Banja Luka Airport in crisis

Troubled times for Banja Luka Airport
Banja Luka Airport is struggling to stay open as it falls into deeper financial trouble. The airport is currently served by only 2 airlines - B&H Airlines and Adria Airways. B&H Airlines operates flights from Banja Luka to Zurich. The service originates from Sarajevo and is failing to attract passengers. Similarly, Adria Airways on average carries 5 passengers on its services from Ljubljana to Banja Luka and vice versa. Flights operated by the Slovenian carrier are subsidised, which has led to fierce criticism from the media in the past few weeks.

The Government of the entity of Republika Srpska yesterday said it will grant Banja Luka Airport 307.000 Euros. Sky Srpska, an airline which is supposed to be based in Banja Luka, will be given a further 409.000 Euros for development. “The financial situation at Banja Luka Airport is difficult. We will have to find a long term solution for the airport such as the opening of new flights. We are determined to help them”, Aleksandar Džombić, the entity’s Prime Minister said.

Last week the airport’s employees staged industrial action, unhappy with late wages. Banja Luka Airport prospered during the early 2000s when Jat Airways set up a Banja Luka based offshoot named Air Srpska. However, the Serbian airline decided to take back its aircraft and focus on its core business back at home, thus closing Air Srpska. Since then the airport has struggled to attract any carriers.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:09

    That sad mate... Airliners looks for good places and population size but can't they at least go to an small airport just to see the passengers number and if it good then they will change their mind and stay the same flight.......

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:29

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:50

    Kraljevo is near to Belgrade and Sarajevo than Banja Luka. Banja Luka is bigger then Kraljevo. But Kraljevo has potential... Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Zrak11:13

    So does anybody actually understand how air srpska spends their money? Almost 1m BAM and this is not even the first time they receive that kind of money.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:34

    pay additional support to JP to get new connections ;) the management of JP will get a huge ammount of help prox 90 mio EUR so.... they dont need to keep prospective flights they will even cut them. Good chance for BNX to get additional flights from JP.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:06

    I heard is possible to be the only pax on the Adria Ljubljana - Banja luka flight.
    Is it true?
    I would feel like a vip or maybe as someone going to the dark land of no return (because no one flyin g there).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous12:54

    Last year, in 2010, BH Airlines send the best possible offer to BNX, and they refuse it only because of political reasons...

    Today it's clear: that was their last chance...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous13:03

    I am not surprised with no passangeres on Adria's flight as there is such bad marketing about it, and THE MAIN reason are Adria's prices, they are far to HIGH, I wanted to go to BNX via LJU but simply cannot afford it, it was over 700 euros for return flight!!!!!!!! B&H Airlines the same problem, marketing DOESN'T exist, no connection flights from Zurich as they hardly have share code with any airline so there you go. BNX needs something like OSI, Ryanair or Wizzair, cheap flight, advertised well, as simple as that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous15:34

    BL never featured as an 'air' destionation in former YU, so what is different today? Diminutive catchment area; worsened living standard of the population with no disposable income; relative proximity of Zagreb and Sarajevo...Austrian tried to establish it as a viable feeding destination and failed. Low cost carriers are not so 'low cost' at all if LF doesn't go over 80% on their brand new 738s or 320s. It is a pure political experiment greased with public money that will have to stop, sooner or later.

    [SK]

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  10. The poor load factors are due to poor marketing. Many people in RS still believe that Banja Luka is a military airport. Hardly anyone knows that Adria operate flights out of there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous21:27

    10jul LJUBNX 2 PAX
    10jul BNXLJU 14 PAX

    11jul LJUBNX 12 PAX
    11jul BNXLJU 6 PAX

    13jul LJUBNX 9 PAX
    13jul BNXLJU 3 PAX

    14jul LJUBNX 0 PAX
    14jul BNXLJU 6 PAX

    15jul LJUBNX 8 PAX
    15jul BNXLJU 6 PAX

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous00:43

    @ last anonymous

    I've noticed that you have access to some very interesting data.

    Would you happen to know the overall passenger numbers (per month or annually) on some of the most popular routes from BEG (Milan, Vienna, Munich and Zurich) and percentage of transfer passengers on each?

    Thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:26

    Thank you
    Anonymous said...

    10jul LJUBNX 2 PAX
    10jul BNXLJU 14 PAX

    we appriciate!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:27

    Appreciate

    ReplyDelete
  15. Last anonymous:

    I don't have the transfer numbers but I have the overall.

