Blerg wrote:

Meanwhile back in reality, Wizz Air announced a new round of cuts, this time at SKP, cuts will start in September.

Turku from 2 to 1.
Bremen from 2 to 1 (this one was reduced in July)
Hannover 2 to 1
Barcelona from 2 to 1
Gothenburg from 3 to 2
Malmo from 3 to 2
Nuremberg from 2 to 1
Vaxjo from 2 to 1

Varna is also seeing some cuts. One weekly in stead of two will be operated to Vienna, Barcelona, Berlin will be reduced from 3 to 2, Hannover once in stead of twice, Liverpool twice in stead of thrice, Luton 6 in stead of 7.

Wizz Air has also delayed the resumption of their Luton-Ohrid route from September 8 to October 31.

All changes are already in the system.

Hm Wizz Air exceeds the pre-COVID capacity in August 2021.

"Wizz Air’s president told AeroTime that the airline would not acquire any other aircraft than the 20 Airbus A321XLR it currently has on order."

too bad ^^

https://www.aerotime.aero/28557-exclusi ... ugust-2021

MCTSET wrote:

They also based another aircraft in vilnius from December. It will be their 3rd aircraft in Vilnius but if I remember a while ago they used to have 3 aircraft. New routes to Reykjavik and Yerevan, increasing Luton, Dortmund and Oslo.

If they are cutting some places and adding new then I just think they are readjusting markets depending on market situation.

I wonder if it also means that some markets are starting to stabilize and recover. Increasing flights from VNO to places like Luton, Dortmund and Oslo could indicate that O&D is slowly returning.

Btw DTM can't handle an A321. Does it mean VNO is getting an extra A320?

airlinenavigato wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Meanwhile back in reality, Wizz Air announced a new round of cuts, this time at SKP, cuts will start in September.

Turku from 2 to 1.
Bremen from 2 to 1 (this one was reduced in July)
Hannover 2 to 1
Barcelona from 2 to 1
Gothenburg from 3 to 2
Malmo from 3 to 2
Nuremberg from 2 to 1
Vaxjo from 2 to 1

Varna is also seeing some cuts. One weekly in stead of two will be operated to Vienna, Barcelona, Berlin will be reduced from 3 to 2, Hannover once in stead of twice, Liverpool twice in stead of thrice, Luton 6 in stead of 7.

Wizz Air has also delayed the resumption of their Luton-Ohrid route from September 8 to October 31.

All changes are already in the system.

Hm Wizz Air exceeds the pre-COVID capacity in August 2021.

"Wizz Air’s president told AeroTime that the airline would not acquire any other aircraft than the 20 Airbus A321XLR it currently has on order."

too bad ^^

https://www.aerotime.aero/28557-exclusi ... ugust-2021

Key word: capacity.

We have to see what their passenger numbers look like in the end. They have been adding flights left and right but equally so have removed many of them. I think after their debacle in Norway they are looking at markets like Italy for additional growth.

Blerg wrote:

MCTSET wrote:

They also based another aircraft in vilnius from December. It will be their 3rd aircraft in Vilnius but if I remember a while ago they used to have 3 aircraft. New routes to Reykjavik and Yerevan, increasing Luton, Dortmund and Oslo.

If they are cutting some places and adding new then I just think they are readjusting markets depending on market situation.

I wonder if it also means that some markets are starting to stabilize and recover. Increasing flights from VNO to places like Luton, Dortmund and Oslo could indicate that O&D is slowly returning.

Btw DTM can't handle an A321. Does it mean VNO is getting an extra A320?

Is there any reason DTM can't handle the A321? The runway's not long, but 2000m seems perfectly acceptable of a short range A321 flight.

MrHMSH wrote:

Blerg wrote:

MCTSET wrote:

They also based another aircraft in vilnius from December. It will be their 3rd aircraft in Vilnius but if I remember a while ago they used to have 3 aircraft. New routes to Reykjavik and Yerevan, increasing Luton, Dortmund and Oslo.

If they are cutting some places and adding new then I just think they are readjusting markets depending on market situation.

I wonder if it also means that some markets are starting to stabilize and recover. Increasing flights from VNO to places like Luton, Dortmund and Oslo could indicate that O&D is slowly returning.

Btw DTM can't handle an A321. Does it mean VNO is getting an extra A320?

Is there any reason DTM can't handle the A321? The runway's not long, but 2000m seems perfectly acceptable of a short range A321 flight.

