that SKP is way ahead of LJU. This has nothing to do with economy or anything else, i am just comparing the passenger numbers and the number of routes. It is not important if we have those numbers because of the diaspora or tourists, the thing is that SKP has new records. BEG, ZAG, SJJ, BNX, INI, OHD, TIA, PRN, TGD all have diaspora counted in their numbers, its not just SKP. Also, the german villages that he mentiones all the time, let me say that Dortmund has 600k population, Karlsruhe has 300k population, Bremen has 500k population, Friedrichshafen has over 65k population as well as Memmingen. So idk what villages he is talking about all the time. Yes we have those routes bacause of the diaspora going there and back all the time.
DeleteAlso, i am not kutar in my country, i love my city Skopje and i am proud to live here as old skopjanin, i like my life here and everything about it. Those who feel bad and poor here may all go to live in western Europe.
Lol where did you even get that he is Slovene??
Deletehe is not ethnically Slovene , he is an Al... from Slovenia.
Delete@17.33 totally agree with you btw
Are you insane?
DeleteThe reduction from Beg cost me 200 eur. Rest assured that i will find ways to make it even
DeleteDo all NEOs with P&W engines have the issue or just specific batches?
ReplyDeleteW6 and others continue to receive new aircraft with this engine.
Not just NEOs but also A220s are having problems with PW engines.
DeleteSpecific batches are having issues.
DeleteThe new NEOs with P&W are arriving with already fixed issues. So just the previously delivered ones.
DeleteThat's a big reduction. Hopefully it will be limited to these two months.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air has major cuts throughout the network. SKP and BEG are the only ex-YU airports that are doing really well for them. They struggle elsewhere.
Delete2024 will be an awful year for aviation, with NEOs out of service. I hope airlines get compensation for it, but does anyone actually know if they do?
ReplyDeleteThere are negotiations ongoing between P&W and the airlines for the amount of compensation each airline will receive.
DeleteI can imagine Wizz will get a big compensation.
ReplyDeleteWizz air closed bases in Chisinau, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Oslo, Baku, Burgas, Doncaster, Dortmund..... Where are these planes now? I know it expands significantly in TIA, AUH and OTP, but still?
ReplyDeleteReal bases like SJJ or DTM were part of the strategy to operate on weak routes until covid is over. SJJ is one example of this ridiculous strategy. I see a possible expansion in Ukraine after the war, but it is still small against the huge orders they have.
But during these weak bases, Wizz Air operated 5-6 flights a day from OTP for example. In COVID times everyone was wondering how to fill the capacity..... Some sank, some saved W6 seems to be successful, but it left behind many angry customers and airports.
DeleteThey also expanded significantly in MXP, FCO, KUT. Really interesting where they will deploy the new capacity/orders.
DeleteThe Moldova thing was weird..... Wizz Air pulled out and now flies to three destinations from KIV again. In that time, Fly One and Hi Sky have expanded aggressively and now have over 5 based aircraft.
DeleteRyanair and Lumiwings have settled in Sarajevo and Tuzla. Wizz Air lost ground.
DeleteLumiwings won't last very long.
DeletePlease be mindful of the fact that Wizz Air actually retired some A320s before this mess started. One of them is currently flying for Air Serbia and was baptized YU-APS. Air Serbia got it in the past when they were expanding.
Delete^ what does that have to do with anything?
DeleteWell they retired some older planes that they could be using now as replacement for the increasingly unreliable A321neos.
DeleteIn Burgas, they are oddly extending the season from April to October even if 85% of the routes are covered by Ryanair as well. Doncaster airport is not a good example, because it had serious financial problems and forced to close. Even if they shrank in Dortmund, it still remains a very important airport to them because they have been specialising in it for nearly 20 years now i.e. ever since its creation. Again not a good example.
DeleteIn Bucharest, well, with the large gap left behind after Blue Air and the good economics of the city, they are doing quite well. The new Romanian carriers failed to penetrate the market especially Air Connect and from what we see, Dan Air also is not at its best performance following the GHV airport scandal with the limited operations. Something really basic to think about after pouring so much money and resources and now leaving the airport with very few flights in a more "isolated" part of the country.
