Low cost carrier Ryanair has temporarily suspended all of its operations to markets in the former Yugoslavia after the airline’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said the company’s network has “collapsed” due to evolving travel restrictions across the continent. The budget airline was already operating a reduced schedule to the region, serving only Banja Luka and Podgorica in the former Yugoslavia. Ryanair has now suspended flights from Gothenburg to Banja Luka, as well as from London Stansted and Charleroi to the Montenegrin capital. Since the start of the pandemic, the carrier has not restored operations to Serbia, while it serves Croatia only on a seasonal summer basis.
Ryanair is yet to outline the resumption dates for a number of its routes in the former Yugoslavia, however, it is expected to return to all four markets at the start of the 2021 summer season on March 28. Further changes remain likely. The winter season is turning out to be even worse than expected for Europe’s airlines, despite Ryanair’s expectations that reductions would not hit profitability as the flights were anyhow lossmaking. The group’s passenger numbers in January are expected to fall to under 1.25 million, and then dip to 500.000 in February and March, the lowest since air travel all but stopped last spring.
Despite the suspension of a number of routes, Ryanair still plans to launch new services to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. On March 29 the airline intends to inaugurate flights from Vienna to Banja Luka and Pula, followed by services from Naples to Zadar on June 4. “I think the vaccine is a solution to this. Whether it will be in place by Easter is too early to call but certainly by the summer. By the time we get to the school holidays we'll see few restrictions across Europe because of the rollout of these vaccines”, Mr O’Leary said. He added, “The challenge for the airline is nobody can make a booking for two weeks out in February and March if they have to wait until they get a negative PCR test four days before departure. Bookings and air travel have collapsed”.
Everything is going downhill again.
ReplyDeleteWell that's because countries are using the 'effective' lockdowns. Most are in their third or fourth yet numbers are at a record high.
DeleteYep seems like things are going backwards.
DeleteFebruary will be the worst
DeleteThis is huge - they will have 500,000 passengers in February. Usually they have 10 million. That's just how bad the situation is.
DeleteI wonder if eventually they will resume all the routes they used to operate
ReplyDeleteMany won't be restored.
DeleteA lot of flights don't have any resumption date yet so who knows when they will be back. Might be years.
DeleteThey will resume sooner or later.
DeleteI also believe this as an opportunity to cull some routes for good.
DeleteSeems like LCCs are really struggling.
ReplyDeleteLife is slightly more difficult, when you don't have governments bailing you out year after year.
DeleteReally bad news for all markets. I think particularly Nis and Podgorica will be impacted by this.
ReplyDeleteDon't both have several other airlines flying? And I don't think Ryanair was the top airline in either city.
DeleteBanja Luka is much more impacted than any other city. Over 90% of their flights were operated by Ryanair.
DeleteIt's a double blow for Podgorica because they just lost Montenegro Airlines two weeks ago which had a huge share in winter. Basically they lost two big customers. Ljubljana scenario incoming.
DeleteFeel sorry for airports that have completely tied themselves to Ryanair. Thankfully Wizz Air isn't cutting flights as drastically, otherwise we would have major problems in the region.
ReplyDeleteThis is just another example of why countries need national carriers.
DeleteA national carrier is more efficient and can make routes work financially, while others like those low cost carriers cannot?
DeleteWell at least OU's and JU's networks did not collapse and they still offer respectable connectivity.
DeleteYes and all the routes they are currently flying are making huge losses.
DeleteActually LCCs have to have a very high LF to make a profit on a flight. Simple as that.
DeleteWhile state-owned airlines in exyu don't have to make profit at all....
DeleteAnd what LF is needed for the airlines mentioned by anon 9:22 in order for them to be profitable at year end?
DeleteUsually LCCs have said that their average LFs on routes have to be upward of 80% on annual level for the route to be sustained. Depends of course on the LCC as they all have different cost margins.
DeleteFR said they need at least 70% LF to be flying at around break even or small loss.
DeleteO'Leary is way too optimistic about summer 2021.
ReplyDeleteI share his optimism. But not because of vaccines but because the virus will conveniently disappear for 3 months in the summer so countries can have their summer tourist season. Just like last year. Then we will be back to doom and gloom from late September.
Deletebut last year virus was not that spread around the continent as it is now ... i think we will see high numbers even in may. i think this season might be even worse than 2020. also financial situation will be harder.
DeleteI am afraid that this year summer will be faced with much more travel restrictions then last year. Just to try to avoid doom and gloom from late September on.
