Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, has said Wizz Air is a “tough player” with the two carriers being Belgrade Airport’s largest airlines. Both Air Serbia and Wizz Air have significantly expanded from Nikola Tesla Airport this year, with the national airline launching over twenty new routes in 2023, while the budget carrier based its fourth aircraft in the city and added a handful of new routes, while increasing frequencies on existing services. “Wizz Air is our biggest competition in Belgrade. Compared to 2019, Wizz Air increased its capacity by 190%. Our capacity is 30% higher than before the pandemic. Wizz Air is a tough player in Belgrade. We compete with each other on several routes. Sometimes we win, sometimes they win. There are also routes where our offers complement each other. We are open to competition because then we are forced to improve our efficiency and change our approach to the customer”, Mr Marek said.
Air Serbia and Wizz Air currently compete directly against each other on ten routes. They include Berlin, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Rome Fiumicino, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Heraklion, Larnaca, Lisbon and Malta. In addition, the two indirectly compete on several routes where they operate from different or nearby airports including the likes of London, Stockholm and Milan (as of next Tuesday). “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. We are always happy to compete. As long the cost base is low it’s always fine to compete”, the budget airline said.
Ryanair is present in Serbia at Niš Airport but does not operate out of Belgrade, which it has said is too expensive. According to Mr Marek, competing against Ryanair or Wizz Air does not make much difference. “For me, honestly, it doesn't matter whether the competition is Ryanair or Wizz Air. There aren’t many airports in the Balkans where these low cost airlines compete against each other. In Zagreb, in terms of low cost carriers, Ryanair dominates. In Belgrade it is Wizz Air. The markets of the former Yugoslav countries are not yet mature. The airlines see this and do not want to engage in a direct challenge through price stimulation”.
Competitions is healthy.
ReplyDeleteAm I missing something by the way? Wizz Air added only A321NEO from TZL? So it won't be completely withdrawn because at least these routes are profitable. However, the BEG W6 base will continue to grow.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about?
DeleteI noticed that FMM-TZL is operated by a Belgrade based plane.
Delete
DeleteMost of routes are on A321. Maybe they have great passenger numbers.
09:12 ptm
DeleteBest comment of the day award.
DeleteAnonymous 10:57
Delete+1000
?
DeleteWizz fly with A321 because they don't have another type in the base. From Tuzla base they used only and bases A320. Now they after closing the base with A321 because there is no A320 available
DeleteA330 stuck in the bush.^^^
ReplyDeletehaha it does look like it
DeleteThey are using it now for spare parts :)
Delete^ What are you talking about? This is the usual parking position for A330 when it is not operating or has a longer tunraround time because jet bridge gates are in high demand.
DeleteHappens when one mixes jetways, bridges and gates.
DeleteRyanair would give them a good run for their money.
ReplyDeleteRyanair would not have the upper hand, that's for sure. Both JU and W6 are well-established carriers in BEG. FR would have to dump big time in order to position itself as a respectable and competitive carrier over here.
DeleteThere is a reason why they are staying away from BEG. They know that both JU and W6 have volume based discounts they would not have access to. BEG is right in not striking a deal with FR as it would be unfair towards JU and W6 which have fueled BEG's growth over the past 10 years.
That said, Ryanair is more than welcome to launch certain routes and get access to BEG's discount scheme (for individual routes).
Of course. Fully agree, Nemjee.
DeleteUnfortunately it seems some analysts have problem to understand it.
FR has a lot of planes coming along. I could definitely see them flying to BEG.
DeleteIf they change their stubborn attitude.
Delete^^^
DeleteYou are not changing a winning (and profitable) strategy.
It does not mean that this strategy can't be even better.
DeleteGood news is that Wizz Air isn't showing any signs of slowing down. This will force JU to remain competitive. Customers will profit the most from all this.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if they add a 5th A321 in Belgrade next year. Hopefully they increase LCA to daily next summer. A family member flew to LCA on Thursday and came back on Saturday. Another flew LCA-BEG yesterday. All three flights were full to the last seat. I assume JU was also full since they were charging €300 to €400 one way.
