Europe's largest low cost airline, Ryanair, will enter the Bosnian market this year by introducing flights to Banja Luka. It comes following protracted talks with the government of the Entity of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The carrier will introduce two weekly services from Charleroi Airport in Belgium, each Monday and Friday, starting October 29, as well as from Memmingen in Germany from October 30, each Tuesday and Saturday. The Prime Minister of the entity, Željka Cvijanović, has said that "several additional destinations will also be launched" by the airline in the coming period. Tickets for the new routes are already available for purchase through the carrier's website.
Commenting on the new route, Ryanair’s Sales and Marketing Executive for Belgium, Helene Begasse, said, “We are pleased to announce a new Brussels Charleroi to Banja Luka route commencing this November. This new route marks Ryanair's entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will operate twice weekly as part of our winter 2018 schedule". 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. Ryanair will now serve four markets in the former Yugoslavia. In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina, it also operates to Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.
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, run 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 3.064 passengers during the first quarter of the year, down 13.2%.
Further details for the new Charleroi - Banja Luka service can be found here, while additional information for the Memmingen route can be viewed here.
Further details for the new Charleroi - Banja Luka service can be found here, while additional information for the Memmingen route can be viewed here.
hah dodik blinked and copied niš. wondering what were the terms?
ReplyDeletebtw "Ryanair will not serve" should be "Ryanair will now serve"
What are the similar routes W6 and FR to BNX and tZL
DeleteWeeze - Banja Luka would be direct concurrention for Eindhoven - Tuzla and Dortmund - Tuzla
DeleteCongratulations Banja Luka!
ReplyDeleteThere now all of B&Hs airport have decent traffic and airlines.
ReplyDeleteI hope BNX will have a similar success story as Tuzla.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised there's no service to VIE considering the enormous ex-YU community there compared to BRU.
ReplyDeleteI think Ryan still does not fly to-from Vienna. Maybe they open Bratislava.
DeleteMaybe Laudamotion in few years...
DeleteHaplek
Finally some low cost options to Banja Luka. I thought the day would never come.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, long time waiting on this...
ReplyDeleteDoes W6 fly to these from TZL?
ReplyDeleteMemmingen yes, Charleroi no
DeleteFrom Memmingen
DeleteLetece perje za memingen.
DeleteFinally all Bosnian airports now have regular scheduled flights. Well done! Looking forward to more flights from Banja Luka, hopefully they will be as sucessful as Tuzla :)
ReplyDeleteShould be noted that Banja Luka has had scheduled flights for the last 5 years.
DeleteYes, Air Serbia has been flying since 2013.
DeleteYeah and we all know what loads they had, or didnt have. Even though the flight to Belgrade was regular, you can really disregard it, as it barely had 20,000 passengers per year.
DeleteActing as if the flight doesn't exist no matter how many passengers it handles is odd especially since operates 5 times per week.
Delete...and BEG with JU will remain the most frequent route from Banja Luka!
DeleteLong overdue. Good news for local citizens and diaspora.
ReplyDeleteHurrrraaaay!
ReplyDeleteSweden is next for sure, Goeteborg and Malmoe can't fail. And many more destinations, Basel for sure, Dortmund... Milan and Vienna are too close and people usually come by cars, but would be cool to see.
Great news!
https://imgur.com/vAGkkU1
Or Copenhagen instead of Malmo! Would be great! As from Malmo they only have one line to Poland left.
DeleteMost of the local diaspora is naturally in Zurich (had direct flights many time before), Vienna but in Sweden as well. Now of course, depending on where Ryanair has bases and available aircraft, this could be an option.
DeleteI'm sure that any place in Sweden would work,even Vaxjo.
The choice of Brussels is smart, I'm sure there will be a lot of people from other cities in Bosnia and maybe parts of Croatia using it. No other airport in BiH has a scheduled service to Brussels.
Memmingen is a purely diaspora route and I'm sure it will succeed.
Fares to Brussels from the region are astronomical. Good to see them launching this route.
DeleteAt the time when FR starts flying to Charleroi from Banja Luka (October 2018) flights from ZAG-BRU-ZAG cost 85 EUR with OU and 82 EUR with SN.
DeleteNot that astronomical, but we shall see next summer.
Yes, you are looking at flights six months from today.
DeleteExactly. How can we compare FR with other airlines' prices if FR does not fly at that time to Banja Luka?
DeleteTherefore I wrote that we should see the prices next (2019) summer. It will be good indicator.
Yes, but FR sometimes really, really lower the prices.
DeleteAnyway, this route is nothing but headache for ZAG. More passengers will prefer to pay lesser. Even people from south Croatia can use BNX.
This is wishful thinking. You will see very few Croats flying from BNX.
Delete2 linije....2 x tjedno.
DeleteDaj mi jedan razlog zasto bi koristio BNX?
Za 85 € iz ZAG za BRU 2xdnevno.
Mislim, ti znas o cemu pricas?
Now all businessmen and government officials will fly Rynair. Finally! And tourists heading to the coast change in BNX :D Unfortunately there is not a big private travel segment on these flights.
