Adria Airways plans to further grow its operations out of Ljubljana next summer with a notable increase in frequencies across its network, following last week's announcement it would launch six new routes in 2018. The Slovenian carrier is set to add extra flights on seven destinations, including Copenhagen, Paris, Prague, Podgorica, Skopje, Tirana and Warsaw. Notably, the airline will introduce an additional four weekly services to Podgorica for a total of eleven per week, putting pressure on Montenegro Airlines which will operate just three weekly flights on the route. The two carriers had previously codeshared on each others' service but the agreement has been recently discontinued. In the region, Adria will also add a further three weekly flights to TIrana and one weekly service to Skopje, bringing its operations on both routes up to double daily.
The Slovenian carrier will also be adding two weekly flights to Paris, Copenhagen and Prague when compared to last summer season. As a result, the airline will maintain ten weekly services to the French capital, daily to Copenhagen, and five weekly operations to Prague. Furthermore, Adria will add one flight per week to Warsaw for a total of six. Next summer, the airline also plans to maintain operations between Ljubljana and Kiev, which were launched this winter season. A total of three weekly flights will be operated on this route. The increases in frequencies are in line with the carrier's strategy of developing Ljubljana into a transfer hub for travellers between Western Europe and the Balkans.
Last week, Adria announced plans to launch six new routes out of the Slovenian capital including Brač, Bucharest, Dubrovnik, Hamburg, Sofia and Geneva. "At Adria Airways we want to maintain our position as a reliable airline and good market player. I believe that by introducing these new connections we will also be opening up new opportunities for both business and tourism", the airline's CEO, Arno Schuster, said. Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Schneider, added, "The year 2018 will be key for Adria Airways and this is why we are happy to follow our growth strategy by announcing new destinations out of Ljubljana. This is good for the market, this is good for the customer, because it gives more variety, more choice. We have seen the demand already in 2017 and this is why we believe that 2018 with new destinations will be good for the market".
Good news coming from Adria lately. I hope the growth will translate into profits too.
ReplyDeleteI assume that the increase in frequencies will mean the Saabs being put on Balkan routes and the CRJs being redeployed onto western European flights.
ReplyDeleteThat's if those Saabs can fly again. They are all grounded now because of the Swiss regulator.
DeleteSo that's why JP has leased a Carpatair F100.
DeleteSince yesterday it flew to:
LJU-VIE-LJU
LJU-KBP-LJU
Let's see if it goes anywhere else today.
Yes, when Darwin/Adria Swiss declared insolvency, the Swiss aviation board grounded the entire fleet until they prove they have enough money to keep flying their planned schedule. That has affected the planes based in Ljubljana at the moment too. Adria plans to register all the planes in Slovenia soon.
Delete3 new CRJ900 coming next year when S18 start.
DeleteAre they coming from LH?
DeleteCan LJU cope with all this growth? It's not like it's a big airport.
Well, they still haven't beaten pax numbers from 10 years ago and Slovenian press is starting to question Fraport competences. They are too much Adria dependent and they do nothing to attract new airlines.
DeletePax distribution from that Siol article, that is to be honest mostly reinventing the wheel:
DeleteY - JP - Oth
'14 - 907k - 400k
'15 - 951k - 481k
'16 - 854k - 551 k
I agree with that. They are making the same mistake as the former state operator.
DeleteBut it's not like Fraport can do much if the market is not there. They attracted Transavia and Eurowings, Wizz Air increased capacity from London...
DeleteThe market is there, i met quiet a few Spanish people who came to Slovenia through Italian airports. The airport is also expensive and i'm sure that they are protecting Adria in a way. It's all crowny Lufthansa & Fraport & K4 capitalism. I mean, look at the price of the tickets, the yield must be pretty rich so don't tell me that there is no market, since 50% of Slovenians, who flew in the last year used non-LJ aiport.
DeleteAdria could break its passenger record next year.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the record?
Delete1,7 million from 1987
DeleteSo if they reach 1.7 million that means LJU should be handling 2.2 million?
DeleteAnyone know how many passengers Adria has handled so far this year?
DeleteThey had a post on social media some two days ago that they are anticipating 1M pax in the following days.
DeleteI'm glad the new owners have chosen the parth of growth and expansion.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope it doesn't end up like OU's or JU's expansion where it didn't last that long and mostly ended up as seasonal increases.