I don't know for sure but from what I read online they are saying that the runway can't handle the A321. Maybe once it is fully loaded it can't take off? Would be interesting to know.

If Wizz Air keeps on adding A321s, I wonder if we might see them finally launch flights from DUS.

Blerg wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

Blerg wrote:

I wonder if it also means that some markets are starting to stabilize and recover. Increasing flights from VNO to places like Luton, Dortmund and Oslo could indicate that O&D is slowly returning.

Btw DTM can't handle an A321. Does it mean VNO is getting an extra A320?

Is there any reason DTM can't handle the A321? The runway's not long, but 2000m seems perfectly acceptable of a short range A321 flight.

I don't know for sure but from what I read online they are saying that the runway can't handle the A321. Maybe once it is fully loaded it can't take off? Would be interesting to know.

If Wizz Air keeps on adding A321s, I wonder if we might see them finally launch flights from DUS.

While 2000m is a little too short for a fully-loaded A321, an A321 doesn't need to be anywhere near fully-loaded to make Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Poland, Hungary etc. There must be another reason, maybe to do with how the aircraft are parked at gates?

MrHMSH wrote:

Blerg wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

Is there any reason DTM can't handle the A321? The runway's not long, but 2000m seems perfectly acceptable of a short range A321 flight.

I don't know for sure but from what I read online they are saying that the runway can't handle the A321. Maybe once it is fully loaded it can't take off? Would be interesting to know.

If Wizz Air keeps on adding A321s, I wonder if we might see them finally launch flights from DUS.

While 2000m is a little too short for a fully-loaded A321, an A321 doesn't need to be anywhere near fully-loaded to make Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Poland, Hungary etc. There must be another reason, maybe to do with how the aircraft are parked at gates?

Would be interesting to know if there are any other airports out there with similar runway length that receive the A321.

Blerg wrote:

MrHMSH wrote:

Blerg wrote:

I don't know for sure but from what I read online they are saying that the runway can't handle the A321. Maybe once it is fully loaded it can't take off? Would be interesting to know.

If Wizz Air keeps on adding A321s, I wonder if we might see them finally launch flights from DUS.

While 2000m is a little too short for a fully-loaded A321, an A321 doesn't need to be anywhere near fully-loaded to make Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Poland, Hungary etc. There must be another reason, maybe to do with how the aircraft are parked at gates?

Would be interesting to know if there are any other airports out there with similar runway length that receive the A321.

LTN has a 2162m runway, and it definitely supports A321 ops, they certainly go as far as Southern Spain, but I think they may be used for W6's routes to the Canaries and Greece as well.

The reason are the displaced thresholds of the DTM runway.



That are the ones, who look like a zebra crossing. A plane is only permitted to land behind them. So the usable lenght of the DTM runway is only approximately 1.700 meters today.

It is currently in the process to approve moving one displayed threshold 300 meters east to the end of the runway.

After that a A321 can use the airport.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displaced_threshold

Interesting, we finally have our answer.
Thank you.

I’m pretty sure they stated that the Vilnius base will be all 320. On a cost basis I believe that wizz with the 321 and especially the 321neo is the cheapest airline in Europe in terms of CASK.

However when we look at a base like Vilnius which is all A320 could be competing against Ryanair’s 737. On this basis I think Ryan slightly edge it on a cost perspective mainly due to the leasing principle that wizz operates on.

Interesting to see how a base like Vilnius will compete with Ryanair and wizz going at it with many routes being directly competed on.

On one runway in JFK there is 1,3km unavailable for landing ^^



—

W6 opened up the base in DTM recently. They also fly to CGN. DUS is not far away from both airports. There are regional and intercity trains having non-stop connections between CGN and Dusseldorf.

FR left DUS recently and W6 left FRA due to high airport charges. So I see it rather unlikely W6 flying to DUS under the current state. Surely if DUS offers an incentive program like Zagreb now or FRA some time ago. DUS is already a big base for EW.

Didn't Wizz Air only fly to FRA as long as discounts were in place?

yes ^^

Apparently VIE has a longer lasting incentive program so Wizz stays there

MCTSET wrote:

On a cost basis I believe that wizz with the 321 and especially the 321neo is the cheapest airline in Europe in terms of CASK.

