Wizz Air to base third jet in Belgrade, launch ten new routes


Budget carrier Wizz Air will base its third aircraft in Belgrade and launch ten new routes from the Serbian capital this July. The carrier’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, announced the airline would commence operations from Belgrade to Barcelona, Charleroi, Cologne, Friedrichshafen, Hamburg, Lisbon, Milan Malpensa, Turku and Sandefjord, complementing its new service to Salzburg which was previously unveiled for July 2. All will run twice per week except Hamburg, Cologne and Friedrichshafen which will operate three times per week. Furthermore, all the aircraft at the Belgrade base will be upgraded to the 230-seat Airbus A321 jets from the 180-seat A320s. The line-up of destinations marks Wizz Air’s return to certain markets previously served by the airline from Belgrade, including Charleroi, Friedrichshafen and Sandefjord near Oslo. The airline will compete directly against Air Serbia and Vueling on services to Barcelona and with the Serbian flag carrier on flights to Milan. The new routes will also see Belgrade linked with Lisbon five years after TAP discontinued the service, while Hamburg will be reinstated after Air Serbia shelved its flights to the German city at the end of the 2019 summer season.


As previously reported, Wizz Air is significantly expanding its operations across Europe, with some 140 new routes scheduled to launch so far until the end of the year. The airline was the first to resume operations from the Serbian capital following the height of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, on May 18, and has since reinstated the majority of its Belgrade network, with the final two routes set to be reintroduced at the start of next month.

DestinationLaunch date
SalzburgJUL 02
FriedrichshafenJUL 16
Hamburg, Cologne, TurkuJUL 17
Lisbon, Barcelona, Milan, SandefjordJUL 18
CharleroiJUL 19
Click on links for flight details


Wizz Air has seen its passenger numbers increase in Serbia during 2019 despite limited network growth throughout the year. The budget airline handled over 895.000 travellers on flights to and from Belgrade and Niš, representing an increase of 11.9% on 2018. It added over 95.000 passengers. The airline held an 11% passenger share in the country and was the busiest low cost carrier in Serbia in 2019 with over 50% of the market, well ahead of Ryanair in second place and easyJet in third. Furthermore, it was the second busiest airline in the country overall, behind only Air Serbia but ahead of Lufthansa. In January, Wizz Air carried its five-millionth passengers from Serbia since launching services to the country in 2010. In 2020, Wizz Air expects to hold a 15% market share in Serbia.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    wow this is fantastic news

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:41

      Not so much for JU though. :D

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:25

      My friend, JU will be fine. They are sending the A319 to Tirana today because of JFK transfers :)

      Delete
  2. Nemjee09:03

    This should be fun to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:07

    Which new destinations could we see?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:12

      My guess is Frankfurt, Oslo, Valencia, Milano one of those as new destinations. Boosting LCA, DTM, MMX, EIN.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      I suppose you mean HHN and not FRA since W6 will not be flying from FRA anymore.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:21

      Maybe AUH?

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:23

      Most likely unless they get discounts from FRA like they did for BUD, SOF... will be fun if they launch FRA now that JU is boosting it while LH doesn't know what to do. lol

      However I do agree with you, it will most likely be HHN.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:25

      They won't launch FRA.

      https://simpleflying.com/wizz-air-frankfurt-withdrawl/

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:32

      Yes because discounts expired.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:40

      FRA is smart. BEG should have kicked them out too.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:41

      JU on suicide watch

      Delete
    9. Petar10:40

      Vinci is probably providing them with incentives. That is a stab in the back of JU!

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:07

      As a regular traveller from Belgrade I am happy they are doing this. At least it's forcing JU to remain competitive. Look at how much people in ZAG are losing from OU protectionism and how they are getting ripped off just because the Turks that run the airport don't want to become more realistic.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:24

      Maybe BCN?

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:09

    Although I do not like their business policy I believe these are going to be fantastic news for BEG and passengers from Serbian capital.

    It can only increase the competition between W6 and JU and that will bring more frequencies and hopefully cheaper prices.

    I would personally prefer more if U2 made this step as the price of tickets on JU / W6 flights got significantly cheaper to the destinations where U2 was flying.

    BSL - 60 EUR return ticket on both W6 and U2
    TXL - 80 EUR return ticket on both JU and W6
    GVA - 80 EUR (U2 and announced by JU before crisis)

    Unfortunately it is not the case for the destinations where only JU and W6 are flying (CDG + GVA, LHR + LTN). Here prices remain very high.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      You mean CDG + BVA ?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      Yes, thank you. Typing mistake

      Delete
    3. Nemjee09:24

      LCA is pretty high as well especially in summer. Wizz Air is never below 28.000 without luggage.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:10

      Can they launch TLV?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:16

      No, bilateral

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:21

      TXL - 80 EUR return ticket on both JU and W6

      You mean U2 not W6

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:09

    Oslo, Milan, Barcelona and Hamburg are a must.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      They lost the chance for BCN long time ago.

