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| Bratislava - Skopje link expected by March 2016 |
The Managing Director of Bratislava Airport, Ivan Trhlik, has announced the introduction of flights between the Slovakian capital and Skopje. Speaking to Radio and Television Slovakia, Mr Trhlik said the new route to Skopje Alexander the Great Airport will be launched by March next year, along with flights to Moscow, Tbilisi, Sofia and two cities in Israel. He did not discuss the service in further detail, leaving out which carrier will operate the route. Bratislava is a Ryanair base, with the no frills carrier recently confirming to EX-YU Aviation News its intention to launch services to the Macedonian capital. There are currently no links between Bratislava and Skopje.
Bratislava Airport is just fifty kilometres east of Vienna, which is home to a sizable Macedonian diaspora. Ryanair opened its 71st base in Bratislava this March, basing two aircraft in the city, with plans for a third jet to be stationed there in the near future. The no frills carrier currently operates flights to thirteen destinations from Bratislava on a year-round basis, with another to be introduced in October. Furthermore, it runs an additional five seasonal summer services from the city. The Macedonian government is willing to offer subsidies and incentives to Ryanair, similar to the ones provided to Wizz Air, which saw it open a base in Skopje and launch services to Ohrid as well. Ryanair is believed to be negotiating not just one but a range of services from the Macedonian capital. Ryanair’s arrival in Macedonia would mark another important milestone for Skopje Alexander the Great Airport which is quickly becoming the former Yugoslavia’s low cost hub, offering cheap flights throughout the year.
The Macedonian Finance Minister, Zoran Stavreski, says the arrival of new airlines and the increase in the number of passengers at Skopje Airport is directly linked to the 2011 opening of a new passenger terminal and the overall improvement in infrastructure. “Airport infrastructure is one of the ways to attract tourists and it is a fact there are more tourists visiting Macedonia following the construction and reconstruction of Skopje and Ohrid airports”, Mr Stavreski said. He added, “The increase in the number of passengers since 2009 has been twelve-fold. Investment in tourism infrastructure represents a prerequisite for increasing the number of tourists arriving in the country”.
Excellent choice. This will attract a lot of passengers from Austria and won't clash with Wizz Air. The closest Wizz flies to Austria from Skopje to my knowledge is Friedrichshafen, which is 6 hours from Vienna by car
ReplyDeleteBravo for Skopje airport. But how exactly do they plan to establish a national airline? Where would they fly?
ReplyDeletethere will be no national airline.Its obvious that the outcome of that feasibility study is negative.So, they aproached Ryanir
DeleteWell maybe the study was negative or maybe it was about putting 100.000 euros in someones pocket... either way this is good news!
DeleteI'm very surprised Bratislava hasn't been much more aggressive in trying to take away some pax from vienna, anyone know why? It just seems perfectly placed to undercut the more expensive VIE
Can't agree more:
Deletebut for some destionations Ryanair is already a big competitor to Austrian and Alitalia- flights to Rome from Bratislava r way cheaper than from Vienna. (additional costs such as parking in Bratislava and Transfer to Train station to Rome included).
The route Bratislava-Skopje would also hit Austrian, especially because they never ever reduce their Prices- im not saying eur 250 for a return ticket is too high but its always the minimal price for this route- regardless if you book it 3,4 or 5 months in advance.
Wizz discount period at SKP is starting to expire and Wizz doesn’t have a reason to enjoy paying more. To improve negotiating position Skopje starts talking about national airlines. That fails and SKP gets Ryanair to improve the mix. But Ryan is not going to fill in for Wizz in SKP if W6 closes some routes. Ryan fighting Wizz in SKP is secondary, they are there for a different reason: Vienna is opening up to Easyjet with major expansion coming up. Eurowings are establishing a base in VIE and starting operations soon. Ryan finally gets serious LCC competition in VIE/BTS market. As a result they are expanding from BTS, including SKP.
