easyJet readies for new Ljubljana flights


Low cost carrier easyJet is preparing for the launch of its third destination from Ljubljana next month with the airline having recorded a 50% increase in passengers numbers from the Slovenian capital over the past three years. The introduction of flights between Berlin and Ljubljana in two weeks time will mark the carrier's second expansion from the Slovenian market in just over a year and a half. In December 2016, it introduced services from London Gatwick, complementing its flights from London Stansted. "This new route from Berlin has been unserved for a few months so we’re really happy to connect the two capitals again. Berlin Tegel is easyJet’s third destination from Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, in addition to our existing services to London Gatwick and London Stansted", Thomas Haagensen, easyJet Europe's Managing Director said. Ljubljana Airport's General Manger, Zmago Skobir, added, "Considering that Germany is Slovenia's largest trading partner, we are convinced that this and all other connections from our airport with German cities will be successful and that it will also significantly contribute to the further growth of the number of German tourists in Slovenia".

easyJet is Slovenia's second largest airline based on capacity. In 2017, the carrier handled 126.537 passengers on its flights to and from Ljubljana, with 64.309 of those travelling on the Stansted route and the remaining 62.228 on the Gatwick service. Previously, easyjet attempted several other destinations out of Ljubljana. In December 2010 the airline was due to commence services from Milan Malpensa but the route was cancelled prior to its launch due to poor ticket sales. The no frills carrier also maintained flights between Paris and Ljubljana from December 2010 until March 2012, but they too were cancelled. Asked if it is considering launching new routes to Slovenia, the airline said, "easyJet is always evaluating new options and opportunities to be more profitable and continue growing in Europe with the primary focus for the short term to thicken our presence in our core markets".

High refuelling prices, state taxes and other charges continue to act as a deterrent for low cost airlines in Ljubljana. Eurowings, which intended on introducing services from Dusseldorf to the Slovenian capital earlier this year, cancelled such plans later on. The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, previously said, “If Ljubljana Airport were to lower its taxes Ryanair would surely return to Slovenia”. The airline operated flights from London Stansted to Maribor for some nine months between 2007 and 2008. Last month, Janez Krašnja, the Head of Airline Management at Fraport Slovenia said that Ljubljana Airport is in "intense talks" and "constant contact" with foreign carriers over their potential introduction of flights to the Slovenian capital. He noted that the arrival of new airlines would boost tourism in the country but added that it is demand, not the airport, that influences a particular carrier to establish flights. "We do not expect that Slovenia will become popular overnight as some other European capitals, but eventually more passengers could be brought in", Mr Krašnja said.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    It is really surprising that LJU is linked with 3 airports in London. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Even more surprising that the market didn't get saturated.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      Maybe another destination in the UK could also work.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:24

      London is a city with continuous demand. Business, turizam, study, gasto, never ending events. Comes with no surprise that the airport has SIX airports compared to Paris or most European capitals.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:28

      The one that is missing from LJU is Heathrow! But good work for Ljubljana.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:36

      The chances of seeing British Airways flying this route are really slim with so many flights to London.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:37

      London has by far the busiest city airport system in the world. It's closest thing there is to the capital of the world.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:44

      @ 9.36 With all these connections the market seems to be there. Funny how JP can't seem to make LHR work.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:07

      They sold their slots at LHR years ago. Like everything else.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:45

      Didn't JP also fly to Southend Airport?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:55

      Yes but from Maribor.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Eurowings complained about high fares in ZAG but they still launched flights. I think it has to do with ZAG management wanting to protect them against other airlines which doesn't seem to be the case with LJU.

    Will easyJet keep these flights in winter? How are the fares compared to ZAG-TXL?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      It's not looking as if they will. There is still time so they could but the flights are very cheap at the moment which would not indicate great loads.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    I really hope Wizz Air will also expand its network to Ljubljana. I think there is a lot of potential. Why have they not done more?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Because they need all the planes they can get for their VIE base. Due to growing competition they even had to move some launch dates.

