A major European low cost carrier (LCC) will commence flights to Banja Luka Airport at the start of the 2018/19 winter season, the Minister for Transport of the Entity of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nedo Trninić, has said. Talks are believed to be in their advanced stages. The Minister noted that the deal includes the introduction of several routes but could not reveal more information prior to an agreement being signed between the two sides, which is expected soon. In January, Mr Trninić said that the ministry would facilitate talks between Banja Luka Airport and budget airlines, signifying a major shift from last year when he noted that “low cost carriers are not our future". The government has been under increased pressure to secure new services from the fledgling airport.
Wizz Air previously negotiated with Banja Luka Airport in 2013. At the time, the budget carrier offered the airport flights from London Luton, Malmo, Eindhoven and Dortmund to choose from, with Banja Luka selecting the service from Sweden as it considered it to be the most viable. However, problems soon surfaced over fuel prices and other airport fees. The Entity Minister for Transport at the time, Nedeljko Čubrilović, said, “Unfortunately we were unable to agree to the terms set by the airline. It’s not as it looks. They aren’t coming here to give us anything, they want to come here to take something. During negotiations they were very difficult over handling prices so we would not benefit from them in any single way”. However, the minister later conceded the deal was a "missed opportunity". Wizz Air has since opened a base in Tuzla from which it maintains flights to fifteen destinations and where it has stationed two aircraft.
The newly appointed General Manager of Banja Luka Airport, Duško Kovačević, said last month, "The development of air traffic is our utmost priority and the management has a very clear position to begin talks with all low cost airlines interested in operating to Banja Luka, so as to offer the public low fares to European destinations. Personally, I think we cannot ignore regional trends, as well as the fact that almost all airports in close proximity to us are served by low cost airlines, which significantly boost passenger numbers. Our goal is to introduce at least three to five new routes over the next two years with at least two weekly services to western Europe". He added, "We must maintain the existing flights operated by Air Serbia. They are very important to us and we will work towards increasing frequencies on this route". Currently, the Serbian carrier is the airport's only customer, maintaining two to three weekly flights from Belgrade during the winter and five over the summer. Following another disappointing year in 2017, during which it handled 20.867 passengers, representing a decrease of 3.8%, Banja Luka Airport welcomed 1.920 passengers during the first two months of the year, down 18.6%.
Does anyone remember a couple of yrs ago, when a high BH official stated, that Trebinje Airport is exceeding expectations on PAX? :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. There are making plans again to waste money on that project.
DeleteWhile I get where you are coming from Budimiren this is a major step forward. At least now they realize and admit what fools they have been and that they need to get an LCC to fly to Banja Luka.
DeleteI'm sceptic beacause 2018 is an election year... so we can expecr many promises
DeleteIt's most likely Wizz Air. I don't see anyone else being interested.
ReplyDeleteBut why would Wizz Air temporize its Tuzla station with flights from Banja Luka?
Delete**jeopardize
DeleteI don't think it would be a problem. They fly to Osijek after all and they are just 150km apart.
DeleteWell, they fly to INI, SKP and SOF so I am sure they don't care that much about distances between their cities.
DeleteAfter all, an unserved market is a potential destination for Ryanair.
BNX would be a perfect addition to Wizz Air's route map.
DeleteThey also fly from Skopje and Ohrid despite being close and it seems to work fine for them.
DeleteOf course, now they have suddenly woken up because there are elections in autumn and they need to show they have done something with the airport.
ReplyDeletethis would be the one positive thing to come out of it.
DeleteI hope it materializes. Banja Luka Airport has a lot of potential in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThey could have simmilar numbers to Nis Airport.
DeleteBanja Luka is smaller than Nis.
DeleteBNX has large catchment area.
DeleteTZL is also smaller than INI, but hey, look at the figures. TZL is bravely heading towards 1 million.
DeleteTZL (2017): 535,834 (2 new routes)
INI (2017): 331,582 (1 new route)
TZL is the 3rd largest city while INI is the second.
