Wizz Air to launch Podgorica flights in August


Low cost airline Wizz Air will launch services to Podgorica this summer, with Montenegro becoming its sixth market in the former Yugoslavia. Wizz will introduce services from Bergamo in Italy and Memmingen in Germany from August 20 and 21 respectively. Both routes will be maintained twice per week. "We are very excited to bring Wizz low fares to Podgorica, connecting with popular Italian and German regions. This not only provides low fare services for leisure and business travellers from Montenegro going west, it provides great fares for travellers coming east to discover the food, culture, biodiversity and stunning vistas in Montenegro. We are very excited to be adding Podgorica to the Wizz Air community", John Stephenson, Wizz Air's Executive Vice President, said.

Wizz faces no direct competition on its two new routes. The carrier has been in talks with the operator of Montenegro's two international airports, Airports of Montenegro, for several years now but has often complained of drawn out negotiation due to high fees. The head of Airports of Montenegro, Milovan Djuričković, said, "Airports of Montenegro are pleased that this summer we welcome Wizz Air among our partners. We hope for a successful cooperation which will contribute to improving air availability and increasing the number of tourists who will use Wizz Air to come to our country”. Late last month, one of Wizz AIr's main rivals, Ryanair, said it plans to further expand its operation in Montenegro after announcing the launch of its third route to the country, from Berlin to Podgorica, scheduled for this September.

Wizz Air has expanded its operation in the former Yugoslavia this year. On top of its new Podgorica flights, it has introduced three new routes from Skopje, one from Belgrade and will launch one new service to Niš later this summer. The airline recently said it plans to commence flights to Sarajevo in the near future while continuing to maintain its base in Tuzla. Furthermore, the no frills carrier is talks with Pristina Airport. In addition, Wizz is expected to base a fourth aircraft in the Macedonian capital later this year. The General Director for Tourism Development and Standards in the Montenegrin government, Olivera Brajović, said Wizz Air's arrival will have a positive impact on the country's tourism industry. "We are very satisfied that Wizz Air will start flights to and from Montenegro and connect our country with markets that generate significant numbers of tourists - Germany and Italy for starters. This is a great opportunity for tourists from these countries to visit Montenegro with a direct flight at favourable prices. This is also an opportunity for locals to travel at reasonable fares. We are sure that this is just the beginning of our cooperation and that in the coming period we will jointly work on further expanding operations".

Flight information for the Bergamo - Podgorica service can be found here, while additional details for the Memmingen - Podgorica flights can be viewed here. Wizz Air has already put tickets on sales for its new services to the Montenegrin capital.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:13

    Nail in the coffin for Montenegro Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:21

      My guess is they have decided to devalue MGX (not that it was worth much anyway) and when they put it for sale the future owner... khm Etihad ... will get paid to take it over.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:41

      The airline is completely worthless. Makes far more sense for EY to just expand AS services into POD or increase shuttles into Belgrade. At this rate the airline will probably wind down operations in the next 24 months, such has been the fate of all European flag carrier start-ups post 2001.

      Podgorica has stolen the show from SJJ, who have been toying with W6 for a while. Maybe this will finally speed up negotiations in B&H, who really could use reliable connections to Europe.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:06

      MGX is not flying to Munich/Stuttgart and Milano. Its not a threat but it will limit their expansion if they ever do so

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:14

      Yes but this represents a shift in priorities over air connections in Montenegro. More people will fly on FR and W6 than they ever did with MGX and all with far less risks for the government, beginnings of the avalanche for MGX.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:14

    Finally Montenegro getting some real LCC.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      Now we wait for Norwegian Air Shuttle and maybe Volotea.

      Delete
    2. Purger09:30

      I think Ryanair is real LCC. Much bigger and better than Wizz, one can not compare those two airlines. They have two routes for some time now, and will fly 3rd one from September.

      Also they have flyDubai (to Dubai) and SmartWings (to Prague) in Podgorica, easyJet (Manchester, London), Norwegian (Oslo) and Pobeda (Moscow) in Tivat.

      So, one can really not say that they get some "real LCC finally". All of those are more than real LCC and are in Montenegro for some time now.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:31

      Fly dubai has cancelled plans for TGD after the crash in Russia. They don't have the planes and have put a hold on opening new routes.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:40

      Really? First information about that. Didn't know, sorry.

