Wizz Air has said it plans to further expand its operations from Serbia after it announced plans to station a fourth aircraft at its Belgrade base, a 239-seat Airbus A321neo, from May 23. In a statement, the airline noted, “Belgrade is very important to Wizz Air, and the company continues to expand with an additional one million seats to and from Serbia annually. These ongoing investments affirm Wizz Air's commitment to the Serbian market and support the ambitious "WIZZ 500" strategy and the airline’s goals regarding significantly improved connectivity between Serbia and other countries in Europe and beyond, offering more affordable travel options with over 600.000 seats available this summer”.
The airline is expected to gradually replace its existing three A320 aircraft based in the city with the larger A321s, returning to 2023 capacity levels. The low cost carrier added, “Since beginning operations in Serbia in 2010, Wizz Air has continually increased its investments in the country, recognising it as one of the most important markets for the airline. Today, Wizz Air operates a network of 22 routes in Serbia, connecting passengers to 25 destinations in thirteen countries. Thanks to sustained growth for over fourteen years, the airline now employs more than 150 people in Serbia and indirectly supports over 8.800 jobs in related sectors”.
Despite reducing its operations throughout most of 2024 due to required inspections on Pratt & Whittney engines on its Airbus A320neo-family fleet, which grounded over forty jets, the carrier said it was satisfied with its performance on the Serbian market last year. “Throughout 2024, the airline operated over 9.400 flights and carried more than 1.5 million passengers with a completion rate of 99.6%, one of the best results in the sector. Since our inaugural flight from Belgrade, Wizz Air has positioned itself as a favourite choice for affordable travel”.
They still have some holes in the schedule with the A321 they are adding. I'm guessing we will see either more new routes or more frequencies.
ReplyDeleteI think we may see some more routes. Fingers crossed.
DeleteActually if you read the text it says they plan to add 1 million extra seats on Serbian market. That is almost double current capacity. So my guess is maybe they base a plane in Nis and add one more in BEG.
DeleteThat would be fantastic.
Delete1 mil pax is 4 planes. 250k each.
DeleteThey do operate some flights with non based aircraft. London flight is operated with UK plane, Abu Dhabi with UAE plane...
DeleteThe additional LCA rotation in April and May is operated with a LCA based plane.
Delete1.5 million seats capacity from BEG based aircraft, additional million from other bases if they would only fly from BEG. Give or take 150-300 k. capacity from INI. Anyway bravo W6 👏🏻
DeleteTime for JU to wake up now again.
ReplyDeleteWhy? JU doesn’t sleep. JU has done a lot lately and continues to improve. Why should JU wake up because of 2 lines?
DeleteBecause there are more coming. But I agree with anon @9.03 that JU has done a lot in the last 2 years and has successfully competed against Wizz on many routes.
DeleteGreat news for Serbian consumers. Not such great news for Air Serbia.
DeleteJU is awake, they just need to be cautious. It's obvious that BEG is once again on W6's radar. They need to keep an eye on them and to keep on introducing E95s so that they can further densify their network from BEG.
DeleteJU needs to introduce a lot more than 1-2 E-Jets in its fleet.
DeleteThe massive cost advantage W6 has by flying 239 seat A321neo vs 144 seat JU A319ceo can only be overcome with better schedule and more frequencies to popular destinations.
Exactly. Flexibility can be their best selling advantage over W6. Air Serbia absolutely needs at least 5 E95 by next winter since they are not likely to have more than 2 this summer.
DeleteThey will have 6 with FB
DeleteYes but I was talking about E95s. Bulgarian ones are smaller E90s which are not good enough for many routes they operate.
DeleteThat's only 10 seats less. It would be great if LF is more than 90% on those routes, so that may affect services
DeleteI hope they include INI in their plans.
ReplyDelete@09:02
DeleteThey said "Serbian market", so INI makes sense.
1.5 million+ isn't so bad for last year.
ReplyDeleteLjubljana-Belgrade 😍
ReplyDeleteThat would be nice
DeleteYou might laugh but....Maribor
DeleteIf they launch flights to/from Maribor I highly doubt Belgrade will be the first route.
