Wizz Air has accused Serbian authorities of introducing discriminatory and protectionist measures that could undermine its long-established operations in the country. In an interview with EX-YU Aviation News, Wizz Air’s Chief Corporate Officer, Owain Jones, outlined the airline’s concerns over the recently adopted regulation, arguing it is incompatible with Serbia’s obligations under the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) Agreement and warning it could have far-reaching consequences for competition and consumer choice in the market.
EX-YU Aviation News: What do these new rules mean for Wizz Air in Serbia?
Owain Jones: As things currently stand, Serbia has signed the ECAA Agreement, and that gives an unlimited right to Serbian carriers and to European carriers to fly between Serbia and the EU. Now, for fifteen years we have had a base here in Belgrade to fly between Serbia and the EU using those traffic rights. We do that in a number of other Balkan countries as well and that's generally understood. That's exactly what the agreement is intended to achieve.
What the Serbian authorities have done is implement a new regulation in Serbia which says that if you're an EU carrier and you're flying between the EU and Serbia, you must start the rotation in the EU. So that would mean that we would be prohibited from having a base here in Belgrade. A base we started fifteen years ago, we have more than 200 colleagues, we carried more than fourteen million passengers. This year capacity is up 20% year-on-year for the summer. So, this is an important market for us, but just as important market for Serbian consumers. We are the low cost alternative here in Serbia.
Why do you think these actions have been taken now?
I think it's quite clear. There's an incumbent carrier which is now wholly government owned. Over the last few years, it's swallowed hundreds of millions of euros of Serbian taxpayers' money to keep it afloat. Wizz Air has been investing its own money to build up the base that we have here. So, as far as we're concerned, it's an illegal move, it's discriminatory, and it's clearly protectionist.
Are you implying Air Serbia is behind these changes?
I don't know if Air Serbia is behind it, but certainly Air Serbia is 100% owned by the government.
What will Wizz Air’s course of action be now?
So, we have a Plan A and we don't have a Plan B. Our Plan A is that we believe that this move is illegal. We are calling on the Serbian authorities to reverse direction because they will be in breach of their international obligations. If they push ahead, they will be depriving Serbian consumers of a high-quality, low-fare airline giving significant connectivity to Serbia, boosting the Serbian economy, supporting thousands of Serbian jobs. That's the direct result for Serbia. For us, we believe that it's a discriminatory, illegal move. It must be reversed. So, we're calling on the Serbian authorities to see sense. We're also calling on the European Union. The European Union has to enforce the obligations of Serbia under the ECAA.
Could Wizz Air seek a Serbian Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC)?
No, as I say, our plan at the moment is that this regulation is illegal. It has to be stopped.
Some critics contend that your recent network growth has focused primarily on routes already served by Air Serbia, rather than opening up new and underserved markets from Belgrade. How would you respond to those claims?
Look, our business model is very much to stimulate demand. We operate as an ultra-low-cost carrier. We're an extremely efficient company, an extremely efficient airline. We have the youngest fleet flying in Europe, with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per passenger-kilometre on the continent, and that allows us to offer low fares. So, what we provide is a stimulation to the market. We don't take other people's customers. We grow markets by keeping fares low and making it more affordable for more people to fly.
Have you had discussions with Belgrade Airport’s operator, another EU company, about these latest developments?
We believe that most stakeholders in Serbia fully support our position. We need to be having the dialogue with the government, and the EU needs to be having that dialogue as well.
Has Wizz Air ever faced similar measures in any other country?
This is the first.
I think the key thing is that Wizz Air comes in and stimulates demand. We've never been a company that steals other people's passengers. We concentrate on being efficient, we concentrate on having the lowest prices, and we concentrate on satisfying demand for our new customers. So, we're the airline that democratizes air travel. We make it more affordable. That's always been our mission for the last 22 years. It'll continue to be our mission.
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Wizzair have the energy and funds to fight this. It also keeps their name in the headlines in the region. Rooting for you wizz!
