Skopje Airport to support transatlantic flights


Skopje Alexander the Great Airport says it is ready to provide the "utmost support" to any airline which would consider introducing transatlantic flights from the Macedonian capital. It comes following talks earlier this year between the Macedonian government, Skopje Airport operator TAV and Turkish Airlines over the latter's possible services from Alexander the Great Airport to the United States and Canada. "As TAV Airports, we are actively promoting both Skopje and Ohrid airports in various fields in order to attract new airlines and expand the route network and passenger numbers. We have always established close relationships with our airline clients through our world-wide airport operations. This is also the case in Macedonia and we are ready to provide the utmost support to an airline which would consider flying transatlantic from Skopje. Skopje Airport is operationally capable to handle such transatlantic flights and ready to support carriers which would consider operating", the General Manager of TAV Macedonia, Alper Ersoy, told EX-YU Aviation News.

Mr Ersoy noted that the establishment of transatlantic services does carry with it certain risks. "First of all, a large passenger base with sufficient demand is needed to secure transatlantic flights from any destination. Transatlantic flights are costly since they require a wide-body aircraft to operate to Skopje. The operational need of a wide-body aircraft, which typically has about 300 seats on board, requires an even bigger market demand than a narrow-body operation", Mr Ersoy said. He added, "Macedonia is a relatively small country with a population estimated to be just over two million. There is a diaspora of about 200.000 Macedonians in the US and Canada each, yet the diaspora is not concentrated in one city or region over there, which makes the demand gathering to accommodate a regular 300-seater aircraft operation even more difficult. And what’s more, not all of the diaspora visits their home country regularly or frequently".

However, Skopje Airport believes that services to the United States or Canada could cater for the entire Balkan area and lead to better connectivity between the Macedonian capital and the rest of the region. "The Balkan region is still immature in terms of connectivity to US and Canadian destinations. Still, most of the passengers originating from the Balkan region must make at least one connection to fly transatlantic, which is a hassle. In this regard, if Skopje manages to serve a transatlantic flight in the future, this will be beneficial for the whole Balkan area. A nonstop flight to North America would lead to additional feeder flights from the Balkan region to Skopje. The airport would attract many passengers from surrounding countries", Mr Ersoy noted. Over 40.000 passengers originating from Skopje travelled to North American destinations in the last year by making at least one connection elsewhere. "Adding a non-stop transatlantic flight would increase the overall travelling comfort of these passengers originating from Skopje", Mr Ersoy concluded.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    If this happens then it will kill Austrian Airlines in both SKP and PRN.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Good to know it will NEVER happen!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      Haters gonna hate.

      Delete
    3. Dreamers gonna dream.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:19

      All of you should first read the article before commenting.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous21:51

      if the govt gives a subsidy like to all wizz flights, it just may happen soon.

      Delete
    6. I DONT UNDERSTAND WHEN SOMEONE SAY THE BIGEST MACEDONIAN DIASPORA IS IN CHICAGO,,BRO NR 1 DIASPORA OF MACEDONIAN PEOPLE IN USA ARE ALBANIANS WITH 150K IN NEW YORK CONNECTICUT AND NEW YERSEY ARE,,ITS SOO FUNY WHEN THEY SAY 30K MACEDONIANS FLY TO USA,FROM 30K 28K ARE ALBANIAN FROM MACEDONIA WHICH FLY TO USAAND 2K MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS AND TURKISH,,IF ALBANIAN FROM MACEDONIA DONT HAVE ALL THOSE EMIGRANDTS 100K IN USA ANDD 400K IN EUROPE SKOPJE ARIPORT WILL BE FROM 1,3 MILION PASENGERS TO 700K A YEAR,AND SONEOME HERE SAID SKPJE AIRPORT IS FOR MACEDONIANS ONLY,HONEY SKOPJE JAS 350K ALBANIANS AND 400K MACEDONIANS AND OTHER TURKISH AND MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS,ARE U DREAMING OR U IGNORANT,TURKISH AIRLINES NEVER WILL SENT AIRPLANE TO SKOPJE IF ALBANIANS FORM KOSOVO ALBANIA AND MACEDONIA WERENT THERE,,FROM ALL THOSE 3 COUNTRYS ARE 30K ALBANIANS IN 3 MONTH SUMMER TIME FLY TO NEW YORK AND BACK TO BALKAN,WITHOUT THOSE SKOPJE WILL EVER HAVE DIRECT FLIGHT MAYBE A AIRPLANE WITH 50 PASSENGERS IF U TAKE 200 ALBANIANS OUT FROM THAT FLIGHT,U GUYS HAVE TO BE HAPPY THEY ARE SO MANY ALBANIAN EMIGRAND IN USA AND MACEDONIANS TOO SO WE CAN HAVE AFTER 2 OR 3 YEAR DIRECT FLIGHT FROM APRIL TO END F SEPTEMBER WHICH WILL BE SEASONAL FLIGHT NO WAY YEAR LONG

