Europe's largest low cost airline is believed to be in the final stages of negotiations with the government of the entity of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the introduction of flights to Banja Luka, with two routes expected to be launched during the 2018/19 winter season. The Minister for Transport and Communications in the entity government, Nedjo Trninić, said he could not specify the name of the airline as talks are ongoing but noted, "Until we sign an agreement we cannot reveal any details because we came to such an understanding with them. In about fifteen days all will be revealed". For its part, Ryanair usually does not comment on ongoing talks with airports and other stakeholders.
Ryanair had previously held talks with Banja Luka Airport back in 2006, however, they did not prove successful. Furthermore, the no frills carrier had also negotiated with both Mostar and Tuzla airports in the past over potential services, with flights from Hahn and Weeze suggested for the latter at the time. If Ryanair were to introduce operations to Banja Luka, it would mark its entry onto the Bosnian market and its fourth in the former Yugoslavia following Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. The airline has already announced the launch of four new routes across the former Yugoslavia this summer, including from Zadar to Frankfurt, Memmingen and Bremen, from Frankfurt to Pula and Rijeka and from Wroclaw to Podgorica.
Banja Luka Airport has struggled to attract new carriers over the past few years due to is reluctance to work with budget airlines. Apart from the five weekly flights operated by Air Serbia to and from Belgrade, the airport will see charter services to Antalya from June operated by the Serbian carrier's dedicated charter brand Aviolet. In addition, talks are ongoing over the introduction of charter services to Tivat. The government has been under increased public pressure to secure new flights from Banja Luka Airport following a series of missteps in its management. Banja Luka Airport welcomed 1.920 passengers during the first two months of the year, down 18.6%.
Wizz in TZL is target
ReplyDeleteVery bad news for ZAG..
DeleteI don't think either will be affected by this.
DeleteProbably target is Zagreb. More like pressure on the airport management. But hardly enyone from ZG would go flying to B. Luka ...
DeleteNever say never. People from Vienna go to BUD and BTS to fly before VIE reduced its charges and attracted LCCs.
DeleteI think FR's first move is to stop people from BNX from going to TZL or ZAG.
+10000 Anon 9:48am
DeleteFR sometimes have tickets as little as 4,99€ so trust me, if BNX offers those prices, people from ZAG will come in crowds.
the distance from Vienna to BTS is approx 50 min by car, there is no border and you drive on a highway. Plus, there are buses on every hour connecting the 2 cities and airports.
DeleteAs far as i know this connection is not given between Zagreb and BNX
Conveniently you left out the comparison of VIE and BUD which was also give above.
Deleteaw, ok then.
DeleteVIE-BUD is 2 hours by car on a brand new highway and no border.
is this given between Zagreb and BNX?
Guys at 9h48 and 1h26, Vienna City to BUD airport are at least 3 full hours on highway (almost 300km), if you do not make a break. No one - absolutely no one from VIE would travel to BUD for a flight from there. BTS yes, for sure, but not BUD.
DeleteZagreb city - Banja Luka airport are 2h on normal roads but also "only" 160km.
There is no offer, so there is no demand. Once BNX gets something to offer, demand will grow. Schattle buses will be introduced if necessary etc. Anyway,there is 1mil.people leaving around BNX, so BNX should not have to focus on Zag. at the beginning at least.
DeleteThere is a brand new highway from ZG to Banja Luka Airport.
DeletePeople are prepared n willing to drive as far as MILAN from LJubljana to fly for 10€, so if BNX develops one day (we talk about yrs and not months) this will affect ZAG in 2 ways (which is obviously clear to everyone, but some ppl dont get it or dont wanna get it):
Delete1. Pax from Republika Srpska will use BNX for those routes which will be served and wont drive to ZAG anymore (im sure there r some info whats the structure of ZAG pax: approx 10% are slovenians, whats the % of bosnians?). If the routes from BNX will be mostly gasterbaiter destinations that will only be worse for ZAG, coz we all know that gasterbaiter destinations are the same for most of the exyu (except maybe for Kosovo), so this will only make even more croatian gasterbaiters to use BNX (double affect - less bosnians in ZAG and more croatian pax in BNX). Gasterbaiters are even more willing to travel for extra 2h to catch a flight for 10-20-30€ bcz they fly often, so the “savings” are bigger.