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's good marketing for them. Ryanair must be jealous
DeleteI personally think Serbian CAA should apologize to Wizz Air and increase aviation taxes. Wizz like the Ryanair don't like taxes! Look at EU state of Germany! What an example!
DeleteAnd you want BEG to perform like German airports? No thank you.
Delete^ Any increase in airport taxed would apply to all airlines, not just big bad Wizz. That is ASL as well.
DeleteAnd you the traveler would pay for them.
Tax me baby, tax me baby!
DeleteWhether you like Wizz Air or not, it has brought competition to Belgrade for years. If these rules force it to scale back, passengers will be the ones paying higher fares.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOf course they will. They can’t pay less than bus tickets, right?
DeleteLike it or not, Wizz is not the only one bringing competition to Belgrade. Other airlines bring competition too. Air Serbia also brings competition to other airlines and creates new choices and destinations to Belgrade passengers. Wizz is just another airline offering sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive tickets. Nothing special about it.
DeleteLol the above comment must be written by someone working for JU.
DeleteThe real question is whether the regulation complies with the ECAA agreement. If it doesn't, Serbia could end up in a legal dispute with the EU that nobody needs.
ReplyDeleteYes, it complies. This is exactly how this regulation is in the EU by EU laws. This is exactly how EU law treats foreign carriers. So, this is what is called harmonization with EU laws. I understand WizzAir's concern that this could be a problem for them, or that they have just found a way to promote themselves in the media.
DeleteOr maybe Ryanair is eating their lunch, sorry profits so they are trying as hard as possible to get attention in order to increase sales. Ryan is eating them for lunch. Feel sorry for Wizz!
DeleteJust like Aegean ate Ryanair for lunch in SKG and ATH, right?
Delete@Anonymous 10:15
DeleteThat is some next level Balkan delulu!
@Anonymous 11:04
Delete2.26 billion in profits vs zero to none of profits for Wizz. Yields have dropped in majority of bases, haven't they? Or Wizz is in a constant transition since COVID? I am just listening to Michael O'Leary speeches lately
Serbian authorities really are something else.
ReplyDeleteDude it's not the authorities, it's Air Serbia. The authorities like having Wizz Air there because it supports the local economy. This is all JU.
DeleteAir Serbia has no jurisdiction over this, it`s the government.
DeleteDon't be naive. Air Serbia is the Serbian government and that is what Wizz Air indirectly confirmed.
DeleteThe Serbian government's aviation policy is directly shaped by JU. Just look at the situation with China where China Southern can't add flights because they are limited by the bilateral. Why are they limited well because JU can't grow more over there.
Air Serbia may have made the pressure for this measure, but in the end it is the government and Serbian CAD who signed it. They are legally responsible for this.
Delete@9.32 sorry your China example is so wrong I don't even know where to begin.
DeleteAnon 09.37 then maybe don't start at all because you will be extremely wrong in the end. Next.
DeleteMr Malovic is probably the number 1 person in JU and he is, if I remember correctly, in the board of SNS. This means he has influence at the top of government.
Deletestupidity. JU have more than 50% of Serbian traffic. W6 with 15% isn’t even close to endanger JU. Except in your imaginations
DeleteIf JU isn't feeling threatened then why this move? Why are they unable to grow more than 3% for two years? Read the article, Wizz Air is growing 200% this summer compared to last year.
DeleteFYI some 40% of JU passengers are transfers so when it comes to O&D then JU and W6 are not so far apart. That's why JU and its CEO are shaking in their boots. They see how fast the pink fury is growing.
It is not 200% but 20% it is after they cut capacity 30% last year.
DeleteDo you have a source that they cut BEG by 30% in 2025?
DeleteW6's 2026 capacity in BEG is the biggest it ever had. That is a fact.
DeleteHow many passengers were added by Air Serbia and by Wizz at Belgrade in the past five years? Air Serbia added a lot more than Wizz.
Delete@9:47
DeleteNice of you to call him a mister, but he's no other than a thug, who came to Serbia from Montenegro and started his career by selling petrol in front of Kineski zid in the 90's.
And then miraculously managed to get to the top management of the national carrier.