Tirana is just a matter of time, where the milk will be utilised entirely due to oversaturation. Albania, similar to the entire Balkans is facing a serious demographic issue and most of those flights are gasto and tourism of course.
It definitely makes much more sense to focus on AUH and Central Asian republics - places with stable population, less competition, etc. And also, their name is getting more popular in Abu Dhabi. Varadi was clever with Abu Dhabi, no doubt.
As long as you have Ryanair already targeting them in Eastern Europe, they will focus elsewhere. In airports like Sofia, Ryanair already increased the number of destinations to 40 in 5 years and slowly taking over. Zagreb is just the beginning for them as well. Doubt we will see Wizz in ZAG soon.
Conclusion is that Wizz no longer cares that much about the Balkans, it is just a seasonal addition and brings them money in the very peak of the year - August and December. The rest is peanuts - subsidaries and limited number of frequencies. SKP is the perfect example with the table shown today.
I don't see that Wizz changed strategy in Balkans significantelly. They had never been focused on the region, it was always more important to connect Polish and Romanian towns with London and Norweign villages or Budapest with every airport in wider Europe. Wizz is connecting Eastern and Western Europe, with some summer/seasonal additions. Balkans is just the part of this strategy, nothing more and nothing less...
Delete@09:16 Since then, Wizz air has grown in many bases. OTP has 17 based planes, TIA 11, FCO 11, MXP 6, VIE 5, AUH 11, KUT 4, Vilnus 3, BEG 4, SKP 6, SOF 7 and so on. This wasnt the case then all of the bases you mentioned above were in operation.
DeleteTIA will not last that long mark my words. Demand is not that big.
DeleteLol, it's the ''mark my words'' guy. Sure it won't, keep telling that to yourself :)
Delete@Anon 12:33. TIA has already a long list of new destinations for 2024
DeleteRyanair: VIE, BRI, MRS, BUD, BRS and BHM (these are due to be published in January and commence from late March/Early April. Also, in June we could see two more summer routes from them)
Wizzair: VLC and LEJ (their schedule is being prepared so new routes can be potentially announced for summer 24)
Transavia: AMS, LYS
Aegean: RHO
airbaltic: RIX (negotiations are ongoing to add TLL and VNO)
Jet2.com: Plans are to launch in 2024 but depends on the company
Vueling: approved by regulatory body to serve BCN from May
Iberia: MAD from 28th of March
So, I wouldn't worry much about TIA's growth right now......
Pegasus: AYT
DeleteSunExpress: ADB
Tunisair: TUN
For what is SKP perfect example excuse me? Do you know what you are talking about? Certanly not, cause if you knew, you wouldnt say these stupid unlogical things. All you know is subsidies, thats it, end. You dont know how they work, for what they are given, till when they are given, NOTHING. Let me edcuate you, the subsidies that Wizz gets from Macedonia are for the launch of new routes, as you can see those are LUX, LJU, SZG, STR which will soon be annouced. Skopje had very strong November, with W6 planes totally full even to Malta. The reduction mantioned above is for February and late January which is purely logical as many airlines are doing the same. Didnt Air Serbia announce the suspension of 6 routes one week ago? Or the reduction of many others including Tijanjin? Does this mean that the route to China is not a success? Let me ask you, do you plan to fly somewhere in February? I dont, many dont, so whats so strange here? You are considering your self as someone who knows everything here and writes a big paragraph full of info and info, while in reality those things up there are stupidity. If Skopje has season between August and December then lets close the airport for the rest of the year, shall we? Skopje had 70% increase in the numbers last month compared to 2019, are you going against the facts? It is a fact that Skopje had the biggest increase last month in the Balkan. Wheter you like it or not, thats your problem. We dont give subsidies for alll 31 routes of Wizz at SKP, but for the four new ones, LJU is a total success, as well as LUX as the planes are full. That part of the Europe where Dusseldorf, Cologne, Bonn, Weeze, Eindhoven, Southern Belgium, Western France and Luxemburg are located is full of macedonian diaspora ( i include the albanians as they have macedonian passports so they are our citizens wheter you like it or not ), so stop spreading lies for something you know nothing about.
DeleteWhy are these guys so pressed? 🤣🤣
DeleteNo surprise
ReplyDeleteOnce again, the moral of the story should be not to put all your eggs in one basket.
