Several airports in the former Yugoslavia are seeking nonstop services to the United States, among which are Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Skopje and Pristina. The governments in both Croatia and Macedonia are providing support in securing flights to the US, which they hope could commence in the near future.
The Croatian Ministry for Tourism is aiming for US services to be launched from Zagreb and Dubrovnik on a seasonal summer basis in 2018, before extending the flights to year-round operations in 2019. The government is seeking out a carrier willing to run the service, with airlines from both the US and Europe, including leisure carriers, all in contention. However, Lufthansa's low cost unit Eurowings, which has expanded significantly across Croatia this year and was seen as a potential operator, has temporarily ruled out introducing long haul flights from the country. "For now we are focusing on the German market. Croatia has great potential in the long haul sector, both seasonally to the coast, as well as year-round. We have no plans to expand our long haul network to Croatia at this time, but as the market grows and the demand for point-to-point flying increases, everything is possible in the future. However, currently we are focusing on our priorities", Eurowings' Route Development Manager, Ivan Oreč, told "Avioradar" recently.
Skopje Airport has submitted a joint proposal with the Macedonian government for Turkish Airlines to introduce services to the United States via Skopje. Macedonia and Turkey have an Open Skies Agreement in place with both the United States and Canada, which permits for a Turkish carrier to be issued fifth freedom rights by regulators from all parties involved. Turkish Airlines is currently studying the proposal and has expressed interest in the potential service. "Turkish Airlines is one of the world's leading carriers. We believe that there is a chance that, for the first time, Skopje could have an intercontinental service that would cover the needs of Macedonians living abroad. It would also greatly increase passenger numbers at Alexander the Great Airport and would help turn it into a regional hub", the Macedonian government said in a statement.
New York was the busiest unserved route from Pristina in 2016 for a second year in a row, with passenger numbers from the airport to the United States continuing to grow. Some 15.000 travellers flew from Pristina to New York (JFK and Newark Liberty) last year. Of those, 10.900 were bound for New York's JFK Airport and 4.100 to Newark Liberty Airport. Other routes in North America which saw a notable number of passengers departing Pristina included Chicago, Washington and Toronto. In 2009, Scanderbeg Air, a short-lived tour operator that contracted with Sky King Airlines, introduced two weekly flights between Pristina and New York with a Boeing 767-200ER aircraft. Services were maintained twice per week between June and September. Since then, there have been no flights between the two cities. Pristina Airport's General Manager, Haldun Firat Kokturk, previously said the US city continues to be a target destination. "The airport is focusing on opening new services to destinations not directly served from Pristina. This should have a positive impact in covering more of the countries and catchment areas where our diaspora is located, and will generate additional passengers visiting Kosovo either for leisure or business".
Air Serbia is currently the only carrier in the former Yugoslavia operating services to the United States, with flights to New York launched in June 2016. The airline has captured a significant number of travellers from across the former Yugoslavia for its transatlantic service and has carried over 70.000 passengers on the route during its first year of operations. However, its flights to New York see highly seasonal travel patterns, which would prove a challenge for any airline operating such service to the region. The relative lack of business travel between the former Yugoslavia and the United States would also impact on the seasonality of the flights.
Air Serbia Belgrade - New York - Belgrade average cabin load factor
| Month | Load factor (%) BEG - JFK | Load factor (%) JFK - BEG |
|---|---|---|
| JUN 2016 | 81.0 | 91.5 |
| JUL | 72.8 | 89.4 |
| AUG | 93.9 | 59.3 |
| SEP | 82.3 | 63.3 |
| OCT | 55.4 | 65.8 |
| NOV | 65.2 | 53.3 |
| DEC | 70.3 | 72.3 |
| JAN 2017 | 65.6 | 79.9 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the United States
LOT Polish Airlines recently announced the launch of nonstop flights from Budapest to both New York and Chicago in May 2018. The carrier's CEO, Rafał Milczarski, noted that the airline will be focusing on the Baltics and the Balkans region, which could see similar expansion in the future. Notably, emphasis will be put on cities in the area which serve as hubs for Star Alliance member airlines with whom LOT can cooperate. Both Zagreb and Ljubljana are home to national carriers which are part of the alliance, while Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways codeshare on LOT's flights from their respective hubs to Warsaw.
