Slovenia is moving forward with plans to secure services to China next year. The Slovenian State Secretary within the Ministry for Infrastructure met with the head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Beijing last week to discuss the establishment of flights between the two countries. The representatives of the CAAC "responded positively to the initiative to launch scheduled services between the two countries and provided assurances that there were no reservations in this matter", the Ministry for Infrastructure said. The State Secretary put an emphasis on Maribor's Edvard Rusjan Airport, presenting its development potential. The CAAC representatives welcomed Slovenia's activities targeted at the expansion of commercial aviation in the country and said they would offer technical assistance and support if necessary.
The talks come after an airline expressed interest to launch services between Xi'an and Ljubljana. The Slovenian Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, said, "We are especially interested in improving land, sea and air connectivity with China. We expect that direct flights between China's north-western city of Xi'an and our capital city Ljubljana will be established soon". He added, "Connectivity with China will enhance bilateral tourism and people-to-people exchange, which is another very important aspect of our cooperation. Slovenia wishes to establish itself as one of the major logistic hubs of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in this part of the world". In May, Slovenia's Minister for Infrastructure, Peter Gašperšič, visited China where he held talks with China's Minister for Transport and the head of the CAAC. They discussed improving airline connectivity between the two countries.
Maribor Airport also expects to link Slovenia with China after SHS Aviation took over and established an airline with the aim of launching services to the Far East. Andrej Fištravec, the Mayor of Maribor, said, "I believe that SHS will start with flights inside Europe and once the infrastructure at Maribor Airport is developed, I think they will start continental flights to China". SHS has previously announced plans to commence services from Slovenia's second largest city to Xi'an, Chongqing and Nanchang in China. On the other hand, Ljubljana has been attempting to secure flights to the country for several years. In 2013 the airport's General Manager, Zmago Skobir, sent an invitation to China Southern Airlines to introduce services to the Slovenian capital. Last year, the Chinese Embassy in Ljubljana launched an initiative for flights between the two countries to be established, with a proposal for Hainan Airlines to operate its service from Beijing to Prague via the Slovenian capital.
Hainan has a base in Xi'an but they said they don't plan to expand in Eastern and Central Europe in the foreseeable future. Who could this airline be?
ReplyDeleteChina Eastern Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines are all based in Xi'an and have widebodies in their fleet.
DeleteTrue but none of those operate flights outside of Asia from Xi'an. Hainan is the only one.
DeleteBTW Tianjin Airlines is owned by Hainan.
DeleteHope it happens. There are a lot of Chinese tourists visiting Slovenia and they could also use Slovenia as an entry point to Croatia.
ReplyDeleteSlovenia is a great market for Chinese. Has absolutely every they want to see.
DeleteI think we can all agree that the story of VLM starting flights from Maribor to China are just a bad joke. The airline hasn't launched a single flight out of Maribor over the past year except for 4 flights to Dubrovnik/Split in August.
ReplyDeleteHowever the story with VLM Airlines is not so black and white. Now they restarted their legendary route between Antwerpand London City. If you look at their frequences and fares on the route, you will see that it is not a joke. Just to mention, representatives of chinese investors were present on the route launch.
DeleteI believe they would have started routes from MBX as reported on this site, if they weren't surprised by Cityjet, who suddenly stopped flying on the ANR-LCY route.
Also at MBX they are working a lot on the project of lengthening the runway from 2500m to 3300m. Keep in mind that they (SHS Aviation or VLM Airlines) are paying 95.000 € for MBX per month. There has to be some reason to do so.
VLM should recive Belgian AOC within few weeks now.
VLM is really close to takeoer two A320 from bankcrupt Thomas Cook Belgium.
VLM applied for slots at several Chinese airports including Xi'an and Shenzen. And expects to start its long haul ops. from BRU.
I am not saying that ops from MBX to China are logical or that whole project of SHS Aviation has sense but it looks like that it is getting a shape...
Haplek
Thanks for the update Haplek. Good to hear some positive developments.
DeleteWelcome!
DeleteHaplek
I hope the plans for Maribor materialize. It would help with economic growth for the entire city
DeleteMaribor has a a strategic position in the middle of Europe, that makes it an interesting hub.
