Three capital city airports in the former Yugoslavia are expected to see their passenger numbers decline in November when compared to last year, based on available scheduled seat capacity levels. Air Serbia will retain its position as the busiest carrier.
Belgrade Airport has the most available seats on scheduled flights in November, standing at 738.402. The figure represents a decrease of 8.6% on 2023. Wizz Air is still the main culprit for the slow growth rate, reducing its capacity by 30.9% year-on-year and wiping out 52.434 seats off the market. Air Serbia will continue to maintain its position as the largest carrier, holding 52.5% of all available scheduled capacity at the airport. Zagreb follows as the second largest with 393.864 available seats on scheduled flights during the month. It represents an increase of 7.3% on last year. Croatia Airlines will retain its position as the largest carrier at the airport, with 40.3% of available capacity. It is followed by Ryanair with 28% of all available seats.
Skopje Airport will again be impacted by Wizz Air’s frequency cuts during the month, boasting 254.938 seats in November, down 10.1%. Wizz Air, which has reduced capacity by 21.7%, or 38.320 seats, will hold a 54.2% share, while Pegasus Airlines comes second with a 12.6% share. Pristina Airport will have 227.031 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 15.7% in capacity on last year. easyJet has the largest volume of scheduled seats, holding an 20.2% share, ahead of Wizz Air with 19.1%.
Sarajevo Airport has 169.805 scheduled seats on the market in November, representing an increase of a whopping 63.7% on 2023. Pegasus Airlines, which has increased its capacity by 41.9% year-on-year, is the largest carrier with 17% of capacity, followed by Turkish Airlines with 10.5%. Ryanair, which commenced operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital this summer, will be the third largest airline in November. Podgorica Airport has 115.068 seats on scheduled flights in November, an increase of 4% on 2023. Turkish Airlines is the largest with 26.3% of total capacity, ahead of Air Serbia with 18.3%. Air Montenegro comes fifth, behind the two largest, as well as Wizz Air and Pegasus Airlines. Finally, Ljubljana Airport has 107.882 seats available this November, which is down 9.6% on last year. Turkish Airlines will be its largest carrier with a 18.7% capacity share, ahead of Lufthansa with 16.9% of scheduled capacity.
Largest carriers by scheduled seat capacity in the former Yugoslavia, November 2024
That growth in Sarajevo is insane.
ReplyDeleteEvery month it is huge growth! :)
DeleteHaha agreed, Sarajevo is rocking it!
DeleteSarajevo has really crushed it this year
DeleteThe new SEE hub
DeleteYes with 1.5 million passengers annually a true "hub"...
Delete1.8 and probably 2.3-2.5 next year
Deletelol sure
DeleteThanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteAre there data available as to ASL capacity year-on-year for November?
In one of previous articles Admin said that JU also decreased its capacity (by couple %, 5ish if I remember correctly) in this November compared to November 2023.
DeleteYes, they have decreased capacity by 5.9% this November on their Belgrade flights and 5.5% overall.
DeleteSo, the lack of aircraft, lack of crew or lack of demand?
DeleteThank you for all the interesting info admin!
Delete+1
DeleteIn my opinion the situation in Ljubljana is of most concern considering they haven't still recovered on 2019 but are seeing a decrease.
ReplyDeleteBravo Fraport and them increasing airport fees! Truly the best in Europe
DeleteHave they increased fees again?
Delete"Wizz Air is still the main culprit for the slow growth rate, reducing its capacity by 30.9% year-on-year and wiping out 52.434 seats off the market"
ReplyDeleteCrazy
No wonder the airport has 8% decrease
DeleteBelgrade and Skopje got screwed over by Wizz this year
DeleteNot entire year, but from April yes.
DeleteWizz has too much influence on the region. They're a big player, but maybe airports need to diversify a bit more to avoid such big impacts when Wizz Air makes cuts
DeleteNot possible in BEG. They don't want to allow Ryan any incentives thus Ryan won't come.
DeleteThey should wait for Wizz for a couple more years and then decide...
DeleteWizz will be back and growing next year
DeletePegasus Airlines will soon overtake Turkish in exYu
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see TK back as no. 1 airline in Ljubljana after a few months though
Delete@9.08 not really f you combine TK numbers with AJet.