The Balkan obsession with the transatlantic flights to North America continues.
ReplyDelete+1
Deleteseems everyone wants to have flights to the US all of a sudden.
People are driving around in Yugos and Zastavas, but Serbia has flights to USA. Priorities...
DeleteI don't know why it is such a disgrace to have a connecting flight to USA. You have a lot of options from a lot of hubs in Europe and you can pick a time of departure and place and time of arrival in the USA, if you go with connecting flights.
^ What does your comment have to do with anything? So what if it has flights to the US. It seems other countries want them too and trust me they don't drive Chryslers in those either.
Deletewell now we have flights to the middle east , wy not over the pond ;)
DeleteI had the whole region in mind. The state of mind of people (mostly politicians) that there is a need to show to the outside world that we can have a national airline as well, and that we can have direct flights to wherever as well.
DeleteAll this while the large majority of people can't afford an airplane ticket to the Adriatic coast and a nice 2 week vacation, let along going to the States or anywhere else.
That's why this "we are proud we have a national carrier" logic is completely insane. Ask how many British people feel ashame of their country because BA is not government owned?
Of course they can't afford to fly to the Adriatic, have you seen the fares? TIV tends to be over 250 euros.
DeleteShame Eurowings is not interested in flying long haul from Zagreb. The only other European airline I see as a possibility is Norwegian.
ReplyDeleteRegarding EW, surely this can change within a few months or even a couple of weeks.
DeleteRemember EK saying at this point we have no interest for any Exyu services...
There were rumors it is going to be XL Airways.
DeleteThere were also rumors its going to be United, Delta, American, Air France, Level....
DeleteOU CEO once said that Croatia doesn't need direct flights to NY because they already have so many options to NY and elsewhere in the US with 1-stop connections over Europe...
DeleteSo? This doesn't really concern OU and the CEO has said many things that don't make much sense. People will always prefer nonstop than one stop connections.
DeleteFlights from both PRN and SKP would be completely unsustainable. It can be only one and it would only make sense if a big European airline, like Turkish, operate it.
ReplyDeleteNever say never :D a few years ago it was unthinkable that Qatar Airways would fly anywhere in the ex-Yu and now they are flying to four cities.
DeleteYes, but 90% of QR passengers are not P2P, which would probably be the case in USA flights.
DeleteSeasonal flights from PRN to NYC could work, especially because they would be able attract passengers from Albania and Macedonia too. That said I doubt anything more than seasonal traffic on this route would be possible at this point.
ReplyDeleteI assume that the majority of passengers from Pristina also transfer through Istanbul with Turkish Airlines to the US?
DeleteProbably also with Austrian.
DeleteThey have been delaying these flights from Zagreb each year. Hope it finally happens in 2018.
ReplyDeleteIf they want it to be a success, tickets should be on sale next month. Air Transat put tickets on sale in September for flights starting in June the following year.
DeleteI think charters from Dubrovnik to the US would be a great success straight away.
ReplyDeleteTrue. There is massive demand from American tourists.
DeleteI actually think it will get flights to JFK before ZAG unless the government steps in which is favouring and prioritizing Zagreb.
DeleteAgree, they will happen, at least as seasonal flights, so many Americans during summer in DBV!
DeleteAs well in Zagreb. Americans are in top 3 when it comes to Zagreb.
DeleteI witnessed loads of Americans in Dubrovnik Stari Grad recently. A lot of them on Game of Thrones and Star Wars dedicated tours. Also, y friend who owns and rents apartments in Stari Grad told me that 90% of his guests this your were Americans. Previous years not so much. IMHO DBV-NYC could easily work both as scheduled seasonal or charter, maybe even little earlier/further than just summer months
DeleteSKP has better catchment area compared to PRN for nonstop flights to NYC. I can see people from Northern Greece, Western Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo along with Macedonia. That's catchment area of some 9-10 mil people which might actually work for direct flights to NYC.
ReplyDeleteAdmin, tx for the L/F JU 500/1
ReplyDeleteRemember this: if one starts, you will see that another will follow too. For example UA (which would make most sense), than AC or others will follow. Its interesting to see how airlines act. It can take time until a dest is launched, but if one enters the market it often attracts others too.
