Low-Cost Airline Industry Media Analysis (Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia) Jun 2016 – Feb 2017

Methodology 3 5 6 7 8 12 15 19 21 24 Executive summary Bulgaria Serbia Analysed period: 01.06.16 – 28.02.17 The study encompasses all mentions of the three biggest low-cost airlines Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet in Serbian, Croatian and Bulgarian online media for the period between June 2016 and February 2017. Media channels: Traditional Media, Blogs, Forums, Facebook*, Twitter 5 Bulgaria 6 Serbia 7 Croatia 8 Ryanair - Sentiment 12 Ryanair – Key Media Stories All coverage harvested via Perceptica’s own Media Analytics tool *Only publicly available Facebook profiles and official Facebook pages are taken into consideration 15 Wizz Air - Sentiment 19 Wizz Air – Key Media Stories 21 easyJet - Sentiment 24 easyJet – Key Media Stories

Bulgaria Serbia Croatia Executive summary Bulgaria Serbia Croatia During the monitored period, Ryanair and Wizz Air were the undisputed leaders in terms of Share of Voice in the low-cost air traffic market in the Balkan region. However the Croatian market was dominated by Ryanair and easyJet (56% vs. 34%). Ryanair entered the Bulgarian market in 2010, commencing flights from the country’s second largest city of Plovdiv to London Stansted. It took the company 6 years to expand operations and to open a new base in Sofia. Now the company is quickly catching up with Wizz Air in terms of media coverage, taking 39% of the overall Share of Voice. The third most popular low-cost airline in Bulgaria is easyJet, operating flights from Bourgas, Varna, and Sofia. EasyJet was the second most mentioned company during the first three months of the monitored period, but following news of Ryanair’s Sofia base opening and Wizz Air’s increased marketing efforts, the number of the media publications about easyJet decreased significantly. The low-cost market in Serbia can still be considered a developing one. Wizz Air came in first in terms of Share of Voice in Bulgaria, but was overtaken by Ryanair thanks to the numerous comments about the latter’s Nis routes. Although Wizz is the de facto Serbian low-cost leader in terms of carried passengers, Ryanair managed to score higher when it comes to media coverage in the country it entered just last year. Ryanair also does not serve Serbia’s capital Belgrade. The low prices Ryanair offered from Nis Airport primarily helped the carrier attain the largest amount of the overall media coverage. Ryanair and EasyJet were the leading low-cost carriers in Croatia, taking 90% of the media conversation. That leaves the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings (ex Germanwings) with 10%. The sheer amount of coverage came from the announcement of new routes from Croatia’s Dubrovnik and Split.

Executive summary Overall Sentiment Ryanair scored the most positive attitude on Social and Traditional Media (15% of the overall sentiment). The sentiment towards the most used low-cost carrier in Bulgaria and Serbia Wizz Air remained mostly neutral (83%). However, the positive attitude dominated the negative one (11% vs 6%). The two major contributors to the Wizz Air’s positive online image were the Promotions and Awards themes. In October, various news outlets reported that Wizz Air had received the low cost airline of the year award from CAPA, which prompted favourable media coverage. Wizz Air was distinguished by media outlets as the low cost airline that “has been the biggest standout strategically during the year, has had the greatest impact on the development of the airline industry, has established itself as a leader, and provided a benchmark for others to follow”. During a discussion on “How the low-cost airlines change the tourist search and offers” Bulgarian tourism minister Stela Baltova noted that the lost-cost carrier had significantly contributed to the country’s rise of tourists in 2016. That news alone was responsible for almost half of the positive tone towards Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet. While Prices was the most positive driver for Ryanair, users criticized Wizz Air’s high ticket prices on some destinations. News that EasyJet removed a woman off a flight after she suffered an epileptic seizure despite paramedics declaring her fit to fly notably contributed to its negative sentiment. Overall Sentiment

Bulgaria September 2016 – Wizz Air announced new Sofia-Kutaisi route and the reintroduction of domestic flights from Bulgaria’s capital to seaside resort Varna. December 2016 - Wizz Air announced it would connect Varna, on the Black Sea coast, with Dortmund and Munich Memmingen in Germany, Eindhoven in The Netherlands, Larnaca in Cyprus and Milan Bergamo in Italy. January 2017 – Ryanair moved to Sofia Airport’s Terminal 2.

Serbia September 2016 – Ryanair entered the Serbian market with flights from Nis Airport to Berlin (SFX), Weeze, Bratislava, and Milan Bergamo. August 2016 - Wizz Air announced a $100 mln investment in expansion of Serbian operations, adding a second aircraft at Belgrade’s base and launching flights to Friedrichshafen, Hanover and Nuremberg in Germany and Malta. January 2017 - Wizz Air passenger traffic in Serbia increased by 19%.

