All but one of the capital city airports in the former Yugoslavia are expected to see passenger growth during October when compared to last year, based on available scheduled seat capacity levels. Air Serbia will overtake Ryanair as the busiest carrier, with Wizz Air also improving due to increased operations at its Belgrade and Skopje bases during the month.
Belgrade Airport has the most available seats on scheduled flights in October, standing at 889.127. The figure represents an increase of 0.5% on 2023. Despite operating more flights than in previous months, Wizz Air is still the main culprit for the slow growth rate, reducing its capacity by 14.3% year-on-year. Air Serbia will continue to maintain its position as the largest carrier, holding 52.1% of all available scheduled capacity at the airport. Zagreb follows as the second largest with 514.941 available seats on scheduled flights during the month. It represents an increase of 14.3% on last year. Croatia Airlines will retain its position as the largest carrier at the airport, with 34.3% of available capacity. It is followed closely by Ryanair with 32.2% of all available seats.
Skopje Airport, which is still being impacted by Wizz Air’s frequency cuts despite an increased volume of flights during the month, boasts 302.642 seats in October, down 0.3%. Wizz Air, which has reduced capacity by 8%, will hold a 54.1% share of available seats, while Pegasus Airlines comes second with a 11.9% share. Pristina Airport will have 264.108 available seats, however, it has numerous flights sold exclusively through tour operators which are considered as charters. Therefore, these are not included in the overall scheduled seat capacity. If only seats on scheduled flights are taken into account, the airport sees an increase of 17.7% in capacity on last year. easyJet has the largest volume of scheduled seats, holding an 18.7% share, ahead of Chair Airlines with 16.1%.
Sarajevo Airport has 191.070 scheduled seats on the market in October, representing a strong increase of 28.6% on 2023. Pegasus Airlines, which has increased its capacity by 47.8% year-on-year, is the largest carrier with 16% of capacity, followed by Turkish Airlines with 13%. Ryanair, which commenced operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital this summer, will be the sixth largest airline in October. Podgorica Airport has 164.190 seats on scheduled flights in October, an increase of 5.3% on 2023. Wizz Air is the largest with 18.9% of total capacity, just ahead of Ryanair with 18.7%. Air Montenegro comes sixth, behind the two largest, as well as Air Serbia, Austrian Airlines and Turkish Airlines. Finally, Ljubljana Airport has 150.756 seats available this October, which is up 10.5% on last year. Lufthansa will be its largest carrier with a 17.5% capacity share, ahead of Turkish Airlines with 12.2% of scheduled capacity.
Largest carriers by scheduled seat capacity in the former Yugoslavia, October 2024
Difference between the top 3 airlines is very small.
ReplyDeleteyep, few rotations difference lol
DeleteCharters are not in, and JU has them unlike Ryanair and Wizz, so the actual difference is somewhat bigger.
DeleteThe prices on many flights is also very small these days. Wizz and Ryanair forgot they're supposed to low cost airlines.
Deletenot sure about Ryanair (as we dont have them) but its true for Wizzair from SKP. Its become a rarity to get a cheap return fare
Delete^ Same with Ryanair at ZAG. Certain discounts still happen from time to time, but in terms of the regular prices, those €20 -30 flights no longer exist. It's virtually impossible to find one way tickets below €80 - 100 and return tickets below €100 - 150. That said, compared to OU and other airlines prices, FR os still relatively cheap.
DeleteSo capacity difference between Croatia Airlines and Ryanair in Zagreb is now just 1.9%. There is no doubt that Ryanar is now the busiest airline at Zagreb. And it took less than 3 years.
ReplyDeleteBravo OU, amazing results! Bravo 👏 🤩
Delete^ that sort of attitude is why they are where they are.
DeleteTrying to be negative towards something extremely positive done by extremely capable management is just pure nonsense. Their professionalism is showing, results are getting better every day. Plenkovic has chosen one of the best people in aviation sector, Jasmin has moved borders and made OU leader in its sector!
DeleteOk...
Deletestopped reading after Plenkovic.
DeleteSkopje really got screwed over by Wizz this year
ReplyDeleteNot entire year, but from April yes.
DeleteBEG too
DeleteThings will improve big time next summer
DeleteReally hope so 🙏
DeleteDidn't Wizz say current engine issues will last until end of 2026?
