Low cost carriers Eurowings and Norwegian have made additional reductions to their networks across former Yugoslav markets for the upcoming 2026 summer season. Eurowings, which is already facing the largest capacity cut in the region next summer, has filed further changes over the past week, with several routes to be suspended over the peak summer period, primarily from Stuttgart. During the height of the summer season, Eurowings now has close to thirty weekly fewer flights to the region than last year.
Eurowings plans to suspend its two weekly Stuttgart - Sarajevo service from June 19 until July 27. The low cost carrier will also halt its weekly Stuttgart - Zadar flights between June 13 and July 27, after which the route will resume with up to five weekly services in August before being reduced to one per week in September.
In Zagreb, the airline is cutting frequencies on the Stuttgart route from five to four weekly services until August, after which operations will increase to five weekly, compared to six weekly last summer.
In Belgrade, Eurowings had initially planned to bring forward the resumption of its seasonal Dusseldorf service from May to April. However, it now intends to operate a one-off flight on April 4, after which the route will be suspended until July 4. Although flights between these dates remain visible in the Global Distribution System, they have been zeroed out, meaning tickets are not available for sale, and have also been removed from the airline’s website.
The Lufthansa Group member is also reducing frequencies on its Hamburg - Pristina route. Services will operate once per week until July, down from two weekly, before increasing to two weekly, compared to three weekly last year.
Norwegian is also implementing cuts to its network in the region. In addition to discontinuing its service between Copenhagen and Zagreb, the carrier is ending seasonal operations to Dubrovnik from both Gothenburg and Helsinki, each of which operated twice per week. Furthermore, Norwegian is withdrawing its weekly seasonal service between Riga and Split.
The airline is also suspending seasonal flights between Copenhagen and Sarajevo two months earlier than in 2025. The carrier plans to operate its last flight on the route on August 29. Last year, flights were operated until October 25.
Cutting flights right in the peak summer period... Makes no sense
ReplyDeleteActually it does. There are profitable beach destinations to serve in July and August.
DeleteThat's a huge cut for Norwegian in Croatia. Four routes.
ReplyDeleteAll four routes together don't even add up to the equivalent of a daily service. And they don't even last the whole summer season. But it's a loss nevertheless, I agree.
DeleteActually it adds up exactly to 7 weekly flights.
DeleteWell each day a new cut in CRO and every time the same comment: doesn’t matter. With that kind of attitude I expect more to follow. People don’t like being told they “didn’t matter”.
DeleteThe best bet for our region is to attract as much service as possible from FR and W6.
ReplyDeleteThey have the lower costs and they can fly routes viably while almost all other airlines can not.
+100
DeleteIf we are only after pax numbers... But when you check finances sometimes it just doesn't add up... So, no, it's not attract as much FR and W6 as possible but as much as needed. I don't think Dubrovnik, Zagreb or Belgrade should invest more in LCC than they already do. Au contraire, grow the value, keep the conservative pax growth, explore new streams - that could also be good strategy.
DeleteAnon 13:58 ... well used this "au contraire" term - an image of Del Boy saying this appeared in front of me instantly :)
Delete@9:02 your best bet will not give you transfer options that already produces sizable volume of pasengers at hub airport like Belgrade, they won't be able to fly to non-EASA countries, no long-haul, charters, no connectivity to key transfer hubs like LHR, CDG, FRA, IST etc, those lowcosters can weigh anchor on a short notice and sail away from your airport at the first sign of a financial trouble etc. They are okay as a supplemental airline but should not be the bedrock of your airport/country aviation. No thank you.
DeleteEurowings seems to be losing its low cost appeal. Reduced frequencies, seasonal suspensions and higher fares
ReplyDeleteOnly in Ex-Yu which is zadnja rupa na svirali for all airlines except Air Serbia
Delete@09:23
DeleteSo true!
It is terrible that Zagreb lost one more carrier at the time when they have no new destinations listed for this year.
ReplyDeleteIf this is "terrible" then people have lost all sense of perspective. Croatia Airlines flies to Copenhagen daily all year long.
DeleteSo what if they fly? Do they also fly to LIS where TAP stopped flying to?
DeleteIt is amazing how some people try to minimize the fact that after Brussels, TAP, Korean, Air Canada Rouge, Swiss, Vueling, Finnair, Emirates...one more company left ZAG.
And it all happened in last approx 5-6 years.
Terrible.
Meanwhile ZAG traffic has grown rapidly over the same period!
DeleteI think that's bwhat some concerned commenters find terrible.
Thanks to Ryanair who pays next to nothing to fly to ZAG.
DeleteIt is very dangerous game to count on them. And btw, they have no new destination from ZAG in 2026.
Good luck with them.