Serbian gouvermant is finally doing what's correct and proper, is Wizz an EU registered airline? Yes it is than stay there and operate from the EU. Is AirSerbia allowed to open a base in EU? No they are not so it is very clear this is correct and fair.
DeleteSerbian government is there to protect the interests of its citizens. Chasing away Wizz is not doing it. Sorry. They are doing it because JU CEO can't beat Wizz so now he is using shady deals with the government. What else could there be?
Delete@09:48 Sorry for intervening, W6 had, for instance, 22% of total seat capacity at BEG in May 2026.
Delete@9:57
DeleteThat's nonsense. W6 is just coming back to their usual capacity, after problems with PW engines. They still have 4 based planes at BEG, so they are not growing since last year. They will just have slightly more seats due to hardware change
Anon 14:20
DeleteIt's still less than half of JU's capacity. Then how's JU endangered by W6, except in those expert's dreams?
anon 13:47
Poor JU CEO have his extra bonus for keeping W6 minimised every year. Sure government is protecting citizens with keeping national carrier strong and stable, so citizens may fly directly to more than 120 destinations on 4 continents. We can see in the neighborhood how's hard to have incompetent and poorly managed national airline. When pandemic and wars started, government sent JU planes for repatriation flights. Where was W6 then to help Serbian citizens?
First of all, well done on securing an interview so quickly! Second why introduce such a rule after fifteen years of allowing the exact same business model?
ReplyDeleteYour question makes no sense. Everything new that happens is new.
DeleteThis is exactly how this regulation works in the EU under EU law. It is exactly how EU law treats foreign carriers. So, this is what is called harmonization with EU laws. I understand WizzAir's concern that this law may be used against them before Serbia becomes part of the EU, but this is called taking a position for negotiations. If you ask me, it's very smart because nobody in the EU can argue that this is against the EU laws and rules. To be honest, until now, WizzAir has had an advantage because it was allowed to have a base in Serbia, while AirSerbia and any other potential future carrier in Serbia were not allowed to do so in the EU. I don't think this rule will be imposed on WizzAir; it's just a smart way to use EU law to Serbia's advantage and better position in negotiations with the EU.
DeleteOfcourse they secured interview this quickly, Wizz air pays for ads on this website so its basically their mouthpiece.
DeleteI highly disagree that this great website is their mouthpiece, I am grateful the admin is able to get an interview so quickly.
DeleteWizz Air was offered the opportunity to respond because the story is about a regulation that directly affects its operations in Serbia. That's standard journalistic practice and something any credible publication would do. Giving a company the right to explain its position is not being a "mouthpiece". It's balanced reporting. Other parties are and have been invited to give their position, wheather they wish to do so at this stage is up to the parties involved themselves. Reporting what a company says does not mean endorsing it. Readers are perfectly capable of forming their own conclusions.
DeleteGood point, let's see if Marek will do the same and respond to these accusations. Perfect opportunity to be Wizzier than Wizz.
DeleteHahahaha don't some peoole complain how this site is pro-JU 😂 now it's Wizz Air mouthpeace.
DeleteAir Serbia pays taxes in Serbia, employs thousands of people here and cannot simply establish bases around the EU. I can understand why some believe the current arrangement gives foreign carriers an advantage.
ReplyDeleteSo why Serbia signed Open Skies if that was the issue?
DeleteWizz employs hundreds of people here who are paying taxes in Serbia.
DeleteIf Air Serbia wants to operate in a region such as Belarus or central asia be our guests. But Serbian travellers dont want that. We want wizzair in Belgrade as well as air serbia.
DeleteWizz Air forces Air Serbia to remain competitive. They lower fares and stimulate demand. Serbia needs Wizz Air more than Wizz Air needs Serbia.
DeleteTotally. Wizzair doesnt need Serbia to remain profitable. But losing wizz, or dampening confidence in Serbia as a serious and mature player hurts Serbian consumers and Belgrade's already hard-won improved reputation.
DeleteWhy would Air Serbia even want to open a base in Lisbon or Malaga or Warsaw??
