EX-YU airports target long haul flights


Airports across the former Yugoslavia are beginning to attract a greater share of long haul flights or are actively trying to secure such services. Among them are Zagreb, Belgrade, Skopje, Ljubljana, Dubrovnik and Pristina.

This summer season, Croatia's busiest airport attracted another long haul carrier with Air Canada Rouge commencing seasonal services from Toronto. It will be followed by Korean Air, which will star year-long flights from Seoul to Zagreb on September 1. Despite interest from Thailand's Air Asia X for services from Bangkok, the low cost long haul airline recently selected its first destinations in Europe, with Zagreb missing out. It's future routes will include Prague, Vienna and Stockholm. Earlier this year, the airline said, "Croatia is one of the possibilities for our future network and we are currently engaging in a feasibility study". Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacques Feron, said recently, "Next year we hope for flights between Montreal and Zagreb to be launched. We also anticipate to finalise talks for the arrival of a Chinese carrier because Croatia is becoming of growing interest to Chinese tourists". The Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, added, "We are attempting to reach an agreement over nonstop flights between Zagreb, Beijing and Shanghai". Furthermore, the Croatian government has authorised the Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure to commence talks with his Japanese counterpart over the establishment of scheduled flights between Zagreb and Tokyo.


Belgrade Airport is expected to add a second long haul route from China this year. Services from Shanghai are anticipated after operations were introduced from Beijing via Prague last year. Talks concerning the service are believed to have taken place with Hainan Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines. Air Serbia is also expected to revisit its long haul plans in 2019 after deciding against introducing flights from Belgrade to Toronto this year. VINCI Airports, which will become Belgrade Airport's operator in September, said, "VINCI Airports will aim at improving airport operating conditions to enable Air Serbia to offer new long haul routes as part of its hub strategy". The Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure recently noted that a new bilateral Air Service Agreement between Serbia and Japan will be inked in the near future in order to facilitate the introduction of new services. Meanwhile, Korea's Jin Air said flights between Seoul and the Serbian capital are planned to launch in 2020.


Skopje Airport has also expressed interest in offering long haul flights and has suggested for Turkish Airlines to launch services from the Macedonian capital to North America. "We have always established close relationships with our airline clients through our world-wide airport operations. This is also the case in Macedonia and we are ready to provide the utmost support to an airline which would consider flying transatlantic from Skopje. Skopje Airport is operationally capable to handle such transatlantic flights and ready to support carriers which would consider operating", the General Manager of operator TAV Macedonia, Alper Ersoy, said previously. He added, "The Balkan region is still immature in terms of connectivity to US and Canadian destinations. Still, most of the passengers originating from the Balkan region must make at least one connection to fly transatlantic, which is a hassle. In this regard, if Skopje manages to serve a transatlantic flight in the future, this will be beneficial for the whole Balkan area. A nonstop flight to North America would lead to additional feeder flights from the Balkan region to Skopje. The airport would attract many passengers from surrounding countries". Over 40.000 passengers originating from Skopje travel to North American destinations each year.

Japan's largest carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) has expressed interest in upgrading its annual charter operations to the Slovenian capital by introducing scheduled flights to Ljubljana. It comes following talks between the airline's President and CEO and the Slovenian State Secretary within the Ministry for Infrastructure. ANA is seeking the drafting of a bilateral air agreement between Japan and Slovenia, which is a precondition for the establishment of scheduled flights. In the meantime, the two sides will negotiate a temporary arrangement in order to allow the Japanese carrier to operate regular services to Ljubljana, if it wishes to exercise such rights. In addition, the Slovenian Minister for Economic Development and Technology recently noted, "We are interested in improving land, sea and air connectivity with China. We expect that direct flights between China's north-western city of Xi'an and our capital city Ljubljana will be established soon". Xi'an Airport is run by operator Fraport, which also manages Ljubljana Airport. "Even though Slovenia is a small country, it is the best place for travellers from Asia to start their journey and continue to our neighbouring countries", the General Manager of Ljubljana Airport, Zmago Skobir, said.


Dubrovnik Airport has identified the United States and South Korea as two markets which could sustain services to the coastal city but noted that the development of long haul flights is still some way off. General Manager, Frano Luetić, told EX-YU Aviation News, "These two far-away markets are the most important for Dubrovnik. According to the city's tourist board, visitors from the US are the second most common, behind those from the United Kingdom, which is specific to the Dubrovnik region. On the other hand, Korean tourists are most plentiful during the winter months". With exception to several summer charters from Japan, operated by All Nippon Airways, Dubrovnik Airport currently has no regular long haul flights. Mr Luetić noted that despite the potential, there are still no concrete announcements concerning the establishment of such services. Asked whether it is considering services to Dubrovnik, Korean Air said, "For now, Korean Air is entirely focusing on commencing scheduled flights to Zagreb in September. After the route stabilises, we may consider to fly to destinations in Croatia other than Zagreb". On the other hand, American Airlines is considering introducing seasonal flights from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik with talks between the two sides underway.

