Wizz Air profits decline in Serbia and Bosnia


Low cost carrier Wizz Air recently posted a record first half profit for the 2020 financial year (April - September) amounting to 371.5 million euros. The Budapest-based company could soon take over from Ryanair as Europe's most profitable airline group by operating margin. However, while Wizz was profitable on all of the markets it served during the first half of the financial year, with exception to Morocco, it saw its profits decrease in six countries compared to H1 2018, with two of them being Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The biggest profit growth was recorded in Moldova, with margins increasing 72%, while the largest increase in profits was on routes to/from the United Kingdom, where they grew by eleven million euros. However, overall, Romania was the most profitable country market where route profits totalled 58 million euros.

According to the airline performance analysis platform Apex, Wizz registered an operating profit of some 3.6 million euros in Serbia between April and September, where it maintains a base in Belgrade. The figure represents a decrease from four million euros during the same period last year, or a decline of 8%. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it boasts a base in Tuzla, profits on routes totalled 2.4 million euros, down from 2.5 million euros or a decrease of 5%. During the said period, Wizz Air launched a new seasonal service from Belgrade to Lyon and increased frequencies and capacity on several routes from the Serbian capital. At the same time, it maintained a similar number of flights from Tuzla as last year.

Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, previously said that high airport costs and government protectionism of Air Serbia are preventing the company from developing at its Belgrade base. “The significant issue in Belgrade that has hindered our development there is the cost of the airport relative to its peers. It is a high price airport and we need to see costs coming down. As we are bringing in more passengers and operations to the airport, we need to be at least in line with what we are paying at similar places”. He added, “I think the Serbian government has taken steps towards protecting Air Serbia's business and I think they are trying to put some pressure on competitors like ourselves. These two factors are really holding us back in Belgrade”. On the other hand, the carrier is in the process of renegotiating its contract with Tuzla Airport, which the latter hopes will result in new routes in 2020. “I think it is in the interest of Tuzla and the region to see our continuous operations and them improving their infrastructure. I'm pretty sure Tuzla Airport will be business-minded in that regard", Mr Varadi previously said.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    371.5 million profit. Wow. Makes you realize how disastrous our ex-Yu airlines are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      in the first half year ;) total numbers are probably around 500 million by year´s end.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:17

      No worries. The troops are happy as long as the sheets show any profit at the end of the year. At any cost.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:50

      It is an impressive result. Their finances have generally been fantastic.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:55

      Are they the most profitable airline in Indigo Partners group?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:11

      I believe so. They are more profitable than Frontier. Can't find results for Volaris and Jet Smart.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    I really hope they will get their act together in BEG. They have been sleeping for 2 years now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:03

      Don't think they will be making changes to BEG ops any time soon. "Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, previously said that high airport costs and government protectionism of Air Serbia are preventing the company from developing at its Belgrade base."

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:04

      I'm hoping they finally base a third plane in BEG in 2020.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:05

      Hard to blame Wizz Air when they have to compete against state-owned airline with unlimited government backing.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:09

      @9.04 not gonna happen

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:10

      it's load of BS. how come other airlines are not complaining? the issue here is that they want everything for free, or for 3€ as in Niš

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:13

      So why aren't they expanding more aggressively from BEG then if charges are not the problem?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:17

      Anon 09:05 Poor Wizz, they have competition somewhere, I wonder will they survive with just 350 million profit?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:20

      Other airlines *are* complaining and limiting growth from BEG. You will see this setup rear its ugly head if ever we get even close to EU membership. If you benchmark against most other EU-based Eastern European countries, Serbia is way behind. But we have decided BEG beating ZAG is enough, as myopic as it is.

      Delete
    9. Nemjee09:23

      Oh please, you make it sound as if JU is backed by trillions in funds like Qatar Airways is. If that was the case then those old Atrs and B733s would have been retired a long time ago and would have been replaced with new generation, state of the art aircraft.

      Reality is that the Serbian market is growing while Wizz Air is stagnating. What major thing have they done in the past two, three years? The most impressive thing I can think of is that they've switched BEG-LTN to Wizz Air UK and upgraded the equipment from A320 to A321. That seasonal LYS was launched only because JU passed on the opportunity and because Vinci encouraged them to do so...

      Meanwhile, Transavia keeps on boosting their presence in BEG. From what I've seen in summer 2020 they will have six weekly flights. They have improved flexibility and brought down fares on flights from Amsterdam. This has impacted Wizz Air's operations to EIN. Since they launched BEG flights, passengers to AMS have exploded.