TZL population: 80,000
INI population: 180,000
INI is the third largest after Belgrade and Novi Sad.
DeleteI didnt know Nis was a bigger city than Tuzla? Tuzla, at least when looking at pictures of both, looks much bigger and urban than Nis, has more of a city feel and bigger people fluctiation? Maybe because the city center looks nice, and has the salt lakes?
DeleteNiš is urban enough, and has a nice downtown area, too.
DeleteZivinice, Lukavac and Banovici are a kind of suburb for Tuzla. They are very close. So Tuzla have around 200 000 with this three cities.
DeleteTuzla had most of Slavonija for itself until OSI got flights.
DeleteINI long deserved those flights. I hope an airport upgrade is done in the next 5 years with air bridges.
DeleteTZL on the other hand, has very serious plans already:
http://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/09/tuzla-airport-begins-expansion-project.html
I thought TZL has not yet begun on airport renovation?
DeleteNot really plans, TZL is already expanding its terminal, and will be finished in a month and a half, construction began already few months ago.
DeleteIt has. There was an article about it recently.
Deleteyes, for sure INI would get airbridges
DeleteI was at Tuzla a few days ago and the construction is in full speed
DeleteTuzla district have bigger population than Nis district. But Nis is much bigger city by itself. Both cities are poor and have huge diaspora.These two airports have similar potential.
DeleteWell it took them 6 years to realize that chasing away airlines doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteYes, they have FINALLY come to their senses. Took them just 6 years and for everyone else to get flights.
DeleteI think BiH want to show the world that they are fully comitted to their 4 international airports. It's the second country after Croatia in terms of operational airports. Very very impressive and well done!
ReplyDeleteI hope it gets the same TZL effect. OMO already is on the right track.
Airports attracting airlines in Bosnia has little to do with the central government and is not coordinated. They do it with the support of the local government, canton or entity. All airports other than Sarajevo are subsidising flights otherwise they would have no traffic - Mostar, Tuzla and Banja Luka.
DeleteI wonder how much money BNX would have to give Wizz Air to start flights? How much money does Tuzla Airport give to Wizz Air?
DeleteThis could be a chance for Ryanair to enter the Bosnian market.
ReplyDeleteBanja Luka could become Ryanair base, Mostar a Euroewings base and Tuzla is already a Wizz Air base :D that would be nice.
DeleteAnd easy can go to Sarajevo ;)
DeleteIf another LCC wanted to challenge Wizz Air in the Balkans they would have started BNX. It would directly compete against Wizz in Tuzla and would give them a run for their money. But I do believe that in this case it is probably Wizz. Covering all bases to avoid any competition.
DeleteBNX has good potential. I'm glad they will change their failed strategy and work with LCCs.
ReplyDelete"The budget carrier offered the airport flights from London Luton, Malmo, Eindhoven and Dortmund to choose from, with Banja Luka selecting the service from Sweden as it considered it to be the most viable."
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they turned them away back then!!! What were they thinking? It could have been a very different story and Banja Luka could have been like Tuzla now.
Wizz Air would make the most sense as they are already present in OSI, LJU and TZL.
ReplyDeleteJust like I wrote a few months ago, it seems they are circling around ZAG in order to serve the market without actually serving it.
The real question is what will ZAG management do? If they keep on ignoring LCCs then they are just helping their competition. Banja Luka is an important market for ZAG. If they start to receive flights to western Europe then they might actually attract passengers from outside of Republika Srpska. They might become attractive for many from Croatia as I am sure many already use TZL.
I agree with you. In 2016 Wizz Air started talks with Zagreb about starting flights there but they were turned down. They are now looking for alternatives.
DeleteZAG lost at least 450.000 passengers from not having Wizz Air.
DeleteWell Nemjee, if they are circling around ZAG is because ZAG is simply not interested I guess. If you open the route map, you will see that W6 flies to almost 90% of all European capitals except ZAG, DUB, MSQ, HEL, BRN and of course the small European microstates. I think Croatia is not their priority and this is really not good.