DeleteSure Maribor is in mddle of Europe, unlike Graz (60 km from Maribor), Ljubljana (120 km from Maribor), Zagreb (125 km from Maribor), Balaton (140 km grom Maribor), Klagenfurt (200 km from Maribor), Trieste (220 km from Maribor)...
DeleteMBX is the only one that has a Chinese investor. ;)
Delete"Keep in mind that they (SHS Aviation or VLM Airlines) are paying 95.000 € for MBX per month. There has to be some reason to do so."
DeleteOh, they plan to lease/buy 30 aircraft, including widebodies, yet with a lease for the airport of 85k/month, they still need government financial help (185k in January)? Looks very promising, I have to say...
"Also at MBX they are working a lot on the project of lengthening the runway from 2500m to 3300m."
MBX is always like this. One day the ruwnay is too short, the next day there is no Cat 2/3, next day they need a brand new terminal, etc. And in the end, still no traffic. The sad reality is, there is no market there, full stop.
Take a look at INI. Airport with less infrastructure than MBX (no ILS, etc.), yet 4 airlines fly there. So...
Of course they fly from Antwerp. But still no published timetable (they will published it soon - so much use sentence in VLM), they sell ticket just via tourist agencies, no online selling (also coming soon), they plan more routes from Antwerp (and again soon)...
DeleteWhy they named that company VLM, they should named id "Soon Air".
This would be great if it happened.
ReplyDeleteIf Slovenia gets these flights then it will kill any chances of ZAG getting their own. Slovenia is just too close.
ReplyDeleteCroatia should do more to attract flights from China. But from statements I read from Minister for Tourism, he/ministry is reluctant and saying that Emirates flights serve this market well, which is a shame.
DeleteYes but Chinese airlines have massive domestic networks so it's stupid to rely on EK and QR.
DeleteI agree. That's why I say it's a shame.
DeleteIf Slovenia gets them then it's really bad news for Croatia as then they would have to compete with LJU/MBX, BUD, VIE and BEG. On top of that Bosnia and Montenegro have joined Serbia in creating a joint offer.
DeleteThe Croatian market can easily be served via Slovenia. Even the whole coast.
I don't think the Cro. government wants to jeprodise the new EK route from Dubai. Despite what some may say here, they played a big role in bringing them to Croatia.
DeleteAnd what will happen if Slovenia gets China flights? How exactly will the Croatian government protect EK there?
DeleteEK has enough markets on which to concentrate. Not to mention that this protectionism of EK is a slap in the face to QR.
Croatia's biggest competitor is Hungary! Check out their diplomatic problems about Mol and Ina.
DeleteWhat happened with MOL and INA?
DeleteI am waiting for a certain someone to write that this is a political route since it is being negotiated by the government and then say how they are copying another country. We had such comments yesterday, don't see why the same logic doesn't apply here.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAnd how there is no commercial reason for this route to be introduced and after which statistics on tourist numbers in a country should be added.
Seasonal flights from Japan to Slovenia work quite well. There is no reason they could not work from China.
ReplyDeleteSeasonal charters..
DeleteThere is also ultralight plane factory Pipistrel behind that. I read in local newspaper that Boscarol has start that initiative already in 2008.
ReplyDeleteYes, but Pipistrel planes won't fly on this route.
DeleteWhy not? It could work.
DeleteTo anybody in ex-Yu will be secured a long haul flight to China.
ReplyDeleteThat’s just an bubble in the air...ridiculous.
Belgrade ok
Zagreb possible
but Slovenia, BiH, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro please forget it....
Slovenia, and especially Maribor, can compete on lower costs which are attractive in their relatively large catchment area.
DeleteAs we've seen, ZAG is quite expensive so it isn't attractive to many 'adventurous' airlines. I mean even Eurowings complained. It could also be another reason why ZAG lost LH Mainline this winter. It's easier to compete with lower costs.
I think Slovenia as a country has a lot to offer. It's already doing well in attracting Chinese tourists. It is also close by to many countries so a good entry way to Central/East Europe. We will see. There has been a lot of talk lately about a possible flight so I think things are moving in the direction of flights actually starting.
