Banja Luka Airport at "crossroads"


Banja Luka Airport is at a "crossroads in operations", according to its General Manager Miroslav Janjić, as it plans to handle some 200.000 passengers on an annual basis within a three-year period. "We can say that this year we are at a crossroads, during which we have to make decisions concerning the launch of new routes. Of course, we have Belgrade, but besides Belgrade there are several other destinations of interest, such as Vienna and Zurich. We are also determined to secure flights to Scandinavia", Mr Janjić said. He added, "There is strong interest from serious carriers. Air Serbia is certainly one of them. I say this with a full heart because they already fly to the United States and are constantly expanding their network in Europe and Asia. But they are not the only ones. That's all I can say at the moment".

The General Manager conceded that talks with Wizz Air, which were held several years ago, were a missed opportunity. "I can't say it was great pity but in some ways it was an opportunity. Tuzla has its own growth strategy and I would not like to comment on that. Their development is separate from ours. We have different preferences and needs. How come there are no low cost airlines flying from Zagreb? I think we can draw similarities between us and Zagreb in that respect", Mr Janjić said. He noted that after the planned overhaul of the airport is completed later this year, new routes will be announced from Banja Luka.

Banja Luka Airport recently confirmed it had ceased negotiations with the German-backed Sea Air, which was previously registered in Slovenia. The decision comes following media reports of the airline's former ventures in Croatia which have all turned out to be unsescsessful. Sea Air proposed to introduce two weekly flights from Banja Luka to Frankfurt, Stockholm, Malmo and Basel in March. It also suggested to base one passenger and one cargo plane each in the city. Banja Luka Airport has struggled to attract passengers over the last few years with Air Serbia being its only customer at the moment, maintaining three weekly flights from Belgrade.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    "The General Manager conceded that talks with Wizz Air, which were held several years ago, were a missed opportunity". "

    You don't say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      But you have to wonder how sustainable Tuzla is. A few month ago I read they plan to become sustainable in 2018. That means that they have been loosing money for all this time since Wizz came.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      Certainly more sustainable then BNX.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      Don't be so sure.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:47

      The RS government has suddendly remembered it has an airport and that it has to do something with it urgently. It indicates that it is a black hole in their budget.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous06:03

      @Anonymous 9:29, why wouldn't he be so sure? What exactly makes BNX more sustainable than TZL? Dodik? Don't be funny, that airport is a ghost airport, while TZL serves over 300k pax yearly. In addition to that, RS is giving over 5 million EUR to Air Serbia to fly there. That is all tax payers money, so think again when you write stupid statements like the one above.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:07

    I just don't see Air Serbia getting fifth freedom rights and flying between Banja Luka and other cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:29

      Agree. Switzerland did not want to issue Montenegro Airlines a license to fly Nis-Zurich when Montenegro split from Serbia so I think we would have the same scenario here.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:54

      What about WizzAir? It also not have BH or CH AOC. How WizzAir can fly from Tuzla to number of destination, isn't it also use fifth freedom.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:20

      Didnt YM serve BNX-VIE last year for a few weeks? Apart from the fact how extremely amateurish the general sales agent company or some local touroperator organized or actually practically not organized sales and did no marketing (at least not in Austria), the Austrian authorities did allow the flights to happen. Obviously, they did not see that it poses a problem to OS flights to ZAG,SJJ,BEG.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:22

      It was Tuzla-Vienna. Austria I don't think would be a problem. Switzerland probably would.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:40

      Ok, sry - mixed it up. But why is it ok for Austria, but not for Switzerland?

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:14

    Still don't see how a reconstructed terminal will bring you more airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      If an airport doesn't have basic infrastructure it will be difficult to attract airlines. Even Wizz Air comes with a list of demands in order for them to base a plane. Why do you thing Nis and Tuzla are renovating their airports?