      I see here only OSL as the possibility

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      Why did they loose their chance with BCN? Just because JU flies there does not mean they can't. Besides they've done really well against Air Serbia to Malta and Larnaca.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      I believe they lost their chance with BCN because this market is already covered with JU that offers flights for P2P passengers as well as for connecting passengers. Before the crisis JU even introduced one more additional weekly flight showing they did great job there.

      It should be also mentioned that Vueling increased BEG for 1 more weekly flight before the crisis indicating they are also successful in BEG despite terrible flying times.

      I believe there is no space for third carrier on BEG-BCN route.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:25

      But would HAM make sense with HAJ next door?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:31

      Today they will announce BCN and HAM.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:54

      Anon 09:31 but so many people here are saying that they should not launch BCN because JU already flies there!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:59

      And Vueling

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:26

      Wizz is low cost and Air Serbia is legacy. There is demand for both of them.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:27

      Anon 09:54 and Anon 09:59 Launching BCN and HAM is not forecast, it is information.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:54

      Any more "information" anon 10:27?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous08:25

      Yup, you have more info up in the text.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:11

    Oslo is coming back for sure since Norwegian is probably out of the picture.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:21

    That is fantastic news for travelers!
    Hoping for competition to SOF, OTP, ATH, SKG, FRA, MXP!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      That would be very bad news for ASL.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:27

      I do not believe there is any chance W6 to connect BEG and some destination from Eastern Europe. Also they will not be flying from FRA anymore.

      Maybe OSL, HHN, VIE

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:32

      Eastern Europe is W6 specialty! I can definitely see them launching these routes, Poland and VIE.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:33

      Yes, but BEG is already Eastern Europe

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:37

      How about PRG? That could be an out of box destination, maybe even LJU.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:37

      And flying in Eastern Europe is W6' bread and butter!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:59

      Connecting Eastern and Western Europe. Rarely Eastern with Eastern

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:13

      Anon 09:59
      LOL, what are you saying dude?
      They are by far the largest carrier connecting Eastern European countries with one another!
      Just look at their routes:
      www.flightconnections.com/route-map-wizz-air-w6

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:25

      Dude,
      Your map shows exactly what I said...

      Click on any Eastern Europe destination and you will se that big majority of the flights go left..meaning direction west.

      Much, much less go east-east

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:46

      East to East flying is their highest growth sector. This is not 2015 any more.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:49

      Maybe highest growth sector, but still very small comparing to east-west.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:29

    Why not VIE?

    It would be great to destroy OS/JU duopoly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      YES YES YES a thousand times yes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      That would not be good for JU at all. VIE is a very profitable and important route.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:34

      And it would be good news for OS?

      Delete
    4. It is more important to have affordable ticket prices to such a busy route. JU should do the same.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:40

      Anonymous 09:34
      Nobody said it would be good news for OS.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:57

      No but someone singled JU out so I just wanted to make sure

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:04

      JU sure will be hurt by W6 entering the VIE route.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:17

      I think we can at least all agree that BEG-VIE is more important to JU than it is for OS. OS is much larger and serving a lot more destinations than JU.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:17

      Naah they'll be ok because of a fantastic schedule.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:23

      Price is the most important factor.
      Neither OS nor JU can compete with W cost base.

      Just my2cents.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:29

      OS can't but JU doesn't have high costs.

      Delete
    12. Nemjee10:40

      INI-VIE/BTS and KVO-VIE did not affect BEG-VIE so there is a good chance that Wizz Air would stimulate additional demand rather than steal passengers from JU/OS. I still think bus companies would be the most affected.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:43

      Still is legacy and has higher ticket prices. Major problem about launching VIE are new goverment regulatios in Austria which prohibit selling tickets with price lower than 40 euros.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous10:46

      W6 would surely stipulate additional demand, but no doubt they would make impact on JU / OS prices. And that is the main point here.

      The same Niki did 6-7 years ago

      Delete
    15. Anonymous10:47

      @anon 10:46

      Is that one way or return flight for 40 EUR?

      Delete
    16. Anonymous10:56

      One way. They even increase tax on mid and short haul flights, from 7.5€ and 3.5€ to 12€ + 30€ on all flights under 350€ (only on p2p not on transfers).

      Delete
    17. Nemjee11:17

      Niki's problem was that they had a bad schedule to BEG and they never had more than 65% LF on the E-jet. No doubt JU and OS will be affected if Wizz launches VIE-BEG but I think bus companies have much more to be worried about.
      If they do decide to launch BEG-VIE and to attack the well-established duopoly then I hope they don't have less than daily flights otherwise I don't see them being very competitive.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous11:39

      LCCs are always very competetive with legacy carriers. Always. If this route is controled by this duopoly between JU and OS, then there is a place for another carrier. VIE-BEG is very popular route and LCC with low prices will be very competitive. And still there is no LCC on this route. Take a look on SPU-ATH route, there are 2 legacies (Croatia and Aegean) and 2 LCCs ( EasyJet and Volotea) and still there is a space for everyone.

      Delete
    19. Nemjee13:11

      That's why I said that if they introduce VIE-BEG they will rather create new demand rather than just steal from others.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous14:03

      I agree.

