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| Wizz Air grows Niš network with new route |
Low cost airline Wizz Air will introduce new flights from Dortmund to Niš this summer season. The route, its third from the city, will operate three times per week, each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, starting August 20. Wizz Air's Corporate Communications Manager, Tamara Mshvenieradze, said, "We are thrilled to be adding this long-awaited connection between Niš and Dortmund. We listen to our customers and respond to demand whenever possible. Customers in Serbia continue to turn to Wizz for low fares to more destinations and we remain committed to stimulating business and hospitality sectors with more visitors now able to travel to the southern regions of Serbia, as well as to the renowned ski resorts in Kopaonik". She added, "Our Serbian customers on the other hand now get a great low fare connection to the Ruhr area - the largest urban cluster in Germany”. The airline already runs flights from Belgrade to Dortmund three times per week.
Wizz Air launched operations to Niš in June 2015 with two services from Malmo and Basel. With the new Niš - Dortmund flights, the airline will offer fourteen routes to six countries from two Serbian airports - Belgrade and Niš. Previously, local authorities said the no frills carrier was likely to introduce flights from Memmingem to Constantine the Great Airport in 2016 and could even open its own base in the city. Wizz Air’s lead Communications Strategist, Daniel de Carvalho, previously noted that the airline hopes to replicate its Tuzla success in Niš. “Niš has become what Tuzla was for us back in 2013”, he said at the time. Niš Airport concluded a three-year commercial contract with the airline in 2015. As a result, it charges the carrier just three euros per departing passenger.
Following a record 2015, Niš Airport handled 15.356 travellers during the first quarter of this year. "There is significant interest for Wizz Air's flights and the average cabin load factor to and from Niš is constantly above 90%", the airport's spokeswoman, Ivanka Stanisavljević, said. With the new service, Niš Airport anticipates handling some 100.000 passengers in 2016. Furthermore, it hopes to attract carriers other than Wizz and is primarily targeting airlines serving cities such as Frankfurt, London, Milan, Munich, Moscow, Paris, Vienna, Verona and Venice, which it has identified as viable destinations. Furthermore, it is believed flights from Istanbul could launch this year, since a Turkish carrier has expressed strong interest to operate the route. Further flight details for Wizz Air's new Dortmund - Niš service can be found here.
Great news. Well done Nis and Wizz. What could the next destination be? Beauvais?
ReplyDeleteGreat move. Nis is in right direction. Morava - Kraljevo is next. Definitely!✈+
Delete✈Rod✈
Morava - Kraljevo?! HAHAHAHA
DeleteKraljevo will definitely be the next airport to be activated with a low-cost carrier, after September this year.
Delete@9:13 He's trying to say that Morava Aiport in Kraljevo should be next one to establish a LCC link to Europe.
DeleteМи из Ниша подржавамо Мораву - Краљево.Успеће сигурно,има потенцијални број путника као и Ниш.
DeleteI´m curios about Wizz starting seasonal routes to Ohrid over the summer period. They could connect OHD with some eastern european countries. Im sure these flights would be succsessful.
ReplyDeleteIt's not their style to open seasonal routes on an underdeveloped airports with low domestic demand. Even less so if the destination is East Europe. Look for more traditional gaestarbeiter routes as next step, but not before the political crisis is resolved. Take a seat, it's not happening in 2016.
DeleteYeah but for example Ohrid - London is also served only in the summer period, also I am more thinking into 2017/18 not 2016. As long as the political crisis is presently there wont be any significant progess neither economically nor in the aviation industy. I think any airline would benefit if they launch Ohrid - St.Petersburg/Moscow/Warsaw/Talinn in the summer season.
DeleteOhrid - London from 27.03.2016 is YEAR ROUND rout!!
DeleteAnonymousApril 15, 2016 at 9:21 AM:
Deletedid your have your coffee this morning?
OHD demand relies not only domestic demand- many turists fly here too. Furhtermore it is exactly a carrier for other eastern europrean countries, since it is a LOW cost carrier and more people in eastern europe could afford to fly.
And what does "underdeveloped" mean?
shame Wizz is stuck to its no-seasonal-policy
Deletefor example: 2 weekly OHD-SOF in summer could work well
@10:51
DeleteUnderdeveloped in this specific case is a soft way of saying non-existent scheduled traffic beyond W6. As for CEE purchase power driving East-to-East routes .. yikes. Don't even go there. They only similar thing working is WAWBOJ, and only because the Bulgarian coast is a well established super-cheap summer resort with loads of both historical and present demand. I'm telling it to you in the manner low-cost management is reasoning.
I agree there might be good flow to Russia, but there has to be a lot of work done by authorities in both countries for this to happen, and I don't see it being a priority right now for either of the countries for various reasons.