ReplyDeleteI think the latest A320 orders by W6 have the CFM Leap engine.
DeleteHow come Wizz is allowed to suspend LUX? I remember one of the terms of the subsidy tender is that no new route can be suspended for 3 years. So much for that.
ReplyDeleteThere is probably some clause that they can suspend a route in case of a situation outside of their control.
DeleteIs this outside of their control?
DeleteYes, they are not responsible for engine issues by the manufacutrer.
DeleteBut look at the linked article. It is from September. So they knew back then they would have to make cuts yet they scheduled big increases in BEG and SKP anyway.
Deleteit is also temp stopped from OTP
DeleteAt least no cuts in Banja Luka.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't much to cut there. They have 2 routes with 2 weekly flights.
DeleteNo cuts in TGD either.
DeleteIn TGD they suspended a couple of route for the entire winter back in October.
Delete* routes
Delete:(
ReplyDeleteIt's really unfortunate for SKP. Quite a lot of routes reduced.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you expect if they have to remove 2 aircraft.
DeleteWhen you think about it, they made minimal route suspensions.
DeleteStill unfortunate for SKP.
DeleteSkopje had four aircraft in early december as well, i dont see where is the problem here.
Deletewizzair reliable af
ReplyDeletewait for the Ryanair cuts at ZAG. I will copy and paste your message but exchange wizzair with ryanair, ok?
DeleteYes, FR cuts in ZAG as well. Yes, companies have problems with newly manufactured aircraft/engines. Yes, February is the slowest month in northern hemisphere for entire industry globally. Do you really have to prove other wrong and fight about it? Just grow up!
DeleteRyanair does not have any cuts at all in Zagreb. The ANALITIČAR is spreading fake news - again!
DeleteFriends please do not forget that this is also a blessing for Wizz Air. EU economy is not doing well. They are on the verge of a recession and inflation is nowhere near its end. This affects gasto demand from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovensko, Poland, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia ...
ReplyDeleteSo they can blame engine issues but we know that some routes were cut because they underperformed. In Riga Wizz Air was totally destroyed by airBaltic and Ryanair.
They need to come up with an idea how and where to expand in the future. We need Wizz Air to stay strong, we need Wizz Air to survive this crisis.
Actually this has everything to do with engines, and not with demand.
DeleteWhy do we need Wizz Air to stay strong? Another LCC can take over the load if Wizz goes under.
DeleteAnon 09.49
DeleteNot really, many markets that did not bring them money were cut, terminated and killed and were not brought back. Wizz switched planes to other bases that were making them a lot of money.
Anon 09.53
Because they are revolutionizing the way we travel and they are pushing the limits of civil aviaiton on a global scale. Wizz is a trailblazer.
Oh, it's already "European economy is going down" o'clock?
DeleteThe economy doing bad part cannot be bought this time. Many Eastern European countries are doing okay. Anon 9:58 is 10000% correct. They are opportunists and very normal to seek for new markets making money. Why do you think Ryanair made a super huge investment in Morocco? Not only because of 2030 football, but it is a large country with fairly developed domestic airports, also gasto airports and lots of tourists. Makes all the sense to expand in Morocco. Wizz chose UAE. As long as Europe demographics are going from bad to worse, those airlines will be forced to look elsewhere.
DeleteThey cut a lot of flights in Sofia too
ReplyDeleteThey was put more flights in winter than the summer timetable, which is not normal and removed them in late november.
DeleteWhich routes? Just checked the website and no cuts.
DeleteItalian BRI, BLQ , CTA were planned for 3 and 4 weekly flights, EIN everyday and so on.
DeleteSOF-LCA: from 5 to 3 weekly
DeleteSOF-CPH:from 7 to 5 weekly
SOF-BSL: from 4 to 3 weekly
SOF-NCE:from 4 to 3 weekly
SOF-BVA: from 3 to 2 weekly
SOF-DTM:from 9 to 7 weekly
SOF-HHN:from 4 to3 weekly
SOF-HAM:from 3 to2 weekly
SOF-BRI: from 3 to 2 weekly
SOF-BLQ:from 3 to 2 weekly
SOF-CTA:from 4 to 2 weekly
SOF-BGY:from 9 to 8 weekly
SOF-NAP:from 4 to 2 weekly
SOF-EIN: from 7 to 5 weekly
SOF-LTN:from18to15 weekly
23 weekly flights cuted in total.
