Wizz may park planes as more EX-YU routes suspended


Wizz Air is continuing to suspend operations from cities in the former Yugoslavia with the list of temporarily cancelled routes surpassing forty. The latest markets to be affected include Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The airline now plans to shelve its flights from Skopje to Salzburg until March 2021. In addition, the resumption of some fifteen routes from the Macedonian capital, planned for late September, have been pushed back until October. The budget airline is also cutting its operations between Vienna and Podgorica, just a month after their launch. The final service of the year is scheduled for September 19, with flights to resume on March 30, 2021. Furthermore, the carrier will temporarily discontinue services between Malmo and Niš on September 19, which will be restored on March 30 of next year.

As previously reported, all markets in the region have been impacted by Wizz Air’s reduction in operations. So far, Skopje remains the airline’s most affected base in the former Yugoslavia, followed by Tuzla. Wizz Air has warned it may have to “park planes” to preserve cash as the coronavirus crisis wreaks havoc on the industry during the leaner winter months. The airline also said that if ongoing travel restrictions continue over the next three months, it will fly at 60% capacity rather than the 80% previously guided. Despite suspending over forty routes in the former Yugoslavia, Wizz Air has opened ten new bases across Europe over the past few months, launched dozens of new routes and has not deferred aircraft deliveries.

Commenting on the latest developments, Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, said, “It is a difficult time for the whole industry and certainly we are not immune to the situation. Clearly, this has become kind of a rollercoaster, so we are seeing markets and countries going up and down. This is a hardship and a time to get very focused in order to get through this situation”. Mr Varadi added, “We are going up and down [with the markets] at the same time. We are very focused at managing the situation as it unfolds every day but at the same time, we keep an eye on our future”.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    This is going from bad to worse.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Wasn't Wizz saying how they will be operating their full schedule by a July?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Yes, under the premise the health situation would improve.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      They still opened the most routes and basis while others have been shrinking.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      They have been shrinking themselves even in newly launched bases like TIA

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:31

      Yes but they still opened new bases and routes. Wheather it is less than previously planned, is not that important. Airports need everything they can get at the moment.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:51

      At this point it seems like they are randomly opening bases hoping something will stick. The other day they announced Catania.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:25

      Better for the general public then having planes sit idle.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:33

      wrong. its the gamble of entering new markets.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:07

      Yes much better for the public to have empty planes flying around wasting precious kerosine.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:54

      I was saying better for the public which gets more choice and cheap fares.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:07

    This is going to be a disaster from Skopje.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      A warning not to let 70% of your traffic depend on one airline.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      It is true. As someone from SKP I believe the government should have diversified the offer by offering subsidies to different airlines.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:23

      Don't worry about us. As a reminder there is a pandemic globally and only the ones who really need to fly do it, and for that there are connections from SKP.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:29

      You should not justifying a near monopoly by Wizz

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:12

      But why they never bringed more airlines to SKP? Like Transavia, Ryanair, Volotea, Vueling, Easy jet... why not to pay these airlines to fly and not only Wizz.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:07

      Do you people listen to yourselves? (why not pay airlines? SMH) The market isn't there. It doesn't matter if it's Wizz or anyone else. When the demand returns, so will Wizz. Stop freaking out. The airline industry is struggling worldwide. This article is simply about one airline that has significant market share in the region.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:12

      He asks why not pay since Wizz was paid to launch flights to Skopje and has been paid for over 8 years to launch new routes.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous17:39

      I do not exepct from SKP to pay to these airlines now. I was just asking why not to bring new airlines and not only Wizz.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:15

      Because the last time they tried doing it Wizz threw a hissy fit.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous18:02

      Wrong again! Those tenders were opened to other airlines. Wizz was the only one showing interest. I wouldn't pay any airline to start service in this environment. Availability of flights or pricing is not what's driving the decline. Those people traveling today are the ones that HAVE to travel and don't really have a choice.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:09

    Seems as if they are mainly focusing on Italy now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:25

      Western Europe in general.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:55

      They are launching Wizz Air Abu Dhabi in a few weeks.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:09

    They are the plague that has brought down the standards of a once noble industry. A true symbol of globalism delivered through mutual funds with worst service in the sky. I wish them personally to park their planes forever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Are you for real????