@Anonymous April 15, 2016 at 11:09 AM
DeleteOHD-SOF can be daily. The demand there is huge. It's a shame that FB never started that route like it's predecessor Balkan did. They had daily service year-round.
Congrats Nish!
ReplyDeleteHappy to see another destination added, even if it's the least exciting of the bunch. Hint: for next potential destinations, look to BEG and SKP networks and what is working well there. Neither BVA, TRF nor NYO are among those.
I think Eindhoven would be a real hit. A growing number of south Serbians are moving to the Benelux, plus Dutch travellers, especially the adventurous ones on a budget (which there are many) have a thing for the region (Serbia-Kosovo-Macedonia-Bulgaria).
ReplyDeleteIf the demand is there then it will surely be noticed through DTM bookings since it's pretty close.
DeleteWell done. Shows that despite increased competition Wizz is facing in Sofia it hasn't forgotten about Nis too :)
ReplyDeleteWhat are the chances of Wizz really turning Nis into a base? Somehow I think it is a bit of a stretch.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great news for INI and Wizzair. Well done!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Wizz should be focusing a lot on ex-Yu. Ryanair still hasn't really advanced in this region. This is their chance to really stop them by expanding. So I'm glad they will add Sarajevo and more flights from Nis too.
ReplyDeleteGreat news for Niš!
ReplyDeleteBad news for JU's hub in BEG though.
Wizz Air already flies from Belgrade to Dortmund. If someone from Nis wanted to fly on this route, they would have flown W6 from BEG not with JU to some city in Germany.
DeleteWhat about people from the south who used JU's route to DUS? They could switch to this one.
DeleteAgain these people would have gone to BEG and flown with W6 to Dortmund (or even to Skopje more likely). Sure, they might take a few passengers from Air Serbia but mostly these passengers are two different categories. What W6 has done is that it has managed to get people who didn't fly before to start flying. I am not saying that none of these people ever stepped on a plane, far from it but what stats show is that when W6 started flying from BEG it didn't destroy Jat on any route. In fact it turned out that W6 could not compete with Jat on some. Not because they are worse then Jat was but because the type of passengers flying on these route are not those that will migrate to Wizz Air. Example is Rome.
Delete+1
DeleteNiš airport expects 100.000 passengers this year.
The vast majority of them would be flying through BEG if it wasn't for W6 flights!
50% of BEG's traffic is Air Belgrade, so the more options people from the rest of Serbia get the worse it is for Air Belgrade.
Wizz without getting any subsidies took over LCA from ASL.
DeleteAnd its Baden Baden flights are taking passengers from ASL's Dusseldorf flights.
You mean their STR flights, DUS is not really close to Baden Baden.
DeleteI work for Air Serbia and it's disappointing that no one in the office cares that W6 launched Baden Baden. A colleague said that they are not our competition. LOL
Anonymous April 15, 2016 at 3:22 PM
DeleteYes, you are correct. It is Stuttgart that is served very nicely from Baden Baden, also a lot of places in Eastern France.
Pa W6 nije ni konkurencija zato sto ima vise Transfernih putnika.
DeleteINN-NS
Ma de ima transfernih putnika iz STR, JU tu prezivljava zbog gastosa. Da ima transfernih putnika ne bi leteli svega 4x nedeljno tokom zime.
DeleteRyanair will start to test hub system with possibility of connection via those hubs in BCN and STN. I wonder why Wizzair did not connect their bases and made hubs from biggest of them with possible connection?
ReplyDeleteJa se čudim da Ryanair to nije napravio već prije. Ima to i Germanwings, Vueling i Norwegian (sa svojim skromnim brojem baza i linija) i ako uzmete konektirani let onda je priča nešto skuplja, ali moguća i još uvijek isplativa.