      Delete
    7. IK BUT WIZZ AIR DONT HAVE TV ON EVERY SEAT
      THE A330 OF WIZZ air dont have tv it will be super bord if wifi missing too

      Delete
    8. Anonymous05:00

      DONT MATTER THEY ARE 50K FROM SKOPJE GO TO USA THAN FROM PRISHTINA TO NEW YORK 100K AND FROM TIRANA TO JFK ANOTHER 80K THATS 100 TO 200K PASSENGERS A YEAR FROM THIS COUNTRYS,I THINK SKOPJE WILL BE BEST TO HAVE NON STOP FLIGHTS TO JFK THAN PEOPLE FROM KOSOVA RIGHT AWAY THEY WILL DRIVE 2 HOURS TO SKOPJE AND TIRANA WILL HAVE A FLIGHT TO SKOPJE SO THEY WILL CONNECT TO JFK,,I THINK FROM MAY FROM SEPTEMBET 5 TIMES A WEEK WILL BE EASY TO FILL THIS A330 AIRPLES FROM TURKISH AIRLINES AND FROM OCTOVER TO APRIL 1 OR 2 A WEEK WILL BE NOT A PROBLEM TOO,THEY ARE TRIPLE MORE ALBANIANS IN USA THAN SERBIANS,1,1 MILION ALBANIA LIVE IN USA OR MORE AND MACEDONIANS FROM MACEDONIA 100K ,I THINK AFTER WE LAUNCH THIS DIRECT FLIGHT ALL PEOPLE FROM ALBANIA MACEDONIA PRESHEVO COUNTRY AND KOSOVA WILL FLY FROM SKOPJE,SKOPJE WILL BE THE CENTER OF BALKAN AFTER ISTANBUL BELGRADE ATHENS AND ZAGREB ,THOSE AIRPORT WILL BE TOP 5 IN BALKAN AREA,I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW SERBIA CAN LEASE A PLANE AND FLY DIRECT FLIGHT IN NW YORK WHEN THEY ARE NOT EVEN 50K SERBIANS IN NEW YORK AND ALBANIA KOSOVA OR SKOPJE CANT LAUNCH THISE WHEN ALBANIAN POPULATION IN NEW YORK AND NEWYERSERY CONNECTICUT ARE IN USA IS 500 THOUSAND PLUS ASHAAME ON AIRLINE POLITICS

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:53

      We only need june 1st to october 1st flight to new york,,,because in this 4 months 80 thousand emigrants coming from macedonia kosova south serbia and albania maybe more they coming all of them most from usa....the seasonal flight will

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Interesting. So these flights might just happen in 2018 or 2019.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous05:13

      IF THIS HAPENDS TIRANA HAS ESTABLISH TIRANA SKOPJE FLIGHT TO CONNECT THEM WITH NEW YORK,,BRO THEY ARE 1.1 MILION ALBANIAN LEAVE IN USA AND 200K MACEDONIAN LEAVE IN USA .ALMOST 600K OF THEM ARE IN NEW YERSEY NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT ARE IN USA,I THINK 2 TIMES A WEEK FLIGHT FROM MAY TO SEPTEMBER FLIGHT WILL FIT EASY AND MAYBE THEY WILL NEED 3 TIMES A WEEK,,AND FROM OCTOBER TO APRIL THEY CAN DO 1 A WEEK FLIGHT LIKE WED FLIGHT,,IM REALY POSITIV IT WILL,WORK,IL CREATE A FAN PAGE WITH THAT IN FB,AND MAKE PEOPLE FOLLOW AS MUCH AS THEY CAN IF THEY PRO START A FLIGHT FROM SKOPJE TO NEW YORK WITH TURKISHT AILINES,IL GET 200K PEOPLE LIKE NOTHING FROM ALBANIA KOSOVA AND ALBANIA THEY WILL LIKE TO FLY,

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    This would really hurt Air Serbia's New York flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Hahaha no, it wouldn't. Air Serbia doesn't offer competitive times out of SKP so this would crush OS and TK.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      Maby JU can try BEG-SKP-JFK-SKP-BEG.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:13

      Such a routing would not benefit passengers from Serbia and I doubt they would do that just to accommodate passengers from Macedonia. What they should do is actually work on the timing to offer a seamless transfer to and from Skopje for the US flights.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:16

      Mogu dva puta nedeljno SKP JFK.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:37