Actually the opposite. Zagreb is paying FR to fly there. And that ends in 2026, which probably means bye bye FR
DeleteThe BS you can read here from concerned commenters is astounding! 😂
DeleteApparently, some can't bear the truth.
DeleteDo people know exactly the financial arrangement between ZAG and FR or is that just personal opinion presented as fact?
DeleteThe financial incentive model, which only Ryanair has at Zagreb Airport was published here.
DeleteLink please that shows that FR doesn't pay any airport taxes and also receives money on top.
DeleteOver 90% discount exclusively for Ryanair
Deletehttps://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.zagreb-airport.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/Addendum%2520to%2520the%2520Incentive%2520Program.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj8wcq7wIiSAxXt0AIHHQPIC_UQFnoECG8QAQ&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw0eM_JVEimk5IsTgThneZF2
^ should add this is just part of the agreement. They get discounts for everything. From parking planes, to handling etc.
Deleteand who are you to request something here?
Deletego to ZAG PR team and request link for some proofing. Leave Ryan and ZAG alone. We are fine with Ryan. Better to have decent airline flying relatively reliably then OU that flies to FRA or MUC 5 times a day..
Ryan asked huge money from BEG and SKP to fly there. You think ZAG is different?? I don't.
DeleteMe neither.
DeleteEurowings has become such a useless airline in ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteNorwegian is not far behind.
Delete^ The airline has been very cautious ever since the restructuring.
DeleteEurowings is more and more focused on flights to Spain, Italy and Greece.
DeleteNorwegian too. It’s heavily present in Spain. It says here:
DeleteIn 2025, France, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, and the Baltic countries are key players in Norwegian Air’s over 3% growth, driven by record load factors and an expanding European network. This surge in growth is a result of Norwegian’s strategic expansion, with new routes and increasing demand across these markets.
Maybe it's connected to FR having a rage bait on taxes in Spain, Belgium... and cutting some capacity there.
DeleteI don't think you know what ''rage bait'' actually means.
DeleteWill Norwegian maintain the seasonal flight to SKP?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteGood to hear
DeleteIt is a subsidised route. Part of the subsidy agreement is not to suspends or discontinue flights.
Delete09:44 no , this route is not on the subsidy program by the government. They subside flights for all year round not seasonal, which this one is seasonal only. Example Turkish airlines recieve subsidies for IST-OHD route but they decide to make it seasonal.So they will recieve money only for the months operating..Point is airline can suspend the subsided route at anytime for some kind of reason, no demand or bad LF... in this moment at SKP the only subsided routes are: Wizz air new routes and Easyjet to Geneva
DeleteThe government allows for seasonal routes to be subsidised. The change was made in the last tender.
Deleteit is not a subsidied route, stop with the nonsense
DeleteIt is, stop being obtuse.
DeleteOU can always step uo...
ReplyDeleteI like your sense of humor!
DeleteCommentators on this page love OU.
DeleteStuttgart–Sarajevo being suspended in summer is particularly odd.
ReplyDeleteStuttgart-Palma or Stuttgart-Athens can make ten times more money in those months.
DeleteThat's the reality.
DeleteIf they can’t make money in Sarajevo in July and August then when can they?
DeleteIt is a clear signal the airline doesn’t believe in these routes long term. Same with STR-ZAD and DUS-BEG.
DeleteIt isn't about making money in SJJ or any destination for that matter. It is about where they can make the MOST money with their available capacity.
DeleteIf for example a Stutgard-Heraklion or Palma flight makes more profit than a SJJ or PRN flight then that's where their aircraft will be deployed.
@Anonymous 09:43
Delete+1000
The summer holiday season in Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg) is in August. They should launch Hamburg-Sarajevo in June, July and August though, as it fits perfectly with the summer holiday season in Northern Germany and in Denmark. Hamburg has a lot of travellers from Denmark every year. They would have great numbers on the route in that period.
DeleteIt could be in the form of incentives or penalties but the airlines should keep flying all year or all season or not fly at all... Especially because this is very essential industry for every country.
DeleteEurowings now feels more like a seasonal charter operator than a scheduled airline in this region.
ReplyDeleteNorwegian ending Gothenburg and Helsinki flights to Dubrovnik removes some very useful point-to-point connectivity, especially for tourists.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Riga–Split also removes an interesting niche market. These smaller routes add diversity.
DeleteOU has capacity to respond if it's that lucrative...
DeleteThere is already Air Baltic flying SPU-RIX. No one needs two carriers on SPU-RIX route 🤣.
DeleteIt looks like airlines are prioritising Western Europe and larger leisure markets again, while the Balkans remain easy to cut when costs rise.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat!
DeleteThe novelty of our region wore off. High prices, unfriendly services and poor infrastructure make for a bad combo across ex-Yu.