2. Croatians will use BNX for sure. Not everyone but if slovenians r willing to drive all the way to Milan i dont see any reasons why croats wouldnt do the same (even now u can see tons of croats in VCE/TRS/TSF and its not that close and u gotta cross the border - not just a random
Border, u gotta cross the schengen one, but ppl still use it). Just look how the market of shuttle vans has developped im Slovenia - not only that ppl drive to VCE/TSF etc, ppl use for ex GoOpti to take them to these airports and even willing to risk a 4h waiting window, which can make a journey BCN-VCE-shuttle to LJU last 12h+, but ppl use it bcz its cheap. So a 2h drive to BNX is nothing
WOW I didn't know 10% of ZAG traffic were Slovenians. Impressive.
DeleteMaybe less, but i think that was the info given here...or am i wrong?
DeleteBanja Luka also has a brand new airport.
DeleteSounds plausible. Slovenes are rich and they travel a lot despite being stingy.
DeleteStingy? Hahhahahhahhaha but still less than germans 🙈🙈🙈 they even pay coffee separatly 🤮
DeleteNo one beats the Dutch when it comes to being stingy. :D
DeleteThats why i rather hang with ppl from the south than stingy north 🤮 hahaha
DeleteZagreb already has Ryanair in Rijeka (1 hour driving) and Zadar (2 hours driving). It is 19 routes. What can Banja Luka give to Zagreb more than that?
DeleteAs mentioned to you below, BNX flights will start in winter which when Zadar goes dead quiet.
DeleteZagreb and Croatia airline can lose travelers and money.I will travel from USA to B luka not to Zagreb
DeleteHere you go. We even let BL to develop even though it will hurt our passanger numbers in BG. But do not ask us for money BL because we ll give you without asking.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about?
DeleteAnon9:05am 😊
DeleteHahaha. Nice one :)
Deletewow that was unexpected. Wonder what the routes might be.
ReplyDeleteOne from Germany, one from Sweden maybe?
DeleteOr both from Germany? Berlin and Weeze make sense.
DeleteNRN is becoming so popular as it is seen as a EIN alternative sometimes.
DeleteDusseldorf Weeze is good alternative for Eindhoven
DeleteMark my words, it will be two markets already served from Tuzla. FR is after Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteIf INI could boom then so can BNX.
Is BHX more touristic compared to INI?
DeleteBHX most definitely is. After all it's the second largest city in the UK.
DeleteAnon 09:50..you made my day :D
DeleteWhat;s interesting is that the airport CEO said how this LCC cooperates with other airlines in the region? Who does FR cooperate with exactly and for that matter any other LCC?
ReplyDeleteSo basically it will be W6 land - TZL and BNX - FR land.
ReplyDeleteScenario reminds us of SKP> W6 and INI> FR.
Well I wouldn't say INI is FR land since FR and W6 have the same number of routes from Nis.
DeleteAnd W6 started flights from INI first.
DeleteAnd there is also LX so the situation is not totally monotonous.
DeleteAnd SKP heavily depends on W6. Its growth is mainly thanks to them - 70% of the traffic.
DeleteW6 has 50% of pax share in SKP
DeleteI think it was reported on here that it was MUCH higher than 50%.
DeleteTheir overall share in Macedonia last year was 59%
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/01/macedonian-airports-post-record-results.html
That's crazy high. This year it is expected to surpass 60%.
DeleteUntil I see the flights scheduled in the system I won't believe a single word these guys say.
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteThat’s what you guys churn out about any new flights announced to the Serbian speaking world.
DeleteGood luck BNX! You deserve it.
I'm Serbian. That's exactly why I wrote it. Because I know who Nedjo Trninic is and what his promises mean.
DeleteHeeey. I'm Serbian too.
DeleteElection time
DeleteRyanair usually announces its new routes for next winter around 20th April so it fits that this is Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteU2 will announce them this week - on 12th April:
Deletehttp://www.easyjet.com/en/schedule-release
Well this would be a big turnaround!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing that Bosnia and Herzegovina will have 4 airports that are served by large and respectable airlines.