DeleteNo way anyone can fill A320 or A321 on BEG-MBX route. But both Maribor and Graz should be on ASL's watch list for ATRs. Štajerska is rich, yields will be nice and it is not very well connected with nearby airports (except by private cars)
DeleteBEG still needs to diversify LCC offer. Even if Wizz is 'committed' considering their word means little in the aviation industry.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey could work more closely with easyjet like at other VINCI airports.
Deleteeasyjet is actually known for asking airports a lot of money to fly there. They are just not so vocal as Ryanair.
DeleteA big capital like BEG needs much more LCCs.
DeleteBEG has over 30 based planes at their airport (JU+W6). This is a solid number for an airport of their size. Very few airports of that size have three based airlines that all operate successfully. Just look at Bucharest where RO is struggling big time and SOF where Bulgaria Air simply can't grow and become relevant. They are still operating only thanks to their owners who have deep pockets.
DeleteBEG has only 22 airlines serving it year round.
DeleteThat is less than SOF, OTP, TIA, SKG.
Yet BEG is ahead of both SKG and SOF... quality over quantity I guess.
DeleteI actually think Ryanair is badly needed in BEG. Look at what Ryanair achieved in ZAG in three years vs. Wizz Air in BEG for more than 10 years. Ridiculous.
DeleteRyanair managed to do all that in ZAG only because it's main competitor is OU. In Belgrade Wizz Air had to put up with JU which isn't giving up easy and which is harder to beat. That's why long-term, both the customers and the airport management can profit much more from the fight between W6 and JU than from the OU vs FR one.
DeleteI believe there is no room for a third player in BEG. There might be room for FR to launch several destinations but not to operate a base.
Belgrade has two major LCCs, Zagreb only one. It's Zagreb that needs Wizz
Delete@ Nemjee
DeleteA few FR routes from other basis planes would be more than fine and welcome addition to BEG.
Ryan needs to expand in INI not BEG
DeleteAnd... why?
DeleteI hope we could get several flights by Easy jet. They are much better than Ryan Air.
DeleteYes but Ryanair is cheaper which is more important for our market. I think several summer seasonal routes could do wonders. Then again they would be a welcomed addition on high volume routes such as Paris, Barcelona etc.
Delete..and then I woke up and remebered this, from just TWO months ago:
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/12/ryanair-with-no-plans-to-serve.html
Yes and if the next day BEG offered them massive discounts then they wouldn't stop praising BEG and Vinci as the best partner out there.
DeleteThey are just angry BEG is growing and prospering while ignoring them.
I don't see what else could Wizz add from BEG.
ReplyDeleteThere are still lots of options actually.
DeleteFor starters they can improve the number of frequencies. Very few destinations have daily flights.
DeleteI could also see them eventually launch BEG-VIE flights. The market is too big for them to ignore it. Same with ATH.
Beg-Vie would be such a great addition
DeleteBEG-TLV would be fantastic too. But they can't do that.
DeleteA lot of leisure destinations: Spain+Tenerife, More of Greece, Sicily, Vienna...
DeleteI presume they will rather start Brno or Bratislava, then Vienna. They could also start Helsinki, Reykjavik, Bremen, Manchester, Dublin
DeleteIf you know something, you would take a look at Skoplje airport.
Deletemore capacity and lower prices?!
DeleteHappy to see more connectivity from Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteAnd at the same time they are reducing Skopje :(
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they will expand in Skopje too but maybe in winter season or next summer.
DeleteIt keeps getting pushed hahahah
DeletePeople keep saying for a year now that they will expand in Skopje but it never happens, they just keep cutting routes :/
DeleteIf JU would have spare capacity, they could base one or two birds at SKP. That would help connectivity and tourism
DeleteINI base incoming.
ReplyDeleteReally?
DeleteThere's a lot of potential for growth there, and it would really help balance the service across Serbia.
