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| Wizz Air temporarily rules out Niš flights |
Low cost airline Wizz Air has said it will continue monitoring developments at its base in Belgrade before making any decisions on its future operations in Serbia. The comments came after the Serbian government said this week it would help revive Niš Constantine the Great Airport in the country’s south-east which is currently not served by scheduled airlines and has few passengers. It has been suggested Wizz Air could potentially relocate its operations from Belgrade to Niš after the budget carrier suspended two routes and cut down on its flights from the Serbian capital in early May in a dispute over fees and protectionism.
In a press release issued yesterday, Wizz Air spokesman, Daniel de Carvalho, said, “Wizz Air is continuously assessing twenty to thirty airports for development at any one time, but cannot comment on ongoing discussions. However, development in Niš would be subject to the airline’s continued presence in Belgrade which was put into doubt earlier this year when it had to halve capacity following a significant increase in charges. This not only undermined our growth plans for the country, but also in the trust that Serbia is committed to fomenting low cost air travel”. Wizz Air has previously said its reduction in operations from its Belgrade base will see a cut in capacity of 130.000 seats in 2014 with 700 fewer flights operated this year as a result of the airport’s decision to increase fees.
During the week, the Serbian Minister for Transport, Construction and Infrastructure, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Zorana Mihajlović, said the government was seeking out ways in which to develop Niš Airport into a low cost hub as early as 2015, with some 40.000 passengers to be handled next year and a further 100.000 in 2016. She added the government will invest 1.5 million euros in the installation of necessary equipment at the airport this September, such as the Instrument Landing System (ILS), in a bid to lure no frills airlines, primarily focused on Belgrade and Skopje, according to the minister.
Wizzair wants the convenience, benefits, and status of a primary airport, but they are only willing to pay the fees for a secondary airport.
ReplyDelete..and on the secondary airport they want everything for free!!! :-)
Delete+1
DeleteI really wonder how no other company has issues with Belgrade airport or Serbian government besides Wizz Air and includes low-cost airlines: EasyJet, FlyDubai, Pegasus, Norwegian, Vueling, Croatia Airlines...
DeleteRegards from London.
Croatia isn't a low-cost.
DeleteThat's a provocation, ignore that.
Deletecitiram : "..vlada ce investirati milion ipo u ILS za Nis..... "
ReplyDeleteU svakom slucaju smatram da je rad urednistva na ovom blogu kvalitetan, da su informacije pravovremene, demokraticne i odgovorne, ali ovaj citat vam pokazuje da morate malo filtrirati vesti.
Pomislice deca ,da se to stvarno tako i radi u praksi. :)
I think one of the companies that was considered was actually never Wizz air but Ryainair.
ReplyDeleteRyanair had interest to fly to Niš in 2006 when they had increase in passenger numbers but the ILS was the issue and city had no money
DeleteLooking at the current situation at the airport, I am happy they are downsizing their presence in Belgrade. At least they have freed up some airbridges which can be used by Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note and Air Serbia aside, I do not see why they should get special discounts when other, foreign carriers, have to pay the 'full' price. If they can't make money in Belgrade then there is no reason why they should get a special treatment while airlines such as Germanwings are forced to suspend their operations completely.
Also, I think Wizz Air is the last airline to complain about shady tactics used by other airlines. After all, we know how many nails they've put in Malév's coffin- referring to the reign of their current CEO while he was at the helm of the now defunct airline.
+1
DeleteINN
OT:
ReplyDeleteSplit July 2014: 389 000 passengers!
Today 27 000 passengers expected! Great job, Split!
Thumbs up for Split! Can not believe how they manage to do so many pax with limited space!
DeleteGreat job, Split!!
DeleteGo, Split!
DeleteOT:
ReplyDeleteBelgrade July 2014: 540 000 passengers!
+ 24%
Airport didn't publish anything... Give a source???
DeleteAre you sure? The airport has not published anything yet.
DeleteRead it on another forum, great month for Belgrade, but especially Split, considering weaker season and Croatia Airlines falling apart!
DeleteSto me nervira ovaj Wizz Air
ReplyDeleteINN
Balkan is Balkan, nothing can change how we operate. I am glad to see Belgrade is doing good, but knowing our mentality and politics somebody will step in to "do better". Same for Tuzla, airport is doing great, people working at airport get their salaries paid on time, passenger growth is booming but suddenly somebody in government doesn't like that, so they are putting new guy in place who's name is anything but clear. Lets have shady bus operators take it all...Corruption...
ReplyDeleteWizz Air investors better focus on their US LCC investments. With increased competition, takeover rumors, twice failed IPO and war in Ukraine Wizz is not facing a rosy outlook.
ReplyDeleteIf they get picky about Nis airport, others might jump in ahead of them. Drama queen PR doesn't help either.
Yeah, one aircraft based in BEG or INI out of 53 makes a really great difference... who tf cares?
Delete540 0000 in July in BEG. U make me f......crazy.........wow ex YU we re coming like helllllllllllllllllll
ReplyDeletebravo BEG, bravo SPU, bravo all of yu!!!!
wow 540 000.......I gotta sleep first over that figure........good night bros
SKP and SOF are quite close to INI so it's quite doubtful and unlikely they ditch BEG. Also this is one of Serbia's poorest regions so makes no sense really...
ReplyDeleteRegarding SKP and SOF being nearby, so you think the residents of Nis, and the rest of South Serbia should use the airports of foreign countries? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteThe catchment area of INI is potentially 1.5 million people, and if you know how many buses leave daily from the area to D,A and CH alone, and the ticket prices, low cost flight from INI makes sense.
On the other hand, everyone in Belgrade repeats the mantra: South Serbia is too poor to fly.... Hmm...
That means these same people consider the passengers from the area around Tuzla to be middle class?
I guess that most of these bloggers that constantly dismiss INI are qualified statisticians.
"Regarding SKP and SOF being nearby, so you think the residents of Nis, and the rest of South Serbia should use the airports of foreign countries? Hmmm... "
ReplyDeleteNot sure what is the problem with using nearby airports in foreign countries? If I can grab a good deal to Timisoara or Budapest, I go for it. I don't consider it a hassle since I take the Gea minibus shuttle to Belgrade, and it's door-to-door service.