Wizz Air has suspended ticket sales for three routes out of its Skopje base for the upcoming 2024/25 winter season, which begins on October 27, as the carrier’s A320-family neo fleet continues to undergo inspections due to manufacturing issues with its engines. As of last week, the airline is no longer accepting bookings past late October for flights from the Macedonian capital to Bremen, Copenhagen, and Stockholm Skavsta. Further changes to the network at this early stage remain possible. All three are likely to be restored in the summer of 2025. Services to Bremen and Stockholm Skavsta are currently maintained twice per week, while flights to Copenhagen run three times per week.
In addition to removing the three destinations from its Skopje network, the airline has reduced frequencies on a number of other routes out of the Macedonian capital for the upcoming winter, mostly by one weekly flight compared to its initial plans. However, a select number of destinations see an additional weekly flight, including London Luton, Beauvais, and Bratislava.
In a recent interview for the Financial Times, Wizz Air’s CEO, Joszef Varadi, has described the recent problems the airline has faced over engine inspections, supply chain issues, and geopolitics as “too many black swans”. The carrier has been disproportionately affected by the wars in Ukraine and Israel, as these countries make up a higher portion of its flight schedules than its rivals. In addition, unlike other airlines, Wizz decided not to hedge against swings in the price of oil before the war in Ukraine sent prices soaring, meaning it was exposed to rocketing fuel bills. Furthermore, Wizz Air is the worst impacted airline in Europe by the neo engine inspections, with around 20% of its fleet grounded. “Everything almost felt unprecedented, relative to what we had been going through before. And the real issue was that most of these matters actually were unique to us, unlike Covid that affected the entire industry. Crisis management has become a constant in the company. We used to be a very focused business, very focused management team but we have become even more focused, almost laser focused on some of the issues. We have really become micro-managers”, Mr Varadi said.
Not good. Two weeks ago Wizz changed timetable and for flights from BEGbin winter, changing days and times of operation
ReplyDeleteAnd they'll change it again in a few weeks time...
DeleteMy flight from Venice was also cancelled in November
DeleteWhy? Did they rebook you on TK or OS?
DeleteLol
DeleteScandinavian routes are very seasonal from all ex-yu markets
ReplyDeleteSurprised about CPH.
ReplyDeleteIt's a gastarbeiter route.
DeleteIndeed yes. I was celebrating new year in Copenhagen this year but i arrived in Malmo first, and as expected, it was full of diaspora. But, on my return flight which was from CPH i was shocked that not even one pax was a tourist returning from holiday, all of them 230 were diaspora. I didnt expect it for CPH, idk why.
DeleteScandinavian tourists prefer coastal destinations to travel unfortunately. And SKP as a city break destination has not been marketed at all in tie Nordics.
DeleteActually on many days they were more expensive than Austrian (via Vienna) on the SKP CPH route. Lucky for them, most passengers believe their low cost airline reputation and do not check other options.
DeleteI dont know, my flight on 02.01 was 15 euros and the plane was full 230/230. But we landed in SKG due to the fog in SKP and yes..
DeleteThat's true, almost all of my travels have been with Austrian because it's common for the Wizz Air tickets to be more expensive than with Austrian. I flew with Austrian two weeks ago and when we bought the tickets, Wizz Air was more expensive, around 15€ per person more than Austrian.
DeleteHope they reconsider
ReplyDeleteAnd here I was hoping they would grow this winter.
ReplyDeleteNext summer they will grow
DeletePity
ReplyDeleteThey have become so expensive from SKP since the summer cuts
ReplyDeleteYes because of this engine problems , they increase all flight tickets from SKP ...
DeleteI have flown with them 15 times in 2023 and this year and not even one ticket costed me over 60 euros.
DeleteIt all seemed like a dream while it lasted, now it's transforming into a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI wish Wizz would stop disrespecting SKP and commit to the growing demand over here.
This was expected because of the engine problems , we just didnt know which routes will be cutted .... but next year they will back to SKP like never before thats for sure.
Delete@09:42
DeleteOh the drama!
Lol they will be growing next summer. Calm down
DeleteOk president you are right they will not , you dreamed that last night I guess!
DeleteFirst they said it will be resolved until summer 2024, then winter 2024 and now summer 2025! Meanwhile PRN is thriving thanks to shady reiseburo airlines operating ancient planes.
