Wizz Air has scheduled the launch of 37 new routes from cities in the former Yugoslavia next year, with further announcements expected after the airline yesterday unveiled an additional four services from the region. These include flights from Belgrade to Pisa and Chania, the latter replacing its seasonal Heraklion service, as well as new routes from Dubrovnik to Gdansk and from Pristina to Rome Fiumicino, which will resume after a four-year hiatus. Over the course of next year, the carrier will also base a second aircraft at its recently reopened Tuzla base and launch a new two-aircraft base in Podgorica.
| Route | Launch date |
|---|---|
| Gdansk - Dubrovnik | JUN 7 |
| Belgrade - Chania | JUN 8 |
| Belgrade - Pisa | JUN 9 |
| Rome - Pristina | SEP 22 |
Click on link for flight details
Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, held talks with his counterpart at Skopje Airport, Nejat Kurt, late last month. Following the discussions, the airport noted, “We look forward to continued cooperation and future opportunities for improving connectivity for our passengers”. The airport is targeting services to Finland and Denmark, as well as greater connectivity to Spain and the United Kingdom. Skopje Airport was previously linked to Finland through Wizz Air flights to Turku, which operated between 2019 and 2022. Services to the Danish capital of Copenhagen were also served by Wizz Air from 2016 until October of last year. The low cost airline has already scheduled additional new routes from the Macedonian capital for next year with the introduction of Budapest and Naples.
The budget carrier is steadily growing its presence at its Belgrade base as well. The airline has now scheduled three new routes from the Serbian capital for next year, with a greater focus on leisure-oriented destinations, rather than traditional visiting friends and relatives routes. “Our goal is to continue expanding the range of destinations available from Belgrade, while also strengthening connectivity between Serbia and Europe’s key tourist destinations. We look forward to welcoming passengers on these new routes and remain committed to delivering a high-quality service in line with Wizz Air’s well-established standards”, Anastasia Novak, Corporate & Sustainability Communications Manager at Wizz Air said.
Wizz Air is also expanding in Croatia, a market it has traditionally had a limited presence in. The airline has announced a trio of new routes from Poland to Rijeka, adding the city to its network for the first time. “We are proud to welcome Rijeka as a new station in the Wizz Air network. Rijeka offers the perfect combination of beaches, culture and gastronomy - and thanks to our direct flights, it is now even easier to reach”, Wizz Air’s Corporate Communications Manager, Salvatore Gabriele Imperiale, said. The development is significant for Rijeka as it will bring over 65.000 new seats for the airport.
They'll fly to anywhere but Ljubljana :D
ReplyDeleteThey seemingly reduced SKP-LJU to 3x weekly for the summer season
DeleteSKP-LJU is doing amazing, for the summer there is still alot of time ahead , even if stays with 3x weekly it is still one of the most busiest and highest LF Wizz air route in the Ex-yu region
DeleteDo we think its because they are using A321neo instead of A320s now?
DeletePossible to be yes they are sending A321 now I forgot mentioning that... anyway they are handling 7 to 8k passengers every single month
DeleteOn the other hand, next winter they scheduled 5x weekly flights
DeleteSchedules getting changes all the time ....
DeleteDoesnt make sense summer to be 3x and winter 5x , there will be changes in summer schedule for sure
DeleteDoesnt make sense summer to be 3x and winter 5x , there will be changes in summer schedule for sure
DeleteWithout subsidies, where could Wizz realisticly fly to from Ljubljana? London?
Delete@9.15 more likely changes in winter.
DeleteWould be great if we got LTN back, the prices with EasyJet are 150€+ for one way already...I hope if we don't get LTN that EasyJet sees that the flights are full and adds second daily rotation. Other than that, Bucharest and Larnaca as well as Brussels are logical.
Delete09:22 thats why I said , changes remain possible all the times , especially for next winter , long time ahead , but with the A321 I think 3x weekly is enough max 4x
DeleteeasyJet is not 150 euros to Ljubljana. I just booked a ticket for 22 euros.
Deleteah the same "discussion" as before last winter season = the wet dreams SKP to be reduced
Delete^ well they just reduced summer.