ReplyDeleteTrue. This year Mostar and Banja Luka will develop nicely, Saraejvo will handle over 1 million passengers and Tuzla will keep growing.
DeleteHow are the roads in BiH? Are they somehow okay?
DeleteRoads are generally a disaster though Srpska has been expanding its highway network. Last time I was there there was a highway almost all the way to the HR border.
DeleteThe roads question.
DeleteTuzla-Sarajevo (120 km)-2:30 minutes.
Tuzla-Banja Luka (170 km)- 3:30 minutes.
Sarajevo-Banja Luka (190 km)- 3:30 minutes.
Zagreb-Banja Luka-(190 km)- 2:30 minutes.
So you tell me how are the roads...
So, no wonder why there is high demand for the 4 airports.
DeleteWhat's wrong with the Tuzla_Sarajevo road? Is it really so slow to travel there? Many traffic?
DeleteTuzla Sarajevo is actually 2 hours, not 2,5 hours. The problem is that its a mountainous road, but they have been fixing the problematic Karaula section, with the tunnel and all. That´s why its 2 hours, and not 2,5 anymore ;)
DeleteBesides very high traffic frequency the roads are very curvy. When you stuck behind a truck you are doomed...very slow and very hard to safely overtake.
DeleteOn the north, even tough the terrain is more friendly, you are mostly driving through inhabited area.
It takes me 3.5 hours to get from Ljubljana to Orašje and almost 2 hours to get from Orašje to Tuzla (80 km)...it's crazy.
Republic of Srpska is building a new highway from Doboj to Bjeljina (border with Serbia) and it has a brand new highway from Banja Luka to Gradiska (border with Croatia)
DeleteIt's interesting because you have highway to Ruma so you would have to drive on local road only from Ruma to Bijeljina which isn't that far.
DeleteBad news for both TZL and ZAG.
ReplyDeleteTZL because FR is after them.
ZAG because Banja Luka passengers were using them to travel to the world. With FR expanding there will be less need.
Actually, ZAG is the only airport in the Balkans without a considerable LCC presence.
Ne razumjem.
DeleteGdje bi iz BL putovao umjesto iz ZG?
TZL.
DeleteИли преко Београда?
DeleteI agree. ZGB is losing LCC ground and heading towards legacy madness. By the time, they decide to get a route, most of the neighbouring cities will be connected.
Delete2 leta dnevno za gotovo nigdje......ne budimo smijesni.
DeleteDa bi bili ozbiljno, ta 2 leta dnevno bi morale biti za najprometnije destinacije ZAG da bi uopce naudile ZAG.
Stoga, ostavimo mokre snove za birtije.
Као и увек долазе одређени овде и говоре нам како уопште нема шансе да било шта угрози Загреб.
DeleteАјде да узмемо пример да Рајанер уведе Бањалука-Веце и да повратна карта кошта око 40 евра - а може да се деси да ће бити и ниже у почетку.
Е сада, неки Хрват који живи у Загребу и треба да путује за Диселдорф, кога ће изабрати? Рајанер за 40 евра или Јуровингс из Загреба чија је најнижа тарифа без кофера 160 евра?
Да не причамо о Хрватима који живе широм Славоније и који ће тек да прате цене и понуде из Осијека, Тузле и Бања Луке.
Летови из Осијека су феноменално попуњени. Не само на Визеру већ и на Јуровингсу. Хоћеш ми рећи да део путника који пуни ове летове није раније летео из Загреба?
Sad se ljepo vrati nazad i ponovno citati.
DeleteS razumjevanjem ovaj put.
Нема потребе да ишта поново читам јер сваки пут се пише иста ствар. Чињеница је да ако је цена добра, не видим разлог зашто неко из Загреба неће летети из Бања Луке или Љубљане. Хоћеш ми рећи да нема Хрвата на Визеру из Љубљане за Лутон? Мислиш да сваки Хрват може да приушти цену карте са БА или ОУ?
DeleteПробуди се. Освести се.
A region DUS-a nije dovoljno prometan za tebe?
DeleteThere is a fact many ignore. ZAG refuses to work with LCCs while LCCs are thriving in all airports around Zagreb: OSI, TZL, LJU, ZAD and soon BNX.