      - easyJet launched Basel flights directly competing with Wizz Air. If anything they considerably affected their profits on the route.

      - Air France launched CDG-BEG with daily, year-round flights. No carrier from PAR to BEG offers low fares so Wizz Air probably lost some customers there as well.

      - Swedish market is shrinking for a while now, airports throughout the country are reporting weaker demand which probably affected their BEG operations as well.

      - Lufthansa added a third daily flight from MUC, a market Wizz Air serves via Memmingen.

      - This summer Eurowings is launching STR-BEG flights directly competing against both Wizz Air and Air Serbia. I think JU won't be as affected since EW revised their schedule so as not to clash/overlap with JU. Seems like they want to coexist with them.

      How long have they ignored markets such as Barcelona, Madrid or Milan? They have been passive in Belgrade and now they are paying the price for it.

      Like I said, all airlines in BEG seem to be doing rather well. On Monday I flew on Aegean's A320 from ATH to BEG and there were around 155 passengers on board. Another example is Lufthansa which seems to be sending more and more their A321 to BEG. Actually both flights to FRA today are operated by the A321. Why hasn't Wizz Air launched at least seasonal flights from Belgrade to Athens?

      Like I said, the Serbian market seems to be growing quite nicely. If they don't feel like getting their own share and fighting for their own piece of the pie then they shouldn't attack those others who are trying.

      As for high airport charges, if airlines such as easyJet, Norwegian, Vueling ... don't mind paying them then why should Wizz Air? After all, their obsession with low airport fees had resulted in BUD not reporting a profit for about ten years.

      What matters is that the Serbian market is not suffering because of their passivity. If they don't want to, there are others who will.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:26

      "As for high airport charges, if airlines such as easyJet, Norwegian, Vueling ... don't mind paying them then why should Wizz Air? "

      Most probably because they fly 1-2 routes to BEG. Wizz Air flies 13 and they are right in saying that their volume of traffic should qualify them for more client pricing.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous09:26

      *lenient (not client)

      Delete
    12. Anonymous09:33

      @Nemjee:
      ".. If that was the case then those old Atrs and B733s would have been retired a long time ago and would have been replaced with new generation, state of the art aircraft"

      Reality is that the Serbian market is growing while Wizz Air is stagnating

      Find the mistake here. ==> Air Serbia is getting millions of Euros, and still cannot renew its old fleet. The thing is that subsidies would have to skyrocket if they had new aircraft that have not yet been depreciated.

      Serbian market is growing yes = but the largest chunk of it is because of JU and transfers. In most other countries it is exactly the opposite => Growth is fuelled by LCCs not by subsidised national carriers that transport for instance Romanians from MAD to OTP via BEG. So Wizz is a much better mirror of the "Serbian market development" .

      Delete
    13. Nemjee09:36

      BEG has calculated what volume justifies extra discounts and what Wizz Air offers now is just not enough for them. If they base a third aircraft I am sure BEG will give them some discounts for new destinations they would introduce. However, I do understand why BEG might be more supportive of JU since they are the ones that have linked them with Helsinki, Krasnodar, Beirut, Madrid ... while Wizz Air has been focusing on secondary and tertiary destinations in Europe. I mean, what's the most central airport Wizz Air flies to on a year round basis from BEG? LTN? MMX? LCA? FKB? lol

      Delete
    14. Anonymous09:37

      "So Wizz is a much better mirror of the "Serbian market development" .

      It means that Macedonian market is way better than Serbian :-))))

      LOL

      Delete
    15. Anonymous09:37

      They calculated it based on Air Serbia. If Wizz Air were to base a third plane, I'm sure BEG would increase the volume target needed to qualify for discounts.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous09:39

      Reality is Wizz Air is expanding beyond anyone's wildest imaginations, and Serbia is left behind to deal with its own sense of entitlement.

      However you spin it Nemjee, the numbers don't lie.

      Delete
    17. Nemjee09:41

      Absolute and utter nonsense. You do realize that foreign carriers have been adding flights to Belgrade for a while now? Air France launched daily flights, Transavia has been adding flights from AMS despite there being no new slots, Red Wings has actually survived the winter in Belgrade while boosting flights, Aeroflot has added the third daily from Moscow, Swiss is increasing BEG from 17 to 21 next summer, easyJet boosted Geneva and launched Berlin and Basel, Aegean has gone from Q400s to A320s, Lufthansa has added another daily flight from Munich, Tarom has increased Belgrade last winter to 9 weekly, Qatar has added night flights this summer ...