DeleteThe more flights the merrier
ReplyDeleteThey are finally growing again from Belgrade. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI think LCA will get more frequencies as time goes by. Those three to four weekly they plan are definitely not enough to meet the growing demand.
ReplyDeleteNemjee what equipment are they using on the route?
DeleteI think the LCA route will be operated by an A320. However they rotate planes all the time in LCA.
DeleteNext 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+100
DeleteThat would make zero sense. OS and JU have 5 to 6 daily flights on BEG-VIE and they would butcher Wizz on the market. What W6 needs to do is launch their own flights from Belgrade to Vienna. However they need to make sure they do it with a very convenient schedule. For example to have a Sunday flight in the afternoon.
Delete''Attacking'' OS and JU by flying to Bratislava? Lol
DeleteOuch if this continues it will hurt Air Serbia big time! Which is good as they are becoming overly expensive and with a miserable quality level on many fronts. People will be glad to have more options and to be able to fly for cheap from Beg / Ini.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia is hardly expensive. I bought a return ticket to Lisbon with them for 60 euros two weeks agom
Delete@Anon 10:14
DeleteFully agree.
@Anon 10:16
DeleteFully agreed!!!
I also disagree that Air Serbia is expensive. It is one of the most affordable airlines in the regipn. Exception are P2P flights to Montebegro.
DeleteI heard somewhere that taxes alone amount to €70 per passengers on flights to Montenegro. I am not saying what the passenger is paying but the cost per passenger for the airline. Maybe it's time for the two governments to sit together and suspend certain taxes. Fares could go down quite fast.
DeleteObviously comment was made by someone who doesn't fly Air Serbia. Or used to fly long time ago.
Delete@11:16 My last flight was on January 11th so not so long ago, YU APO torn seat pocket
Deletenet in the seat in front of me (10C), delayed 50 minutes ..etc.
@10:16 That price was only during sale days, they needed some quick cash so that price is not relevant.
Their prices are more than affordable. Sales period or not. I guess Lufthansa that also had a promotional sale a few weeks back needed "quick cash" too.
Delete^ you don't understand. One needs to complain. Complain if tickets are being discounted, but also complain if they are not.
DeleteAir Serbia is cheaper than most legacy carrier from Belgrade. I always check Air Serbia and Austrian prices for Vienna, and it never happened that JU was more expensive, its always 10-30 EUR cheaper.
DeleteThat is the only way that they have passengers on VIE-BEG-VIE by being cheaper. Austrian JET AC service is not comparable to Air Serbia ATR's.
Delete^ you just make stuff up as you go and as you are proved wrong each and every time. Btw, Austrian uses ATRs on flights to Belgrade. Give it up alrrady, you are starting to look like a clown.
DeleteOK, you won, Anon 12.54. Bravo
DeleteI see double-daily flights to Barcelona.
ReplyDeleteΤhat would be bad for JU.
Delete^ they have proven to be more than capable of competing against Wizz and pushed them out of many routes, deapite you repeating the same line like a parrot.
DeleteThis is great news for Belgrade Airpotr!
DeleteBEG-ATH!!
ReplyDeleteAlicante new destination in BEG by Wizzair. Do you think BEG can operate other new Spanish cities?
ReplyDeleteYes. Seville or Malaga by Wizz. On top of that add Tenerife.
DeleteMálaga is operate by Air Serbia. So Tenerife and Sevilla
DeleteAdd Ibiza to the list since JU is struggling to find adequate slots. I wonder if Wizz Air is also trying to find good enough slots to launch it instead of JU.
DeleteTenerife perhaps in winter 2025 and Seville Summer 2026
DeleteJust add all of them: Grand Canaria, Tenerife both South and North, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma etc.
DeleteBilbao could be interesting addon
DeleteAbout Bilbao https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/04/air-serbia-sees-potential-for-more-new.html?m=1
DeleteGirona 2-3 pe
Delete*pw
DeleteWould be nice if they bring back flight from INI-VIE.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteVery interested to see what routes they launch next
ReplyDeleteBelgrade market you mean
ReplyDeleteBEG-PRG bi moralo konačno
ReplyDelete