Low cost carrier Wizz Air has announced the addition of a fourth aircraft at its Belgrade base, a 239-seat Airbus A321neo, along with the introduction of two new routes - Friedrichshafen starting June 2 and Alicante from June 3, as well as a notable increase in capacity on existing services. "We are proud to be the market leader in Serbia, holding nearly a 70% share among low cost airlines, and we are delighted to bring back our fourth aircraft to Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade. This expansion will increase the number of flights on our seven existing routes and add 119.000 extra seats, boosting our capacity by almost 24% compared to the summer of 2024. This not only offers passengers more travel options but also contributes to the Serbian economy by creating jobs and supporting local tourism", Managing Director of Wizz Air Hungary, Roland Tischner, said
The carrier’s fourth jet will be stationed in the Serbian capital from May 23. It marks the return of a four-member fleet at its Belgrade base after more than a year. In 2024 the carrier decreased capacity and frequencies across its Belgrade network, as well as discontinue some routes due to a fleet shortage caused by inspections of Pratt & Whitney engines on some of its Airbus A320neo-family aircraft. Apart from the two new routes, Wizz Air is growing frequencies from Belgrade to Larnaca from three to four weekly starting April 1. Furthermore, starting May 23 it will increase frequencies from the Serbian capital to Basel from five weekly to daily, to Dortmund and Bergamo from four weekly to daily, to Rome and Malta from three to four weekly, as well as to Nice from two to three weekly.
Wizz Air will maintain flights from Belgrade to Friedrichshafen three times per week. The carrier previously served the route from May 2017 until January 2018, and again from July 2020 until January 2021, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Additional information can be viewed here. On the other hand, Alicante will be served from Belgrade for the first time on a scheduled basis. The airline will run three weekly rotations to the southeastern Spanish city. Further flight details can be found here.
Very nice indeed
ReplyDeleteBravo w6
DeleteFantastic to see Alicante, as well as Wizz growing in BEG again :)
ReplyDeleteFew months ago I mentioned Alicante as a perfect new addition to BEG. Nice to see Wizz being proactive on the Spanish market.
DeleteBravo Nemjee!
DeleteReally good catch :)
Thank you!
DeleteThe number of routes between Belgrade and Spain is now quite impressive.
ReplyDeleteSo now we have:
DeleteBarcelona, Madrid, Palma, Valencia, Malaga, Alicante and Ibiza if JU gets slots.
Impressive
DeleteThe network is impressive but the number of frequencies is not. Both airlines need to do a better job at boosting their presence especially to key markets in summer.
DeleteAgree with Nemjee
DeleteNext in line Tenerife, I think that W6 has it on radar.
DeleteFive years ago we barely had Madrid and Barcelona so this is a big improvement. I still think there is space for one or two more Spain routes from BEG.
DeleteI understand that Alicante is competition to JU's Valenica route. I also think that W6 could start Seville as a competition to very strong Malaga route.
DeleteWoow, let me pinch myself to see if I'm awake, Wizz is alive in Belgrade heey...This is great for starter, now they just need to carry on..Regarding Spain, Air Serbia should now introduce flights to Granada, for starter..Airport Federico Garcia Lorca is paying, giving big subsidies so why not..All tourist that go to Andalucia go to visit Granada, so this could be new start point instead of Malaga..Its close to Malaga, 2x weekly to Malaga, 2x to Granada, perfect...After that, they should consider Sevilla, Canary islands is questionable during summer months, but could work..
DeleteI think BCN has the same problem as LCA in summer. There is too much demand and not enough supply. Air Serbia should do its best to have double daily on A320 from May to the end of September.
DeleteWizz Air really played them well with Alicante especially since Air Serbia has always been the proactive one in Spain.
And why can't they run A330 to Barcelona?
Delete@19:19
Delete+1
One out of two daily flights in July, August could easily be on A330.
My guess is that due to a longer turnaround in BCN, connections would be lost on one end. You need at least 90 minutes for a widebody of that size.
DeleteNice. Will they replace the three A320s with A321s too?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteYou know that for a fact or?
