Wizz Air to launch Belgrade - Abu Dhabi service


Wizz Air will commence its first transcontinental service from Belgrade with the introduction of flights to Abu Dhabi. The two weekly service will start on May 19 and run each Wednesday and Sunday. Flights will be operated by the carrier's newly established Abu Dhabi unit and its 239-seat Airbus A321 aircraft. The airline replaces Etihad Airways, which terminated its operations to the Serbian capital in October of last year. Abu Dhabi becomes Wizz Air's fifth new route out of Belgrade this year following Hamburg, Sandefjord, Heraklion and Santorini. Etihad Airways handled 114.256 passengers between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade in its last full year of operations in 2019 on 924 flights (return service included). Its average annual cabin load factor stood at an extremely high 90.9%, with all services operated by the Airbus A320 aircraft throughout the year.

Belgrade - Abu Dhabi - Belgrade passenger numbers by year

2017 2018 2019
121.583 88.220 114.256

Prior to the pandemic, Wizz Air shortlisted Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia and Montenegro as potential markets that could be served from Abu Dhabi. Flights to Belgrade are currently operated by Qatar Airways and Flydubai from the Gulf region. The Qatari carrier maintains three weekly rotations with its Airbus A320 from Doha, while the Dubai-based airline, which is one of the most successful foreign carriers currently operating out of the Serbian capital, runs daily flights, with additional operations scheduled for the upcoming May Day and Orthodox Easter holidays.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi launched operations on January 15 with its first route being to Athens. The airline is a joint venture between Wizz Air and the Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company. The carrier has a status of being Abu Dhabi’s national airline alongside Etihad Airways and Air Arabia. Commenting on the new route, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Kees Van Schaick, said, “Today’s announcement underpins our long-term commitment to providing low fares and high quality on board experiences to our customers. The new connection from the capital of the United Arab Emirates will continue to stimulate air traffic demand and support the growth of Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector and economic agenda. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board our new, green and ultra-efficient fleet”.

Further flight details for the new service can be found here.

Comments

  1. Anonymous12:58

    Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous13:29

    Fantastic news

    ReplyDelete
  3. Flying a low-cost carrier is a horror on long flights. I have now flown with Fly Dubai and never again. Wizz Air has an even shorter distance between the seats

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:35

      Well for 100 euros, what can one expect really

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    2. Ne želim da platim i da se mučim 5.5 sati. Poštujem sebe.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous00:54

      Poštuj sebe, pa plati 200-300 € više za čašu vode, 2 cm legroom-a i par sitnica.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:14

      Pa nije ni Wizz Air namenjen za ljude kao ti. Realno, ako ti cena nije problem ne postoji razlog da bi putovao sa LCC-jem, tako da nije mi jasno cemu ovaj komentar. Ljudi koji nisu imasni kao ti (i koji nemaju samopostovanje valjda, prema tebi) bice vrlo srecni platiti samo 200 EUR umesto 500 EUR.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous13:30

    Excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous13:36

    Људи па ово је феноменално!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:24

      Шта је феноменално што није било док су летели Етихад и Ер Србија? Мањи размак и ништа укључено у цену? Смешни сте.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:25

      To sto je cena 300-400 evra jeftina of Er Srbije i Etihada.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:42

      То је рекламна промоција. Какве цене је Виз имао у лето 2019 за Лондон, такве и још веће цене би морао да има за Абу Даби ако не мисле да губе паре.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:49

      Пријатељу , чисто сумњам да ће Визер имати цене као Етихад на овој линији. Па са њима ниси могао да летиш за мање од 600 евра. Ови ће вероватно бити као флајдубаи, ту до 400 макс.

      Delete
    5. Đorđe19:55

      Prijatelju, do Bangkoka preko AbuDhabi-ja je karta bila 420-520€ sa Etihadom. Godišnje sam išao od 2015-te do 2020-te. Nema teoretske šanse da je samo do AbuDhabi-ja bila 600€ osim na dan leta ako se uzimala . Realnije je oko 300. Sada košta oko 600€ sa Etihadom jer nema direktnog leta nego se vezuje preko Frankfurta. Let do AD sa Qatar Airways uz presedanje u Dohi je 330€.