DeleteExpected. Even the diaspora is no longer flying.
ReplyDeleteFrom some countries they simply can't
DeleteJust goes to show how bad the situation is.
ReplyDeleteUntil widespread vaccination of the population is realized the travel and tourism industry will suffer.
ReplyDeleteSituation will stay this way until EU starts opening borders.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it no longer has so much to do with borders. Many EU countries have banned non essential travel.
DeleteSad :(
ReplyDeleteWhat a disaster.
ReplyDeleteDamn and just when Montenegro removed compulsory PCR test for entry,
ReplyDeleteToo little too late.
DeleteAt least Ljubljana is not affected 😀
ReplyDeleteFor once :D
DeleteSorr but winner is Maribor. It has not lost a single scheduled route since the pandemic started. Beat that.
Deletewhat do you expect when you are not allowed to travel
ReplyDeleteThis is just bad. I'm sure most of these routes won't be back at least not before summer 2022
ReplyDeleteLockdowns and quarantines will kill the aviation sector.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt's really unfortunate for ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteThere is just no demand at the moment anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThat's not true at all. Demand is artificially limited by government-imposed travel restrictions. Cancel these and traffic would quickly be back to at least 50% of "normal" years.
DeleteMany gastos are losing jobs in the west and many are returning home. This could be a big problem for Ryanair and Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteMany yugo gastos moved to Western Europe a long time ago. They are not going to be returning to live home.
DeleteAnon 9.32 that may only be true for people who moved for work in the past 2-3 years. But not the historic diaspora from the 60s-90s and they are the overwhelming majority.
DeleteIf you loose your job in Germany, Austria, Sweden (Gastos destinations) you get Arbeitslosgeld,and you're payed all the time by government. So nobody will return to their beloved homeland.
Delete"Home" for most of the diaspora is in the EU. "Homeland" is in ex-YU.
DeleteThey will likely offer a very reduced network for a while.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it is no network at all.
DeleteI meant even in summer when some routes will probably resume.
DeleteThe winter is....
ReplyDeleteWait...
the year 2021 is coming!
Buckle up
DeleteWizz Air should use Ryanair's Nis and Banja Luka suspension to launch new flights from there.
ReplyDeleteRyanair is suspending them because of low demand. So I don't see how suddenly Wizz could generate more demand.
DeleteIt's also a good opportunity for Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines which have ATRs and Q400s in their fleets.
DeleteAirport managements must reduce reliance on LCCs no matter what the cost.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteSo much about the recovery at any airport in ex-yu.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just ex-Yu. It's the same scenario all over the world.
DeleteOuch.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be suspending routes on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteThey have already announced a major network reduction from 21st January so a lot more routes to be cut.
DeleteNot much the airport can do in these circumstances.
DeleteI think that the region will be lucky if half these routes come back. I am not just talking about Ryanair, I mean all LCCs. The routes may be suspended for now but we will see what next months brings. I'm certain that LCCs will want to negotiate new agreements with airports and will ask for much more subsidies.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Nis will keep its 3 euro charges for airlines after this pandemic.
DeleteIt's interesting that the ones from Nis have been suspended the entire time.
ReplyDeleteThey could have at least resumed Bratislava where entry restrictions for Serbian citizens have been eased.
DeleteRyanair is currently not operating a single route out of Bratislava, and they have a huge network from there.
DeleteIt was already published here a few months ago that Bratislava - Nis is terminated for good. It's not coming back.
Deleteif you have followed the BTS fares you could have wondered how they kept it so long to be honest
Delete@10.18 wondering the same for Bergamo
DeleteI think Wizz Air simply crushed them with the Vienna flights.
DeleteNot surprised at all about Bratislava. The route was dead the second Wizz Air started flying to Vienna.
Delete:(
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense considering the markets are outside of the EU and is still affected by various travel bans.
ReplyDeleteRead the article. It's not just ex-Yu markets affected. They are culling everything. West and East.
DeleteVery fragile the situation
ReplyDeletePoor Banja Luka. It finally catches a break and now this.
ReplyDeleteHoping the Vienna flights start up as planned.
Deletec'mon ... we need one hundred new national carriers to fly empty planes around for the fun of it. can't you see huge opportunity to have connectivity to nowhere and the most important thing: burn cash, as no 1st of may bonfires can be used to burn it this year. we can use new national carrier instead. #sacrasmoff
ReplyDeleteRyanair has closed many bases due to Covid so this is no surprise.