      Ma mogu 7 puta nedeljno INI-ORD i SKP-JFK. Samo je pitanje ko će to sve da plati?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:45

      It's too early for INI to have transatlantic flights, not impossible but it needs more traffic. Maybe by 2020 when it reaches 1 million? By then, maybe SKP will be faster. Let's see.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:47

      Zasto si toliko nervozan na mogucnost da AS to odradi?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous05:03

      SKOPJE AIRPORT HAD 1.4 MILION PASSENGER THIS YEAR,IF THEY START NON STOP FLIGH TO NEW YORK ALL CITIZENS FROM KOSOVA ALBANIA WILL COME TO SKOPJE,THE PASSENGERS WILL INCREASE TO AIRPORT MORE THAN 2 MILIONA YEAR FROM SAME FLIGHT,I KNOW THAT FOR FACT MORE THAN 500 THOUSAND ALBANIANS IN NEW YORK AND NEW YERSEY AND CONNECITUT AREA THEY SOO BORED THEY DONT HAVE NON STOP FLIGHT,I GO WITH TURKISH AND EVERY TIME WE FLY TO NEW YORK OR BAVK TO SKOPJE THEY ARE AT LEAST 50 TO 70 PASSENGERS FLYING TO SKOPJE TIRANA AND PRISHTINA FROM NEW YORK THRY TURKEY WHAT ABOUT AUSTRIA ANOTHER 50 AND ALITALIA 40 AND SWISS 50 AND OTHERS,1 TIME A WEEK FLIGHT EVEN FALL WINTER TIME WILL BE LESS FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE

      Delete
    9. Anonymous05:16

      NO WILL NOT BECAUSE IT WILL BENEFIT TURKISH AIRLINES IF THEY DO A DIRECT FLIGHT FROM SKOPJE TO NEW YORK,A FLIGHT FROM JFK ISTANBUL JFK IN FALL TIME IS 650 AND JFK ISTANBUL SKP IS 550,IF THEY DO DIRECT FLIGHT IT WILL BE 650 SO TURKISH AIRLINES WILL CCRUZH IT MAKE 20 PERCENT MORE PROFIT IN THAT FLIGHT,,,ANYWAYS THEY ARE 150K ALBANIANS FLY AROUND APRIL TO OCTOBER FROM ALITALIA AUSTRIAN SWISS LUFTHANSA AND TURKISH TO ALBANIA KOSOVA AND MACEDONIA AND 20K MACEDONIANS FROM USA TO SKP,,I THINK THIS FLIGHT IT WILL EAT AIR SERBIA TAKING 20 PERCENT OF BUSINESS AWAY SORRY AIR SERBIA

      Delete
    10. Anonymous19:50

      yes it does air serbia connected skopje and ohrid too to take passengers coming from new york,,it will hurt at least 5 percent

      Delete
    11. Anonymous19:55

      budy this flight will be operated from turkish airlines,,this flight will crush air serbia austria alitalia lufthansa and swiss air,,all those companys will see lose of 5 percent to 10 percent specialy air serbia.All albaniana from albania macedonia and kosova will fly from skopje to new york,,,All of them are coming from end of may till october 1st ,,,an seasonal direct flight will triple turkish airlines profit ,,

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    I wish this could translate into English but it's better to put it in the original form:

    "Od ovog može da se rikne..."

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    I wouldn't be surprised if TK starts these flights, especially if they get some form of subsidies from the government or TAV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i pray for this,,,it will be mostly seaslonal flights from arpil till end of october

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    No flights to LHR, AMS, CDG and MUC is cancelled because of low sales... but it's OK, SKP can support trans-Atlantic traffic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Well it's en vogue to start building the house from the roof down.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      @Anon 9:08 - the best and most realistic comment! Well done. I can only think of IST, VIE & DOH as the more important ones. Not even AMS is connected for Christ's sake.
      Daily flights are desperately needed but Wizz has filled the gap.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    It would be crazy if Skopje gets flights to the US before Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      ZAG is in the final stages of the negotiations, stay tuned for more soon.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      It would and that´s exactly why it will never happen.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:17

      Weren't they in the last stages last year as well?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:30

      Of course, years and years of negotiations

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:34

      I thought it would be crazy for Skopje to get a modern terminal before Zagreb, for Skopje to get air bridges before Zagreb, for Skopje to become a base for a low cost airline before Zagreb, for Skopje to get flights to Dubai before Zagreb.... but it did.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:49

      Yet ZAG is miles ahead of SKP in terms of airlines and passenger numbers. Also, ZAG doesn't subsidize its growth. ;)

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:53

      Umm maybe it is ahead in terms of passengers because it is a capital of a larger country inside the EU and the capital to a large tourism market. You should be ahead much more than you are.