These are the CASKs of Ryan and Wizz:

Personally I think the worst is behind us and it can only get better from now on. Here are a few reasons:

1. even if there are restrictions in place, seems like vaccinated people will still be able to travel to a certain extent.
2. European governments are not willing to introduce harsh curfews like the ones we had last year. Harsh disruptions will most likely not happen.
3. People are starting to learn how to live with covid meaning that they will manage to overcome some challenges from now on.

All these will help aviation and airlines like Wizz Air recover. I think all governments with the exception of the Autralian one know that harsh anti-covid measures will kill the aviation and tourism industry.

Wizz has traditionally depended heavily on people in low income countries moving to high income countries and then regularly flying back and forth. I know they have moved away from this model a bit, but the last 18 months has dissuaded many people from taking jobs in foreign countries when their jobs are relatively unstable (eg cafe/restaurants/hotels).

I am not sure I would be optimistic about Wizz until maybe next spring when vaccination rates will be higher across Europe, and Europe has tested vaccine efficacy across millions of people against whatever respiratory issues winter can produce. By next spring, people in low income countries will have a much better idea as to whether taking a tenuous job abroad is a good idea or not

TIA getting bigger by the day

Starting this December, you can travel directly from Tirana to Liverpool, Madrid, Billund and Oslo.

I think there will be benefits for vaccinated people in more and more countries, including for international travels. So incentivised, more people gonna take the vaccines.

—

Yeah Tirana has now 35 Wizz destinations including Abu Dhabi. I remember there was a surge after the Ernest airline was gone. Wizz took the opportunity.

—

airlinenavigato wrote:

Just some explanations for the interpretation.
The rent of aircraft for Wizz is higher than the depreciation of Ryanair, because Wizz leases a big part of their fleet.

The marketing expenses for Wizz are even lower than Ryanairs ^^ From Ryanair I saw street advertising in the recent years ("fares from 19,99€")

The maintenance cost of Ryanair is lower because they have their own, while Wizz Air uses Lufthansa Technik.

The wages in Ryanair surely increased due to the acceptance of unions. Wizz has mostly employees from Eastern Europe, where the wages are lower than in Ryanairs Western European bases.

davidjohnson6 wrote:

Wizz has traditionally depended heavily on people in low income countries moving to high income countries and then regularly flying back and forth. I know they have moved away from this model a bit, but the last 18 months has dissuaded many people from taking jobs in foreign countries when their jobs are relatively unstable (eg cafe/restaurants/hotels).

I am not sure I would be optimistic about Wizz until maybe next spring when vaccination rates will be higher across Europe, and Europe has tested vaccine efficacy across millions of people against whatever respiratory issues winter can produce. By next spring, people in low income countries will have a much better idea as to whether taking a tenuous job abroad is a good idea or not

Wizz Air is doing now what FR did when they started leaving provincial airports for the likes of AMS, MAD... However I feel Wizz Air is rushing things. They don't want to grow organically like they did in Luton but are forcing things during a very unpredictable situation in Europe. They should have sat this one out until things become more predictable.

SCQ83 wrote:

TIA getting bigger by the day

Starting this December, you can travel directly from Tirana to Liverpool, Madrid, Billund and Oslo.

A 6th plane will be stationed in TIA as well in December.

In July, the TIA passenger numbers surpassed the July '19 numbers by c. 10%, although still below 2019, year to date. A big driver for that has been Wizzair, but a slew of other airlines have either introduced flights this year, or increased frequencies. For example, LH flies 4x daily to TIA this summer (3x FRA, 1xMUC). BA on select days has as many as 4x daily to LHR, and that's on top of other TIA-London (LTN, LGW and STN) flights. 4 months ago TIA had no flights to the Gulf, and now it has flights to DXB, RUH and in a couple of weeks to AUH as well.

Lastly, although I don't have any concrete evidence, I believe the new TIA airport operator has been aggressive in courting new airlines with the rights incentives in place. I think that has also been key to the growth.

Another one is cut, this time around it's Sarajevo-Luton. It was delayed a few times but now seems to be completely suspended.

https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/08/wi ... route.html

TIA wrote:

SCQ83 wrote:

TIA getting bigger by the day

Starting this December, you can travel directly from Tirana to Liverpool, Madrid, Billund and Oslo.

A 6th plane will be stationed in TIA as well in December.

