Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s abrupt decision to suspend and terminate several European routes, including services to Belgrade and Sarajevo, has created an opportunity for competitors to fill the gap. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways are the most likely carriers to step in. Both airlines could capitalise on the unmet demand, especially as passenger volumes between the Gulf and the Balkans continue to grow, driven by tourism, diaspora traffic and business links.
Etihad Airways is currently undergoing a wide-ranging network expansion, supported by record profitability and fleet growth following its post-restructuring transformation in recent years. Just last week, the airline announced its twentieth new destination within the past year. In Europe, Etihad has added Prague, Warsaw and Sochi to its network in 2025, with Krakow set to launch in 2026. The carrier last operated flights to Belgrade in October 2020. In 2019, Etihad carried 114.256 passengers on the daily Abu Dhabi - Belgrade route, achieving an average annual load factor of 87.2%. The strong performance was partly driven by its partnership with Air Serbia, which enabled the carrier to funnel a notable portion of Europe-bound passengers through Belgrade.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a joint venture between Sharjah-based Air Arabia and Etihad Airways, would likely attract a similar passenger profile to that of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. Within the region, the airline has previously served Sarajevo on a seasonal basis in 2021 and 2022. Abu Dhabi remains a key market for Sarajevo, despite the Bosnian capital’s already substantial connectivity to the Gulf region. In the past, Sarajevo Airport designated the Emirati capital as one of over twenty strategically important routes, making it eligible for government-backed subsidies. However, aside from Moscow, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi does not currently serve any European destinations, having largely left that market segment to Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. Instead, the airline has focused on expanding its Sharjah-based operations, recently announcing new routes to Prague, Munich and Warsaw Modlin, all set to launch this coming winter.
Air Serbia could also potentially return to the Gulf region by launching services to Abu Dhabi, where it would no longer face direct competition. The airline last operated flights to the Emirati capital in October 2017. Air Serbia has stated that its return to the Middle East is only “a matter of time”, although it is expected to first focus on markets closer to home, such as Israel, Lebanon, and Egypt in North Africa. Last month, the airline’s CEO, Jiri Marek, told EX-YU Aviation News, “It’s just a matter of time. These destinations are complex for many reasons, whether it’s airport slots, costs or overall risk. So yes, they’re definitely on our radar. However, we currently have other priorities where we see stronger profitability. That said, sooner or later, these routes will return. I can’t say exactly when, it all depends on the right opportunity”.
Air Arabia seems like a logical successor. Low fares, Gulf connections and a decent product. Plus, they’ve already flown to Sarajevo before. Just bring it back as year round this time.
ReplyDeleteYes but like the article says they only fly Moscow in Europe from AUH. Maybe now that Wizz is retreating we see them launch new routes.
DeleteSeems like a great opportunity for ASL!
DeleteAnd possible codeshare with EY for destinations in the east, Australia and Africa.
Does Air Arabia even have spare fleet capacity to launch the destinations Wizz is discontinuing?
DeleteAnon 09:07 They don't need to fly from AUH. Most people are going to Dubai anyway and SHJ is much closer.
DeleteIf Air Serbia doesn’t take advantage of this now, someone else definitely will. Huge missed opportunity if they stay on the sidelines.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn’t be surprised if Air Serbia jumped in with Abu Dhabi flights soon. Without Wizz there, the risk is lower and the route fits their regional ambitions. They just need aircraft and crew to spare
Delete+1
DeleteFully agree, they can even send an A330 which have lower utilization than the A319/320s.
The market is there and it is growing every year. It would be great to have such a route for the EXPO too.
JU could offer great connections to the region and the rest of the Balkans. Take fully the opportunity presented by the apparent collapse of Wizz Abu Dhabi and serve via BEG all those neighboring countries that Wizz is abandoning.
DeleteWhat do you guys think?
For sure JU could and should launch such a route. Wizz Abu Dhabi is flying 4 times a week with very high load factors and zero connections. Imagine what JU could do with its network.
DeleteDidn't kafič guy say Etihad will launch AUH-LJU?
ReplyDeleteHonestly surprised Wizz Air Abu Dhabi didn’t last longer on these routes.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a pity Wizz Abu Dhabi didn’t work out. But the market is clearly there.
DeleteWizz being Wizz
DeleteWhat is the reason of their failure? Engines?
DeleteEngines too.
DeletePrimarily engines, long turnaround and focus on European bases in the future
DeleteInteresting how Etihad is on the rise again. Their previous Belgrade route was very successful, largely thanks to the Air Serbia codeshare. Now that JU is stronger a relaunch could work even better.