DeleteThis is precisely why the new Macedonian subsidy tender was launched and why they are trying to pivot away from Wizz.
DeleteYes engine issues will last but Wizz said growth in BEG and SKP will return next summer.
Delete@08.18
DeleteShould have been done ages ago.
Agreed
DeleteI think it's easier said than done but let's see what happens.
DeleteDoes it make sense for AirSerbia to establish a base in SKP, hm?
Deletethey dont have rights to fly to anywhere else than Serbia
DeleteAwesome news for Sarajevo :)
ReplyDeleteEvery month huge growth!
DeleteIt will be interesting to see if Skopje will in the finish the year with passenger growth compared to 2023. At this stage it looks unlikely.
ReplyDeleteIt looks very likely. The first 3 months were huge compared to the last year, the next 5 months were very small drops and then September will see a spike, October will probably be about the same as last year.
DeleteBut, it still won't reach 3M.
Will reach 2.85 ...closely to 2.90 , but not 3m
DeleteIt's impressive that JU still manages to grow each month on last despite all the doom and gloom people kept predicting.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteNot people, just one person.
DeleteTrue
DeleteOne extremely negative person.
DeleteSomeone said the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing expecting different outcomes. Expectation passengers would abandon Belgrade and Air Serbia based on early 2023 issues at the airport did not materialize, but that fact did not prevent analyst from constantly repeating it, expecting drop in Air Serbia passenger numbers month after month. Easy to realize said definition perfectly explains his behaviour.
DeleteHe has written at least 10 articles about the decline in the number of passengers. But they still haven't seen the light of day. Unfortunately for him.
DeleteThe latest mania is that SPU is somehow better than BEG in every aspect.
DeleteDoes anyone know if it is possible to report somewhere that this portal is deceiving people and presenting fake news? It is definitely not normal what this man allows himself, this morning he published a table according to which Belgrade airport had revenues of 11 million EUR last year, he does not know the basic terms in bookkeeping and tries to analyze someone's financial reports. I think it's about time he gets sued for the nonsense he posts.
DeleteNo need to sue him, people are abandoning him big time. Just look at the number of comments, it's going down every day more and more. No one takes him seriously anymore. We need a clown, so he can do that job.
DeleteJust ignore him. Until recently I didn't even know who it was that people kept on mentioning here, until someone told me.
DeleteAnd no, he cannot be sued since freedom of press allows for people to be wrong.
Furthermore, civil law doesn't work like criminal law - not everybody can sue, only the affected party. This party needs to prove the intent i.e. knowingly spredning false information and the fact that this false information negatively impacted their business.
Regarding the first part, it's really hard to prove intent as opposed to ignorance, and as for the second part - he's simply not big enough nor influential enough as to have caused even the tiniest bit of financial damage to Air Serbia.
So this is the last month of growth for Ljubljana this year?
ReplyDeleteYes
Delete:(
DeleteWinter is coming!
DeleteI hope WizzAir will return with big expansion from SKP and BEG once the problems with the engines are solved…
ReplyDeleteWizz will come back stronger than ever before
DeleteThey expect strong growth in 2025 so I'm holding my breath. Maybe they bring back the abolished routes like LUX-SKP and LTN-LJU as well
DeletePegasus Airlines has become very big in the region.
ReplyDeleteNot really. They became big in SKP, SJJ and PRN. Very little growth elsewhere.
DeleteThey have grown in Montenegro too.
DeleteAnd they launched Zagreb this year
DeleteWell, Varady was in Skopje yesterday to meet with the minister, although they lack planes currently, I'm sure they will take a cut of the pie :) https://tocka.com.mk/vesti/495201/nikoloski-varadi-otvoreno-prasanjeto-za-noviot-javen-povik-za-finansiska-poddrska-za-novi-destinacii-do-i-od-megjunarodniot-aerodrom-skopje-i-aerodromot-vo-ohrid
ReplyDeleteinteresting! if course they want a cut of the pie. SKP's success is mainly because of them. Would be very stupid to anger them!
Deleteif Varady was in Skopje thats a confrmation that they are commited to the market!
He was there to tell them not to award tender to anyone that might compete with them.
Delete@10.08 bullsh*t
Deletei think they met in Budapest not in Skopje
DeleteThey meet in budapest not in SKP....
