PREMIUM
Wizz Air has been Skopje Airport’s dominant customer, generating around 60% of its traffic on an annual level. Last year, when the situation in the aviation industry was not influenced by the current coronavirus pandemic, Wizz Air maintained 31 routes out of Skopje, with up to five aircraft stationed in the city at the time. It launched four new routes from Macedonian capital during 2019 and upgraded two of its services from seasonal to year-round operations.
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| Wizz Air's Skopje route network in 2019 |
Wizz Air’s primary focus from Skopje are diaspora-heavy routes. These are European markets with a sizable Macedonian and Kosovar diaspora. In 2019, it operated a total of 8.038 flights to and from Skopje (return flights included) and offered 1.637.792 seats up for sale. Wizz Air’s busiest routes closely follow the number of return flights it operates on these city pairs. In 2019, its busiest service was Basel, followed by Malmo, Bratislava, Cologne and London Luton. At the same time, it offered the most flights to Basel, Malmo, London Luton, Bratislava and Cologne.
Basel has been Wizz Air’s star performer out of Skopje for years. The airline faces no direct competition on the route and benefits from a large number of passengers heading to or originating from Kosovo. It operated a total of 794 flights (return service included) in 2019 and recorded an annual average cabin load factor of 92.2%.
Malmo was Wizz Air’s second busiest route out of the Macedonian capital. Facing no competition, the airline handled 94.386 passengers on the route across 480 flights (return service included). Its average cabin load factor stood at 86.3%. Although its passenger numbers declined on the service in 2019, it should be noted the carrier launched flights between Ohrid and Malmo during the year, impacting on its Skopje route performance.
Bratislava was Wizz Air’s third most popular route. Relying on the large Macedonian diaspora in Austria, the airline carried 75.589 travellers between Skopje and the Slovak capital, which is located just 65 kilometers east of Vienna. Even though Wizz Air opened a base at the expensive Vienna Airport in 2018, it has reserved the route for Ohrid instead. Although not strictly enforced, airport operator TAV Macedonia has tried not to overlap Wizz Air routes out of Skopje with legacy carriers. Austrian Airlines maintains flights between the two capitals and in 2019 handled 137.013 passengers, making it Skopje Airport’s third busiest route. Wizz Air operated a total of 366 flights (return service included) between Bratislava and Macedonia, registering an average cabin load factor of 92.1%.
The fourth busiest Wizz Air route out of Skopje was Cologne. The low cost carrier is the only one to maintain services between Macedonia and Germany. It handled 71.094 passengers between the two cities last year on 326 flights (return service included). It managed a 95.8% average cabin load factor.
Finally, London Luton proved to be Wizz Air’s fifth busiest route. A total of 382 flights were operated and 60.694 passengers handled last year. The average annual cabin load factor stood at 88.3%.