      But that does not change my argument a bit. 2 strong LCC in Podgorica, 3 in Tivat with 8 routes.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:14

      What do you mean by real LCC? They have Ryanair already and Ryanair is the cheapest LCC

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:16

    El Al on Tuesday will come to Zagreb with 747-400 instead of 737-800.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Purger09:21

      That is 409 instead of 180 passengers. Respect.

      I remember that they came several times with 767-300 instead of 737 last few years (that happened several times per year each year), but I think they never came with 747 to ZAG.

      Delete
    2. OT: Iberia is adding A319 flight to ZAG on Mondays during the summer peak season... in August. Nice...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      Jos letos ili najesen da sredimo Croatiu A. i sve smo pocistili.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:19

    Good destinations to start off with. Congrats Podgorica.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:22

    I find it interesting that both Wizz and Ryan wnt for Podgorica and not Tivat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Tivat is dead during the winter and airport fees are probably more expensive anyway.

      Delete
    2. Purger09:34

      Same think is with Zadar (Ryanair summer base but still not one flight during winter), Split (easyJet there is almost strong as Croatia but they have no flights during winter, many other LCC routes only during summer), Dubrovnik (so many summer LCC destinations, non during winter), Rijeka, Pula...

      So those examples show that is not a reason.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:39

      Na celom exYu prostoru moze opstati samo jedna "domaca" charter kompanija za Jadran i Mediteran miniAegean. Ko bude imao hrabrog prvatnika da ulozi novac imace tu kompaniju.

      Delete
    4. Purger09:45

      Da, ja sam rekao još 2010. u intervjuu Tango 6 da ima mjesta za samo jednog igrača i da će profitirati onaj koji uspije potegnuti.

      No, bojim se da je sve prekasno i da će taj "domaći" prijevoznik biti Eurowings, Aegean (ako kupe Croatiu), Wizz (Ryanair, easyJet), ili Turkish (nije bez vraga najava naglog "interesa" za osnivanje kompanije u BIH, Makedoniji i kupnju Croatie).

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:05

      Postovani kolega,

      Vama je svakako jasno da ce danasnja CTN postati deo Eurowings/Lufthansa grupacije na ovaj ili onaj nacin. Price oko Aegeana ili Turkisha se pustaju u svrhu ojacavanja, inace vrlo slabe, pregovaracke pozicije Kroacije. Impresionira vasa kolegijalnosti cak i prema sadasnjem rukovodstvu OU sa kojima se nimalo ne slazete-svaka cast. Sto se tice Montenegra, sasvim je jasno da smo svedoci poslednje sezone ovog prevoznika u postojecem obliku. MGX ce prici Etihad grupi ili ce potpuno nestati.

      ATCO

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:25

      anonymous 10:05, vi svoje "priče" temeljite na činjenicama ili osobnim preferencijama?

      Delete
    7. Purger10:47

      Poštovani ATCO,
      Apsolutno se slažem sa vama da je to najizvjesniji scenarij. Prvi puta sam javno rekao 2008. da smatram kako će Lufthansa Adriju i Croatiu pripojiti po ključu Dolomita (letovi za MUC is svakog malog aerodroma u exYU + ZRH, VIE i FRA iz nekih od njih, uz bazu u MUC). Svi potezi koje je LH radila nakon toga me samo još više uvjeravaju da sam u pravu.

      Promoviranjem projekta Eurowingsa i najavu stvaranje baza Eurowingsa izvan Njemačke (prvi primjer Beč) smatram da su Hrvatska i Slovenija jedan od prioriteta LH grupe. Konačno, pa zar nije indikativno da je LH najavila da će vjerovatno dokupiti ostatak Brusselsovih dionica i pretvoriti ga u Eurowings, te da pregovara sa SAS-om i Condorom oko kupovine i pretvaranja u Eurowings. Kupovina Adrije od njemačke 4K vrlo vjerovatno je napravljena za LH tako da će se nakon što se kompanija očisti i stabilizira kao takva prodati LH uz proviziju za taj prljav posao koji LH ne može obaviti unutar svog sustava (sindikati, ogroman sustav, zauzetost vlastitim mega-projektima).