New York was the busiest unserved route from Pristina in 2017 for a third consecutive year, with passenger numbers from Kosovo to the United States continuing to grow. Pristina Airport's General Manager, Haldun Firat Kokturk, noted that New York continues to be a target destination. "The airport is focusing on opening new services to destinations not directly served from Pristina. This should have a positive impact in covering more of the countries and catchment areas where our diaspora is located, and will generate additional passengers visiting Kosovo either for leisure or business", he said. In 2009, Scanderbeg Air, a short-lived tour operator that contracted with Sky King Airlines, maintained two weekly flights between Pristina and New York with a Boeing 767-200ER aircraft from June to September. Ever since, there have been no scheduled long haul flights from the city.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    The most likeliest out of those is the near future is Philadelphia-Dubrovnik, Beijing-Zagreb and Belgrade-Toronto flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:37

      Add Belgrade-Shanghai as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:03

      YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEYRE NOT ONLY 40.000 PASSENGERS FLY TO SKOPJE FROM USA,,,,,IF SKOPJE LAUNCH A SEASONAL FLIGHTS FROM NEW YORK MAY TO END OF SEPTEMBER MOST OF ALBANIANS FROM KOSOVA A LOT FROM ALBANIA WILL FLY TO SKOPJE,,,,ONLY FROM ALBANIA THEYRE WERE 100.000 PLUS PASSENGERS FLIED FROM USA TO TIRANA,,,KOSOVA HAd 80.000 passengers,,thats 220.000 PASSENGERS IN 4 TO 5 MONTH MAY-END OF SEPTEMBER,,,SERBIA HAS 80.000 PASSENGER FLY TO NEW YORK IN 12 MONTHS,,,NOT EVEN CROATIA CAN COME CLOSER,,,U HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THEYRE 1 MILION PEOPLE ALBANIAN LIVE IN USA,,,150K TO 200K PASSENGERS FLY FROM NEW YORK TO TIRANA PRISHTINA AND SKOPJE CHOSING ISTANBUL,ROMA WIENA ZURICH AND LONDON,,,,SKOPJE HAS 2.2 MILION PASSENGERS IN 2018.IN THIS YEAR WILL REACH ALMOST 2.8 MILION.BY 2022 WILL HAVE MORE THAN 3.5 MILION,,,,SEASONAL SUMMER FLIGHT WILL BE THE BEST CONNECTING TRI COUNTRYS ALBANIA KOSOVA AND NORTH MACEDONIA TO CONNECT THE PASSENGERS TO USA ,,,THANKS,,,HATERS GOING TO HATE WHEN TURKISH AIRLINES START THE FLIGHT TO NEW YORK,,,OR I FORGOT AIR ALBANIA STARTS 2020 FLIGHTS ALL YEAR WITH NEW YORK,

      Delete
    3. And you need to turn off caps lock and calm down.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    I don't think it's sustainable for all these ex-Yu cities to have flights to China.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:09

      Well no idea for all cities, but for Zagreb it is quite sustainable, i couldn't possibly comment for any other city.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    PRN-JFK makes more sense than SKP-JFK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      no, it really doesnt if you're looking for scheduled services.
      If you want familia reisebüro charters then you are probably right

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      familia reisebüro charters :D

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Besides Belgrade and Zagreb, Dubrovnik is the only city in my opinion that has (seasonal) potential for US flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      If you look at the cities they fly out of Philadelphia, Dubrovnik actually makes sense.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      It would be nice if they flew Philadelphia - Zagreb - Dubrovnik - Philadelphia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:12

      lol Filadelfija

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    4. Anonymous09:13

      Why lol?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:29

      Zagreb is too close to Budapest. Belgrade on the other hand has potential for US flights indeed.

      Delete
    6. lpl It,s almost the same.
      Zag-bud 345km
      Beg-bud 378 km
      Approx 3,5 hours to both

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:39

      Yes but Serbia has a border with Hungary. After all that's the excise we get why Croats wouldn't fly out of BNX.

      Delete
    8. Croatia has a border with Hungary as well.

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    9. Anonymous12:09

      It's a different approach though because Croats are in the EU so it goes much faster. Also the Serbian one is part of a gasterbajter road network between the West and Turkey. It's way more crowded.