DeleteAgain obssesion with ZAG.
DeleteBNX is NOT alternative to ZAG. It is almost 3-4 hours away from ZAG airport (distance, border - soon will be Schengen border control, highway fee, gasoline price, etc).
The only real alternative to ZAG would be Varazdin airport, which is 60 km north of ZAG.By using A4 highway it is 45 min from ZAG Airport.
I know few people knows about it, but with little investment it can attract LCC .Noone wants it to develop, if it does it will become real threat to ZAG.
ZAG airport is aware of LCC issue and will enable them in ZAG in 2-3 years timeframe.
During that time no matter how BNX develops buiness it will no hurt ZAG.
So, please don't compare everything to ZAG.
All the best to BNX to develop their sustainable business.
Regards from ZAG.
I think they feel those charges are too high for the market they are supposed to serve. In the end ZAG will cave in and make a deal with LCCs but the real question under what circumstances will that happen?
DeleteIf they wait for too long then airports such as OSI, LJU, BNX, TZL ... will take away most of ZAG's catchment area.
Let's not forget that even Eurowings complained about ZAG's charges.
What makes you think anyone is obsessed with ZAG? In reality, most people from that part of Srpska use Zagreb since their home airport has no flights.
DeleteIn other words, once BNX gets adequate flights, those who used ZAG (or TZL) in the past will switch to flying from Banja Luka.
Finally, let's go back a decade. This whole region was served by ZAG alone as it was the only airport with any real flights. Things are changing and they are getting competition, whether you like it or not.
Same way BEG got competition from INI. It's the same principle. To me it seems as if there are certain people on this portal who believe that no matter what happens in aviation, ZAG will somehow be immune to all that.
Isn't W6 already adding more flights to OSI!?
DeleteThey are adding another weekly flight.
DeleteHow many flights to BSL they have from TZL? Same?
DeleteAnon 9:39 - thanks for the feedback. Our discussion was simply about W6 avoiding ZAG and concentrating on almost all the other cities and towns around it. Nobody compares BNX to ZAG.
DeleteJust take a look at this:
https://wizzair.com/en-gb/flights/map#/
Only ZAG is missing.
I think LH and OU are fighting hard to protect ZAG. LH has lost a lot of passengers already thanks to LO and others. They can't afford to have another VIE scenario.
DeleteAnon at 9:39 soon will be Schengen border control (Cro-bih)? Dont be so sure it will be soon 😂😂😂 slovenia will use veto in any case 🙈
DeleteSloavio
DeleteHahah he got carried away. :D
Just explaining that schengen wont be the reason to make the journey between ZG-BL any longer ... at least not anytime soon 😂😂😂
DeleteVaraždin is not any alternative as it does not have space for bigger runway (present is too short).
DeleteReal alternative would be Cerkje, 45 km from Zagreb with infrastructure already there for LCC to lend and apron. Purger wrote about that.
Zagreb airport is just under 2 hours away from Banja Luka Airport. Banja Luka aiport could be an alternative to Zagreb for those in northwest Bosnia, but also those in the surrounding regions of Croatia if the price is right.
DeleteWizz will start flights for sure. Have a feeling Malmo and Vienna could be first new routes.
ReplyDeleteBasel would work well too.
DeleteI think Malmo, Basel and Bratislava/Vienna could work.
DeleteEindhoven to cover the Netherlands, Belgium and part of western Germany
DeleteWelcome to the real world Banja Luka Airport. Took you long enough. I do wish you all the best.
ReplyDeleteCongrats BNX! Good to see the airport reviving.
ReplyDeleteI would hold on with the congratulations until an airline starts actually selling flights to Banja Luka.
DeleteFinally! We need low fares from Banja Luka!
ReplyDeleteWe want flights between Banja Luka and Frankfurt.
DeleteSo which airport do people in Banja Luka use as an alternative to fly?
ReplyDeleteZAG and more recently TZL.
DeleteBanja Luka is actually a really nice little city. With a some LCC flights it could attract city break tourists for sure.
