Wizz Air sees opportunities and level playing field in Belgrade


Wizz Air will base its fourth aircraft in Belgrade this summer, launch five new routes and increase frequencies on existing popular services. The carrier’s Acting Network Officer, Evelin Jeckel, spoke to EX-YU Aviation News about the airline’s upcoming expansion and operations on the Serbian market. “In Serbia we still mostly see diaspora, but I would say there is a growing trend in leisure destinations. If you look at the routes that we have introduced, for example Zakynthos, that’s clearly a leisure destination. We are looking at covering both as much as we can. I think it’s an evolution but clearly the trend is going more towards leisure but still the bulk of it is VFR [visiting friends and family]”.

Commenting on its competition with Air Serbia, which swiftly reacted to Wizz Air’s latest Belgrade expansion by increasing frequencies on competing routes, Ms Jeckel said, “Competition from Air Serbia does not impact us that much because our cost base is much lower, so we are happy with the set-up and competition is always good. It keeps us on our toes, and it is an upside for customers because they have greater choice. Overall, when I saw Air Serbia’s reaction and frequency increases, I thought to myself - we chose the right routes - and that was very clear. I was happy with that. We are always happy to compete. As long the cost base is low it’s always fine to compete”.

Ms Jeckel explained that the new routes being introduced in late July and early August could not be launched earlier due to constraints relating to the delivery of new aircraft. “The start date is driven by our aircraft deliveries. Overall, from my perspective, I would have loved to have started earlier than that, but simply we must plan based on when we get the aircraft”. During the 2023 summer season, Wizz Air will serve 28 routes from the Serbian capital. The carrier currently counts 120 employees in the country and has handled over six million passengers on its flights since launching operations out of Belgrade in 2010.

Under a decade ago, Wizz Air noted that Belgrade Airport had become the most expensive in its destination network, while in late 2018, just before VINCI took over as concessionaire, the carrier’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, told EX-YU Aviation News, “I think the significant issue in Belgrade that has hindered our development there is the cost of the airport relative to its peers. It is a high price airport, and we need to see costs coming down. We will see what VINCI brings to the table”. Four years later, Ms Jeckel notes relations have significantly improved. “We have a very good relationship with the airport now. With the charges scheme that they have now, they have created a level playing field as much as possible and we are very happy with their support and our relationship with them overall. I have no complaints at the moment”, Ms Jeckel said.

Evelin Jeckel, Wizz Air's Acting Network Officer

Wizz Air’s Network Officer noted that the airline did not expand in Belgrade over the past few years as much as some neighbouring markets due to new opportunities opening up as a result of the pandemic. “During Covid, we used the opportunity to expand in places like Abu Dhabi, massively in Italy, as well as Albania, where we didn’t have an entry point before. That’s where our capacity went, and we spread ourselves very thin in some other markets. Traffic was down, so we could allow ourselves to do that. We took out frequencies and aircraft and put them elsewhere. This is how we grew the network during Covid. This is nothing to do with the potential of the market rather that we had a window of opportunity in other markets and that’s where we used the capacity. What the company is trying to do now is densify its operations. This is the outcome of what you see in Belgrade - adding the extra aircraft. We are now backfilling a lot of capacity and increasing a lot of capacity in some of our existing core markets”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Very happy with their latest destinations to/from BEG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Same. I appreciate that its not places like Vaxjo but Lisbon and main capital city airports like Copenhagen and Berlin.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      I think Zakynthos will be sold out. You couldn't have chosen a more popular summer destination with Serbian people in Greece.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:20

      Agree. Excellent new Wizzair routes

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:32

      I also think this could be a very smart move as here they are attacking bus companies. With their low cost structure they could encourage many to switch from driving to flying there.
      I guess their Santorini route struggled with yields as I heard loads were not a problem.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:53

      Does JU operate summer charters to Zakynthos? I can't remember.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:23

      Yes they do

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:52

      Anonymous09:10 I dont know for what reason they canceled santorini to introduce zakyntos....but ok , that was packed when i used the route

      Delete
    8. They could've opened more routes from BEG to Spain, instead of just putting Barcelona in focus..Why not compete with Air Serbia, pax would also benefit from lower prices..Week ago I've flown to Malaga from BEG, plane was almost full, believe it or not, on sunday morning, mid of winter..Wizz could jump in for many routes to Spain, since Air Serbia frequency is just 2 flight per week for all destinations, apart of BCN

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Hopefully more expansion coming this winter.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      What more could they add?

