Wizz bases fourth jet in Belgrade, sees growing leisure demand

Wizz Air stationed its fourth Airbus A321 aircraft in Belgrade yesterday and has launched flights to Berlin, Copenhagen and Lisbon, following the introduction of its new Zakynthos service late last month, with Bergamo to be added in September. The carrier has said it is responding to increased leisure demand from the Serbian capital. “In Serbia we still mostly see diaspora, but there is a growing trend in leisure destinations. If you look at the routes that we have introduced, for example Zakynthos, that’s clearly a leisure destination. We are looking at covering both as much as we can. It’s an evolution but clearly the trend is going more towards leisure but still the bulk of it is VFR [visiting friends and family]”, the budget airline said.

Wizz Air will increase frequencies on a number of its services out of the Serbian capital this coming winter season, resulting in an average of around 400 departing flights per month (excluding Wizz Air Abu Dhabi) and just over 90.000 departing seats. Compared to the pre-pandemic 2019, the budget carrier will increase flight operations by 160%, while capacity will be up 240%. In comparison to last year, flights and capacity will grow 112% and 117% respectively. Over the winter, which begins on October 29 and runs until March 30, Wizz Air will offer the most flights from Belgrade to Barcelona, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Rome, Memmingen and London Luton.

Wizz Air’s latest Belgrade expansion sees the budget carrier launch a number of destinations already served by Air Serbia, including Berlin and Copenhagen. In response, the Serbian flag carrier announced an increase in frequencies on both routes, as well as the launch of Lisbon after Wizz Air went public with its growth plans. “Competition from Air Serbia does not impact us that much because our cost base is much lower, so we are happy with the set-up and competition is always good. It keeps us on our toes, and it is an upside for customers because they have greater choice. Overall, seeing Air Serbia’s reaction and frequency increases, we chose the right routes – and that was very clear. We are always happy to compete. As long the cost base is low it’s always fine to compete”, Wizz Air said.