DeleteZa vas koji ne znate, ili ne zelite, citati s razumjevanjem cu pokusati pojednostavnoti.
Delete2 linije dnevno, pa sve i da lete za FRA i DBV (koje su 2 najporometnije) linije iz ZAG nece ugrziti ZAG kao sto je autor pocetna posta implicirao.
Da li je sad jasnije?
Ja nigdje nisam napisao kako ljudi iz HR nece koristiti BL aerodrom, kao sto ste neki od vas iscitali.
Da li je sad jasnije?
И да крену да лете за Франкфурт не значи да ће наудити ОУ јер већина њених путника на овој линији преседа даље.
DeleteНа почетку сам дао пример Диселдорфа јер је то линија за коју има потражње и која данас саобраћа са 2,3 недељна лета. Ако би Рајанер покренуо Веце из Бања Луке онда део путника који је био приморан да плати 200 евра са Јуровингсом ће се сигурно прешалтати на Рајанер.
То је начин на који ће Бања Лука утицати на Загреб. Дакле, ја сам дао конкретан пример где сам упоредио два релативно слична тржишта. Нисам писао уопштено као што је био случај са твојим постом.
Ne pricamo ni o oU ni o FRA....prica je nesto drugo.
DeleteNo dobro, ostavljam vas u ovim bitrijaskim naklapanjima SBBKBB
Ljudi iz Zagreba i okolice traže LCC za city break, ne za gastarbeiter destinacije. Ono malo što ih je otišlo van raditi u komparaciji sa Slavonijom npr. se do Njemačke/Austrije iz Zagorja ili Međimurja vozi automobilom, bliže je nego otići na more...
DeleteE sad, do Londona, Pariza, Rima ili Amsterdama leti se iz Zadra, Pule, Ljubljane,Graza, Budimpešte. Teško da će Banja Luka preuzeti te putnike.
Sto da ne ako je BNX bliza od BUD?
DeleteZagreb already has Ryanair in Rijeka (1 hour driving) and Zadar (2 hours driving). It is 19 routes. What can Banja Luka give to Zagreb more than that?
DeleteHmm year-round flights maybe? I suppose people from zagreb also fly in winter.
DeleteFantastic news. Even if it doesn't turn out to be Ryan it will be either Wizz or Easy.
ReplyDeleteI am also curious to see how Aviolet charters perform this summer.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know the schedule? My guess is that they would arrive around 11.00 if the flight leaves BEG at 05.00.
Also I wonder if these potential charters to TIvat would be operated by JU or YM.
DeleteJU could do it with the Atr like JA did some years ago. They are very flexible as they could do it either with the flight to TIV or BNX.
DeleteLol I have just realised:
DeleteJA - B&H Airlines
JP - Adria
JU - airserbia
Does J stand for Jugoslavija¿
Yes it does. Don't know why B&H got that IATA prefix.
DeleteThere is also YM where Y is for Yugoslavia. :D
DeleteWhat was Croatia Airline’s Yugoslav code?
DeleteMontenegro Airlines also has a “Yugoslav” prefix - YM.
DeleteCroatia Airlines started off as Zagal in 1989 but it was only a small freighter so probably had no Icao code. Croatia Airlines was OU from the early 90's when the first 737 services started after the airspace was reopened but did actually have the YU prefix on their first MD-80 which was leased from Adria.
DeleteThe civilian rego prefix after Independence was RC in the early 90's and was applied to the first 737-200 and ATR-42's but later became 9A.
PUY airport also means Pula Yugoslavia
DeleteThank you all for the interesting facts!
DeleteI went through the charter schedule and saw that flights from BNX have the same flight number as some of the flights from BEG to AYT. So probably a BEG-BNX-AYT flight or BNX-BEG-AYT but it's a question how would they position it to BNX.
DeleteFinally some positive news for Banja Luka. Well done.
ReplyDeleteRyanair were to introduce operations to Banja Luka?
ReplyDeleteThey talked to them like a decade ago but they talk to lots of airports. They hold 1 or two meetings and then decide whether to proceed.
DeleteSmart decision. The only way these small ex-Yu airports can develop is by attracting LCCs. Tuzla and Nis would still be dead without them.