My guess is that Croatia will see UA AC or DL in the next 2 years to come.
Nice would be LOT B788, my personal favor
Enjoy yr day guys. Rgds fm ZRH
+1
Delete@JU520 BEGLAXAugust 10, 2017 at 9:13 AM
DeleteDL? UA - is that United airlines and AC, is that Air Canada? DL might be Delta airlines ?
Don't know any airline codes, so you need to pardon my ignorance.
Hi thats right. No problem, glad to help
DeleteCiao
Good that they all have the initiative.
ReplyDeleteBEG-JFK is a suicide for ASL, with the LF 55 to 70 % for the most of the year and low ticket prices this route is next in line to be cut, especial with LOT starting Budapest-US flights.
ReplyDeleteHey didn't you have your hate day yesterday? Give it a rest. LF in first 6 months was above 70% which is fine for a new service. Seriously, take a break.
DeleteLF for the time period provided (6 months) is 71.8%. From those 6, 3 are in the low winter period. Numbers are quite good actually.
DeleteNo they are not. It mast be at least 90% in top season (Jun-September) and at least 75% out of season. JU has 15 pp less. And price of ticket is so low with this low LF, so yield is very bad.
DeleteWhen LH sells JFK for 450 EUR with their high cost-base, no one complains. When JU does the same, suddenly it's the end of the world.
DeleteAnd don't mention that they make it up in J class, because J class to the US is currently on sale for 1700 USD.
They do make it up with J and F. Most certainly. They offer J Class for that price from Serbia. Try from Frankfurt and you see what the price diefference is.
DeleteAnon 11.39
DeleteMaybe no one complains about LH on here since the portal is called Ex YU aviation news. ;)
I don't think the CLF is bad considering:
Delete- the flights were for 4 months marketed with 'subject to approval' which I am sure put off travelers. We shouldn't forget that Swift Air tried Chicago-Zagreb-Belgrade a couple years back and was denied to allow pax to board last minute due to issues with paperwork, while pax waited at the gate.
- JU isn't able to connect JFK well into its network. Regionally, JU should have an advantage 1) because of local O&D demand, 2) the ATR is a great aircraft for the short hops. However the ATR fleet is small and unreliable.
- There are destinations JU could market and don't. For example, JU's JFK flights fits well onto EY's AUH-BEG flights however that option is not purchasable.
- JU's marketing isn't great and I am sure there is mass that don't know about these flights. The Times Square adds were great, however more could be done. I think JU should get together in more campaigns with tourism boards who would long side advertise JU.
- JU needs to get more active with more interline and codeshare partners. Great that JU flies to JFK, but then what?
Having said that, I think JU needs to alter their fleet a bit. 5-6 ERJ's to replace 2 A320's and 2 A319's would do wonders in adding frequencies which in turn would boost JFK.
@JATBEGMEL
DeleteYou don't get it, JFK is supposed to boost the regional network!
It's an interesting concept for TK. Skopje seems like a natural choice considering IST is the busiest route and they are the busiest airline there (after Wizz). It is questionable whether there is enough demand but with flights originating from Turkey the plane would probably be full.
ReplyDeleteWhat city in the US would make most senese to be served from SKP?
DeleteActually I think Canada has much more potential from SKP than USA.
DeleteToronto, NYC and Chicago
DeleteFingers crossed there will be some concrete results for all the airports.
ReplyDeleteSkopje considering TATL. Right....
ReplyDeleteBecause it can't even sustain LH from FRA.
DeleteSo what? BEG didn't sustain AF flights to Paris but it still has flights to New York and next month Beijing.
DeleteAF didn't but BEG can still sustain double daily flights.
DeleteAlso, are you seriously comparing BEG to SKP? LOL
nobody compared them it was only you.
DeleteAnon 10.08, I suppose that comment was meant for the poster at 09.43
DeleteIt's funny that Slovenia is the only ex-yu country whose citizens don't require visas to the US yet no one has even considered flights from the US, even several charters per year.
ReplyDeleteMarket is too small and too close to airports which have flights to the US.