      Delete
  9. Belgrade Airport is place to growing. From this year onwards. Investment and development are major factors.
    And progressive development, standard and Airport modernization... 😀✈

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:33

    Is it me or are BEG and INI the only ones in ex-YU to start receiving this much positive news so fast after corona? INI was boosted to FMM, will get LGW and BEG has already seen JU boost flights to FRA and TXL while many early destinations which were resumed after corona were really fast boosted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:16

      Because they were quite underserved by LCC compared to Bulgaria & Romania.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:30

      Bulgaria? You mean Sofia as outside the capital LCC presence was rather limited until recently. Look at Plovdiv

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:45

      Bulgaria and Romania are in ex-yu?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:27

      They are not my good Anon friend but he drew a parallel with those two markets. However Wizz seems to be doing badly there. They just cut Craiova to CRL and BVA after terminating Cluj to Malta, Liverpool, Billund and Basel.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:34

    Hey Визер, how about you bring an A321 :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      What is Bn3ep?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:30

      Google Translate is your friend

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:42

    Still great news but 3 aircraft for a capital city with a population of 1,6m and a huge diaspora is still low. TIA received 3.
    I think they will focus on Germany or steal the destinations initially announced by JU.
    My guesses: VLC, HHN, NCE, CPH.
    LTN must become daily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:58

      TIA paid them to be there, BEG didn't.

      Huge difference.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:06

      Only difference is that TIA doesn't have a home carrier and they are giving massive subsidies to Wizz

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:19

      Sure that Vinci isn't providing them nice discounts and incentives for a third jet in BEG?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:22

      Vinci providing W6 with incentives would be a betrayal to JU!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:31

      BEG discounts are available based on volume.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:39

      Discount is not the same as subvention.

      In BEG case they might get some discount based on the traffic volume.

      In TIA they are getting money in advance no matter what will be the traffic volume.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:52

      Anon 10:31
      Do you know what Vinci's new incentives and discounts are?
      Could the French offered better incentives to W6 compared with the state?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:58

      Try informing yourselves before making assumptions
      https://www.tirana-airport.com/media/15907325177350AirlineIncentivePolicy_2020.pdf

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:03

    As I said before on the article regarding the possible LGW-INI flights WZZ is on the move to make vicious and dangerous expansion on ASL turf. They smelled weakening of the ASL and they are making moves just sit down, grab some popcorns and watch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:08

      ASL weaking?

      Are you serious?

      Delete
    2. Dejan10:18

      Anon 10:08
      JU is going to have tens of millions of Euros losses this year. Sure they are not in their stronger period, wouldn't you agree?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:37

      Of course they will have these losses. Every airline is going to have them.

      However, as in the cases of LH, AF, OU Government is going to help. And based on JU activity in this period I would not say they are getting weaker comparing to the other airlines.



      Delete
  14. Moja nagadjanja:

    1. Abu Dabi - Wizz otvara bazu, veliki broj ljudi iz Srbije i regije živi i radi tamo. Takođe, AbuDhabi će im biti baza za letove po bliskom istoku i Indiji.

    2. Milano - Wizz otvara bazu i masovno se šire tamo.

    3. St. Petersburg/Minsk - Wizz je dobio dozvolu od Rusije i Belorusije za pokretanej letova. Rade na otvaranju baza u ova dva grada. A povezanost izmedju Srbije i ove dve države postoji.

    4. Oslo - Norvežian je na aparatima, AS se premišljala da leti tamo, odustali i sada Wizz želi da uleti pre AS

    5. LIS/VAL/POR - pokazalo se da ipak postoji potreba iz BG za letovima ka Iberijskom poluostrvu. I AS je razmatrala Valenciju, Wizz treba da uleti pre AS.

    6. Hamburg - Velika dijaspora, sever Nemačke nije dobro pokriven letovima, samo let ka Hanoveru.

    7. Salzburg - okej, ovo već znamo da će se desiti. Otvaraju bazu tamo i najavili su letove do BEGa.

    I neka od iznenadjenja mogu biti Beč (uvek se traži karta više na relaciji BEG - VIE), Rejkjavik (njihov dugoročni plan za spajanje Severne Amerike i Evrope preko Islanda, ali nisam siguran da li je još vreme za to).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:51

      Za AUH nisu još otvaranje baze najavili pa nema šanse da će se ta linija otvoriti sa ovom ekspanzijom u BEGu. Za Reykjavik sumnjam da ima potencijala trenutacno, a oko svih ostalih linija bi se složio (samo za Oslo ne za Gardermoen nego za Sanderfjord). Na ovo bi nadodao Schonefeld ( najavljeno u Tirani), Barcelonu i možda neku grčku leisure destinaciju npr. Rhodes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:08

      4000 ljudi iz UAE se vratilo u Srbiju. Vecina njih je iz AUH. Dijaspora je sve manja i manja, a tek se ocekuje dolazak nasih ljhdi odande

      Delete
    3. Nemjee11:21

      Што се Абу Дабија тиче, недавно су најавили да ће база имати шест место три авиона колико су првобитно планирали. Летови за Београд не морају бити покренути сутра већ то могу учинити и током зимског реда летења. Мислим да би ти летови имали огроман потенцијал е сада само је питање шта ће Етихад урадити и да ли ће они одреаговати.