ReplyDeleteSkopje too :D
DeleteBEG too, and SOF too
DeleteStop moaning, LCC now makes up almost 50% in Europe.
DeleteWith your logic, STN, CRL, BVA will all be dead.
ExYu, why 'largest LCC in Europe' ?
ReplyDeleteRyan is the largest airline in Europe, period.
This LCC vs 'Lefacy' classification doesn't make sense any more
Great news! Bosnia becoming popular with LCCs
ReplyDeleteWhy not Sarajevo?
ReplyDeleteBecause it is expensive for ULCCs like Ryan and Wizz.
DeleteSJJ wants too much $$$
DeleteOr maybe Wizz & Ryan wants to pay 0 $ to airport?
DeleteMaybe it's a combo of the two?
DeleteWizz Air will be getting some serious competition soon. Wizz was smart to enter this market early and I'm surprised others have been so reluctant.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the destinations :)
ReplyDeleteWhat were the first routes they started from Nis? That could be a good indication which ones might launch to Banja Luka
ReplyDeleteBerlin
DeleteAnd their return ticket prices when they launched were 10 euros :)
Deletewelcome to one more Ex-Yu airport, Ryanair. Hopefully more will follow
ReplyDeleteGood new for BNX!
ReplyDeleteThis arrival, if it happens, has a lot to do with Wizz Air being "attacked" by RYR recently on a large scale.
ReplyDeleteJU 4110 BNX-AYT 18:20-21:40 JU 4111 AYT-BNX 15:55-17:30
ReplyDeletegood for Banja Luka. Some people wrote this will efect Zagreb, I don't think so, cus there is 4 lines from Rijeka and some pax are going there, which is closer, cheaper and u don't need to cross the border. Same with Zadar, which is further than Rijeka.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize less people from Banja Luka will be using ZAG, right?
DeleteThis is a very good news for BNX airport and there is no doubt BNX will develop similar to INI.
DeleteIn first year or two ZAG will not feel it much, but if FR starts introducing more and more flights competing with W6 in TZL (and it is very likely!) there is no doubt ZAG will feel it more and more.
There is also no doubt that SJJ would have had more passengers if W6 hadn't opened TZL. Surely not all 500.000 but certain portion would surely choose to fly from SJJ having no LCC alternative. Driving time from SJJ to TZL is similar like driving time from Zagreb to BNX and it is only approx. 2 hours.
Taking in consideration that RJK (that has driving time from ZAG almost the same like BNX = approx. 2 hours) has been stagnating recently and that BNX is expected to explode with passenger numbers there is no doubt that BNX will become the biggest LCC competition to ZAG in max 2-3 years.
ZAD is too far away.
Regarding to the bus connections between Zagreb and BNX it is for sure they will be introduced as soon as FR starts flying from BNX (similar like buses driving now passengers from Belgrade and other parts of Serbia to INI).
*the biggest LCC competition to ZAG in max 3-4 years
DeleteLosa ti je matematika.
DeleteZAG-Rijeka cestom sat i 15 min.
ZAG-Zadar cestom 2 sata i 20 min.
Voznja po vrhunskim cestama i bez granica naravno.
Nisam boravio u tom delu Hrvatske i ne mogu suditi iz licnog iskustva sem da navedem Google kao izvor informacija:
DeleteZagreb - Rijeka aerodrom 2 sata
Zagreb - Zadar aerodrom 3 sata
Posto je link prilicno dug ne bih ga ovde objavljivao jer svako moze lako doci do te informacije.
Ako se vozi brze nego predvidjeno verovatno se moze stici brze, ali se ja tom tematikom ne bavim.
Svako dobro BNX u razvoju tom kraju treba bolja povezanost sa svijetom. Pošto u Slavoniji živi sirotinja možda se netko i uputi s BNX put svijeta. Nažalost ljudi je u Slavoniji sve manje pa teško da to može biti baza na koju se može računati.
DeleteA ja ti navodim stvarno/realno vrijeme...ne Googleovo vrijeme
DeleteZG to ZD by bus is 3.5 hrs which usually includes 15 minutes getting out of central Zagreb and a 15 minute rest stop half way in Lika. Outer ZG to ZD Zemunik you can do in a car on a modern freeway the whole way in a bit over 2 hours, no passport control and no currency exchanges required either.