ReplyDeleteAgree. But accessibility is poor, so new flights are more than needed.
DeleteI have never been and wanted to go for some time. There are fantastic prices from Belgrade as the route is subsidised. Comparison plane/bus between Belgrade - Banja Luka. Does it make sense to take plane timewise?
DeleteI would always recommend a plane over a bus in the Balkans. That said the airport in Banja Luka is around 20km from the city.
DeleteI also recommend plane over bus and especially trains to foreign visitors. However, Banja Luka can be reached by highway from Belgrade, hence my question if it really pays off.
DeleteI love how they completely changed their position on LCCs
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never.
DeleteCould Air Serbia have taken greater advantage at BNX? Maybe base one of those B737s and start flights to a few European destinations? Especially with their new fare structure.
ReplyDeleteNope, AS hardly having airplanes for the current flights schedule, setting up one plane away (INI or BNX) would cause them a lot of technical problems
DeleteThe JAT/JU 737s are slowly being retired. Don't forget that maintaining them will be expensive as they are 30 years old.
DeleteAS has no fleet shortage. It has reduced its frequency very much over the last two seasons. It would be actually smart to have a plane servicing several routes from Banja Luka if the local government of Republika Srpska pays for it.
DeleteIzvini ali zasto ne mogu sa kompanijom Aviolet da lete iz Nisa i Banja Luke npr po jedan avion baziran tamo kao lcc kompanija sa a320 avionima npr. Sta ih sprecava? Gadljivi su da zarade novac?
DeleteCosts of having crew, catering, ground management in different bases.
DeleteSve to ima Wizz.
DeleteJU ima jos samo 2 b737, koja ce nakon sezone biti povucena iz saobracaja. Nakon toga se povlaci i jedan atr72-200.
Delete3 29 yes they do but the two airlines can't be compared in any single way. They also have completely different cost structures.
DeleteAviolet ne mora da rad kao air serbia. Ne treba ASL da leti BEG INI sto traze pojedinci ovde. Ima para u budzetu za novije polovnjake. LH sa EW isto to pokusava. Treba to pratiti kako ide.
DeleteJU should not base any aircraft in BNX or INI, they should start one stop flights, for instance BEG - INI - ATH, or INI - BNX - CDG etc.
DeleteSure BEG-INI-ATH would be compatible with Aegean non stop flights.
Delete...which there are three weekly.
DeleteNor all flights from BEG to ATH would go via INI, I deemed that unnecessary to write at the first time.
Anon 4.55, u cijem budzetu ima para za avione? AS ili R.Srbije? U AS bojim se da bas i nema.
DeleteAS could do "W"rotations as to cover INI and BanjaLuka. They would not need to keep planes there.
DeleteWithout doubt one of the most underutilized larger small airports in ex-Yu.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI really do hope Banja Luka Airport turns things around.
ReplyDeleteRed je da Aerodrom Banja Luka se otvori jedino mogucim avio prevoziocima, nisko budzetnim companijama. Definitivno su uvideli i u Republici Srpskoj da Tuzla, Nis... polako menjaju prilaza vazdusnom saobracaju.Rezultatima koji prevazilaze i optimiste. Za razliku od definitivno prihvacenne ponude iz Banja Luke LCC companij(a)e,aerodromi Morava i Ponikve se odlazu za buduca neka pokolenja. Cinjenica je da Hrvatska ima 9 aktivnih komercijalnih aerodroma. BiH ima cetiri aktivna, a pravice i peti Trebinjski aerodrom. Slovenija ima Ljubljanski, Mariborski i Portoroski aerodrom. Crna Gora ima dva i na kraju BJRM ima Skoplje i Ohrid. Srbija ima za sada samo dva. Ona druga dva u centralnoj i zapadnoj Srbiji su pod kljucem... Docice vreme da se sete na kraju i u Srbiji. Banja Luka u Republici Srpskoj povlace pravi potez. Otvaranje za putnicki saobracaj. Jos Srbija da dozvoli isto, i promet ce se povecati. I dileme proci.