      So no, Wizz Air is not an image of anything besides extreme passivity and indifference. To me it seems like they want unrealistic market conditions so that they can boost their already large profits while operating to secondary and tertiary airports.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous09:57

      Great benchmarks. Justifying peanuts.

      If you look at propensity to travel (number of passengers / total population), aside from BiH, Serbia is at the bottom in Europe. Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia, etc all beat it handily, even if you take into account the double-counted transfer pax in BEG. I dare you to take those away, it's actually much worse.

      And on the other hand, 'passivity and indifference' is adding 20+ aircraft every year and achieving the best margin in Europe.

      Somebody's got their narrative wrong.

      Delete
    19. QR 92110:09

      @09:26 - Where else in Europe are LCC using jet-bridges all the time like Wizz Air in BEG?

      Please, B remote stands are missing your presence.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous10:14

      I was flying with Air Serbia when JU A320 was parked at A8 while Wizz Air's A320 on A4!

      Wtf?

      Delete
    21. Anonymous10:16

      I''m sure they pay for the gates. BEG certainly isn't giving to them for free.

      Delete
    22. Nemjee10:18

      So my narrative is wrong because I want BEG to have sustainable operations? What you seem to be forgetting is that Serbia is still among the poorest countries in Europe so comparing them to some others whose economy has been growing much faster is silly. On top of that, BEG and INI have been rapidly growing and expanding with the former most likely handling 6.2 million this year. Passenger numbers won't grow until the economy grows and that will take time.

      Your argument makes no sense because you are trying to create some conspiracy theory where the Serbian market suffers because Wizz Air is not getting unrealistic subsidies like they do in places like Budapest. What is annoying Wizz Air is that they didn't manage to recreate the Malev scenario in Belgrade and Warsaw.

      As for BEG, as I wrote in my post above, airlines are adding flights left and right to BEG. If Wizz Air is not doing the same then it means they are the problem, not the Serbian market. If they don't want to commit to Serbia then it doesn't matter, we have others among which is Air Serbia which can't just pack up and leave the moment someone refuses their extortionist policies.

      If we look at the numbers and the overall trend, your argument makes absolutely no sense. Unless you work for Wizz Air, of course.

      Delete
    23. Anonymous10:40

      No one forces Wizz Air to use the gates. They're free to use remote stands like all 'normal" low-costs. Unless they want legacy treatment at a LCC price?

      Delete
    24. Anonymous10:46

      Btw, foreign airlines didn't expand at all in Belgrade this winter season. Overall number of their operations have risen by only 1%.

      Delete
    25. Anonymous11:28

      @Nemjee: You do realize that the above mentioned by you are just a matter of competition, they basically all serve the same destinations and fight for market share:

      Transavia vs Wizz vs JU to AMS/EIN

      EasyJet / Swiss/ Wizz/ to ZRH/BSL/GVA/LYS

      They serve markets where there is a huge serbian diaspora and the airline itself has a big operating hub.

      Krasnodar is cetrainly not served for the Serbian public.

      Delete
    26. Nemjee14:55

      Why doesn't KRR serve the Serbian public? Aren't those flights piloted by Serbian crew? Aren't Serbian products served/sold onboard? Aren't those transfer passengers paying a transfer tax at BEG? Also, KRR does see local demand, it's not like BEY which is purely there for transfer passengers. Furthermore, just because a route is purely sustained by transfer passengers doesn't mean it's loss-making. Not to mention that Krasnodar operates at night when the A319 would be sitting at the gate collecting dust ... or more like frost these days.

      Also, I just checked online and this past October Russian arrivals to Serbia rose by 49% to 6.616 (01-10 55.763). Who knows, maybe KRR-BEG is becoming increasingly popular with tourists. There has to be a reason why JU kept it as three weekly.

      I just don't understand what you are all losing from not having an absolute Wizz Air domination in BEG. I am genuinely curious especially now when JU has a sane pricing policy.

      Delete
    27. Anonymous15:07

      FR is closing NYO. Now we know why INI was closed.