DeleteAnn 10:14... from 1st of June to 1st of October the cheapest one way ticket is 70€, but most of them are 150€ one way.
DeleteYou probably booked January, February flights didn't you
@11.29 they didnt reduce February like other routes but will reduce summer? wishful thinking
Delete^ It has nothing to do with wishful thinking. Check their website and you will see that they have removed two weekly flights in summer and will have 3.
DeleteMaybe they will add more flights when LJU base is established, with LJU based aircraft. ;-)
DeleteThat emoji is familiar...is this the same guy as the EDI and MAN flights guy?
DeleteIf it is the EDI guy, a Wizz base in LJU would be phenomenal, even if they just launch 3 to 4 new routes.
Delete37 new routes wow
ReplyDeleteAnd more to come
DeleteAnd ryanair cutting the same number across Europe😂
Delete^ you keep saying that but should keep in mind how much Wizz Air cut over the past few years.
DeleteWizs air maybe cut in the past now it is growing rapidly , I am saying truth I dit not say this without reason, and the reality is they grow ans ryanair going down
DeleteRyanair is larger than Wizz Air in almost all European markets. Wizz Air closed numerous bases over the past few years with a number of unsuccessful ventures including the Abu Dhabi base.
DeleteForget about abu dhabi , just see ryanair every day close routes across europe and wizz air grow , leave past behind us look what is happening now
DeleteHad Ryanair announced SKP flights you would be celebrating them lol. Ryanair has been announcing new routes. It's just out of your sphere of interest.
DeleteI dont want to see Ryanair in Skopje brother 🇲🇰🇭🇺
DeleteRyanair announcing as same as they cut...
DeleteWizz air is present 15 years in Macedonia , we dont need any experiments with Ryanair
Delete@09:14 be thankful for what you have. Ryanair would be a great addition for N.Macedonia.
DeleteWizz keeps expanding and contracting in cycles. We’ve seen this movie before
DeleteMore routes out of Macedonia is coming
ReplyDeleteI think they will return Copenhagen from Skopje , just wondering what they can add from Spain and UK🤔
ReplyDeleteFrom UK nothing
DeleteWhy ?
DeleteThis lovely little thing called visas
DeleteNice. They should think of starting the routes a bit earlier, specially those Mediterranean. At least in Serbia people like visiting it even in May (good prices, not so hot and crowded...)
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt appears that Wizz Air will serve *both* Vienna and Bratislava, too. Significantly reduce the number of flights from Vienna, but not discontinue the route.
ReplyDeleteVienna will be discontinued in March 2026
DeleteWizz Air has just loaded flights until March 2027 on VIE-PRN route, although they are no longer daily.
DeleteIf you know more, please share. I'm going with what's publicly available and verifiable.
@09:26
DeleteThey mirror the flight schedule to Bratislava - yet keep 'Vienna' for the optics.
Try booking Vienna after March - it will show as "BTS -Bratislava" Airport...
I stand corrected!
DeleteI did just that, and while the page header states PRN-VIE return, in much smaller text the destination is Bratislava. Sure, you see Bratislava as you book, but still vould lead to a consumer protection complaint.
BEG-Greece seems to be a really difficult market for them. They failed in Rhodes, Santorini and now Heraklion. Seems like they are throwing mud at the wall only to see what sticks.
ReplyDeleteIf they failed in HER and are replacing them with CHQ, then I don't see why they expect anything to change.
What's even more interesting is that, despite failing in Greece, they seem to be doing well in other leisure markets like Cyprus, Spain or even Italy. I guess that tour operators are not as dominant in those markets as they are in Greece.
Seems that slowly Air Serbia is beating them in Greece. They seem to be consolidating their position after beating Aegean as well.
There is probably more demand from agencies to CHQ than to HER.
DeleteThey were lazy to offer leisure back in the day and they're now a bit late to the party. They kept me going to their Timisoara and Budapest leisure flights for years and failed to fully catch the shift toward BEG. Air Serbia is truly wizzier than wizz in leisure department which is nuts. Even these launches are meh (JU again scheduled more leisure and more relevant leisure).
