Air France-KLM sees new opportunities in EX-YU


The Air France - KLM Group says it sees new opportunities for growth in the former Yugoslavia as it continues to add routes and frequencies in the region, primarily through its low cost subsidiary Transavia. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, a spokesperson for the airline group said, "The Air France - KLM Group strongly believes in the potential of ex-Yugoslav countries. We have a real desire to serve the region to our best. Transavia maintains sustained growth and is developing its network on departure from all its bases in France and the Netherlands to the former Yugoslavia. We have also launched codeshare agreements with Croatia Airlines, Adria Airways and Air Serbia to Paris and Amsterdam. These agreements pave the way for further development opportunities. We are here to stay".

Joon, the latest brainchild of the Air France - KLM Group, which launched earlier this month, could give the airline conglomerate the necessary push to better serve the region. The new Paris-based airline has a significantly lower cost structure, giving it the opportunity to serve markets which have previously proved unprofitable for its parent company. Joon currently serves Berlin, Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona, but will launch new routes to places such as Istanbul, Rome, Oslo and Tehran in 2018, to name a few.


Next year, the Air France - KLM Group will further strengthen its operations in Croatia with the Dutch national carrier to maintain ten weekly flights on its seasonal summer services between Amsterdam and Split, up from eight per week in 2017. Furthermore, Transavia will launch two new routes to the country at this point. The carrier will add new seasonal flights from Rotterdam to Dubrovnik starting April 5, as well as two weekly services between Eindhoven and Rijeka on July 5, making it its fourth destination in Croatia. In addition, Transavia will introduce an extra flight between Rotterdam and Pula in 2018 for a total of three per week. Previously, Transavia noted it would begin operations to Zagreb and further expand its presence in Croatia. The Air France - KLM subsidiary informed the Croatian Ministry for Tourism of its intention of adding flights from France to Zagreb and Pula in 2018. However, these new routes are yet to be officially announced or scheduled by the airline.

Elsewhere, Transavia has announced it will double the number of flights between Amsterdam and Belgrade for a total of six per week from late February, while services from the Dutch city to Ljubljana will run five times per week starting next June, up from three this summer. The airline launched year-round flights to both the Serbian and Slovenian capitals in 2017. In Montenegro, the carrier will maintain its three weekly seasonal flights from Paris Orly to Tivat which were launched earlier this year. The Group says it continues to look for new possibilities for Air France and KLM in markets such as Serbia and Montenegro. "We continue to seek new opportunities for both airlines. Air France did stop its daily flights to Serbia in 2013, but has signed a codeshare agreement with Air Serbia in 2014 and now offers two daily flights from Belgrade to Paris. In Montenegro, Air France also signed a codeshare agreement in 2014 with Montenegro Airlines for flights to Paris".

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    I'm stunned at how successful KLM has been to Split. Launched last year and they are already up to 10x per week. Crazy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      They should try Dubrovnik as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      Agree about Split. Surprising how well they have done.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:37

      I never understood why KLM didn't expand more in ex-Yu. There is the diaspora factor plus they would have a lot of transit passengers to the US and Canada.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:42

      KLM is present in ex-YU with code share agreements. They already have good number of transit passengers .

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:09

      KLM has done really well in Split. They started with 6 weekly and then just after a few weeks it increased 8 per week and now 10!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:35

      Double daily in 2019 :D

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:51

      I would be more than happy with them going year round a couple 2 times per week in the winter

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:21

      Wonder if these flights are used exclusively by tourists or do locals use them as well.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:22

      Wanted to say it would be interesting to see their passenger structure on this route, especially since they chose for KLM to fly it and not Transavia.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:04

      Who knows maybe we see Air France start flights from Paris to Split or Dubrovnik soon.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous13:07

      Would be nice, but I doubt it.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    I am certain Joon will enter ex-Yu market sooner rather than later. I think they will probably expand to the Croatian coast in 2019 and there is a possibility for them to fly to maybe Belgrade, Sarajevo and Skopje or Pristina.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Has Air France ever flown to Pristina?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:25

      I don't think so.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:36

      No, they haven't.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:06

    Does HOP still fly to Ljubljana or has it been upgraded to AF mainline?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      It's operated by HOP.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:21

      Time to upgrade to AF and make themselves more competitive against Adria on the route. Adria will fly ten weekly to CDG as per http://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/12/adria-to-further-grow-operations-in-2018.html

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:07

      +1!!

