Ryanair has said it aims to continue growing strongly in the Balkans, with its CEO, Michael O’Leary, recently writing off Wizz Air as a challenger. Ryanair operates in four out of seven markets in the former Yugoslavia, the exceptions being Slovenia, Macedonia, and Kosovo. Wizz Air is currently the largest low cost carrier in Pristina, Macedonia and Serbia, with Ryanair having the upper hand in Croatia and Montenegro. It will overtake Wizz Air in Bosnia and Herzegovina this year to become the country’s largest low cost carrier, with close to 200.000 seats on the Bosnian market.
Commenting on its plans, Ryanair said, “Ryanair is the only major European airline to significantly grow traffic post-Covid, particularly in the Balkans, where other airlines have stopped growing, are cutting routes, and reducing traffic. This year, Ryanair will grow to eleven million annual passengers in the region (a +260% increase in traffic vs. pre-Covid). This traffic growth complements Ryanair’s plans to grow to 300 million annual passengers by 2034, as it takes delivery of a further 400 aircraft”. It added, “We want to focus very much on this region. We see that this is going to be a large part of our upcoming expansion”.
Wizz Air has been forced to reduce its operations from its Skopje and Belgrade bases this year due to defects in the Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan engines that power some of its Airbus A320neo-family aircraft. A total of forty jets have been grounded. In 2022, the carrier closed its short-lived Sarajevo base and in 2023 shut its Tuzla base. However, Silvia Mosquera, Wizz Air’s Executive Vice President and Group Chief Commercial Officer, told EX-YU Aviation News, “Currently we have around 20% of our fleet on the ground. We are expecting for the inspection to take between eighteen and 24 months, however, for next year, there will be less of an impact as some of the engines will come back from the shops so I think that next year we will see growth from Wizz Air”. She added, “The Western Balkans are a very relevant market for us. Our intention is to further grow in the region, but not this year due to the engines. But for next year our intention is to continue growing”. The airline has said it is now carefully choosing how to deploy its remaining available aircraft to fulfil the routes that are most profitable and provide the strongest strategic advantages.
Ryanair has significantly increased its presence in Croatia over the past few years with the opening of its base in Zagreb, as well as its seasonal base in Zadar. This year it has further cemented its position with the opening of its year-round base in Dubrovnik. Ryanair maintains its post as the largest airline in Croatia, growing its offer to 4.5 million seats annually, almost double that of second-placed Croatia Airlines. However, it faces greater headwinds on other markets. Almost a decade ago, Ryanair announced it would launch flights to Skopje in a direct challenge to Wizz, however, these plans were scrapped for unspecified reasons. The airline has also stagnated in Serbia with its operations out of Niš, while it does not operate to Pristina where Wizz Air became the airport’s largest carrier by passengers handled last year. Despite talks between Ryanair and the Slovenian government, Mr O’Leary has branded Ljubljana Airport as “simply too expensive”.