Delete@anon 7.10pm LOL u must be an expert
DeleteIt must be Ryanair getting Austrian tourists to discover Skopje.
DeleteI don't think Easyjet, Germanwings and other subsidiaries of Legacy carriers can really be a competition to "real" low cost carriers....
DeleteThe Point with at least Eurowings and Germanwings is that Lufthansa was forced to launch these companies because this is really the only way to get rid of the exorbitantly expensive Tariff Agreements with their pilots (many of them earn eur 500 000 p.a. & get retired with 50).
This is certainly not the case with the Tariff Agreements with Germanwings and still the ticket Prices are almost the same as with Lufthansa.
I wouldn't expect it to be different with Eurowings either.
Gotta love the progress of SKP, maybe the long haul routes are not so much developed, but for point to point destinations within Europe, they are doing very good job, especially now, if Ryanair will join the club as well. I can see Madrid and Berlin as possible destinations if Ryanair will announce flights to SKP. And within a year or two, I'll expect the airport to handle at least 2.2+ mil pax. Good job!
ReplyDeleteWell done to Skopje. This will be an excellent year :)
ReplyDeleteИли на нашем - Скопље ј... кеву. Свака част!
DeleteBut flights to SOF, is that realistic? It is some 250-300km, or about a 4hr drive. What kind of demand is there?
ReplyDeleteYou didn't understand. Those flights are from Bratislava. The CEO of Bratislava Airport is not talking about flights from Skopje, he is talking about flights from Bratislava.
DeleteAha, OK thanks.
DeleteBut would flights between SKP and SOF every work?
I think Bulgaria Air use to fly but those didn't last long, just one season.
DeleteYes, but it didn't help that those tickets were outrageously expensive. I think there's a market to SOF and SKG flights with a Saab 340-like size that can make multiple runs throughout the day.
Delete+1 Popo
Deletethey did a triangle route with SKP and TIA
Which airline will fly Bratislava - Tbilisi?
ReplyDeleteAnyone has news?
I know Pobeda will be flying Moscow (starts 25 October)
DeleteThis only goes to prove how pathetic Belgrade airport management is. They didn't manage to attract a single new carrier in two years and nobody's gonna tell me there is more demand from Bratislava to Tbilisi than from Belgrade, especially with all the Air Serbia's feed through a codeshare. Truth is, despite the increase in numbers, among surrounding airports not only is Budapest better connected to the world but soon even Skopje and Bratislava. There are not even year-round flights to a country such as Spain. A whole incentive scheme with discount/subsidies should be put in place for those markets and others where Air Serbia isn't able to fly to profitably such as the Caucasus.
DeleteEase up on the insults to Air Serbia, BEG, this blog Aerologic, IR, Oscar Leeman and the other nicknames you use. You are see through. Seek some help.
DeleteWow, now you got me and you know what, i can't care less. IR 720 is my nickname, everybody knows it, Google makes it pop automatically. The rest must have more to do with your obsession about me (thought about seeking help? ;). I didn't see any insult directed at JU/BEG, that is called constructive criticism. Sorry for not being politcorrect, i don't give a rat's ass about correctness so it will remain. Deal with it.
Delete@1:24 PM
DeleteIstina je sto je on napisao i nigde nije napao ASL i ja se slazem da je prava steta sto ne lete u to podrucije.
INN-NS
Da je netko drugi napisao isto, napao bi ga. Zasto? I nemoj reci da je zbog toga sto se podpisuje.
DeleteNije zbog toga nego je covek upravu i nepise nebuloze o subvencijama kao vi.
DeleteINN-NS
Bravo Miki moj, dobro je što si ti odmah napisao svoje mišljenje. Nisam znao kako da mislim dok mi nije profersor iz INN--a napisao svoje. Hvala ti mladiću, baš se opasno razumeš u geopolitičke i interaviobalkanske teme.
DeletePa naravno kad ste napali coveka a on je upravu pa sigurno se bolje od vas razumem.