When I was at the airport on Saturday night I noticed there was a small bus from Croatia with SB car plates. I assume it was from Slavonski Brod. At that time in addition to LCA there were arrivals from BCN and LIS. This is what will keep on fueling BEG's growth. A large catchment area with a great deal of demand for gasto/ethnic travel. With TZL dead, OSI dying and TSR stagnating, Belgrade will most likely keep on growing and becoming more competitive.
+1
DeleteThe only thing that you have to remember is that, unfortunately, Serbia is not part of EU/Schengen area, so you have to account for border crossings as well. If there were no borders, your comment would definitely be true. (E.g. Ljubljana and Zagreb)
DeleteWell since there are already a lot of people crossing the border it means it's not such a big deal. Maybe if we were in Schengen there would be even more of them. So far this has not been a major handicap for BEG.
Delete"We are open to competition because then we are forced to improve our efficiency and change our approach to the customer"
ReplyDeleteWell I agree with him here. They would probably be Europe's worst airline otherwise.
No, there is always Croatia Airlines.
DeleteI think that crown goes to Air Montenegro.
DeleteNo, no, "tough" Croatia Airlines is the main competitor, hahahahahahahaha, dobro jutro Jasmineeeeeee!!!!
ReplyDeleteMozda covek jos nije ustao... tek je 09.26
DeleteInteresting that they are already competing head to head on 10 routes. I think that will keep growing going forward.
ReplyDeleteAs a passenger I'm excited to see them compete and develop routes like Barcelona where they give me so much options each day it's amazing
DeleteI wonder what JU would do if Ryanair did by some miracle base a plane in BEG.
ReplyDeleteit would be the end of JU's short-haul profitability, with or without transfers.
DeleteWould it really? What difference would it make compared to current Wizz Air competition.
DeleteI think Wizz Air would be the first one to be impacted as there would be a lot of overlap. I highly doubt FR would launch CDG/ORY over BVA, LHR over STN, DUS over Weeze etc.
DeleteRyanair loves money (like all healthy and well-run businesses) so trust me, they are not indifferent towards their absence from BEG, especially when they see how much money Wizz is making.
But the longer they wait the tougher will be to penetrate BEG market.
Delete@Nemjee Wizz Air lost 1,1 billion EUR in their last two fiscal years. That's how much money they make. Whereas Ryanair... There must be a reason they neglect BEG.
DeleteCorrection: Wizz lost 1.25 billion, sorry.
DeleteIndeed and not only that, if both JU and W6 keep on growing like this (in addition to all others) then it will be more difficult for FR to get gates at the most convenient times. Just look at BEG departures from 06.00 to 07.30, airports is almost full.
DeleteSo Ryanair will have to either depart before or after thus becoming less competitive compared to all others.
Naturally they are more than welcome to launch flights to BEG during quieter times.
Anon 10.14
DeleteAre you implying that they are neglecting BEG because there isn't enough money to be made there? I guess that must be why they are flying to OSI, INI etc. they are all far more lucrative than BEG.
As for Wizz losses, as long as they have someone who is willing to cover their losses they will be fine.
Wizz is losing billions while Ryanair is making billions therefore there must be some rationale behind that. I say money talks. If BEG would be such a gold pot, everyone would line up to use it.
DeleteI think JU's current hybrid model is best at competing against LCCs. They need to offer something different but their prices need to be competitive, which they really are.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, the competition between Air Serbia and Wizz Air benefits passengers by providing them with more options and potentially lower fares. It's a win-win for travelers
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteUntil...
DeleteI think they compete relatively well in BEG against Wizz. They managed to beat them on many routes. We will see with this latest challenge that started this year.
ReplyDeleteMark my words, Wizz will base fifth plane in BEG next summer.
ReplyDeleteWill be very nice to see more unserved toutes.
DeleteI love when anonymous says, mark my words.
