Banja Luka hopes for flights

Banja Luka Airport expects busier 2013

After underperforming in 2012, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s third busiest airport, Banja Luka, is hoping to secure new flights to Vienna in the coming months. The airport is currently only served by B&H Airlines to Zurich. The airport’s management has written to Austrian Airlines, encouraging it to resume flights to the city. On Tuesday Nedeljko Čubrilović, the Minister for Transport in the entity government, met with the Austrian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina to discuss the potential of flights between Banja Luka and Vienna.

In 2012 Banja Luka welcomed only 6.424 passengers, a decrease of 23.2% on the year before. Throughout last year, the airport attempted to attract new customers. During the summer it proposed for Jat Airways to make a stop in Banja Luka on its flights to the Croatian coast, however, the airline declined. It once again attempted to lure Jat late last year by offering hefty subsidies for services to Belgrade and Vienna but to no avail. Furthermore, it was rejected by the small regional airline Di Air to launch charters from Tivat during the summer.

Late last year Banja Luka Airport also held talks with Wizz Air over potential flights from Malmo, although the outcome of the talks is still unknown. At the time, the acting CEO of the Airports of Republika Srpska company, Davorin Mihić, said, “If they are willing to launch year long flights we will put tickets on sale in January while the flights will launch in April”. In December 2012, the entity government decided to close down Sky Srpska, an airline planned to be based in Banja Luka. The airport is far from its glory days of the late 1990s when it had scheduled services not only to Vienna but also to Belgrade, Athens, Tivat and Salzburg. It was once served by the likes of Austrian Airlines, Montenegro Airlines and Air Srpska. In 2012, Banja Luka Airport handled fewer passengers than other comparable airports in the region such as Niš and Brač.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:14

    “If they are willing to launch year long flights we will put tickets on sale in January while the flights will launch in April”

    How much sillier can one get?

    The airport *does* *not* *sell* *tickets*, nor is it in its control. The airline does.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:57

      Nicely said! It just shows what incompotent person is in charge of BNX! They haven't a clue!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:44

      Airport Banja Luka has got own agency for the sale of airline tickets. Best regards

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:50

      I agree with January 24th 9.14am. It is the most stupid statement related to civil aviation I've run across in the last ten years! The agency mentioned doesn't decide whether the tickets are to be put on sale or not.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:36

      Hey guys, all who'd been flying to BNX before the beginning of the last year know Mr Davorin Mihic had worked as a chief of a shift there before he became the acting CEO of the company? He's just doing his best, I'd say

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:03

    BNX is more comparable with volatile Osijek, Tuzla, than with steady Nis and island Brac.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:14

    Banja Luka Airport has big competition from Zagreb Airport which will be even stronger when Croatia become EU member.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Purger10:18

    The only solution for BNX is to offer flights in comination with INI like:

    1-3-5-7
    BEG-IST-INI-BNX-VIE-BNX-INI-IST-BEG

    -2-4-6-
    BEG-MUC-INI-BNX-ZRH-BNX-INI-MUC-BEG

    INI-IST nonstop 4x
    BNX-IST 1 stop 4x
    INI-VIE 1 stop 4x
    BNX-VIE nonstop 4x
    INI-MUC nonstop 3x
    BNX-MUC 1 stop 3x
    INI-ZRH 1 stop 3x
    BNX-ZRH nonstop 3x
    INI-BNX nonstop 7x

    + 1 flight to TIV in season for tourists on Sunday
    + 1-2 charters to Greece or/and Turky

    The best option for sure is Jat for those flights with AT7

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:16

      Your proposal is stupid and it would never be profitable because of crew hours.

      Delete
    2. Purger15:49

      Sure, especially if you have crew in INI.

      I wonder how Carpatiair can work with profit and most of their planes overnight out of base. Hmmm... if you need excuses!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:00

      Carpatair does not operate the same schedule like you presented above. Hence why the difference. Plus, Carpatair serves a much larger market than this airline would- not to mention that Romania is an EU member state.

      Delete
    4. Purger19:07

      Off course not, but we are talking about crew rest out of base. Crew are either from those little cities, either have some system if they are from base (planes finish in destination for overnight at approximately 17:30).

      And what Romania in EU has with crew rest?

