Capacity provider GP Aviation has become Pristina’s busiest airline, handling just over 900.000 passengers in 2024, overtaking Wizz Air, which came out on top the previous year. GP Aviation added close to 400.000 additional travellers year-on-year. A key factor in its success was securing access to high-demand routes to Switzerland. In 2024, the Bulgarian-registered carrier obtained authorisation to operate flights between Pristina and Switzerland, following a public tender aimed at designating a European Union-registered airline to fly between the two markets. Since Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, regulates air traffic rights through bilateral agreements and Pristina lacks a domestic carrier, Kosovo was permitted to assign an EU-based operator to bridge the regulatory gap.
Chair Airlines and easyJet positioned themselves as the second a third busiest carriers, with 540.000 and 505.000 travellers respectively. Wizz Air, which was last year Pristina’s busiest came only fourth, with 420.000 passengers, shedding over 100.000 customers year-on-year. Faced with fleet issues throughout much of last year, Wizz Air wiped out 100.000 seats from its Pristina flights compared to 2023, decreasing its overall capacity by 16.8%, while the number of operated flights declined 17.5%. Unlike in 2023, the airline did not operate from Pristina to Basel and Baden Baden last year.
Pristina Airport’s busiest airlines in 2024
Austrian Airlines overtook its Turkish counterpart to become the busiest legacy carrier operating out of Pristina, handling 150.000 passengers, an improvement on the 133.000 travellers the year before, despite capacity levels remaining unchanged. Pegasus Airlines outperformed Turkish Airlines to become the largest carrier operating between Turkey and Pristina. Overall, low cost carriers and flights sold through tour operators again took a leading role at the airport, which saw its busiest year on record in 2024. Pristina Airport was also the fastest growing in the former Yugoslavia last year, adding over 600.000 additional travellers on 2023.
Wizz losing out on all markets.
ReplyDeleteI used to fly Wizz Air from Pristina, but their schedule became unreliable. Looks like others felt the same way.
Delete734 classic can be more competitive in this case. Bravo GP Aviation
DeleteYes, very competitive 734 🤣
DeleteFlew GP the other week ZRH-PRN; "off-peak", the plane was full!
DeleteHow nanny planes does gp aviation have based in PRN?
ReplyDelete*many
DeleteI believe 2. They have a 3rd jet that was just delivered and was originally operated by JAL in the 90s before being delivered to various charter operators, but I think it's currently in storage
DeleteLZ-CRI is in Prishtina (the ex-JAL one)
DeleteLZ-GPA/LZ-GPB in service directly,
LZ-FBA/LZ-FBE/LZ-LAB/LZ-LAC/LZ-LAE/LZ-LAJ currently operating for GP from Bul Air/European Air Charter.
Congratulations gp aviation!
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of service do they provide on these charter tour operator airlines? Is it buy on board?
ReplyDeleteYes, GP does a food/(hot and cold) drink trolley and cigarette sales on board (cash only).
DeleteThis is probably the weirdest set of top 10 airlines at any airport in Europe
ReplyDeleteGood mix of airlines
DeleteThere is a big lack of legacy carriers.
Delete95% of traffic is gastos so nothing exciting to be expected here.
DeleteBetter without legacy carriers as their only legacy is to ripp off their passengers when they get a chance. And they added value of this so called legacy carriers is a free drink and maybe a sandwich. Is that really worth the price difference of 80 Euros?
DeletePRN did very well last year
ReplyDeleteReaders can also notice the word "subsidy" is missing from the article.
ReplyDeleteThere is a time and a place for subsidies, but not at the cost of simply transferring passengers from one airline to another, and certainly not at the cost of upsetting airlines that have served the airport for decades now, just to give a preferential treatment to a new player, who will then boast of the number of passengers and when it fails, it blames the airport for it's facilities, security equipment, fog, etc.
readers also notice that no other airport relies on shady local tour operators dominating the market
DeleteShady?! Tour operators that operate since ‘90-ties… ok “expert”
DeleteIi do not quite understand the post. If you talk about GP Aviation, it is true that they had canceled flights due to weather and delays due to airport facilities strikes etc. but fact is that so far they always brought passengers to their destination without the passenger buying a new ticket. When Swiss, Edelweiß or Wizz cancels your money is lost at best you get rebooked.
DeleteChair, Condor, Eurowings and Edelweiss all have nost seats sold through the tour operators from/to PRN.
