Pegasus and easyJet considering Niš service


Turkey's Pegasus Airlines and budget carrier easyJet have shown interest in launching services to Niš Constantine the Great Airport. According to the airport's General Manager, Vladica Djurdjanović, Pegasus is considering introducing flights from Istanbul, while easyJet would launch operations from the United Kingdom. It comes just a week after the head of Niš's Tourism Organisation noted that both Norwegian Air Shuttle and Eurowings are eyeing future flights to the south-east Serbian city. According to the airport's management, a greater emphasis is being put on attracting more low cost operators. "Unlike national carriers, budget airlines offer passengers lower fares and are not as demanding when it comes to airport services. We are well equipped and strategically located, which will be evident in our annual passenger results", Mr Djurdjanović said.

Pegasus has been interested in launching services to Niš for almost a year. Last July, the carrier requested additional information, as well as general terms and conditions, from the airport. It is currently in the process of analysing the data. The Turkish carrier maintains flights from Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport to Belgrade. On the other hand, easyJet has been expanding in the region with new services to Croatia and Montenegro this year. The airline currently serves Belgrade with a single route from Geneva, but has previously operated flights from both Rome and Milan to the Serbian capital. Niš is trying to attract low cost carriers with its three euro charge for handling, landing and passenger services, a policy which has proven successful in drawing both Wizz Air and Ryanair to the once sleepy airport.

Due to increased traffic and the planned arrival of new carriers, Niš Airport has recently begun tender procedures aimed at developing project documentation for the expansion of its passenger terminal. The deadline for the tender has been set for July 4. The airport is looking at expanding both check-in and security areas and plans to handle 380, both arriving and departing, passengers at the same time. During the first five months of 2016, Niš welcomed 26.380 travellers through its doors. It aims to triple its passenger numbers to 300.000 by the end of next year.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    They are already talking about expanding the terminal. good work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    Good job INI.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:06

    I wonder if these airlines just ask for some info from the airport or if they are genuinely interested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      My thoughts too.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:09

    I think we will see another LCC announce flights to INI by the end of the year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:21

    for those who were wondering how INI survives with 3€/pax:
    http://nis-airport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/NAJNOVIJI-CENOVNIK.pdf
    http://nis-airport.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CENOVNIK-OSTALIH-AERODROMSKIH-USLUGA.pdf (Serbian only)
    http://nis-airport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cenovnik-komercijalnih-usluga.pdf (Serbian only)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Can you give a summary for those of us that don't understand Serbian?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:13

      those services in Serbian are mostly for cargo, measuring weight, transport of mail and cargo, etc.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:19

      Do LCC carry any mail and cargo?

      Delete
    4. Purger00:30

      Of course not! That is totally against their business concept.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:45

      Why, wouldn't they earn additional money?

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:26

    Great news.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:32

    Even if one of these came - Pegasus, easyjet, Norwegian or Eurowings - it would be excellent. Personally I hope it will be easyjet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:51

      It would be a good addition and a third choice since Air Serbia and Wizz Air fly from BEG to the UK.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:50

    Fantastic news for INI. Well done :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:59

    I still hope for a link to Spain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:11

      Exactly. Still we dont have from Serbia yearround Spain. Shame.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:45

      You can't chase away LCCs from BEG and expect questionable destinations profit-wise at the same time. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:06

      Chase away? LCC are still flying in great numbers from Belgrade. A LCC is maintaining at the moment a link to Spain. No major airport in Europe would drive away legacy carriers so that LCCs could run wild, as you would prefer. What kind of business strategy is that?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:10

      A free market one.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:08

      Anonymous June 29, 2016 at 11:06 AM

      How exactly do you "chase away legacy carriers" if you treat them like every other carrier who wants to fly to your airport?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:23

      The rules in BEG are the same for everyone. The European Commission thinks so too. Several LCCs are flying from BEG all year round. Like from every other major European airport. There is no problem there. Before experimenting with business strategy used now only by the airports of secondary importance, I suggest we wait for major airports, like FRA, CDG, VIE or AMS to apply it first. It never ends well for us, when we imagine that we are the "smartest".

