Busy times as Split announces terminal expansion in 2014
Split Airport has announced plans to expand its terminal building and invest a further sixty million euros in upgrading its facilities. Tender procedures for the terminal’s expansion should begin in the first half of 2014, while construction is planned to commence following the busy summer season. Half of the finances would be provided by the airport itself while the other half will be funded from alternative sources. The airport recently purchased nearby land in order to construct a 35.500 square metre parking lot. Commenting on the future investments, Split Airport CEO Lukša Novak said, “With the planned reconstruction and expansion of the terminal building the airport will expand its facilities by 34.500 square metres, which will increase capacity”. Split Airport currently has the capacity to handle two million passengers per year.
Croatia’s third busiest airport has recorded a strong year so far. Its passenger numbers have risen by 11% in 2013. In July alone the airport welcomed 335.000 passengers, an increase of 14.3% compared to the same month last year. During the month, the airport broke its 24 hour passenger record twice, the latest being on July 28 when it handled some 60.000 passengers, meaning approximately 30.000 travellers arrived and another 30.000 departed the city. The seaside airport saw a combined total of 220 flights arriving and departing.
Split is the fifth busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, behind only Belgrade, Zagreb, Pristina and Dubrovnik. The airport handles over 25% of all passengers departing and arriving from and to Croatia. Most passengers using Split Airport this summer are from Scandinavian countries as well as the United Kingdom and France. Furthermore, the airport holds the title of being the most profitable in the country.
if Split can handle 60,000 in a day, that would make the annual capacity 21,900,000 wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteSaturday's during the tourist season Split airport is as busy as any airport which handles 20 million passengers per year. makes you wonder how they manage it!
DeleteHm, I've posted this article on this blog a week ago, old new to me now.
DeleteSplit Airport is doing ok during 7 months of the year, but for 5 months of the year airport manges traffic of june (250k), but that being said airport needs to expand current terminal and add extra ramps to handle additional traffic as well as full length taxiway so airport can handle even more traffic.
BTW I think, not 100% sure Zagreb had record June and July, 258000 for June and 284000 for July, still waiting for airport to release data, guy that suppose to do it was on holiday, and since new management is settling in, from what I understand dew staff will be laid off as a result, 60 staff at least including current management of the airport with Bosko Matkopvich former head of the Airport brought in as a consultant and advisor.
2014 will be a big year for the airport, a 17-25% increase in traffic is expected. This year 7-8% yoy traffic growth is expected.
Good news for Split!
ReplyDeleteBEG also released their July figures: 432.780 pax, 6% growth y-o-y.
Good results for BEG! Shame that Jat messed up with its fleet earlier in the year as I am sure we would have passed the 2,000,000 mark in July.
DeleteSo far in 2013 the airport handled 1,939,823 passengers, up by 3% from last year's 1,891,000.
60000 must be counted 24 hours from Peak to Peak and than it s probably also more aircraft movements.
ReplyDeletecause u take 60000 with 220 u come up with 272 Pax per flight. I can assume that there is some 763 flying to SPU, but for sure not every aircraft move is a widebody
still definitely no pleasure to dep or arr on July Saturday in Split. The Airport needs now a real Expansion with capacities up to easely 5-6 mio. 4-5 jetbridges
It is so difficult to imagine how one rather small airport can handle so many passengers in one day. Congratulations to all employees of Split airport! I believe it's very hard to work on weekends during the whole season.
ReplyDeleteTotday 03aug we have 99 arrivals and 99 departures, officially what is listed in the Airport webside.
ReplyDeleteOf course GAC movements are not counted there.
Congrats to Split. Lets hope OU doesn't muck it up during the winter.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for OT: does somebody know whats with
ReplyDeleteYU-ANH? Thanks a lot.
BEG in June.....350.453
ReplyDeleteJat/AirSerbia will relocate from Sheremetyevo airport to Domodedovo.
ReplyDeleteI guess the codeshare with Aeroflot will get terminated?
where did you hear that
DeleteSounds kind of logic/expected, as Etihad operates to DME.
DeleteI also think they will terminate code share with Aeroflot (and move to DMO), and by that shift some transit pax who used SU to the Far East to use Abu Dhabi instead of Moscow...we'll see soon ;-)
DeleteSorry DME :-) typing mistake.
DeleteAlso OU is starting flying to Domodedovo from 15th August.
ReplyDelete...from Zagreb.
ReplyDelete^ ???