DeleteINN-NS
OT Turkish airline AtlasGlobal has lauched series of charter flights from many Turkish cities to Belgrade. They will transport Turkish tourist intending to spend couple of days in Belgrade. Today there are three flights coming from Trabzon, Samsun and Istanbul. Other tourist groups will come from Adana, Antalya, Izmir, Ankara. Next three flights are scheduled next Thursday. All flights will be operated by A321.
ReplyDeleteako je ovo istina - svaka cast
DeleteIt's really great especially as the flight arrive when the airport is totally dead.
DeleteТрабзон је већ одрађен јутрос, Сабих управо полетела а Самсун иде вечерас.
DeleteAtlas is a really good carrier, flying them was a nice experience.
DeleteFirst six months at SKP by airline and destination...
ReplyDeleteAirlines
Pax: 608.721
1. Wizz Air 303.526
2. Turkish 67.855
3. Austrian 42.445
4. Pegasus 27.575
5. Adria 20.879
6. Air Serbia 20.875
7. Alitalia 20.685
8. Croatia 19.834
Others: 85.047
Destinations
1. Istanbul 95.430
2. Zurich 55.916
3. Vienna 42.445
4. Malmo 36.249
5. London 34.951
6. Basel 30.595
7. Munich 25.015
8. Dortmund 24.232
9. Gothenburg 21.310
10. Ljubljana 20.879
11. Belgrade 20.875
12. Rome 20.685
Others: 180.139
Its amazing how dominant Wizz is, Alitalia doing well, expected more from Air Serbia considering their pricing but still ok
Air Serbia's performance is plain pathetic.
DeleteAir Serbia substantially decreased capacity to Skopje this year. In this way they achieved LF 73% in the first half of 2015. Last year they recorded 26600 passengers in same period, so they lost some 6000 passengers this year.
Deletethey downsized to 1 daily (mostly) ATR during this period. well 73% is not bad
DeleteBravo Skopie! Congratulations from Sofia!
ReplyDeleteBravo Sofia! This means a lot coming from our (sometimes) brothers from velika Bulgarska.
DeleteOva linija nema nikakvog smisla bacanje para po meni.
ReplyDeleteI stvarno je steta sto ASL ne leti za TBS gde LO i OS bukvalno rasturaju.
INN-NS
U r obviously stupid or really ignorant. Just 50km away there is a city in which there are lots of "gasterbajters" which would visit the country of their origin mich more often if the price for return ticket is ~100eur, rather than 250-300(which is min) with austrian. I dont see how that is "bacanje para".
Delete@anon 2:23 it's "bacanje para" to him because ASL is not getting any of this .
DeleteStvarno neznam otkud ta tvoja informacija da nema nikakva smisla ??? Jel ti znas koliko Makedonaca ima u Slovackoj, Ceskoj i Austriju koji sad koriste jedino Austrian Bec-Skoplje. Ovo je pun pogodak.
DeleteTok on iz beca dodje do bratislave pa ceka na aerodromu pa dok dodje do Skoplja ili dalje dodje isto kao da se ide Autom .
DeleteJa cu radije do platiti jos 50-70 eur a necu koristiti sva prevozna sredstva ovog sveta da dodjem do odredista.
INN-NS
Kad bi putovao autom i avionom na istu rutu tada bi video da i nije bas isto. nije to malo za bacanje kada ima autobus Bec - aerodrom Bratislava za 10 eura i treba mu 40-50 minuta voznju.
Deletewhy do u even discuss with him?
DeleteG Dalibore ja mislim da je cist promasaj zato dok se dodje do Blagussove Autobuske stanice pa cekanje na Aerodromu i stigne u SKP treba oko 7 sati i retko ko ce da to radi ja barem mislim jos ko ima dobar Auto sigurno nece.
DeleteINN-NS
I've taken Ryanair from Bratislava: took me approx 45 min from my place in Vienna to get to the parking lot + 10 min Transfer from the parking lot to the Airport, so all in all lets say 1 hour.