ReplyDeleteKrajnje je vreme Srbijo.
Rodney Marinkovic
Kraljevo.
Trebinje,hahahaah
DeleteAttracting low cost airlines is the only way these small ex-Yu airports can survive.
ReplyDeleteNot just that, it genuinely benefits the local population in many ways.
DeleteI hope it doesn't turn our to be something dumb like Braathens a few months ago, which in the end cancelled that flight.
ReplyDeleteIf they really are in talks with Wizz Air that would be fantastic and I hope for a positive outcome.
ReplyDeleteIn the late 90s, BNX had flights to Vienna, Zurich, St. Galen and Frankfurt.
ReplyDeleteAnd today just Belgrade :/
DeleteBefore JU's Belgrade flight it was no one.
DeleteThat's not true. B&H Airlines used to fly Zurich and Sarajevo until they went bankrupt.
DeleteWhat are the main unserved markets from BNX?
ReplyDeleteSwitzerland!
DeleteUsual gasterbaiter markets - Switzerland, Austria, Sweden
DeleteHow about Germany and Spain ?
DeleteGermany yes, Spain no.
DeleteBad news for Zagreb..
ReplyDeleteSto je najporaznije, ti stvarno vjerujes u to.
Deleteit may take max 3-5 thousand pax from Zagreb per year. That's nothing. This is the number that Nis is taking from Belgrade too. To low to be bad news.
DeleteFor sure bad news for ZAG.
DeleteWe have here the information that major LCC companies (in plural) will start flying to Banja Luka.
Knowing that ZAG due to its prices has been avoided by LCC's and that alternative needs to be found Banja Luka looks perfect for that purpose.
Lets not forget that many people from RS used ZAG (that will be changed now) and that many people from ZAG catchment area would use Banja Luka due to competitive prices.
Last but not the least Croatia will not join Schengen agreement anytime soon due to Slovenia's veto so it the border control will remain the same as it is now
I don't think ZAG will care, while still growing in double digit figures. Sorry guys :)
DeleteWell said. Still.
DeleteIf at least 10% of flights that was announced by Banja Luka airport were even start it would have at least 300.000 passenger per year. But for not we just see big announcements with no results at all.
DeleteSo I will not celebrate yet. Prvo skoči pa reci hop. Especially not about plural and so many LCC.
I have to ask anon 3.26, where is LCC mentioned in plural in the article? It clearly states that one airline is interested.
DeleteThese guys have done nothing for years! So much wasted potential.
ReplyDeleteGood thing he realizes years after that not signing the deal with Wizz Air was a missed opportunity.
DeleteThe worst thing about this is that Banja Luka Airport actually has a lot of perspective. The issue is the unprofessional and political management.
DeleteIf tickets ever go on sale (which I hope) and if W6 is the chosen airline, my predictions are as follows:
ReplyDeleteFMM, DTM, BSL, VIE, MMX, NYO, SXF, BGY, HHN, EIN and maybe VXO which turned out to be very successful for SKP and TZL.
Those destinations seem realistic. In fact I think after two years Wizz could base a plane in Banja Luka if the flights ever start.
Delete200,000 is reachable by say 2021 if they get a serious airline like Wizz to base a plane and start flights.
ReplyDeleteBanja Luka's main problem is its proximity to Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteWell it is comparable to Nis. It is also very close to Sofia, yet they are heading to 400K. I suppose there will be a market from Banja Luka for LCCs.
DeleteIf Ryanair ever flies to it, they can advertise it as Zagreb-South International Airport.
DeleteSame like Memmingen/ it's nicknamed Munich West or Frankfurt-Hahn or Charleroi Brussels-South, etc.
I am afraid they will not go that far. It is at the end in a different country. They might do that for Varazdin :)
DeleteCharleroi may be advertised as Brussels South as it is some 45 km from the Brussels, which is comparable to Malpensa from Milan.