Delete*if
DeletePegasus Airlines has become very big in the region.
DeleteNot great
ReplyDeleteLong winter begins for Ljubljana. Seems like every month will be a minus.
ReplyDelete:(
DeleteYes unfortunately
DeleteBecoming a highly seasonal market which is crazy considering what Slovenia offers in the winter.
DeleteRyanair prepares for a winter hibernation.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that too. They are very seasonal. Even in ZAG their share is well below what it used to be over the summer
DeleteRyanair's profits are down 18%.
DeleteI don't know the reason for Ryan's hibernation within Balkan hinterland but I would to hear it narrated in the voice of Sir Richard Attenborough.
DeleteThe reason is they fly for profit and there's no profit in Balkans during winter. That's maybe not fair cause many other fly year-round cumulating loss during winter but that's up to them...
DeleteAgree with last anon
Delete@12.42 debatable if that is entirely true for low cost airlines
DeleteWinter is coming.
ReplyDeleteI hope WizzAir will return with big expansion from SKP and BEG once the problems with the engines are solved…
ReplyDeleteWill Wizz Air return the A321s to SKP and BEG next year?
Delete10:22 yes they will
DeleteGood!
DeleteWell done JU!
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteEasyjet still relatively strong in November. Where are these seats from?
ReplyDeleteIn November mostly Pristina. They launched Milan and Amsterdam last month
DeleteBut they ended SKP
DeleteWell done SJJ, was about time you woke up!
ReplyDeleteAbout time. But still a lot of catching up to do
DeleteAgree. Happy for SJJ but there is still room to grow, especially in connections with western European markets.
DeleteYes still major European metropolises missing
DeleteWhere is all this growth in scheduled capacity coming from in PRN?
ReplyDeleteEasyjet to AMS and MXP, Wizzair to MXP...
Deletenah its charters we lost the overview with
DeleteWhat’s the thing with Pristina and the tour operators/charters? Why can’t it simply have more scheduled capacity?
ReplyDeleteMost unique market in Europe in that sense. And it has always been like that.
DeletePristina’s situation with tour operators and charters is unique. There’s so much demand from the diaspora, and it shows. They really should work on adding more scheduled routes to capitalize on that.
DeleteNot going into politics but Kosovo is unique entity in Europe so I guess the way of doing aviation has to do a lot with that status...
DeletePristina’s growth, even with so many charter flights, shows how much demand there is.
Delete@13:23
Delete1. PRN is the only airport in exYU that does not provide subsidies to Airlines, yet Lowcosts still maintain regular flights in and out of PRN.
2. Reason for not providing subsidies, is so that the Aviation Authorities in Kosovo can maintain a semi-monopoly with certain Reiseburos, from which certain individuals profit on the back of regular travellers.
@14:20
DeleteGenuine question, how can Aviation Authorities help under the table certain Reiseburos so they are competitive? Carriers pay the taxes and fees to the airport. How exactly would that work?
@15:19
DeleteGenuine reponse: there are many ways to do that!
For instance, maintaining very high Airport taxes (Fyi: total estimated netto profit for PRN is roughly €90mln in 2024 alone).
That way, Lowcost presence remains limited, which in turn allows private operators to flourish and enjoy a +/- 40% stake.
And for clarity sake, 40% of PRN market translates to 1.6mln tickets sold at legacy carrier prices, while providing mediocre service with 30-40yr old aircrafts.
I tell ya, for some it's raining money for sure :-)
@19:17
DeleteThe claim was that the Aviation Authorities do not provide subsidies so Reiseburos can keep a semi-monopoly. Now you mention that by keeping high taxes, they keep competition away. I do not see how high airport taxes are linked with having a market with this big share of tour operators. Moreover, the taxes and fees are the same for every airline.
And i believe you have mixed up the revenues with profit about the airport. The government made 33m from the airport which is 30-35% of gross revenues.
@ 20:58,
Deletethat's just how the lowcost business model works! Lowcosts become scarce when airport taxes are high! On the other hand that is good for Reiseburos to flourish.
Ps: Kos. Gov. does not collect revenues - they collect profit. It's stipulated in their contract with Limak.
Hey Anonymous @14:20
DeleteThat's an opinion, and there's nothing wrong with having one, but you're well off the mark.