DeleteIt didn't look as if they were going to go for growth during that first year (2016) but things have certainly changed around. But I agree with people who say that this will ultimately have to translate into profits if the expansion is to be successful.
DeleteInvestment funds buy companies, turn them around and then sell them. All of these new routes will have to bring in the big buck otherwise they will be suspended as was the case with JU.
DeleteTrue. Interestingly the CEO of Darwin said last week 4K owns companies 5-7 years before selling them so we know approximately how long they will be managing Adria.
DeleteIn terms of weekly frequencies, it seems like LJU is not that far behind ZAG. The only difference is that Zagreb gets larger planes.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if JP carries ZAG passengers to places like PRG or HAM.
OU is horrible to BRU. The flight takes around 01:50 on a loud turboprop.
DeleteJP CRJ might not be comfortable but at least it makes the flight is 01:20.
30 minutes difference makes it that much of a big deal? Who would travel to neighboring country to use the airport there because of half an hour difference?
Deleteno one!
DeleteIt's not only that, it's a difference between flying on a jet aircraft vs flying on a turboprop. Plus, Adria offers more weekly flights giving greater flexibility.
DeleteLet's not forget how expensive OU is to BRU!
And how many regular passengers know the difference between the two?
DeleteA lot. It's not like we are talking about a difference between a B738 and an A319. One is much faster and more quiet while the other is very loud and much slower.
DeleteYou want to tell me that regular travelers know for which kind of aircraft they are buying the ticket and the difference between them? Right.
DeleteThey might not know beforehand but they will surely remember the model after spending two hours in a turboprop.
DeleteOf course they will. And therefore they will travel hour and a half to the other airport because of it.
DeleteMaybe they will go to LJU or maybe they will switch to SN Brussels when summer comes. After all, we have Purger who regularly travels 200 km to save €50. I am sure there are others like him. I am sure part of LJU's growth comes from Croatia.
DeleteOU or JP... OU at least offers wide selection of drinks and crackers/cheese/olives on board. Sapienti sat.
DeleteI never but never travel 200 km for 50 EUR save. Not even for 200 EUR.
DeleteThat's not what you wrote here in the past.
DeleteI flew two hours turboprop and also on Dash from Lyon to Vienna. Now, what on earth is the issue with 2h on a turboprop? No-one cares...
DeleteNo, I did not!
DeleteDifference was much more than 50 EUR. In my business 50 EUR is money that I spent every day just for drinks, that amount of money I don't find as amount at all. It is not even a pocket money.
I am not saying that you have a drinking problem, but 50e every day just for drinks must keep you buzzed all of the time. Cheers!
DeleteWhen you have a business to spent for drink and lunches with partners is regular practice. Just one round of drinks with my team is more than 50 EUR
Delete7 weekly flights from brac to frankfurt will be great..
ReplyDeletewith a Saab 2000?
DeleteSure - why not - if they are not grounded ;)
DeleteKey term is double daily. When another regional airline failed to deliver on double daily goal it opened the opportunity for 4K to step in and start taking over the transfer market.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAre you refering to ASL?
DeleteIf yes I agree that this was a major mistake.
JU should be playing Adria's role in the region.
Fast and reliable transfers to the rest of Europe.
+1 +1
DeleteThe size of the transfer market compared to 4/5 years ago, is significantly smaller due to the growth of LCCs and providing more P2P traffic. The size of the pie for the likes of JU, JP and other small carriers, is not only getting smaller, but also unprofitable, as LCCs offer incredible direct fares from many of the ODs that say, JU used to get even 2 years ago
DeleteLCCs offer low fares only in new markets or in the ones where they are facing tough competition. Otherwise they are as expensive as the legacies.
Deletenot true
DeleteVery true.
Delete10h49 +1 exactly!!!
DeleteSKP is on sale with summer timetable with x14 weekly!
ReplyDeleteAnd it also says in the article that Tirana will be 14 weekly too. I assume they will connect nicely to their departure waves from LJU.
DeleteEx-YU airlines seem to be gaining lost group in SKP next summer:
Delete1234567 SKP-BEG JU 04.25-05.35
1234567 SKP-LJU JP 04.50-06.15
12345-7 SKP-ZAG OU 05.45-07.05
1234567 SKP-LJU JP 15.05-16.30
1234567 SKP-BEG JU 15.05-16.15
1---5-- SKP-ZAG OU 15.55-17.10
Funny how they all fly at more or less the same time.