      Also, except for airport stimulus, which is offered by Zagreb as well, no routes are being subsidised from Skopje.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:54

      ZAG is still way too small to maintain US flights. An airport that merely has 3 million cannot be considered. BEG managed to thanks to EY, lets be realistic. Besides, BUD is close and already secured them in 2018.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:43

      As always there is so much hate towards ZAG. The airport is booming this year with many new airlines coming in 2018. Announcements should be made before spring. Flights to Canada and Dubai are extremely successful with flights being full. Air Transat is even adding more flights next summer.

      It's a matter of time before ZAG gets flights to the US. Unlike Serbia or Macedonia it doesn't need to subsidize them. People are willing to pay a full price to fly there.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:45

      Hate towards Zagreb? Have you even read the comments? Stop playing a victim.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous12:17

      There are always people who cannot accept the fact about ZAG or Croatia. Get real!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous13:44

      ZAG is still small. End of discussion.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous18:55

      Small and rich!

      Delete
    14. And Skopje is big?

      Delete
    15. Anonymous05:19

      PLUS SKOPJE WILL HAVE 100 PERCENT INCREASE ON PASSENGERS,90 PERCENT OF ALBANIANS FROM PRISHTINA MACEDONIA AND ALBANIA WILL FLY FROM SKOPJE TO NEW YORK THATS 99 PERCENT SURE,,,BRO LET DO IT BABY

      Delete
    16. Anonymous17:22

      Kosova.macedonia albania has 1milion albanian diaspora in new york new yersey connecticut usa
      I donr see even 50k croatian in america
      Undersrand reality bigest diaspora.from balkan in usa is bosnian albanian Turkish
      But mostly albanian and bosnian total 2 milion
      Serbia and Croatia together have 200k citizens in usa
      If flight launches will be may till middle of october after october till may 15 is not worth it

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:19

    I have to ask how would Balkan connectivity be improved if for example TK operates these flights to the US. Unless TK bases planes in Skopje and starts flying to other Balkan countries (which would be difficult in securing fifth freedom rights), how would this happen?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Maybe it is why the government is again talking about establishing a new national airline.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:47

      My question too. Who do they plan to carry the transfer traffic from Skopje to other places. Wizz Air?

      It is interesting nonetheless.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:21

    Haters gonna hate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:43

      Dreamers gonna dream.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:15

      There have been plenty of examples of things that didn't make sense to 'experts' who make comments here actually happening and working out.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:27

      Any examples?

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:22

    Not gonna happen in this decade. Wishful thinking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      The same was said for BEG-JFK just two years ago.

      Delete
    2. I'm agree with anon 9:22 and plus you cannot compare soon to be 5. something million airport (BEG) to not even 2 million airport (SKP)

      Hope you get those flights one day.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous05:21

      SKOPJE HAD 1.5 MILIONS PASSENGERS THIS YEAR 20 PERCENT INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR,WITH SKOPJE--TURKISH AIRLINES--JFK IT WILL BE 2.2 MILION BECAUSE ALLL ALBANIANS WILL COME IN USA FROM SKOPJE ALL OF THEM KOSOVA ALBANIA,THEY ARE 1.2 MILIONS ALBANIANS IN USA 500K OF THEM IN NEEW YORK ARE AND NEW YERSEY,IL CREATE A FB FAN PAGE AND SEE HOW MANY OF THEM WILL SIGN ,IL WANT TO REACH 100K FOLLOW MY PAGE ,FOR SURE IT WILL REACH 200K

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:23

    Macedonian efforts will eventually bear fruit

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:24

    BEG - SKP - JFK. No no no

    Whole EU - SKP - JFK


    Some people ......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:48

      if there are moneys for city/country revamp why not for transatlantic airline if there is the political ambission?

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:27

    When Zagreb and Belgrade got Sky Service back the mid 2000ish from Toronto, European airlines did not even
    Dump the fares, and the project was dead within a year or two.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      The aviation industry has changed dramatically after September 11.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:27

    Almost everything that we heard about Skopje became true in the past few years: new terminal, Wizz Air base, Fly dubai launching flights. So I would not write this off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      This time I really doubt it, darling. Of course, it would be nice to have them but seems utterly unrealistic given the small market MK is.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:07

      It is not so tiny when you include Kosovo and part of Albania for which Skopje also caters for.

      Delete
    3. Actually yes, SKP covers whole Macedonia and Kosovo & Metohija, South-east Serbia including Niš, northern and eastern Albania including Tirana, and even South-western Bulgaria including Sofia could be a catchment area for trans-Atlantic flights. That's some 7 million potential passengers at least, not more than 5 hrs drive from the airport. Including Thessaloniki(3 hrs drive), we reach the catchment area of much larger cities.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:29

      Why would someone from Nis drive to SKP and cross the border to catch a TATL flight when BEG is 1h45min away?

