NEWS FLASH
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport registered its busiest October on record, handling 752.007 travellers, representing an increase of 1.1% on last year. The number of aircraft movements improved 0.6%. The slower passenger growth rate is mainly the result of Wizz Air, the airport’s second-largest airline, which has cut operations due to problems affecting its Airbus neo fleet. Wizz removed 14.5% of its year-on-year capacity this September, or 26.416 seats. During the January - October period, Belgrade Airport welcomed 7.175.614 travellers, representing an increase of 7.2% or an additional 481.499 passengers. Its growth streak is expected to come to an end in November, with the downturn estimated to run until February next year.
Belgrade's largest airlines by scheduled seat capacity, October 2024
So sad that BEG is tolerating this behavior by Wizz Air. Really unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteWhat should do with them? To say them this is not nice wgat are you doing?
DeleteTo allow other LCC, that's what they should do.
DeleteTotally agree that another LCC should serve BEG, not necessarily to have base there
DeleteLOL nothing is stopping them. Norwegian, EasyJet, Eurowings, Pegasus etc already fly to BEG.
DeleteW6 has already taken huge share of a LCC market from BEG. Any kind of direct competition with other LCC is pointless. On the other hand, planned growth of a W6 and FR will definitely make them direct competitors in future from BEG or ZAG. Both airlines will outgrown their markets!
DeleteHigh charges are preventing them. BEG can encourage them to launch new flights by giving them disounts. Why not offer discounts to FR to launch Alicante or Tenerife?
DeleteRyanair does not add an airport to its network for one to two routes.BEG has an incentive policy in place.
DeleteAh yes we can all see from the numbers above how successful their incentive policy is. Their numbers are absolutely booming, aren't they?
DeleteAnd btw Ryanair has a massive base in Alicante and they also have it in Tenerife. I don't know what you are going on about.
FR is not cost competitive to W6, old 737NG or MAX200 are both inefficient compared to a321NEO. Even MAX10 if it ever gets certified big is not cost efficient when compared to a321NEO. More and more countries don’t want FR, they will outgrow their negotiating power!
DeleteThe airport had growth of almost 30% in Q1 before Wizz had its issues and they have added over 2 million passengers since 2019. So you are very much overreacting. But I am not surprised. Even when their growth was at 30% all through last year people here were complaining.
DeleteRyanair is not going to add Belgrade to its netwprk just to serve it from 1 or two cities. Obviously you don't know very well how Ryanair works.
Ryanair will come and launch one route if that's what they can get from the airport. They are after the cheapest fares.
DeleteThey can easily launch 3 to 4 destinations if the airport gives them subsidies. However the airport did nothing to offset the cuts made by their two biggest customers. That's not ok.
No they won't launch one route.
DeleteAnd you know that because you asked FR?
DeleteDidn't FR launch one route from ZAG before announcing their base? I think it was MXP
DeleteNo they didn't. They immediately announced a base.
DeleteOf course they did. Stop making BS up.
Deletehttps://www.zagreb-airport.hr/business/newsroom/press-releases/ryanair-s-first-zagreb-flight-takes-off/689
You just proved my point. They first launched a few destinations and only then launched a base.
DeleteYou were claiming they launched one route. You make things up as tou go.
DeleteSo in December the decline is inevitable I would say
ReplyDeleteFrom November. Still they will have a record number of passengers.
DeleteExcept for Nice service launch, Air Serbia this year didn't fully seize the opportunity created by Wizz troubles. Their leadership spelled out range of headwinds they faced.
ReplyDeleteNow is the good time as ever for Air Serbia to lay out more specific plans for 2025 in terms of returning to double-digit growth. For Belgrade to get over 9M and push to 10M passengers, Air Serbia must resolve ongoing issues and get back to being primary force behind significant growth at BEG.
Won't happen as Marek is unable to stop pilots from leaving JU. They can't grow when they don't have pilots and Marek won't improve their work conditions.
DeleteNo one is coming to fly for JU as the offer is not good enough. Simple supply and demand issue.
DeleteIt's not that they are not coming, they are also leaving JU.
DeleteZAG will inveitably shrink the gap behind BEG this year, but so they did in 2015 and 2016 when it turned out to be just a small kink on the gap chart, not the reversal of the trend.
ReplyDeleteBefore they pop the champagne in Vrapče, keep in mind that doesn't mean much if W6 and JU go back to major growth next year.
^inevitably
DeleteLet's see what happens this winter with demand in Europe. Economy isn't doing that well and many airlines and airports are starting to struggle.
DeleteKL and LH have already made cuts to their network. The other day KL reduced AMS-MXP from 12 to just 7 this winter. Demand is shrinking in many places in the West.
Things are going down each months. 752.207 taken seats of 889.127 available. Too many empties.
ReplyDeleteCompare numbers at most Ex Yu airports or LF or Ex Yu based airlines and it's even worse.
DeleteBEG if wants growth, cannot afford to depend only on AirSerbia and WizzAir. They need to try to attract new companies in some way. Plus I am surprised to see just now that august had growth of 0.3% only.
ReplyDeleteWhat specific market do you think can be served that is not being served? I'm very curious
DeletePotential routes that can be served: Alicante, Tenerife, third airline to Barcelona, third player to Athens, return to Etihad, they could get Icelandair to KEF, third player to Vienna...
DeleteIcelandair to Keflavik.... People here are out of their minds and think any point on the map can work from Belgrade.
DeleteYou obviously have no clue how aviation works. Icelandair would not be after O&D but they would handle the transfer markets to North America. Please eduate yourself before attacking others.
DeleteFI operates a respectful hub at KEF, you should check it out. Their flight to KEF on the MAX would be shorte than FZ to DXB.
No one is going to use Icelandair to transfer to the US next to 3 daily Lufthansa, 3 daily Swiss. 3 daily Austrian flights. Icelandair does not launch a single route purely for transfers.
DeleteYou are so right, Icelandair flies to Nashville, Anchorage or Portland because of massive local demand from Iceland. The things you will read on here...
DeleteNo you idiot, there is big demand from the US to Iceland. In fact they are no 1 tourists in Iceland.
DeleteYes, especially from places like Missouri and Anchorage. Jajajaja
DeleteMaybe Vikings have their drakkars in Alaska so they fly regularly between the two.
They need to increase frequencies to Russia
ReplyDeleteHow when they do not have enough staff?
DeleteThis is not a catastrophe. It's temporary. Enough drama people.
ReplyDeleteIf there is no drama then nothing will change.
Delete^ You need a dose of reality
DeleteThe reality is in the table in the text, you should read it once more.
DeleteYeah I see the reality of the airport ending the year with 7% growth and record passenger numbers. You having a meltdown about it is another thing.
DeleteYou are failing to see that growth is because of H1. BEG literally did nothing to change that in H2.
DeleteAnd next year when growth in second half is +30% again you will find something else to complain about.
DeleteNo, I won't. Then I will be happy but not because the airport did something but rather because JU and W6 did their part. Airport is too lethargic and incompetent. Took them over 2 years to open a small shop in the check-in area.
DeleteAnd yet new carriers include China Southern, Hainan, Air Baltic, Air France, British Airways, Luxair, KLM and Sun d'Or. All came since VINCI took over. Some of them left but they came.
Delete