DeleteOpen skies stays. But open bases are not in that agreement
DeleteOpen Skies will be revoked if Wizz Air is blocked from flying BEG-EU-BEG.
DeleteAgain huge customer.
DeleteIt happened to Southwest in the 70s, with the fat cats suing to keep their oligopoly going. Just look where Southwest is today and what happened to Braniff
ReplyDeleteSouthwest is on its way to spirit land.
Delete09:21 You are misinformed. Southwest will deliver profitability this year. They have the best RASK performance in the country among the majors in Q1, and has a fortress balance sheet.
DeleteI think you need to look at those balance sheets again.
DeleteEnd of 2025 net debt is much lower than peers’, this also implies lower financing costs too.
DeleteAA $30.7B
DL $14.3B
UA $19.8B
WN $2.7B
Profitability is up and their balance sheet is leading among the maiors. Southwest is objectively a profitable airline.
*majors
DeleteSouthwest is transforming itself into Major from LCC so expect them to have business class in future, long haul and possible acquisition of Alaska
DeleteYa screw them. This sounds more like benefits for me and rules for thee. Wizz can start an airline Serbia or gtfo.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOh no I can’t get any marginally cheaper tickets to secondary European airports what will I doooo
DeleteRome Fiumicino, Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Malta, Hamburg, Berlin Brandenburg -> those are secondary European airports?
DeleteBergamo? Airport is equally distanced from Milan Centrale as Malpensa.
The only real secondary airports are Memmingen, Eindhoven and Skavsta.
You forgot to add LCA, NCE which are also major airports they fly to.
DeleteThanks. Exactly, major airports. But some people will still tell those are "secondary" just because Wizz flies there.
DeleteBergamo is more than three times the size of Belgrade airport. Even 'secondary' Eindhoven is larger than Belgrade airport. So lets just leave the 'secondary airport fallacy' to twenty years ago and the early days of LCCs.
DeleteIgnore them. Most of them are barely traveling abroad and when they do they go by bus to Sutomore
DeleteTwo airlines operating bases at Belgrade. One pays corporate taxes, one does not.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Thank you. Some here can’t see the forest from the trees.
DeleteSome people are so obsessed with their own greatness they forget their real size and economic limitations
DeleteWho is making the most of Serbs? Wizz Air which forces JU to keep fares affordable? You want to be abused by JU which would charge you €500 to fly around Europe?
DeleteObviously he is fine with that, but I, on the other hand, am not.
DeleteIf you're bothered by corporation taxes in Serbia, you do realise it's the Serbian government that sets the tax rates? Why are you blaming Wizz?
DeleteWhat are we going to do with all foreign businesses in Serbia which barely pay any taxes to the government? Why are we singling out Wizz Air? Is it because it is the only one directly hitting at SNS' baby Air Serbia? Why not help the rest of the Serbian companies which deal with unfair competition on a daily basis. This is Air Serbia being privileged.
Delete@09:13 So how is it better if Wizz flies from their EU bases to Belgrade and drops their base in Belgrade? Will Serbia get more money out of that?
DeleteTwo airlines operate in Serbia. One is operated by syphoning Serbian taxes into it, the other one is not.
DeleteProve it. Both of us know you can't as it's not true
DeleteCan you prove that he is not right? JU is shaking in its boots now that Wizz is attacking them.
DeleteSure they do. Maybe in one month they have close to half of JU's offered seats. Stop being delusional, W6 is only small rock in that JU's shaking boots. Some expert analyst you are...
Delete9:23
DeleteHow do you know that JU would charge their citizens 500 Euro to fly around Europe? In your own experience with OU? Stop comparing JU and OU, they have nothing in common. Of course that's nonsense, JU is hub and spoke model airline that is competing for passengers all around Europe. In order to do so, their prices have remain competitive. But that's just don't fit in your narrative
start an airline in serbia or fly from eu whats the problem here?
ReplyDeleteOn repeat here mate.
DeleteProblem here is that Open Skies tells different story.
