Wizz Air to skip Banja Luka

Fuel prices a deal breaker for Wizz Air

The low cost airline Wizz Air is unlikely to launch flights from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city despite months of negotiations. The news comes only a week after the airline announced its first service from the country, from Tuzla to Malmo in Sweden, to be inaugurated on May 31. High fuel prices are the main reason for Wizz Air’s decision to back away from Banja Luka. “Our fuel costs 1.89 euros per litre but for an agreement to be reached it must range between 1.10 and 1.20 euros. We are unable to lower the cost below the asking price of the fuel provider”, Davorin Mihić, the acting CEO of Banja Luka Airport says. Wizz offered Banja Luka flights from Luton, Malmo, Eindhoven and Dortmund to choose from, with the airport selecting the service from Sweden as it considered it to be the most viable out of the offered destinations.

A Wizz Air delegation recently reviewed the facilities at Banja Luka Airport and reported they were satisfied with the airport’s technical capabilities. However, Mr. Mihić admits that talks are likely to fail. Banja Luka Airport is in need of new customers after narrowly avoiding closure last year due to financial problems. In the first two months of the year the airport handled 966 passengers, a decrease of 20.5% compared to the same period in 2012. The airport is served solely by B&H Airlines, which maintains three weekly flights to Zurich.

Wizz Air began talks with Bosnian officials last year with plans to launch flights from all four commercial airports in the country, including Sarajevo and Mostar. Talks with Sarajevo Airport ended in failure when the airport’s CEO said that reducing service costs for Wizz Air would cause a “domino effect” with other airlines. The no frills airline is said to be interested in launching flights from Mostar to Italy and Poland in order to cash in on the flourishing religious tourism.

Comments

  1. Anonymous10:20

    Damn. I was hoping they would start flights from BNX :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:10

    And of course nothing :-(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12:02

    bad policies of RS leadership have lead to lowest salaries in europe. how than to expect citizens to fly?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:14

    Its no good letting these low cost carriers hold the authorities to ransom! Let Wizzair Wizz off!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:16

      Although I must admit those kerosine prices do seem rather expensive!

      Delete
  5. Anonymous12:40

    Then you can happily continue to operate airports with 966 passengers a year...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:53

    Instead of subsidising the fuel prices for Wizz (not right, but better than giving money to other companies and they still sell tickets for ridiculous prices!) and make flying form/to BNX affordable they are just ignoring the fact that NOTHING is happening and if they continue like that nothing will happen! I am sick and tired of that government!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean like all the money thrown into Air Srpska with not even a single flight occurring.

      That money could have subsidized the fuel costs and with real flights for passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:28

      Exactly E, that what I had in mind, or Adria's flights with ridiculous ticket prices even though they were getting more money from Dodik just flying empty planes, so they did not care!

      I flew LGW-BNX via LJU, and it was great, very convenient, but it was pricey, still better than nothing I suppose.

      However, having Wizzair being interested to start flights at all is a big deal for such a small airport, and being let down because of fuel price is just outrageous!

      Balkane, Balkane, moj!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12:57

    BNX passengers still can use ZAG for travel.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:21

      Why in the world they would use Zagreb, instead of Sarajevo, Tuzla or Belgrade? Besides, not everyone heads to Germany.

      Delete
    2. Doot16:38

      because it's closer and easier to get to. duh.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:27

      Closer AND cheaper to get to, than all of those cities?
      And even if one is flying to Istanbul, Moscow, Dubai, Sochi, Warsaw or more recently, Malmo? Let me remind you that nowadays it takes less than an hour to cross 100km. Make your maths, dumbass.

      Delete
    4. Doot00:16

      I'm not sure if you're talking to me or the poster before me, but yes, Zagreb is faster to get to from Banja Luka than Sarajevo or Tuzla.

      and, yes, I have "made my maths"

      I'm not sure it's true that it "takes less than an hour to cross 100km" to travel from Banja Luka to Sarajevo or Tuzla. However, Banja Luka is close to the Zagreb-Belgrade highway, so the infrastructure is better on that end.

      Also, yes, you can get to more places from Zagreb than Sarajevo or Tuzla.