    Here is for June:

    SVO: 13,999
    CDG: 11,988
    FCO: 12,616
    LON: 13,059
    FRA: 18,521
    MUC: 15,156
    ZRH: 19,187
    VIE: 20,507
    IST: 9.058

    Year over year the greatest increase in lf for June was that of airBaltic from 47% in 2010 to 77% in 2011.
    Jat's best performing route for June was Moscow with average loadfactor of 91%.
    Airline with the worst lf is Malev whose lf went down from 50% last year to 47%.

    A big shock was Tarom whose lf went from 60% in 2010 to 71% in 2011.

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:51

    @Nemjee

    where do you get this data bro?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous17:46

    Many thanks, Nemjee!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous17:56

    @Nemjee

    How should we read the data? Is this total number of passengers flying TO & FROM these destinations?

    chelica2

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes, it's the total passenger number which means it contains both arriving and departing passengers.
    I could have separated them by arriving and departing and by the airline that carried them but I was a bit too lazy for that :P

    But if any of you guys are interested in the numbers of any airline from January to today just let me know ;)

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous20:33

    @Nemjee

    is this something secret you just know, or is there a website or something we can visit..? haha ;)

    can you let us know BEG - LHR flights how they are doing w JAT, cabin load factor this year, and from last year june to this year june or something similar there. if you can also do the same with dubai, tel aviv, skoplje, ohrid, athens :)) thanks

    ReplyDelete
  21. lol no there is no site :)

    Here are the passenger numbers, then you can calculate the lf yourself :)

    BEG-LHR
    June 2010
    BA: 4,964
    JU: 6,612 (8,092 in 2011)
    WZ: 1,009 (4,967 in 2011)

    BEG-DXB
    JU: 1,407 (2,236 in 2011)

    BEG-TLV
    JU: 510 (701 in 2011)

    BEG-SKP
    JU: 4,648 (5,756 in 2011)

    BEG-OHD
    JU: 517 (984 in 2011)

    BEG-ATH:
    JU: 1,175 (2.884 in 2011)
    A3: 3,454 (2010)
    OA: 3,056 (2011)

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous22:36

    pax numbers are up on every flight, very good., but do you have the average load factors for those flights...?

    and what about Sarajevo, Ljubljana..? sorry hehe i forgot about those,

    so you must be real close to belgrade airport, maybe the CEO hahaha :D poz

    ReplyDelete
  23. @NRS

    Are you sure it is poor marketing or is it simply that the demand just is not there for these high priced flights. I mean most people drive 2 hours to Zagreb or 3 hours to Sarajevo to save 400 Bosnian Marks on a plane ticket. Let's face it most people and business in this region are not swimming in money to be able to pay for such high fares.

    Also your name is a thinly veiled nationalistic nickname. Why can't you be like most everyone else on this board and focus on the aviation and leave the politics for other forums? Why must you mix in these separatist politics?

    Fact is, no matter what BNX is a part of it is and will be struggling. The politicians are throwing money into a hole (probably friends' pockets) to make it seem like something is being done when the truth is Air Srpska is never getting off the ground and there are no real plans on how to fix BNX's woes. Only real professionals could turn this airport around, but the political will is not there to make that happen. Instead it is politics as usual and the aviation industry suffers as a result.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I do not have the numbers with me but from what I can remember Sarajevo was 82%.

    lol no, I am not. Do I look 50 to you? :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous08:56

    Haha oh, just saw your picture, for sure not :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous08:58

    @Nemjee

    ok so my question is this, where do you gt all the statistics?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Blue12:28

    Hello Namjee,

    do you have the overall average loadfactor for Adria flights from-to Priština (for the following destinations: Brussels, Copenhagen,
    Frankfurt, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Ljubljana and Munich)?
    I'm grateful for any information you have.
    Have a good day.

    Blue

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous09:26

    it's true how do they expect to get passenger when the price is to expensive, i would love to fly to banja luka airport from frankfurt, but 450 euro the price i got is to expensive, i would rather fly to Zagreb and take the bus, or just ask my family to get me in Zagreb. it's such a shame Banja luka has some potential but they idiots in power have no brain, they only care about stealing!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous12:01

    In Ljubljana airport there is a big bird there:
    http://www.lju-airport.si/potniki-in-obiskovalci/virtualno-letalisce/web-cam?IDm=46&webcam=1
    it seems not moving for days already.
    Anyone knows WHY?
    Not the best way for doing business.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous12:16

    It's an Airbus A320.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous23:41

    Adria Airways S5-AAA (A320, 1989-2010). Stored at Ljubljana airport and waiting to be scrapped.

    ReplyDelete

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