DeleteThe problem is that 200 cabin crew and ground staff will lose their jobs, Wizz flies from Belgrade to airports in Europe where it doesn't have a base so those flights would be discontinued permanently, and the whole move is illegal so it doesn't even make sense.
DeleteOpen skies tells nothing about bases.
DeleteExactly, the shit has hit the fan and is now splashing all over the room. SNS will have to deal with yet another damage control situation.
DeleteOpen Skies tell nothing about bases, but tells that there MUST NOT BE ANY RESTRICTIONS, so Wizz can fly BEG-EU-BEG as well as EU-BEG-EU.
DeleteWhy Wizz won't open bases at Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen? What's stopping them? They are EU company that may operate in EU, right?
DeleteWe don't have Plan B. A bit later, asked about AOC, response is about not having plans at the moment.
ReplyDeleteSounds like there is a Plan B, but they don't want to talk about it right now.
What they are saying is that there is only Plan A because the situation is illegal and there is no way to make peace with it. They are going for all or nothing.
Delete0917 you didn't get it
DeleteSounds like contradicting messages were sent and some comments are trying to do damage control. Big corporations always have a Plan B.
DeleteI'm amazed how Serbs were proud of having a Wizz base in BEG, until yesterday..
ReplyDeleteWhy not? It shows a certain market maturity when you can have two profitable airlines at your home airport. Very few markets can do that in the Balkans. I think only BEG, ATH and IST.
DeleteAnd why does "market maturity" make you proud?
DeleteBecause it gives me more options and lower fares when travelling.
Delete@09:41 maybe because a strong functioning market benefits us all?
DeleteGood competition is better than no competition with only one player on the market that is in bed with the government and can do whatever they want.
DeleteAnonymous 10:07
DeleteExactly!
@10:07 You are probably describing Tuzla scenario. Remember how Wizz reacted when news were published regarding TZL management talking to Ryanair? They sent bizjet to Tuzla and basically stopped TZL operations. Does that sound like Wizz being concerned for Tuzla passengers having a choice of airlines and fares, a genuine concern for competition and open market access?
Delete@11:44 You're responding to me with a fake accusation that I support Wizz in some way. Generally, competition is better than no competition. With what is being done, there is a pretty clear sign that Serbia does not want competition at home.
DeleteSure, that's why there's 28 different airlines at BEG. Please stop posting nonsensenss, you are pathetic.
DeleteVery, very bad and miscalculated move by Air Serbia. Wizz Air is taking the fight to Brussels, something Air Serbia isn't familiar with.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air will lobby (and we all know what this means €€€) EU officials who will back them in the end.
This plus the fact that there is no popular support for this move will force SNS to give up. If/when this happens some heads should roll. Maybe it will be time for SNS to remove a certain high ranking JU official and for Marek to step down.
This is an unnecessary move by JU and they showed weakness and angered potential passengers. To make things worse, JU is still very much exposed to a major W6 attack as they can cover most of their destinations from other bases. Given SNS' falling popularity they will not be able to risk this kind of bad PR, especially if the students' movement starts talking about it.
Well said!
DeleteEU officials cannot be bought by Wizz Air. The green lobby is very strong and they won't fight for access rights of a LCC airline in a random country outside of the EU.
DeleteHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA EU officials can't be bought.
Delete*laughs in covid vaccine scandal*
@ anon 09:42
DeleteWizz is flying one of the youngest and the greenest fleet in Europe at the moment. So I think EU green lobby will back Wizz on this.
Let's see if useless easyJet uses this opportunity to boost CDG-BEG this winter.
ReplyDeleteBVA is one of the destination W6 won't be able to cover from other bases.
Wizz Air is crying to mommy...
DeleteNo, Wizz Air is complaining to an authority which should enforce the legal framework all sides agreed to. Only one crying to mommy is Air Serbia which can't beat W6 so it wants to force passengers to fly with them.
DeleteIt's like an abusive woman forcing a man not to divorce her so she is trying to find ways for him to love her and to stay in the toxic relationship.
+1
DeleteThere is nothing in that agreement about bases.