      Delete
    28. Anonymous15:13

      @ Nemjee: "Aren't those flights piloted by Serbian crew? Aren't Serbian products served/sold onboard?" => Absolutely => Still this is only relevant if the whole thing works out so that money is made. Is JU not paying money to aircraft lessors, to other airports. This is only relevant if the company manages to produce a profit. It obviously is not able to sustain its own business. Under these circumstances it would be better for the tax payer to directly give money to the crews or pay taxes to the airport. The amount of money lost would be less.

      Delete
    29. Anonymous15:27

      Nemjee, let me quote some of the misconceptions you are propaganting:

      "So my narrative is wrong because I want BEG to have sustainable operations"

      Pure spin. Your narrative is wrong because you are justifying market protectionism with minimal gains in comparison to a huge market boost enabled by open market supply and demand. Your extreme claims of subsidy expectations for LCCs are not only incorrect, they are projections of what's happening with Air Serbia.

      And LCCs offer much higher volume of sustainable operations due to a lower cost base.

      "What you seem to be forgetting is that Serbia is still among the poorest countries in Europe so comparing them to some others whose economy has been growing much faster is silly."

      Outright lie by misquote. I compared them to Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Slovenia.

      "On top of that, BEG and INI have been rapidly growing and expanding with the former most likely handling 6.2 million this year"

      Rapid growth is PEANUTS compared to everyone else except BiH.

      "Your argument makes no sense because you are trying to create some conspiracy theory where the Serbian market suffers because Wizz Air is not getting unrealistic subsidies like they do in places like Budapest."

      A lie. Not a conspiracy theory. For those who know, and this has been repeated numerous times here, Wizz would have added aircraft up to Air Serbia's capacity a few years ago in order to have access to the same volume pricing and fuel discount as JU but the government didn't want to sign a contract and instead switched the airport taxes to an APD scheme where they can be changed at a moment's notice. Grow in a market like that where you know the gov't is just going to backstab you and protect the local carrier, as proven by this year's developments in Nish? No way.

      Unrealistic subsidies in Budapest? A lie. Budapest gave huge discount for Ryanair to come in on top of Wizz Air once Malev collapsed and gave nothing to Wizz Air. Still remains like that to this day, minimal volume discounts for new traffic. Nothing like the exclusive 50% off for Air Serbia.

      "If we look at the numbers and the overall trend, your argument makes absolutely no sense. Unless you work for Wizz Air, of course."

      As I said above, propensity figures show a clear picture that Serbia is lagging behind all of Europe, entangled in its own schemes and sense of entitlement. And your last dig at 'unless I work at Wizz Air', typical political ad hominem. It's not a pleasure debating with you Nemjee, not at all. Spins and manipulations, straw men, smoke and mirrors. Despicable.




      Delete
    30. Nemjee16:37

      I am still waiting for an answer to my question: what is the Serbian market missing out on by not having an absolute domination of Wizz Air in BEG?

      Also, since when do we worship at the altar of free market economy? We shouldn't go into extremes, either when it comes to protectionism or free market economy. Serbia has struck a fine balance thus preventing Wizz Air's predatory tactics while making sure all players can grow and efficiently serve the local market. Airlines are adding capacity based on realistic need for air travel, as it grows so will the number of flights and seats on the Serbian market. Not to mention that Air Serbia is not impossible to defeat and they have retreated from underperforming markets. If they are sticking around with the current network it means they are making money from those. Just because the airline is losing money overall, doesn't mean their flights are also loss-making.

      As for Budapest, you keep on writing the same comment over and over again. I am speaking about the massive subsidies LCCs got later on and over the years. It took BUD a decade and 15 million passengers to come even remotely close to anything resembling a profit. So why should BEG follow in their footsteps when it lacks many things that enabled BUD to reach that volume. It only means BEG would suffer and lose money so that Varadi can boast and brag about his 'success.'

      As someone pointed out earlier today, there was a time when Wizz Air paid considerably less than other airlines at BEG. Once circumstances changed they boycotted the airport by removing one A320 only to bring it back a few years later. This goes to show that money can be made under current market conditions otherwise they would have shut down their BEG base and have kept some destinations served by planes from other bases. After all, what we can see from today's article is that BEG knows very well what it can ask from airlines that fly there. If Wizz Air didn't have commercial reasons to fly from BEG then they would have packed their stuff and left years ago.