Can someone explain to me how JU and JP can fill two flights per day to SKP while OU can only offer 8 weekly?! It's not like OU can't offer connections as well.
DeleteLack of fleet?
DeleteYeah right. It was reported on here that 700.000 people flew on charter flights from BEG in the three summer months. How come JU has enough planes for those and for double daily regional flights?!
DeleteJP flies a lot of charters to Greece and Turkey as well.
And also Austrian up frequency next summer starting from June from 12 to 14 weekly flights :)) This sounds grazy! Go go SKOPJE!
DeleteWhich is why OU's frequencies are sad. They need to be fighting for the market especially now when they have the best airport from all of them (JU, JP and OS).
DeleteSo more good news for Skopje! Nice to see they are increasing frequencies even if Skopje is Wizz territory.
Deletenothing wrong with OU's frequency. the bigger problem is not flying in waves. you can barely catch some connection flight in ZAG when arriving from SKP
DeleteThat's because they offer connections to SKP from Western Europe.
Deletelast anon: sorry, what?
DeleteFinally some key routes operating daily!
ReplyDeleteYes. Nice that they will finally have daily flights to Moscow, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
DeleteMontenegro Airlines is toast on the LJU-TGD route. They won't be able to compete. It looks to me like Adria is targeting for them to disappear on this route.
ReplyDeleteYep Adria are really going after them on this route.
DeleteVery clever and excellent organisation. By increasing their presence in the Balkans they will compete directly with JU. However, JU's ATRs has 68 seats while JP's Saabs have 50, so not a huge difference. If JP leases more of those aircraft, they can operate daily flights to OTP, SOF, KBP and WAW. But, not a bad start. Good luck JP! Go LJU!
ReplyDeleteI think they are also competing with OS and OU on these markets. Unlike JP, JU actually has some O&D to fill those seats at higher fares.
DeleteSo Prague turned out to be a success for them considering it was launched only recently. Interestingly it has been popular for JU too and OU launched flight to Prague as well.
ReplyDeleteAren't OU's flights seasonal?
DeleteThey are but still, there were none just 2 years ago.
DeleteI am surprised they have not thought of resuming Berlin. They could get feed from SJJ, SKP and TIA plus I think it would also work well for the point to point market.
ReplyDeleteBerlin is extremely low-yielding.
DeleteGermany is probably served well enough via MUC and FRA.
DeleteI don't think Berlin is low yielding anymore now that Air Berlin has vanished. Did u see what LH charges now? Crazy!
DeleteLJU-AMS will have 12 weekly flights next summer. That's great.
ReplyDeleteThat's 7 JP flights + 5 HV flights, yes?
DeleteWell they have to do something with six Saabs. Part of them will be used for ACMI but they still have a surplus of planes. Plus last summer they were still flying from Lodz so they have an extra plane there too.
ReplyDeleteThey can plans more flights from brac...direkt to frankfurt,munich,wiena?
DeleteI am sure Croatia will not allow that.
DeleteWhy not?
Delete?
They have no right to refuse them.
DeleteThey can refuse them only after hard hrexit.
DeleteBut airport brac and frankfurt are in eu,and adria to...there not need be big problem to other airlines to open route from brac to other eu airport..
Deleteever looked at what JP is charging FRA-BWk in summer. because of the small capacity the price is around 500€ return. Crazy.
DeleteAnons at 10:44 and 10:48. In order to run scheduled services as a Slovenian operator from Croatia to Germany a permit is needed and the permit will require a non-objection letter from all capable Croatian operators that they are unable to cover the route. In this case, OU will quickly say that they object these flights. In the normal word, Adria should be able to fly BWK-FRA if they wished so, but lest not forget this is the Balkans and politics play a big role.
DeleteNot true, airlines are free to launch flights as they please within the European Union. If Adria wants to operate BWK-OSI tomorrow it can, OU can't do anything to stop them.