DeleteDo you think that is so easy to check and repair 40 airplanes for couple months ? My friend that is heavy operations and could take up to a year or even more.
Delete@9.50
DeleteThey NEVER said. Read the news here. They said it would take 2 years from the start
Anonymous 10:03
DeleteΕxactly!
Anon 10.03
DeleteTHAT IS WHAT THEY SAID FOR ALL ENGINES. I am talking what they said about SKP!!!!!
They keep promising growth and then we only get cancellations because they are sending planes to other bases. Government must punish Wizz Air and bring Easy jet, GErmanwings or Ryan Air.
@09:52 It is not even 40 planes. I am following their situation. When one plane is finished with maintenance and enters in operation, another one which was operating until then it grounded. So they are keeping 40 planes grounded all the time, in the moment they have 46 actually.
Delete@11:05
DeleteLOL, you think they would make bigger cuts elsewhere in order to not reduce flying to the mega destination that is SKP?
Delulu is strong with this one!
12:02 well thats what I am trying to say , it is heavy operation and it will take time , I expected this scenario and even worse ..
Delete@12:05 In fact SKP is one of their strongest bases in their network, behind AUH, TIA, SOF, BUD, OTP, WAW, GDN, FCO and LTN and ahaid of LGW, WRO, KRK, KTW, DEB, VIE, VNO, MXP, VCE, NAP, CTA, BEG, VAR, CRA, SBU, TSR, IAS, KUT, LCA.
Delete@Anon 12:02 As of today they have 51 aircraft stored (besides the three stuck in Kyiv). And they rotate f. all, most of those aircraft are on ground since October/November/January tarped up and no one even touching them.
DeleteI ment 46 A321neo grounded, besides that they have three A321 and A320s stored and three A320neos grounded. Not all of them are stored since November, there are some stored in March, and most of them are in January.
DeleteHow on earth is it possible that TIA is 2nd after AUH???
DeleteThey just started flying there a few years ago, and Tirana isn't much bigger / more important at all than Skopje or other Balkan capitals.
Well this doesnt hurt that much but it is still bad , and could be worse for our luck its only 3 routes ... this is why the new government in our country need to start of working and bringing other airlines ...
ReplyDeleteGood chance for Air baltic connections to Copanhagen and Skastva :))
ReplyDeleteHope they extend flights into winter
DeleteThats why I am saying this is good chance for them to continue during winter , they will have pax for sure , this 2 routes are always with good load factor.
DeleteI think OU and OS offer much better connections to CPH than BT with their 2 weekly flights at odd hours.
DeleteAnd I also dont know what are the prices flying with Air baltic
DeleteAir Baltic is going bankrupt soon
DeleteYes Emirates as well.
Delete@09:53 They have an incresting pricing. If you try purchasing a ticket RIX-SKP-RIX you can find a reasonable price of 100-130 euros. But if you do the other way around, SKP-RIX-SKP then the prices go as high as 300 euros. I domt understand their strategy. If you are coming from Riga and returning for example on 20 May then the return ticket is around 50-60 euros. But if you start from SKP to RIX and back and if you go there on the exact same flight on May 20, the ticket is 130 euros and more.
Delete@10:57
DeleteLOL, sure they are Vladimir.
Do they know already what’s issue with engines?
ReplyDeleteApparently there is microplastic in the engines which damage the engine turbines. Apparently they found some cracks.
DeleteSKP is in stagnation mode as well. Only a bunch of seasonal vacational routes. Meanwhile PRN is literally on fire. As for CPH, there are now much more cheaper flights from SOF with both FR and W6. So, it might be tricky. Not to mention the absence of Gulf carriers. At least LH are still there.
ReplyDeleteThe possible solution is to reach out FR and launch SKP-STN and then base 1 aircraft with subsidies. Restore BCN, which is connected with cities even like Kishinev.
The market is too small for 2 players. If Ryanair comes, Wizz will pull out completely.
DeletePRN is on fire because they can only fly right now without visas. The rest of the region was there some ten years ago. Bigger problem for PRN is that the census is almost finished and they managed to report about 1 million people left in Kosovo. Less and less people so less and less market to fly.
DeleteExactly this million is generating more traffic.
DeleteWhy would i drive to SOF to catch a flight to CPH when we have three weekly to Malmo? Its a 20min ride with train.
DeletePeople who emigrated and who are going back home to Kosovo are stimulating this demand.