The airport is doing exceptionally well. This is completely a non-contraversal take, I believe.
If we start with this assumption then why on Earth would any sensible person or institution give subsidies. You do that when growth either stagnated or is negative.
Furthermore, who in their right mind wants to create a dependency on Wizz Air or Ryanair. Read this exact article and you will see how things are going at BEG and SKP. Ryanair is way more extreme. Nothing wrong with either airline, but why give them an unfair advantage? Wizz appears to be abusing its dominant position at SKP by not opening new routes unless they receive subsidiaries for doing so.
These much derided raisebüros are offering something to the market that others are not, otherwise passengers also vote with their wallets. That's entirely another topic, but suffice to say that it appears that the paying public would rather pay "legacy) prices to the likes of Chair Airlines then go through the ULCC experience of Wizz Air, see what happened in Basel.
If Ex-YU admin allows then I'd be more than happy to give my 2 cents regarding the market in Kosovo.
@23:43
DeleteYou are wrong regarding the concession agreement. Gov collects a fee based on gross revenues which is 30-35% (I am not sure for the exact %). The rest of the revenues go to Limak which will pay all other expenses for running the Airport. I like this agreement. Just it would have been better for that the Gov to have invested itself on the terminal and give it for concession to private companies to manage it but for shorter durations, like 3-5 years. The share of money which goes back to Gov would have been bigger.
@12:18
DeleteThat was my opinion based on arguments, and you didn't challenge any of it as far as I am concerned.
I didn't question PRN performance, but since you brought it up, you should know that if it weren't for the Visa Liberalisation, PRN growth would be around 0% this year.
Here's another fact for you: every Airport is dependent on an airline. Why should it be any different for PRN!
And FYI: purpose of incentives is not always to avoid passenger decline. TIA should serve as an example of that.
But then again, its a question of ambition how far one is willing to tap and capitalize own potential.
And last: arguing that simple travellers prefer reiseburos as opposed to lowcosts is plain BS 😅. PRN, unlike any other surrounding exYU Airport, is a champion in fraudelent Reiseburos. There are numerous (un)reported cases when these Reiseburos simply dissapeared and left thousands of passengers dry without any consequence.
Hello again. Hope you get the chance to read this.
DeleteLet's keep the discussion civil and not call each other's opinions as BS. It's OK to have different opinions.
Since you want an argument-by-argument discussion then:
1. It's simply not true that PRN does not offer subsidies. It did so in more than one occasion, and the last one is still valid:
https://www.limakkosovo.aero/files/Business/Incentive%20Program%202022-2024.pdf
So, in my opinion, this is a non-argument.
2. Therefore, your argument about "reasons" for not providing subsidies it's also a non-argument given that there are subsidies. Your point here is purely conspiratorial.
3. According to you, the airport is making a killing (roughly 90M Euros just in 2024). Buddy, what's the point of the airport management? To make money. It's not a charity. So, you're essentially saying that the airport management are highly competent, and have developed a market where the airport is fantastically profitable, and so are the airlines. Passengers can travel from SKP and TIA, if they don't like it.
4. I am not a crystal ball reader, so I don't know what the growth would have been if there was no visa liberalisation, but the point is the airport passenger figures are growing very impressively.
5. The question should not be whether every airport depends on an airline, but whether airports want to put themselves in a position to depend on an airline? I know of many airports that don't depend on "an airline": Toulouse, Milan Malpensa, Bordeaux, Gatwick, etc. That's not to say that PRN should be compared to them, but they don't have a dominant airline with, say, close to 50% market share. As the saying goes, no one wants to put all their eggs in one basket.
6. The one point where I fully agree with you is regarding ambition. On this I fully agree. Neither the airport management nor the government have ever shown any ambition to achieve anything of note (there is simply no clear vision for the future). You are spot on here, but in my opinion, that's very different to creating conditions for an airline, such as Wizz Air, to have an unfair advantage over airlines that have served the airport for nearly 25 years. Either you believe in the free market or you do not. Wizz Air tried and failed miserably at Basel, which is the single busiest route our of both Basel and PRN. Why did they fail? Because the majority of passengers *preferred* (yes, preferred, and voted with their wallets) what easyJet as well as Air Prishtina (Chair Airlines) or "raiseburos" have to offer. If you believe in the open market, and I do, then you let both Wizz Air and reiseburos complete. In several markets Wizz Air got their backside handed to them by the raisurebos. I call that a preference over Wizz Air, you can call you whatever you like.