      Maybe we will see VIE-LJU in the future.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      Sooner or later I am sure that Wizz Air will be expanding there is the future.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      They have enough aircraft, so much they will park couple of them during winter. Pilots numbers are different story...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:23

      I see potential for them to start some routes in Scandinavia and Spain.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:34

      ahaha Einsten aka anon 9.07 is back. vie-lju for sure. malo morgen

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:42

      I didn't write the comment at 9.07 but I'm wondering why you think VIE-LJU could not work. I'm sure demand is large between these two and Adria is expensive with low cost service.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:21

      i thinks its too close

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:46

      But how come it's not close for Adria with multiple daily departures?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:26

      Isn't VIE-TZL closer?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:56

      Short sectors are not suited for LCCs due to aircraft economics. They fly large aircraft that burn a lot of fuel on take-off, whereas regional aircraft are built for shorter sectors.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:12

      you can see JP's flight to VIE as a feeder for OS. OS doesnt fly to VIE (same situation with MUC)

      Delete
    12. Anonymous17:06

      I think lowcost will fly any route where there is a market. Some sectors from VIE are not that long, VIE-DTM is maybe an hour, TZL even shorter. I could see them launch LJU in the next two years.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous09:21

      There's a massive difference between those sector lengths. VIE-DTM is 3 times as long as VIE-LJU. Hopefully, Wizz Air aren't a group of trigger happy amateurs, but calculate business cases for each route. Since this involves the cost aspect, I am pretty sure they will never do VIE-LJU, just like they will never do for example VIE-PRG.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:08

    Since U2 usually seems to launch new routes from Ljubljana in December I hope another announcement will follow this year :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Hope so!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      For now, it's good to see Easy adding something other than London to LJU :D

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:09

    Is it me or has Eurowings chosen ZAG, easyJet LJU & BEG while Wizz has chosen BEG, SKP, TZL for their target regions in ex-yu? I am surprised how uncompetitive Eurowings is overall. They can only make it on the Croatian coast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Eurowings started strong last year with all kind of plans. Then they grew quicker then they could sustain their operations. Now their focus is completely shifting from the Balkans/ex-Yu. They have launched practically no new routes this year to this region.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:30

      Eurowings had LJU on that 'you vote we fly' thing. I hope they eventually launch it.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:32

      They announced flights to LJU last year but then cancelled their plans. Same for Skopje.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:40

      Eurowings is mainly there for slot-blocking purposes (u korist LH). LH is making huge losses with them but it kept the competition away (D-A-CH region). but then VIE happened and then laudamotion happened .... I doubt we will see them expanding yugo-mäßig

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:15

      They planned DUS. After they cancelled, Adria seized the opportunity and launched it itse

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:46

      I wonder how Adria is performing on this route.

      Delete
    7. There was this guy at this forum working at LJU and he gave us some information abt LF on JP’s route every now n then, but it seems he disappeared ;(

      Delete
    8. Anonymous17:07

      Actually I was thinking this morning you disappeared as you have not been commenting a lot these days. :D

      Delete
    9. Hahhaha nope. I am here every single day at 9am ;)) but i dont wanna get involved into those fights about Long-haul flights ZAG vs BEG etc. When there is an article about LJU or JP, I dont miss the opportunity to make some comment ;))) keep thinking on me ;))) so r u the guy from LJU?

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:09

    So 126.537 passengers just from easy on London flights plus there is Wizz Air. This must be one of the biggest markets from LJU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:40

      It is. The second busiest after Germany probably. Then Turkey afterwards.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:08

      Interesting. Who would have thought.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    LJU may be a small airport but it is well connected to Europe's main airports compared to SKP for example.
    But, most EU capitals are connected to at least 3 London airports. So, LJU can consider connecting LHR and maybe LCY or SEN.
    ZAG in comparison is connected only to LHR.
    BEG: LHR & LTN
    SKP: LTN only

    I realised they are also expanding in SEN, which is not too bad. LJU might end up receiving flights from there too.

    Good luck LJU and hopefully 2 million next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:49

      Dubrovnik and Pula are the only Ex-YU towns to have flights to ALL of London´s airports.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:32

      Not correct. DBV and PUY are not connected to LCY.
      The only close city connected to the 6 airports will be BUD.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:34

      Oh right, I forgot City!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:04

      How about OTP and SOF? All of them except for London City?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:35

      Sofia yes, Bucharest is missing Southend as well.

      By the way, I guess WAW and BUD to LON-City will be a short intermezzo, as it is expensive as hell and even VIE turned out to be a catastrophe for Austrian from City. High seat costs due to limitations of equipment.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:46

      London is the busiest destination in BUD,OTP and SOF.
      Not sure if this will be the same after Brexit is all over. FRA is becoming more and more popular now.

      Delete
    7. Puy and dbv are not connected with LTN as well

      Delete
    8. Anonymous19:17

      Zagreb should get Gawick soon, OU is looking to get 3 slots @gatwick. possible arrival of another UK carrier to serve Zagreb via Gatwick, is also a possibility. Monarch did brilliant job with Gatwick, pity they went bankrupt.