ReplyDeleteDo not rely on FR. Hope they can survive after the crisis. Pretty much the same for W6
ReplyDeleteLCCs fly only if it makes financial sense. That's why they suspend routes at short notice.
DeleteIt's a disastrous time for European airlines
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-airlines-risks/airlines-face-more-turbulence-before-vaccine-relief-idUSKBN29J1A2
Just wondering how fast these companies will return when things clear up. I feel that the routes which yielded the best profits, will be first in line. Time will tell.
ReplyDeleteRyanair has cut capacity by 67% in just 2 weeks 30.12 vs 13.1. Wizz Air by 61% during the same period. Meanwhile airlines like Turkish just 5%, LOT 2%, Air France 10%.
ReplyDeleteStart of 2021 seems to have hit LCCs hard.
DeleteThe difference is that none of those 3 companies will go bankrupt, even if they make loss for a decade in a row.
Deletebefore comparing them you should also write what capacity percentage those 3 state airlines are flying now compared to last year ...
DeleteCountries have only one parachute to give to either national airline or LCCs. At the time of crisis countries are giving that parachute to national carriers. If LCC can survive the free fall without the parachute, good for them. Otherwise we will see some LCCs hit the ground hard in 2021.
Delete@16.24 what a rubbish.
Deleteuk, germany, sweden, france, spain etc haves given to both for example
even roooommania
Compare the money going to Lufthansa, AF/KL etc to money for LCCs and it's like comparing parachute to handkerchief.
DeleteCompare the size of the relevant airlines to Lufthansa, AF/KL and you will see.
DeleteCondor got 550 mln euro state aid, but it is 19 times smaller than Lufthansa Group.
Condor - charter. Ryan, Easy, Wizz - LCC.
Deleteits not charter. it mostly has scheduled flights to leissure destinations. yes travel agency tend to reserve a bunch of their seats
DeleteNext cancelation will be till summer.
ReplyDeleteHow is BNX airport doing - did they get some bailout from Dodik or...?
ReplyDeleteYou got it all wrong. Mile Ronhil does not give money, he gets money. That"s the purpose of his existence
DeleteI hope Rijeka airport has a lot of flights these days, following Franjo Tudjman airport in Zagreb.
DeleteThats quite okay, hopefully wizz will join the list of loosers and will fade in fog 🤣🤣 warmest wishes to hungarians, some of them such nationalist that i never seen before. Anyway, fade of LOcos will give a road to smaller regular airlines for a little higher ticket price, but with bag and sandwich included. To be honest, if u compare price with bag and sandwich, then locos are more expensive! Plus they operate from shitholes and at very inconviniet time for connections/further trips
ReplyDeleteNo really a smart comment. What has Hungarian nationalism got to do with all this? Wizzair were able to revolutionise the region and connect so many ex-Yu cities to the continent and nearby countries. Do you ever remember how a flight from the Balkans to London would cost you minimum 300 quid for a return ticket because there was a monopoly? Do you even remember the ticket prices in the 2000's? I don't think so!
DeleteAnd yeah, who would've thought you can fly from the Balkans to UAE for €29 or spent a city-break weekend in some European city for less than €100 return.
If the news they are suspended BEG and other cities because of the pandemic hurt you, then sorry. Change your glasses.
Good thing that the only nationalists are in Hungary, none of them in the exyu region. Lucky us. Yeah that easyJet flight form BCN to BRU or Ryanair from DUB to PRG. Such shitholes all these cities.
DeleteI don't understand why people hate LCCs, nobody is forcing you to fly with them. If you prefer to spend hundreds of Euros for a short-haul plane ticket, be my guest. Just understand that some of us don't need to haul half of the house with us for a city break and can survive a 2-hours flight without a 5-course a-la-cart meal.
Bravo @07.46. I agree absolutely. Very well said. +1000
DeleteI comment wizz, as an ex employee, who unluckily was in the company not beeing a hungarian))) overall for locos: isnt it cheaper to fly to major airport and then to have good connections rather than flying to some field in hundred km away with poor connectivity in not appropriate time? You will buy ticket for 50 then spend another 100 for local transfer. I dont see any point of it. Simply pay 150, get good airport, luggage and sandwich included. Trying to save 30euros usually ends in loosing bunch of your time. I prefer to spend that time for something better
DeleteMore 6 month delays for refunds from Lyingair
ReplyDelete.....expect their usual crap customer service...