Delete....but the catchment are is big enough
DeleteWith Melania in the White House, things could change :D
DeleteJP is planning flights to USA with Darwin's ATRs :)
DeleteHahaha :D I actually think there is more of a chance of VLM Airlines starting flights from Maribor to USA with F50s.
DeleteAnon 10.47
DeleteStop spreading misinformation. They are not planning these flights with the Atrs but with the SAABs as they are faster. :)
Please stop making jokes as you know you cant fly EDTO with turboprops. But sure VLM will open some direct flights to US with upcomming 330's.
DeleteI'm really happy ex-Yu countries are finally getting trans Atlantic flights. Looked very unlikely a few years back.
ReplyDeleteThe region is finally waking up.
DeleteDoes Macedonia have a category one rating with the FAA?
ReplyDeleteI don't think it would matter since the route would be operated by TK.
DeleteSkopje Airport would still have to be audited by the FAA.
DeleteExactly. No FAA Cat 1 rating = no direct flights, regardless of carrier.
Deletedont forget that Macedonia and USA excellent relations
DeleteYes, but FAA is a serious avaiation authority. "Excellent relations" isn't enough, unlike in this part of the world.
DeleteUnless Macedonia and SKP can demonstrate appropriate level of security, procedures, etc., there will be no flights to the USA.
I don't think any of these cities are getting a year round transatlantic flight any time soon. There is simply not enough demand, this is MOSTLY a vfr market and when it comes to long haul flights, business class is where airlines make their profit. We might see a few charters during peak times but that's about it.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the hype about direct flights to the US. Ticket price can't be too much below the competition. Neither of them will be daily or double daily, so any kind of advantage you get from a direct flight, you lose schedule-wise.
ReplyDeleteYou are looking it from an airline perspective but the article here talks about the airport and it makes complete sense that they all want flights to the US.
DeleteThis is significant for the airport itself as these flights are highly profitable in terms of handling, and the airline operating them, and the connecting pax generated as a result.
This just shows what an achievement was for AS to launch NYC flights in 2016. Yes, it is not profitable, but it is something the rest of the region can only dream about for now. I dont see anyone getting direct flights until at least 2020.
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik will have them, let's wait and see...
DeleteI meant on year round basis. Dubrovnik might get some charters in 2018 or 2019.
Delete..."Yes, it is not profitable, but it is something the rest of the region can only dream about for now"
DeleteWhy would "the rest of the region" dream of unprofitable routes?
Because they offer passengers convenience and the country economic benefits? Why would you as a passenger care whether the route was profitable or not? That's for the airline's management to worry about.
DeleteYeah but most of our airline managers don't know how to run a profitable business. #ou #asl #ym
DeleteI'm suprised Nis has not expressed interest for flights to the US :D
ReplyDeletehaha
Deleteknowing Balkan mentality, some politician will say it sooner or later :D
DeleteINI-JFK and KVO-LAX coming up!
Deletethey will start INI-DOH first ;)
DeleteWhile you are laughing INI is booming.
DeleteINI>SKP so why not DOH? I think it is not in the scope as it is not a capital city...Turkish is more flexible there
DeleteSkopje has been interested in US/Canada flight for quite a while. It's not something they came up with yesterday. In 2013 they even approached some US and Canadian airlines. I think it will eventually happen.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so but I think it is many years off.
DeleteNext connection SKP-Miami ,SKP-LA,so all 300 Macedonians in those cities will finally have direct fights.
Delete@Last Jealous Anon at 10:39
DeleteI lived in FL for 4 years, the Macedonian community which lives there is quite large with organizations in both Tampa Bay and Palm Beach. I'm not saying there are 100k Macedonians living there, but certainly 10k with Macedonian descent. The number of Macedonians in LA metro area is much larger.
But flight to NYC initially will be sufficient.
Of course they will.
DeleteGood luck to Skopje. I distinctly remember Etihad taking over Jat being dismissed by many on this forum as a story that was too good to be true. So may this be another one...