      On a side note, Zagreb tourist numbers for first 6 months are out, 585000 foreign visitors visited Zagreb, generating 1.1 million night, or 10% increase in nights and arrivals. This year Zagreb hopes to attract 1.25 million foreign visitors and generate total of 2.4 million nights.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:12

    36,82€ for a flight in hight season ex Berlin. Ok so this will be a success like it was in the past.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Yes something tells me they will fly this route until the end of October and never return.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      I'm surprised there is not a big enough market. Then again the A320 is more difficult to fill than the CRJ that Adria used to operate. Maybe JP could try with the Saabs now?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      Did Adria actually fly Berlin or did they suspend it before they launched the planned flights?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:35

      They flew there and it was highly unsuccessful.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:35

      They did fly to Berlin 3 times per week with a CRJ900. Cancelled the route around 5 months later.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:17

    I think they would have more success with a route from Spain actually. Germany is quite well served from Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:20

    I am thinking why flights between Slovenia and Italy are un-successful?? Adria used to fly between LJU and Rome, easy jet from Milan. And everything failed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Too close and too small.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      Too close to Ljubljana. Most people can go by car to Italy.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      I hope Adria will reconsider it now with the Saabs. I think a few market opportunities have opened up now that they will have so many 50 seaters.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:38

      The smaller the plane, the bigger the average ticket price has to be. 300€ return on average for a flight from LJU to Milan at 70% LF would be profitable. But for that you have to have a good timetable and frequencies to get those pax, which then makes 70% LF very questionable.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:23

      and you have to find the people that would pay the 300€ ... ^^

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:33

    well done Ljubljana. Growth will be big this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      It's already massive so congrats to them and to all who made it happen.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:46

    easujet will have Berlin-Belgrade year round. Hope they do the same with Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:49

      easyJet failed many times in Belgrade, let's see if They can make this work.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:35

      Agreed with Anon 09:49
      U2 failed with GVA, MXP. Although what I really don't understand is how on earth there are no flights to LGW :*( :*(

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:28

      GVA didn't fail, it was increased to A320. You confused it with FCO.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:54

    Bad news for Adria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:46

      Well if they continue attracting LCCs to compete directly on Adria routes then yeas. They have already done it with Transavia to Amsterdam and easyjet to London.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:56

      New Zagreb West.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:51

      Poor ZAG is already facing increased competition from LJU and now the new threat is the official locomotion of BNX which is expected to have its busiest winter in its entire history.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous00:52

      Yes, poor ZAG with its 60 daily flights will now close down when FR start BNX 6 weekly. Some people really need to get down to the Earth, oh wait, sorry, It's ZAG, I got it now

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:03

    Hope to see more LCC flights in Ljubljana soon. But LJU is having a lot of competition: Trieste, Klagenfurt, Graz, Zagreb are the closest. A lot of Slovenians (from central and western part of the country) use Venice airport. it's quite close, 2,5hrs by car from Ljubljana.VCE has very good connections all round Europe, and also with some destinations in US, Dubai...A lot of different companies, also low cost.And nearby is Treviso- Ryanairport. Not to mention Munich and Vienna are only 4 hrs by car from Ljubljana..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:13

      LCCs are short term and destroy the market. They did it with several medium and small sized airports that relied too much on them. This article too covered their admission that easyjet looks for short term. For airport and the city it will be good to have stable and structured airlines. Not those LCCs that bargain for prices and come with conditions and then destroy all the competitors with dumped prices that in normal conditions cannot be offered. Then they will leave any day without responsibility to the city when the costs become normal for them and the route is not profitable any more. Then there is no one left to fly or the airport will have to listen what the LCC says to survive.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:59

      Sve da bi se prikrilo slabo letenje plateznih slovenaca. Kako da ne samo 4 sata kolima.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:52

      Klagenfurt is hardly competition to anybody... it has only flights to VIE and CGN

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:15

    Finally new LCC route to Ljubljana after a year.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:53

    LJU should support Easyjet to add Madrid and Lissabon to Ljubljana!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:10

      LJU should not subsidize these low cost carriers. Ryanair, and similar airlines, basically look to operate routes where they can establish an absolute competitive advantage. I dislike their business model.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:22

      all these airliners are much better for users and for Slovenian tourism then adria airways ... no knowledge of yield routes, no right marketing and sales strategy... etc.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:22

    Looks like that Brits really like Slovenia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:25

      I don't know anybody who was in SLO and did not like it...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:25

      Last year during the UK bank holiday LJU was the fastest growing route from Gatwick. There was an article about it somewhere here.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:24

    Hopefully more new routes and airlines are to come. Maybe Wizz Air adds a new destination?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous11:52

    LJU management identified Spain a few years ago as one of the most undeserved markets. I don't understand why they didn't do anything to attract an airline like Vueling or even get Wizz Air to fly to Madrid or Barcelona

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:53

      +1000000
      Also LJU can easily get flights to Mallorca, Tenerife and Funchal.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:15

      I think Adria said they were looking into Spain.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous15:27

    I hope Easyjet will evaluate out of Ljubljana Dublin,Barcelona, Madrid und Lissabon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:14

      Dublin could work with tourists like London. Is there a Slovenian diaspora over there?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:27

      Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh would give northerners a better chance to get to LJU; those near to Luton and London are spoilt for choice.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:55

      +1 million Anon 17:27! Take a bow, mate! The best comment of the day...