      Furthermore, I do not know how much you expect Serbian airports to handle? 7 million? 15 million? 35 million? 70 million? Your level of disillusionment indicates you are either not from Serbia or you have left a long time ago. Serbia has had one of the toughest three decade period in Europe. It will take time for the country and the economy to recover. Things like that can't happen overnight. Growth in charter traffic is a positive trend that will hopefully continue in the future. A dose of realism would be much appreciated when writing about these things.

      Also, don't you know BEG is nearing capacity? Situation is already getting tight as is. Why should the airport force artificial growth when it can't accommodate it?

      Please, if you are going to write yet another Ode to Wizz Air please start by replying to my question, I would appreciate that very much.

      Delete
    31. Anonymous17:03

      Београд губи прилику да буде повезан са сваким европским селом два пута недељно, ето... xD

      Delete
    32. Anonymous17:16

      Come on, come on guys...W6 was never looking into BEG as an important airport compared to the rest of ex-YU and sadly enough not even in the rest of ex-YU.
      They reduced Slovenia, Croatia, no presence in BiH nor ME. The sole golden market with margin remains NMK.
      BEG can possibly be compared to TSR or KIV when it comes to pax served and number of destinations.
      That said, yes....BEG must lower them airport charges otherwise neither W6 nor FR will step in, where the Serbs can enjoy lower fares.

      Delete
    33. Anonymous17:23

      Yet Belgrade keeps on booming. I guess Serbs in Belgrade can afford flights. Those who can't have INI. ;)

      Let Wizz do their magic there.

      Delete
    34. Anonymous17:23

      Are you seriously comparing Belgrade to KIV and TSR?!

      Delete
    35. Anonymous17:30

      Anon 17:23

      TSR and KIV have 3 W6 planes based, just like BEG. So yes.
      Sole issue is that they are much smaller cities.

      Delete
    36. Anonymous18:06

      Maybe another issue is that they have very few other airlines there as well? ;)

      Hilarious how many people are bitter. Belgrade grows from 5.6 to 6.2 and people still think it's somehow not enough.

      SKP has Wizz mega hub but we all saw how bad its connectivity is.

      Delete
    37. Anonymous18:12

      SKP connectivity, bad? LOL!
      Momko, SKP used to have a crappy airline and insane fares and figures as little as 600.000 pax per year. The difference in growth is remarkable.
      Just because SKP has 5 W6 and BEG has only 3, doesn´t mean you have to say: "bad connectivity".
      The topic is about W6 and not about the entire airport growth which in your case is 55% & belongs to 1 airline.

      Delete
    38. Anonymous18:19

      Yes, SKP's connectivity is quite bad. Look for the article on here that was published some months ago. You do realize SKP doesn't have flights to MUC, FRA, CDG, AMS ...

      Also what airline has 55%? If you mean Air Serbia then you are wrong, their marketshare is 42%. Also, tell us, what's Wizz Air's percentage in SKP? ;)

      Delete
    39. Anonymous18:20

      Macedonia ranked 41st out of 43 countries. ;)

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/07/ex-yu-airports-lagging-in-connectivity.html

      Delete
    40. Anonymous20:54

      Thank you Anon. That link shows that situation in Serbia is really not bad as some want it to be...

      Delete
    41. Anonymous21:49

      Wizz Air is not here to save the day.

      Delete
    42. Anonymous22:42

      Since when does W6 have 3 a/c in BEG!?

      Delete
    43. Anonymous01:07

      Count them on the BEG vebsajt...
      W6 was blocked to expand to protect JU and becoz of high arpt tax in beg...

      Delete
    44. Anonymous06:24

      There are three because the third is from Wizz Air UK and flies in at the same time as the other two (second rotation from BEG). Wizz Air was not blocked, they tried to extort the airport which was not interested. Wizz Air stayed because they knew they were not such an important player there. Soon enough YM or LH will overtake them as the second busiest airline.

      Delete
    45. Anonymous06:30

      Lol good luck with that since LH or YM will have to add 300,000 passengers. For your info, Wizz brings a lot of business to the airport and pays all of its obligations to the airport on time.... unlike some

      Delete
    46. Anonymous06:51

      Some who? JU is paying its dues on time if you are referring to them. Obviously BEG feels W6 isn't paying enough or at least not as much as JU, LH or YM. ;)

      Delete
    47. Anonymous08:01

      Of course W6 brings business and weekenders. It's a reliable airline and always offer cheaper prices. If they were not blocked in BEG, they could've easily expanded to TLV, LIS, LPL, PMI, BRI and so on....