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:22

    He actually compared Banja Luka and Zagreb :D but he is wrong. Zagreb does have LCCs. Not many but it does.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:26

    200,000 is reachable by 2020 if they get a serious airline like Wizz to base a plane and start flights. Otherwise it will be difficult.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:14

      Moglo bi biti kao s Draganom Vučetićem i tekstilnom industrijom u Trebinju.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:36

    Thank god they came to their senses with Sea Air.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:10

      The thing is they said they turned down Sea Air after reading media reports about them. I mean they should have done their own research.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:57

    Something tells me Air Serbia will base a plane there...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:08

      Doubt it. They don't have enough planes and I doubt they would get regulatory approval either.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:36

      I don't think any airline will fly to a terminal that is in that much disrepair as banja Luka

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:23

      I think it will be like this. This is not an economic but an political decision. Who else is ready to work with those people?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:26

      Possibility is there. Here are just some reasons that come to my mind immediately:
      a) Political influence and will to do so, both in Bosnian Srpska entity and in Serbia
      b) Bosnian entity will be willing to cover (probably almost) all costs or lower fees for certain airlines significantly, they seem to be desperate now (and weren't before)
      c) the older ATR72-2 are easily available on the leasing market. If BiH takes over the risks, then ASL could base 1-2 newly leased props there
      d) with so little feeders from BNX to BEG ASL will not have to fear that they lower their pax numbers on feeders or flights onwards from BEG

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10:15

    OT

    As pointed out by some, the battle between W6 and FR in SOF is ongoing and so far FR won its first battle.

    Wizz Air will suspend its two weekly SOF-CGN route while FR will keep its daily flights.

    It's unfortunate especially since W6 has been serving this market for much longer.

    Let's see how they do on the SOF-FRA against LH's 2 daily flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:37

      Do not be so happy about that. This is only temporary benefit for passengers. Low cost carriers will destroy everything which stands today behind term civil aviation.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:45

      thy will shift the 2 weekly to some other destination or open a new route

      They dropped Sofia - Kutaisi too

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:03

      I guess Sofia-Kutaisi was always a bit of a strange destination given the weak links between Georgia and Bulgaria.

      Seems like its easy for them to fight for the Bulgarian market when Air Bulgaria is a pathetic carrier which is collapsing under the weight of its own debt.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:06

      FR flies daily to CGN from SOF, W6 stood no chance there..normal consolidation

      LH serves transfers from FRA, FB will be mostly harmed by W6..

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:44

      "Low cost carriers will destroy everything which stands today behind term civil aviation."

      Why is that so? Why should people pay 500+ EUR for a ticket on top of the taxpayers' millions that are sunk into national carriers, if the only thing they want is to travel from A to B?

      I think LCC offer a good alternative (but will never replace them) to legacy carriers. If you want to go from A to B on a budget, fly LCC. If you want to make it a real journey and a nice experience with good food, metal cuttlery, etc., pay the price and fly premium airlines. At least now there is a choice, compared to 20 years ago.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:45

      Yes but the thing is that W6 has been already serving CGN from SOF when FR launched its own flights. They should have responded adequately. Like this they are just giving up... CGN is an important market.

      LH does carry a lot of O&D, especially since they introduced no luggage fees. It's beyond me why would anyone chose W6 over FB or LH, especially since Wizz's fares won't be much cheaper.

      Delete
    7. Aэrologic12:19

      Sofia - Kutaisi wasn't dropped, it's seasonal.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:56

      its dropped, you cannot book it anymore

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:59

      yes it was seasonal, but only for one season lol

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:13

      W6 is loosing the battle to FR in SOF, full stop. It's only a matter of time when they will have to reduce the number of aircraft there. Good for exyu, they might put them somewhere where there is still an empty market (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, ...).

      Delete
    11. Aэrologic13:13

      Right. The last time i checked a week ago it was available from April but now it's definitely closed. Pity, it was one of their most original routes out of SOF.

      Delete
    12. Nemjee13:28

      I wonder if after SOF and OTP, BEG might become their next battleground. Wizz Air is pretty vulnerable over here.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous14:39

      If the W6-FR battle moves to BEG too then JU will be the biggest loser.
      Passengers and the city of Belgrade though will be major winners!