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:33

      Low cost kompanije su kao paradajz turisti. Samo turistička mesta i aerodromi koji ne mogu da privuku nista bolje baziraju svoju biznis strategiju na njima. Uzdavlje!

      Delete
  10. Anonymous10:10

    It is time to rename INI into Belgrade South (just like BRU South-Charleroi)...it would be even more attractive

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      200kms cannot be BEG south..

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:14

      Hmm I agree, The issue is that you don't have a direct rail or bus link from the airport to BEG.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:40

      It's actually 250km.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:14

      It's a joke. But, seriously, these names are often a joke as well, so "Belgrade South" would not be too far fetched... However, the signage would get torched immediately :)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:28

      true dat.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:22

    This pretty much kills off any chances for Kraljevo Airport if they ever open it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:43

      We were hearing that story about Nis too. But it seems there plenty of untapped potential in Serbia. Gradual starting off at Kraljevo, with 2 flights per week, will prove that route just as successful.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:29

      While chances of KVO happening are dropping with each flight from INI, there is still a case for KVO.

      I don't think that KVO should (or can) compete for LCCs with INI, without major investments. They should focus on delivering few flights from 'legacy' carriers, which would open up multiple destinations through their hubs. (Austrian, Swiss, Turkish). These three would benefit from a good mix of p2p and transfer passengers, which would ensure decent loads.

      my2cents

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:23

    OT : this morning I flew Skopje - Lyon via Vienna : SKP - Vienna : 50 pax with A319 and Vienna -LYS: 38 pax with Q400

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:30

      Would you consider this an average load factor for this route?

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:29

    A winter service between Manchester or Liverpool and Ljubljana is long overdue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:41

      Are you sure? #brexit

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:47

      New routes to the UK should be postponed, until they decide if they are in or if they are out. It's much uncertainty at the moment, I'm afraid.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:58

      They are out, no doubts about that. They are just trying to minimize the negative aspects of their silly choice.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous11:27

    Off Topic.
    Does anyone have any news about Croatia Airlines and their new Ceo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:29

      There will be no new CEO. Croatia's government has collapsed and new elections have to be held in the next few months before any change in CEO can be arranged.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:13

      Yes, new election will be held probably Sept 4 or Sept 11, and then who knows how long it will take for new government to form and start filling positions with their people, whoever wins...

      Delete
  15. Anonymous11:29

    OT: YU-ARA went to DUS this morning - ferry flight to Air Berlin Technik?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:00

      DUS is main maintenance base for Air Berlin!

      To fly to maintenance so soon? And that should be something serous (if not it would be done in BEG) as it is not cheap to ferry A330 to DUS and back.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:05

      It was long said that any complex maintenance would be done either in FCO or DUS. It is part of the whole plan.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:12

      Plane just came from Abu Dhabi maintenance. It had just 20 short flights and 10 long flights. What kind of complex maintenance should be done for those few flights?

      It should not fly to DUS, for some small maintenance it should be done in BEG Jat Tehnika. That shows something went wrong, and it is much too soon for that.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:18

      Could it be that JU-ARA is as the Americans say a hangar Queen* and that is why Jet Airways selected it to be leased by ASL?

      * an aircraft that likes to spend a lot of time in the maintenance hangar.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:35

      It has flown for almost two years for Etihad Airways before it came to Air Serbia so don't go into conspiracies.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:03

      This aircraft was linking Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi almost daily for the past two years, so it is maybe a queen, but not a hangar one.

      Delete
    7. Aэrologic17:51

      Last time when there was a big delay, the issue was with the fuel loading system.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous18:00

      YU-ARA je upravo poletela za BEG.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous18:23

      Nije nista posebno bilo sta se plasite i odma proizvodite lazne price .
      INN-NS

      Delete
    10. Anonymous19:22

      YU-ARA "Lesli" se vraća k(r)ući.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous19:23

      Lesi, ha ha krući...