ReplyDeleteEtihad coming back would add real value. Not just another low-cost option. That kind of quality and consistency is what the market needs.
DeleteHuge opportunity for Air Serbia!
ReplyDeleteAgree. It can establish itself on the route and make the rest thing twice about competing with them.
DeleteAir Serbia is almost always a step ahead of Wizz so I won't be surprised if they knew of W6 AUH restrictions for some time. This Marek's statement only confirm JU is serious about Middle East. But at the end of the day I would put my money on Etihad's return to BEG.
ReplyDeleteIf they are a step ahead they should launch this route soon before EY beats them to it.
DeleteJU needs to coordinate with EY in order this route.
DeleteEtihad is going full speed in Europe. Why not Belgrade again? Load factors were solid before.
ReplyDeleteI think we will we them back in BEG
DeleteThe way Wizz has left passengers in limbo with this network earthquake is truly disgusting.
ReplyDeleteIt's an LCC what did you expect?
DeleteThey really screwed over a lot of people. And no chance for fair compesation.
DeleteFor most people, their distant flights are still showing as operating so they can't claim any fair compensation.
DeleteDo agencies sell Dubai in the summer from Belgrade and in the summer, or are they mainly transfers and the Serbian community in the UAE during the summer season?
ReplyDeleteThey sell Dubai in the summer too. But a lot of people living in the UAE used this Wizz route.
DeletePeople claiming how JU should launch AUH need to get a grip. This isn't Geneva. It's a 13 hour rotation with significant costs.
ReplyDeleteTrue. You keep one plane busy on that route for almost a whole day.
Delete@Anon 09:20
DeleteIs it really a 13 hour rotation? I think flight time is around 5 hours.
So flight could depart BEG at around 20:00 and be back early in the morning to catch the morning wave of departures and offer great connections.
@09:23 no it is not! At worse is half a day and it can be during the night when a lot of A320s are parked.
DeleteFlight time of 5 hours means that rotation time is around 11h 30 min.
DeleteLeaving BEG at 20.00h would mean that plane is back at earliest 7.30h missing all early morning connections.
It can catch a good number of connections even if it arrives at 7:30. But it will arrive sooner since it won't need to be 1,5 to 2 hours on the ground in AUH in the middle of the night.
DeleteThis ''too long rotation'' obssession is getting ridiculous now
Delete@09:26
Delete8pm departure to AUH has nothing substantial for JU to connect on to in AUH (mostly EY's European routes) nor would the aircraft be back in time for their own wave in BEG.
@09:37
Arrival at 7:30 am misses the entire morning wave.
^ There is no point for the aircraft to spent two hours on the ground in AUH at this time of the night so it won't be arriving in BEG at 7:30 but before 7:00.
DeleteAnd yes it well be able to connect on a lot of flights.
Going with existing Wizz schedules to simulate a potential JU schedule:
DeleteBEG AUH 2000 0315+1
EY's entire wave has departed by then and the first EY connection isn't until 8am.
AUH BEG 0415 0800
1 hour ground time factored in for this schedule. The typical 45 minutes JU has on the A319/A320 doesn't change much, the arrival is still after the entire morning wave.
To catch the morning wave the aircraft needs to be back by 05:30 am, 6am is already pushing it with minimal connection times and missing the initial morning departures.
Ljubljana anyone?
ReplyDeleteAsk kafič guy.
Deleteyou mean the guy who told info for new routes way before anyone told you?
DeleteStill waiting for london...
DeleteStill waiting for london...
DeleteI think that nobody expected this scenario, so we won’t see new carrier on the routes just yet, at least not until summer 2026. This is not an intra European market, it could be really risky move for anyone, especially if airlines have further details why W6 failed so badly.
ReplyDeletePersonally I would love to see Etihad expand in the region, they have the biggest potential.
When it comes to JU, they should think twice about relaunching AUH. With their tight Euro Business class seats, no WiFi, no USB ports, they won’t be competitive as national carrier on the market. Sure they can dump prices and cooperate with EY, but they need a completely new product for medium haul flights.
The best example is ITA Airways deploying brand new A321 neos on its flights to UAE with real business class seats.
Wizz hadn’t business class at all
DeleteYes and we all saw how it ended. Imo it's crucial to have pax willing to pay a lot for good experience in business on such destinations.
DeleteDozens of airlines fly 4-5 hour sectors with just Eurobusiness class.
DeleteAnd they are doing just fine.
Just like Air Arabia does and it is flying to many destinations in Europe that are a lot longer than BEG is.