Ono što je ogromna prednost Ryanaira:
- povezivanje baza (budućih hubova) što će povečati broj mogućih (konektiranih) letova na nekoliko tisuća
- za očekivati je da će se ubuduće Ryanair prvenstveno otvarati feeding linije (iz sekundarnih, malenih aerodroma) tj. linije prema svojim najvećim hubovima, a tek nakon toga prema ostalim P2P destinacijama
- sa toliko baza i linija čak i slučajne (nesustavne) konekcije biti će ogromna brojka, tj. mogućnosti će biti enormne (i to ne samo preko jednog huba nego kombinacija hubova npr. ZAD-STN-MAN-BCN-ZAD)
- uz sve to Ryanair je u finalizaciji pregovora sa Norwegianom da feeda njihove long-haul LCC, a to je onda atomska bomba u zračnom prometu ako to stave u kombinaciji sa konekcijama unutar Europe
- konačno, već 10 godina postoji plan i da Ryanair krene sa long-haul LCC, što bi značilo (uz suradnju sa Norwegianom određeni broj godina) totali uspjeh i na ovom planu, i ubijanje legacy carriera na ovom posljednjem isplativom tržištu
Jasno je da ove konekcije neće biti sustavne, tj. da neće biti valova, nego će slučajne konekcije postaviti u rezervacijski sustav. Znači neće oni paziti da im let iz ZAD dolazi u valovima na vrijeme u STN da se konektira na npr. MAN. Ako uleti super, ako ne nikom ništa... Pa taman fulali i 5 minuta. Ali obzirom na enormne mogućnosti imat če opciju da npr. za MAN letimo via STN tri dana u tjednu sa npr. 2 sata konekcije, ostala tri dana via Berlin, a u povratku via BCN i npr. MUC jer bi npr. preko STN bila konekcija od 10 sati. Čak štoviše siguran sam da će imati sve opcije izbačene, uz različite cijene i različita vremena konekcija, pa ti biraj što ti je važnije (dužina leta sa dužim konekcijama, cijena, možda neki izletić u grad u kojem si konektiran na par sati...). Ludilo do boli, mogućnosti enormne!!!!!! Uz to otvaraju im se mogućnosti dodatnih zarada (transferi do gradova gdje se konektira radi kratkih izleta, klopa na aerodromu, business saloni, dodatna osiguranja, prtljaga, smještaj u slučaju kasnih letova + konekcije rano ujutro idući dan...).
Uopće ne sumnjam da će ovo uspjeti. Biti će to bomba koja će potpuno uništiti legacy carriere u Europi i opako zaprijetiti i njihovim long-haul linijama.
Good analysis.
DeleteThere is no more LCC vs Legacy. They are all converging. Legacy carriers are adopting LCC (subs, strip down tickets/service) and LCCs going to hub and long-haul.
If STN got US Customs and Immigration clearing facility that would be a real game changer.
forgot, they may test transatlantic flights from DUB, which has some 90+ destinations and US CBP pre-clearance facility. As as bonus, there no UK Air Passenger Duty.
DeleteRyan wouldn't need to change anything in operations. People would by 2 separate tickets since one would still need take the luggage and go through US customs before checking luggages again (similarly to any US airport as 1st point of entry)
With low fuel price, it's perfect time to start.
my2cents
This is great news. So there obviously is interest for people to fly from Nis despite what some people were saying here.
ReplyDeleteSta lupetas? Niko to nije pricao vec da ne mozete da placate da vas vozi neki standardni prevoznik. Kao sto i ne mozete.
DeleteLol! Ako tipujes na ASL da je standarni prevoznik bas si me nasmejao! Prvo, licno bilo bi mi sve jedno da li bi oni vozili ili ne jer verovatno ne bih leteo njima zbog cena,a drugo pricalo se ovde da nema dovoljno putnika iz Nisa, te da zato nisu zaintresovani. Znaci putnika IMA, kao sto mozes da vidis, a sad sto ti putnici mozda ne bi leteli njima to je vec nesto sasvim drugo!
DeletePutnika IMA ali za EIN, DTM, MMX... nema za AMS, DUS ili CPH. Ako shvatas sta hocu da kazem. ;)
DeleteDa JU, JP ili OS otvore liniju INI-VIE bilo bi sigurno dovoljno putnika za svakodnevni let sa 70-seaterom (CRJ 700, Q400 or ATR72) bez obzira na cijenu. Jednako tako za IST sa TK ili JU tri puta tjedno sa 737 ili A319 (pa čak i ATR72 ne bi bio loša opcija za taj let jer se ne radi o predugačkom legu).
DeleteKrajnje mi je nerazumljivo da JU tu ne želi preduhitriti konkurenciju i da potpuno ignoriraju ovo tržište. Odgovorno tvrdim da nema nikakvog rizika da krenu INI-VIE sa 5 letova tjedno i da bi vrlo brzo iste povečali na 7 tjednih letova (5 zimi).
Purger, problem je u tome sto JU nema slobodnih aviona kako bi ista otvorio iz Nisa. Jatovi stari Atrovi su krajnje nepouzdani i redovno se kvare. A320 je preveliki za BEG van sezone, tako da ne pricamo o INI. Dakle mladji Atrovi i A319 su vise nego potrebni u Beogradu.
DeleteDakle W6 ulece pre nego sto JU bude u mogucnosti.
Bez namere da bilo koga vredjam, publici za Beč mnogo više odgovara bus.
DeletePurger, prop planes are forbidden to touch IST runway, so no INI atr nonsense.
DeletePurger, vec duze vreme pokusavam da i ja to objasnim pojedincima ovde ali bez uspeha. Sve sto si rekao je 100% tacno. Jedan AT72 ili koji drugi turboprop bi bio idealan za VIE, medjutim sve ti je jasno kako stvari stoje u nasoj zemlji. Izgovor nemamo avion nije opravdanje. Nisu imali avion ni za JFK pa su ga nabavili!