In July, the TIA passenger numbers surpassed the July '19 numbers by c. 10%, although still below 2019, year to date. A big driver for that has been Wizzair, but a slew of other airlines have either introduced flights this year, or increased frequencies. For example, LH flies 4x daily to TIA this summer (3x FRA, 1xMUC). BA on select days has as many as 4x daily to LHR, and that's on top of other TIA-London (LTN, LGW and STN) flights. 4 months ago TIA had no flights to the Gulf, and now it has flights to DXB, RUH and in a couple of weeks to AUH as well.

Lastly, although I don't have any concrete evidence, I believe the new TIA airport operator has been aggressive in courting new airlines with the rights incentives in place. I think that has also been key to the growth.

New operator has introduced a incentive scheme which is very attractive for airlines. Worth mentioning that with all the expansion, TIA is starting to look like a Greek island airport in the middle of the summer. I know there are plans for expansion after the summer season ends, but i think a completely new terminal is desperately needed.

https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/08/wi ... nsion.html

More Sarajevo: budget airline will introduce operations from Sarajevo to Billund, Cologne, Hahn, Hamburg, Malmo, Sandefjord and Treviso.

And Tuzla. New routes will be added to Milan Malpensa Airport and Nuremberg.

NeperQiell wrote:

New operator has introduced a incentive scheme which is very attractive for airlines. Worth mentioning that with all the expansion, TIA is starting to look like a Greek island airport in the middle of the summer. I know there are plans for expansion after the summer season ends, but i think a completely new terminal is desperately needed.

The obvious advantage for TIA is that on top of the typical "gasto" traffic from Eastern Europe, it has untapped tourism potential. That mix (VFR + tourism) is usually very attractive for low-cost carriers.

NeperQiell wrote:

Worth mentioning that with all the expansion, TIA is starting to look like a Greek island airport in the middle of the summer. I know there are plans for expansion after the summer season ends, but i think a completely new terminal is desperately needed.

An airport is planned in Vlore in the south of Albania, next to the main beach resorts.

SCQ83 wrote:

More Sarajevo: budget airline will introduce operations from Sarajevo to Billund, Cologne, Hahn, Hamburg, Malmo, Sandefjord and Treviso.

And Tuzla. New routes will be added to Milan Malpensa Airport and Nuremberg.

NeperQiell wrote:

New operator has introduced a incentive scheme which is very attractive for airlines. Worth mentioning that with all the expansion, TIA is starting to look like a Greek island airport in the middle of the summer. I know there are plans for expansion after the summer season ends, but i think a completely new terminal is desperately needed.

The obvious advantage for TIA is that on top of the typical "gasto" traffic from Eastern Europe, it has untapped tourism potential. That mix (VFR + tourism) is usually very attractive for low-cost carriers.

Well yes, that has always been the case in the last years, the point was that the current operator is actually using this advantage.

davidjohnson6 wrote:

NeperQiell wrote:

Worth mentioning that with all the expansion, TIA is starting to look like a Greek island airport in the middle of the summer. I know there are plans for expansion after the summer season ends, but i think a completely new terminal is desperately needed.

An airport is planned in Vlore in the south of Albania, next to the main beach resorts.

True, not just 1 but 2 actually. And it will take at least 2 years for Vlorë to be finished. TIA will continue to remain the main entry port for Albania, serving the capital and economical hub of the country. Current terminal can not handle the current number of passengers and it is a fact, let alone in the future.

I understand that TIA was known to have high airport fees and that is why it was avoided by the LCC’s. after COVID has a new operator arrived or is the existing one introduced a incentive scheme

airlinenavigato wrote:

I think there will be benefits for vaccinated people in more and more countries, including for international travels. So incentivised, more people gonna take the vaccines.

—

Yeah Tirana has now 35 Wizz destinations including Abu Dhabi. I remember there was a surge after the Ernest airline was gone. Wizz took the opportunity.

—

airlinenavigato wrote:

Just some explanations for the interpretation.
The rent of aircraft for Wizz is higher than the depreciation of Ryanair, because Wizz leases a big part of their fleet.

The marketing expenses for Wizz are even lower than Ryanairs ^^ From Ryanair I saw street advertising in the recent years ("fares from 19,99€")

The maintenance cost of Ryanair is lower because they have their own, while Wizz Air uses Lufthansa Technik.

The wages in Ryanair surely increased due to the acceptance of unions. Wizz has mostly employees from Eastern Europe, where the wages are lower than in Ryanairs Western European bases.