      Delete
    48. Anonymous08:09

      Always offer cheaper prices...You are kidding, right?

      They are poisonly expensive from Belgrade and in some cases even more expensive than legacy carriers.

      Just have a look on their BEG-BVA flights. Terrible

      And they are far from being blocked in Belgrade...The other thing is that they are still dreaming about the times when they got special benefits (based on...nothing) and waited Jat Airways to go belly up so they could become official carrier of Serbia like in N.Macedonia additionally asking for money to fly to certian destination.

      Thanks, but no thanks.

      Delete
    49. Anonymous09:26

      So let them open INI-LIS/LPL/PMI/BRI...

      After all, INI is as from BEG as BVA is from Paris. ;)

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    I wonder how the cited source gets these figures.

    Aside from total profit, revenue and expenses, which have to be issued for a public view and sake of investors, key performance indicators like the route performance in money and loadfactor are usually confidential information airlines won't share with anyone not bound to know them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Wizz publishes its load factor each month.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:12

      09:05 Not at route level. 09:04 hit the nail on the head. If you scratch below the surface you'll see they use the same LF% assumption (92-93%) for all routes and extrapolate 'profitability' from an assumed demand curve based on pricing.. which might or might not be applicable to SR and BiH.

      Good for general indication but not for making definite conclusions like this article does.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:09

    Waiting for Belgrade-Vienna with W6 please!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      They already fly Nis-Vienna.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      They won't compete against Austrian and Air Serbia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:17

      Interestingly Wizz has failed on most routes they went to head to head with JU - Brussels, Rome, Larnaca...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:19

      They also failed in Oslo where they competed against DY.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:10

    These negotiations with Tuzla seem to be taking ages.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:12

    Having a profit on almost all markets you serve is quite amazing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      But that's why they are ruthless in route selection. If a route does not work they cut it within months.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:36

      That's not ruthless- that's efficient.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:39

      True. What I meant to say is they don't sit around waiting for some miracle to happen, like most ex-Yu airlines seem to do.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:40

      ex-Yu airlines cut routes too. It's just when ex-Yu airlines cut routes it is branded by commentators on here as "the beginning of the end", "incompetence" etc. When Wizz Air cuts routes its "efficient".

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:14

    Why fly with Wizz when it's cheaper to fly with a proper airline like Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines or Lufthansa group.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Very rarely are they cheaper. And I don't know what "proper" means to you exactly.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:15

    Will Belgrade-Lyon resume next summer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      Unlikely.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:18

      It's not possible to book so probably not.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      :(

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:21

    Well who knows maybe they improve in the second half of the financial year and result overall will be better than last.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:22

    I wonder how much money they make in Macedonia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:01

      Considering they hold over 60% of the market, it would be shocking if it is not a considerable amount.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:17

      @Admin, could you please share with us the figures for the rest of the Balkan markets + Hungary? As well as % growth.
      Thank you

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:24

    Well that may be a reason they are not launching new flights from BEG and TZL. It's not profitable for them to start new risky routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      Belgrade is because of fess, Tuzla is because of insufficient infrastructure and broken promises.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      *fees, sorry, don't know what's with my spelling this morning :D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      But the current routes were new at some point in the past and the airport charges were the same...

      They could have launched BEG-BCN before Vueling and Air Serbia did it with 0% risk. They didn't and now mostly Air Serbia collect all the money there.

      Instead of it they launched LYS that is only 150 km far from GVA and from there easyJet (as much better company) many years successfully flies to BEG.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:36

      LYS was launched purely because VINCI offered a subsidy on this route. And from all the rumors I've heard, route was first offered by VINCI to Air Serbia which declined because they already scheduled too many new flights.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:39

      With subsidy or not it was not clever decision.

      Well done JU!