DeleteI guess time will tell but so far their result in Greece has been rather bad.
DeleteEven (seasonal) flights to ATH are becoming increasingly difficult given the growth of both JU and A3. In the end they will face a similar situation as with VIE/BTS.
Anon 09.23
DeleteYes but JU has the advantage of being the local carrier. Air Serbia inherited a whole bunch of agency contracts from the Jat Airways era.
That said, it doesn't change the fact that Wizz Air is struggling in Greece while doing relatively well in other leisure markets. For example, last summer they had 8 weekly to LCA on the A321. I think they might have offered more seats than JU.
Sure, they are commited to Larnaca, don't know when it was launched but I think it's quite seasoned route. And they were there at the moment of growing demand which is not just luck but good decision. On the other hand, they should have Barcelona with same frequencies for years now and they should be the one to introduce destinations such as Malaga, Palermo, Tenerife... Greece is "sui generis" for JU, it's the airline of choice for this market not just an airline of necessity, which is the best possible position.
DeleteIt has nothing to do with being late to the party, it's about their strategy with these routes.
DeleteThey obviously fail with pricing and/or flight times and density.
Nobody books flights with JU only because they started some route before W6.
@Nemjee
DeleteNo wonder they failed in Greece so far. CHQ-BEG (August '26) arrives in 02 am. Families with little kids even teenagers gonna avoid them.
Sky Express was flying charters BEG-HER last year, maybe they got most of the travel agencies seats and W6 was forced to retreat.
DeleteNo, JU got most of the travel agency seats.
Delete@Anonymous 09:40
DeleteExactly! Which hotel is going to check you in at 03:00AM?
Why would they need a hotel in Belgrade?
DeleteAnon 11.22
DeleteDidn't Sky Express fly from Rhodes to Belgrade?
@Anonymous 11:54
DeleteHER too.
https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/skyexpress-heraklion-belgrade.html
@Anonymous 11:35
That's the time they arrive in Greece.
I am sure whoever books these flights has made hotel arrangements beforehand. HER has a lot of middle of the night arrivals guys.
Delete@12:10 The flight arrives at 00:30
DeleteSure but you lose hald a day like that while paying for your room to wait for you.
DeleteYes but for many it means taking one day less for your holidays. They can leave right after work and wake up in the morning in beautiful Crete.
DeleteJU arrives after 15.00 so you waste half a day. You can't be in your hotel before 17.00.
@Anon 11:29
DeleteMy original comment was on arriving time in BEG, it's 2 am if flight is on time. You must check out at your accommodation until 11 am, 14 am at the best, the day before. So you have to spend somewhere at least 10 exciting hours with your family and luggage. And arrive home at dawn. Not gonna work for me.
^
Delete+1000
My original comment at 09:40 was on arriving time at BEG.
DeleteI would have to check out in accommodation till 11h, leaving me exciting half a day to spend somewhere with family and luggage. And arrive home at dawn next day.
I would say that they are coming back to Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteHow u realise that ?
DeleteBack?
DeleteThey never were there.
Wizz have operated from Zagreb in the past. london and Dortmund spring to mind
DeleteHope to see BEG- LPA once weekly, in near future.
ReplyDeleteAny addition tipped for INI?
ReplyDeleteThey just launched Bratislava and they start Dortmund on 5 January.
DeleteBig win for the region. 37 new routes is no small number, especially with new bases in Podgorica and more aircraft in Tuzla.
ReplyDeleteWizz is clearly betting big on the Balkans again.
DeleteBalkan is from always in Wizz air network , traditionally
DeleteFinally some proper leisure routes from Belgrade from them. Pisa and Chania make a lot more sense than endless secondary German cities.
ReplyDeleteBelgrade’s network is becoming increasingly leisure-focused. Good for outbound traffic, less so for year-round connectivity.
DeleteIts hard to argue that any city in Germany is "secondary" in comparison to some of those they are linked with..
DeleteWizz is becoming less inovative in Belgrade. They are basically after Air Serbia destinations, either directly as in Crete or nearby airport as with Pisa vs Florence.
Delete@11:48
DeleteThat is where the demand is.
