Air Albania is planning to launch a new route between Tirana and Ljubljana during the upcoming winter season, marking the return of nonstop air service between the Albanian and Slovenian capitals for the first time since 2019. The Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure has confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News that the airline has applied for financial support through the country’s air connectivity subsidy program, aimed at enhancing links with key markets across Europe. Air Albania’s application was reviewed alongside that of airBaltic, which has already scheduled a new service from Las Palmas to Ljubljana. The Tender Commission concluded that both airlines met the eligibility criteria and are entitled to receive subsidies.
The Tirana - Ljubljana route was previously operated by Adria Airways, which went bankrupt in September 2019. In its final full year of service in 2018, Adria handled 57.499 passengers on the route with an average load factor of 70.6%. Air Albania currently operates a fleet of two Airbus A320 aircraft and flies to several destinations across Europe. The carrier is based at Tirana Airport and was established in May 2018 as a public–private partnership. Turkish Airlines holds a 49% stake in the airline, while the remaining shares are split between MDN Investment and Albcontrol.
Despite being Albania’s flag carrier, Air Albania faces intense competition on its home market, where low cost carriers Wizz Air and Ryanair have rapidly expanded operations. Earlier this year, Air Albania paused several European routes, most notably Brussels and Geneva, due to technical or operational hurdles, although both are in the process of being restored. According to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Air Albania is in the process of acquiring two additional aircraft.
Unexpected
ReplyDeletewhy? I told you a few weeks ago 2 new routes will be Gran Canaria and Tirana ... and most people called it a "bar info"... as i said, two more to come ...
DeleteThere was talk in the comments on this blog that LPA and TIA would not be part of the subsidies scheme. It seems they both applied for the subsidies.
DeleteAnon 11:32: so we should be expecting two more routes to be announced?
yes. UK.
DeleteGood news. Can't wait for official announcement. British extending LHR into the winter season would also be great.
DeleteAny new route is good I guess
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with this one?
DeleteDoesen't offer any meaningful transfer options. Just point to point traffic.
DeleteAir travel isn't always about transfers
DeleteI know, but is there enough demand for 2 or 3 weekly A320?
DeleteHave you visited Kranj? :D
DeleteWell they are getting money from the government because the route is not self sustainable.
DeleteKranj alone enough could provide for 2 weekly flights. Add Celje, Ljubljana and Koper, and you're close to 5 weekly. Ofc some of the market is taken away by the Wizz flights in Trieste and road travel, hence why 3 weekly is probably the right frequency to start with
DeleteHopefully it's not weekly. You would think they would put some provision in the tender to have more than one weekly flight.
DeleteThere are no Albanians in Slovenia. Kosovars yes but not Albanians from Albania itself.
DeleteHow many flag carriers does LJU now have? A shame Wizz didn't decide to come with the same route, but anything helps I guess
ReplyDeleteQuite a lot actually, especially for such a small market.
Delete-Aegan
Delete-Air Baltic
-Air France
-Air Serbia
-Brussels Airlines
-British Airways
-Finnair
-flyDubai (questionable)
-GP Aviation
-Iberia
-KLM
-Lot
-Mama
-Luxair
-Swiss
-Turkish
-Air Albania
-ElAl if you count the charters
Why is Flydubai questionable?
DeleteEmirates is the official flag carrier of UAE
DeleteA lot, yeah. 16 with the addition of Air Albania. 17 is we count Flydubai (which I don't think should be counted as a flag carrier). Sundor afaik will not be returning, which is part of El Al, so we could've had 17
DeleteOh, I didn't see the original poster said flag carriers, I thought he said carriers in general.
DeleteFlyDubai is the carrier of Dubai, same as Etihad for Abu Dhabi and Air Arabia for Sharjah ...so they are kind of a flag carrier of the city
DeleteDubai has two government owned carriers - Emirates and FlyDubai. Emirates is technically the flag carrier, but flydubai fulfills a similar function, as it covers lower yield markets on narrow-bodies and cooperates heavily with Emirates
DeleteEtihad is the official flag carrier of the UAE, not Emirates
DeleteGP Aviation is not flag carrier of Kosovo.
DeleteIt's nice but all these airlines applying are with one route. We need an airline to launch several new destinations.
ReplyDeleteThe hope is that a new tender that's being prepared is gonna do just that. Slovenia is now, as the 2023-2025 tender did not bring results, under different terms regarding the subsidies, and can now do specific PSO routes, where the carrier is paid per empty seat/seat occupied instead of just covering the landing fees
DeleteBad news for OU
ReplyDeleteHuh? How exactly?
Delete1044, it doesn't matter, any news for this guy is bad news for OU.
DeleteOnly if they had Slovenian passengers on seasonal ZAG-TIA service. I doubt there were many.
DeleteNo they had a lot of Albanians going to and from Slovenia
DeleteExactly LJU was covered by OU. Same like OU struggled in SKP when W6 launched LJU
DeleteSounds like bad news for JU too. Thy also offer connections between TIA and LJU.