      LH u posljednjih 5 godina nije bila u poziciji kupovati kompanije radi nekoliko razloga:

      - vlastita restrukturacija (SCORE program)

      - problemi sa sindikatima (teško je uvjeriti sindikate da se trebaju rezati postojeća prava ako se ima novaca za kupovine upitnih, nestabilnih i gubitaških banana-kompanijica),

      - zauzetost ogromnim sustavnim promjenama: ujedinjene feeding regionalnih kompanija u CityLine, mega-projekt Eurowings, restrukturacija i stabilizacija prekomjerno kupljenih kompanija prvenstvno Austrian, Swiss i Brussels, unutar čega je bila i prodaja bmi Britishu te odustanak od Spanaira (dakle morali su i oni sami odustati od nekih tržišta i megalomanije).

      U tom svjetlu Lufthansa vrlo vjerovatno kupuje vrijeme (za sve to im treba još dvije godine). No, indikativno je da je Score završen, te su intenzivno krenuli sa novim akrivnostima (Eurowings), te da ponovno kreću sa shopingom (Brussels, SAS, Condor, vjerovatno Adrija preko 4K).

      U tom svjetlu kupovina Croatie je vrlo realna i vjerovatna. Vjerujem da će LH inkorporirati regionalna flote Adrije i Croatie u CityLine (ili "neovisnu" kompaniju poput Dolomita sa bazom u MUC i de facto "članstvom" u CityLine), te sa A319/320 flotama otvoriti baze Eurowingsa u LJU, ZAG i SPU (u kasnijoj fazi i u DBV, SJJ, SKP, TIA i PRN).

      Konačno, nemojmo se zavaravati. Prije godinu dana sam rekao da je Eurowings prvenstveno projekt koji služi za udar na Etihad (Air Berlin, Alitaliju i Darwin, pa samim time usput i na Air Serbiju koja nije toliko bitna Lufthansi, ali dolazi u paketu), a tek mu je sekundarni cilj udarac na Rynair, easyJet i ostala dva igrača MEB3. U tom kontekstu i Cratia bi trebala biti kolateralna "žrtva", kikiriki koji će Lufthansa pritom kupiti ne zato što je to nešto bitno ili presudno, nego jer je jeftino i "tu je" (hrvatska logika je da kad njemac prdne mi udahnemo da njemu ne smrdi).

      Delete
    8. Purger - nastavak10:48

      No, naravno, i Lufthansi su se neki planovi izjalovili. Pa je tako morala odustati od Spanaira i TAP-a, prodati bmi, izgubila je rat za Alitaliju, nije dobro odigrala "uništenje" Air Berlina (Etihad im je porpilično pomrsio račune ekspresnim ulaskom u Air Berlin, Alitaliu, Darwin i Air Serbiu, što nitko nije očekivao u tom obujmu, a LH se baš i nije snašla u tih 2 godine)... U tom kontekstu moguće je da Turkish bude jači igrač (ni LH ne može ratovat na 4 fronte, a tri je već otvorila: Air Berlin/Darwin/Alitalia, LCC, MEB3) ili da Aegeanu prepuste Croatiju (unutar nekog daleko većeg, nama nepoznatog, deala) a baziraju se na ekspanziji u Balkanu preko Adrije i Austriana.

      Upravo zato da sam ja pregovarač namjerno bih zanemario Lufthansu i posvetio bi se intenzivnim pregovorima sa Turkishem i kompanijama izvan Europe, ako ništa drugo da na koncu profitiram u dealu sa Lufthansom koja bi tada bila daleko mekanija. Svakako situacija za Croatiu je danas daleko bolja nego prije godinu dana, ali nema više mnogo vremena da finalizira prodaju. Najviše godinu dana. U protivnom Croatia će doživjeti sudbinu Maleva u najviše 5 godina.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:27

      +1 Purger bravo ko i uvijek. Odlična analiza. Slažem se 100%

      Delete
    10. Anonymous16:44

      Najbolja opcija za CTN je KE po meni tako bi najpre dobili wide-body.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:22

      Nista od toga, vec su u susjedstvu. Steta.

      Delete
    12. Purger01:05

      Ne, za Croatiu bi bila najbolja opcija Qatar, pa Singapore, pa Hainan...

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:24

    Podgorica will probably overtake Sarajevo again in terms of passenger numbers this year unless Wizz starts SJJ and adds a few routes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:25

    wow didn't see that coming. Great!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:39

    Well done Montenegro. Wizz Air is now pretty much in every ex-Yu country but their presence in Croatia is almost non-existent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Purger09:48

      Luckily. As they are the worst (even Ryanair change their policy as "passenger friendly airlines") and the weakest one (don't think they have chance on long run and will disappear in next 5 years after Ryanair attack)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:19

      Sure. As no such thing happened for 5+ years in Poland, Hungary, Lithuania etc...