      Delete
    14. Anonymous15:35

      I am sure FR and W6 will regret trying to attack LH in FRA.
      Transavia tried it last year in MUC but they will be withdrawing all of their planes from MUC at the end of summer. LH, by basing EW in MUC newly from summer, has completely killed the low cost rival in MUC and their yields were massacred. LH is too big to be attacked in their two home grounds and they don't care lowering their yields and income on a number routes even for many years.
      They already announces they will do the same in FRA and also open a EW base there to attack new LCCs. W6 and FR will be bleeding a lot of money there right from the start.

      Delete
    15. Nemjee15:57

      +1 Last Anonymous

      I just looked at some random dates in early July and Lufthansa tends to be cheaper than Wizz Air by up to €20.
      As some already mentioned, Wizz Air will charge you for a large cabin bag, drinks and snacks while LH won't.

      Let's see how it all turns out in the end, especially when winter comes.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous19:29

      W6 will announce very soon new destinations our of SOF. Regarding CGN they had no chance at all. They had 2 weekly while FR had daily...

      Delete
    17. Anonymous20:18

      last anon,
      your speculation or concrete info?

      I think the fight will transfer to PDV, VAR, BOJ before it goes to ex-yu. Anyway, it is only a matter of time. Good times for the passengers in the whole region are approaching

      Delete
    18. Anonymous20:42

      Concrete info, but can't say more...

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:17

    I really do hope Banja Luka Airport turns things around. Don't understand some people who seem to enjoy and make fun of the current state at the airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:44

      The current state of banja luka airport is woeful and a joke and therefore worthwhile making fun of it

      Delete
  10. Anonymous11:35

    LETNJI RED ASL JE DOZIVEO BITNE, ALI LOGICNE PROMENE. NESTO JE VEC OBJAVLJENO, A TOKOM MARTA CE BITI OBELODANJENO SVE. TO JE POLITIKA KOMPANIJE I PO MENI JE SASVIM LEGITIMNO. NEZVANICNO - BNX JE VELIKI FAVORIT ZA UKIDANJE.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:04

      Линија за Бањалуку би се укинула не због лоше попуњености већ због недостатка авиона. Током летњих месеци просечна попуњеност се врти око 90%.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:58

      what are the changes overall?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:35

      Air Serbia nema gubitke na toj linij, Vlada Rep.Srpske subvencioniše ove letove.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous11:36

    Scenario se vec zna. AS sigurno nece dobiti dozvole za ove letove, niti od BHDCA(The Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation) niti od drzave za koju zele letjeti. Znamo da je Svicarska i Svedska inace jako stroge kad se radi o 7th freedom. A odgovor sa BNX ce biti kako politicko Sarajevo ne dozvoljava da se RS ekonomski razvija, itd itd. A BNX nek nastavlja da se poredi sa Zagrebom.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous12:08

    Does anybody know anything about BEG-PEK?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:58

      Not happening any time soon

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:59

      ^ You have absolutely no idea. Just couldn't resist posting rubbish.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:09

      I just heard on RTS that China will be for the first time ever on Belgrade Travel Fair. Maybe they will announce flights there? Also, Air Serbia will probably announce something.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:27

      Air Serbia has ruled out flights to China. If they happen, they will be operated by a Chinese airline. Dunno wut they can announce though, Iran ?

      Delete
  13. Anonymous12:33

    How come there are no low cost airlines flying from Zagreb? I think we can draw similarities between us and Zagreb in that respect", Mr Janjić said.

    Whatever is this guy smoking i want 1 Antonov of it.

