Wizz Air plans to replace all stationed aircraft at its Belgrade and Skopje bases with A321neos in the coming period. The airline has gradually begun replacing its A320 fleet with A321neos in Belgrade, which will be expanded with the arrival of a fourth jet of the same type in June. “In the coming months, Wizz Air will boost its operations at Belgrade Airport by stationing a fourth Airbus A321. This move will see the entire Belgrade-based fleet upgraded to high-capacity Airbus A321neo aircraft, restoring overall capacity to 2023 levels and adding two new routes - to Alicante and Friedrichshafen”, Belgrade Airport said in a statement. During the peak summer travel period in July and August, Wizz Air’s capacity in Belgrade will grow by over 40% on last year.
The budget airline also plans to replace its A320 fleet with A321neos in Skopje by November this year. The carrier will introduce new routes from the Macedonian capital to Lyon and Barcelona next week, as well as Stuttgart in September. However, Wizz Air will continue to have fewer flights from Skopje this summer than last, with the airline no longer serving Salzburg, Copenhagen, Cologne, Budapest, Bremen and Skavsta, which were all operated last year. Jointly, the six routes accounted for fifteen weekly services last summer.
The development comes after Wizz Air was forced to ground a number of A320neo-family aircraft in late 2023 due to issues affecting the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines that power the aircraft type. During the disruption throughout 2024, Wizz Air reverted to deploying older A320ceo aircraft at its Belgrade and Skopje bases to maintain scheduled operations. With engine inspection delays easing and new aircraft deliveries resuming, the carrier is now proceeding with its long-term plan to modernise its fleet. The A321ceo and A321neo offer significantly more seating capacity, 230 and 239 respectively, compared to the 180-seat A320.
Interesting, thank you. Do we know how much capacity Wizz Air cut in March 2025 compared to March 2024 and the same for April 2025 vs. 2024? (BEG)
ReplyDeleteNot exactly sure but the capacity difference between a Wizz A320 and A321 is roughly 20% so this is definitely a very nice increase. Means we'll also see additional growth for Ljubljana on their Skopje route
DeleteIn March, capacity was down 2%. In April it is up 4%.
DeleteGod bless you Admin.
DeleteSo basically BEG is up 10% in April but Wizz Air is just 4%. Nice to see everyone growing at Nikola Tesla.
Excellent news
ReplyDeleteWe do love Wizz Air!
DeleteReally not so much!
DeleteUsed to like Wizz in the past, but they became a really unreliable airline.
DeleteIn Belgrade they were reliable for the past 2 years.
Delete"However, Wizz Air will continue to have fewer flights from Skopje this summer than last, with the airline no longer serving Salzburg, Copenhagen, Cologne, Budapest, Bremen and Skavsta,"
ReplyDeleteSo much for the minister's promises how Wizz will have a record number of destinations.
Well the minister can only do so much. It's up to the Macedonian traveling public to fill those seats and to make the routes profitable.
DeleteWizzAir cancelled all flights from Salzburg and Cologne due to fee disputes, not because SKP did not perform well.
DeleteMinistar je rekao da će WIZZ obnoviti liniju Ohrid-Basel. Dali neko zna šta će biti sa tom linijom?
DeleteI'm wondering if Wizz will add some more new routes from BEG because under current schedule there is room for more flights with current fleet.
ReplyDeleteProbably not since demand has gone soft over the protests. What they have now is impressive and enough for the time being.
DeleteI don't know what exactly you are basing that on? A 0.4% decrease in passengers in Match against capacity decline? Passenger numbers in April will grow 10%+
DeleteNo, capacity will grow 10%. We will have to wait to see actual passenger growth at BEG
DeleteWell anon 09:08 We just have got to wait and see about this 10%+ in April . I believe in a single digit moderate grow .
DeleteTFS would be a nice addition somewhere down the line.
DeleteTFN even better actually
DeleteI expect BEG to grow between 2% and 5% in April.
DeleteAnyone remember some experts here writing in the comments just months ago how Belgrade should ban Wizz Air because they shrunk for one year lol
ReplyDeleteNo, they should not be banned, but their taxes should be risen if their minimal agreed capacity falls under threshold. That's common procedure in all businesses, but how can you know anything about it, when you're not expert. Taxes money they should redeem with PrattWhitney engine experts
DeleteI doubt there is any "minimal agreed capacity" between the airport and Wizz.
DeleteOf course there is. On what basis they can ask for special prices then?
DeleteThey don't ask for special prices. They qualify for incentives based on the number of passengers they carry. If they fall below that number, they don't get the incentive. Simple.