DeleteAdmin do you know what was ZAG capacity for September?
ReplyDeleteThere was an article about it last month.
DeleteSo could you provide us with a link or the number instead of writing such low quality useless comment? It's not easy to search for it on the phone.
Delete523.342 seats.
DeleteThank you.
DeleteZagreb is now set for 4.3 million total passengers this year, next year will be quite interesting, can Zagreb reach 5.0 million in 2025? That is the question. This year Zagreb had ~5.4 million available seats, and is expected to handle around 4.3 million passengers, which corresponds to around 80% of the total seats available, we need to see how 2025 pans out in terms of available seats, but for airport to handle 5.0 million there needs to be at least 6.3 million seats offered. No idea what Ryan air plans to do in 2025, but Croatian Airlines has some serious plans to expand its operations a bit, so it'll be interesting to see.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Air Serbia.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteEasyjet srill strong in October
ReplyDeleteThey will disappear in November until next summer.
DeletePity they are so passive in the region outside of Croatia.
DeleteWell they start Amsterdam and Malpensa to Pristina at the end of the month.
DeleteIf Split would be smart they would try to keep Easyjet in all year around. Split has so big potential to be tourist destination whole year around
DeleteSplit does not want to subsidise anyone other than Croatia Airlines.
Deletedont think they have to in my opinion
DeleteThey don't have to, but with the profit they have - they can.
DeleteWhy hurt your own profits to bring in LCCs? It's not like Split is bleeding passengers to other airports
DeleteBeacuse they're public company established to help people from Split and area to travel. They have a public duty to do so, not just to bring people from abroad during summer.
Deleteevery single airline flies to Split to basically everywhere in Europe, not sure what you want more ^^
Deletenot sure you read the thread
Deletei dont think its a year round destination, yes i have read it
DeleteGood news. With this small decrease I think SKP will also have passenger growth.
ReplyDeleteYes it's possible. Are there any charters in October?
Deletenot really, few to Antalya
DeleteAlso and Hurgada.
DeleteEx Yu Admin, if LH group airlines were grouped into one, would it make it into top 3 airlines in the region?
ReplyDeleteThey would be the fourth largest with 459.827 seats.
DeleteThank you
DeleteI still hope there will be a last minute increase for BEG, especially since many of their seasonal routes are coming to an end.
ReplyDeleteBy the end, their FCO-holiday destinations are (as expected for this time of the year) performed horribly. Most of them barely had more than 70 passengers.
Wizz Air and Wizz Air Malta still have 38 A321neo grounded (down from 50). They have not reactivated a single additional A321neo for close to two months.
With the summer season more or less over, let's see what they do with the freed up capacity. I am sure some of the planes will have to go undergo regular maintenance but I believe many will be redeployed to markets which have solid year-round demand, BEG being one of them.
If they keep on treating BEG this way then they risk losing their strong position especially since Air Serbia is slowly recovering and foreign carriers plan on maintaining a solid presence in BEG.
I am not sure that BEG is one of them, when you see cuts and additions in their network during the year. Or at least they do not perceive Belgrade as one of the top hubs where frequences or destinations should be added at this point...
Delete^ no they have airports where they compete directly with Ryanair and other LCCs and they need to grow to keep their market share.
DeleteThat's what I said. They perceive Belgrade as given, where they can invest less than in other places. Not good sign, for whatever reason.
DeleteThey don't have to compete against any LCC in Belgrade with anywhere near similar market share as themselves
DeleteRunning a marketable business and not having to compete can't go in the same sentence.
DeleteYou know very well what I'm saying but I guess your comment must be the last.
DeleteYou may be right but that would mean something is essentially wrong with the market, cause market doesn't let the business go without having to compete.
DeleteYou just proved my point.
DeleteOK, get you now. Will think about it.
DeleteI think it's hard to understand what Wizz thinks of BEG. First they cut but then they add and so on.
DeleteLet's not forget that they had two rounds of increases in BEG since they massively cut their network. First increase was modest and it started in July while the second was larger and it took place in September and October.
I think their logic is that they are relatively safe in Belgrade since there is no direct and immediate threat - after all, Air Serbia is unable to boost their own flights.