DeleteWhen I travel to Skopje by car through Hungary which is faster (less borders)- it takes me approx 9 hrs.
In summary: 9 hrs by car vs 3hrs by plane (flight 1hr, Boarding/check-in 1hr and travel to Bratislava 1hr)
For a Weekend trip to Skopje or Vienna it definitely does make sense.
For a Holiday trip of approx 2 weeks and when I take paprika & tomatoes & zimnica then I go by car.
E upravo na to mislim svako zna ko ide na duze da ce ici sa autom a na vikend naravno Avionom.
DeleteINN-NS
Are you sure it's 9 hrs in peak summer with all the Turkish and other diaspora on those same roads, and all the Serbs travelling to Greece and back? Borders are sure to take at least a couple of hours.
DeleteJust sayin'. Some people value the comfort of air travel and aren't desperate to show off their bling bling car back home ;)
Postoje razne granice izmedju Madjarske i Srbije gde se ne ceka ni pet minuta samo sto vecina sugradjana nema pojma o putevima pa zato se ceka toliko.
DeleteINN-NS
I did travel from Gevgelija to Vienna in April, it took me 12 hours with three breaks around Belgrade, before the SRB - HUN border, at the gas station and right after the Budapest at the gas station with McDonalds :D
DeleteSlušajte inn ns a. On ima iskustva sa granicama sa obzirom da avionski interijer nije nikada ni pomirisao i "kući" dolazi raspalim autobusom.
DeleteDrago mi je da vi znate da nikad nisam bio u avionu za razliku od vas bio sam u cockpitu 772 u kome necete nikad biti.
DeleteKao drugo i kad idem Autobusom on nije raspadnut ;)
INN-BS
Lol INN-BS should stay your nickname because you certainly talk bs lol.
DeleteHahahahaha... koje dete, koje dete.... Hahahaha... jesi ti bio u kokpitu 772? Bravo, zlato čaletovo!!!! Ma bravo... kako si ti velik i važan jer si bio u kokpitu 772!
DeleteDerle blesavo, ja letim na 772 i u kokpitu sam gotovo svaki dan. I što sad? Što sam sad ja neko radi toga? Što si ti umišljaš da si, Cicko???
Nista ne umisljam nego uzvracam istom merom kao sto je rekao da nikad nisam bio u avionu jbg ;)
DeleteINN-NS
OT:
ReplyDeleteSarajevo Airport: + 19,2% in July = 89,319 passengers.
Strongest month in the history of the airport.
In August Sarajevo Airport expects more than 100.000 passengers.
P.S.: Qatar Airways to start service in February or March 2016.
Da nece mozda SK doci isto tako sam nesto cuo pre par meseci ali ne znam jel istina?
DeleteINN-NS
SK planira liniju za CPH gdje za sad samo leti Norwegian i to sezonski.
DeleteZa ARN i OSL nemaju sanse jer je tu Norwegian vec dobro aktivan.
Da je SK pametan, vec davno bi imali dobre ponude za letove iz Amerike i Kanade preko Kopenhagena za Sarajevo i ostale Ex-Yu gradove.
OT:
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the projected number of passengers in July for SKP? Or should we wait until the 10th, when portline.mk publishes the results?
OT, but interesting, BEG-SPU-BEG in July ASL LF 94%, CTN LF 91% !
ReplyDeleteSplit in July 434 000pax....
DeleteWow what an incredible performance for SPU
DeleteHave to say that terminal in Bratislava looks great
ReplyDeleteIt was built in 2012 and passenger numbers have been falling in 2012, 2013, 2014, actually ever since 2008. They will finally stop the slide this year. Example where new terminal does not bring more passengers.
DeleteOT:
ReplyDeleteAvion za Podgoricu kasnio osam sati
http://www.021.rs/Info/Svet/Avion-za-Podgoricu-kasnio-osam-sati.html
bravo Skopje best looking airport in ex YU....
ReplyDelete