DeleteThose are the official rules yes, but reality is somehow different and countries still protect their local carriers. To fly from Croatia to Germany as a third operator a permit is needed and this is where things tend to complicate. Source: worked for cargo operator who flew the Saab340 in the Balkans :)
DeleteYep, any EU registered carrier may operate any intra EU route freely, even a domestic route within any EU country, as long as the carrier has the necessary slots secured (problem at FRA for sure)
DeleteTo prove my point from the post earlier, CCAA does have this written on their website:
DeleteOperators from EU / EEA member states
In accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of Council of 24 September 2004 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community, the air carriers of the member states of the European Economic Area (European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein,) have the right to operate intra community air services without any authorization, but they have to submit written notification of the intended flight to the Agency.
The same traffic rights, except for the cabotage rights, apply to Swiss air carriers in accordance with the Agreement between European Union and Switzerland.
However, to start scheduled services in Croatia:
https://i.imgur.com/dZxjodG.jpg
and as far as I know Croatia and Slovenia do not have any bilateral agreement on open skies.
Dude, there is no need for an open skies when both are in the EU!
DeleteAdria have crj700 wich is great for route from germany or other country to brac...they can take a baden baden airport or stutgart...munich will great to..now when brac have bigger runway have big potentional for lot of new routes...lots europien airport can work great with direkt flights to brac
Delete..
Are you even reading my posts? Laws are one thing, reality is another. Adria at the momeent can´t fly from Croatia to any other country except Slovenia.
DeleteYes, however they do not need an authorisation. According to Article 15, EU/EEA has common rules and EU/EEA carriers just have to submit written notification of the intended flights to the Agency. And noting more. All EU/EEA carriers are regarded as "domestic" in all EU/EEA member states. That's the whole point of the agreement and that's why brexit can be a problem for both UK and EU/EEA carriers for flights between UK and and EU/EEA.
DeleteOn paper yes or in that EC regulation anyway. In reality, you have to send that notification to CCAA and then before the first flight or the first time the airplane lands in Croatia, you receive a SAFA inspection which then determines that you are unworthy to fly. It´s a very common practice not only in the Balkans but accross Europe.
Delete@7h16: apparently you do not understand what you post. It is just required that they notify that they start an air service, that means to let them know, to inform, to tell in writing. There is no permission needed. It cannot be forbidden by anyone, any company or any authority.
Delete@7h40: when did an authority prohibit in Exyu a route due to such unclear allegations, do you have some examples?
07.40
DeleteYes, that's why Ryanair and easyJet have stayed away from Germany, France or Italy... oh wait...
I am the same person from 7:16 and 7:40.
DeleteExamples are Solinair, Lipican Aer, Swiftair and Swiftair Hellas who all wanted to have non-scheduled commercial cargo flights (on behalf of UPS and TNT) between LGG, CGN, LJU, ZAG, SJJ and BEG and were denied such flights on many occasions.
ČSA: Prague-Zagreb-Skopje
DeleteAdria: in past from Croatia Adriatic ports to several destinations in Scandinavia
easyJet: more than 50 routes to 20 different countries out of Croatia
Ryanair: from Zadar, Pula and Rijeka to 15 different countries and Ireland is just one of those.
Wizz Air: 3 different countries from Split and Osijek
Don't write bullshits. EU airline can fly whenever inside EU they want. No, any restrictions, no any possible SAFA inspection which then determines that you are unworthy to fly. If CCAA even try to do such a think Croatia would have huge sanctions.
You forgot America. Open skies applies to it too. If JP had a, say 321LR, they can base it in SPU or OSI to Hawaii or Alaska.
DeleteSame, if DL decides to fly from ZAG to LGW it can still do it.
I am just saying what happened, and nothing more. There were at least 4 foreign operators that wanted intra ex-yu scheduled services and did not get the necessary approvals from any CAA or respective Ministry.
DeleteYou know when Easyjet sends a notification and when Solinair sends a notification, the level of "support" from the authorities is much different :) The EC rules are there, the reality isn't and it will take a while before we abolish these things as SAFA or "flight notifications" which at the moment only serve as a deterrant to unwanted operators. Ask yourself, if we really have completely open skies, why the ef do you need to notify CCAA in the first place.
Intra ex-YU and intro EU flying are two different things though.
DeleteI think those SB20 will soon be in S5 register...
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the plan.
Deletewhat is S5?
DeleteSlovenian aviation registration.
DeleteNot until the debts of F7 are fully paid.