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:07

    Hope Transavia starts those ZAG flights. A low cost alternative to Paris would be great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      Yes please. We need more LCC at Zagreb.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      I highly doubt that if Transavia starts flights to Zagreb it will be from Paris. They are not going to create extra competition for AF.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:18

      True, forgot about that.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:21

      But they said themselves they are interested in this route. Maybe they expect to get some different kind of passengers flying to Orly. Then again they could always fly to Lyon and put even more pressure on Croatia Airlines.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:43

      easyjet used to fly Paris-Zagreb as well.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:13

      Easyjet also ended Paris - Ljubljana unfortunately.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:14

      @9.43 Croatia Airlines kicked them out of Zagreb through good pricing. It was regularly cheaper than U2!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:35

      I think the market is big enough today to sustain three airlines between Paris and Zagreb. 2 legacies and 1 LCC.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:54

      Plus it would a good way to throw off easyjet from this route which will be coming back to Zagreb next year.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:17

      I would still prefer easy.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:52

      I think AMS - ZAG could also handle a third carrier like transavia. OU during winter always sends thr A320 to Amsterdam while they mostly fly the A319 to CDG

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:10

    Don't get why they don't try SJJ and/or SKP with Transavia. I'm sure they would do well, especially to SJJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      A few years ago they put tickets on sale for AMS-SJJ for the holiday period - Christmas and New Year but they cancelled the flights and sales. Seems that tickets were not selling that well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      It looks like SJJ is off the radar for most European airlines.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:25

      I wouldn't be surprised if the issue is with Sarajevo Airport, not the market.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:34

      I think the fees at SJJ are just too high.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:35

      I don't think it's just the fees. TUI and Atalsglobal have discontinued their flights to Sarajevo, Eurowings cancelled flights from Dusseldorf before they even started... There has to be a reason rather than just high fees.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:56

      Simple, the market is small and the pace of development at Tuzla Airport with over 500,000 passengers certainly does not help Sarajevo.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:54

      I think the Eindhoven - Tuzla route from wizz air is sufficient for this market

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:19

    Now that Wizz Air will be ending Eindhoven-Nis, they could get Transavia to fly the route.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:21

      If Wizz failed on this route why would Transavia succeed?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      Transavia-KLM has a far stronger position and customer base in Holland than W6.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      Plus they can attract transfer passengers, unlike Wizz.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:52

      I think the Ryanair with flight to Dusseldorf (Weeze) will succeed more then anyone else cos Eidhoven is very close and FR is much cheaper then W6

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:18

      Transavia could also start Paris-INI. It's probably the largest unserved destination from Nis.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:19

    Great news for Rijeka. They are getting more and more airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:54

      Yes! Finally Rijeka getting some attention from airlines too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:19

      Transavia, Ryanair and Condor announced as new arrivals next year but Croatia Airlines route to London will be lost. Hope for some other new airlines to come but it should be a good year for RJK in 2018.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:54

      also, there will be a few weekly charter flights from 3 or 4 Polish cities to Rijeka. But still, there is no ticket on sale to Rijeka from Stansted and Brussels with Ryanair. However, Ryanair will fly to Rijeka from Frankfurt and Stockholm from March until October, which is quite good...

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:22

    So, basically, all about the coast and summer ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Croatian tourism is on fire!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:44

      And what's wrong with that?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:08

      Absolutely nothing, just stating the obvious.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:22

    Also great to see more and more flights being added to DBV next summer. Busy summer ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:16

      DBV made a very good job with the new terminal.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:34

    Transavia should start PRN.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:36

      Could work now that they cancelled Tirana.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      They didn't cancel it, they made it seasonal.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:19

      From where should Transavia fly to PRN?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:02

      Paris and Amsterdam

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:07

      It's crazy that there are no flights from either to PRN. Especially considering that a French company is jointly running Pristina Airport with the Turks.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:09

      EasyJet fly CDG-PRN

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:14

      No they don't. Suspended as of October.
      http://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/03/easyjet-to-end-paris-pristina-in-winter.html

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:35

      Transavia or Joon should start CDG-PRN

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:43

    Good to see. Hope they include more new routes soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:44

    Transavia must have done really well over summer if they are doubling flights to BEG and LJU already.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      Interestingly LJU flights will go down to three per week during peak summer months and then up again afterwards. I'm guessing they don't have enough aircraft.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:48

      Yes. 3 per week during July and August and then back to 5 per week from September.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:49

      It was the same with BEG this summer, August was down to 2.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:51

      What about next summer? Do they also reduce BEG during peak summer?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:56

      Yes, down to three per week next summer.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:02

      Fleet constraints.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:49

      I would trade Transavia for KLM to LJU and BEG anyday.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:58

      I would not in LJU anon 11:49 if you want to fly legacy you have Adria, if you want to fly KL you can fly from ZAG. And also the other way around I have been flying transavia LJU to AMS regularly and I am from Zagreb