DeleteJU has been so far immune to all these new connections. I don't think they will suffer here. OU on the other hand...
DeleteThis is really good. I hope they won’t fly just once per week tho…
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning Air Albania should fly once per week so it can test it if the route is profitable which I think it can be, but still have so many doubts. Ljubljana is close to Trieste and Zagreb. But hope the best for Ljubljana Airport and Air Albania
DeleteWow this was unexpected
ReplyDeleteCoool 😃😃
ReplyDeleteAlbania Travel gets more and more popular and prices comparing to other touristic hotspots are still affordable. Nice add on for LJU.
Vlore Airport sems to open next year and could be a target on top of TIA.
It just that this route will open in winter, and just like the rest of the Adriatic, this time of year is not really a touristic hotspot
Delete1-2 weekly Ethnic traffic in Winter will do it and next Summer 2 weekly TIA and 1 weekly VLO
DeleteBookmark this, if Vlore opens, Ljubljana will be among the destinations. Slovenians are switching from Croatia to Albania for their vacations because of the massive price difference, could work well for Air Albania
ReplyDeleteWhat's crazy about that, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Sarajevo too as many people holiday at the Albanian Ionian coast
DeletePeople are coming back from Albania to SLO saying it’s absolutely beautiful and that the people are incredibly friendly. Air Albania is a welcome addition! Personally I was doubtful Wizz would apply since it already serves TIA from TRS, TSF and VRN and all are not too far from LJU.
DeleteI saw in many UK newspapers that they are complaining about high prices in Croatia. I think they need to address this matter before it gets out of hand.
DeleteDoes anyone know...is AirAlbania used by the local folks? Because this route is 99% the Albanian locals coming and going to Slovenia
ReplyDeleteWell it is the national carrier. I would assume it is used by locals.
DeleteLocals in SLO.
DeleteNot really. Beside IST route, load factors are pretty low.
DeleteMy co-workers here in SLO, who are Albanian, now mostly used Italian airports to fly home.
DeleteI saw a Twitter review of Air Albania TIA-VRN and the flight was around 90% ful
DeleteAir Albania has beautiful livery tho.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThans admin for finding out for us :D
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteDirect flights between Tirana and Ljubljana are long overdue. Hope this route sticks around.
ReplyDeleteAny new route is good news
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLet's hope it's at least two weekly... if it's one weekly again its a gimmic
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it will be 2 weekly.
DeleteThis will be great for tourism on both sides.
ReplyDeleteDo many Albanians come to Ljubljana for sightseeing? Wouldn't it be mostly VFR?
DeleteAre the two extra aircraft they are negotiating also A320s?
ReplyDeleteA220
DeleteSure...
DeleteIf Animawings, and Bulgarian can have them, why wouldn't they?
DeleteIt is oficially confirmed as 2 A320s being added. Why would you make something like that up @anon 11.51?
DeleteHappy to see the route coming back
ReplyDeleteNice move. The Balkans need better interconnectivity.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. It would be nice if Air Serbia launched Maribor.
Deletewhy. LJU is like 100km away.
DeleteNo need for Maribor.
DeleteMaribor would cover the large Serbian diaspora in the area of Maribor and Celje plus Austrian Steiermark
DeleteIt is better to open functioning Graz than Maribor.
DeleteOMG if JU does well in OMO then they will do well in MBX as well. Maribor has much more potential.
DeleteThey get subsidies in OMO.
DeleteWelcome Air Albania
ReplyDeleteWith 70% lf, that must have been one of Adria's better performing routes.
ReplyDeleteYes it was
DeleteBecause of transfers
DeleteWere there so many transfers? Didn't Adria have a base in Tirana and nonstop flights to several cities?
DeleteSad.
ReplyDeleteWhat?
DeleteWhy sad?
DeleteThat we don't have our own airline that could operate these routes but are paying others to do it.
DeleteAdmin, do you know, when will be Air Albania take tickets to sale?
ReplyDeleteIf they plan to start the roite in winter it is likely to go on sale in the next 2 months.
DeleteThey promoted flights to Vienna and also loaded them on their website but never started..
ReplyDeleteThey cancelled some routes over last few months. I don't know is it because of lack of aircraft or because they are underperforming.
DeleteThey are severely mismanaged, don't pay employees and constantly cancelling flights.
DeleteHowever these flights will probably operate normally since they're getting paid.
It is not teue
DeleteIt's more than true
DeleteAnd still no Barcelona, Stockholm, Rome, Vienna....
ReplyDeleteJust fly via FRA!
DeleteMark my words this service won't last. They are a highly mismanaged airline.
ReplyDeleteAgree. But I do hope it works out for LJU's sake.
DeleteNice Air Albania! Y're welcome...
ReplyDeleteWell these subsidies seem to work after all. They have brought many airlines to LJU.
ReplyDeleteThis is their first destination in ex-Yu I believe.
ReplyDelete