      Delete
    12. Purger00:37

      For sure that "jump" to DUS was not cheap. I just hope it will not be regular practice that they jump to DUS for every little single repair. It is much too expensive to do that.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous01:29

      Birds jump much higher for overhaul, just look at the lineup at BEG...

      Delete
    14. Purger08:47

      Of course for C-check or D-check, but just for maintenance of few hours?!?!?!?!?!

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:31

    Hope for many such news from INI to come :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:47

    What I understand is the current Ceo has contract until August

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi all,

    Good news for Niš.

    OT: Flew into Zagreb yesterday with Air France A320. Very full flight, was told only a few seats left.

    By far Paris Chatles De Gualle has to be the best airport I have travelled through so far this trip. The yanks can learn a from the Europeans on how to efficiently operate an airport. USA airports are not fun!

    The new terminal will definitely be an improvement for Zagreb but seeing it in real life, although impressive I think has lost a lot of it's architecual integrity with all the changes. So it kind of looks a bit funny now but still 1000% improvement on the current terminal.

    Zagreb is a great place (this coming from a dalmantinac) and the burgers are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Purger14:45

      You should come to my home for real domestic burger!!!! If you are still in Zagreb please contact me.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Purger! In Rovinj now but will try to get back to Zagreb before I head back to Aus. Will definitely let you know!

      Will try to get to Varaždin for the airshow.

      Delete
    3. Purger16:27

      OK. Than you will see what real domestic burger is! :-)

      Delete
  19. Anonymous14:32

    I'm really happy for Niš. What a transformation. A new terminal would be nice. Something like the one in Kraljevo or Maribor would be perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous14:37

    Bullshit! I don't know about Pegasus, but easyJet aren't coming. I can say that on 100%. Because of Brexit easyJet have lost over 20% of it's value and it's really struggling right now. The Brexit also will affect the number of travelers to the UK specially from the Balkans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:55

      O cemu ti samo lupetas pola exyu i dalje ima vize za britaniju sa ili bez brexita.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:44

      It's not only a visa issue. It is a thing that will effect also Serbians who are holding an EU passport and are currently working in the UK.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:12

      Samo izmisljate budalastine nijedan Britanski premijer se ne bi zezao da dobije nazad kuci milione nezadovoljnih expatova. Balkanski geniji.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous06:19

      Jel ti uvek imas potrebu da dolazis ovde i da vredjas ljude tako sto im govoris da lupetaju, izmisljaju budalastine...

      Molim te odnesi svoj primitivizam negde drugde ako ne mozes civilizovano da diskutujes ovde sa nama.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous15:29

    Brexit is in no way a problem for Serbia.
    I think the UK will now have to endure the same bad treatment by the EU that Serbia already suffers since decades.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:08

      Karma.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:44

      It's not only a visa issue. It is a thing that will effect also Serbians who are holding an EU passport and are currently working in the UK.

      Delete
  22. Aэrologic17:48

    OT - BEG-OHD today pax 54/66, mostly transfers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:27

      That's great!! And all this in the second week of operations!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:05

      It would be great if we knew the LF on the OHD-BEG segment. For me, the real question is, whether this route can be sustainable during the winter.

      Delete
    3. Aэrologic20:15

      OHD-BEG was 23/66 according to the information that i've got, previous flights were in the 30's.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:04

      Not good loads on the way back, but that will probably improve as the season goes by.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous18:22

    U2 da spoji LGW-INI I ZRH-INI bilo bi odlicno .
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  24. Easyjet will never fly to Nis as long as they don't have ILS. In addition, they're clear policy is to operate to primary airports in developed markets and Nis is neither primary nor developed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous01:07

      Aha, to su govorili i za Ryan ;)

      Delete

Post a Comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.