ReplyDeleteEmirates Airlines tipped as mysterious investor behind Hungary's new carrier Sólyom
ReplyDeleteThe secret Middle Eastern investor behind Hungary’s new airline Sólyom Hungarian Airways could be Emirates Airlines, the website of broadcaster Gazdasági Radio reported on Wednesday, citing air industry experts as the source. It added that the confidence of the management also reaffirms this view.
Could Emirates Airlines be that mysterious investor from Dubai?
Sólyom Hungarian Airways held its first official press conference last week, announcing that it had signed a deal with two strategic investors. As a minority owner it named a tourism company registered in Oman, adding that another unnamed Dubai-based company is providing the necessary funding for the launch planned for August.
Gazdasági Radio learned from industry experts that this mysterious investor could be Emirates. There are three main air traffic hubs in the Middle East, in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. All three have their own airline, carrying 10-40 million passengers annually, mostly transit passengers. The largest carrier in the region is Emirates, based in Dubai, operating 200 aircraft. The other large airline is Etihad Airways that has recently bought a nearly 30% stake in Air Berlin.
Middle Eastern airlines spreading their wings
Airlines in the Middle East have embarked on an active expansion scheme and previously Qatar Airways and Etihad both were looking into ways to enter the European market. Etihad is expected to be given the go-ahead to buy a 49% stake in Serbia’s loss-making flag carrier JAT Airways in August - a partnership deal is to be signed tomorrow - and it is also getting closer to gaining a foothold in the Indian market.
India's foreign investment regulator has given its approval to a USD 379 million deal that will see Etihad buy a 24% stake in Jet Airways. It is the first foreign investment in India's airline sector since ownership restrictions were eased last year. It seems to be the turn for Emirates Airlines to make a move in this direction.
What are the plans?
Sólyom Airways plans its launch for next month a deal with a leasing company has already been signed for six aircraft and the first Boeing 737-500 aircraft will be delivered on 18 August. That is when the airline will start its operation. The carrier expects to run a fleet of 50 aircraft by 2017, 20 of which should be regional, 20 narrow-body and 10 wide-body aircraft. Depending on the size of its fleet management expect a 700-1,000-strong headcount for this year that should be boosted to 1,400-2,000 in 2014. They expect to fly to 31 countries by the end of this year, to 51 by 2014 and to 55 countries with 96 destinations by 2017, CEO József Vágó told the press conference. The company further expects to be transporting three million passengers next year, and by 2017, the airline’s 50 aircraft is projected to be carrying eight million - but no budgeting details were made public.
"We give it a year"
DeleteAlthough this looks very much like the title of a recent and very entertaining romantic comedy this is actually the damning headline of an article by local weekly HVG citing an analysis done by local Capitol Consulting Group (CCG). The company not only said Vágó’s estimates were almost impossible to meet, it believes the "Hungarian Hawk" will make "massive losses" very quickly and be facing a "huge crash" in 2017.
Even figuring in an 80% capacity rate on all planned flights, Sólyom’s calculations appear to fall apart when calculating the industry-standard measure of "block hours," defined as "The time from the moment the aircraft door closes at departure of a revenue flight until the moment the aircraft door opens at the arrival gate following its landing."
Sólyom is to fly Boeing 737-500 aircraft, which boast 110 seats (12 business and 98 economy class).
Assuming Sólyom operates at the no-frills airline average of eight block hours per day per aircraft (the low-budget leader worldwide is US-based Southwest Airlines at an average of 13 block hours), this would mean four flights per day for each Solyóm aircraft, with Western European cities an average of two hours’ flight distance from Budapest. Therefore, calculated the CCG analysts, Sólyom could manage transport of just 2.2 million passengers in 2014, based on the airline’s own estimation of its fleet size. Against the carrier’s own estimate for eight million passengers annually by 2050 CCG projects no more than 6.5 m by then.
The weekly also highlighted that teaming up with another international carrier, a move Sólyom is not planning do, could bring up to 20% growth in passenger base.
Further estimates say that at average prices of EUR 200 to EUR 400 per round-trip ticket and figuring in the makeup of Sólyom’s fleet to account for standard passenger and business-class passengers, revenue of HUF 26.2 billion could be earned (HUF 5.2 bn from business class and HUF 21 bn from economy class). According to CCG estimates, however, cost of operations is expected at present at HUF 30.2 bn per year (HUF 14.4 bn worth of direct and HUF 15.8 bn indirect costs).
Based on the estimated costs and revenues Sólyom Airways could expect - even under the most upbeat scenarios - to incur HUF 4 billion losses in its first year of operation which would go even higher if it remains in business. By 2017 its losses are estimated to swell to HUF 33 bn and in five years it is looking at a loss of HUF 93 bn, according to the best case scenario of CCG.