      Maybe for some trips it would make sense to travel to Belgrade, but probably more sense to drive to Vienna which is about the same distance.

      Anyway, not sure why self-evident facts upset you. Maybe you need to make more maths or something

      Delete
    5. Anonymous07:02

      Doot
      Excellent reply!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:39

      Excellent reply besides that Doot forgot to put the Dot and wrote a load of BS on the way. If for Doot 560km (to Vienna) are equal to the 300km to Belgrade, then his mum must be elephant man. And yes, BEG is only 100km further than Zagreb by highway, which, in modern times, equals to a 1h trip. I think you don't only need to check your maths but your basic literacy as well (dot)

      Delete
    7. Doot14:01

      Not sure why you're pissed of.

      I never said that no one would use those other airports. they certainly COULD. The original post was why WOULD anyone use Zagreb and I answered that question - because it's closest.

      I'm sure some will drive to Belgrade, as you'll see I said in my previous post.

      Didn't mean to pour gas on some kind of complex. None of this is anything to get angry over and I can't imagine why anyone would.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:30

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    9. Doot00:54

      Damn. Looks like I missed someone getting their panties in a twist over nothing.

      Gotta love the balkanians :) Always arguing which morsel of feces has more or less corn in it.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous12:58

    BNX would do great with Skavsta or Gothenburg, or even Malmo just different days in a week than Tuzla.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous14:43

    Why is Mostar still on hold for wizz?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous16:37

    "Wizz offered Banja Luka flights from Luton, Malmo, Eindhoven and Dortmund to choose from, with the airport selecting the service from Sweden.."

    I find this statement hilarious.

    Spinning the news in your favor doesn't bring business. I wonder how much lower there is to go from here.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous21:10

    I presume they wouldn't base a plane at Banja Luka under any scenario. If so,

    What does this difference in fuel cost (~69 euro cents/ liter) translate into on an annual basis assuming a single destination (let's take Gothenburg, for argument sake) 3 times per week ?



    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous21:17

    Wizz from BNX could be used by people from Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:17

      No Thanks! By the time you add all the extras on wizz I can get a flight the same price or less with OU!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01:16

      Croats would rush-in to use Wizzair from Banja Luka, they're desperate for low-costs.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous01:09

      Sure Croats are desperate for low-costs. We have 22 LCC flights per week from Zagreb + Ryanair base in Zadar which is less than w hours driving + 6 big LCC airports in circle of 3 hours driving. We are totally desperate!!!!

      Delete
  13. Anonymous21:37

    OT: 2 april (today)... what happen with Nordic air Sweden, flight Copenhagen - Skopje? as i can see http://skp.airports.com.mk/default.aspx?ItemID=358 nothing :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous02:12

    when is wizz air going to add second aircraft to beg base? I noticed that tomorrow there will be 6 wizz flights,how is that possible with one aircraft?

    ReplyDelete
  15. it is not possible with single aircraft. But you dont have to base the aircraft in one place in order to have flight from that place. It can happen that e.g. BEG - Eindhoven flight is done with Eindhovens place....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous17:09

    It seems as though the acting CEO of BNX for more than a year now, has failed in everything except putting things upside down in that company, and describing the situation the way which suits him most. Now, he’s blaming everyone else but himself. How would Wizz have been satisfied and come if there had been no legitimate board of directors, no certified personnel, no head of the traffic sector, no head of the technical sector, no head of the security sector, no proper control of the official gateways, and, in addition, no some other important things that were asked by the Aviation Law and both ICAO and IATA recommended practise?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous23:22

    Is it true Mr Mihić, the acting CEO, announced he’s going to stop sharing the fuel depot with the Armed Forces of B&H, after which the duty-and-tax-free fuel price wouldn’t exceed 1EUR? If so, it’s scarcely clear to me what he had on his mind concerning the division of the depot. How’s he going to do it?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous23:39

    Yeah! It would be really great to starting a flights from Poland (Krakow or Radom) to Mostar. There are many polish tourists who visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina - not only for Medjugorje, but also for Neum, Sarajevo, Visoko and Trebinje

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous23:52

    What is going on with Banialuka Airport?

    ReplyDelete

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