DeleteWhat do you mean "tourists heading to the coast change in BNX"?
DeleteWe shall see when summer comes, surely in November there is no point driving from ZAG to BNX.
DeleteBut, if FR open more destinations from BNX and the prices get much much cheaper (as expected) we shall see people from Croatia using BNX
Tickets are €85 only if you are booking months in advance.
DeleteA month from today, OU is €173 without luggage and only if you are flexible and don't mind taking the odd hours.
If you want to fly in the morning then the fare is €200.
For that money, I can see several people from Zagreb going to either LJU or BNX.
cam'on guys, get serious. 2 weekly routes is a joke. Those are purely gaster routes.
Deleteit will take a lot more than that to attract pax from Croatia.
even those 2 weekly versus 4 daily from ZAG......cam'on, get serious
Because there are no gasterbajters in Croatia? They are all fancy businessmen who like to fly on a turboprop or old Airbuses and pay €200 for that pleasure?
DeleteStrange. I guess that's why Eurowings and Wizz Air will fail in Osijek.
Koliko cesto ti gasteri putuju?
DeleteKad putuju?
That is why there are two weekly, not daily flights. Wizz from Tuzla relies on them and they seem to be doing just fine.
DeleteHere we go again: lock ZAG and throw away the key.
DeleteSo so, BiH is solidly taking things very seriously! I suppose that by 2025, it may have 6 airports, all with regular services.
ReplyDeleteIs CRL a gasto destination? Traditionally it´s always Germany, Switzerland or Sweden linked to Yugoslavia. I know LJU, TGD and SKP are linked and it never worked out for BEG.
Croation cost too.
There will be no flights which will take passengers to Croatian coast. I can guarantee you that Croatia has a very efficient mechanism to persuade passengers to use Croatian airports (hint long waiting at the border crossing)
DeleteHow can you be sure about this?
DeleteOf course he can't be sure. Wishful thinking
DeleteAs I have seen there is already flights from CRL to Croatian coast (Zadar, Pula, Rijeka), so why someone would be using BNX to come to coast?
DeleteI suppose he was talking about Trebinje in 2025
Delete@ Anon 1:47
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean "Most of the local diaspora is naturally in Zurich"?
Maybe "naturally" wasn't the best word. I wanted to say that the most of diaspora from that part of Bosnia is in Zurich. The first wave of emigration started in 70s and basically never stopped. Most of the transfers from BNX via BEG were to Zurich.
DeleteGotcha.
DeleteTime for ZAG to get Eurowings to open a base there. They need to respond to all this.
ReplyDeleteI definitely hope they will not. Let BNX live its own life, there are other things to focus at ZAG. We need more flights to EU hubs for sure.
DeleteYou mean CHEAP LCC flights to EU hubs ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
DeleteI mean flights to EU hubs, if it can be cheap great then. I don't find Memmingen to be anywhere close to being a hub though.
DeleteWho will be flying from BNX to BRU?
DeleteSo next year the "race" will be between BWK and BNX. I am sure there will be lots of comparisions.
ReplyDeleteHere are the figures for last year:
BWK: 21,596
BNX: 20,867
Difference: 729 passengers which makes approximately 4 FR flights if the 189 seat 738 is full.
Predictions for next year?
Get a life
DeleteGet a sense of humour ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
DeleteBNX will be head 2 head with INI
DeleteCan't wait for BNX - INI.
DeleteOhrid is next
ReplyDeleteomg Memmingen is connected with every village now :D
ReplyDeletefrom west to east : ZAD, Banja Luka, TZL, TGD, BEG, INI, SKP
HAHA
Crazy, yes! Other cities in the region:
DeleteOTP, CLJ, SBZ, TGM, TSR, SKG, SOF, VAR, BOJ.
Missing airports: OHD, SJJ, LJU and MBX
BEG and village do not together anyhow.
DeleteIt looks more like jealousy...
Missing ZAG?
Zagreb is not a village.
DeleteNeither is Belgrade.
Deleteselendre su to
Delete-1000
DeleteIf they play their cards right ot Banja Luka can become Zagreb South. It would create HUGE passangrr traffic as Banja Luka airport is only 1 and half hour with a car from Zagreb
ReplyDelete1st of all, you are speaking about 2 weekly routs against 4 daily.....not gonna happen.
DeleteIt may, but it will take a lot more than 2 weekly routs.
Balkans are generally poor so they will flock to whoever is cheaper. Why do you think W6 does so well in this region.
DeleteNo chance. First of all it is closer to two hour drive, plus border. Second, with only a few destinations, no gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteAnd what about all those people who live in Slavonija? If people go to LJU then I don't see why they wouldn't go to BNX. The border is not such a problem.
DeleteSlavonia has Osijek.
DeleteOsijek doesn't have those flights.
DeleteOsijek barely has any flights lol
DeleteThere are 4 daily flights from ZAG to BRU on 29OCT - cheapest one way ticket is 100€.