ReplyDeleteWhy would someone buy a ticket through an operator to e.g. Edelweiss? Can buy a ticket via the webpage.
DeleteI think you get certain extras like free luggage when you do it through a tour operatir.
Deleteits more of a habit of the diaspora
DeleteKosovo is a particular market also Swiss, Austrian and Edelweiss can’t survive without Tour Operators. There is a rumor that GP Aviation owns a major tour operator. In a way same as Cvair does.
DeleteWhat's up with the rounded numbers? Looks strange
ReplyDeleteLast year GP Aviation also started selling their own tickets through their website which probably also helped. Although they operate for Prishtinaticket.
ReplyDeleteYes, this s very good
DeleteYes and they promised to introduce online check in soon as well.
DeleteExpected
ReplyDeleteThey have basically become the national carrier.
Deletehow do these tour operators compete with regular carriers, especially a LCC?
ReplyDeleteTour operators fly to main airports with included luggage.
DeleteThere is a bigest Touroperator behind Chair Airlines and Condor, resp.Air Prishtina with full capacity (99,9%) on both airlines. In addition around 60% of capacity of Erowings as well.
DeleteChair officially says it's name is Ch:air and stands for Switzerland Air. Ch is the official abbreviation for Switzerland.
Delete^ sorry my above comment was meant for a thread below.
DeleteIf an LCC opened a base in PRN numbers would skyrocket.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI doubt. I don’t think it would make a big difference
DeletePristina Airport is booming
ReplyDeleteso is emigration sadly
Delete+10000
DeleteAnon 11:18 where in balkans emigration is not booming?
DeleteChair Airlines is doing surprisingly well! I didn’t expect them to be ahead of Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteThey fly Switzerland-Pristina. You can't go wrong there.
DeleteFound out recently that Chair Airlines was founded by a Macedonian Albanian who lives in Switzerland, but originates from Skopje. I didn´t get the connection at first, as I thought it was Chair as in chair to sit, but it was named after the borough Chair in Skopje where the owner originally comes from.
Delete@12.07 the name was by invented by swiss agency Branders who also did the logo, if yu understand german: https://www.aerointernational.de/aviation-nachrichten/chair-airlines-eine-bewegte-unternehmensgeschichte.html
Deleteand has nothing to do with anything from the BAlkans
Yes, I happen to speak German and I also speak French btw, and in French Chair means meat.
DeleteSo, imo not a wise way to spend money to rebrand a company and call it after animal parts.
Fact remains, Shpend Ibrahimi, the CEO, was born in Chair Municipality in Skopje.
The fact remains that your rekla kazala comment about the name is complete nonsense.
DeleteWizz pulling out of Basel-Pristina is the most surprising thing ever
ReplyDeleteThey got their 3rd 737 this week, so more expansion incoming?
ReplyDeleteYes LZ-CRI is again with GP Aviation. 2020 started with three planes, 2021 increased to 4, 2023 to 5. Before Christmas and New Year holidays they increased the fleet to 8. Really interesting how things will develop. They also have A320 on wet-lease from European Air Charter ( now are 4 ). With this swiss airline , bulgarian airlines have great business in Kosovo.
DeleteI guess they would love to have more own planes. The current aviation market probably make it impossible to source more aircraft. Also to find the qualified personnel makes it a headache.
DeleteWhat happened with Paris?
ReplyDeleteYou can book but by kayak or this type of website, and the price is very high
DeleteWhich web site please? www.gp-aviation.net or the webpage of Pristinaticket ?
DeleteWhat are their next destination? What's possible? In my opinion Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Malmö, Milan, Rome, Verona( here we have big albanian diaspora), Barcelona why not, London, Brussels, Amsterdam they have potential for new destinations but if they have bows. Also is lj Trade Air close their base. One man in Croatia says that.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a bit expensive to have so many aircraft on wet lease? Either their flights are profitable to the skies or their lessors are sitting around saying "Come on, since they're so simple let's give them expensive planes"
ReplyDeleteReally don’t understand how this company is working, really hard to book by their website and the price is really high for Paris even when it’s not holiday
ReplyDeleteFrom January last year, Kosovo Airport has built a new corridor to the west through Albania. Before that, all flights went through N. Macedonia, but now they fly through Albania and Montenegro. The journey is shortened by 20 minutes, below tickets have become €8 cheaper.
DeleteCrazy high prices this airline provides , and it is normal because only the gasto using its service , there is no tourist or any other demand except the gasto people which is really sad..
ReplyDelete