Varazdin can not build runway long enough for 737. No space.
DeleteThey would have to demolish some houses in the vicinity to extend?
DeleteW6 are quietly updating their winter 2018 calendar for selected cities only, and so far SJJ-BUD will continue operating but TZL remains unchanged. I hope they decide on BNX after Easter.
ReplyDeleteZagreb will feel it.
ReplyDelete1. No LCC would open base there anytime soon especially now when LCC is coming to BNX ==> it practically means ZAG can't count
on extra LCC passengers at the time when
even FRA counts on them
2.Finally people from ZAG and BNX will get low cost alternative to expensive ZAG and it will be seen next year
2.
Evo, bas se veselim 4satnoj voznji i granici na let za nigdje
Delete2 sata voznje = 160 km.
DeletePiece of cake
Zagreb već ima LCC u Rijeci (sat vremena vožnje), Ljubljani (sat i pol) i Zadru (dva sata) bez granice, pa mu nisu naštetili. I tu govorim o desecima linija.
DeleteKako će mu onda naštetiti jedna-dvije linije u Banja Luci?
zag will be affected ad w6 will no longer look at them after BNX expansion but this was their choice.......
DeleteSure. Because once something is done and written - it's written in the stone.
Delete3. Distance between ZAG and BNX is not that far in order not to catch flight from BNX for much cheaper price
ReplyDeleteZGB will face competition from both LJU and BNX. The situation is getting more intense, as time goes by..
DeleteExactly
Delete+100
Dok brojke govore nesto drugo.
DeleteOne govore kako se razlika izmedju ZAG i LJU povecava iz mjeseca u mjesec.
BNX necu komentirati. To je rupa na svirali.... Predzadnja.
Cinjenica je da ce osetiti. Idu iz BEG u sve okolne iako i BEG ima neke niskotarifne letove.
DeleteI think BNX have now comitted themselves as the best new comer and the Zagreb alternative. They will most likly apply the Tuzla model and rapidly grow in 5 years time.
DeleteA big applause to BNX and BiH!
So, they said they are talking with the LCC airline and from that we're already at "rapidly growing". I'm usually one of those "first jump - then say hop" kinda people, but OK.
DeleteDon't panic if BNX has big plans and ready for a blast. Just look at TZL whoever have thought that it will bee one of ex-Yu's busiest airports ?
DeleteThere is nothing wrong for ZGB people to finally enjoy ULCC fares..they are fed up of paying higher fares.
Umm, ok.
DeleteHteli to da priznate, ili ne-ekspanzija lcc u BNX će ozbiljno naštetiti Zagrebu. Kao prvo, Zg aerodrom je preskup, ni do sada nije bilo mnogo lcc, a tek sada neće dolaziti kada proradi BNX sa sto puta nižim troškovima. Aerodrom je autoputem odlično povezan, I geografski odlično lociran. Svi u regionu od 300 km iz Bosne i Slavonije koji su jedino mogli da putuju iz Zg, sada će to moći da čine iz BNX. Naravno da Zg neće propasti, ali ostaće bez ozbiljnog parčeta kolača.
ReplyDeleteNe nasmijavaj me
DeleteYou don´t travel much around, do you?
DeleteNo one will drive and wait at the borders for hours and hours just in order to save ten(10) euros or less!!
People are so naive.....
the only effect it might have is for airserbia either to go daily with their flights or cancels them alltogether.
Aerudrum je turbo jeftin...
ReplyDeleteThere are so many flights from BSL/MLH that BSL should be one of the first destination from BNX.All of them are succesfull (TZL is now five time a week).And don't forget B&H Airlines had flights to ZRH which is close to BSL like everybody knows.
ReplyDeleteBest regards from EuroAirport.
This is a election joke. And Nedo is well known as prolific liar.
ReplyDeleteJa sam dobio informaciju da je ugovor sa RayanAIR-om skoro završen, te da je izvjesno da će oni letiti sa Banjalučkog Aerodroma. Nadati se da je istina...
ReplyDelete