The Lufthansa Group has presented its 2025/26 winter season schedule, which runs from October 26, 2025, until March 28, 2026, with the German flag carrier set to suspend service between Frankfurt and Skopje in February and March. Ticket sales for this period have now been halted, with Lufthansa offering alternative connections via Vienna with Austrian Airlines instead. Based on the carrier’s schedule, it will operate its last flight between Frankfurt and Skopje for the upcoming winter on January 31, after which services will be suspended between February 1 and March 26. Operations are set to resume on March 27. Further changes at this early stage are possible.
Based on Lufthansa’s existing planned operations, the airline will run ten weekly flights between Frankfurt and Skopje in November and December, as well as a daily service in January. During the previous 2024/25 winter season, the carrier maintained ten weekly rotations between Frankfurt and Skopje in February and March. Lufthansa commenced service to the Macedonian capital in late April 2023. It successfully applied for subsidies provided by the Macedonian government to launch the route. This support runs until December 30, 2025. Lufthansa faces no direct competition, however, low cost carrier Wizz Air maintains operations from Skopje to Hahn, some 125 kilometres from the German city's main airport.
In 2023, Lufthansa carried 73.456 passengers on its new Skopje service for an average cabin load factor of 71.1% for the duration of the year. During its first full year of operations, in 2024, it welcomed 105.653 travellers on the route, for an average load factor of 72.7%. Data indicates that February and March saw some of the lightest loads on the route. In February and March of 2024, the carrier handled 6.269 and 7.288 passengers between the two cities respectively. This resulted in an average load factor of 53.1% in February, considered the slowest month in the aviation industry, and 64% in March.
Couldn't they have reduced frequencies instead of completely suspending flights? Kind of crazy to go from 10 weekly last Feb/March to 0.
ReplyDeleteLower frequencies means higher costs and on a route like Frankfurt it also probably means even lower loads. People need a flexible schedule to book a round trip that has multiple connections.
Delete'This support runs until December 30, 2025.'
DeleteThey start cutting the moment subsidies run out. Goes to show that 10 weekly flights are not sustainable without government support.
Unfortunately we have to understand that many smaller markets like SKP will struggle with legacies and they should be thankful for what Wizz Air did for them.
They are flying a whole extra month.
DeleteYes one month out of 12 in the year which is also the month after New Year and Christmas.
DeleteIts written 72% LF. If they struggle they wouldnt have operated 10 weekly until now and woudnt send A321s to SKP.
DeleteI don't think they struggle I just think the route is probably highly seasonal.
DeleteNot surprising with this loads.
ReplyDelete*those
DeleteAnd no more subsidies
DeleteSeasonal adjustments like this are fairly common, especially when the data clearly shows lower demand in February and March. Makes sense from a business standpoint.
ReplyDeleteThe load factor in Feb–Mar justifies the cut.
DeleteCuts are primarily there because sunbsidies run out at the end of the year. Without them I doubt SKP can handle even daily flights.
DeleteSo much for reliability… just over a year after launch and they’re already suspending flights on some months.
ReplyDeleteWhat are they supposed to do according to you, fly with a 50% load factor for another year?
DeleteDude they only launched SKP because they got money from the government. If the government wants more flights then they should give them money. There is obviously no demand for LH to operate these flights on their own.
DeleteYes thats why they send A321s to SKP.
Delete:(
ReplyDeleteI flew this route in December and the flight was nearly full. Surprised to see such a long pause in winter.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the numbers above seems like your flight was the exception, not the rule.
DeleteDisappointing
ReplyDeleteThat means that North Macedonian market dried out. Very poor demand
ReplyDeleteDon't be so dramatic.
DeleteHe's just stating facts.
DeleteThe market is infinetely bigger than it was just 10 years ago!
DeleteDespite the massive growth of TIA, BEG and SOF at the same time.
Or SKG to the south.
BEG and TIA do not affect SKP, they are too far away.
DeleteSKP might be bigger now but not big enough.
February I can understand but not March. That's when demand starts to pick up. I can only imagine how bad advance booking were for this route. Without subsidies this route just doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will keep it as a summer seasonal.
With 105k passangers each year? Oh the drama! Daily is enough, since Wizz flies from Frankfurt Hahn. The Balkan mentality is sickening, and the balkan drama even worse! How can people be so happy about this?!
DeleteHow exactly is anyone happy?
DeleteMarch is a dead month.
DeleteNo it's not. That's when demand starts growing rapidly.
DeleteWow, thats sad :(
ReplyDelete7 flights per week is enough, they keep sending the a320&321 to Skopje and have 105.000 people using this route each year AND people are saying they should just cut it?
ReplyDeleteNo one said that.
DeleteYou don't understand things clearly. Lufthansa has a pilot shortage, aircraft shortage, slot restrictions. Why fly to Skopje when it can fly to Palma or Sofia or Madrid.
DeleteThis has nothing to do with pilot shortage. Lufthansa just doesn't have enough passengers to justify this route. Average LF is around 70%. This is borderline catastrophic for a legacy airline.
DeleteThat is why they are cutting the route the moment subsidies are over.
We will see what will happen with summer timetable too.
Delete@Anonymous 11:04
DeleteExactly!
They fly to PMI, SOF, MAD... because there is enough demand to fly there without subsidies. SKP doesnt have enough demand.
DeleteWith 105k pax per year you are the proffesional who knows more and works in LH. Thats why they send A321s in summer.
DeleteAt least it’s not a permanent suspension. Let’s hope demand recovers and they bring the February–March service back in 2027.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be so sure.
DeleteSuspending flights during slow months is common, especially when load factors dip below 60%. Better than cutting the route entirely.
ReplyDeleteWe read on here how SKP wants flights to USA but then they can't sustain FRA without large subsidies.
ReplyDeleteLots of Balkan armchair CEOs know best
DeleteWhy so negativity when there is article about SKP? You finally feel happy that there is one kinda bad news connected with SKP? You see, despite this, despite the declines of Wizz Air, SKP still has record numbers this year and connections to more important cities than before.
DeleteIf BEG can do 320K a year to FRA Skipje can certainly do a third of that.
ReplyDeleteThe ipportunity is clearly there.
Now if a company such as LH can't see the value and make profit on 100K passengers that might say something about the company itself.
I am guessing but I have a feeling that TY is saying:
- your loss, is my gain.
typical lufthansa, not surprised
ReplyDelete105K passnegers per year and people here are saying there is no demand? What u want 200k people? Than the flights would have been triple daily. For a legacy carrier its not that common for the planes to be full 100%, they make profit with lower LF. Its understandable to suspend the route during the two quitest months of the year if the LF was 50%.
ReplyDeleteFrom November there will be Skopje-Larnaca flights.
Very normal situation in Feb & Mar. Unfortunately LH doesn't have smaler planes in the Fleet like Austrian to adapt to the winter demand. A220, Embraer 170/190 or CRJ700/900.
ReplyDeleteA320 is just to big for the winter demand.
LH has CRJ900 in the fleet, plus they work with AirBaltic in a wet lease agreement for A220s, so there would be ways how this route could operate. Maybe if not out of Frankfurt, then Munich.
DeleteYou win, you loose. All good. Changes remain possible.
ReplyDeleteWizzAir at least announced that they are bringing back Skopje - Larnaca this October.