      Delete
    4. Mozda Nirnberg uvedu ponovo. Dosta nasih u Bavarskoj mora da koristi FMM.

      Delete
    5. Zapravo i nisam bio toliko loš. Samo još par obzervacija.

      1. BCN/LIS - za Barselonu sam iznenadjen, za LIS nisam (iako neki jesu). Sve je više turista koji idu na iberijsko poluostrvo. U poslednje dve godine znam veliki broj ljudi (uključujući mene) koji su išli u Lisabon. Mislim da je pitanje vremena kada će se uvesti i Valensija. Kao što rekoh, sve više ljudi iz Srbije otkriva Iberiju.

      2. HAM - nije šok. Očekivalo se. AS je imala malo frenkfencija i sezonska linija. Kada sam razgovarao sa drugarom iz Hamburga, nije ni znao da ima direktan let za BG. AS apsolutno nije promovisala ovu liniju.

      3. MXP i Oslo - nisu iznenađenje. Nakon što nisu uspeli da uđu u Alitaliu, Wizz se masovno tamo širi. A Norwežian je na izdisaju.

      4. TKU, CGN, CRL, FDH - definitivno iznenađenja! Takođe sam iznenađen brojem novih linija. Očekivao sam oko 5.

      5. Abu Dhabi i LED/Minsk - verujem da će se i ove linije uspostaviti u roku od 1-2 godine.

      6. Rejkjavik - Wizzovi partneri na drugoj strani okeana rade dobar posao i prilično šire mrežu. Kao i wizz sa ove strane okeana. Plan im je bio da do 2023 krenu letovi preko Rejkjavika. Tako da verujem da ćemo u roku od 3-4 godine dobiti i taj let.

      7. Beč - Pre nekoliko meseci sam bio ubeđen da će wizz otvoriti ovu liniju, pogotovo kada je buktao rat između Ryana, Wizz i Lufthanse u Beču. U međuvremenu je Ryan povukao ručnu i usporio, a sada je austrijska vlada razmatra da ne dozvole jeftinije karte od 40 evra iz Beča. Naravno, to rade pod velom zaštite ekologije (naravno, i to je važna tema), ali i više kako bi zaštitili Austrian od Wizza. Od tada i Wizz povlači ručnu i ne želi da gura prst u oko austrijskoj vladi.

      Čestitam Beogradu, iznenađen sam brojem novih linija. I na kraju ispadne da je aerodrom bio upravu kada nije odlučio da smanji takse kako bi wizz uveo nove letove i time zadržao profit, a i država Srbija nije morala da plaća subvencije kako bi wizz leteo i sada se raširio. Na koncu imamo sada veoma pristojnu mrežu LCC destinacija i linija, bez gubitaka i subvencija.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:34

    My idea:

    - AUH
    - VIE
    - OSL
    - HHN
    - LED (seasonally)

    I think there are no chances for KEF, LIS or HAM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:24

      You are partly right. OSL, LIS, HAM... and MXP, CRL,CGN....

      Delete
  16. They must open a like to UAE. Others are ripping people off on that route.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:43

    Maybe as well some more "diaspora routes" to Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Sweden?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:15

      I think Vaxjo has a very good chance to be connected to Belgrade. The route is doing fine from SKP and TZL.

      Delete
  18. Porto, gdansk, lvov, oslo...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous13:26

    Turku.. wow, who would have though. I guess Finnish tourists will be coming this summer. Impressive they will have three A321s in BEG!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:35

      I wanted to predict Turku, but I thought...no, they are not that crazy!

      LOOL

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:40

      no big surprise because that route has been a great success at SKP despite all the "that finish village" - trolls here (lol).

      Delete
  20. Anonymous13:32

    Any increases on existing routes?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Why no PRG? dont get it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As a Serb who used to live in Prague I would say that our diaspora is too small there to sustain flights since JU goes up to 10 weekly on the ATR, by car you can reach Belgrade in 9-10 hours so that's what most people do (there even used to be a train back in the day which took 15 hours).

      Would've loved to see Wizz fly there tho, because JU always maxed out their monopoly in terms of pricing

      Delete
  22. Anonymous13:40

    Why FDH when FMM is cca 70km away ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:47

      Maybe to catch more diaspora from East-Switzerland, which are using ZRH at the moment?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:04

      BIngo! works very well in SKP and probably TZL too

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:51

      When JU announced inital service from INI, Wizz fanboys complained how JU is flying within 250km of existing Ryan/Wizz destinations from INI.

      Now that Wizz is announcing services closer to JU destinations and even the same destinations as JU in MXP or BCN, no one complains. Double standards anyone?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:02

      The difference being that routes launched by JU in INI are forbidden from being served by anyone else.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:26

      That's a lie.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous08:29

      It's an atrocious lie but they hope if they repeat it a thousand times it will become truth.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous13:49

    I am really very nice surprised!