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    2. Anonymous09:07

      I whish they restored Charleroi.

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    3. Anonymous09:17

      With Lisbon launching, BEG is now connected to all major European markets. Maybe Finland is the only exception.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:19

      TFS would be a nice addition somewhere down the line.

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    5. Anonymous09:30

      It really depends how the market evolves. If there is more and more leisure passengers we can expect more leisure routes in the future.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee09:34

      BEG-HEL could only work if AY launches flights after they get back their Siberian overflight rights. Until then I don't see this route working out.

      Then again, JU might make it work on a summer seasonal basis. They did ok in summer last time around, winter was the problem.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:36

      It's surprising that there is not much P2P traffic between Belgrade and Helsinki.

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    8. Anonymous09:52

      Not really that surprising. Serbian diaspora in Finland is very small. There are some business ties but not that much and I don't think many Serbian people go on holiday to Finland and vice versa.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:33

      @9.07
      They did fly to Charleroi once upon a time. But it didn't perform too well.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous19:47

      With arriving of BT, many North European destinations could be reached, so will HEL.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    So much for claims made by some people here how they are being blocked from growing in BEG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Most people who post comments are completely off on many things.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:05

      Which also means FR has exactly the same terms. Nothing to do with anyone stopping them or blocking them

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:54

      Anonymous09:04 Not really, FR is blocked but Wizz is not, Wizz is there to remind JU that they dont have a monopoly over BEG. However, AS is competing with them on most of these new routes, and they do that with better service, offering connections and luggage in their cheapest fare, while wizz can be unreasonably expensive on most of new routes they introduced. So the only thing blocking them is not offering a competitive service and a price.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:57

      I don't know how you can't understand that no one can block a European airline from flying to Belgrade. If you repeat it a million times, it does not make a false claim correct. BEG is not reducing its fees for anyone. It is the same for everyone. If it does not suit Ryanair, tough. Zagreb Airport reduced its fees only for Ryanair and no other airline. That's why they came

      Delete
    5. @An.13.57
      Have you read last two sentence of the article? It's obvious BEG reduced the fees for Wizz, the lady said it explicitly. On the other hand, ZAG did not reduce the fees for Ryanair only, but for all airlines introducing new destinations. So, your claims are totally wrong. Completely other story is Air Serbia being successful fighting Wizz in BEG, compared to totally incompetent, not responsive and once again defeated and humiliated Croatia Airlines in ZAG. And I agree with you, no one is blocking Ryanair coming to BEG. But I don't understand what does it have to do with ZAG and kindly asking to leave ZAG out of this discussion because you are the first and only one introducing it, thereby mixing apples and pears

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:37

      No pozdrav, you are talking nonsense. Since January Belgrade has a new pricing system for ALL airlines, which is what she is referring to. It was published here.

      Delete
    7. And that new pricing system means lower fares for Wizz. The same as ZAG has incentives for ALL airlines opening new services, in their case Ryanair. But nice of you to tell me talking nonsense, but not the guy who brought ZAG into story with false accusations, which was the reason I reacted

      Delete
    8. Anonymous07:33

      Well no pozdrav, you missed the news when Zagreb released special incentives which were available just for a few months and were then gone. Funnily enough it happened when Ryanair decided to announce flights.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    "“Competition from Air Serbia does not impact us that much because our cost base is much lower, so we are happy with the set-up and competition is always good. It keeps us on our toes"

    Interesting :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      She is right when she says they obviously made the right choice since JU increased freqnecies on them the following day.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:09

      * frequencies

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    3. Anonymous09:18

      They are not competing against Air Serbia. They are trying to make more money. As is every other airline.