      Delete
    5. Better price maybe... & btw, Nis to SKP = 190km, to BEG = 250km...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous07:51

      Yet there is a highway to BEG, thousands of buses and no border. Not to mention that there is more choice from Belgrade.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:51

      anon 2:29,
      and vice versa that is why nobody from Macedonia would fly from INI: border, no highway and much better choice from SKP.
      and yet, INI management shows data that still there are passengers from Macedonia from INI- it is the same from SKP is they make a pax breakdown according to origin that there will be many passengers from South Serbia who fly from SKP.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:30

    Did you people even read the text? The CEO said they would support the flights if someone showed interest which is completely normal. What would you rather the airport do? Tell an airline they shouldn't start the flights? Not help them if genuine interest is shown? The CEO does talk about the risks involved so I think he gave quite a realistic outlook.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:37

      Agree. Good luck to Skopje and full credit to TAV for trying to promote aviation in the country. You chose TAV and here at LJU we chose Fraport. Out of it we got a grand total of 1 new route. Skopje on the other hand...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:17

      +1

      Think most people saw "Skopje" and "Trans-Atlantic" whilst missing the key word of "support".

      It was a realistic appraisal of these flights happening with focus on the risks and requirements of such.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:37

      Fraport was also in the race for SKP, and at the time I was cheering for them- but indeed, TAV turned out to be the right choice for SKP

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:40

      And what exactly is wrong with Fraport? Just look at LJU and how both VAR and BOJ are performing together with the investments made.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous05:24

      DID U SEE THE TEXT TURKISH AIRLINES IS READY TO SUPPORT IF GOVERMENT IS OK,AND IF A FLIGHT FROM TIRANA WILL TRASNFER PASSENGERS TO SKOPJE,,,THEY ARE 1 TO 1.5 MILION ALBANIANS IN USA AND 200K MACEDONIANS,IT WILL BE 150K PASSENGER A YEAR FLY WITH THIS AIRLINES 3 TIMES A WEEK SUMMER TIME AND 1 A WEEK WINTER FALL TIME

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:41

    What are the main Macedonian diaspora centres in the US?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      Detroit and Chicago.

      Delete
    2. NOT TRUE IF U TALK FOR MACEDOONIANS WHICH ARE 20K IN CHICAGO AND DETRIOR YES,IF U TALK FOR ALL MACEDONIAN CITIZENS WHCIH NR 1 EMRIGANT IN USA ARE ALBANIANS WITH 100K PLUS IN NEW YORK NEWYERSEY AND CONNECITUCT ARE WITHOUT THOSE ALBANIANS WILL NEVER HAVE DIRECT FLIGHT,,WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT MACEDONIA U HAVE TO MENTION MACEDONIAN CITIZENS ,U HAVE TO INCLUDE MACEDONIANS TORBESHI ALBANIANS AND TURKISH ,,,,,MAJOR ARE IN NEW YORK NR 1 AND NEW YERSEY AND CONNECIITUCT WITH 80K PEOPLE THAN CHICCAGO 20K

      Delete
    3. TURKISH AIRLINES THEY SEE NR 1 ALBANIAN POPULATION IN KOSOVO MACEDONIA ANE ALBANIA AND PRESHEVO WHICH TAKE 1MILION PLUS EMIGRANTS IN USA LIVING NOW AND MACEDONIAN EMIGRAND ARE ONLY 50K,THEY CHOSE SKOPJE BECAUSE PEOPLE COME FROM PRISHTINA SOON THE HIGHWAYS FROM OHRID TO GOSTIVAR WILL BE FINISHES AND HIGHWAY FROM TIRANA TO DEBAR WILL BE FINISHES IN 2 YEAR SO PEOPLE FROM ALBANIA WILL COME TO SKOPJE AOR FLY FROM TIRANA TO SKOPJE WITH SUPER LOW COST MAYBE 50 DOLLARS TO SKOPJE,,,THINK POSITIVE,,IT WILL HAPEND IF TURKISH AIRLIES WILL SAY YES NOONE CAN STOP IT,,,UNDER TURKISH AIRLINES PLANE IT WILL BE NO PROBLEM FOR USA,,THATS Y CROATIA WANTS DELTA TO FLY FROM ZAGREB TO NEW YORK EASY PROCESS,I DONT UNDERSTANT HOW SERBIA GOT AIR SERBIA FLY TO NEW YORK AND MONTREAL,IN USA ARE UNDER 100K SERBS AND ALBANIANS ARE 1 MILION DONT GET IT HOW,POLITICS INVOLVED 100 PERCENT