      LJU needs more and more United Kingdom (while it's still united) but I would add BHX to the list. So BHX, EDI, GLA, MAN, LPL, INV, BFS, EMA.
      Good point and thanks for bringing this out so it can be heard.

      Have a good day.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous16:16

    Thanks for the U2 numbers. Any idea how Wizz Air is performing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:08

      Nemjee posted their numbers about some time ago. Maybe he could do it again?

      Delete
    2. Nemjee18:46

      Sure thing.

      LJU-LTN

      2015: 53.202
      2016: 63.352
      2017: 64.309

      LJU-CRL

      2015: 29.043
      2016: 31.261
      2017: 31.823

      Obviously Wizz Air needs to act as it's starting to stagnate due to inactivity.

      Here is BEG-LHR last year.

      Q1 2017: 18.079
      Q2 2017: 24.836
      Q3 2017: 28.269

      157 average daily passengers in Q3 (per direction) and about 100 in Q1. All in all, given the prices JU charges this isn't too bad.

      ZAG-LHR, whole market including both OU and BA or whoever operated between the two cities.

      2014: 161.477
      2015: 175.590
      2016: 177.914
      2017: 164.426

      Q1 2018: 27.438
      Q1 2017: 33.563

      Delete
  22. Anonymous17:34

    Evo: Direkt iz Tokija; štart iz Brnika do CDG z onim mopedom od CRJ9: LF 33/88 (žena: saj niso LLC, bomo dobili sendviče; ja pa jade sem si mislil in tako je bilo) potem CDG do CAN:LF ca 90% na China southern v Y klasi v 333 (super). T2 imajo v CAN čist na novo... potem pa z HN 924 v Tokijo. 763 v Y klasi poln. Sladoled in poseben menu za malega, pa napihljiv avionček... 763 za 182cm neudoben (ni nastavljive višine za glavo; no po drugi strani si pa na metroju najvišji��).

    Potem pa sanjajo o novih vezah iz LJ s takimi LF do huba kot je CDG... ona kura v LJ na šalterju pa je oba kovčka narobe opremila. Enega je poslal samo v CDG in sem ga po sreči prestregel in mogel še enktrat extra čekirat; drugega pa pa še vedno nimamo...

    Se pa zdi, da se s širitvijo LJU samo nateguje... po moje tistega gradbenega dovoljenja ne bo še nekaj časa,... potem razpis za izvajalca, k bodo vsaj tri pritožbe, potem nova recesija, Skobir v penzijo, novo vodstvo,... vse skupaj en pesek za javnost... če bo vse skupaj 2022 gotovo, si v LJU po realni oceni šele takrat obetamo, kaj več od U2 ali pa mogoče kaj od WIZZa ali pa od Flydubai... pri slednjem v Y klasi je v 73' ali pa 32' družini več kot 4-5 ur zelo neudoben let...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:30

      Wow that's a bad load to CDG!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:40

      Država skrbi za zaščito, dvig in izkoriščanje gozdov.

      Ravna čedalje bolj popustljivo, dopušča se vsa svoboda. Oblast je pri nas ljudska.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous02:56

      Tudi za ZRH na sosednjem okencu je bil podoben LF.

      18:40; NE gre za oblast (moj komentar ni bil političen; napisal sem samo dejstva); gre za miselnost in delovanje družbe/ljudi, ki oblast omogoča... a primrerjaj LF in letalstvo: v Franciji (uradno parlamentarna demokracija), na Kitajskem (uradno ljudska oblast), na Japonskem (uradno parlamentarna monarhija)... pa presodi kateri sistem je ok... problem je v naši miselnosti. NE vmešavaj politike...

      Smo se pa usedli na umetnem otoku blizu Hanede.... po vseh štirih stezah nenehno letališča gor pa dol... pa ni bilo manjšega avijončka kot 320... nice place for spotters... nazaj gremo žal iz Narite. Tisto pa je posebna zgodba... T3 exkluzivno narejen samo za LCC-je.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:17

      Dude, that above were lyrics from Laibach :D

      Delete

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