7. easyJet appears to be doing rather well and they're not being given any preferential treatment. Given your logic, no one and nothing is stopping them from becoming the airline that PRN depends on.
It’s amazing how closely growth/declines at the airports have closely followed these capacity increases/reductions
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see these numbers, I wonder if the Balkan airports could work together more to drive tourism and routes. Imagine a coordinated effort to boost travel within the region and to connect to other European hubs
DeleteFantastic year for Zagreb continues.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSeeing Zagreb’s growth is promising. Ryanair really seems to be pushing ZAG as a destination
DeleteTrue dat, you can see that from the number of tourists around the city.
DeleteIt wasn't like that at all before COVID during this time of the year.
The capacity levels are actually great for November for most airports.
ReplyDeleteNot really almost half of the capitals are down on last year.
DeleteInteresting to see how Wizz Air's reductions are impacting the numbers, especially in Belgrade and Skopje. Surprised they’re cutting so much capacity. Any chance they will increase something for the holidays?
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia holding onto 52.5% of capacity at Belgrade Airport is impressive! Shows how strong the national carrier is despite Wizz Air's big reductions. Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep that position next year too.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean "despite" Wizz reductions? It's owing to those reductions that they have such a large share, otherwise they'd be below 50% (which is good and healthy for the airport).
DeleteNice to see Podgorica growing, even if it's a modest 4%. Turkish Airlines taking the lead in Montenegro isn't surprising, but I’d like to see Air Montenegro expand its network.
ReplyDeleteAir Montenegro is completely useless.
DeleteIt really is. Very small network. Fleet size of 2. No possibility to buy connecting flights. No possibility to buy codeshare flights. 99.9% of travelling public don't even know they exist.
DeleteBut you know the size of that market in November, right?
DeleteI know. If they offered at least the possibility to buy connecting tickets or cooperated with another airline they would have more passengers and revenue. Especially when they need it the most in winter.
DeleteSkopje keeps getting hit hard by Wizz Air cuts. They have such a big share, so every adjustment affects the entire airport. It’s time for more airlines to jump in to reduce the dependency
ReplyDeleteThe word on the street is that Wizz Air threatened to leave cometely if another LCC is introduced more that a couple of flights a week. Pegasus is no threat to them, but Ryanair could kill them.
DeleteDoes not surprise me at all
DeleteSad to see Ljubljana slipping
ReplyDeleteLjubljana needs a low cost boost
DeleteIt will never happen with Fraport.
DeleteTrue unfortunately
DeleteAn 8.6% decrease for Belgrade is quite a hit. Wizz Air’s cuts are definitely the reason, but I wonder why some other budget carriers haven't stepped in.
ReplyDeletethey need to diversify beyond Wizz and Air Serbia. Hopefully, this gets some attention from the airport management.
DeleteEven bigger drop in SKP yet concerns for the lack of other budget carriers are only shown for BEG. LOL
DeleteMan, their very presence in SKP is a result of a concern for the lack of other carriers. The airport, the government, they had many initiatives and Wizz came out as the only solution for SKP. For BEG we have no clue if they have any initiative, except for parking lots...
DeleteW6 helped SKP at that time but they need another lowcoster now.
DeleteSkopje being impacted again by Wizz Air’s cuts is frustrating. With 54% of capacity tied to one airline, it’s no wonder there’s volatility. Time for more competition
ReplyDeleteWow, a 63.7% increase in Sarajevo’s capacity is huge! Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, and now Ryanair – Sarajevo is finally getting the connectivity it deserves.
ReplyDeleteBelgrade eGates registration was mentioned for November 1st. What happened?
ReplyDeleteI really hope the declining period at BEG will be very short. I don't expect BEG to grow each and every year, but some modest growth would be fine :)
ReplyDeleteIt should now be declining when the economy is growing. Disappointing results.
DeleteIt will decline until February. Then it should return to growth
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/10/belgrade-airport-faces-challenging.html