Will W6 ever consider doing its own maintenance activities. I understand out sourcing this to Lufthansa Technik when you have a small fleet but Wizz is fast approaching 150 aircraft and growing. The economies of scale is increasingly in their favour especially with a very uniform fleet.

airlinenavigato wrote:

The reason are the displaced thresholds of the DTM runway.



That are the ones, who look like a zebra crossing. A plane is only permitted to land behind them. So the usable lenght of the DTM runway is only approximately 1.700 meters today.

It is currently in the process to approve moving one displayed threshold 300 meters east to the end of the runway.

After that a A321 can use the airport.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displaced_threshold

WIZZAIR closes its 3x A320 base at DTM from late October 2021, saying operational costs are too high in Germany.

https://www.airliners.de/wizzair-basis- ... ssen/61641

NeperQiell wrote:

Well yes, that has always been the case in the last years, the point was that the current operator is actually using this advantage.

Yes and no. Albania has been growing as a tourism destination but it is still very unknown and niche. Tell someone in Spain you want to go on holidays to Albania, and most people will think you are nuts because 90% of people only know of Albania because of mafias and they will assimilate take a holiday in Albania to take a holiday in Moldova (and the fact that Spain has beaches has nothing to do with it because Croatia and Greece have became extremely popular for Spaniards). I bet most people don't even know Albania has a coast.

factsonly wrote:

airlinenavigato wrote:

The reason are the displaced thresholds of the DTM runway.



That are the ones, who look like a zebra crossing. A plane is only permitted to land behind them. So the usable lenght of the DTM runway is only approximately 1.700 meters today.

It is currently in the process to approve moving one displayed threshold 300 meters east to the end of the runway.

After that a A321 can use the airport.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displaced_threshold

WIZZAIR closes its 3x A320 base at DTM from late October 2021, saying operational costs are too high in Germany.

https://www.airliners.de/wizzair-basis- ... ssen/61641

Sometimes you do wonder what drives short term airline decision making. Wizz Air has a long history in DTM and no doubt knew perfectly well the operating costs in Germany. The yields were probably just not high enough on the new leisure routes.

The airline will operate 30+ destinations from DTM this winter even without a base.

Wizz has closed also RIX base.

EIBPI wrote:

The yields were probably just not high enough on the new leisure routes.

I think so too. Imo a 'German Gemma Collins' was missing, making the East European people mover into an affordable leisure airline for Germans.

MCTSET wrote:

Will W6 ever consider doing its own maintenance activities.

For me it shows the importance of safety to Wizz by hiring German quality Lufthansa Technik for maintenance. People may trust Wizz more this way. MOL may use in his marketing speech an East European maintanance against Wizz. Currently he uses the Wizz maintainance against them only because of high costs ^^

MCTSET wrote:

I understand out sourcing this to Lufthansa Technik when you have a small fleet but Wizz is fast approaching 150 aircraft and growing. The economies of scale is increasingly in their favour especially with a very uniform fleet.

Wizz should get some discounts for their high volume of aircraft. LH Technik is under pressure currently. Some stations become closed, employees need to leave the company.

https://www-aero-de.translate.goog/news ... ax,nv,elem

I don't think most passengers have any idea that Wizz outsources maintenance to Lufthansa instead of doing it in house. I certainly haven't seen anybody suggesting Wizz is a safer airline because of this

Anybody suggesting Ryanair is an unsafe airline usually get a letter from some lawyers pretty quickly.

When MOL speaks about Wizz having an "East European plane maintenance", people may get ideas quickly.

People havn't heard about the LH maintenance because there was no reason to worry about.

airlinenavigato wrote:

When MOL speaks about Wizz having an "East European plane maintenance", people may get ideas quickly.

People havn't heard about the LH maintenance because there was no reason to worry about.

One of Ryanair’s biggest maintenance centres is in Kaunas, Lithuania I doubt they would accuse wizz of cutting corners in maintenance if they are doing the same. I am not aware of anyone who holds a negative perception of east euro maintenance or even cares, it is all EASA approved and to the same standard.

An impression of high safety in the population regarding (U)LCC is very important for them.

People rather don't know about EASA standards. But western European people have their prejudices about the quality of work in Eastern Europe.

The Kaunas maintenance is managed by the Western European company Ryanair.