Once Air Serbia goes back into expansion mode so will Wizz Air. They have other markets where their competition can and is responding to their presence. That's where their limited resources are going.
Air Serbia's constant delays regarding E95s is also helping them buy some more time. Like I already wrote, their seasonal routes are ending so they will have extra capacity. I think that's one of the reasons why they boosted their BEG network from September.
So, the main issue is lack of competition in Belgrade. It brings both JU and Wizz into comfort zone they have on so few other places, to run the businesses at their own pace. Good for them, not good for Belgrade.
DeleteThere are 20 other airlines flying to Belgrade. But you don't want to understand. So it does not matter.
DeleteI'm trying to understand why is Wizz cutting on one place but adds on other, while having the same fleet issue across the network. It was told here it could be that they don't have to add in Belgrade due to lack of competition. You think it's not because of that, do you have other theory why is it so?
DeleteAs per today's article, Air Serbia will hold 52% of all capacity at BEG in October. For them that's a low number while the opposite applies for the traveling public. It goes to show that increased demand was taken over by their competition.
DeletePeople have voted with their wallets which resulted in a stronger performance of foreign carriers in BEG.
Only one person is insisting on Wizz Air exclusively cutting BEG. They have considerably downsized their network. Just look at what they did in Romania. Heck they even closed their small base in Debrecen thus focusing almost all of their Hungarian network in BUD.
DeleteWhen it comes to BEG they are lucky that Air Serbia is unable to respond. However other carriers have made adjustments. Unfortunately they can't replace Wizz Air completely. Transavia launching ORY-BEG should be a warning sign to them.
Agree, it's foggy. They cut Romania where they have hell of competition. But they are adding Salerno after Naples in Tirana all while both easy and Ryan launch Naples this winter. Wouldn't it be more benefitial for them to boost, say, LCA from BEG than to launch now that...Salerno? I don't like they feel too comfy in Belgrade. They will get used to it, so Vinci must do more. Transavia is good example.
DeleteQ4 Wizz Air bases capacity cuts Sofia -13.4%, Larnaca -12.0%, Skopje -21%, Vilnius -27.5%, Varna -24.7%, Kutaisi -11.7%, Catania -11.6%, Naples -21.9%, Venice -31.6%, Katowice -12.8%, Wroclaw -41.1%, Craiova -31.5%, Iasi -12.3%, Sibiu -1.8% + Debrecen clpsure
DeleteAnd they have over 30 of them, right?
DeleteAnon 11.23
DeleteThey actually boosted LCA in July from I think 3 to 4 and then in September to 6 weekly. On Sundays they have two flights. The new one is extremely convenient as it leaves BEG at 18.40 and LCA at 23.00. From November LCA goes back to just 2 weekly as was the case in the past. They never had more than 3 weekly to LCA in winter (I think).
OK, bad example. JU launched NCE, Transavia launches Orly, let's hope Wizz feels challenged.
DeletePersonally I think there is room for a third player on BEG-PAR. Market is large enough. Though I think two weekly is a modest start.
Deletethere can still be progress with Ryanair in ZAG, they can expand even more. I'm pretty sure, if they really want, they can base additional plane there, maybe two...
ReplyDeleteThey are constantly growing year by year, adding seats, planes and destinations.
DeleteIt seems they have great performance there, so they'll keep adding for sure.
DeleteWell done SJJ, was about time you woke up! :)
ReplyDeleteWell done Sarajevo and Zagreb! :)
DeleteAugust,September and Octomber SKP will hit 300k pax every single month , with all the W6 cuts it is still doing good job!
ReplyDeletewhere do you see 300k in Octomber??
DeleteYou will see in the end of next month.
Deletehow, when the capacity is 302.642 !?!
DeleteCroatia Airlines is doing good.
ReplyDeleteStellar. It's financial results are negative and it is still 10% below pre Covid passenger numbers in the year 2024.
DeleteWhere is all this growth in scheduled capacity coming from in PRN?
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines is going better and better.
ReplyDeleteDo you guys think that FR will never come to BEG?
ReplyDeleteIt's that question again. It was 2-3 days since you last asked.
DeleteI would love to see Ryan set up a base with two aircraft to start. Maybe in a few years.
DeleteAnon 21:11. Sorry, no offense intended.
I would love it if you stop spamming.
Delete