ReplyDeleteBNX-CRL same date: ticket price: 19.99€
There are 4 daily flights from ZAG to MUC on 29th, cheapest rate is 108€ with OU
BHX-FMM same date, one way price: 19.99€
Now you decide....
CRL also covers northern France and maybe even southern NL. Its catchment area is quite large.
DeleteAlso, there are many Croats from Slavonija that emigrated to the Benelux. They will use this route no doubt about that.
as you said, there are 4 daily versus 2 weekly.....it is by pure chance that those 2 weekly can fit into one schedule.....but, yet again, 80 EUR doesen't justify 4 hours trip and border crossing.
Deleteat least, not for me.
Four daily yes but on a turboprop.
Deletei will have that in mind on my next meeting in MUC.....pls, make arrangements acc FR flight schedule from BNX........cam'on
DeleteNo wonder if we see a new shuttle bus service organised from ZAG or other Croation towns to BNX airport coordinated with FR schedule. Intersting times ahead,
DeleteIf people from Kosovo and Metohija travel to PRN and SKP then I don't see why it's such an issue for Croats to accept the fact many go to LJU and many will go to BNX.
DeleteNothing to be ashamed of there.
Shame?
DeleteI am from Zagreb and I fly to Brussels twice a year. So from a view of a regular customer here's why ZAG-BRU makes a better option for me instead of BNX-CRL.
DeleteI usually know dates in advance and in the last four years I have never paid more than 80 EUR return with hand baggage. Ryanair is 65.
Getting from the airport to the city is very convenient, trains go every 10 minutes and it takes 20 minutes to the Brussels MIDI station. The one-way ticket is around 8 EUR.
I live 10 min from ZAG airport and Uber drive is 5 EUR.
Banja Luka airport is 164 km away. Bus to Banja Luka city is 12 EUR one-way, fastest ride 2:40 h. Bus shuttle from CRL to MIDI station goes every half hour, the journey takes one hour and the return fare is 14 EUR.
ZAG BRU flight time 1:50, BNX CRL 1:55. Since Brussels Airlines mid-day schedule fits me perfectly I have never flew with OU turboprop. The smallest SN machine I was once on was the Avro on a return flight from Antwerp shortly after the BRU terrorist attack.
So, transfer fares for return trip from Zagreb are 27 EUR and via BNX CRL 38 EUR.
And total travel time from Zagreb to Brussels is around 3:30, via BNX and CRL can’t be less than 8:00. So you save 4 EUR but lose a day on travel and dreary bus cross-border transfer. Can’t see much sense here.
Been there, done that. Why do you think people would necessarily need to go to downtown Brussels? CRL is situated in Wallonia and Belgium as a whole, similar to Holland is densely populated. You have a population of nearly 27 million people in Benelux. CRL is within easy reach to France too.
DeleteIt's perfectly clear that O&D passengers benefit the most by these flights, there is no better alternative. But those who live with every km away of the airports indeed have comparable options. Living further away makes cheap and time efficient options less probable.
DeleteClassical attitude of Purgeri. The world is not you and there is more to Croatia than Zagreb.
DeleteZagreb passengers this, Zagreb passengers that. What about those who live in Bjelovar? Virovitica? Sisak?Pozega? Slavonski Brod?
Will they also take a five minute Uber ride to get to ZAG or will BNX become a real option for them?
Yes, LCC are mainly gasto destinations in ex-YU but, this region can greatly benefit as well as hoteliers or BNX trying to get some tourism.
DeleteAs for ZAG and the south, this is also an opportunity to create jobs for shuttle companies to operate flights. I mean in the end, there will be 5 flights per week including JU service to BEG.
Great news, finally !
ReplyDeleteJU A330 in BNX!!! REAL PHOTOS! Sooo nice:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.banjaluka-airport.com/index.php/en/za-medije/novosti
I hope we see at least 4-5 daily FR flights in 2022! Go BHX!
BNX - Zagreb East :-)
ReplyDeletePeople come on nobody from zagreb will fly from bnx because rijeka is even closer to zagreb and it has also flights to brussels charleoi with ryanair so it makes more sense to fly from rjk than from bnx
ReplyDeleteZagreb - RJK, 1h 57min (159 km)
DeleteZagreb - BNX, 2h 5min (162 km)
Not a major difference, but border can add quite a bit of time.
If BNX, located in the middle of ZAG, TZL and OSI, can get flights, there may be hope for LYKV.
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck are you taling about? And what the heck is LYKV? can't you just say TIV, like normal people?
DeleteAnd TIV has many flights already.
Calm down please. Google is your friend. Look up LYKV.
DeleteGoogle and I have been friends for a long time, but that's not the point. The point is your incoherent post. What are you trying to say in your post?
DeleteLYKV (Morava) is located between BEG aNd INI, almost equidistant, similarly to BNX (ZAG, OSI,TZL). So if BNX can get flights, there is hope for LYKV
DeleteThanks man.
DeleteAjde da ne bude, da je ostalo na 99 komentara. Ovo je sto'ti, nek se zna :)
ReplyDelete