Croatia July 2016 - EasyJet reached 1 mln passengers to/from Croatia's Dubrovnik, plans to expand service. September 2016 – Ryanair announced Zadar – Glasgow route. November 2016 – Ryanair announced Zadar – Copenhagen route. December 2016 - easyJet unveiled major Croatian expansion.

Ryanair Sentiment The Ryanair’s media coverage analysis helped draw a clear picture of their customers’ needs and preferences. Ticket prices and promotions were amongst the top priorities for them and the main reason they chose Ryanair. The third most popular theme was Luggage although the sentiment towards Ryanair’s carry-on policies was mainly neutral (87%). Social Media users praised Ryanair’s marketing initiatives, acknowledging them as interesting and innovative (the ads featuring Donald Trump and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton), but said its website needed serious improvements (also adding to the negative comments in the Customer Service category). The two carry-on bags rule was always pointed out as the main advantage Ryanair had over Wizz Air as the latter allows only one (smaller) bag on board the aircraft for free. The negative attitude came after some senior company executives made public comments suggesting Ryanair was considering a ban on the second bag travellers can carry on board. Consumers were most critical towards client service and two main points of it in particular. One concerned the timeframe for online check-in that was reduced to just four days prior to the flight. Problems with online reservations were the other major concern. Consumers were discontent with the frequent crashes Ryanair's website experienced when the company launched promotional offers.

USERS CRITICISING WEBSITE USABILITY POPULAR VLOGGER BASHING RYANAIR RYANAIR DECISION TO CUT CHECK-IN DEADLINE TO FOUR DAYS WAS MET WITH PUBLIC OUTRAGE

Ryanair CZECH COUPLE WENT ON A VACATION IN FRENCH NICE BUT ENDED IN SERBIAN NIS THE LAUNCH OF THE BERLIN-NIS ROUTE IN SERBIA

Ryanair THE PRICES AND PROMOTIONS THEMES GENERATED A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE POSITIVE COVERAGE

Key Media Stories in Bulgaria Ryanair Key Media Stories in Bulgaria Story News Outlet Date Country Themes Ryanair to add 19 flights to Bulgaria next summer SeeNews.com 31.08.16 Bulgaria New Routes Ryanair files a complaint with EC against Bulgaria Air OFFNews.bg Corporate Environment Ryanair launches huge EUR 2.00 flight sale Money.bg 26.10.16 Promotions Ryanair cuts check-in deadline to four days Bloombergtv.bg 21.10.16 Policy Changes EU orders Ryanair to repay illegal Austrian airport aid Dnes.bg 14.11.16 Fines Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary reveals Ryanair plan to offer free flights Economic.bg 24.11.16 Promotions, Corporate Strategy

Key Media Stories in Croatia Ryanair Key Media Stories in Croatia Story News Outlet Date Country Theme Ryanair to add Bristol-Zadar route from end-March 2017 SeeNews.com 07.12.16 Croatia New Routes Ryanair suspends Osijek-London Stansted service - report 17.01.17 Routes Suspension Ryanair plans to carry 200m passengers annually by 2024 Poslovni.hr 07.11.16 Corporate Strategy Ryanair Launches Copenhagen to Zadar for Summer 2017 Total-Croatia-news.com 01.10.16

Key Media Stories in Serbia Ryanair Key Media Stories in Serbia Story News Outlet Date Country Theme Passenger traffic soars at Serbia's Nis airport SeeNews.com 14.12.16 Serbia Traffic Figures Ryanair airplane diverted from Nis to Sofia due to bad weather Blic.rs 15.01.17 Flight Operations Lufthansa overtaken by Ryanair in passenger numbers in 2016 Tanjug 11.01.17 Ryanair wants to make flights free Rts.rs 23.11.16 Promotions, Corporate Strategy Czech couple went on a vacation in French Nice but ended in Serbian Niš Rtv.rs General News

Wizz Air During the analysed period Wizz Air came in first in terms of Share of Voice, generating 48% of the online media content (in Bulgaria). The airline was mostly compared to the newcomer on the Bulgarian market – Ryanair - described as Wizz Air’s biggest competitor within the sector, launching the same routes at competitive low prices. 
 Some of the most shared news stories concerned the launches of the Catania – Sofia and Kutaisi - Sofia routes as well as the reintroduction of domestic flights from Sofia to Varna. The most discussed theme related to Wizz Air was the customer service, which also registered most of the negative comments (30%). Negative sentiment stemmed mainly from mentions of serious flight delays and the poor usability of the company’s new website. Low ticket prices drove positive mentions, thus helping the favourable tone surpass the negative one. After Ryanair’s base opening in Sofia, the Hungarian low-cost airline started a mass advertising campaign, but it did not improve its Marketing&Advertising publication volumes. On the contrary – the frequent promotions prompted Social Media users’ comments that the prices of certain tickets and routes were in fact higher after the promotion’s launch, implying the discounts were not real. Sentiment