      Delete
    6. Vlad20:56

      Anon 15:49 is right, BEG-AUH was never less than 450 EUR return. The price of the direct flights had nothing to do with connecting ones. In 2015 I flew BEG-AUH-KUL and back for less money than my friend who just flew BEG-AUH and back around the same dates.

      Delete
    7. Marko23:17

      People can't simply understand that connecting flights are often cheaper than direct ones. Check how much QR charges for flights to AUH or DXB (via DOH), than check for that same date, but just to DOH and you'll be surprised.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:19

      Marko is right. This is standard procedure.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous00:12

      Unlike QR and FZ/EK, Wizz won't be able to make extra money on transfer passengers. They have to squeeze BEG-AUH P2P passengers for every cent. Tickets will start cheap but will become more expensive.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:55

      Ovo su reklamne cene, kad se linija uhoda prosečna cena će biti bar duplo skuplja, otprilike 200-250 evra.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous13:45

    Let's see what FZ does, hopefully they add more flights now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous13:46

    Great Belgrade!

    Amazing results in these difficult times!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous13:47

    From June they are moving flights to Thursday and Saturday, same times though. I am sure BEG gave them a better deal to move to these slower days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:09

      I think those days might be aimed at locals in AUH. Thursday is basically the day before the weekend (in UAE) and Saturday is the last day of the weekend. So people who work can go after they finish with work and can also return the day before they start work.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:27

      BEG didn't strike any deal with Wizz regarding these flights.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous13:51

    Great news

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous13:51

    But can they really fill 480 seats to Belgrade/Abu Dhabi each week?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:52

      Of course, there is a lot of O&D demand between the two markets. Also for many AUH is the first stop on their way to Dubai.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:12

      I'm sure Wizz Air did the maths and there is a reason they started this route instead of maybe Skopje which currently does not have flights to the Gulf.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:26

      Nowadays Wizz doesn't seem to do any maths. They open and close routes at random. Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:24

      Come on, guys! Wizzair is a successful business. They are professionals and never open and close random routes. They just try to adapt themselves to the current situation and as a result, they close unsuccessful routes and open new onces. This never happens random. Due to covid, this is more frequent now.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:28

      It used to be successful. Leaked pilot meeting notes do not sound professional. Founders Indigo Partners cashed out over half a billion and now own only own 8% of the stock. Does not inspire confidence in the future.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous18:36

      Professionals? The schedulers are a bounch of teenagers employed from the street and the turnover is so high that the whole department is replaced in every 2-3 years.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:31

      When Wizz starts new flights from BEG schedulers are teenagers. When they start new flights from SJJ, SKP, TGD they are forward thinking aviation professionals :)

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:56

      Teenagers, period. Anyone care to join them will find senior and junior network development and scheduling positions open nearly all the time. Surprisingly.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous13:52

    In the end Wizz will add the same number of flights as they planned last year with the third based plane in BEG.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous13:55

    If at one point JU and EY both flew this route then I think Wizz can do well. Belgrade is being marketed as a holiday destination in the UAE. Remember their residents can't enter the EU either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:05

      And it's visa free for the many UAE residents from India.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous13:55

    Well there goes any hope of Etihad restoring flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:02

      They could send Air Arabia Abu Dhabi.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:04

      Air Arabia planned to fly Sharjah - Belgrade in 2019. They even started ticket sales but I think interest was low since the route never started.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:50

      Air Arabia offers connections onto EY in AUH, they have a deal with them so it's different than Sharjah.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:36

      Air Arabia flying to Belgrade had to be cancelled because the UAE did not abolish visa in time .
      It was just incompetence and laziness of the Emirati authorities .


