Wizz Air anticipates Belgrade expansion success
Wizz Air expects the upcoming expansion at its Belgrade base next week, the largest since the airline stationed an aircraft in the city in April 2011, to cover some core unserved markets and strengthen key underserved markets from the country. Among the ten new routes being launched, the first of which was introduced last week, Hamburg has the largest passenger potential. Currently unserved from the Serbian capital after Air Serbia suspended the seasonal service last year following five months of low-frequnecy operations, some 19.000 travellers flew between the two cities in 2019. Of those, 16.000 transferred through other points in Europe, while the Serbian carrier, which put 5.000 seats on sale, handled the remaining 3.000 passengers.
The budget airline also plans a second attempt at serving Belgrade and Charleroi near Brussels. Overall, 40% of all travellers flying between the Belgian capital and Belgrade last year transferred through other European hubs, or some 18.000 passengers. This is despite Air Serbia maintaining operations between the two cities. Similarly, in Barcelona, almost half of all passengers flew indirectly to and from the Serbian capital. The route was launched by Air Serbia last June. Lisbon and Cologne, both unserved from Belgrade, last year had over 15.000 and 14.000 indirect passengers, respectively, which is considered good initial traffic volume and more than most new Wizz Air routes before demand stimulation.
Commenting on its Belgrade operations recently, Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, said, “Belgrade has done well for us and we try to do better for Belgrade as a result and bring new routes and more capacity to the market. Belgrade has been operational for us through the crisis and consumer uptake has been very strong. Even in very difficult circumstances, consumers have been very loyal to Wizz Air and they appreciate our service and decided to fly with us in these difficult times”. In addition to the ten routes being launched, the budget carrier is also adding extra capacity by replacing its two Airbus A320 jets with A321s, which feature an additional forty seats, and adding a third A321.
0 Response to "Wizz Air anticipates Belgrade expansion success"
Post a Comment