DeleteI can see whole CA and FL driving to NYC to catch the direct connection to the great metropolitan city of Skoplje
DeleteI can see whole CA and FL driving to NYC to catch the direct connection to Skoplje
DeleteThere is always JetBlue to connect to NYC from FL and eat some blue chips ;)
DeleteIf nothing Skopje showed over the last few days it can comfortably handle several long haul aircraft within the same day. So the airport would easily handle a couple of flights to the US every week.
ReplyDeletethat was pretty cool with TK A330 and OS B767
DeleteAnd Iberia A330 and A340.
DeleteIberia A346, Titan B757
DeleteNice article. Thanks for the LF stats ex-yu.
ReplyDeleteI would be more happy if Zagrebtried to attract a LCC to base an aircraft. Having flights to New York is nice but the benefits of having an established LCC serving several cities out of ZAG outweigh a few flights per season to New York.
ReplyDeleteAgree! It would be much more beneficial to Croatian consumers than some prestige route to the US.
DeleteZagreb wants to get first major legacy carriers which are still absent from the airport. I am talking of SAS, Alitalia, TAP, Aer Lingus, Finnair, Aegean and perhaps another intercontinental airline like Korean air. Once these are all established, Zagreb airport could concentrate on LCCs.
DeleteLCCs don't really generate revenue for the airport, yet they take valuable slots. Priority for the management atm is to raise the revenue from current €158 million to around €300-320 million and after tax profits from current €5-10 million to around €20-30 million per year.
Hardly possible with LCCs.
Makes sense, especially since ZAG doesn't have enough slots.
DeleteAlso,airports such as ATH, BEG, VIE, PRG, BUD, OTP, SOF, WAW... all have many lowcosts flying there while some don't have long-haul flights. Are you saying they are wrong?
He didn't say they are wrong, just that ZAG management has different priorities, as it seems.
Delete@AnonymousAugust 10, 2017 at 6:42 PM
DeleteCurrently Zagreb has 11+15 single isle slots, however, 2 slots are for cargo airlines, DHL, UPS, FedEx and such on old apron...
And new apron if two or more wide body aircraft land, then there's only 8 slots, so total number of slots is around 20. Once Korean Air with B777 arrives, China Southern A330 + Qatar sending B787, Emirates 777, Air Canada R with A330/B7673 and ANA with B777, you end up with no slots available at the airport, well this is worst case scenario down the line in 3-4 years, but airports need to plan these things way ahead.
LCCs will just take valuable parking slots and they pay nothing. Reason why Zagreb isn't rushing to engage LCCs just yet.
EasyJet, Voltea, Vueling, TransAvia France and Monarch are LCCs, well considered LCCs, as is German Wing, for Zagreb needs that is more then enough I should think.
EasyJet, Voltea, Transavia France all announced their intention of adding Zagreb as destination in 2018, this blog posted news about that. Vueling and German Wings already fly to Zagreb and German Wings has a base in Zagreb, flying to Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Koln/Bonn, Stuttgart and Berlin out of Zagreb.
Also what other airports do, and how they set their strategy of expansion is their business, what Zagreb is doing it trying to increase revenue and traffic at the same time. Airport is managed by a company that priorities profit over pax numbers, they want to see revenue and profits grow so they can pay for obligations towards Croatian state.
Almost everything that we heard about Skopje became true in the past years. They got a new terminal, their numbers are getting higher, they got Wizz air and their base there, fly dubai, qatar airways. They got a lots of destinations that at first seemed unreal and unexpected and there were a lots of surprises. I'm not saying that the US flights will happen but experience tells us that most about Skopje is surprisingly true.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWith so many new pan European long haul airlines like Level and Joon anything is possible.
ReplyDeleteI don't think low yielding Balkan markets are their target group.
DeleteIf some of these flights start they would hurt Air Serbia's BEG-JFK route for sure.
ReplyDeleteMost certainly.
DeleteBosnian Diaspora from North America uses ZAG as either their final destination and then drive to Bosnia. If the NYC-ZAG flight start, this will take lots of passengers away from BEG as well.
Deletewhere does ASL get most transfer passengers from for this route? (besides TIA, as stated in previous posts)
DeleteSurprisingly - Montenegro, even more then TIA.
DeleteMaybe slightly however the other ex-YU cities lack destinations which JU have. OU has the advantage in Croatia while JP in Tirana and Pristina. Having said that, regardless of the JU destinations in the region, it still has a hard time trying to connect many of them to JFK.