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:46

    I'm still dumbstruck about Air France's suspension of BEG. Their planes were full and they flew daily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      Healthy loads does not necessarily translate into profits.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:02

      They had really good loads and the fares were anything but cheap.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:05

      Not surprising really. At the time they suspended a few routes since they were recording massive losses and cost cutting left and right. Since then JU is flying double daily and Wizz has also started flights between Belgrade and Paris. No room left for them anymore.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:11

      AF had flown BEG on and off during the 2000s for a range of reasons. I think we might see them back but only through Joon.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:18

      Air France has very high crewing costs. That is why they are sending Joon aircraft in places like "Berlin, Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona" instead of AF.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:10

    Is it true that KLM is decreasing Zagreb capacity from Boeing 737 to ERJ? Or did I get the wrong info. Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:52

      Yes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:00

      Shame. Are they keeping the same number of frequencies?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:39

      I think they are using mix of 737 and ERJ...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:14

      It's common sense in economics, better a full ERJ than a half empty 737 .

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:26

      In the late afternoon are less connex at AMS so the Emb is operating (arr 5.30 p.m.).
      AMS/KL have big slot constraints.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous08:03

      KLM planed to sent 737-700 but instead regularly sent 737-800 and many times 737-900 to ZAG during summer last year. So, I presume, it would be regular practice to see KLM 737 next year in ZAG.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:56

      they are planning EMB because they will fly afternoon from S18, but they will send bigger plane if booking is good, so we can plan the same like this year, regular EMB, and on "stronger booking days" B737/8/9. So everything is on booking now :)

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:17

    If LJU would manage to get AF instead of Hop! and KLM instead of Transavia that would be great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:23

      Would be nice. Judging from the frequencies, both cities are very popular from LJU.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:07

      Both are a good alternative to MUC or FRA for transfers.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:23

    Good news for passengers and consumer in Slovenia, Serbia & Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:29

    I'm really glad Transavia will start Eindhoven-Rijeka. The Croatian coast is not very well connected to Dutch airports so this is a great addition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:01

      They should start flying to ZAD from AMS its such a shame that Zadar is not connected to the Netherlands at all while they do have connections with all the surrounding countries of the Netherlands

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:34

    Haven't flown AF in years. Wonder what they are like now days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:54

      Paris Milano Paris Frankfurt prilicno bezvezan servis bas nista narocito sve ispod sat vremena treba kao LCC - casa vode, soka ili caja. Paris NYC medju najboljim servisima preko Atlantika. Prvo mesto i dalje drzi Al Italia i (Delta i AS).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:21

      Interesantno, hvala. Jel su i oni uveli pay on board na letovima unutar Evrope? Mislim na AF.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:20

    In ten years all we will have left in Europe are low cost airlines, Lufthansa, IAG and Air France-KLM.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:23

      What about TAP, SAS, Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic, Aeroflot? I doubt that those would fail.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous11:39

    Does OU still send its Dashes from Zagreb to Amsterdam or have they come to their senses and begun using jet engine planes on this route?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:48

      They use A319/A320 now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:50

      Good!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:03

      When did they fly the dash? I have been flying this route since 2001 around 5 times a year (so way before they even got the dash) and never have I flown a dash on this route!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:57

      they send Q400 last winter a few times, but I think the reason was just some problem with A319/320

      Delete
  21. Anonymous12:25

    Great news for travelling public but ex-Yu legacies should be worried since other airlines are now circling around their home turf more and more.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous12:51

    So, is ZAG the only city in Ex-Yu with Air France route? Which plane do they usually use on that route?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The usually use HOP E190 type in the winter and anything from AF A318 to A320 in the summer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:03

      Yes currently the only city in ex-YU with Air France mainline operations for the majority of the year. HOP flies to Ljubljana during summer and winter.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:53

      It will probably stay that way for some time.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous13:05

    Bravo Croatia, you are smashing potatoes in 2018!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous13:52

    Please don't call me a chauvinist but the bottom line is that most of the airlines are interested for the Croatian market in general.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:01

      This is natural, Croatian tourism is booming and the national carrier is anaemic.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous15:13

    Nemjee was kind enough to post tourism numbers for Belgrade and now it makes sense that Transavia is increasing Belgrade. 2018 will be a fantastic year for Belgrade with so many whole year flights.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous15:50

    I wonder if official spokesmen really use the term "former Yugoslavia" or "ex-Yugoslav"?! I mean this is weird, no?! Imagine saying "in former Soviet Union" and meaning the Baltic, Russia etc.
    Just to be clear, I have nothing against it. I'm just wondering if this is still an official term.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:56

      They were probably asked a question using that term and they responded. What do you think, the admin is making up the statement. What for?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:22

      Well it is a little odd, im not comfortable with them using that term.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous16:01

    SKP is not included in the list, when will we finally see flights from SKP-CDG/ORY/AMS?