DeleteUntil their fleet is mainly of A321neos, bases will continue to rotate between A320s and A321s. Once all A320s and A321s are phased out and we are left with only A320/21neos, then the majority of the times, especially during summer all BEG, SOF, SKP fleets will be with A321neo. However, depending on load factors, we will have A320neo rotating between bases as well. That’s how I see it. Even OTP gets occasionally A320s and it has A321s flying a lot out of OTP.
DeleteFINALLY ALICANTE-BELGRADE! It was about time, however I expected Air Serbia this a huge surprise
ReplyDeleteJudging by how fast fares are rising it seems like this was a sound business decision. A lot of flights in June are already selling for 11.000 RSD one way.
DeleteAbout time they do something other than cut flights. Good to see.
ReplyDeleteOh some people won't like this :D
ReplyDeleteWe all know who it is 🤣.
DeleteThere goes his W6 conspiracy theory...
Delete...and he really believed in it!
DeleteWasn't 2025 supposed be the year of gloom for BEG according to experts?
ReplyDeleteHe's not an expert.
DeleteGood to see A321 back!
ReplyDeleteNice that they are increasing frequencies. Quite a lot of Belgrade routes going daily.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIs this an increase in capacity in comparison with summer 2023 when they also had 4 airplanes, admin do you have an info?
ReplyDeleteReally good and important question, that should be the parameter.
DeleteThey finally remembered BEG needs boosting too. This is a good and a much needed move by the airline. Alicante is such a nice addition especially since it's a brand new destination from BEG.
ReplyDeleteWith BEG having a mediocre summer overall, this news comes as a breath of fresh air! Let's hope it pushes JU to be more proactive.
Now we need them to launch BEG-ATH next.
I just checked and in our region they fly to Alicante from BUD and SOF. BEG will be very competitive as it fills a big hole. I guess that's why they went big and introduced three weekly from the start.
I also thought that this finally might give Air Serbia a kick up the backside. last time Wizz Air expanded JU was quick to respond with big frequency increases.
DeleteAbsolutely, my guess is that they didn't expect Wizz would do this before summer. That's why they downsized their planned operations for the busy summer months.
DeleteNow that their bet has not paid off, let's hope they pull themselves together and find additional capacity to meet growing demand.
Well they still have one E195 coming which hasn't been scheduled anywhere. It could be used to increase frequencies.
DeleteJU will have 38 planes this summer. There's a lot of capacity to use
DeleteAir Serbia has a problem with pilots, planes are not such an issue for them. I still think they should have gotten one or two wet leased A320s for this summer.
DeleteA321 you mean.
DeleteI meant A320 but A321 would also make sense.
DeleteI think they will have 5xA320 from GetJet, like last summer
DeleteLooking at what demand is like, they could have added at least another one. They should have even painted them in the JU livery.
DeleteSOF - ALC is discontinued
DeleteI saw on it on their website. Interesting but if true then it's even better news for BEG.
DeleteThird time lucky from Friedrichshafen.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if BEG-ALC will affect JU's performance on BEG-VLC, considering that many pax booked tour packages which included coastal areas of Alicante and Benidorm.
ReplyDeleteVLC in summer is constantly full to the last seat. Air Serbia made the mistake by not adding capacity to this market. Now it's Wizz Air which will profit and which will get a whole new destination to themselves.
DeleteIt's good to see Wizz Air fight back in BEG.
Alicante is the busiest airport in the region and much bigger than Valencia so Wizz Air will fill the flights there easy
Delete@16:31 That is soo not true.. Valencia airport is much bigger than Alicante, hance being 5-6 times bigger city. I flew recently ( after fllod in Valencia) to both..
DeleteAlicante airport is 5 times bigger in capacity than Valencia. And the cathment area of Alicante airport is bigger than Valencia, Bilbao or Málaga. Besides is more touristic. Alicante handled 18,4 million PAX in 2024. More than Helsinki....
DeleteWizz is back!
ReplyDeleteHopefully this trend continues.
DeleteNext please restart flights from LJU (like CRL)
DeleteGreat news! More flights and destinations from Belgrade are always welcome. Alicante is a fantastic addition, especially for those looking to explore Spain’s coast.
ReplyDeleteNow we just need more competition on other routes to keep fares low.