ReplyDeleteBut do remember that there are flights from Beijing to Budapest.
DeleteAny stats on how many Chinese visit Slovenia?
Delete45000 in 2016; a 20% rise over 2015
DeleteSeems like Serbia and Slovenia are the region's star performers as far as Chinese tourism goes. That's why it makes sense for them to have these flights.
DeleteSerbia and Slovenia are the region's star performers as far as Chinese tourism goes? Yet Croatia could possibly have more Chinese visitors this year than Serbia and Slovenia combined. In the first 8 months alone the number had already reached last end of year result, with just over 100,000. This year that could be some 140 - 150,000.
DeleteObviously the main reason why they are even considering Maribor, just like Zadar, are the low prices, a good business deal. That said, this could happen if everything goes as planned.
Of course Serbia is since they secured direct flights. Number of Chinese there have been booming.
DeleteSlovenia is next and talks with airlines are already taking place. That's how you do it.
What Croatia is doing is relying on VIE or BUD to bring them there.
Booming? There is 20.000 new Chinese tourists in Serbia this year. In same time 38.000 new Chinese tourists in Croatia. But in Serbian case that is 105% in Croatian just 35%. Get real!
Delete@MichaelNovember 3, 2017 at 5:50 PM
DeleteFirst 9 months 123 000 Chinese visitors to Croatia, data for end of October should be up by mid November, expect 160-165000 Chinese visitors to Croatia.
No idea how many visitors to Serbia, but I presume nowhere near phantom 300 000 some of the Serbian posters here were saying.
Slovenia gets about 50-60 000 Chinese visitors, still good. Small Slovenia gets 3 million visitors each year, more than Serbia, Macedonia & Bosnia combined.
Serbia has long way to go before it catches up with Slovenia, if ever !
Funny, with all those Chinese in Croatia Belgrade got the direct flight. Hm.
DeleteSince you love statistics let's have a look at them, shall we.
In the period January-August 2017 Serbia recorded a 13.2% increase in tourist arrivals. In the first five months of the year, so before Hainan launched flights, Chinese tourists were up by 187%.
Now let's look at some numbers for 2016.
Foreign tourists in Serbia:
Greeks
2012: 26.900
2016: 61.749
Croats
2012: 47.229
2016: 75.732
Israel:
2012: 3.957
2016: 15.129
Romania
2012: 32.042
2016: 53.053
....and now two star performers:
Turks
2012: 20.865
2014: 45.490
2016: 87.676
Chinese
2012: 4.812
2013: 5.783
2014: 9.592
2015: 14.238
2016: 18.049
2017: more than 100.000 for sure.
Last year there were 960.666 Serbian tourists going abroad through tour agencies. Here are some of their top destinations:
Greece: 461.115
Austria: 21.580
Spain: 23.960
Egypt: 6.342
Turkey: 11.092
Italy: 33.662
In 2017 there are going to be more than a million Serbian tourists travelling abroad. So you see, Serbia just like Slovenia, has both the inbound and outbound demand. That's why airlines keep on adding flights to Belgrade.
In conclusion, Serbia might be lagging behind but it's definitely catching up. It's interesting how everyone on here praised a measly one weekly charter flight from TLV to ZAG yet has conveniently left out that for two years now two Israeli airlines have been operating 4 weekly flights to Belgrade in addition to Air Serbia's 5 weekly. As you can see, the number of Israeli tourists are growing really fast.
I know you won't like these numbers but what can we do. It's not bad especially since we don't have a coast where we can show off Italian cultural heritage.
Just to add, the number of Serbs going to Italy will only grow in 2017 as we had many many charter flights in addition to ASL's VCE flight which is constntaly full, even in winter.
DeleteMy guess is that the number will exceed 50.000.
There was no Croatia on the list, I guess most who go there don't book package tours.
Anon @8:09AM Croatia isn't showing off culture. It does however have a whole lot of culture, cultural heritage and influences to show. Along the coastline, as well as in the hinterland...there's the Venetian, ancient Roman and Greek, indigenous Croatian cultural heritage - whether it be Mediterranean or central European, then there's a significant Austrian influence and the influence of the Balkans as well. Quite a rich mix. :)
DeleteI imagine Serbia has its own cultural influences from all over the place too.