DeleteNemam razloga da Vam ne verujem, medjutim to vreme najverovatnije podrazumeva cist put dok Google racuna trenutno stanje koje ukljucuje i odredjene zastoje.
DeleteVodeci se tom logikom mozemo zakljucititi da je i ZAG-BNX cesce krace od 2 sata.
Dakle, google bolje racuna nego sto ja dozivljavam osobno po nekoliko puta tjedno?
DeleteOnly a small portion of road between Zagreb and Banja Luka is not in a full motorway profile - hence, you can basically do all the speeding you need, the same as while driving to Rijeka, or Zadar.
DeleteOsim granice
DeleteVozim Zagreb-Rijeka bar 10 puta godišnje, Zagreb-Zadar i više.
DeleteAko se držite propisa u Rijeci ste za sat i 30, u Zadaru za 2 sata i 30 minuta. Ako se ne držite propisa u Rijeci ste za sat vremena, u Zadaru za 2 sata. Iskreno nikad mi nije trebalo više od 2 sata do Zadara.
Alene,
DeleteAko do Rijeke ima 1,5 sat a od Rijeke do rijeckog aerodroma 30 min onda dolazimo do 2 sata od Zagreba do rijeckog aerodroma
There is a plenty of silly thinking here. BNX will be a small airport that will handle Republic of Srpska and that's it. ZAG will get LCC in due course and BNX will not endanger it's development in any way. Going with your car to Banja Luka and risking to find it damaged from some fools makes no savings justified. Thus you can expect very little people from Croatia using BNX in a same way that very little people from Republic of Srpska use ZAG.
ReplyDeleteSilly comment. BNX might be a small airport but it will be used by people who had to use ZAG in the past.
DeleteMislis da ce LCCi pokriti bas sve potrebe te populacije?
DeleteSumnjam.
To ce biti gasteraske linije.
Brate, možda neće od jednom ali daj mo im vremena da prošire krila i da polete. Neka se mašina zahukta kao da sutra ne postoji.
DeleteThe comment is far from being silly. Given that people even at this blog still look at each other over the gun sight I'm not sure BNX will see too many Croats travelling from/to there.
DeleteEnglish name of Republika Srpska is Republika Srpska, not "Republic of Srpska", because its not an actual republic, hence republika in this case is not translated to "republic".
DeleteThank you for correcting me, I appreciate it.
DeleteNo worries :)
DeleteAnon 2.00
DeleteThe point is that ZAG will see fewer people from Banja Luka.
Banja Luka has a bigger and modern airport than Tuzla and a brand new Control Tower. Airport is located 20 km from the city, close to border with CRO.
DeleteRepublic of Srpska ;)
DeleteRISVRBAS, not for long, Tuzlas termimal expansion is finishing in May. Amd its Repulika Srpska in English too, check the Constitution written in English ;)
DeleteEither way FR will crush W6 like they did in Sofia or Nish.
DeleteThere is no constitution written in english, there is constitution translated into english if we get to this.
DeleteBe careful what you wish for with Ryanair, they closed their TSR base and will stop operating to the rest of the Romanian smaller towns because demand is weak:
Deletehttps://www.romania-insider.com/ryanair-close-routes-oradea/
So, lets see if there will be demand in BiH.
Romania has Blueair and Tarom. Banja Luka had Zagreb when they needed to travel. FR will be just fine.
DeleteFR did not crush W6 anywhere to this date. Just to the contrary in BUD or TSR. Sofia base of Wizz is working nicely with 7 or 8 aircraft after FR 'crushed' then. Same is valid to Nos.
DeleteActually all of the north east of Croatia will benefit heavily from BNX. As ZAG has no LCC option, then it will be a true gem. The same happened with BEG. Following the tremendous INI effect passengers will attracted and this initially hurt BEG and JU.
ReplyDeleteFix the embarrassing airport first before allowing more passengers through it.
ReplyDeleteWhich airport?
DeleteIt was completely renovated last yesr.
DeleteIt's ok, he doesn't care about that because the purpose was to attack and belittle Serbs- as always.
DeleteThey should ask Timisoara, Craiova or Oradea airports about doing business with Ryanair.
ReplyDelete