    TKU - I thought they might be launching this route but than thought...no, no way :-) We know that JU cancelled HEL and that TKU did not work well from SKP and that there is no big diaspora in Finland. Surprise for me.

    TRF - expected taking in consideration that Norwegian is not in a good state and that JU was close to launch their flights to Norway.

    HAM - to close to HAJ and JU was not very sucessful here. We'll see.

    CGN - it was probably HHN or CGN. I thought it might be HHN but they decided it to be CGN. More-less expected

    CRL - they already failed here once, didn't they?

    FDH - too close to FFM. Didn't expect it.

    MXP - they launched many routes from MXP, but it seems that MXP was not successfull for LCC's in Serbia. Easyjet started it and failed the same as Air One

    BCN - I believed they won't do it and still believe it is too late for this route

    LIS - the last one I could predict. Too long. Same like Finland - no diaspora, no business ties, too far and no connecting ossibilities Hope it will be successful but honestlly doubt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:56

      Actually Finland has a lot of Serbian diaspora, probalby most from the Ex-Yu, several times more than the Croats. There's a lot of Bosnians as well

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:08

      Turku was started because it worked well in SKP (I dont know about HEL from BEG). finnish tourists in MK have increased between 200-300% since August when the route launched ...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:09

      Why do you believe that is too late for BCN? Because of mighty Air Serbia and glorious Vueling?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:15

      Let's see about Finish tourists - I would really like to see them but somehow I doubt.

      Neither is Air Serbia mighty not is Vueling glorius but Serbian market is not so big to have 3 carriers on BEG-BCN route.

      Don't forget it was the similiar with GVA where Air Serbia, Swiss, easyJet and Etihad Regional wanted to fly from.

      At the end only U2 remained

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:22

      Anon 13:49
      I really do not understand you with that "Air Serbia is there already" or "Air Serbia failed there". Wizz is LCC and they can find demand everywhere. If legacy failed that doesnt mean that LCC will too. Most of these routes are for diaspora or tourist and there is demand for these types of flights operated by LCCs.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:38

      Instead of providing any reply let's wait for 1 year and then discuss.

      I think W6 will fail in BCN and TKU

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:05

      BEG is the major airport for whole Serbia with population of 7 mio. and BCN is the major airport in Catalonia with huge tourist demand and 7.5 mio. population. That market is huge actually. If someone is going to fail there that will be Air Serbia because they have higher prices than Wizz. But overall nobody will fail there because market is ok for three carriers each operating 2-3 weekly flights.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:12

      Wizzair was afraid to introduce this route from BEG at the time when they had direct routes TGD-BCN or SKP-BCN.

      Only after JU introduced BCN from BEG guys from W6 "remembered" that this might be potentially profitable route. Do not forget that Air Serbia carries also transfer passengers unlike W6 and that Vueling already covers the portion of P2P passengers.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous15:19

      Air Serbia has transfer passanger as every legacy has and that doesnt mean that LCC will fail there. Number of transfer passangers is really insignificant for the most of JUs routes because they have only 21 aircrafts in fleet. 3 pw to BCN is not something where you can put all of passangers.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:24

      And do you have any example where LCC operating 2 pw to some destination failed because of legacy operating 3 pw?

      Delete
    11. JATBEGMEL15:40

      VY has the most to lose on the BCN route amd I think they will be the one to pull out first.

      TKU was an interesting move and I think this has more to do with JU removing HEL, and will make it difficult for JU to return.

      TRF I also think is another attack on JU. They planned to launch OSL this year and retracted due to a lack of ac. At 2 pw, I think JU might have some room to go after W6, especially in the transfer market.

      MXP will be interesting to watch. I dont think itll be easy to fill the A321 on the route, while competing with JU. Same for HAM now that JU has pulled out.

      CRL has failed for them before, with a smaller ac, and they will be competing with JU who has not only the frequencies, but a decent schedule and transfers to fall on.

      LIS will be facinating to see how it performs. Overall, an interesting development from them. Lets see how long it will take for JU to react.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:46

      How do you think that it is not easy to compete with JU?

      Delete
    13. Anonymous16:04

      "Number of transfer passangers is really insignificant for the most of JUs routes because they have only 21 aircrafts in fleet".

      I remain speechless.

      Air Serbia introduced flights to BEY, CAI, KRR, HEL, SOF, LJU, TIA only because of the transfer passengers (TIA and LJU significantly increased) and we hear here that transfer passengers are insignificant.