DeleteTGD is by far the best feeder for BEG-JFK route. The figures are incredible.
DeleteDuuh when it's the only route which has normal connections. That's why JU still didn't get, better connections means better yields.
DeleteBefore you give others a "duuh" - you should reflect on your own comments and you will realise that you should start with a massive "duuh" for yourself....
DeleteConnecting traffic for airlines NEVER EVER gives them better yields. P2P traffic is significantly better yielding than is connecting traffic.
Think before you write next time, or certainly before you throw condescending remarks to others
Hahahahah yeah but you should think before writing replies. O&D only makes a greater profit if you have that market and if you can charge them an adequate price.
DeleteASL has a market but the yields are not there. So what's the point of it if it makes you as much money as the transfer ones? Duh
Also, ASL's connecting passengers are mostly low yielding because its brand is unknown anywhere and its network is rather sad.
If a passenger had a choice between flying on LH for €500 and ASL for €450 who do you think he will chose? A global brand or an airline that has not updated its IFE since the route was launched?
Duuuuuuuh the choice is obvious.
What a confused and messed up comment .. obviously, not enough sleep ... pls go back to bed and get some more zzzzz's and then maybe you comment once you are rested
DeleteNothing confusing there, I guess you are too simple to understand it so let me put it in simpler terms you can get.
DeleteO&D is in theory higher yielding, however, in practice it doesn't have to be so.
Take BEG-JFK as an example. O&D should be bringing in money for ASL but the problem is that both LH and OS sell their own JFK flights from BEG for as little as €450. That means that JU's return fares from BEG can't be much higher otherwise passengers will fly with a one stop in stead of directly.
That means JU must keep return fares to New York similar to those that are offered on the market especially since its onboard product leaves a lot to be desired.
So in theory the O&D should be bringing in the big buck but in this case that's not the case given the market realities. Furthermore, unlike LH or OS, JU doesn't have the kind of passengers that will pay a lot of money to fill the front of the cabin.
So O&D is mostly low yielding while connecting passengers have to be too since they have no real regional network to offer convenient connections to New York, especially when compared to TK, LO, OS, LH, AF...
So basically, JU carries crumbs, leftovers who are only there because they found a cheap last minute deal. ;)
Now, if ASL had a strong brand and a good regional network then the situation would have been much different. Unfortunately it doesn't have a management that's competent enough to make this happen.
What an even more confusing message than your earlier one ... you DEFINATELY need to get back to bed and sleep some more
Delete@Anon at 1:31 PM
DeleteThe message isn't confusing, you're just too thick and stupid to understand it. Man clearly explains you things, yet you troll him. He shouldn't have bothered to be honest, you're simply too stupid to comprehend.
Hopefully all these plans and announcements will actually materialize.
ReplyDeleteWell if Wizz Air ever starts TATL like Norwegian then maybe we could see flights from Skopje, and even some other cities in ex-yu.
ReplyDeleteif Wizz was to start TATL flights from anywhere, then BUD would be the obvious and logical place to start with given it is their home and biggest hub. Why on earth would they ever want to fly from Skopje ?
DeleteLets face it, Skopje is booming because of Wizz. US flights would be a disaster, the market is not ready ...
ReplyDeleteyou are the same guy who was telling us that qatar airways will never happen
DeleteNope, I am not ...
DeleteHopefully all these plans and announcements will actually materialize.
ReplyDeleteFrom September everyone will want flights to China.
ReplyDeleteThey already have.
DeleteAnd that's completely normal. All these airports are competing against each other. Same way BEG wants YYZ flights, even though Zagreb has them.
DeleteWe are talking about year round flights, not charters or seasonal ones.
DeleteBad news for JU. Goodbye to connecting traffic
ReplyDeleteI don't think there has ever been anything that hasn't been "bad news for JU". Perhaps focusing on something else than JU in your life would give a chance for these flights actually happening.
DeleteSerbian diaspora is growing in the US. Around 40% of young people who go to work and travel from Serbia stay there. Those people will in a few years be frequent flyer ... so I dont think JU will need transfer passengers that much when ZG, SKP and company catch up on Belgrade.