DeleteMark my words, OU will never get those A220s :))
DeleteRyanair will come to Belgrade. The only question is when.
ReplyDeleteWhen the taxes are down.
DeleteRyanair does not just want taxes down, it wants all kind of incentives from city authorities, tourism boards etc, like they do at all other cities in the region. or if they can't get that they don't want any cots at the airport at all.
DeleteThey can ask for that when there is no strong carrier in town. Since JU is strong in Belgrade, the airport can say NO to Ryan. Do you really think they can blackmail major European hubs like that? Zagreb and Podgorica maybe, but Belgrade has the luxury of saying no to these demands.
DeleteExactly.
DeleteDanm girl.
DeleteWell Ryanair struggled to survive in BEG's catchment area. In a way they managed to chase them away. They keep on shrinking in INI, they discontinued TSR flights, they have one seasonal route in OSI and we all know what happened in TZL.
DeleteSo if Ryanair wants to serve this area and take passengers away from BEG then they have to think of a different approach. The one they had until now is obviously not working out for them.
Ryanair is present in SOF, BUD and ZAG. Nothing within that area and that is where BEG is located.
Wizz will come to ZAG. The only question is when
DeleteThe best way for JU to compete against LCCs is by evolving and improving their transfer passenger model.
ReplyDeleteIssue is transfer pax are the lowest yielding. It was published recently that Marek said that when opening a new route their priority are P2P passengers.
DeleteTransfer pax are not very profitable if at all. Its point to point travelers that pay the bills.
DeleteThat is not exactly true. Sure, priority will always be more towards P2P pax, but Marek also did mention that they want to increase the share of transfer pax, if I remember right from the current 20% to 25%. There is also money to be made with transit pax, otherwise no airline would offer transit options. JU have a couple of routes which are transfer heavy and are very successful. It's not just about ticket sales, you also have to look into other factors such as ancillary revenue generated on the route.
DeleteHad W6 opened Vienna-Belgrade it would have crushed the Austrian/Air Serbia duopoly and there would be nothing either could do.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't they?
DeleteDon't know. I think they made a mistake in not doing that.
DeleteI don't think there's enough demand for an A320...
DeleteAre you serious. Have you checked the frequencies between Belgrade and Vienna for this winter?
DeleteDidn't Niki try and fail?
DeleteThat was 15 years ago.
DeleteAnd Niki went bankrupt so it obviously wasn't well run.
DeleteW6 failed in Salzburg.
DeleteNiki already tried that some time ago, they failed as both Austrian and Air Serbia (maybe still JAT at the time) joined together and fought Niki off.
DeleteBack when Niki was flying was a completely different era. Not to mention that Niki's base costs were extremely high since their service was better than what you have on JU and Austrian today. They weren't a classic LCC.
DeleteBEG-VIE would be almost impossible for a third carrier to break into. Both OS and JU would dump fares to drive out the competitor. OS and JU have the frequencies that no competitor can match, which automatically puts the 3rd carrier at a massive disadvantage. The only way that a third carrier could compete would be to dump fares and I don't see that happening. Kind of why JU seems to be avoiding MUC. Not to mention that BEG doesn't really see routes where 3 carriers can coexist.
DeleteLondon has 3 carriers as of october 31
DeleteAir Serbia at least prepared themselves for the higher influx of LCC airlines in Belgrade so they can actually compete against Wizz ... Air Serbia understood their position, they knew what was coming in the years ahead and they now are building a strategy and infrastructure for that.
ReplyDeleteI doubt Mr. Marek would appreciate WizzAir competition so fondly if Wizz would to start flights between Belgrade and Podgorica and/or Belgrade to Tivat
ReplyDeleteThat's why the Goverment of Serbia would never allow such flights. Or W6 launching Turkey, Israel, Egypt etc.
DeleteI doubt Mr. Jasmin Bajic would appreciate Ryanair competition so fondly if Ryan would start flights between Zagred and Split and/or Zagreb to Dubrovnik.