How is Air Serbia able to identify new demand as seen yesterday but Wizz wasn't able to identify demand to new areas such as Canary Islands?
Delete^ I'm not sure I understand what the problem is. Both serving a popular destination means more choice and hopefully non monopoly type ticket prices.
DeleteBoth serving a popular destination means one will not be doing that next year.
DeleteWhy? If it's a popular place there is room for both.
DeleteAnd competition is a great thing for travelers.
You are looking for problem where there isn't one.
Wizz Air doesn't want to risk, pure and simple. Besides, they have the vested interest of keeping some routes only from Budapest.
DeleteGreat to see Rijeka finally getting low-cost attention. 65,000 seats is huge for RJK.
ReplyDeleteGood for Rijeka, but where is Zadar in Wizz’s plans?
DeleteZadar is a Ryanair fortress. They have a share of something like 80% there.
DeleteIf RJK had proper management and had TZ, the city and county been just bit interested, RJK could have had long gone one Wizz plane based year-round and additional one during summer season, with flights to Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Luton or Gatwick, Oslo or Sandefjord, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Orly, Madrid, Hannover, Nurnberg, Gdansk, Lublin, Katowice, Warsaw, Bucharest, Sofia, Burgas, Prague, Rome, Skopje, Dubrovnik...
DeleteRijeka as a city has one of the most favorable positions in the region (it was a wishful thinking for every power left and right), but Rijeka as an airport not so much...
DeleteWooden stove?
DeleteFairytales
Delete37 routes sounds impressive, but many are only 2x weekly summer services.
ReplyDeleteWell much of the travel in the region is seasonal. Its not realised for flights from Poland to Rijeka in January now is it.
Delete2x weekly on a 240 seat A321neo is 480 seats each way.
DeleteThat is similar capacity to 5 E-90 flights.
I'm confused, why is it 37 new routes, but only 4 are listed?
ReplyDeleteOther routes have be announced previously. These are from the last couple of days.
Deletewas too but it probably includes Podgorica and Tuzla flights
DeleteThe four routes announced yesterday are listed. The carrier currently has 37 new routes scheduled from former Yugoslav markets next year. All 34 routes previously announced were covered in separate articles. You can view their schedules on the right hand side of the home page in the "New Routes Launches" section.
Deletehoping for RJK-SKP
ReplyDeleteNot possible as already SPU is served seasonally , and you have ZAG , I mean I wish more routes to Croatian coast too , but I dont think this is realistic
DeleteThey should launch SJJ-LJU. I'm sure that some kind of W-flight solution can be achieved.
ReplyDeleteBEG-LJU is a much bigger priority my friend. Air Serbia refuses to grow and they charge €200 for a return ticket on the Atr.
DeleteSarajevo - Ljubljana seem highly unlikely for a LCC. Buses serve this route just fine, as do private cars which is the most useful way to travel between the two.
DeleteSJJ-LJU too close airports , no airline will have any economic sustaim from this, they will need to put expensive tickets , so everyone will avoid and travel by car as the distance is reasonable
DeleteI dont really get why WIZZ is always and almost only competing with JU on destinations. There is plenty of destinations to be launched from BEG. They could launch Nantes and Bordeaux in France, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan in Poland, Lamezia Terme in Italy, Batumi in Georgia, Azores/Madeira in Portugal, Bilbao in Spain, Bergen in Norway, Helsinki in Finland (even though they dont fly to HEL at all). Come on guys think outside of the box like you did with Alicante. Dont get me wrong, competitiom is good, but I wish legacy carrier to compete for major destinations and LCC carriers to compete for secondary destinations.
ReplyDeleteIf I may, what makes you think routes like Belgrade-Wroclaw, Nantes etc would work with 239 seater A321? Alicante is a year round Mediterranean tourism hotspot so far from comparable.
DeleteAll of the destinations you mentioned are not able to fill a 240 seat A321 neo that W6 is going to operate exclusively as soon as it can.
DeleteThey all seem like destinations much more fitting for the E-jets.
Wish JU would go for these sooner rather than later cause they all seem like valid destinations with good potential.