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:42

    wow at the condescending tone from some people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      agree. I don't understand why this is such a sore spot for many. If Skopje wants to try to get US flights then let it try. No harm done.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:59

      Don't worry that's just the Balkan way. Find a story on here which isn't riddled with visitor comments how it is a bad thing or destined for failure. Everything. When there is good and positive news you always get comments how it is bad. And don't forget those who do not necessarily think the development is bad but are hoping it will impact someone else so it's bad for them. Something in the water in the Balkans I guess.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:43

    Seems everyone wants to have flights to the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      It is fast being replaced by flights to China.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:55

    "A nonstop flight to North America would lead to additional feeder flights from the Balkan region to Skopje."

    Wtf? That would only be true if a strong Macedonian national airline started such transatlantic services. Or maybe a new Wizzair long haul company based in MK that also had to introduce transfer possibilities.

    Just hilarious...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      Maybe Norwegian will launch these flights while easyJet will expand in the wider region? Would be nice competition to Wizz Air.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:51

      It could hardly get more unlikely

      Delete
    3. READ THE ARTICE AGIN DUMMY,,,TURKISH AIRLINES WANTS TO MAKE FLIGHTS FROM SKPJE TO NEW YORK NOT MACEDONIAN AIRLINES,,THEY ARE 700K ALBANIANS FROM KOSOVO IN USA AND 500K FROM ALBANIA IN USA AND CANT EVEN THINK WITH THEIR AILINES GET THERE,IT HAS TO BE BIG AIRLINES LIKE DELTA TURKISH AIRLINES QATAR AIWWAYS OR EMIRATES TO DO THAT LIKE THEY DID FROM MILAN AND THEY GOING TO START NEXT YEAR FROM ATHENS WITH EMIRATES,READ THE ARTICLE AGAIN AND THAN COMMENT

      Delete
    4. No one will read this post. Calm your tits and lower your case.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:02

    Never say never :D who would have thought that Qatar Airways would fly to SKP just a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      eaxctly

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:50

      +1

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:22

      That is not compareable at all.
      Qatar and arabs fly to almost every bigger city in Europe and Asia. So, Qatar in SKP is about Qatar expansion, not about SKP.
      SKP still does not have flights to bigger european hubs, that is true and very sad.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:42

      Plus regarding QR, note that it is much easier and cheaper when you can fly narrow body. Wide body is whole different story.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:07

    Ok I don't think there is a chance of it happening but Skopje could serve Albanian and Kosovo passengers too and that market is quite big.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:25

      Would people from northern Greece also use these potential flights?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:14

      Skopje is not for Albanian and Kosovo passengers, both countries have their own airports Tirana and Pristina they don't need/won't fly via Skopje.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:18

      Haha sure they won't. Don't know if you know but Albanians make a large portion of SKP's passenger structure.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:40

      are you dumb,,,from 1,4 milion passengers more than 600k of them are albanian fly to europe and usa,,,macedonia has 800k emirgants 200k macedonian and more than 500k albanian live in europe and usa,,,albanian from ksovo will all of them will fly from skopje to new york and albanian from albania will do same by flying from tirana to skopje transit for usa,,,i know that 95 percent for sure,,,if it was only for macedonians turkish airlines ever will connecet skopje with new york,,,they are 1.2 milion albanian in usa,500k from albania 600k from kosova and 100 from macedonia located mostly 700k of them in new york new yersey area,other is chicago and west usa,,,wake up hello

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:09

    Sooner or later TAV will finally make some deal with TK in Macedonia. They have been trying to get them on board for the new national airline, now with the TATL flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous05:27

      TURKISH AIRLINES ALREADY WILL LAUNCH ALBANIAN AIRLINES AND GIVE THEM 10 NICE AIRCRAFT IM NOT SUPRISED IF TIRANA START BEFORE 2020 DIRECT FLIGHTS TO NEW YORK,ANYWAYS IT TAKES 2 TO 3 HOURS TO GO TIRANA FROM ALL WEST MACEDONIA WHICH HAS 150K ALBANIANS LEAVE IN USA AND 1 MILION ALBANIA FROM ALBANIA AND KOSOVA LEAVE IN NEW YORK HALFT OF THAT NUMBER IN NEW YORK NEW YERSEY CONNECTICUT AND PENSYLVANIA LO

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:11

    Interestingly United codeshares on Austrian's flights to Skopje and Delta on Alitalia's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:25

      Didn't Alitalia like suspend SKP? Seems like no other airline but W6 can make the market work.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:35

      Sorry I meant to write "and Delta used to on Alitalia's"