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      LOL

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:26

      Great. When they park all their planes traffic at ex-Yu airports will decline significantly and locals will lose their jobs. Geat thinking.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:33

      The only people missing that "noble industrial" era are those who worked for the state owned dinosaurs.
      And their children who wished to be hired there. Nobody else!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:50

      Hater. Just don’t fly with them, and don’t read articles. Imagine that they park the planes and spear us of your hateful opinions.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:56

      Anon 09:09 probably misses the time that only the most wealthy could afford to fly, air traffic was 1/20th of what it is today and you could only get hired to the national carrier if you knew a party apparatchik.
      Thanks but no thanks!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:19

      Seems that you all like to fly for 20e with earphones in your ears and like to be treated like "potatoes"; that is your choice and yes you can LOL but yes indeed I miss the times of proud companies and their decent service and there is nothing wrong with that! Anon 9:56 I have no connections to working with airlines but I happen to be a frequent passenger who over the years witnessed the old and the new style of services both on the ground and in the air. I am sure that some aparatchiks were hired by Eastern companies but not so sure that it was the case with such as Swiss, AF, KL, BA, PA ...etc.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:26

      LCCs enabled people to travel regardless of their socio-economic status.

      If you just want to fly from A to B, go with LCCs. If you want to be dined and wined pay accordingly, go with legacy carriers. Simple as that.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:48

      @10:19 - Yes, as if flying over the Atlantic with legacies is not cattle class or like "potatoes" as you say. LOL!
      Momko, it is 2020 and not 1960 anymore. The times of pride for national carriers are gone. Welcome to the new world, where travel is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Thanks to LCC you are able to fly from Lisbon to Sofia for 29€, from Dublin to Larnaca for probably the same amount, Bangkok to Bali for 30$ and the new Latin American revolution with the domestic flights in Argentina that just 5 years ago costed 300$ return and now the price is as little as 30$.
      So, please save us the pride thing and lets stick to reality. If you don't fancy an LCC just don't book it. C'est simple !

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:39

      Someone has been living under a rock, or is plain stupid. LH got 9B EUR governmnet help so the pride for national carriers is very much alive. Travel in 2020 and beyond is not longer necessity as most businesses shifted to online for meetings, conferences and education. People vacation locally more than ever. Price of 29$ is limited, marketing pricing and below cost for any airline. Average ticket price on LCCs is several times higer and that's what average passenger pays.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:45

      Oh yes famous argument in terms of defebding unprofitabile national carrier... LH got 9 billion. Germany paid 9 billion to the LH not because they love so much to see their flag carried everywhere but because they wanted to save about 140.000 jobs in the company which pays every year more then 500.000 in taxes directly. And yes, flag carrier is a dead system in most of the coutntries because airlines were privatizatied.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous19:48

      No one will be willing to protect LCCs unlike flag carriers, government owned or not. LH is just one evidence, AZ, AF/KL, OU and others will be saved.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous21:26

      The three largest LCCs in Europe have either enough cash to survive, or good enough balance sheet to raise cash in the financial markets, unlike many of the flag carriers who need "no questions asked" financial injections from their governments.

      Not to mention business travel (on which flag carriers rely heavily) is unlikely to recover anytime soon. A lot of people in Europe are still working from home - I don't see them flying around, if they don't even go to their own office every day.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous06:48

      Didn't easyJet and Wizz Air get favorable loans from the UK government?

      Delete
    15. Anonymous09:00

      Yes, Ryanair got it as well I think.

      It was available to any company (not only in aviation) that has a significant amount of business in UK and has a good credit rating (which means they could get the same loan from the bank essentially).

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:11

    Nis finally succumbs to their cancellations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      Withstood quite well to this point.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    This is ridiculous now, I mean most of the Balkan countries are not that bad with covid cases compared to lets say some of the EU countries but they're shutting down the border for these people and it will affect the economies of these countries much more compared to the EU countries which have relatively more relaxed border rules.
    Someone with cold head needs to rethink this approach because this will be very hard to recover from if the borders remain closed for longer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:23

      PLANdemic boys and girls:)

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:13

    They should get a Serbian AOC and launch ZRH, IST, TGD, TIV, KBP, MOW, TLV...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      IST is an expensive airport, I hardly believe any LCC will fly there.

      Wizzair couldn't compete against TK and Pegasus in Budapest - Istanbul (IST + SAW) route, and they quit some years ago.

      There is 3 airlines flying in BEG - Istanbul route with a high capacity (most aircrafts are A320, A321, A321NEO), I don't think it's possible any other airlines introduce flights on that route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      They could not fly most those routes even with a local AOC because they would be limited by bilaterals which already determine which airlines can fly certain routes or between certain countries. Unless the bilaterals are renegoatiated, Wizz would not have much to gain.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:31

      There is reciprocity so there is room for another Serbian carrier to Turkey. Also the market from Belgrade to ISTANBUL is bigger than the one from Budapest.
      Russia and other markets are open skies.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:34

      No, it's not a matter of another airline just opening a route. Read the bilateral.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:39

      This will never happen because of JU protectionism, that has lasted for decades.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      You are suggesting Wizz Air should fly to Zurich which is one of the most expensive in Europe and from which Wizz Air does not fly at all?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:47

      BEG ZRH is the biggest market with close to 400.000 passengers per year. Wizz flies to FRA, ATH, OSL...si they will fly from an expensive airport of there is demand.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:49

      And there is even greater demand from FRA to ZRH but they still don't fly it because it is expensive.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:54

      Maybe because they don't have a base at either airport?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:56

      They don't fly from a single base to Zurich, say Milan which has a million passengers to Zurich each year because ZRH is EXPENSIVE! How can't you get that?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:12

      Then how come they fly from other expensive airports? Had it crossed your mind that they can't get slots at ZRH? Not to mention that there is a lot of competition and a lot of business traffic has corporate contacts.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:19

      If it's slots as you say, then why would they launch this imaginary BEG-ZRH route?