Wizz Air DELAYED FLIGHT TO MILAN BERGAMO NEGATIVE MEDIA COVERAGE COMPLAINTS ABOUT WIZZ AIR’S LOYALTY PROGRAMS USER CRITICIZING WIZZ AIR’S PROMOTIONS, TICKET PRICES AND LUGGAGE POLICIES

Wizz Air WIZZ AIR CARRIED OVER 500 000 PASSENGERS IN SERBIA SEENEWS.COM ARTICLE ON NEW ROUTES FROM CROATIA

Wizz Air WIZZ AIR RECEIVES LOW COST AIRLINE OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM CAPA User praising wizz air’s new website on twitter Positive comments on wizz air’s ticket prices

Key Media Stories in Bulgaria Wizz Air Key Media Stories in Bulgaria Story News Outlet Date Country Theme Wizz Air to launch route from Frankfurt International Airport to Sofia SeeNews.com 14.02.17 Bulgaria New Routes Wizz Air to launch new route from Bulgaria's Varna to Tel Aviv Varnautre.bg 11.01.17 Wizz Air launches Sofia-Varna route in Bulgaria, adds Italy route Capital.bg 16.09.16 Wizz Air launches flights from Sofia to Copenhagen, Nuremberg News.ibox.bg 14.06.16

Key Media Stories in Serbia and Croatia Wizz Air Key Media Stories in Serbia and Croatia Story News Outlet Date Country Theme Wizz Air carries 870,000 passengers to, from Bosnia, Serbia in 2016 - report SeeNews.com 10.01.17 Serbia Traffic Figures Wizz Air passenger traffic in Serbia rises 19% 05.01.17 Wizz Air to invest $100 mln in expansion of Serbian operations N1info.com 31.08.16 Investments, New Routes Wizz Air announces fifth route from Nis – To Dortmund Rts.rs 22.08.16 New Routes After Ryanair, Now Wizz Air to Start Operations in Osijek Total-croatia-news.com 21.12.16 Croatia

easyJet Sentiment British low-cost carrier easyJet came in third, gathering just 6% positive and 12% negative Social Media mentions. A large portion of the conversation was generated by people who did not express concrete opinions (82% neutral mentions). Traditional news outlets heavily emphasized on information about the financial results of the carrier and the difficulties the airline faced due to air traffic disruption (strikes), terrorism and last but not least: Brexit. The major news story (covered by almost every news outlet) was easyJet’s celebration of flying 1 million passengers between Sofia and London Gatwick. EasyJet was the second most mentioned company during the first three months of the monitored period, but following news of Ryanair’s Sofia base opening and Wizz Air’s increased marketing efforts, the number of the media publications about easyJet significantly decreased.

easyJet EasyJet reaches 1 mln passengers to/from Croatia's Dubrovnik (in Bulgarian media) EasyJet reaches 1 mln passengers on sofia-London gatwicK route

easyJet Easyjet’s new varna-London and varna-berlin routes EASYJET’S EXPANSION OF OPERATIONS IN CROATIA User applauded easyjet’s prices (from varna), but said he preferred Ryanair

Key Media Stories in Bulgaria easyJet Key Media Stories in Bulgaria Story News Outlet Date Country Theme EasyJet celebrates carrying one million passengers on its Sofia – London Gatwick route webcafe.bg 24.08.16 Bulgaria Traffic Figures EasyJet May passenger numbers up 5.7% Dnevnik.bg 06.06.16 easyJet to start flights from Bulgaria's Varna in 2017 Investor.bg 13.12.16 New Routes

Key Media Stories in Serbia and Croatia easyJet Key Media Stories in Serbia and Croatia Story News Outlet Date Country Theme easyJet to link London, Croatia's Zadar with seasonal flights from May Poslovni.hr 09.02.17 Croatia New Routes, Seasonal Routes easyJet to add seven new routes to Croatia in 2017 SeeNews.com 13.12.16 New Routes EasyJet reaches 1 mln passengers to/from Croatia's Dubrovnik, plans to expand service 26.07.16 Traffic Figures, New Routes, Operations Expansion EasyJet Opens Talks Over Post-Brexit HQ Move Palo.rs 01.07.16 Serbia Corporate Strategy