I think Wizz can afford the lawyers needed to threaten people who make unfounded claims about poor safety

The bad general opinion may stay in the population. The words "East European plane maintenance" is not unfounded and may not be enough for a (threat of) indictment. But enough to harm the business.

You can read the latest anual reports of Wizz and Ryanair. Both have the "safety" topic described as a key risk. Especially in the Ryanair annual report it's detailed about the safety impression of (U)LCC in the population.

Wizz proudly writes to have a "world-class maintenance".

Btw in the Ryanair report there are described in detail over 60 risks regarding the company ^^

airlinenavigato wrote:

The bad general opinion may stay in the population. The words "East European plane maintenance" is not unfounded and may not be enough for a (threat of) indictment. But enough to harm the business.

You can read the latest anual reports of Wizz and Ryanair. Both have the "safety" topic described as a key risk. Especially in the Ryanair annual report it's detailed about the safety impression of (U)LCC in the population.

Wizz proudly writes to have a "world-class maintenance".

Btw in the Ryanair report there are described in detail over 60 risks regarding the company ^^

is there any airline anywhere that doesn't have have safety as a key risk?

I wrote that sentence in an overall context...

Even people frequent on an aviation forum have no clue that Wizz is not using Lufthansa Technik for maintenance. In fact Wizz Air is using like 7-8 different maintenance providers for line and heavy maintenance as well. They got rid of Lufthansa Technik Line even at their biggest maintenance base (Budapest) recently ín favor of ACE (Aeroplex). Lufthansa Technik provides spares and engineering know-how in general but they actually maintain only a fraction of Wizz's fleet.

Their maintenance is diversified. My opinion is for the the case that Wizz does (almost) everything inhouse.

There may be consent or disagreement with that opinion

The former (long time) head of engineering was moved to head of crew planning and then fired when the thing hit the fan a few weeks ago. Enough said?

Personally I am shocked about Riga ... I understand they will still serve several destinations but they have been an important player there for many years back. I guess there is a party at BT HQ today as they can relax a little bit.

Closure of DTM and RIX, it makes me think if they are using this opportunity to close these underpeforming bases as A320 leases end? Do we know how many A320s will leave the fleet in winter?

SCQ83 wrote:

NeperQiell wrote:

Well yes, that has always been the case in the last years, the point was that the current operator is actually using this advantage.

Yes and no. Albania has been growing as a tourism destination but it is still very unknown and niche. Tell someone in Spain you want to go on holidays to Albania, and most people will think you are nuts because 90% of people only know of Albania because of mafias and they will assimilate take a holiday in Albania to take a holiday in Moldova (and the fact that Spain has beaches has nothing to do with it because Croatia and Greece have became extremely popular for Spaniards). I bet most people don't even know Albania has a coast.

No offense, but Spain is not the center of the world and this is coming from someone who owns a house in Spain. The fact that direct flights from Spain to Albania didn't exist until two weeks ago, doesn't mean that it's the same for the rest of Europe. Tourists from northern and eastern Europe have been coming to Albania for a number of years now. And this year, there has been a huge rise in tourists from the Gulf.

NeperQiell wrote:

Well yes, that has always been the case in the last years, the point was that the current operator is actually using this advantage.

Apparently the plan is to invest c $100mm in expanding the terminal, apron and runway works. They think passenger numbers will reach 10m in three years. Tripling 2019 numbers in 3 years sounds quite aggressive, so I won't hold my breath but let's see.

Blerg wrote:

Personally I am shocked about Riga ... I understand they will still serve several destinations but they have been an important player there for many years back. I guess there is a party at BT HQ today as they can relax a little bit.

Wizz have been a fairly insignificant player with 6% or so of RIX traffic. The total dominance of Air Baltic is quite striking looking at the RIX departures board.

With Ryanair opening a base in October, Wizz probably concluded it just wasn’t worth the fight anymore.

EIBPI wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Personally I am shocked about Riga ... I understand they will still serve several destinations but they have been an important player there for many years back. I guess there is a party at BT HQ today as they can relax a little bit.

Wizz have been a fairly insignificant player with 6% or so of RIX traffic. The total dominance of Air Baltic is quite striking looking at the RIX departures board.

With Ryanair opening a base in October, Wizz probably concluded it just wasn’t worth the fight anymore.

Yes my thought they didn’t want the smoke with FR. interesting that W6 operates to every country in Europe now (except Belarus but they had plans before the whole FR forced grounding) except Ireland. I wonder why