      Delete
  14. Anonymous14:00

    "They will also be supplied with an electronic wristband which will monitor their movement while in quarantine"

    Ummm what?!?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:08

      crazy haha

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:30

      Actually, smart and responsible towards the public. Numerous people I know were pretty lax with their quarantine last year and endangered us all by not staying home. If the option was an army barrack (state-operated quarantine) or electronic monitoring at your own home, I am sure the latter would be very enticing to people coming back from their must-happen trips during a deadly pandemic.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous14:00

    Can Wizz Air Abu Dhabi be used for transferring?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:01

      No, you would have to buy two separate tickets. Also I'm not sure where you would transfer to. Most of their routes are in Europe anyway.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:43

      Well that's where someone coming from Abu Dhabi would want to transfer to.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous14:01

    It's possible that if quarantine rules remain in place by the launch date they will move flights to Dubai.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:20

      I doubt they will be able to do it, since they're officialy based in AUH.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:21

      They've already done it for other routes launched from AUH.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:41

      They only launched ATH, SKG and HBE so far, with an aircraft and crew based in AUH.
      Those flights they are doing to DXB are just moved from DWC, which is an airport Wizz served pre-pandemic.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous14:02

    I'm surprised by the amount of passengers on BEG-AUH-BEG especially in 2019.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:03

      The question is how many of those were transfers and how many were actually point to point.

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    2. Anonymous14:12

      Over the past few years quite a big P2P market has developed. Lot's if Serbs now work in Abu Dhabi. There is also a lot of business travel from Abu Dhabi to Belgrade.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous14:05

    Whatch the Serbian CAD block them. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:06

      They can't. There is an open skies agreement between UAE and Serbia. Anyone can launch flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:11

      Thank goodness haha

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:30

      Turkey is welcome to renegotiate the bilateral. Haha LOL.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous14:06

    Missed opportunity for Air Serbia. They could have stepped in instead of Etihad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:16

      You snooze you loose.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:17

      I don't think Air Serbia has enough aircraft in its fleet, especially in summer, to be able to perform these flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:31

      Air Serbia did fly this route for years. Why step in into something that didn't work?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:33

      Air Serbia operated many routes that didn't work but worked for others. Completely different cost structure and completely different market conditions compared to then.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:39

      Fuel cost beats other costs on this trip. A321 is better than A319 but will still lose money with 100eur tickets.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:05

      W6 has been operating long flights to UAE for years now. I doubt they would keep flying if they couldn't make money.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous23:21

      This flight will be operated with A321neo, not the regular A321, so that means even better CASM.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:48

      It says A321 in the article.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous00:10

      Well, that's a mistake, since they only have A321neo in AUH.
      Regular A321 has 230 seats. The A321neo has 239.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous00:14

      It's not a mistake. The general name of the aircraft is A321. Same way you don't write A321ceo you don't have to write A321neo. The capacity gives you the idea which of the two it is.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous00:52

      Tell me than why are there separate codes for the type? ICAO A21N, IATA 32Q?
      You can check the airbus website as well, there is always "neo" with the name of the type, as that's the name of the type - simple?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:10

      @Anon 00:52, If the type rating of the guy in the cockpit says it's the same airplane, then I doubt avgeeks know better. IATA obviously classifies aircraft differently than EASA and ICAO.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous14:16

    The arrival time in AUH is quite bad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:21

      True but it's an LCC. You pay for what you get.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:25

      But the departure times are amazing.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous14:17

    What are the fares like?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:19

      Return fares are 100 eur

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:27

      wow not bad at all

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:11

      Actually €90 without luggage.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:18

      That's some serious price dumping ��

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:31

      We all know how Wizz works - price dumping and then legacy prices for not-Paris and barely-London.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:33

      Well in Abu Dhabi they are flying to the main airport.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous21:10

      @Anon 19:31: Wizz Air average ticket price in 2019 was 39.5 EUR. Average revenue per passenger 67.1 EUR. Multiply these figures by two to get roundtrip figures.

      Hardly legacy ticket costs with average ticket price of less than 80 EUR for roundtrip.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:47

      Wizz average stage length in Europe was around 1:30h. To Abu Dhabi it will be about 4 times that, and the price will be at least four times that.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous08:48

      You realise that flight lasting 6h doesn't have 4 times the cost of flight lasting 1:30?