DeleteWho is winning the BEG - SOF battle so far this year? The mostly legacy BEG, or the mostly LCC SOF?
ReplyDeleteBEG has more passenger up to now in this year.
DeleteSOF usually has stronger winter than BEG but not this year, AS beefed up there winter schedule so bye bye SOF.
DeleteNext target for BEG gonna be OTP.
@Anon 10:48
DeleteLOL dude!
You da same dude laughing last year when I said BEG gonna surpass SOF this year for good?
DeleteNo but you are the dude who thinks that BEG can catch OTP, an airport twice as busy. 😄
DeleteGive it a few years. Ju much stronger than Tarom.
DeleteIs the city of Belgrade going to double in population?
DeleteIs the national economy going to double in size?
It will still be smaller than Romania's.
Tarom is irrelevant for the growth of the airport.
As JU expands more Tarom becomes less significant player in the Balkans. Therefore BEG raises. OTP still strong but now weaker players. Simple probability theory.
DeleteAnonymous 12:29
DeleteSMFH...
Ryanair is missing in Belgrade
ReplyDeleteThey could fly to Manchester, Helsinki, Alicante, Dublin, Porto, Bratislava, Cologne, Paphos and many more
Stansted, Sofia, Otopeni.
DeleteEach airport is on its way specific.
DeleteMy opinion is that FR are losing big money because they do not take their portion of almost 8 million passengers market.
I don't think Ryanair is missing in Belgrade. Just compare BEG destination list to ZAG destination list and it will be crystal clear which airport needs another ULCC.
DeleteNo Ibiza, No Party.
ReplyDeleteHuh?
DeleteInteresting how Air Serbia sees Wizz as big competitor whereas Wizz states Air Serbia does not really impact them. They must have accepted that Air Serbia is protected by the state so there focus lies somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could have bothered reading why they said that.
DeleteAnon 14:25 is right. Anon 14:26 could have stated his opinion instead of outing himself as Air Serbia fanboy.
DeleteRight based on what? Your personal dislike of JU and Serbia? Did you bother to read Wizz Air's statement at all?
Delete"so there focus lies somewhere else"
DeleteYou are so right! They increased capacity by 190% in Belgrade, based a fourth plane, replaced all planes with A321s and launched 5 new routes. I don't think there has ever been a clearer example of their focus being elsewhere. Must be all the protectionism of Air Serbia.
Dont worry Jiri, Wizzair will have to ground a lot of NEOs due to the massive engine problems
ReplyDeleteLooks like it
Delete@ex yu,
ReplyDeletecan we expect to have Belgrade's numbers in August still today?
Yes, at around 18.00 CEST.
DeleteAnother bad day in Belgrade with regards to JU on time performance. Is it possible that after months they still can' t fix the issues?
ReplyDeleteBEG is not the topic of the day. Still, FR24 reports BEG in Green with only 0.4 disruption index.
DeleteWizz 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. We are always happy to compete. As long the cost base is low it’s always fine to compete"
ReplyDeleteWizz also had much lower cost base back in 2014-2016 but called Air Serbia "wannabe monopolist" during those times. So the "lower cost base" is not the honest answer from Wizz.
Again with your conspiricies. In 2014 the market was much smaller and poorer then it is today. I don't really understand what you want to prove? It is bizarre to say the least.
DeleteIt's not a conspiracy theory, just comparing Wizz quotes. Is it really change in cost base or airport management attitude towards Wizz?
DeleteOther than missing out on this obvious disinfo from Wizz, esteemed commentators also missed out on earlier statement from Air Serbia on fighting Wizz by "being wizzier than Wizz". Did they even bother to check if that strategy really worked and what Air Serbia actually did to make sure they are "wizzier"? Instead of talking about Wizz-Air Serbia tug of war, most comments were derailed by multiple Ryan in BEG comments. So sad.
ReplyDeleteCome on bring some direct flights to Helsinki or Tallinn...
ReplyDelete