DeleteGood to see they are keeping KBP. Will all the new routes be year round? (except of course Brac and Dubrovnik).
ReplyDeleteYes I believe so
DeleteIf they are successful they will keep it during the winter.
DeleteNext up Adria goes transatlantic :D
ReplyDeleteA321LR
DeleteWith the CRJ700.
DeleteHaha, yeah. JFK, YYZ and DEL next! Sadly FOR, ORD, PEK are just outside the range :)
DeleteThey were actually the first airline to fly from Yugoslavia to the US. They operated charters to the States before JAT started regular flights.
DeleteSaab2000 transatlantic, to remind people of the good old times in aviation, where you had 10 stops to your destination.
DeleteAnd they were flying just 3 weekly flights to Podgorica last year. What a change!
ReplyDeleteIt means more and more transfer passengers from Montenegro and flying via LJU.
DeleteI am actually quite happy with the planned schedule. Having in mind Adria's finances from a few years ago this is going in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteA big improvement on before. All the best to Adria.
ReplyDeleteNice to see some increases, especially to CPH, CDG, WAW. I'm also glad that ex-YU frequencies are improving and introducing OTP and SOF is a very smart move.
ReplyDeleteI think the Croatian coastal routes are also a wise decision.
DeleteHappy they are reinforcing Ljubljana as a hub. I think it's a good strategy and Slovenian travelers will benefit too.
ReplyDeleteFantastic news for Ljubljana Airport as large growth should continue during next year too.
ReplyDeleteI expect around 15% growth for LJU next year.
DeleteZagreb airport has the same goal - to become a hub connecting western Europe and the Balkans. In cooperation with OU. However, at this point Ljubljana seems far more likely to become that.
ReplyDeleteMaybe OU will surprise us as there are still many months before summer. :)
DeleteOu need more flights from brac and not only to zagreb..beograd,wiena,milan,roma,munich,frankfurt,oslo,amsterdam,london,katovice..all of this route have a huge potentional.
DeleteAnd all of those will be serviced with seagulls?
DeleteYou are not funny
DeleteWasn't trying to be.
DeleteNow what?
That only makes you sadder.
DeleteAwww. That really hit me hard.
DeleteGood. Hopefully you'll start writing constructive comments in stead of just barking at people.
DeleteWhere did you see or hear barking, hon?
DeleteAlso, your original post was super constructive.
They should look into adding flights to the UK. Yes, London is well served but I'm sure they would be able to fill flights to Manchester as well.
ReplyDeleteSaab could serve LYKV offering connextions to Europe.
ReplyDeleteIt is a small plane which I think could serve several cities in the region well, Banja Luka and Tivat included. Kraljevo is not open for commercial traffic.
DeleteI know that LYKV is not open to commercial traffic, i just hope that someone may pick up on the opportunity to market LYKV.
DeleteI'd say OMO as well.
Smaller aurports that do not have the frequent flights by LCCs should be the target. Frequencies and range of destinations through connections are the key value proposition vs LCCs.
DeleteImpressive! Well done Adria. And I notice these new frequencies are already bookable.
ReplyDeleteFor the market the size of Slovenia, these routes and frequencies are more than good
Deletecan't wait to see if this turns out to be profitable
ReplyDeleteso far, it looked to me as if they didn't have much idea what are they doing
I'm also a sceptic. Balkans already have good connections with western Europe, with a lot of cheap flights. Why would people choose to fly via Ljubljana for the same price and service?
Deleteespecially with ljubljana, being a couple of hundred kms closer to central europe than rest of ex-yu
Delete+1
DeleteFantastic to see Adria bouncing back.
ReplyDeleteWe first have to see their financial results to know if they are bouncing back ;)
DeleteDoes anyone know what Fraport position is towards LJU? Are they going to expand the airport? Fraport have been doing great lately and currently constructing FRA T3. It will definitely beat London and so many new routes are launched!
ReplyDeleteNew terminal is on the drawing table of Plan B architects. As far as I remember, it was writen somewhere that they'll begin construction in mid-2019.
DeleteIt was reported here: http://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/04/ljubljana-to-outline-terminal-expansion.html
DeleteConstruction should start after 2018 summer season
DeleteHaha, yeah sorry. 18 not 19 :)
DeleteThanks guys, LJU's future is looking great!
Delete