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    4. Anonymous09:23

      Ever heard of PR? Because this is classic PR talk. Happy to see them competing with JU

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:03

      Real competition would be if Ryanair came along. That would be a real party.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    It's a shame they can't launch the new expansion earlier but in August but as I expected it is because of aircraft availability.

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  6. Anonymous09:07

    Will be nice to see 4 Wizz A321s in BEG

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  7. Anonymous09:07

    If my calculations are correct, Wizz Air will have 99 weekly flights from BEG this summer.

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  8. Anonymous09:11

    Considering their relationship with BEG is now good I really do hope they accelerate their growth in BEG after many years of stagnation.

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  9. Anonymous09:18

    Good news for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:30

    Really hope Lisbon will be a success.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:30

    They need to do some more marketing for these new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Marketing in Serbia I mean.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:30

    Routes that could work: CPH, LIS, ALC, RUH, PMI, TLV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      This summer they are launching CPH and LIS.
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/wizz-air-belgrade-copenhagen.html
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/wizz-air-belgrade-lisbon_22.html

      TLV can't be operated by them. Serbia-Israel flights are subject to bilateral air agreement and only airlines registered in Serbia or Israel can operate between the two countries.

      Delete
  13. Nemjee09:41

    For Wizz Air, it's not just about BEG but rather its catchment area. With OSI dead and TSR struggling, even more passengers will gravitate towards BEG in the future.

    Looking back, upgrading BEG from A320 to A321 was their first consolidation move in Serbia. Since then they have been growing more and more. I hope JU realizes that Wizz Air is here to stay and that winning the war is no longer an option, now they need to wisely pick their battles and to see which ones they can win and which ones they can't.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that, according to some estimates, close to 180.000 Russians have reallocated to Serbia. Almost all of them have a solid purchasing power and can afford to take the plane when going on holidays. I expect destinations such as Spain, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt to get a Russian boost this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:46

      +100

      I also think we already see an impact on some routes due to the Russian migration. Not particularly Wizz but on Air Serbia. Actually according to last data over 210.000 Russian citizens are registered as living in Serbia in the last year (I assume there are many that are not registered yet). When Belorussian and Ukrainian citizens are added the figure is around 280.000.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      Yes it could definitely change some travel trends from Serbia.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee10:14

      Indeed. I am sure Wizz Air is also aware of that which is why they decided to further invest in the Serbian market.
      Another thing to consider is that Sava Centar should be opening at the end of the year. First congress is already scheduled for November. Belgrade has already said that they plan on investing in congress tourism which should give a nice boost to the aviation sector especially since this is a high-yield industry.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:24

      Those Russians mainly cannot go to the EU (they need a visa and EU countries reduced issuances of visas for Russians), so for them destinations like Egypt , UAE or Turkey can only work

      Delete
    5. Vlad08:56

      "(they need a visa and EU countries reduced issuances of visas for Russians)"

      Don't be naive. I live in Milan and the city is absolutely packed with Russian, as are JU flights to MXP. Italy and Spain have done next to nothing to reduce the number of visas issued.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous04:54

      Existing Visas were not cancelled. Still a lot of Russians are using long term visa they had before EU made it more difficult to get one. Now EU countries deliver only short term visa to Russians, it takes longer to process them and is a bit more expensive. Saying that “next to nothing has been done” is complete ignorance.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:41

    First of all congratulations to Admin for making this interview possible. I have no doubts you enjoyed your time having the interview with so nice lady 😉

    It is interesting to read all Ms. Jeckel said, but it would have been even better if she had given her opinion about Wizz air last minute cancellations and their rejection to compensate the costs to the passengers despite EU regulative says different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:46

      Don't think network development officer is responsible for passenger compensation.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:20

      Bad compensation policy affects passenger numbers and without passengers there are no new routes in their network.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:22

      Just saying it's not something that a route manager deals with.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:54

    From August 1st there will be daily flights to Eindhoven, Barcelona, Rome, Memmingen and Dortmund which is a big deal for an airline like Wizz that usually operates from BEG 2-3 weekly flights on most routes.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:58

    When is Wizz going to get A321XLR and start Toronto from Belgrade?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      LOL

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:07

      Wizz won't fly to the US or Canada with A321XLR. They will use it to focus on Asia which has been successful for them (like UAE, Saudi).