As far as the Chinese tourists go, you might be catching up...great, congratulations! However Slovènia and Croatia are doing a great job as well, despite the fact that the Chinese need visas there and there are no direct flights from China for now. And ultimately Croatia is still well ahead of both countries with the consistently healthy growth of Chinese visitors. Both in terms of tourist and business arrivals. So relax mate, there's enough Chinese to go around. Thing is, Serbia and Slovenia are clearly not the only "star performers" in regards to Chinese tourists.
When it comes to direct flights, the Chinese have their own, mostly business calculus there, and as it has been reported they had already approached both the Croatian authorities, as well as the business community and the main issue thus far have been the prices. On the other hand, in the mid to long term, it would be rather surprising if they don't introduce a direct flight to Croatia at some point.
Interesting that Slovenia also tried to get Hainan to reroute their Prague flight, similar to what Serbia has done.
ReplyDeleteWell the Slovenians also have the right idea to be used as a stopover to another destination in central Europe.
DeleteThe boom in traffic between China and Europe will certainly go into Slovenia's favour.
ReplyDeleteDoes any Chinese airline operate flights to smaller European cities/markets like Ljubljana?
ReplyDeleteMinsk, Belarus. Flights from Beijing operated by Air China.
DeleteBut they fly via Minsk to Budapest so there is a big potencial probbably
DeleteWell, you can't seriously compare Minsk and Ljubljana.
DeleteOk great. Government should work on bringing Chinese airline but Ljubljana Airport should work on bringing more European airlines and perhaps flights to Middle East.
ReplyDeleteBut why Xi'an? Why not Beijing?
ReplyDeleteBecause some airline wants to fly from Xi'an.
DeleteIt is also the starting city of the One Belt One Road initiative.
DeleteAccording to announcements made almost on daily basis now, exYU region is about to become the European long haul hub for China, Korea and North America. SA, ST and MEB2 are digging trenches in panic, but it won't help them much.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem is, reality in exYU tends to differ a bit from announcements.
The region has certainly woken up. Just look at the number of long hauls to ex-Yu now and compare it with 2 years ago.
DeleteI actually take the announcements seriously. Didn't in the past but many have actually materialized - flights from Belgrade to New York and Beijing, Emirates to Zagreb, Etihad buying into Jat... Nothing is impossible ;)
DeleteGreat news for Slovenia!
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago China Southern Airlines wanted to buy LJU? They were in the running against Fraport and Vinci. Had they won, we probably would have already had flights between Ljubljana and China.
ReplyDeleteA lot of things would have happened had Fraport not won. The only thing that has happened since Fraport is Transavia from Amsterdam.
DeleteFlights to China would definitely make the LJU more competitive.
DeleteI wouldn't say Fraport has done nothing. Passenger growth has been impressive this year.
DeleteAre you serious? The growth this year was because of Adria. Not because Fraport did anything special and attracted new airlines.
DeleteChina Southern also wanted to buy Adria.
DeleteThey wanted both in a package. That's why they didn't win. In the end the Germans got both.
DeleteFraport was the prechosen winnter of the tender. The Minister at the time did not even want to have a meeting with Chnina Southern.
DeleteThat's impossible. Slovenia is in the EU and such things don't happen. At least that's what our friends from Croatia always tell us. :)
DeleteDanke Deutschland
DeleteBelarus, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Serbia, Greece and maybe even Slovenia... all got flights to China while not a single city in Croatia is about to.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very wrong move as the market will become saturated. I hope the government wakes up and realizes that they are lagging behind.
And the list of countries with China flights will just keep growing in the immediate future.
DeleteI will be happy when a Chinese airline actually touches down. Until then, wishful thinking.
ReplyDeleteWould be great if it materializes.
ReplyDeleteFirst try securing flights to the UAE with flydubai or Qatar to Doha. Then you can think bigger.
ReplyDeleteWell Qatar Airways is interested. I do hope they start flights to LJU.