DeleteFrequent schedule changes like this make it impossible to plan trips months in advance. Airlines complain how people are booking last minute. Maybe if they didn't constantly change their schedules they wouldn't,
ReplyDeleteNearly thirty weekly flights fewer than last summer is not a minor adjustment
ReplyDelete+1
DeletePeople came here, saw and obviously aren’t returning. I wouldn’t and I live here!
Delete@12.47 then why are numbers of german tourists rising
DeleteOur whole region is beautiful and many are coming back. We can't always grow! Till now we grew a lot and in the future we'll grow again.
DeleteOne flight in April gets me ... I mean, what is the point, why even bother
ReplyDeleteProbably due to Easter holidays.
DeleteI'm just wondering who is going to fly out on a one way flight. What are they going to do when they want to come back a week later?
DeleteI think it is meant for people who fly back to Germany.
DeleteIt happened to me that on 04.1 my flights BEG-FRA was cancelled and I tried to book any other destination out of BEG on 05 or on 06.01 - no single place available on JU flights.
And - there was no single place available on any LHG flight from BEG to FRA.
I suppose they recognized everyone wants to fly back on that weekend and therefore they introduced that flight. However, onward flight will be probably totally empty.
*any other German destination*
DeleteAirlines are hedging against cost increases rather than reacting to weak bookings. The Balkans are simply easier to cut.
ReplyDeleteDo we know for sure they have weak booking?
DeleteAirlines can have strong bookings and still adjust routings to make more money. A full flight from the balkans to copenhangen might make less profit than a full flight to Gran Canaria etc...
DeleteBoth are irrelevant in several ex-YU markets
ReplyDeleteIn most ex-Yu markets actually.
DeleteEx Yu market are almost irrelevant to them you mean..
DeleteThat's the sad truth.
DeleteEspecially during summer season.
I think that’s a better way to phrase it, 10:06. Let’s stop kidding ourselves. We have a lot of work to do across this region.
DeleteShame about Zagreb. They have been flying this route for over a decade.
ReplyDeleteGermany is the single most important market for the region, yet capacity keeps shrinking.
ReplyDeleteGerman tourists are visiting Spain and Greece in bigger numbers. Airlines are cutting routes with weak demand.
DeleteWe need to diversify!
DeleteThe biggest aviation and tourism market in Europe is the UK.
We need to attract a whole lot more visitors from there than we currently have.
Also France.
to which country mate?
DeleteTo ALL countries in the region.
DeleteThe biggest tourism draw in the ex yu region is very well linked to the UK, with up to 14airports connected to Croatia.
DeleteThe issue is that the rest of the countries need to get on the radar of UK tourists.
DeleteIf Bulgaria and Albania are so can the rest of us.
Both those countries have a sea catering to lower class British tourists.
Deletenot sure if capacity is shrinking. Wizz added some routes
DeleteWe also need to make sure people keep coming back. Right now, I don’t think they are. They visit, they see and then next year they’re off to Spain. Where prices are lower and infrastructure’s better.
Delete@11;51 i can assure you that British tourists know a lot about the whole region. Tourist visits in each part of the former yugoslavia from the UK have always been healthy going back decades. Whether than translates into demand for more flights is another matter. Direct to BiH working out has been one of the great successes of the past few years. Generally the UK is very well connected with every corner of the region.
DeleteIn Belgrade, beside London, there's nothing else in UK. Many room for growth.
DeleteThe number of British tourists is Serbia is very low.
DeleteIt's not low, it is fine. Not less than Netherlands, Sweden or Danmark. But it could be a lot better with more connections.
DeleteSarajevo losing both Stuttgart in peak summer and an earlier Copenhagen exit is not great. Especially for the diaspora.
ReplyDeleteDiaspora needs to travel home more often, pay higher fares and spent more on auxiliary items for the flight.
DeleteOtherwise airlines will move capacity to serve markets that for.
That's the reality of e industry. 🤷♂️
Or maybe the Diaspora want to go to Spain and Greece like others who live in Scandinavia. The diaspora summer flood home is not a guaranteed win. I know many Danes of Bosnian heritage who would rather holiday in Spain than spend two weeks in BiH.
DeleteThat is a shame.
DeleteIt’s not a shame, it’s reality. Why should they keep coming back to a country who had no use for them? Who forced them to find bread abroad and instead of employing hard working people, employed incompetent fools who “knew somebody”? These people work hard often for little money. They deserve a break wherever they feel they can get it.
Delete@12:54 +1
DeleteIs it possible Norwegian to launch Helsinki at least for summer season ? Or maybe Copenhagen year round?
ReplyDeleteFrom SKP*
DeleteYes, of course. They cut pretty everywhere, so they will have capacity for SKP, most important market for them
Deletethey wouldnt have competition as at those airports
DeleteNice try to get both birds in one shot in the photo
ReplyDelete