      Delete
  5. Simply hilarious:
    http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Ekonomija/364146/Vlada-razmatra-da-Jat-bude-loukost-kompanija

    A spanish telenovela doesn't come with so many twists :)))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iamjustsaying11:32

      All I will say is that you cannot adopt the "low cost" model and still employ "half of the nation" to work for the airline.

      Jat Airways: fleet size (up to) 14, 25 destinations 25, less than 1.5m pax annually, employees 1230
      Ryanair: fleet size 305, destinations 164, 79.5m pax annually, employees 8388

      Go figure!

      Delete
    2. Purger12:06

      What an idiots!

      Today to open NEW LCC you have to compete against Ryan, easy, Germanwings, Wizz etc. who will kill you in few months with dumping. For sure Lufthansa and others will not be happy with it also and will help in execution. Why there are no new LCC? Why most of weak LCC like SkyEurope, Click, Sterling, Virgin Express, flywest, Volare, MyAir, V bird, Centlwings, Air Polonia, SkyExpres, Fly Nordic, Air Scotland, bmi Baby, Debonair, flyglobespan... bankrupts? Why Stelios Haji-Ioannou (founder of easyJet who was cheated by other owners) did not open new LCC in Europe as competition to easyJet (where he know everything) but invest in LCC in Africa?

      Delete
    3. dan syd14:42

      As I've said before comit to new fleet and slash at least 500 jobs then you will have a business model which one you can sell and attract business with new fleet and 2 will become profitable with 50% of codb reduced

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:50

      I dislike turning English words into Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian words. At first read I thought loukost meant locust.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous17:45

    OH people you all have to realize that Jat only exist to give to useless people jobs,
    people who never arrive to work, never did anything for Jat.
    The politicians only win elections to give their relatives and friends these jobs.
    Oh i am minister for economy,i have two nephews ,one is stupid...so he has to become Ceo of Jat..the second nephew is alcoholic...
    so he has to become financial advisor of Jat.
    My ugly sister has to pimp up her ugliness with Versace and louis Vuitton.She becomes cultural advisor of Jat for 5000Euro a month salary!
    Oh i am not only minister but i own also a casino opposite of the
    Jat headquarter.Lets make all fools employees or better advisors of Jat!
    Then they get a lot of money for nothing BUT they can spend it at my casino...
    Hi ,I am working for Jat for 5000 Euro the month...
    what i am doing there ..well ehmmm,i advise them how to do ehmm..
    how to..
    oh i have to go to ...ehmm ...work!?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous18:17

    A gdje je pecat? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous18:23

    In the late 90ties, BNX had flights to Vienna, Zurich, St. Galen and Germany (forgot which city), Salzburg came later with that idiocy of Austrojet subsidies...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous21:36

    ...On that time many people escaped from Serbia to work in Banja Luka. Also there were many foreign people, donations, NGO etc. It was very hard to find flat or even room. It was impossible to travel by car or by bus through Croatia.

    Many Serbian companies had offices in Srpska because of UN sanctiones against Serbia. Prices was high as well as demand. After year 2000. foreign institutions and companies from Serbia depart as well as airlines. Only lasted local demand which is not to high due to poor salaries and unemployment rate.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous21:46

    how tall is banja luka airport atc tower?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:05

      About 70 m ...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:54

      Exactly 46m, no need to be sarcastic.

      The tower is just a part of the project that includes a airport terminal building to be built next to it, between TWR and old terminal. Sadly, airport never secured the funding for it...

      Delete
  11. Anonymous07:25

    Banja Luka is Zagreb's suburb only and will stay that way forever.
    If we decide to give it additional connection by air, in addition to existing ones (AC & Railway) that depends on behavior of Banja Luka's politicians.
    So, in short, be good / polite and we may give you daily flight to LDZA by Dash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:50

      Zagreb is its own suburb and can't be anything else than that...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:28

      Just arrived from the meeting.
      It has been decided, if you continue to behave this way, no connection to LDZA by Dash.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:26

      I wouldn't agree with "January 26, 2013 at 10:28 AM"
      Air traffic at BNX doesn't depend on either ZAG, BEG, SJJ or Croatia Airlines. The airport operator, together with the ANSP and the border police, has to provide absolutely safe conditions for flight operations and fulfil the demands of mostly the EU registered airline companies regarding ground handling of their airliners, passengers, luggage, cargo and mail. That's all. The things are so simple, ain't they? rgds, x

      Delete

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