    I'll pay in cash.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous14:26

    ko kaye da nema
    http://www.bl-portal.com/vijesti/rs-i-fbih/avion-wizzair-a-sletio-na-banjalucki-aerodrom.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous16:23

    If you need more proof look at this
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONtLaZMqNcs

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous16:27

    You are right

    U teretni avion ukrcano je puno drvenih kutija, no nitko ne zna što je bilo u njima. S obzirom ne destinaciju, Antonov je iz Zagreba odletio za Saudijsku Arabiju (sletio rano jutros po hrvatskom vremenu na King Fahd International Airport, Dammam), neki se pitaju je li u kutijama bilo oružje.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous17:06

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:06

      Ima nekoliko destinacija na koji ma bi legacy kompanije mogle da lete sa odlicnim profitom iz BNX i tako bi Aerodrom dobio mnogo vise nego sa pojedinim LCC kompanijama.
      Inn-Ns

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:45

      Ti opet briśi-piši? Šta gorak sendvič kulen u Innsbrucku? Ajde pokaži neko dostojanstvo ovom blogu i njegovom uredniku, ako ne možeš već sebi. Sav kredibilitet si izgubio, svi ti se smeju. Daj oladi malo.

      Vraćanjem na temu, BNXu treba stručni a ne politički tim. Trebaju ljudi koji znaju svoj posao - INI je to dokazao kao i TZL. Ljudi u RS, uozbiljite se, zaposlite stručnjake, ljude koji će komercijalno vam kvantifikovati šta može i ne može. Vrtite tupu burgiju već godinama. Probudite se! Može se to srediti, pitanje jel da li želite? Pozdrav iz Beograda

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:14

      Da ima isplativih linija već bi se letjetjele. A nije da se nije pokušalo. I svi podviše rep. I Austrian za VIE, i Adria za LJU, i Edelweiss za ZRH.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:44

      To su i za Nis pricali kad ono...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous01:26

      +1 za Anonymous 9:45 za oba dela komentara.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:47

      Too late for Banjaluka, IMHO. In February 2011, the RS' Ministry for T&Comm refused Austria Airlines so as to save Sky Srpska and Adria deal with average 6 pax per flight to LjU.
      A several months later all went apart at BNX.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous18:16

    https://www.facebook.com/makellazag/posts/1449321551753291

    "That is 100% confirmed info"

    Oh is it? You're not that smart. Concert equipment comes tomorrow with a B747F, it has nothing to do with An-124.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Well here are the reports from both Croatian and Serbian newspapers and no I am not acting smart or trying to act like I have sources everywhere. I said it is 100% confirmed based on the news reports I read today.
    The aim of my post was to raise awareness on this topic.

    http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/pogledajte-slavni-ruski-avion-u-zagrebu-antonov-sletio-na-tudjmana-pa-otisao-u-saudijsku-arabiju/951473.aspx

    http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/374600/Ruski-avion-odneo-oruzje-iz-Zagreba-u-Saudijsku-Arabiju

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous19:24

    So in other words, you're full of s#!t.

    Your sources btw say it's a "russian" plane and it's "younger" than An-225 which is both not true. Event they don't say it's 100% weapons, but suggest it based on one post in 9aero group on facebook. Yet you claim it's 100%. Please stop commenting such stupid comments and stop "raising awareness" by lying.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Look at this tough guy, trying to prove a point by accusing me and saying sh*t about me. Everything mentioned above was reported on other places and none of it is my info. I should have not claimed it is 100% confirmed as the article did in fact say it is possible it is carrying weapons. Other than that, I do not see why you are posting such a comment? Are you denying these shipments take place?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous19:50

    Who cares for goodness sake!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous01:12

    YYZ,

    All weapons shipments from Croatia and Serbia are legal and internationally approved. They sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and UAE who are under no sanctions or restrictions of any kind. What the buyers do with those weapons is not the manufacturer's concern. If they ever get under international embargo then it will be big news to see such cargo flights in ZAG or BEG. Until then it's business as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The cargo did not consist of weapons but Croatian produced parts for a Hydro power plant being built in Saudi Arabia.

    Open up this facebook link (also supplied above) to view the pics.

    https://www.facebook.com/makellazag/posts/1449321551753291

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous04:46

    Hydro power plant in a desert? WTF?!?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hoover dam (Hydro power plant) is in the desert too.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous05:35

    One who sows disorder, fails for sure.

    ReplyDelete

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