      Sta sve covek ovde nece cuti.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous17:52

      Let's not forget that before corona JU was supposed to boost MXP to 8 weekly flights. This should be fun to watch. BEG is definitely stepping up it's game in ex-YU and they are positioning themselves as a seriousl regional player. Next year they will for sure overtake SOF.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous17:59

      "Air Serbia introduced flights to BEY, CAI, KRR, HEL, SOF, LJU, TIA only because of the transfer passengers (TIA and LJU significantly increased) and we hear here that transfer passengers are insignificant." Transfer passaneger number are insignificant when you compare them with other JUs transfer competitors like TK, LH, OS, LX, LO, KL and AF.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous19:15

      Anon 1752 actually the new concern for BEG is not SOF but rather TIA. The number of based W6 aircraft is 3 which quite a lot and yes they dont have a national carrier but they have many many new additions. Take a look:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirana_International_Airport_N%C3%ABn%C3%AB_Tereza

      That said, it is safely to say that TIA can reach 5 million in no time. With those sweet discounts, W6 will easily base more aircraft similar to what happened with SKP.
      SOF has also started the year with a 9% growth without major expansions due to the ski season.
      Lets see what happens in 2021 but TIA is definitely the new Balkans star.



      Delete
    17. Anonymous19:27

      I wonder where is ZAG here

      Delete
    18. Anonymous20:00

      Even though TIA will grow and overtake ZAG, BEG will be closer to 10 million each year. That's something tirana can't even dream of so BEG in reality is safe here. Sofia might start off growth strong but next year, 2021 BEG will blow them away.

      BEG is the new sheriff in town.

      Delete
    19. JATBEGMEL21:50

      @ 17,59

      You compare numbers of a small airline to the larger European carriers. Of course JU has the smaller numbers anyway you look at it. That doesnt mean those numbers havnt grown, nor that pax will not fly via BEG as there are other options. This has been shown the last several years.

      The smallest airline on your list, OS has 85 aircraft and will retire 28 by 2022. That capacity has to go somewhere. Some to the LCC's attacking their base, some to other competitors, JU included.

      Then factor in that Serbia is one of the poorest economies in Europe, and doesnt come close to any of their tourism figures.

      @ 19,15

      TIA has Air Albania and Albawings, both local companies.

      Provided that BEG has no growth and TIA can achieve an average of 14% growth per annum, it would take them just over 6 years to catch up to BEG's numbers. A growth of 10% the next 5 years will be needed to bring them those 5 million pax per annum, and that isnt realistic at this current time. Not to mention that another 'major' airline in TIA recently went bankrupt.

      Thats not to down play growth in TIA, that has been impressive the past couple of years. However, BEG's 'numbers race' in the region is with SKG and SOF, not TIA.

      As for the subsidies provided by TIA, there are many ways they can be attained. JU would also be entitled to them for example, increasing frequencies or upgrading the aircraft type. However I see the subsidies as more fot retaining as many operations as possible, considering the amount they have lost in recent years through various bankruptcies. I couldnt help but notice Wizz will compete with Albawings on most of their destinations out of TIA.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous08:34

      I honestly don't see most of those routes out of Tirana surviving, I mean HER? RHO? Oooook

      Tirana is trying to promote itself as the gateway to the coast which is fine but three A320s is a bit of an overkill. They should have done what Belgrade did and start small and then build from there.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous13:52

    This is massively going to help BEG to recover from this crisis

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:44

      Yes but it will hurt JU.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous13:52

    VINCI we have to talk. This is not how you should run Belgrade airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:56

      Jos jedan prepametni biznismen. AS ima dotacije koliko im treba dok hipsterima treba TKU i CRL.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:07

      Anon 13:52
      Yeah VINCI, you should became new ZAG with state airline protectionsm and passanger growth of 2% a year.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:09

      Great W6 decision!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:23

      VINCI will have 35 gates to fill at BEG next year. Wizzair base has 3 planes so they are not the solution. Wizzair means no transfers, no premium traffic, no long haul and competition with prime tenant.

      Keep the discount for 2020 and raise the fees next year when market recovers.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:38

      Anon 14:23:

      Filling the gates does not make money.

      Pax transfers of JU earn VINCI close to nothing (4 euro pax fee minus 2.25 euro discount).

      Long-haul pax earn the same amount as short-haul pax.

      VINCI is after money, and not prestige or anything else.

      They invest now, because they got a low interest bearing financing, what was a precondition of the concession agreement. And it would be stupid to invest close to the end of the concession agreement (unless they would be entitled to some refund of their investments the moment they return BEG). You invest now, asap, and use it for the next 25 years, investing less and less as the expiry of the concession approaches.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:52

      Prestige is amateur analyst obsession.

      Unnecessary travel and Eco concerns should be a basis for regulating minimum one way ticket price at 50 EUR.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:02

      Nikad regulatorne mere nisu nista dobro donele pogotovo u avio prevozu.

      Delete
    8. We saw this coming. JU can rely on State aid from two other airports (INI & LVO) which are both under government control to keep it profitable for the next few years.

      It would be nice if JU would actually honor the obligations it made when winning the tenders for the millions of Euros in subsidies for flying from those airports. Pre-corona JU schedules to VIE were less than the minimum promised!

      Delete
    9. JATBEGMEL01:45

      @15,19

      The PSO that JU recieves for the new routes doesnt cover the losses JU made, as of 2018. So that statement is false.