      Delete
    3. Purger18:32

      True, but one can see that Ryan start absolute Wizzair attack in last 3-4 months. And, well, one can not compare who is more powerful here.

      Till now it was little battles from time to time somewhere (in Warsaw Modlin Wizz run away, in Budapest Ryanair slow down), but not it is total war in all fronts.

      Delete
    4. Purger18:34

      not = now*

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:17

      Wow. Purger, from the 6:32 comment I finally know for certain you have absolutely no clue what is happening beyond the borders of exYu. Do yourself a favour, check how many aircraft Ryanair has in Poland, Lithuania etc, and since when.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:45

    I already bought a ticket :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wizz feels the pressure of Rynair

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:08

    Good news for travelers.
    Are there are flights to Milano by Alitalia or Montenegro Airlines?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12

      No, both fly to Rome.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous11:32

    EasyJet should buy Wizz.
    Common fleet, little overlap. It would be much stronger player,able to fend off Ryan or antone else for that matter.
    Combined fleet of ~290 with another 290 on order.

    my2cents

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:08

      Other-way: Wizz should buy Easyjet!!!

      Delete
  13. Anonymous12:06

    Very happy for Montenegro. Great news :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. OT : Aegean Airlines in winter season 16/17 is further boosting operations to Belgrade.From November the Star Alliance member will increase Athens – Belgrade operation from 5 to 7 weekly (daily) with Airbus A320 aircraft and De Havilland DHC-8 400

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:29

      Not good news for Air Serbia

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:02

      Also concerning Aegean, there are strong rumours of purchasing another 9 a320

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:10

      Seems like they are building up frequencies in BEG as during the slow period it's daily with the Q400.

      12--5-7
      ATH-BEG 08.00-08.55
      BEG-ATH 09.35-12.30

      --3-5-7
      ATH-BEG 16.20-17.15
      BEG-ATH 17.55-20.50

      Mind you, Air Serbia will depart ATH at 16.20 on the same days. lol

      Delete
  15. Anonymous12:11

    Significantly different business models and cost structures. The only real similarity is the common fleet type. Easyjet is far more customer oriented whereas Wizzair focuses on offering the cheapest fare, much like Ryanair, only Ryanair do it better and pay their staff significantly more. Realistically, it would be more likely for Ryanair to buy Wizz Air but honestly it looks as though they're just going to invade Wizzair territory and smother them out that way. Since the new year Ryanair has accepted new deliveries amounting to half the Wizzair fleet already...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:35

      I agree on the difference in business model, but that is subject to change, as we've seen a charm offensive by Ryan and convergance of airline business models. Ryan started flying to major airports, feeding transatlantic routes ( this, in my opinion is since they missed the boat on adequate planes). Ryan wanted to buy Air lingus (legacy career, after all). Fleet and overlap should be a good start.
      As you said, Ryan is just going to invade Wizz's turf. Ultimately, Ryan will focus on easyjet. Better to combine forces now
      my2cents

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:58

      What is the range of Wizz's A321neos ? Could they be used for transatlantic ? If yes, that could add even more flexibility to the merfed company. Alternatively, they can swap some 321neos fo 321neo lr.

      my2cents

      Delete
  16. Anonymous12:47

    Bice jeftinih A320 za kupnju. ASL ce moci lako da duplira flotu upola cene.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous14:08

    OT: Most popular picture on a.net in the last 24 hours:

    http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Serbia/Airbus-A330-202/2821434/L/

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous15:26

    BEG will receive fewer transits from TGD is the tendency continues. Also BEG continues with the negative figures.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous15:38

    Next week another Ryanair announcement for Serbia... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:53

      Wow great. What day can we expect it on?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:36

      First half of the week, like Monday

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:01

      KVO? They said no new INI flights will be announced before S17.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:21

      "Najveći niskotarifni avio-prevoznik Ryanair će u Nišu u ponedeljak, 16.maja, održati još jednu konferenciju za štampu na kojoj će, kako Fly from Niš saznaje, najaviti nove destinacije iz Niša.