DeleteI think it is too early now to talk about their winter cancellations. Things can change with them over night. However i am not surprised for Skavsta, as it is far away from the real destination. Literally one month ago when i was checking the winter schedule CPH was increased on four weekly and now its gone.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAn opportunity for Ryanair to come to Skopje and potentially base one aircraft serving BCN, CPH, ARN, STN, PFO and PRG.
ReplyDeleteThey wont need to base an aircraft here in order to serve the routes you named above.
DeleteThat's why I added "potentially" if they want to expand after and launch destinations where there isn't a FR base such as LJU for example (even though they won't launch Ljubljana)
DeleteThey suspended CPH but MMX will be increased from three to five times per week. So its the same.
ReplyDeleteWe talked about this before in this forum, SKP put all of its eggs in 1 basket and relied on 1 airline generating 70% of its traffic. SKP did not make the effort to diversify, but chose to have closer ties with Wizzair. Zero effort to bring easyjet to expand or Ryanair or Volotea. SKP was in the comfort zone and now you have the consequences of being the sole airport with negative growth. You were warned and chose to ignore. That's it. Now, try and find and NEGOTIATE with new carriers if you already know Wizzair has fleet and engine problems. As usual, everything in Macedonia is always drama and drama....
ReplyDeleteNo other airline except Wizz Air has applied for subsidies until now, except for the last tender but none of them were LCC. Why would the airport negotiate with other lcc when they have W6? They tried once a couple of years ago when they denied the request of Wizz for the tender and W6 responded with suspending BCN and VXO as well as LTN-OHD. The airport is negotiating with other normal carriers who will launch normal routes but nothing has happend so far as usual. I noticed many times that TAV dosent care for the new gastro routes that Wizz launches over the time. But i agree with you, we cant rely on one airline with 70% market share.
DeleteNeed them to fly from Chopin airport to Bristol again. Or Exeter would be better, even Ryanair have stoped going to Bristol from Modlin
ReplyDeleteDo we think Malmö Ohrid will be back?
ReplyDeleteI think so, people would want to come. I've spent a ton of time in Ohrid and I've seen tourists from all over the world basically.
DeleteNo flight to Copenhagen, the plane is always full both ways 3 days a week… 365 days a year
ReplyDeleteTerrible decision
Personally I think that it’s too early for this to be official, and I think that at least Copenhagen will continue to operate normally.
Delete^ so they just randomly stop selling tickets
DeleteWell MMX is now five times per week, they can reduce it back to three times a week and return the two weekly to CPH. They wanted to increased CPH on four weekly this summer and reduce MMX on three weekly but it ended up the other way around.
Delete3 times a week does not equal 365 days a year.
DeleteRyanair needs to step up. Hope they do that as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteWizz is just exploiting the monopoly it hass in SKP, price wise as well. For example round trip to BER used to be 150€ June 2022, they upped that at least to double now.
ReplyDeleteIf you book your ticket two days before the flight dont expect cheap prices. I always book flight 8-6 weeks before the flight and the prices were as follows: SKP-MMX 10 euros, CPH-SKP 15 euros, SKP-HAM 35 euros, CPH-SKP 57 euros, SKP-BLQ-SKP 30 euros, SKP-VCE-SKP 35 euros, SKP-BLQ 45 euros with 10kg checked in luggage, MLA-SKP 65 euros with 10kg checked in luggage, TSF-SKP 25 euros.
DeleteYeah and you ever done this for the period June- August? Those months are with fixed high prices no matter how early you book.
DeleteAll of you people complaining about pricing are missing the point. Rising prices is a sign of a strong market. That means there's strong demand and the airline doesn't need to slash pricing in order to fill the planes. If the prices stay high long enough, then you can expect either expansion from existing airlines or new competitors entering the market.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that this page is commented by people from North Macedonia. So many find words for SKP and so many derogatory words for Priŝtina are clear. Why can't people accept that in Kosovo after the war people live better than most of the region. All good results in Prn are rejected and in Skopje are lamented or elevated. Use common sense when commenting.
ReplyDeleteI'm really really surprised about Skavsta (NYO). It's pretty close to Stockholm and the flights are often full. In mid-March I was supposed to fly NYO-SKP but the flight was overbooked so 7 passengers were denied boarding. I didn't expect the flight to be so full a random Thursday night in the middle of March.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me really surprised that they'd cancel it.