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:46

      Alitalia also suspended Istanbul when they dropped Skopje. It had nothing to with the market and more with internal disarray at Alitalia.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:44

      they did that because turkish airlines is nr 1 with emirates and qatar they rule the world with airplanes,turkish airlines has 340 airplane most of them 4 years old,they just order 40 new 787 in october 10 bilion dollar deal,,,they will open new airport in 2018,first terminal in istanbul new airport will fit 90 milion pasenger,when other 2 stages will finish istanul new aiport will hold 160 to 200 milion passengers,they will need skopje or tirana to make direct flights to new york,mostly skopje because is in middle and now albania has new highways and kosovo will build or is building pristina skopje highway,,,it will hapend in 2 years

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:23

    First connect with the European continent and then connect with North America. Priorities please.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:36

    Good that they have the initiative.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:43

    Would be nice but it is very far fetched.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:45

    OTP and SOF can't support flights to the US, but SKP will... Interesting :D

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:53

    Norwegian is building up their N America network (destinations and frequeancies). They will soon offer decent alternative to Star Alliance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:00

      Yes, but they wont be starting transatlantic flights from SKP any time soon.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:54

    Why they want use such big planes to the east side of USA? There is a possibility for smaller planes like A321 neo LR. If they take an A321 neo LR with a stop in London (Luton or Gatwick)they can start from SKP and OHD. I thike the demand of suche flights will be big..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:00

      True but the question is who can operate these flights and has such aircraft in their fleet?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:01

      AirTransat, Turkish, Air Lingus, Swiss and also a couple other airlines could be... it's also possible to lease such an Airplane. if thye want they will found a way how they can serve this route. Im wondering why etablished airlines ignor this demand of such flights.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous11:02

    What could the frequencies of flights from Macedonia to US be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:07

      Seasonal May to September 2x per week.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:55

      Two flights per year...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:47

      seaslonal flights may to october,turkish airlines go baby

      Delete
  31. Anonymous11:02

    kind of OT: I was on JU500 to JFK last Tuesday - economy quite full, maybe some 10 empty seats, on my way back on Saturday JU501, the loads were much lighter, however FA told me that we were 190 on board. It was at least 5 pax in business on both flights. The legroom is very spacious, although I'm 1.86m I felt totally comfortable during all 9 hours. The only disappointing part of the experience was the food on JU500 where one meal were eggs and the second one just a sandwich. On our way back at least one meal was more substantial. A lot of transfer pax on both flights, I noticed many of them were from MNE (a lot of them speaking Albanian language). Overall very positive experience for a 400-euro flight booked just few days before the trip

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:06

      My only issue is the IFE which has not been updated since the route was launched.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:09

      Yes, you're right. I forgot to mention that

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:39

      Anon at 11.06am - were you charged to use the IFE ?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:47

      Anyone tried C?
      would like to hear/read whats that like with JU
      p.s.
      I know there r reviews in internet- im interested in other peoples opinions and not from paid travel bloggers

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:42

      Anon 12.39

      From what I know no legacy charges for IFE, Air Serbia included.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous18:08

      Ofc not, we were not charged, but there's room for improvement in their IFE

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:11

      Ja sam leteo sa njima u C i bili su bolji od AF, ali razmak letova je 15 godina.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous11:08

    It would be an interesting concept for TK. And I wouldn't be so quick to write it off like some here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:09

      Does TK flies from any city other than Istanbul to North America?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:15

      No, all 9 of their destinations in the US are only served from Istanbul.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:19

      They operated some charters from AYT.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous05:30

      THEY GOT TORONTO MONTREAL MEXICO CITY IN NORTH AMERICA T0OO

      Delete
  33. Anonymous11:22

    The best thing that could happen to Skopje is if Wizz Air starts transatlantic flights :) Anyone know if they have such plans?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:02

      Well maybe Iceland if that is already considered TATL

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:48

      yes wizz air has airbus 330 nice inside but no tv in each chair,,,if u read the article turkish airlines wants to fly from skopje to new york not wizz

      Delete
  34. Anonymous11:34

    At this point I don't think that Skopje has the potential to sustain a long route like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:00

      +1. I don't get how a mostly regional airport with LCC flights will feed an expensive route over the pond.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:04

      No doubt about that.
      Unless their "support" means they would basically pay for more than 200 of 300 seats each flight.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:49

      skopje just build terminal with 10 thousand square metter with 6 air bridges and runway of 3.1 km,,,,turkish got it,,,now turkish airlines talk with tav company a turkish company which has hands on skopje airport for 20 years,,

      Delete
  35. Anonymous12:01

    This would be amazing but I have a hard time believing it will happen.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous12:06

