Banja Luka proposes Air Serbia base


The Government of the entity of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina has suggested for Air Serbia to station an aircraft at Banja Luka Airport and open a subsidiary in the city. The Minister for Transport of the entity government, Nedjo Trninić, who recently said that the Serbian carrier's existing three weekly flights between Belgrade and Banja Luka were "unsustainable", noted, "There is potential for flights to Austria and Scandinavian countries. It is our wish for Air Serbia to base an aircraft and open a subsidiary here". Mr Trninić said he held informal discussions with Air Serbia's CEO. The Serbian airline is the only scheduled carrier flying into Bosnia and Herzegovina's second largest city. The carrier's fees at Banja Luka are covered by the airport operator. "We are considering daily flights to Belgrade or to destinations other than Belgrade. That would be very good and we are currently in discussions with Air Serbia", Miroslav Janjić, the General Manager of Banja Luka Airport said.

The only airline ever to have been based in Banja Luka was Air Srpska, jointly established by the airport and JAT Yugoslav Airlines in 1999. The deal helped JAT maintain its aircraft and keep its crew flying in face of international sanctions imposed onto Yugoslavia. With two ATR72s, the airline launched flights to Zurich on January 29, 1999 and had an interline agreement with Swissair. Additional flights were eventually launched and Banja Luka Airport handled record passenger numbers. However, the airline ceased operations in 2003 when JAT was forced to withdraw from the joint venture due to regulations set out in Bosnia and Herzegovina's new aviation law. The government of Republika Srpska set up a new airline, Sky Srpska, in 2007. Over the years the airline signed Memorandums of Understanding with Adria Airways and Jat Airways, while cooperation talks were also held with Montenegro Airlines. The company intended to lease two seventy-seat aircraft. A total of ten weekly flights were planned and an estimated 30.000 passengers to be carried per year. Initially, Sky Srpska was to commence flights to Vienna and Belgrade. Despite 400.000 euros in funding each year, the company was unable to secure aircraft and was formally shut down in 2013.


Air Serbia has not publicly commented on calls to set up a subsidiary or review its operations into Banja Luka. The airline has been an advocate of a hub-spoke model and has previously rejected calls to base an aircraft at Niš Airport. "Air Serbia has a different business model which includes turning Belgrade into a hub, meaning all flights are launched from there", the carrier said in a statement in 2015. The government of the entity of Repblika Srpska recently said it was also in talks with Israeli and Irish carriers to set up flights to Banja Luka, however, the Transport Minister noted, "Low cost carriers are not our future. We are more focused on serious airlines to whom we can offer fair conditions. We must offer passengers both attractive and scheduled routes because the population is large enough for the airport to function properly and develop in the right direction. Low cost airlines are very demanding in terms of subsidies and airports do not benefit from them".

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Wishful thinking on Banja Luka's behalf.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    This could actually work if they had spare aircraft lying around which they don't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:07

    It's kind of ironic and sad, both aircraft pictured are the same one - YU-ALP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Poor old YU-ALP. Under my count it has changed 6 liveries by now - JAT egg, modified JAT egg, JAT flame, Air Srpska, Jat Aireays and now Air Serbia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      Might be time to renew the regional fleet!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:40

      It also operated in an all white livery for a while during the 2000s when Jat didn't have the money to paint its planes.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:31

      Modified Egg? It was delivered with new JAT livery (short stripes and egg).

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:08

    Day 2 of "Amazing ideas from Bosnia"
    Coming tomorrow: Trebinje airport new renders

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:10

    Koja sprdnja... Zalosto, za pocetak nek ih nagovore na 7 pw letova i to im je i vise nego dovoljno

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Ocigledno nema putnika za 7x nedeljno

      Delete
    2. Nemjee10:04

      Ако погледамо број путника које је објавила Бања Лука онда се види да је попуњеност током лета око 90%.

      Путници су ту али изгледа да Ер Србија нема довољно авиона да појача ову линију.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:07

      Ima putnika ali ocigledno nema profita posto su cene stvarno vise nego pristupacne. Cim je izasao ministar saobracaja i rekao da je liniji ne odrziva.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee11:15

      Мислим да је лаж да линија није профитабилна. Прво, и Србија и Српска су се одрекле одређених такси.
      Друго, ЈУ ништа не плаћа у BNX док у Београду има посебне услове.
      Треће, лет од 35 минута обавља Атр, то јест један од најекономичнијих ваздухоплова. Повратна карта кошта око 6.898 динара док ЈУ узима 2.864 по путнику, отприлике 1.432 по смеру. Ако у просеку имају 40 путника по лету то значи да им приход износи око 57.280 динара или око 461 евра по смеру.
      Не кажем да праве луде паре али исто тако сумњам да су у губитку.