DeleteSlovenia must realise it is a small airport in a small city, in a small country surrounded with several big airports in some big cities in the strong countries all around.
DeleteRiga is a small city yet...
DeleteIf you think in 'I'm small-box' you'll be always small. I don't think Slovenians have that perception anymore.
DeleteIn same time Qantas, Emirates, United, Air Canada, SAA and TACA will come to Lubljana. Inauguration flights will be same day with freueqencies 4 times per day.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if those will come before or after the inaugural JFK flight to/from ZAG. ;)
DeleteSoon, Anon 10:43, a pleasant surprise...JFK aaaaaaaand...
DeleteAnd Mexico City :)
DeleteJP to JFK with CRJ!
DeleteNo need for JP to go long-haul, we have the Chinese for that.
DeleteFor New York we will use OS, LH or maybe OU with its A319. If they can afford to service the engines. lol
If it were charters then I think it could work.
ReplyDeleteDo it for the spotters please! :D
ReplyDeleteWhich option do Chinese passengers use the most to reach Ljubljana at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI assume Turkish Airlines.
DeletePrauge and then bus to Ljubljana. I'm working at a hotel here in the bigger Ljubljana catchment area and I see every itenary for Chinese, Korean and Singaporean groups that stay overnight with us. While Korean and Singaporean people primarily use EK on ZAG and VCE, Chinese use Prague and then they hop on a bus to LJU where they stay overnight see Slovenian wonders on the next day and finish the day off in Croatia. Then they have the usual Balkan trip from there. My friends that work in some other hotels in the same area are reporting of the same thing. Prague landing and take off and bus to here on day 1. And there are a lot of Chinese groups visiting. A lot. We handled almost 450 in October. And we are only 1 hotel.
DeleteThanks for the details explanation. Interesting.
DeleteSo I guess this is yet another sign of how Slovenia plays a key role in making EK in ZAG work.
DeleteYet no ME3 operates to LJU. While SI definitely has some pax on QR and EK, if it was playing a key role, don't you think that at least FZ would fly 2 or 3 times a week to LJU? Or EY?
DeleteEY has BEG and JU.
DeleteIt's far more economical for EK/QR to cater for the Slovenian market via ZAG. However, I wouldn't be surprised if EK wouldn't be able to make ZAG work in winter without the Slovenes. Especially since our standard of living is higher.
as I said, both EK and QR of course have Slovenian passengers. But saying that Slovenia plays a key role is pushing it way too far...if LJU was key, why not fly to LJU and serve non key ZAG from LJU? At least with FZ. I mean, just logic....
DeleteStandartd of living is higher...what does that argument even mean in this context? That you are high yield? If you were so high yield you would have stronger traffic and not so dispersed elsewehere, as typical Slovenian passenger easily goes to any city (VCE, ZAG, VIE) for difference of mere 50EUR. That is not high yield. And one of the reasons why LJU has very modest connectivity (plus simple and obvious fact that the market itself is way smaller than ZAG or BEG).
DeleteAlways the same story, EK is in ZAG and is still alive because of the rich Slovenes. How come then that they didn't choose the wealthy LJU then? It seems like you guys can fill a widebody from LJU in two seconds. Get real.
DeleteWell, first thing, LJU has only one real competitor and that's VCE. ZAG takes a share of the passengers but not the majority and it's mostly those going to Asia on Emirates and Qatar.
DeleteSecond of all, when airlines like EK and TK start reducing ZAG in winter, the opposite happens in LJU. Let me remind you that TK does not reduce LJU in winter while it does with ZAG.
flydubai said it that 20% of the passengers that flew with them came from Slovenia. We can expect the same number with EK now. So if you remove 20% passengers, do you think 5 weekly B777 would be realistic? I dont think so.
Finally, Slovenes are rich which means they can afford to travel much more often than Croats.
Look at growth in LJU. That's all from the local market. It's not like SPU or DBV that grow because British and Germans come to swim and get drunk.
Proportionally to the size of the market, LJU has more airlines flying there.
p.s. if ZAG was such a better market then 4K would bought OU not JP.
Man, your post is something like...nas i Rusa 200 milijuna.