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:31

    I don't know if anyone has noticed but there are no new Wizz Air routes announced from any ex-Yu market for next year. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      It's still early days.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:44

      ^ I'm not so sure. Most LCCs have already announced their new routes for next summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:44

      In the last couple of years, Wizz Air has usually announced new routes for summer for ex-Yu markets in January of that same year. I guess we will see.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:59

      They launch Vienna-Pristina next week.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:39

    It's probably INI that is destroying their profit margins in Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:42

      Very likely.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:47

      ask Ryanair how they re doing with their 8€ BTS flights

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:58

      If INI-BTS was a disaster for them then it would have been cut like Weeze or Skavsta.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:46

    "I'm pretty sure Tuzla Airport will be business-minded"

    And I'm pretty sure W6 will expect subsidies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      Ironically Tuzla hasn't turned a profit a single year since Wizz Air has been flying there.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:49

      Well, its not like airlines are lining up for slots at tuzla airport, so ther's no way around subsidies.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:50

      you have to wonder how great it is for the airport and whether they make any money out of it. They need to attract another airlines and hopefully not under the same terms as Wizz.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:55

      They had 0 passengers 6 years ago, today they have over 500,000. So I would say it's good for the airport.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:59

      It is great for the airport. Wizz Air has done wonders for Tuzla. Just a couple of years ago there was no traffic there and no prospects for the future.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:04

    Wizz expect to get paid to fly to an airport not to pay any fees. Ryanair works to the same principle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:07

      What Wizz Air was expecting is that Jat Airways would go bust and that they would become the de facto national carrier. But it didn't pan out that way.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:10

      During the Jat Airways era Wizzair paid 50% less than the other airlines.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:12

      They still dream about it

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:17

      Had the government not pumped millions in it and if it doesn't keep doing it each and every year their dream will come true.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:57

      Had Wizzair not had million of Indigo EUR they would not be flying at all

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:59

      Indigo is a private company. It's not funded by a country.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:25

      Money coming from private funds does not make them more successful.

      Despite unlimited funds they still ask for subsidies from Hungary, N. Macedonia etc...

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:00

      I am generally curious, where did Indigo Partners get all the money to fund Wizz Air?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous15:32

      Get with the program guys. Wizz Air went public in 2015, it's no longer part of Indigo group. It's a shareholder like any other.

      Sounds an awful lot like a Soros-like witch-hunt.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous16:09

      Any link for it?

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:24

    If Wizz does introduce new routes from either market, it will be more gasterbaiter lines for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      What else do you expect? Wizz just replaces bus routes - almost everywhere in ex-Yu.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:28

      From ex-Yu Wizz caters almost exclusively for gasterbaiters. So any future expansion will be in that direction.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:56

    nubmbers for other ex-yu markets?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous11:02

    Honestly W6’s offer from BEG is quite poor. As an example I was booking PAR-BEG recently: W6 was not more than €20 cheaper than JU or AF. However to fly W6 I need to pay for an expensive bus to BVA and then deal with their inconvenient schedule so the choice was obvious.

    I think on one hand their argument about protectionism is true especially given how the subsidy contracts for INI and KVO which JU won were pretty much tailor made for Air Serbia but on the other hand they haven’t really done much themselves and have been very passive in BEG.

    I’m sure they would find some success in targeting the city break market as well as the gastarbeiter market which is clearly their target group. BEG is not the worst place in the world to visit and is quite cheap so surely it could be a popular enough city break destination with the help of W6 and cheap fares from places such as London or Frankfurt. However they are too expensive on many BEG routes and their schedule often isn’t great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:04

      i dont think that the train to CDG is for free ^^

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:17

      It isn't but it is significantly cheaper than the Beauvais bus and takes significantly less time. In addition for holders of metro passes etc (A lot of PAX who live in Paris), this train is included in their pass whereas the Beauvais bus isn't.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:03

      Plus CDG is far more pleasant than BVA. Even €20 cheaper isn't worth the hassle.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:22

    Not a bad profit for either market. Congrats Wizz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:18

      And without subsidies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:32

      Wizzair is very well known that they reject any kind of subsidies

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:30

      @12.18 yeah sure haha

      Delete
  20. Anonymous12:17

    They haven't expended from Bosnia or Serbia in a while.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:13

      They introduced Lyon this summer from Belgrade.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:16

      And suspended it...

      Delete
  21. Anonymous13:12

    What are some of the new destinations they could realistically introduce from Belgrade and Tuzla?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:29

      I think they should try Lisbon from BEG.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:56

      Thez didn't want to start BCN and now they will start LIS.

      No way

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:04

      Well if they don't launch LIS then they might have another missed opportunity like they had with Barcelona.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:26

      With huge difference that BCN is and will be successful while LIS won't.