      Мислим да је неисплативост само изговор. Том логиком лет до Беча исто тако није исплатив имајући у виду да повратна карта кошта око 100 евра, лет траје преко сат времена а VIE је један од скупљих аеродрома у Европи.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:40

      Ajde nadji mi kartu do Beca za 100 eur pa da idemo zajedno ja placam sve. Pa sa tim parama mogu samo posadu da plate

      Delete
    6. Nemjee13:50

      Бацио сам поглед на цене за следећи месец и повратна карта кошта 14.853 динара што ти изађе око 119 евра. Ето, извињавам се, омашио сам за 20 евра.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:44

      +1

      but i don't think JU is losing money in VIE

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:13

    The minister's comment about LCCs is quite outrageous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:02

      Yes they are. For LCCs PR services.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:14

      They are outrageous for anyone with even half a brain inside their head.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:20

    Not their strategy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      Maybe it's time for them to change their strategy.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:03

      Well their complete strategy will change in just a few months so I would not be surprised that if RS finances this they might actually launch some other flihts out of Banja Luka.

      Delete
  8. Ocigledno da Banja Luka ima minimalno dva problema. Prvi je da ambicija Vlade Republike Srpske, ima ambiciju za redovan saobracaj a nema dovoljno putnika... Banja Lucki Aerodrom ima zelju da bude samoodrziv, a Low Cost kompanije nemaju destinacije ni dovoljan broj putnika po letu da bi orzavali redovni saobracaj. U takvim uslovima je tesko praviti biznis. Jer na kraju novac je vodilja, mada oni koji odlucuju ne postavljaju stvari na svoje mesto. Vec prolongiraju dilemu kako dalje...
    Sto verujem, jeste da Republika Srpska treba da ima dva aerodroma. Banja Lucki i Trebinjski. Vrsta i model saobracaja ce biti onoliki koliko ce se biti posveceno, podrzano od politicara koji rade za buducnost saobracaja. U ovom slucaju i vazdusnog.
    Rodney, Kraljevo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:26

      Trebinje, dobar si hahahaha.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:24

      Bribery and corruption is the major obstacle that constrains BNX. It will be running the airport as long as the current local political parties are in the driving seat. Majority of the people who go to the polls, vote for politicians that are corrupt. They know those politicians are dishonored but still vote for them. Such broken, low-down, despicable and filthy guys are trying to find themselves in all of that. Some others vote for the mentioned because they are as stupid as planks. The most worrying thing is bribery and corruption in the legal system.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:02

    I'm tired of such messages. I would suggest to ExYu not to consider any BNX annoucements anymore until an official statement from a carrier is made. Let's stay serious... even my biggest wish would be that I can finally fly from ZRH to BNX

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:33

    These jokers will do ANYTHING in their power to keep BNX and Republika Srpska in general as a monopoly for JU!
    They will never even try to attract a non Serbian airline, whether it is full service or LCC.
    It is a political decision, nothing more, nothing less.
    They are making a hude damage to the economy of the Republica...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:39

      +1000

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:23

      +10 000

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:00

      Exactly - and same political non sense that blocks anything that has to do with Sarajevo , has refused B&H / Turkish in their plans to have couple of flights from BNX , adding Scandinavia and other to , at that time existing, Zurich...contributing like that to failure of B&H as well

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:05

      B&H Airlines failed because of federal politicians and you know that well. B&H flew normally to Zurich from Banja Luka, as well as charters to Tivat. The Sarajevo-Zurich flights survived thanks to the stop in Banja Luka. RS policies can be blamed for many things but not for the failure and mismanagement of B&h airlines.