DeleteSame thing. But Wizz and Ryan always ask for more than regular incentives
DeleteIt's not the same thing at all. The incentive program is applicable to everyone. If they added more passengers they would have more discounts. If the passenger numbers fall they have less. So there is no "minimal agreed capacity".
DeleteActually they need to handle at least 900.000 per year to get discounts from Nikola Tesla in Belgrade.
DeleteThreshold should be higher every year to maintain pax upgrade
DeleteAbout time
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a clear post-engine-crisis rebound. Wizz is stabilising operations and returning to growth mode in the Balkans.
ReplyDeleteVery happy o hear about this
ReplyDelete* to
DeleteWe all are.
DeleteThose are some high capacity A321s.
ReplyDeleteGreat news for both! That also means there will be more capacity on Skopje - Ljubljana! So 3 exyu airports will benefit from that.
ReplyDeleteHow many planes will there be in Skopje this summer and next winter? Is it still below 2023 levels?
ReplyDelete5 A321
DeleteHopefully more new routes to come
ReplyDeleteWill come 2026 👍
DeleteTime for Wizz to bring back BEG-RHO, it's a popular route that can work really well for them in summer.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for WIZZ to start Belgrade - Ljubljana
DeleteIf they open a base with a320 they could start Ljubljana - Belgrade, Ljubljana- podgorica and maybe even Ljubljana - Pristina.
DeleteI think JU is enough in RHO, even Aegean gave up on this market. It's not so big.
DeleteDon't forget there is also Sky Express with flights.
DeleteYes one weekly in the middle of the night for like 2 months. It's still much much less than what Aegean used to offer. I think it's better to hope for JU to keep on growing.
Delete@9.49
DeleteYes please!
How come they will have all A321s in BEG already this summer but in Skopje not untl winter?
ReplyDeleteBecause their market share in Skopje is over 60%. They have much less competition and can afford to have less capacity for longer.
DeleteI think it will be fair for another LCC to be introduced in SKP. Not sure how many more routes can be introduced by a new LCC, but healthy competition should make the market better.
Deletewhenever another LCC wanted to start flights from Skopje something happened. When Ryan wanted to start Skopje they suddenly changed plans and went to Nis. When Eurowings wanted to start Skopje they suspended sales and said demand was low. Hard to believe Wizz Air had nothing to do with this.
DeleteSmart move. And I believe that they will add more new routes
ReplyDeleteThey will add in 2026 but they will share them before the end of this year.Thats the time when they will have more planes ready for flying.
DeleteGood news, more seats, might push fares down as well.
ReplyDeleteAdditional capacity always pushes fares down.
DeleteSo Ljubljana is getting a double upgrade, 4x weekly flights in winter too and A321!
ReplyDeleteJust noticed an increase during the winter. A great way to start the day! :D
DeleteNotable capacity increase. Good job Wizz
ReplyDelete2026 would be full of increase and strong movements espeacilly in Macedonia.
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteI must say I'm surprised. I didn't see this coming this early on.
ReplyDeleteThis is expected. They said 2025 would still be slow because half of their planes are still under maintenance. But they expect all of this planes to be finished this year , and 2026 to start increases and also new routes especially in Macedonia.
DeleteIt's time for them to finally acquire a Macedonian AOC and start flights to places they can't currently because of bilateral restrictions. Even Varadi sad a few months ago how this is holding them back in SKP.
ReplyDeleteI think they should move their HQ from Budapest to Bitola.
DeleteA Macedonian AOC would cost them money. Too much to justify the opportunity of introducing maybe 2 or 3 routes they can't currently serve.
DeleteBut then they could launch Switzerland (ZRH, Geneva, Bern ...) plus Tel Aviv and Turkey.
DeletePeanuts in the grand scheme of things.
DeleteWizz can't land at Bern Airport. Their runway is too short.
DeleteOpening Macedonian AOC would not give them right to fly to Turkey. Most agreements with Turkey specify which airlines can operate and how much, of course Government backed are preferred.
I don't think couple of more routes (would bring enough revenue to cover the cost of a seperate AOC. Wishful thinking I say.
DeleteI don't get Wizz Air's decision with Belgrade-Friedrichshafen. Memmingen is cca 70km away.
ReplyDeleteFMM covers Bavaria, especially Munich, and north Austria and the city of Salzburg.
DeleteF/hafen covers southern Baden and a large chunk of Switzerland.
Two airports might be close in terms of km but in reality they are worlds apart. Yes.
They can catch more diaspora from East-Switzerland, which are using ZRH at the moment
DeleteSeems like Swiss is kind on ZRH-BEG. They fly three times per day and very often it's with A320 and A321. Air Serbia barely sends the A319, it's usually the E90.