DeleteAfter 15 years the DCV decided to change the rules. Probably they got an incentive to do it.
ReplyDeleteOnly one target Wizz....Probably because Air Serbia is struggling in this competition.
Wizz was in the sight for months as Air Serbia disliked that pilots were moving there.
But I am afraid that it will bring turmoil as probably some older stuffs like Pink might resurface at EU or EASA level as Wizz is ready to fight as they have the proper legal teams to do it.
Let's see......probably a warm summer.
Wrong from the start, after 15 years DCV finally started to enforce the rule of law.
DeleteI don’t mind Wizz Air, but they need to establish bases in Niš and Kraljevo and operate some EU–Belgrade routes. The current situation, where a low-cost carrier avoids secondary airports and focuses on the national hub, is not good.
ReplyDeleteHow can they open a base in KVO when the runway can't handle anything larger than the ATR? Plus there are issues with refuelling there.
DeleteYour reply provides facts, but the original comment isn't interested in facts.
DeleteGreat point. My comment about KVO was rhetorical, but the point is clear. I can understand how a low-cost carrier competing with a growing national airline from the national hub can rub some people the wrong way.
DeleteThe only people who get rubbed the wrong way by the existence of affordable fares and route choice are those employed by a state run dinosaur who is unwilling/unable to compete in the open market.
DeleteFor two years now Wizz Air was the engine of growth at both BEG and INI. This is why JU is triggered by them.
DeleteLast year, Wizz Air was responsible for the slowdown in traffic at BEG. They cut over 30% of capacity. This year yes, they are stimulating growth. But last year the exact opposite. Let's not make thing up.
DeleteThey were also going to drive the traffic in Abu Dhabi. Shifty bunch.
DeleteWizz was cutting two years ago. Last year they were back at growing in BEG. Stop making things up. Next.
DeleteI agree and that's why I said shifty.
DeleteAnd have you forgotten when JU started cutting left and right, actually they do that every season. JU was more unreliable than W6 in that sense.
DeleteIt is not good for whom? Certainly it is good for passengers, as it brings the competition in and therefore more choices for passengers, and that is what wont be good, if they decide to leave. Without the competition, JU would increase the ticket prices as it does on the routes where it already has the monopoly. Not a big fan of W6, but their presence does much more good then bad in BEG, jm2c.
DeleteEU will not allow this in the end, you watch. lol
DeleteEU is in charge in EU, not in Serbia.
Delete"Has Wizz Air ever faced similar measures in any other country?
ReplyDeleteThis is the first."
I feel so proud. Noooooot!
If I were Wizz Air I'd announce a major expansion at BEG for this winter, maybe even basing a 5th plane.
ReplyDeleteBusiness strategies born out of spite are risky.
DeleteHow can they announce it when from November they will be unable to fly these routes unless they originate from EU?
DeleteAnon 09.52
DeleteWell sometimes you need to hit your competitors to teach them a lesson and Wizz can afford to do that. Also they are currently booming in BEG so it would be just the continuation of what we already have.
Anon 09.54
So far they were not instructed by the government to shut their base and they have the permit to operate flights. It was not revoked.
Wizz went full politics, questioning Serbia's EU path. It is not for Wizz or any company to get into politics.
ReplyDeleteBad move.
Agreed.
DeleteNo. Wizz Air is forcing Serbia to respect the contract it signed with the EU. Serbia can't just ignore its legal obligations because its baby lost the fight and is crying.
DeleteWell, who has brought Serbia in this situation to mess politics into business in a first place: Wizz or Serbian Government?
DeleteAir Serbia didn't lose any fight. Where does this come from?
DeleteYea, their PR is disgusting, I did not fly with them before and definitely won't after these chauvinistic comments.
DeleteNope, Serbia needs to comply with the EU Open Skies agreement in place. If it thinks that current actions do then it shouldn't mind at all if W6 prompts the Commission to look into it.
DeleteSerbia is finally starting to do that and complying means WIzz can no longer base planes and has to fly them from EU bases and back. They can get a Serbian AOC though and pay taxes here.