    Turkish Airlines is seriously considering introducing flights to the US from another European non-Turkish city. Last year they were thinking about Luxembourg before the attempted coup in Turkey happened
    http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/news/luxembourg/story/Turkish-Airlines-veut-voler-entre-le-Findel-et-New-York-10705667

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:16

      Interesting. Had no idea

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:16

      TK saw how much money Air Serbia is losing on BEG-JFK flights so now Turkish wants to lose even more on SKP-JFK.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:06

      And now compare income and financial standard of country and inhabitants between LUX and Macedonia. Notice a difference?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous07:38

      Macedonia has a larger population and a bigger catchment area espcially when you factor in the diaspora.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:50

      Nope. Both the population and the catchment area around LUX are much bigger and wealthier. Around LUX are only high yielding economies (France, Germany, Belgium) and cities such as Cologne and Brussels are all within 2.5 hrs drive. Lux is very well connected to many other large cities in all 4 of those countries). Not even the slightest possibility to compare that to SKP.

      Delete
  37. Everybody wants long haul flights towards America.
    Just an american dream.
    Serbia is ok
    Croatia possible seasonal
    The other ex-yu countries but please come on...

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous14:57

    There are enough passengers from Skopje for summer flights to the USA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:24

      Enough for what? To fill one flight a week or to have decent yields and make some profit? Those are very different things.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous05:34

      THEY WILL NOT LOSE MONEY BECAYSE IN USA ARE 1.2 MILION ALBANIANS AND MACEDONIANS AND ONLY NEW YORK AREA NEW YERSEY ARE ARE 600THOUSANDS OF THEM,,,IN NEW YORK ARE ARE NOT EVEN 50K SERBIANS LOL,,,IF SKOPJE START FLIGHTS ALBANIA KOSOVA MACEDONIA ALL OF THEM WILL COME TO SKOPJE,,SERBIA HAS NOT TO MUCH SERBIAN EMIGRANTS IN EASTERN USA ARE,,,THEY SHOULD START A FLIGHT TO DETROIT OR CHICAGO RETHER THAN NEW YORK,,,THHEY ARE 5 TIMES MORE ALBANIAN AND MACEDONIAN AND I FORGOT 50K ALBANIAN FROM MONTENEGRO AND BOSNIANS IN NEW YORK AREA,,,ONLY THINK IT WILL BE THAT TIRANA HAS TO START A 2 WEEKLY FLIGHT TO SKOPJE SO THEY WILL TRASFER THE PASSENGERS THAT FLY TRASIT TO USA AND MONTENEGRO TOO,,NOONE WILL FLY FROM SERBIA,AFTER ZAGREB START THE FLIGHT I THINK AIR SERBIA WILL DO 1 TIME A WEEK FLIGHT

      Delete
  39. Anonymous15:36

    Seasional Tallinn - Ohrid one weekly flight begin from Summer 2018 https://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/ekonomija/tav-estonskata-nordika-kje-pochne-so-letovi-ohrid-talin-od-2018-godina

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous16:11

    Serbia and Croatia are the only two countries in Ex Yu that can sustain long haul traffic. All the others are just funny...

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous21:50

    Macedonian government was negotiating with TAV for a additional subsidy last year for a trans Atlantic flight. If that happens i don't see why it wont happen in near time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous02:06

      If it's okay for Macedonian government to finance Turkish Airlines flights to New York, then it must be okay if not great for Serbian government to support Air Serbia flights to New York!

      Delete
    2. Of course it is. Supporting new route development is a good thing.

      However, *how much* money you spill into it is yet another. It's completely different if you spend $30M and $0.5M for a similar impact.

      Delete
  42. Anonymous11:29

    Utter nonsense!
    Skopje is surrounded by hills and mountains that are too close for long-haul flights to be able to depart with max passengers/luggage and enough fuel for direct flight JFK. The Take Off Weight restrictions due to obstacles would be a problem.
    Especially true in the summer when temperatures reach 35-40 deg C (or more), effectively turning a theoretical 280 sitter into a 190 sitter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:55

      if something is nonsense here, that is your comment, and please stop spamming both this blog as well as Facebook with it

      Delete
  43. Anonymous17:53

    I think this should happen.We must connect at least 1 time to get to USA or Canada.It will be good to start new routes from SKP or maybe from Ohrid.The new routes can be to anywhere in the USA,maybe mostly to Miami all airport inclunding MIA,FLL or PBI,Orlando,NYC all airport,Atlanta,Chichago or other.Make this please.And,I'm voting to start flights with Ryanair,EasyJet and Norwegian.com to Oslo TRF or OSL,and to other Europe cities,and even with Norwegian to USA.

    ReplyDelete

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