ReplyDeleteGreat news for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport! Tiny reduction in January will be erased by increases in capacity during summer months where it counts. Wizz is boosting capacity by 24% compared to the summer of 2024 and Air Serbia is adding more capacity to operate flights.This year is shaping up to be another record-breaking for the airport.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember when Wizz Air started cutting BEG last year? Was it before summer?
DeleteIt was at the very start of summer season. From April
DeleteYes, it was before summer. First news about it were in March 2024, if I am not mistaken.
DeleteGreat, thank you. Then this is all even better. We can expect BEG to have a very good summer season.
DeleteWell this was a surprise
ReplyDeletePleasant one though
DeleteInteresting how in last few years there is more of an emphasis on leisure routes from BEG. I guess more and more people are travelling for vacations.
ReplyDeleteIndeed and gasto destinations are not performing as well as they once have. There is definitely less focus on them. There is more disposable income so people can travel more. Also Belgrade has invested a lot in promoting itself and on top of that we have the congress tourism which helps.
DeleteHow many destinations in Germany are now served from BEG?
ReplyDeleteThis summer:
DeleteEW DUS
JU BER
JU DUS
JU FRA
JU HAJ
JU HAM
JU NUE
JU STR
LH FRA
LH MUC
W6 BER
W6 DTM
W6 FKB
W6 FMM
W6 FDH
W6 HAM
12 routes in total if I counted correctly.
DeleteActually, I don't see the point of FDH, as Memmingen is so close. I think Bremen or Leipzig would fit a lot better
DeleteProbably not so much diaspora in Bremen and Leipzig.
DeleteFriedrichshafen is at the Swiss border.
DeleteLot of Swiss customers they get.
How easy is it to reach it from Zurich? I assume that's where most Serbs live.
DeleteNot very easy, you would have to use ferryboat. A lot faster and cheaper from Basel to Zurich.
DeleteBut not everyone in Switzerland lives in Zurich.
DeleteFor the ones living at Lake Constance Friedrichshafen is very convenient to use.
Most of Wizz Air destinations in random German villages makes me wanna vomit... Yeah, Alicante is nice, but usually, the list of Wizz Air new routes is one of the most boring things you can ever read in life.
ReplyDeleteWell random 'German villages' sell and there is demand for them.
DeleteFor your info, that German "village" has a population of an average Serbian town, e.g. Smederevo, Zrenjanin or Krusevac. Would you call any of these cities a village?
DeleteNonsense! German people live mostly in a villages, outside big cities. So you can not watch the city, but whole catchment area.
DeleteRegardless... The list of Wizz Air destinations from BEG is one of the most boring route networks you can find on any major European airport. If not of London, Larnaca and now Alicante, it would be really gruesome.
DeleteDon't forget that when it comes to flying outside the EU, there are many markets where they are limited by the bilateral. Montenegro, Turkey, Egypt... are all off limits to them. They could run quite an operation to these markets if they had a Serbian AOC.
DeleteI think they could easily operate double daily BEG-TIV in summer.
The list of Wizz Air destinations from BEG is one of the most boring route networks you can find on any major European airport. If not of London, Larnaca and now Alicante, it would be really gruesome. "
DeleteWizz Air is also flying from Belgrade to Lisbon, Rome FCO, Nice, Barcelona... they are all gruesome??? Are you okay?
Well, they did get an AOC in Ukraine, as well as UAE, Malta, the UK... They could if they wanted to. But no one pressured them do so, since that would mean what, paying taxes in Serbia?
DeleteNot sure how that works but due to the fact that they were never pressured to expand by obtaining an AOC, is making that Wizz Air has barely developed in Belgrade for 10 years almost +/- 1 aircraft. And they still don't pay taxes to Serbia, although they have a 'base' for whatever that means.
Btw, Israel and the Caucasus comes first to mind and not Turkey or Egypt. It's also a mystery as to why they do not expand to some obvious destinations within the EU such as Athens.
Local AOC would not mean they could fly anywhere they want automatically. For example neither to Turkey or Montenegro because in these bilateral there are designated carriers and for sure the government would not renegotiate bilaterals to include Wizz Air .
DeleteSo what is the reason for them not getting an AOC in a county where they have a 'base'?
DeleteBecause the Serbian government allowed them to. It would be political suicide to risk having them pack up and leave over the AOC.