Delete"So maybe it's time for the EU to start forcing JU to comply with its aviation policy towards Russia. Maybe they should ban JU from offering connections to Russia from Europe.
DeleteSerbia is not a member of the EU nor has signed up for any punitive sanctions against Russia - therefore Europe has no legal leg to stand on.
DeleteThe EU should ban overflights rights for aircraft destined for Russia.
DeleteI love the long answers for every question but the one that matters the most - they don't want to register in Serbia.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they want to do that?
DeleteTo keep flying here? Simple solution.
DeleteThrow Serbia out of EU open skies, they have zero respect for the law
DeleteLol throw Serbia out after CAA finally started implementing the agreement fully which in turn prevents Wizz from being shady.
Deletethere is no reason to register for a small base of 4-5 aircrafts
DeleteWhy Wizz Air is asking to have special treatments vs other EU Carriers flying to Serbia, like LOT, Austrian, Lufthansa, Swiss, EuroWings, Aegean, KLM etc...If they can respect all the rules, I don't see why Wizz Air should ask for benefits.
ReplyDeleteIts not true that they don't have register on other Non EU countries (UK for example).
What?
DeleteGo through the CAA document and you will understand. 3rd and than 4th flying freedom. They are asking to go opposite
DeleteCall mamma EU! We have to comply with Serbian laws, but we are not want to pay taxes to them
ReplyDeleteSo start enforcing this to all those German factories in Serbia which are not paying taxes. Why attack only W6 which is beloved in Serbia
Delete"beloved in Serbia"
DeleteLOL. Did you do a poll to conclude they are beloved in Serbia? Some of you seriously.
It's common sense. If they were not popular they wouldn't be growing so much.
DeleteSo they were unpopular when they didn't growth for years?
DeleteNo, keep up. They were shrinking because the manufacturer messed up in the engine design of their brand new A321neo planes. They cut like many others like Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss... cut flights as well.
DeleteThey rebounded quickly because people were waiting for them to come back.
So they were unpopular from 2014 until 2020 when they removed aircraft from Belgrade and reduced flights?
DeleteNo, keep up. They removed the plane because BEG hiked their fees. However passengers were willing to pay more to keep flying with them so they came back. Obviously they were willing to pay more to keep flying with W6, just so that they could avoid flying on JU. That's how popular Wizz Air is in Serbia.
DeleteHaha, ok, there is always an excuse. But remember, you being in love with them does not give you the right to generalize. Best regards,
DeleteI am not generalizing my friend, it's a mere observation. That's all. JU should work on their brand and image.
DeleteΣο JU management simply cannot compete with Wizz's 4 aircraft base here in its own hub... 😠
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAir Serbia is being naughty. Tsk tsk
ReplyDeleteAs JU stagnates, screams and shouts to the government... Wizz Air is growing once again. From August they are increasing Belgrade-Palermo to 4 weekly.
ReplyDeleteWill Air Serbia respond to this provocation?
why is that a provocation?
DeleteBecause Wizz Air launched Palermo this year, a destination exclusively served by Air Serbia.
DeleteThese Open Skies (ECAA) are atm open just in name, as e.g. Air Serbia cannot fly any route inside 2 EU cities (Budapest-Athens). So Serbian companies are currently at disadvantage, given the de facto situation. Any strict conformity to the current obligations Serbia has towards ECAA is most welcome, and if this is what CAD is now doing - then well done!
ReplyDeleteAlso, the airfare pricing is of secondary importance, if we were to discuss protectionism - let's not forget that e.g. JU provides a lot of technology sophisticated jobs (+quite a lot indirectly as well), while W6's footprint in Serbia revolves mostly around crew and logistics, while all the high-paid jobs are in Hungary. So to me it's like a no-brainer...
Well if JU is interested in flying between Athens and Budapest then they are more than welcome to submit their application and to use ECAA as a reference.
DeleteOn the other hand, Wizz Air keeps the market competitive meaning more people can come to Serbia and spend their money. In addition to this, they made traveling affordable for many Serbs who can now go to Spain, Italy etc.