DeleteIf Slovenia is such a fabuluous market JP wouldn't need to be sold as it would reap heavy and brutal profits and expand, wouldn't you agree? You really provide very poor arguments...
Deletehaha, vidi kolegu iz slovenije što se ustrčao :) vidjela žaba da konja potkivaju pa i ona digla nogu :)
Deleteanon 3:40
Deletesrsly?
not even 1 argument u use is valid- starting from like Slovenes being "rich" (richer than the rest in ex-yu, but havent even reached the EU average - let alone "rich")...to using 4k bying JP as an argument that LJU is a better market than ZAG. (JP was bought for peanuts because it was on a brink of bankruptcy).
But no one wants OU even if it's for peanuts. Hmmm...
DeleteI don't agree with everything that anon 3:40 says, but in some things he is right... Slovenians do fly regularly (its not based just on purchase power, but the fact that we like to spend money we have on travel). And since we are surrounded by hubs with good connections (Venice, Milano, Munich, Vienna, now also Zagreb) and the fact that our local offer is shitty, our market is distributed among these. This is also the reason why GoOpti is a star young company in Slovenia. However, you can be sure that if Ljubljana would improve connectivity to intercontinental destination this would attract the majority of Slovenians now using other airports even at a higher price, because no Slovenian would drive a couple of hours more just to save a couple of euros, we're just to lazy. I think this is best proven by Turkish Airlines. But we are still a small market, so it would be delusional to expect an increase of widebodies to Lju airport.
Delete@AnonymousNovember 3, 2017 at 3:40 PM
DeleteI think you're talking utter nonsense. Turkish is reducing Zagreb from 14 to 10-11 cause they always do in winters and you have Qatar, Emirates flying to Zagreb, two other major airlines that are competing on the same market. Add to this BA, KLM, AF, Lufthansa, Austrian, LOT.... You end up with a city that has good number of airlines.
Of course in winters there'll be less demand for some destinations.
Also we need to wait this winter to see how Zagreb does during the Advent, 125000 visitors expected in December, last year 110 000 visitors visited Zagreb during Advent.
As things look Zagreb Airport will handle 3.1 million this year. Not bad considering few airlines are cutting down winter flights. Brussels, Czech and Turkish.
@AnonymousNovember 3, 2017 at 3:40 PM
DeleteYou're full of yourself aren't you.
Croats don't have tendency to travel as much, if they can drive they'll drive preferring it over flying to a destination.
Average pay in Croatia isn't that low or Croats aren't that poor as you like to think, average NET pay in Croatia is 6200 kuna, or $1000/€835, in Zagreb this average is 20% higher, or around 7500 kuna or $1210.
I don't think we need to raid food banks to afford to eat just yet. I'll let you know when we do, hopefully you send us food parcels when times arrives.
First of all TK reduced ZAG last winter, so it's not like it has always been like that. If I remember correctly this winter PRN and SKP are back to normal while ZAG is not. Why is that?
DeleteLet's not forget that EK initially planned daily flights in winter but they are also reducing them to 5 weekly. If Qatar didn't have all that capacity they would probably not increase ZAG this drastically.
Finally, this winter ZAG will not even have LH mainline but its cheaper branch that flies regional aircraft.
You are accusing me that I am full of it while you are the same.
Look at LJU's numbers and then look at its competition. Then take a look at ZAG and look how besides LJU there isn't a single airport that acts as real competition. With that circumstances ZAG should have many more pax.
Like I said, a considerable part of growth at Zagreb is thanks to the Slovenes. We are known to travel a lot while croats not so much, you said it yourself.
Ljubljana is getting more and more flights and the passenger numbers are booming this year. Like I said it today, it's all local demand baby. More is to come.
But I am sure these Slovenia-China flights will hurt real bad.
ZAG competitor is also Budapest.
DeleteZAG-BUD is 345 km.
DeleteLJU's competitors are so much closer than that.
In circle od 350 km ZAG has:
Deletehuge hubs: ZAG, VIE, BEG, VCE
LCC airports: ZAD, SPU, PUY, TZL
So, what is a difference then LJU?