DeleteThe reason why I mentioned those three markets because they have large demand from BEG, unlike the Caucasus and Israel. I am not saying there is no demand, just that it is tiny compared to the other three.
You remember how some experts here were recommending how Belgrade Airport management should "kick out Wizz Air", increase prices for them and threaten them. Lol.
ReplyDeleteYes, sound Balkan business logic... to threaten your second biggest customer and partner.
DeleteI don't remeber that. But I remember some saying how Ryan must be invited to BEG at any cost, as Wizz, as they said, gave up on BEG.
DeleteAlicante finally!
ReplyDeletewow that Wizz A320neo has almost the same number of seats as Air Serbia's A330-200.
ReplyDelete*A321neo
DeleteNo lie-flat beds, no business class, tightly packed economy, no cargo potential, 23 seats less, less lavatories, galley space, far less range.
DeleteYou dont say
DeleteFor someone "smart" enough to compare A321 to A330, I do.
DeleteI was just noting how densely packed Wizz's A321 is. Nothing more. Calm down.
DeleteWorth noticing some Air Transat A330-200s have 345 seats.
DeleteNow that's a sardine can.
DeleteWizz A321neo 239 seat config can't be described as spacious either.
DeleteI don't think anyone is doing it - describing it as spacious. It's an efficient way to lower CASM.
Delete...and so is TS A332. So what?
DeleteWonder if they will keep Alicante year round
ReplyDeleteThey will! It's on sale for winter.
DeleteIt's Wizz
DeleteAdmin,
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to write: PRVI OBJAVLJUJEMO! 🤮
Of course, it is just a joke. It is good you didn't write it.
+1
DeleteFinally!
ReplyDeleteNow JU has to react.
Increasing Madrid to daily would be a good start.
They are increasing it from 4 to five weekly. Honestly what does Alicante route have to do with Madrid? Completely different passenger structure.
DeleteAnon 19:21 Asking for MAD daily for the 3rd time this week. Provided explanation every time. You okay?
DeleteMaybe because in Madrid they have no competition as they have in all that coastal destinations by Wizz..?
DeleteWhat competition in all those coastal destinations by Wizz? Air Serbia and Wizz compete only in Barcelona, not in Malaga, Valencia, and Palma if you consider that coastal. Best wishes for your quick recovery.
DeleteIt's about JU being exposed in those markets. Wizz Air was smart to introduce Alicante as three weekly. They know JU doesn't have the resources to match their frequencies and it makes no sense to launch 2 weekly. They are safe over there.
DeleteFor example, if JU had 4 or 5 weekly to places like VLC or AGP then it would be harder for Wizz to enter the market and to remain competitive.
Boosting MAD to daily makes sense especially since it's a solid performer for them. Biggest problem for JU is scheduling. It's too long to fit into your regular roations so they have to be creative with scheduling. Similar to LCA which leaves at 10.20.
If any aurline doesn't have resources, it's Wizz with dozens of benched aircraft.
DeleteDaily flights to Madrid would also be a prerequisite for a possible codesharing with Iberia.
DeleteAs Iberia would never fly themselves to Serbia..
IB has plenty of flights to Croatia but doesn't codeshare with OU. Daily flights JU to MAD is obviously not a prerequisite for JU/IB codesharing. I keep reading this nonsense about daily MAD flights and proponents are just sinking deeper and deeper into a hole they dug.
DeleteMAD needs daily flights, not because of an IB codeshare but rather because the market is big enough. There is obviously enough O&D since flights seem to be full. When you add transfers you realized that JU could do even better.
DeleteIn my opinion, JU needs daily flights to MAD because of its own hub in Belgrade so as further boost their profitabilty and overall competitiveness.
If it's obvious show us some evidence. Why would Air Serbia send much more capacity to nearby BCN but for some mysterious reason only known to you, not to MAD? What are O&D numbers between MAD-BEG and BCN-BEG, Nemjee? It's your time to shine.
Delete239 seats on a narrow body is wild
ReplyDeleteWhat about Niš?
ReplyDeleteWe need more routes from there
I think also Tenerife or Fuerteventura can work well seasonaly, because in Zagreb Ryanair have good numbers to Lanzarote.
ReplyDeleteIt would be fantastic if WizzAir would bring back flights between Belgrade and Charleroi. :)
ReplyDelete