No matter what the ECAA says, Wizz Air's presence in Serbia does more good than bad. Just look at Palermo, how can they operate 4 weekly flights with high density A321 but JU was stuck at 2 weekly and mostly with E95. Wizz Air knows how to stimulate demand, JU has not learned it yet.
No but JU just cannot fly Budapest - Athens as per ECAA. As per current phase of accession to ECCA of Serbia there is a bunch of limitations. To get to the phase at which Serbian airlines have these levels of freedom inside EU - political will is needed from EU side to unlock further accession to ECAA. And this is now bureaucratic story and also lack of will from EU side, as Serbian aviation sector is on a very high level for like couple of decades, even compared to many EU states. So imo - the whole neo-liberal EU accession approach, like we allow everything and don't get things in return as a true banana country - never was a way to go, and it's good if there are like any reversals to that way of conduct...
DeleteWhy is it being reversed though? Because consumers are being screwed over or because JU showed us how inefficient they are when it comes to competing? If Serbia wants JU to become more successful, don't ban W6, sack the management that's unable to make JU competitive.
DeleteSerbia and JU are mentioned by the prestigious Flight Global.
ReplyDeleteMaybe for the wrong reasons but any publicity is good publicity I guess.
https://www.flightglobal.com/archive/2026/06/serbian-rule-change-for-foreign-carriers-intended-to-shield-national-airline-wizz-air/
Wow this is not good for JU. Could this be Wizz pushing the narrative to create more chaos for JU, Marek and Serbia?
DeleteHighly likely.
DeleteSay goodbye to competition and welcome paying higher fares! These changes seem draconian.
ReplyDeleteKick out European companies from Serbia.
ReplyDeleteBravo idemo!
DeleteWhat a silly silly view
DeletePresumably, the state has the right to make its own regulations. Corporations should either accept them or not. Since Serbia is not expected to join the EU, whatever we accept, complaints from corporate capital to Brussels should not concern us much
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWell Serbia receives millions and millions in grants from the EU. They will reconsider it because of that.
Deleteshaking my head at all these apologetic and coordinated "its not fair, one company pays taxes but the other not" posts here.
ReplyDeleteSerbia will never give Wizz a serbian AOC even if they wanted. They will never give any other foreign company access to the most lucrative markets Montenegro, Russia, Switzerland while they can... and make JUs situation even more complex than it obviously is.
its pure hypocrisy: They didnt give Ryanair rights to fly to Hahn from INI from their Hahn BASE few years ago
Aha, it's all coordinated by the party bots, Wizz is a sweetie and being bullied by a mega corporation entity that is Air Serbia haha. How do you know "they" will never grant Wizz an AOC? Has Wizz ever applied? Maybe that's the idea, they should apply and we'll see what happens then.
Deleteyeh sure that was the idea ...
DeleteAnon 12.54 I don't need to get into water to know it's wet. Same way Wizz doesn't have to apply for the AOC to know it will never get it. With this move JU showed how vulnerable they are. Wizz Air is already hitting back by increasing Palermo.
Delete> Over the last few years, it's swallowed hundreds of millions of euros of Serbian taxpayers' money to keep it afloat.
ReplyDeleteChat, is it true? I thought they had COVID loan and repaid it, but maybe I'm missing something.
And you think Wizz Air can't nake sonething up for PR purposes?
DeleteThey can but they won't as they don't need a lawsuit.
DeleteWizz hit 🎯
Deletespare a thought for INI which will be hurt even more than BEG. They will loose their busiest year-long routes
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be completely cluless at what this is about. INI won't be affected at all. There is not a single Wizz Air aircraft based in INI or a single routes that terminates at INI.
Deletedream on if you think they will stay
DeleteAccording to this interview they plan to stay in Serbia. And if they don't, Ryanair can easily move in and launch those routes.
Deleteespecially Dortmund and Basel where they almost dont fly at all.... SMFH
DeleteDo you really think JU will stop at this? They won't. Next step is to change the subsidy scheme at BEG to chase away most W6 flights.
Delete