      Delete
  11. "Low cost carriers are not our future. We are more focused on serious airlines to whom we can offer fair conditions. We must offer passengers both attractive and scheduled routes because the population is large enough for the airport to function properly and develop in the right direction." BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!
    Despite some folks demanding from Ex-Yu Aviation News to drop Banja Luka announcements, I say; please keep 'em around! Some comedy is always welcome and Banja Luka announcements are pure comedy gold...like Monty Python!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:21

      So Dane Kondic little airline, with 2,6 milion pax, is a serious airline but Wizz is not? So what If Wizz is LCC? Wizz was not not going down like Jat Airways and Wizz dont need some arabs to work not even Viktor Orban.
      Wizz Air is a very much serious airline, compared with Air Serbia they got ten times more passengers and most of all they can buy their own airplanes without mama Etihad Airways!
      Would the "sumar" Nedjo say that Air Serbia is a more serious airline then Norwegian? Norwegian has flights to 15-20 more cities in USA then great Air Serbia and lets not forget their European network, sadly Banja Luka Airport is a part of politics and the people who runs the airport are a "joke".

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:37

      Polako sacekaj, ovaj model LCC poslovanja na osnovu najavljenih globalnih promena nece biti odrziv tako lako. Kad Luftika napravi cistku za Eurowings tesko ce ostali preziveti

      Delete
    3. @michael How is nowadays a serious airline? Every "serious" airline like BA, LH, SAS and so on inaugurates pieces of low cost model in their concept. To charge baggage, to charge service on air and so on - so I would say every LCC is more serious than any full carrier

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:12

      easyJet +1

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:51

      Sto da se daju subvencije pojedinim Kompanijama od kojih na kraju nemate neku veliku korist nego samo jeftinu kartu do mesta ko je dalje udaljeno od vase destinacije i nemate konekcije.
      A ne znam kako mozete nekoga nazivati sumarom samo zato sto imate razlicito misljenje.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:34

      Of course Air Serbia is a serious airline, they have 20 aircraft. Can't compare with a joke airline like Ryanair, only 380 aircraft.

      Delete
    7. @easyJet I hope you understand that I was quoting their official statement, which is hilarious! I fully agree on LCC. Which is precisely the reason why I find this Banja Luka official statement so funny. :)

      Delete
  12. Anonymous14:20

    I am shocked. The ATR72 has roughly 70 seats and already very "tired" and old. Why don´t they consider Wizz, Adria, Ryanair instead?
    Also, being 190km away from Zagreb might be challenging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dejan14:46

      Wizz, Adria, Ryanair are not Air Serbia.
      That is the only problem that BNX management has. They are far more interested in ASL interest than Banja Luka's interest...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:49

      Adria did fly to Banja Luka in 2010. They failed miserably. 5 passengers per flight on avarage. And on top of that they were subsidised.

      Delete
    3. Dejan15:10

      I fail to see how come BNX market is unable to support LCC when INI, SKP, OHD, PRN, TZL can.
      I don't think that there is something magical about every other airport that makes it attractive to LCCs and only in BNX the economic reality prevails. I think the opposite is happening.
      I think BNX does not want any LCC that would compete with JU.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous14:50

    When will you write about the new, extended runway lighting of Tuzla airport (which finally brought the much needed 550m landing minima and more operational stability in frequent bad weather) to show that someone is in fact working in Bosnia to serve customers instead of dreaming?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:14

      Nobody is denying that the Bosnian federation is not working to improve its air access. It is only the Republika Srpska that is not.
      Sad to say it as I am Serb myself.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:57

      +100

      Delete
  14. Anonymous20:48

    Moze se iz kombinovati da se leti Petkom i Nedeljom leti za ZRH sto bi moglo biti jako profitabilno.
    I slazem se sa da ne treba Drzava da daje svakim LCC Kompanijama Subvencije ja bi samo ponudio HV za letove za AMS i U2 za letove do ZRH gde se moze dalje Konektovati na mnogo letova a ne kao druge LCC kompanije koje lete do udaljenih mesta sto nije bitno kao prvo.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:52

      I naravno bi jos dodao OS kao bolji izbor.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:38

      Ti ces to kombinovati kad budes vodio neku avio-kompaniju.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous00:35

    OT: What happened to YU-API? The A319 got stuck in Milano, flight canceled, pax rebooked on A320 tomorrow.

    https://www.flightradar24.com/reg/yu-api

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous02:54

    No any airline will come,

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous04:05

    Banja Luka is not alone:

    https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/csg/arrivals

    Replace CSG with BNX, DL with JU and ATL with BEG

    ReplyDelete

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