It will be interesting what happens with their A321XLRs and where they will use them in Europe following those reductions. In Italy they got approval to operate to India so this might be one of their initial "long-haul" markets. Another possibility is UK-US flights, but the market is more than saturated.
ReplyDeleteThey are apparently doing quite well in Maldives, so maybe we see leisure LCC flights to there or Sri Lanka and India to other parts of Europe. The XLR is the perfect plane for this. India is the next big economy and they eased the e-visas, so it will be much easier to go there.
African leisure also is a possibility: Zanzibar, Rwanda, Mauritius....cannot wait to see which destinations they will consider. Poland-Sri Lanka also makes sense.
it all depends on those approvals that you mentioned until then it will be mainly Budapest and UK.
DeleteI dont know why everyone in comments are so negative. Wizz air is not relieble…ok? Did Air Serbia reduce the flights one week before they were announced? Will Air Serbia also suspend 6 routes? Its the slowest period in the aviation and if you didnt expect something like this worldwide then i suggest you to learn more about aviation. I named Air Serbia because its the only other carrier that i have wrote this kind of news about lately, but this is happening to all airlines world wide. Austrian also suspended LAX flights, so what now?
ReplyDeleteThey maintained their LJU-LTN to 2 weekly, but no signs of bringing back CRL. Anyone from Ljubljana knows if the new high speed train to Venice will affect LJU airport somehow? Many people will prefer to use the train and ditch the plane. LJU is getting more and more connected to its neighbours via land, which is only a very positive thing but might hurt air traffic figures. It says that the train is being tested. Any chances to see Trenitalia soon? Any ideas of linking LJU airport as well?
ReplyDeleteLJU is too busy with LH Cartel. Bravo Fraport!
DeleteNo. Train will stop in ljubljana. There is no rail link to the airport. It wont have any big effect on airport. U arrive to venice quite late. And it takes more than with a car.
DeleteThank you
DeleteIs that also a reason why the connection between Basel and Ohrid was terminated? Or are there other reasons? Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteCould be that the subsidies are over. TUI also cancelled 1 of its UK routes:
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/10/tui-airways-discontinues-one-of-two.html
lol
Deleteand doubled the other
Deletewhich subsidies are you talking about? Basel - Ohrid was operating for 10 years. Dont spread lies when you dont know anything about macedonia except for the subsidies which are given FOR NEW ROUTES once ever four years. The route to basel has always been a success, the thing is that they are short with the fleet. Many routes are cut not just these to the Balkans.
Deleteisnt this the best period to do the control on engines? when its quiet
ReplyDeleteOmg someone smart. Bravo! Very clever, yes this is the slowest period for air travel which is normal for routes reduction and plus they will use the period to prepare for the summer. Finally someone with common sense here.
DeleteIts normal thing to cut some flights when demand is down. When income is down you eat less. Macaroni cheese instead steak and lobster.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that economy is deindustrializing in europe for at least a decade if not more.
So it is obvious that airlines are focused more on peak seasons pereiods: summer, christmas
WizzAir will have four A320s at Skopje and three A320s at Belgrade, so its even more reduction. But it is worse in other bases, in Craiova, Timisoara, Varna and Wroclaw they will reduce the fleet from two to only one A320. Six routes will be suspended from Timisoara, four from Craiova and five from Cluj-Napoca. One route will be suspended from Varna as well, three routes from Wroclaw base. So its obvious that they will use this time to put in order their A321neos and prepare them for the summer. Lots of cuts from their other bases as well.
ReplyDeleteDoes somebody know if Wizzair will increase flights cause of Visa-lifting of Kosovo from 1. Jnauary 2024?
ReplyDeleteNo. Don't you see they're cutting flights everywhere?
DeleteGood riddance. Hope they leave Belgrade fully someday.
ReplyDeleteJizzair strikes again!
ReplyDeleteGoodbye w6. Only cheapskates that support this horrible airline by paying their fares will miss it. By supporting it people actually support the horror of flying with them and being stranded and fucked.
ReplyDelete