DeleteFor Switzerland they use Basel. They should replace FDH to Bremen
DeleteWizz Air cannot fly from Belgrade to Switzerland because of bilateral agreement. They fly to Basel and use MLH IATA code, which counts as France.
Delete@12:52
DeleteAir Baltic A220's are quite common on the LX flights. It isn't uncommon to also see the Helvetic ERJ's. A321's is more in the summer months, but JU is also sending A320's to ZRH.
I am really very nicely surprised by some recent news from Wizz. A contrast from last year.
ReplyDeletePeople that weren't having a meltdown when they made capacity cuts were saying that Wizz would grow heavily in the region once the engine issue are sorted. The real growth in the region will happen next year.
DeleteThats what I said , this year would be same as 2024 with a little difference , the full power of Wizz is coming in 2026 , that year they will have almost all of their fleet ready for flying plus brand new planes arriving middle of 2026!!
DeleteThis is very good news. Wizz Air's load factor is usually upward of 85% no matter which aircraft they use. So this will boost passenger numbers nicely.
ReplyDeleteBravo BEG 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Wizz Air upgrading its fleet in Belgrade and Skopje! The A321neo is a much better experience for passengers and good news for the environment too.
ReplyDeleteStrictly speaking, Wizz reducing number of planes and flights was even better for the environment.
DeleteThe fleet upgrade is nice, but cutting six routes from Skopje is disappointing. Let’s hope they bring some of them back in the winter schedule.
ReplyDeletebigger planes but fewer destinations. Doesn’t sound like a win
DeleteCologne and Salzburg are cut from their network because of fee problems not because of SKP .. other routes from SKP will be restored.
DeleteWizz seems to be slowly rebuilding after the engine issues.
ReplyDeleteYes in 2026 they will have almost all under maintenance planes ready for service , plus arriving brand new planes middle of 2026
DeleteGreat news for Serbian consumers.
ReplyDeleteAll the best to Wizz . Wish them success so they will add more planes to both bases..
ReplyDeleteThey will add for sure 2026 ,under maintenance planes would be ready for use , plus brand new planes starting arriving middle of 2026.
DeleteBasicly this saying W6 would incease and back to some normal operations from Macedonia in 2026 , not 2025... and possibly seeing new routes could be also for 2026.
ReplyDeleteYes realisticly scenario.
DeleteSo they will have 5 A321 in SKP ?
ReplyDeleteYes by November 2025 , possibly in 2026 to see at least 1 or 2 new planes in SKP
DeleteHow it will affect total pax number at BEG airport at the end of the year?
ReplyDeleteBigger capacity means more passengers. BEG will have more than 9 million passengers this year.
DeleteBelgrade has to add 656 thousand passengers for the rest of this year to reach 9 million. For the whole 2024 it added 421 thousand.
Delete^ 626, not 656
DeleteI think BEG will be at around 8.8 million.
DeleteOnly Air Serbia will add more than 400.000 pax this year. And then there is Wizz Air. Nine million is realistic.
DeleteCan someone explain why wizz air is so expensive from Skopje ? Flights to rome and barcelona in september cost 100 and 150 euros, one way. There is a flight with easyjet to paris, same period, for only 30 euros.
ReplyDeleteThey have no competition on 99% of their Skopje routes.
DeleteIn comparison their flights to SKP this period are so cheap. It is september , it is summer peak month , almost all airlines tickets are expensive that period. Btw to Barcelona from which airport here in Ex-yu is cheaper then 100 euro?
Delete18:54 it is normal September is expensive month espeacilly for coast cities like Barcelona it is summer peak month. I check for May and June to Barcelona round trip flights are 130 to 150 euro for one person. Its all about the month as I said.Every airline try to earn money in summer peak season.
DeleteAlso my friend just come back before Easter from Dortmund for 50 euro one way ticket :))
DeleteWizz Air is also not cheap in Belgrade. That's usually the case when they do well in a market. Be happy, it means there would be growth in the future.
DeleteSo Skopje - Skavsta will not happen again?
ReplyDeleteWill happend while they put in operation most of there under maintenance planes , realistic scenario is some of the cut routes like Skastva to be resumed for winter ..
DeleteSkopje-Skavsta was always full. Is there any source hinting they'll resume?
DeleteThey are worth being a cargo transporters. Maybe not even that. Zero respect for the passenger rights.
ReplyDeleteSkopje-Larnaca, Skopje-Prague, Skopje-Crete, Skopje-Lisbon when?
ReplyDeleteTomorrow or the day after.
Delete