      As for the KVO-VIE route, this also goes down to the Serbian government rushing into something not finished. Nothing larger than an ATR can land in KVO while the ATR had many issues with weather this winter, both in BEG and especially KVO. I dont believe that JU had cancelled any flight from KVO due to light loads.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous08:40

      KVO-ViE is a success actually and the fact they resumed it so fast only goes to show that. Bus companies were butchered there. Imagine reaching Vienna in 01.30 in stead of endless hours on the borders, roads, highways and so on. Hopefully soon we will see a third flight.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous13:55

    LIS-BEG arrives at 01.55

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous13:56

    BEG 8 million next year without a problem next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:59

      jedan avion + ne moze da napravi toliki saobracaj.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:06

      Лутко, није ту само један авион, већ један додатан А321 плус два А320 постају А321! Уз све то верујем да ће и остали повећавати летове.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:08

      Gde ti vidis 2xA320?

      Furthermore, all the aircraft in the city will be upgraded to the 230-seat Airbus A321s.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:02

      Сва три авиона у Београду постају А321!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:50

      The CASK that W6 will enjoy by using 230-seat A321 NEOs can not be matched by any other airline flying in BEG.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:01

      They can by YM since they fly regional jets (F100) that are fully paid off.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:53

      ^
      LOOOOOOOL!

      Delete
  28. Anonymous14:05

    We can see that Wizz Air has matured enough in BEG but also in the wider region because that's how they will fill some of these destinations.
    I am curious to see if easyJet responds to all this, they are lagging behind in BEG.

    What's funny is that Wizz is bitching about BEG being expensive yet here they will have three A321s!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous14:17

    As expected no Eastern Europe destination from BEG

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous14:29

    In the concession agreement VINCI aparently agreed to freeze the tarriff for three years, so in other words to keep volume discount benefiting JU. This obligation will lapse in December 2021 at the latest (unless counted from signing, what would mean lapse in March 2021).

    Interesting is whether they will cancel it immediately after they get a free hand. I personally think this is what they will do. Why? Because the discount for JU is for example 80% landing charge, 40% on the pax fee. You may think that VINCI benefits a lot from JU, but pls note that VINCI now charges less than 2 euro per transfer pax of JU. This is not the way to make money. Apparently, they can get more from Wizz, even some discounts included.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:56

      Transfer passengers spend much more on food, drinks and duty free while in transit. That's real money for concessionaire and it comes from Air Serbia passengers, not Wizz.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:00

      Specially if they have short transfer times like 45 minutes. Or if they have been chasing lowest rates instead of flying direct or at least flying on short transfer times.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:01

      Do you have any source to back that claim last Anon?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:14

      Do you honestly believe that a pax that instead of flying direct Rome to Moscow on one of many available flights, decided to save couple of euro and fly via BEG, when having a break in BEG will jump into spending mode in bars, restaurants and shops?

      Best spenders:
      1. Pax on charter flights
      2. Direct pax
      3. Transfer pax

      Among transfer pax only a group that has no option of a direct flight could make a good spender. Others are in a saving mode.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:36

      Wizz direct passenger paid 19.99 EUR for a ticket and he is not in the saving mode?!?!?!? Wake up and reverse the list.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:51

      If he is going or returning from a city break, the party will start or continue at the airport. He will therefore spend a lot. The same about a charter tourist starting his vacations and wanting to have a good time already at the airport and thus prepared to spend. At vacations people do spend more.

      As to another large group of wizz pax pls remember that many gastos earn more than the local people in BEG.

      As you see it is not that easy.

      Generally people on this site tend to treat transfer pax as gods and solution for everything.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:46

      Large hubs make most revenue from transfer passengers even if they spend a little less than O&D. So if you have a tiny transfer hub like ZAG you might not make a lot on transfers but ATL makes lion's share on them. BEG put the stake in the ground with 35 gates and when fully developed transfer passengers will bring most of the revenue. Wizz has a minor role to play.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous15:07

    such a shame there is no VIE on the list :(

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous15:13

    Congratulations BEG!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous15:19

    BCN will be cannibalised just like GVA. I think 3 carriers is a lot for BEG. Plus, they picked up absolutely the same days that JU and VY operate.
    I guess it is time so say goodbye VY.
    Disappointing part number 2 is almost no frequency increase to LTN or BVA or on other routes. They increased EIN and DTM it seems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:32

      Exactly my point about BCN

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:12

      Honestly Vueling has been horrible on that route. Horrible times + almost always late! So maybe it is better that they drop whatever they are doing at BEG and let Wizz do the job - at the very least you can count on them being on time.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous15:27

    Thanks God , finally direct flights to Hamburg , bravo

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous15:42

    bringing in Valencia later on i hope

    ReplyDelete
  36. Bravo BEG, shame on you ZAG !!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:53

      +10000 while BEG gets three A321s ZAG refuses to make a deal for one A320!!!