      Delete
  22. Anonymous14:23

    So this is the 9th new route from BEG this summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:23

      Kiev (Skyup), Oslo, Abu Dhabi, Heraklion, Santorini, Hamburg (Wizz Air), Amsterdam (KLM), Luxembourg (LuxAir), Cologne (Eurowings).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:23

      There will be more :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:52

      Anon 14:23
      Do you have some info about new arrivals or you just think there will be more arrivals?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:27

      Eurowings is not flying to Cologne (they're starting Stuttgart in May). WizzAir was supposed to start flights to Cologne, but then canceled that.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous23:19

      Opps sorry. You're right. Meant to say Stuttgart.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:20

      And don't forget Nordwind from Moscow and Air Serbia to Geneva which also launched this year.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous15:05

    Good move Wizz

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous15:19

    Great add I'd say. There is enough demand to Dubai alone to justify these flights. Good job Wizz. They seem to be increasingly optimistic and ambitious about BEG which makes me happy.
    Next destination we need is Vienna.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:25

      Agree. Also nice to see that their last 3 new routes from Belgrade are non gasto.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:35

      Dubai has a direct flight without quarantine requirement.

      Flying to AUH on LCC, arriving at horrible hour, going into mandatory quarantine for 10 days, then transferring to Dubai? LOL what a stupid idea!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:40

      You are exempt from quarantine if you are going straight to Dubai from Abu Dhabi.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:44

      Going straight to Dubai from Belgrade is even better. If Emirates start sending widebody to BEG once market recovers there will be no case for Wizz counting on Dubai market.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:52

      EK won't come to BEG, there is no demand for a widebody. FZ can't increase BEG to more than daily in summer and you think EK with its 400+ seats will do fine? lol
      I think some people get carried away quite easily.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:56

      Even if EK hypotetically starts BEG, that would be even better for Wizz as they would compete against a full service airline instead of another LCC

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:24

      Anon 15:52

      That's like saying Etihad and Air Serbia both had daily flights to AUH but Wizzair doesn't have demand for more than two weekly.

      Before covid BEG had those two flying to AUH, Flydubai to DXB and Qatar to DOH, sometimes twice daily. When market fully recovers after 2023, EK could fly 787-9 to BEG and beat Wizz on price, comfort, range of classes, connecting destinations, cargo and service. It's not a question if EK will come to BEG, the question is when.

      Delete
  25. Dobra stvar u ovome je što su povratne karte oko 100 e i što će najverovatnije dok važi karantin za ulazak u Abu Dabi svi letovi da budu za i iz Dubaija kao što je trenutno slučaj sa letovima iz Sofije, Bukurešta i Atine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:29

      Letove iz Sofije, Bukurešta i Budimpešte obavlja avion i posada iz tih zemalja, te je u tom slučaju moguće sleteti na DXB.
      Atinu obavlja avion i posada iz AUH, taj let ne sleće na DXB.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous19:30

    There is obviously some sort of demand from/to the Gulf. Qatar is again sending this Wednesday A321 to Belgrade. Outbound flight is full.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:35

      Nice

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:35

      I'm assuming most of those are transfers and not Doha residents.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:12

      Of course. Qatar and say Flydubai/Wizz Air Abu Dhabi carry completely different types of passengers to/from BEG.

      Delete
  27. 5 hours in flydubai from Bucharest to Dubai, night flight is disaster)) no space, a lot of people, no food even no water, all cost a lot of money... Doubtful. Its better to pay a little more, but to have opportunity any time to ask for coffee or what ever

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:11

      The only alternative then is to fly with Turkish or Qatar and transfer via Istanbul/Doha.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous20:24

    Ugliest livery ever.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous20:24

    How did they even get the permits?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:10

      There is a free sky agreement between Serbia and the UAE. Any airline from either country can fly. Wizz Abu Dhabi is UAE registered.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:52

      I am relieved there is !

      Delete
  30. Anonymous23:10

    What happened in 2018? Why was there such a drop in passengers and then increase again in 2019?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:17

      Hainan Airlines was flying to BEG and Iranian airlines. They took away passengers from Etihad

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:45

      I hope for the resumption of Mahan Air flights .
      Serbia was still popular with Iranians even when visas were reintroduced .

      Delete
  31. Anonymous23:12

    It is good to see that a route which was terminated recently will be covered relatively soon.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous10:16

    Another disgusting livery.

    ReplyDelete

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