DeleteWhere is this statistic coming from? Do they stay there "illegally", because I think if this is the case they "can't" leave until they "legalize" themselves...
Deleteby the time this diaspora grows to become frequent flyers JU won't even be flying to JFK, most likely it will be WIZZ. Both airlines are similar although WIZZ has a much newer fleet
DeleteTroll alert
Delete"Serbian diaspora is growing in the US. Around 40% of young people who go to work and travel from Serbia stay there. Those people will in a few years be frequent flyer"
DeleteMuko moja. Ti koji ostaju su bez ikakvog papira ovdje I mogu pojacati postojecu liniju samo ako ih policija ulovi I posalje prvim letom doma. A ako se itko domogne papira, proci ce 5 do 10 godina. Isto taking, zahvalite toj mladezi koja ostaje na velikom postotku odbijenih za vizu, upravo zbog tih specijalaca koji krse pravila J1 vise
Ok I can understand for ZAG and DBV, but SKP and PRN? Macedonia and Kosovo are probably only countries in Europe where Lufthansa dosen't operate? Not even exist flights to CDG and LHR but they are looking for US flights? Funny.
ReplyDeleteEven Scanderbeg which operated flights to New York via Tirana and Liege went bankrupt. The market is simply not there... actually the market is but the yields are not.
DeleteScanderbeg Air was a mafia business. If a normal company operated the flights they could have a shot.
DeleteScanderbeg was a fail for a simple reason they only maintained flights between PRN/TIA to JFK with no other operations to feed their balance sheets and pay bills. Also, their product was horrible - no food, no IFE, lengthy fuel stops. Finally, they had no connecting flights and feeders, just Albanian diaspora which stopped using em once they realized theres no any advantage of using Scanderbeg over LH, AF, OS...
Deleteand exactly because LH doesn't operate from SKP and PRN it would sense- if it did, then pax from SKP and/or PRN would be able to fly from a LH hub like FRA or MUC
Deleteand fyi, LH also doesn't fly to Finnland, Bulgaria and the baltic countries.
EasyJet fly CDG-PRN
DeleteIt's being suspended in October.
DeleteLOL. last anon are you joking? MUC - HEL is operated 3 times a day by LH.
DeleteAnd LH flies 5 times daily to Sofija
AnonymousAugust 10, 2017 at 3:29 PM:
DeleteYou have no idea. LH flies to all Baltic states (Talinn, Riga and Vilnius), Bulgaria (Sofia) and Finland (Helsinki and Kittila).
And also they both (SKP and PRN) have no direct flight to Amsterdam! So no direct links to 3 the busiest airports in Europe: LHR, CDG and AMS ... AND NO LUFTHANSA.
DeleteAnd also not big market to serve New York flight. It's much better to introduce flight to these 3 busiest airports in Euorpe where they can travel to US then direct line to.
ZAG have the biggest potential for future US flights.
AnonymousAugust 10, 2017 at 8:30 PM
DeleteSKP is way behind PRN.
PRN already has direct flights to FRA, LGW, CDG, MUC, ZRH...etc
Pristina absolutely need non-stop flights to US.
SKP doesn't have flights to FRA, CDG, LHR/LGW, MUC...etc
SKP need flights to 3 busiest airports in Europe first later US.
But easyJet will totally suspend flights PRN-CDG from beggining of winter schedule.
DeletePRN and SKP at first should attract much more legacy companies and connect to main hub in europe like CDG, AMS and LHR. And also Kosovian and Macedonian citizen will harder get visa to US because of so many people who wants immigrate far away from Macedonia and Kosovo.
Much more opportunity to get US flights is Zagreb - but it will run seasonal, not year round for begging.
Hi guys I'm from Greece and I have traveled to JFK last summer with ASL , it was a very good experience but I realy don't understand why ASL does not fix their schedule and include Athens in convenient connecting times for their JFK flights , also in the winter , don't count christmas season.We are a huge market there about 3 millions . I think the ASL management must reconsider that . Thanks for the room in this blog !
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia should paint its A330 like TAP Portugal and promote Serbia that way as a tourist destination.
ReplyDelete