@AnonymousNovember 3, 2017 at 7:32 PM
DeleteWell i know you're not from Slovenia, so you have this negative opinion of Croatia what ever the case.
EK reducing to 5, wasn't surprising, we expected it, even talked on this very blog, saying they must reduce in Winter, I said it, almost every Croatian bloger here said it.
TK reduced to 11 or w/e cause EK is here, Qatar is here with double daily A321. What did you expect will happen.
Lufthansa is only reducing Munich to 5 daily with CRJ or E195 not sure which one they're using on the route.
Again, EK and QR had significant impact on all airlines in Zagreb. Frankfurt is normally hub Croats use to fly out to US, Munich, Vienna, London, Paris and Amsterdam are 2nd choice.
Now 2nd choice hub list has expanded a fair bit, Istanbul, Doha, Dubai, Toronto in summer months will also become attractive for North American and South American flights. The fact Croats don't need visa for Canada and soon for US, also helps.
Who knows in few years time there'll be direct connection with Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul. I am sure you realize things are moving for better for everyone, even you Serbians are getting better connections out of Belgrade and I am sure Slovenians will do soon enough out of Ljubljana.
For now, many Slovenians use Zagreb, but a lot more of them go to Venice and Vienna, which are also about the same distance. Don't forget Vienna has massive airport, 26 million+, means a lot more connections. Munich is only 3 hours drive from Ljubljana, and that is a massive hub, 40 million +. Endless options.
I am Slovenian but I am sick and tired of Croats making fun of here and of ignoring our contribution in ZAG numbers. It's ok, LJU is actually developing and there will be less need to travel south to catch a plane.
DeleteLufthansa is operating both FRA and MUC with its regional brand, I just checked online. No Airbuses scheduled this winter, so no mainline.
No, when EK announced flights everyone made calculations with them flying 80% full the whole year. some even said the A380 will be sent. The opposite happen in the end.
Qatar is launching 18 destinations in 2018, they have too mcuch capacity so we don't know if ZAG was upgraded because of need or because of circumstances.
Like I said yesterday LJU is getting more and more flights. Wizz Air even sent the A321 from Luton and Transavia is doing really well here and they are even increasing flights. There will be less and less Slovenes flying from other countries.
However, Croats on here should show us more respect.
+1
DeleteOsijek-Budapest 260 km,
DeleteOsijek-Zagreb 283 km.
I am sure, that people from Osijek use Budapest or Belgrade before Zagreb.
Ljubljana has big numbers this year only because it had miserable last year, and not because they have LF of 132%.
DeleteTake your "we're so much reacher and important, but still for some reason don't have all these airlines" somewhere else, buddy.
Period.
Is there potential for Ljubljana-US flights?
ReplyDeleteYes, of course for CRJ-200
DeleteSlovenia has a good Tourist Board that could market the country well to Chinese tour operators.
ReplyDeleteIf Slovenia is serious about getting these flights, then now is the time. As soon as a Chinese airline starts flying to Croatia, the chances of flights to Ljubljana will become much slimmer.
ReplyDeleteThere are currently no plans for a direct air link between Croatia and China.
DeleteWe will see ;)
DeleteSure, that's all we've been doing until now.
Delete@AnonymousNovember 3, 2017 at 12:01 PM
DeleteI think there's room for many carriers in the region.
Sarajevo, Skopje, Pristina, Ljubljana... All have good chances in attracting decent number of airliners from Asia. Question is when, not if.
Just look at W European destinations to see how well some cities are doing, give 20-30 years to Sarajevo, Skopje, Ljubljana.... And easily you can see these places doing quite well when it comes to interconectivity.
Hope to see soon new routes.
ReplyDeleteLjubljana needs improved connectivity to other European countries first.
ReplyDeleteDid VLM start Maribor - Belgrade line on October 30 as announced?
ReplyDeleteNo. They didn't start Maribor-Zurich either. They only started Antwerp-London.
Delete@Admin:
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance of sorting comments by e.g. Newest first or something like that (or implementing it)? It would be a lot easier to follow the thread :)
Why Xi'an? Because it is part of Fraport Group?
ReplyDelete