      See what happened with TAP

      Delete
  22. Anonymous14:03

    In terms of route choices Wizz Air doesn't offer much. They shouldn't be complaining.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous14:05

    They can turn a profit only if someone else turnes a loss for them. The airport operator, the state through subsidies or passengers for every piece of f**ing luggage and paying buses to airports in the middle of nowhere.

    ReplyDelete
  24. While almost everyone here is self-indulgent about their knowledge about the industry... why no one mentions or takes into account the fact that probably the smartest move the Wizz Air ever made was not to purchase any Boeing aircraft. Imagine where they would be now if they had like 15 or 20 of those 737-800 Max completely grounded... Look at the LOT. They are still struggling and sometimes are even forced to use those leased 737-300 and 737-400 on their (sic!) domestic routes (yep, WAW-SZZ, WAW-RZE) normally serviced just by E175 or Q400 in order to keep their network which is almost falling apart. Very, very unfortunate and I hope that one day the Boeing will compensate big time every single airline not to mention the victims.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:07

      Not to mention that that's pure luck. JU was also smart if to think that way.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:33

      Etihad was smart for JU. JAT legacy was Boeing.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:08

      We see Etihad "smartness" in their business result

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:30

      @NYC

      Classifying Wizz Airbus over Boeing order as "smart" implies that Wizz had advance knowledge of MCAS issues on MAX (and potential fallout) before they made the order. There are no facts to back up such an outrageous claim. Smart has nothing to do with Wizz order as they selected Airbus from the start. Talk about being "self-indulgent about their knowledge about the industry" NYC, LOL!

      Delete
    5. @Anon 16:30

      please don't take it personally but "smart" in English refers to being quick-witted, intelligent or having a mental capability rather than being knowledgeable, informed and studied;) We even say a smart dog or a smart cat. And no, they didn't go to Harvard...Must be the language barrier;) It was just their corporate decision to continue their fleet expansion with Airbus and not backing it up with some Seattle-made aircrafts. For myriad of reasons, starting with logistics and order volume/loyalty discounts ending with servicing, training and maintenance cost savings. In no way, shape, form or manner I ever said they had a clairvoyant, pre-cognitive vision or some secret spy knowledge;) Although the last one could be a perfect idea for a conspiracy theory;)
      And the time proved that their decision was ...smart. Now please relax and breathe... Life is too short. Please analyze what happen with the Norwegian and their problems not only with the 737-800 Max but also with their 787 "Drama" Liners

      Cheers!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:09

      Don't steer this into A vs. B discussion.

      This is about Wizz. From former customer point of view, none of "being quick-witted, intelligent or having a mental capability rather than being knowledgeable, informed and studied" should be used to describe Wizz.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:05

      @Anon 19:09 "customer point of view?" That' s a good one:))) Wizz Air is to make *MONEY* as any other profit driven business. Get real!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:31

      I knew you'd step into it and throw a hissy fit :) As for making money, they won't ever see one more cent from me. Based on today's article, other customers in Serbia and Bosnia are starting to think the same way.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous23:10

      No offense but the truth is hard. I wish the Wizz Air cared about your business or your dinars, or some convertible marks;)

      "The Balkans is not a geographic area, it's a state of mind and alleged self-importance"

      Delete
    10. Anonymous06:42

      I think the Balkan peninsula is very much a geographic area, no need to insult those who live there just because you have some deeply rooted complexes. The fact Wizz Air is not really expanding in either Serbia or Bosnia shows that more and more people are moving away from their business.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous06:48

      Truth IS hard: Wizz made half a mil less than last year in profit from Serbia and Bosnia.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous06:56

      You would be surprised how much the losses Air Servbia made last year increased this year.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous08:10

      And you somehow know that?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous23:48

      Greta Thunberg and the climate emergency will put a damper on Wizz and other LCCs. Party's over, 10EUR fare hangover will start kicking in.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous16:37

    Wizz is free to leave those markets if they are not happy about the performance. Varady talking about BEG being expensive among peers while not mentioning ZAG is revoliting and abhorrent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:28

      Before having a fit, you might want to read this
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/12/wizz-air-zagreb-airport-and-coast-too.html

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:46

      There's a difference. Wizz doesn't operate at ZAG but does at BEG. IF BEG is so bad for business why they don't stop flying there?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:13

      They are bitter they can't hold the market hostage like they do elsewhere.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous20:55

    Wizz Air offers very little in terms of network out of BEG.

    ReplyDelete

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