      Prisutnima će se pored prestavnika grada i niškog aerodroma obratiti, kako je navedeno u pozivu za konferenciju za štampu, i direktor komercijale celog Ryanair holdinga gospodin Dejvid O'Brajan."
      Source:flyfromnis portal

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:54

      Well, it seems that Nis might be the new Sofia (on a much smaller scale, of course).

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:54

      INI in 2016 over 100.000 pax. Fantastic.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:03

      U ponedjeljak nova destinacija iz Nisa. A bukinzi na INI SXF su i vise nego zadovoljavajuci

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:19

      Possibly KVO. Let's see.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous23:12

      anybody have more info? Are we talking about one new destination or more?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:42

      Da, samo jedna

      Delete
  20. Anonymous17:28

    The best solution would be to let LCCs take over intraeuropean flights and to sell Montnegro Airlines to Air Serbia.
    YM could take over all flights to Belgrade, which could free up aircraft for JU Expansion elsewhere.
    Air Serbia should only buy for Little Money and only 100%.If Montenegrin owner says no - better stay away .
    YM is only worth ist planes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:10

      and who will pay the debts? Serbian citizens again?

      Delete
  21. OT: Air Serbia flights BEG-BNX-BEG, total number of passengers in 2016:
    January: 1,105 Pax on 26 flights, LF 65,15%
    February: 875 Pax on 22 flights, LF 60,60%
    March: 1,310 Pax on 32 flights, LF 62,12%
    April: 1,425 Pax on 38 flights, LF 57,57%
    Toatal: 4,715 Pax on 118 flights, LF 60,60%

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:40

      Not necessarily. If you include the strong summer months then I think the average will be around 64-65%. If they are getting subsidies or discounts, since they are the only one who uses BNX for commercial reasons, then I think the route might be profitable (or at least not loss making, i.e. positive zero). However, I am surprised by the April numbers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:43

      JU is freed of absolutely all charges at BNX (handling, landing ... the lot)

      http://www.exyuaviation.com/2015/09/banja-luka-airport-fails-to-attract-new.html

      "Tthe government of the Entity of Republika Srpska yesterday announced the extension of a subsidy agreement with Air Serbia for the carrier's flights between Belgrade and Banja Luka. The government has required for the public operator of Banja Luka Airport, Airports of Republika Srpska, to extend a ground handling agreement with the Serbian national carrier. In a press release, the government said the operator will cover Air Serbia's airport costs and fees from January 1, 2016 until the end of the year, on December 31. The subsidies will be provided from the state budget, although the exact figure was not made public".

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:13

      So, Air Serbia gets everything free! What a crazy airport management, with Wizz air they could make 3 euros per departing passenger, but again "smart management" said this " Davorin Mihic, director of the Banja Luka Airport, said the airport would not have financial benefits in the event of an agreement with WizzAir. "They were very difficult about paying services while we negotiated with them, so that we have absolutely no financial benefit from them. Our citizens, possibly, would benefit from new flights as people would get an opportunity to fly at low cost, but we as an airport would yield no profits,” Mihic said"... Tuzla is now Frankfurt when compared to BNX...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:03

      I sve sto ovde neko kometarise je istina nema sta.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    5. Mali Marko Lukić01:09

      A sto nije istina. Da Air Serbija ima sve za đabe ili da bi Wizz pod tim uslovima leteo iz Banja Luke na bar 10 linija (ili bar 5 sa 3-4 EUR po putniku). Razlika je u samo 200 hiljada putnika. Samo?!?!?!?!?!

      Delete
  22. Anonymous22:00

    OT:
    Ryan will have a press conference in Tuesday in Sofia. New routes are expected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:18

      New destinations? They have already 21.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:10

      Maribor?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:36

      INI not included???

      Delete
  23. ASL Superfan23:05

    OT: Air Serbia A330 is in the air, going back to AUH for cabin refurb:

    https://www.flightradar24.com/ASL2810/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous02:36

      So, I'm guessing the crowd from the other day who were dissing JU for ferry flight being under EY number and A6 registration aren't going to comment on this?

      Hint: FR24 actually posted flight number change mid-flight. There's got to be something fishy going on.

      Delete
    2. ASL Supetfan05:48

      No, my feeling is that small but vocal hater crowd will say that visit to BEG was only for political marketing and that A330 is going back to Abu Dhabi for good, to be painted in Etihad livery and never seen again in Belgrade. Let's see if they will come up with someting more insane than this story!

      Delete
  24. Many people from Albania will fly now from Montenegro

    ReplyDelete

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