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:08

      If Toronto is not possible, what else would Wizz be able to offer with XLR from Belgrade?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:11

      Anon 10:07, Wizz already connects Belgrad and UAE without XLR. Question is what would Wizz XLR offer to Belgrade?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:13

      I know, I meant that they will use the XLR to connect European destinations with far away destinations in Asia. I don't think the XLR will find itself in their BEG base anytime soon.

      Delete
    6. JATBEGMEL14:25

      @10,08

      Airline companies can't just randomly pick countries and decide they want to fly from there. Wizz Air isn't a Serbian company and cannot just fly anywhere from Serbian airports (bilaterals - air agreements Serbia has with other countries). Wizz is restricted to pretty much the EU, UK and the UAE in terms of destinations - EU as it is an EU airline (Wizz Air - IATA: W6, Hungarian registration) with Serbia having an Open Skies agreement, UAE as Wizz has a registered airline in the UAE (Wizz Air Abu Dhabi - IATA: 5W) plus open skies agreement between UAE and Serbia, and UK as Wizz is also a registered airline in the UK (Wizz Air UK - IATA: W9). Until Wizz registers a Serbian subsidiary of Wizz (ie Wizz Air Serbia) it will be restricted to the EU, UAE and UK. No Canada, no US, no Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Japan, China, Maldives, Georgia, Turkey, Israel etc. Their XLR's are practically useless from any Serbian airport as it

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:03

      How difficult it is to register Wizz Air in Serbia?

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL22:34

      @19,03

      Not harder than in any other European country.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:06

    I hope one day LCCs will be able to fly between Serbia and Montenegro. They are much needed.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:08

    they should start WEEKEND PARTY PLANE LJ-BG :) friday 18.00 - sunday 15.00

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:14

      Not a bad idea :)

      Delete
    2. Nemjee10:18

      Absolutely. This route makes a lot of sense. It would be an hour flight so it would be easy to schedule and it would be an instant success.

      That said, I think LJU management isn't pushing for this due to JU being so strong there. It's a shame Air Serbia never promoted this 'weekend party line' (love the name btw) especially since they have flights on Friday and Sunday in the afternoon.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:24

    They are finally growing again from Belgrade. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:25

      They have been growing for a couple of years now.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:25

    Does anyone know which routes has Wizz tried from BEG which have been discontinued and didn't work out for them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      Off the top of my head Charleroi and Sandefjord but there are more.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:21

      Lyon

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:14

      Corfu, Hann, Hanover (I believe)...

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL14:29

      Salzburg as well (lasted 2 weeks I believe).

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:26

    I really hope this means we will see quicker pace of expansion from Wizz in Belgrade in the future. In 2017 they returned their second plane in BEG. So it took 5 years to get 4 planes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      You might want to factor in corona which had huge impact on 2 of those 5 years.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:58

      ^ true forgot about rona

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:26

    Great news for Serbian consumers.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:26

    Next Wizz should try Bratislava from BEG and attack the Austrian/Air Serbia monopoly and the woeful equipment both of them send on these flights most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:29

      Yes! Bratislava is long overdue

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:30

      That would be a duopoly, not monopoly :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:50

      Last time an airline tried that (Niki) they failed big time. Back then Austrian/Jat jointly slashed prices on the route and squeezed them out. But you are right. They do work together as monopolists on this route.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:54

      What's wrong with OS' Embraer or JU's new ATRs? Also in summer Austrain will use A320 on one of their daily flights.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:05

      They say Belgrade-Vienna is a bit of a short distance for them, so they don't plan to cover that market from here.

