Eurowings tipped to announce new EX-YU routes

Lufthansa's fast-growing low cost subsidiary Eurowings, which has capitalised on the collapse of its former rival Air Berlin, is expected to unveil several new routes to the former Yugoslavia in the near future. It comes after the airline announced plans yesterday to grow its fleet by thirty Airbus A320-family aircraft by the summer of 2018, following a major breakthrough in negotiations with pilots and crew. The carrier has agreed on a collective agreement for the growth of flight operations of Eurowings Germany. “As a result we are now capable of short-term growth in all Eurowings flight operations. By summer 2018, Eurowings will grow by thirty aircraft at all German locations, as well as in Austria and Spain", the carrier's Managing Director, Jorg Beissel, said.

The airline is tipped to announce the launch of new routes to Brač, Osijek, Podgorica and Ljubljana. Eurowings has made Croatia the focal point of its expansion in the region over the past year, with the carrier opening up eleven new routes to the country this past summer. The low cost airline is expected to announce services to Brač from more than one German destination, and potentially from Switzerland as well. Furthermore, it will add a new route to Osijek and increase the existing two weekly service from Stuttgart to three per week. It anticipates handling over one million passengers on the Croatian market next year.

Eurowings is also poised to introduce services to the Montenegrin capital in 2018 after adding its first seasonal flights to the country, from Dusseldorf to Tivat, this year. The Lufthansa Group member has said it is considering boosting frequencies on its Tivat route and launching flights to Podgorica. The Montenegrin capital was featured in the airline's public vote this October to select its newest destination, which was ultimately won by Mostar. On the other hand, the carrier tentatively scheduled its first nonstop service to Slovenia in November, between Dusseldorf and Ljubljana, which was slated to launch on January 15. It later removed the planned operational timetable although both airports have confirmed that the budget airline intends to link the two cities. Earlier this year, Eurowings' Senior Manager for Network Development and Airport Relations, Ivan Oreč, noted, "We are in constant talks with airports in Slovenia and we anticipate for a greater presence there in the coming period".

The low cost carrier has already scheduled new flights for next year from Munich to Pristina, starting March 24, and from both Dusseldorf and Stuttgart to Mostar, commencing on May 16 and 19 respectively. Previous plans to operate services between Munich and Skopje, as well as Dusseldorf and Sarajevo, have been dropped after "expectations regarding the economic efficiency of the routes were not fulfilled" during the sales period. The German airline is likely to maintain its limited operations to Serbia with seasonal summer flights between Stuttgart and Belgrade but has previously said it is in negotiations with airports in the country. Interest has been expressed in serving Niš, in the country's south-east.