DeleteApsolutno se slažem da "nema se aviona" nije izgovor. Nabavi se ili se jedan izuzeme iz Beograda. Konačno mi ne govorimo o jednom baziranom avionu, nego jednom letu dnevno (od 3-4 rotecije koje napravi ATR).
DeleteU IST ne slijeću turbopropi? Pa i B&H Airlines i Jat su letjeli za IST sa ATR-om.
Purger, IST je onda ima 20 Mio. putnika manje.
DeleteNemoj biti naivan.
INI-VIE would make more sense if JU had a code share partner in VIE. But they don't! Similarly for ZRH. And BER is not such a great option, since there aren't that many Serbs there. Maybe DUS, but then ATR becomes impossible (I think) and in any case it is a logistical challenge. INI-VIE as it stands would be a purely P2P flight that introduces logistical challenges and also potentially takes away some of the pax for other destinations (think MOW, LON, JFK) who would otherwise use JU from BEG. It could work but there are other equally good uses for the plane.
DeleteApparently Pegasus will announce INI flights next week.
ReplyDeleteReally?
DeleteYou got any source that you can mention?
Airport's dorector and the Nis mayor... but they didn't tell it directly
DeleteI think is something bigger then Pegasus! :) Because what I heard is one new airline apart from Turskih airline!
DeleteMuch bigger...
Deleteok when can we expect announcement? Monday?
Deletetell us more :D ryanair?
DeleteYeah, Cathay Pacific.
DeleteProbably Emirates lol
DeleteHuh? Why not? I could see a two weekly INI-HKG work. They could attract connections to Australia from soutehrn Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Delete;)
Do you guys feel better now?
DeleteMore than one here will not feel well after Wednseday announcement I bet you! Wish I can see their face!
DeleteThis is typical Balkan complexity where people have to show off na nacin "ja znam sta ti ne znas". Either provide info or dont say anything would be fair.
Deletecomplexity?
DeleteRyaner је за сутра најавио конференцију за штампу у Нишу.
DeleteBilo bi odlicno videti jos U2 sa letovima do ZRH, AMS i SXF sto bi bilo odlicno.
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
WizzAir should open Nis-Tivat route .
ReplyDeleteOT: KLM se počeo reklamirati na hrvatskim nacionalnim tv programima s akcijskim cijenama za New York (malo manje od 500 eura) i još neke gradove.
ReplyDeleteAre those prices for summer season or are they advertising them for next winter?
DeleteIf these are summer prices they are fantastic!
I don't see how ASL would be able to compete with that and the fact that KLM offers you much greater choice.
https://www.klm.com/travel/hr_en/plan_and_book/special_offers/flight_offers/index.htm
DeleteSales period: from 05th April until 25th April 2016
Travel period: from 21st October until 16th December 2016
Ha ha. No wonder it's so cheap. Winter season.
DeleteThat is not a promotion for winter season. During this months tickets go as low as 400 euros WITHOUT promotion.
DeleteOT: TK to launch Bogota and Panama City. These guys play big. They've also announced their number of pax increased in Q1 from 13 to 14 million. Crazy stuff.
ReplyDeleteOT China is investing heavily in industry and infrastructure in Serbia. One more reason next Air Serbia long haul route will be Beijing next year.
ReplyDeleteAlitalia is resuming Rome to Beijing 4 times per week starting in July this year. This is according to Routes line.
DeleteDoesn't imply Air Serbia won't start PEK as a result. Alitalia also services JFK and that didn't stop Air Serbia from announcing JFK.
DeletePEK will be an even bigger money loser than JFK for ASL.
DeleteINI must compete with SOF & SKP and base an a/c instead of relying on some stupid & expensive transfer flights. LTN, HHN, ROM, MIL! But hey, tickets from SOF in the autumn are sooo cheap to most parts of Europe. SKP has good prices too..
ReplyDeletespecially when FR will start their other 19 destinations from SOF. Don't forget that SOF by the end of the year will be offering more destinations than BEG.
DeleteI waited for soooo long to see that connection happen and will take the inaugural flight.
ReplyDeleteBut I cannot see how INI management can anticipate 100k pax in 2016. If you take the a maximum cabin load factor of 100 percent there are 96 flights from and to MLH (180x2x96=>34.560 seats), 103 flights from and to MMX (180x2x103=>37.080 seats) and 49 flights from and to DTM (180x2x49=>17.640) there could be some 89.280 pax in 2016 generated by Wizz Air.
Having in mind those russian charters announced in 2016 (5 return flights there could be a maximum of 1.800 more pax).
I´m curious about the new carrier which shall be announced soon. This will pave the way for INI to be profitable.