      Delete
  37. Finally! The W6 passivness in BEG was way too much. They seem to have finally woken up. The destinations are quite decent and LIS comes with no big surprise. TP tried to once operate this route a couple of years ago. And yes, to me TKU is the biggest surprise :) I was hoping for MAD to have a bit more competition and LED (Russians don't need a visa for Serbia). German routes are always "boring" but we all know why they are launched.
    Interestingly together with BEG, W6 just announced another Romanian base in the city of BCM (Bacău) in the northeastern part. Unsurprisingly, most routes are "gasto" ones and will not please the likes of 0B, who already operate some flights from there. Typically for their style, they launched exactly the same routes as 0B e.g. CRL, TRN, LTN. The Varadi vulture squad is restless :D

    ReplyDelete
  38. I am afraid we will need to give a lot more subsidies to JU in order to stay afloat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:02

      Why? Because Wizz launched mostly routes they don't fly to? I am confused here or is your point to trash you because you own national airline faiiled.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:11

      Happy Taxpayer, in stead of being happy for BEG or Varadi you decide to start bitching about JU? Oooook

      Delete
    3. Anon 20:11 I am not paying for BEG (any more) or W6. I am paying for JU though.

      Delete
    4. Anon 20:02
      My national airline is JU and I am paying for its loses every year!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:21

      @Happy taxpayer, JU is not even 0.1% of where your tax money goes.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous08:43

      And how do you know that your tax money is being used for JU and not for something else? How do you know it's not going to cover the losses of the railway company or to pay the salaries of nurses or to build and maintain roads... please tell us how you, a Happy Taxpayer, know that your €200 or €300 per year are being used on JU.

      Delete
  39. i hope that they will deploy A321NEO

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous21:34

    LIS will not work.... Why not VIE instead?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:39

      People forget that LIS is also run by VINCI. They will probably get nice incentives for this route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:45

      Is Vinci giving discounts to Wizzair on certain routes such as LIS or is it now permanent?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:52

      W6 launching LIS means that JU won't be launching it any time soon.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:09

      Yes, but BEG-LIS is not very cheap.....230€ RT with no luggage is a lot.......


      5. СЕП. 2020 - 8. СЕП. 2020
      1 ПУТНИК
      ПРОМЕНИ
      ЛЕТОВИ‎24.766,40 дин
      СЕП.
      05
      Београд – Лисабон
      17:35 – 20:30 (W6 4127)
      WIZZ Go цена
      1 × Првобитна цена лета ‎14.229 дин
      20% попуста ‎-2.845,80 дин
      1 × Административна накнада ‎1.000 дин
      СЕП.
      08
      Лисабон – Београд
      21:10 – 1:55 (W6 4128)
      WIZZ Go цена
      1 × Првобитна цена лета ‎14.229 дин
      20% попуста ‎-2.845,80 дин
      1 × Административна накнада ‎1.000 дин
      ПУТНИЦИ
      СЕДИШТА
      УСЛУГЕ
      ПЛАЋАЊЕ
      УКУПНО
      RSD
      ‎24.766,40 дин

      The time of departure is similar to TGD-LIS with YM,

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:37

      I did Portugal RT for 140 euro (ryan: INI - BGY / BGY - OPO & Easyjet: LIS - GVA / GVA - BEG)
      LIS is gonna fall.... like Rhodes, Corfu, Rome....Lyon...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:57

      I think you might be right. After all, LIS is also quite seasonal as a destination.
      If LIS-WAW is seasonal imagine...and after the TP experience.....not sure what to say.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous23:32

      Agree.

      It is difficult to imagine full A321 on route BEG-LIS in February

      Delete
    8. Anonymous08:46

      If anything BEG has proven that it can beat the odds and to prove all of you wrong. Don't forget that BEG doesn't only service the great city of Belgrade but it also offers flights to people from the rest of the country, Slavonija, western Romania, Republika Srpska... so the catchment area is quite big. I might be wrong but LIS flights are only offered from places like Sofia, Bucharest and Budapest. Secondary Romanian airports failed so BEG is the new kid on the block, right in the middle covering a massive area. These flights will no doubt become a smashing success. After all, why wouldn't they if MLA and LCA can operate the whole year.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:28

      BUD is three weekly to Lisbon in February, i don't see why Belgrade wouldn't.

      These days when relying exclusively on O&D BEG has the same or more amount of flights than Budapest.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:53

      BUD said that they expect to handle some 10 million passengers this year, so they are going to lose around 7 million. That's big. BEG on the other hand is the only regional airport to grow right after corona. If those China flights happen then only imagine how much our numbers will grow. No wonder Vinci expects 15 million passengers.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous09:55

      Maybe because BUD has 4 times more tourists than BEG.

      Ever thought about it?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:01

      Budapest had that because they promoted themselves heavily. Belgrade is doing that right now and foreign arrivals were and will be booming. Just because Budapest is ahead doesn't mean they did something no one else could. Give BEG a few more years and with JU's growing hub and Wizz Air's upcoming growth, Belgrade and Serbia will become more accessible and more popular. After all, BEG's growth over the past few years was impressive to say the least.

      Once the terminal is expanded we are finally going to have a more beautiful airport than BUD. Though that's not that hard. jajaja

      Delete

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