    I also think INI-ORY is a good option, there are many Serbs in France.

    ReplyDelete
  28. OT: Iberia increases its flightoperations to HR
    Split daily, Zagreb up to 8pw and Dubrovnik twice daily flights

    Very impressive

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:39

      All flights A32X operated.
      IB/IAG wants also a bigger cake of the transfer TATL market.
      BA has a historical bad position (LHR).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:39

      Nothing impressive in having summer season flights to the coast. When these become whole year flights only then these can count. When December comes entire Croatian coast has less flights than PRN. That says it all.

      Delete
    3. It is definitely impressive considering that Iberia had only 2 weekly flights through 2015 and has been growing steadily since 2015. The flights have extended to the entire season and not only in the peak months
      Moreover, the problem about seasonal flights is known here. And yet every expansion is welcome, even though most of it only applies to the summer flight schedule

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:11

      My point is that it is predominately the foreign tourists that fly and generate demand for flights. The low number of pax in November - March period shows that. Once Turkey and Northern Africa countries regain their position on the tourism map you will see a sharp decrease in the number of flights to Croatia and to the coast especially. Then all this bubble will come to its end.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous21:20

      Exactly. Many countries like Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain ... profitted from the Arab Spring. Tunis and Turkey are already starting to recover.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:25

      And in Italy, Bulgaria and Greece is no bubble at the coast?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:02

      @anon 9:25 pm: Much less then in Croatia. Normally it was Czech and Polish who would come to Croatia for vacations and they travel by cars. Wealthier tourists from Western Europe who fly to their summer destinations would in normal times go to Spain, Greece, Turkey, etc. but surely not to Croatia. I believe we'll see the trends start to reverse now that Russia has established order to North Africa, finally.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous00:20

      Do you speak as a western European?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous07:50

      Anon 10:02, if and when the "order" in North Africa happens, it will affect Croatia less than all the other countries in Ex-Yu region (except maybe Slovenia). Honestly, I don't know what other countries in the region can expect other than a serious decline in tourist pax... Croatia is a brand, other countries in the region are not, as simple as that.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous08:04

      All those carriers announcing new routes to Croatia must be so stupid not to see trends in tourism starting to reverse (tip: look at all the new routes to/from Croatia on the right side of this page).

      Delete
    11. Anonymous08:28

      They added the flights now they have to sell the seats.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous08:30

      Croatia might be a brand but people are attracted to the Italian cultural heritage along the coast.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous08:55

      Hahahahaha, Anon 8:28/8:30! Can't see any sense in your comments!

      Delete
    14. Anonymous09:33

      Ja vidim nonsence i puno zlobe

      Delete
    15. Anonymous09:52

      Croatian tourism has always been fuelled by the people who come by their vehicles, not by those that fly to their summer destination. Nothing wrong about that. I just say that the number of people flying to have vacations in Croatia will drop significantly now that traditional destinations for Western Europeans return to their previous positions. UK tourists have always preferred Spain and Greece, Germans have been big in Greece an Turkey. Croatian tourism has attracted a lot of those travellers with crisis in those two countries in particular. Those days are now over and number of people flying to Croatian coast will inevitably drop in 2019 and later.

      Delete
    16. Wow. If it would be other way around, it would be whining and moaning and calling hater everyone left and right.
      "Neka susjedu crkne krava" i "popio sam pamet svijeta" stav.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous12:53

      Placam pice svima koji tvrde kako HR turizam opada u 2019.
      Isto tako ocekujem od tih istih da plate meni ako se isto ne dogodi.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous20:03

    OT: U večerašnjem Dnevniku 2 RTS-a rekli su da se 2018. uvodi linija Beograd-Toronto!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:25

      Bravo Srbija!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:26

      The same thing was also written in an article here yesterday.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:27

      Yesterday it was also mentioned about IB adding flights to ZAG yet you didn't write that above. Interesting.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous02:31

    so...you gonna hear it alot again and again..better get used to it

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous08:39

    I'm not anti-LCC by any means, but I think it would be foolish for KLM-Air France to bring one of their LCCs to SJJ when there's already so much untapped potential for transit to/from North America seeing as they're locked down to the Star Alliance cartel

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous09:08

    What are they waiting with ZAD? They should start a route from Netherlands asap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TUI Netherlands launched flights ex AMS to ZAD

      Delete

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