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:27

      Serbian AOC for 2 or 3 aircraft in BEG? Which part of low cost is difficult to understand?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous11:10

      Because they would not need as many slots from BEG to be competitive. They could have 4-5 weekly from Belgrade while on ZRH FRA they would need at least three daily flights to remain competitive.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous11:15

      Well they don't need the AOC but they are staying away from some of the biggest markets. They could fly double daily to Tivat without a problem.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous12:28

      The question is, is the yield there to cover the increased cost and complexity of another AOC for a relatively small base? I don't think so.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous13:15

      Are you saying flights to Switzerland, Russia, Turkey and Israel aren't good enough? Lol
      Swiss alone planned triple daily flights this summer. If they can make money then ghetto LCC can too as well.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous13:16

      Montenegro as well.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous13:29

      "Ghetto LCC". Gosh. Maybe you should compare "ghetto" Wizz Air results with those of noble ex-Yu carriers.

      Delete
  9. He said a lot of bullshit. My favourite: we are "investing" 100 million in your economy (means he based aircraft in some airport).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:09

      Varadi is the king of bullshiters.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:57

      I would be upbeat if I just pocketed millions from shares like Jo did.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:56

      @Anon 12:09
      +1
      But just behind Ryanair's MOL and ahead of Qatari AlBaker.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:33

    Until the virus situation improves, things will not get better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:27

      Sooner or later we will have to learn to live with it

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:38

    Not sure all those routes being pushed back to October will resume until March next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      I don't see Malta and Larnaca resuming till summer but let's wait and see.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:27

      Routes not depending on gastos traffic may be cancelled.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:39

    They seem to be suspending routes om a daily basis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      Because the situation is deteriorating on a daily basis.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:46

    The Hungary border closure will really hit Wizz Air hard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      nope they will increase open some new base

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:52

      They said it won't affect them too much because Hungary makes 10% of their traffic.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:00

      I'm not so sure Hungary is unimportant to them.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:06

      ^ they never said it wasn't.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:48

    they are stil gambling and opening Doncaster.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:51

      Catania too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      omg Ijust read that (Catania)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:59

      so one plane from TIA left for CTA ... diletanti

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:12

      Wow really?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:09

      How many planes did they have a TIA? 2 or 3?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:18

      They still have 3

      Delete
    7. Anonymous23:36

      not after summer season

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:54

    This has nothiing to with low demand from Yugo this is a perfect time-hole to enter the west european market. Yugo will get their planes back next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:10

      I don't think it has nothing to so with demand. Remember LCCs have to have a very high LF to make a profit on a flight.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:35

      there is no high lf at the moment anywhere

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:58

    Hope all the routes are restored.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02

      There is no reason why they shouldn't be.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:07

      It will depend on if there is still demand after borders reopen.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      Almost all Wizz routes from ex-Yu are gasto heavy routes. They will fly no matter what.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:28

      Hope so

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:05

    How long did all these Salzburg flights last for?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      A week

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:01

      its not only the exyu routes from SZG that were pushed back

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:10

      Do they have a base at SZG?

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:09

    There will probably be over 50 routes suspended come winter.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:35

    Pity they treat the ex-Yu market this way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:36

      It's nothing personal haha

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:44

      You can't enter the EU from almost all ex-Yu countries. What are they supposed to do? Fly empty?

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:44

    More to come

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:58

    They seem to be ditching Eilat this year. My guess is that they might launch flights to Europe from Alexandria like they did with Milan.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:03

    the July numbers for Germany-ExYu given the prohibited entry into EU are not bad. just saying

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:03

      That's good to hear. Do you have some numbers?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous14:03

    Are they suspending routes elsewhere or just ex-Yu?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous15:38

    And let's not forget this route start and closures, continous ticket sale until last minute etc. is basically feeding the company which at the same time for sure picks some airport/state benefits where they start up the new routes. Their unique way of surviving this by fooing the pax and airports. Some of them very commited and now at level of break down. And pax furious, because COVID restrictions is one, but targeted false marketing and sucking funds is something else. All covered in nice stories and hype about expansion.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous18:19

    Aviation is going down progressively

    ReplyDelete
  26. Malmö- Ohrid also suspended untill late october...

    ReplyDelete

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