True, you also have Eurowings and Condor operating from Germany to Dubai. There is also air baltic flying Eurobusiness to Dubai and Aegean too.
DeleteReally hope someone jumps in
ReplyDeleteMy vote goes for Etihad
ReplyDeleteAir Arabia makes much more sense to capture the same type of passengers.
DeleteWizz fly everywhere and nowhere
ReplyDeleteGood description
DeleteThis is classic Wizz. Enter fast, dump fares and exit faster. Hopefully this teaches airports not to rely on them for strategic routes.
DeleteThe Balkan-Gulf market has matured a lot. There’s steady demand now not just seasonal spikes. Any airline that treats it seriously can build a sustainable operation.
ReplyDeleteAir Arabia should’ve never left Sarajevo to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThey not only axed Abu Dhabi-Sarajevo but Sharjah-Sarajevo too.
DeleteWizz made flying to the Gulf affordable
ReplyDeleteFlydubai is not that expensive
DeleteIs Air Arabia full LCC or hybrid?
ReplyDeleteFull LCC
DeleteThanks
DeleteThey fly to a lot of destinations in Europe, how can they do that AND be profitable without lie flat seats?
DeleteMaybe some of the experts here don't know what they are talking about...
Etihad coming back would be a real game changer. Especially if they bring in widebodies. Would give QR and FZ a run for their money.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteNow would be a great time for Belgrade Airport to offer incentives to Etihad for a comeback.
DeleteI'd rather see JU launching and profiting from this route.
DeleteAir Serbia and Etihad should jump in both. In collaboration / with code share.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteAir Serbia shouldn’t wait too long. They lost Abu Dhabi once. Now there’s no Wizz in the way. Perfect chance to return, even with lower frequency to start.
DeleteThey already have one in place, signed over a year ago and it never made sense as it offered 4 stop connections. (Example: SYD-AUH-ATH-BEG-SJJ)
DeleteThe way to make it make have more sense is to make Abu Dhabi - Belgrade a direct flight.
Interesting how Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is focusing on Central Europe from Sharjah but ignoring it from AUH.
ReplyDeleteEven funnier they are starting Modlin from Sharjah while already serving Chopin airport.
DeleteSharjah is their main hub, no surprise there
DeleteAir Arabia Abu Dhabi is a joint venture of the ADQ investment fund and Air Arabia. ADQ owns Etihad.
DeleteThose two had their territories carved a long time ago and in such a way that they don’t compete with one another
With Wizz gone, someone needs to step in and fast. There’s no shortage of demand.
ReplyDeleteIf JU does launch Abu Dhabi, which I doubt it will, it won't be before winter 2025/26.
ReplyDeleteThey are not going to start AUH. The route is too expensive and no one will fly with them for the fares they would need to charge to make it profitable.
DeleteThis is one of those rare moments where Air Serbia could actually “steal” back a market without facing a price war. They just need to move fast.
DeleteIs it known what prompted Wizz Abu Dhabi to cancel all these European routes from Abu Dhabi, and do it so suddenly without any wanring?
ReplyDeleteMost likely poor financial performance of the entire base with yields being the worst performing on European routes. You can't charge 100 euros return fares to Europe from the Middle East. They also have a lot of fleet issues with Leap engines unable to sustained conditions in the desert.
DeleteThey don't use LEAP engines but instead P&W GTF
DeleteIt’s hilarious EY suspended BEG in the first place with those kind of loads and passenger numbers.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not about loads but yields.
DeleteAnd the route was suspended during covid. After covid, Etihad had a shortage of aircraft and they are just about to return to the pre covid numbers.
They will return sooner or later…
Hopefully this finally pushes Etihad to restart Belgrade flights. The market is ready again.
DeleteWould love to see Air Arabia launch AUH-BEG but I doubt anyone will. FZ and TK will profit the most and that's it. Maybe Pegasus too but they are already full to BEG.
ReplyDeleteEY livery looks stunning on the 787.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAbu Dhabi flights from Sarajevo were always packed. I don’t understand how no one else sees the potential here.
ReplyDeleteBelgrade to Abu Dhabi had one of the highest load factors in Etihad’s network when it was pulled. With JU’s growth, that route is even more viable today.
ReplyDeleteKind of shocking that Zagreb isn’t even mentioned in these discussions. There’s demand.
ReplyDeleteAir Arabia Abu Dhabi could easily add Sarajevo and Belgrade. Low costs, high demand and no direct competition now that Wizz pulled out.
ReplyDelete