      Delete
    6. JATBEGMEL22:56

      @20,05

      BEG-VIE: 1h 15 mins (1h 30mins ATR)

      TIA-BRI: 55 mins
      TIA-PSR: 1h 20 mins
      NAP-VCE: 1h 20 mins
      BUD-TGM: 1h 5 mins
      BUD-TGD: 1h 15 mins

      Their VIE-INI flight is 10 mins longer than the block time for BEG-VIE.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous01:06

      Po meni bi trebalo da napadnu Prag tu je apsolutni monopol Er Srbije,da se spusti malo cena povratnog leta :)

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:31

    Wow their tune has changed. From calling JU monopolists and calling BEG the most expensive network to this :) progress

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:54

      Their patience paid off.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous12:11

    Great news for BEG.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous12:11

    Any chance we could see Ryanair in Belgrade soon?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:16

      I doubt it. It's too expensive for them.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:16

      They will eventually come, that's for sure, so for Wizz it's better to expand as much as possible before that happens.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:17

      Wizz's presence is not a problem for RYR. Look at SOF

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:18

      BEG is not in the situaton to decrease the prices only to see FR livery on its apron.

      If FR wants to come under the conditions that are valid for all other airlines they could come, but the problem is that they want to have ultra low prices only becuase they are Ryanair.

      How yes not.

      BEG has very good balance of legacy and LCC even carriers without FR.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:20

      That would be a disaster fot JU.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:21

      For*

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:44

      Air Serbia has proven it can compete against LCCs so I don't see why they would be unable to agaibst Ryanair. They are not much different from FR.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:50

      FR would be much more aggressive I think

      Delete
    9. JATBEGMEL15:03

      Competition possiblities in SOF and BEG is not the same. Bulgaria Air exists but really hasn't progressed much in the last decade, hasn't made much of a hub in SOF and has had next to no growth making it much easier for both Wizz and Ryan Air to base in SOF. Pretty much, Wizz and Ryan Air are the star of the show in SOF.

      BEG on the other hand has a strong national carrier (Air Serbia) and a growing Wizz presence, which limits the options for a third carrier. Both carriers have a decent network for their respective sizes and there really isn't much that Ryan Air can offer. Add to that taxes are higher in BEG and BEG isn't desperate to attract carriers for growth.

      Delete
  27. Nick12:49

    Bravo BEG! Although a big capital like you, needs much more LCC. I am also really hoping to see FR soon, even with 1 or 2 routes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:36

      Agree. More LCCs are needed.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:11

      Manchester and Dublin would be great for everyone.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous13:31

    Interestingly Wizz just announced a bunch of new routes to Istanbul. Maybe one day to they start BEG-IST.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:34

      Pegasus can't increase flights between Belgrade and Istanbul because of very constrained bilateral and you expect Wizz to start flights on the route...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:21

      Ha ha how yes no.
      W6 between BEG i IST 😂
      Literally NEVER!

      Delete
  29. Anonymous13:41

    All the best to Wizz on these new routes. Wish them success so they will add more.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous20:51

    2014 Varadi: Air Serbia is "wannabe monopolist"
    2023 Jeckel: “Competition from Air Serbia does not impact us that much because our cost base is much lower"

    Wizz cost base was also lower in 2014.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous20:51

    It’s such a joke how the U.K has such limited options to get to Belgrade. Right now it’s only London Luton and London Heathrow. Surely it would make sense to offer flights from Manchester/Birmingham/Glasgow etc this baffles me with the number of Serbians in the U.K. but also the tourism it would bring to the country.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous00:12

    Congratulations to all that can benefit from these lines from BEG.
    Thanks also for sharing information regarding the increasing number of passengers from abroad.
    Wizz decision totally makes sense in economic terms.


    Anyway I hope that Wizz will earn the trust of the passengers and that they will treat passengers with respect if the flights are cancelled to refund or provide support and will not behave like most of companies are behaving due to the corrupt and lawless Balkan politics. People there will appreciate that and wizz will have their loyal customers.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous05:45

    How come it's always same comment "great news for passengers" and "more choice for consumers" when Wizzair opens a new route, but those quotes are missing when Air Serbia launches new route?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:15

      Hmmm... i trust you will know how to deal with that next time it comes up.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous10:19

    Dear WizzAir, I will be so happy to have direct connection between Budapest and Niš, and opposite :)

    ReplyDelete

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