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    10. Still. I personally wouldn't travel 2-3 hrs each way to catch a cheaper flight. It would have to be a one way ticket.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous12:40

      Me neither but a lot of people do.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Good luck BEG. I think the most realistic new long haul route will be Toronto but who knows. Beijing came as a surprise. We will see.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      It would be pretty cool if we get a second Chinese carrier in Belgrade.

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    2. Anonymous09:42

      Air China would be best because of connections.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:07

    I like the idea of SKP to become the major hub for North American flights for the Balkans. Turkish Airlines has a lot of planes and sending 2-3 widebodies to SKP will be excellent move. Then they can start New Yotk, Chicago and Toronto.
    2nd move will be to get some smaller planes, maybe dash or atr which will fly 2 times per day to all the cities in the region and will feed passengers for the north american flights.
    Once these flights are well established they can plan flights to Sydney and Melbourne, maybe one flight which will cover both cities and will be major success for the airline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      Long haul from Skopje is not going to happen. At least not any time soon.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      Thanks for brightening up my day, I really had a nice laugh! :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:16

      Are you kidding me? Capital of 500k, of a country of 2 million people, becoming a hub for the rest of 18 milion people of ex Yugoslavia (plus Greece and Bulgaria). This one is the best one so far.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:20

      @Anon 09:16 not always the size of the capital or the country means something in terms of airport success.
      It's all about positioning of the airport and if lets say airline X decides to commence flights to number if airports from that place. Then they start growing their network, establish feeding network and go from there...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:42

      Yeah, if your place is a big time tourist destination like Dubrovnik or you are economically powerful like Dubai. But Skopje has none of them. Airlinea commence flights based on the demand. Tell me any airport from a similar country size, number of inhabitants, GDP (per capita) purchasing power etc that is a long haul hub ?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:49

      Skopje has more than 1M citizens. The city is becoming crowded with cars and people. many people from other cities in the country live in SKP and also tourism is booming in the last 2/3 years

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:53

      Non of the airports in ex-yu will be long haul hub in next at least 10 years. Few of them will have couple of long haul flights but few flights don't make airport a hub.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:05

      Number of tourists in Croatia is 16 milion, in Serbia it's 3 milion and in Macedonia it's one milion. This is hard data. I could say for Subotica that the number of cars is increasing, that the number of tourists is increasing but it doesn't mean it's getting long haul flights

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:08

      Hard data is that the Serbia have 1.49 milion foreign tourists...

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:28

      sorry but SKP will not get any long-haul flights any time soon (next 100 years), what counts is the purchase power not the population, which mostly can't afford to see a plane from the inside even with wizz fares. So, dream on

      Delete
    11. Anonymous13:14

      bit harsh that dont u think

      Delete
    12. Anonymous16:23

      no, truth is often unpleasant

      Delete
    13. Anonymous16:39

      haha arrogance ala informer.rs med i mleko

      Delete
    14. Anonymous17:15

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 10:05

      If you going to use foreign visitor figures,

      Croatia had 16.5 million foreign visitors and 2 million domestic for total of 18.5 million visitors and 103 million nights. This year Croatia will have around 20.4 million tourists, 1.7 million from Australasia and 1 million from Americas. 112-115 million nights projected, we'll know more accurately in late February next year.

      Serbia had 1.5 million foreign visitors and 1.6 million domestic visitors for total of 3.1 million and 6.4 million nights.

      No idea about number of Macedonian visitor numbers. I presume 1 million might be about right, of these 700 000 are foreign.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous17:27

      Crazy, wow! good job!

      Delete
    16. Anonymous17:45

      SKP is probably the airport with the least to offer to be a major Balkans North America hub... No sizeable diaspora, small catchment area and low purchasing power for P2P, with inconvenient location for transfers...

      Delete
    17. Anonymous17:52

      add zero air connectivity (no airline being a hub) and limited road connectivity (decent road only to Srbija and Greece), limited rail connectivity

      Delete
    18. Anonymous01:06

      @09:16 Skopje as a city isn't a hub by any stretch, I can't think of any international or Ex-YU firms doing business there. I wouldn't bet on long haul flights for the future of that airport for that reason alone anytime soon...

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:08

    Pity about Air Asia X dropping their ZAG plans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      Maybe Thai could consider flights to ZAG,

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:42

      I seriously doubt Zagreb is on their radar.

      Delete
    3. There's enough of flights to east from Zagreb. One China route might still squeeze in, but that's about it.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:51

      "@Anonymous25 July 2018 at 09:08
      Pity about Air Asia X dropping their ZAG plans."

      Air AsiaX never planed Zagreb flights, they have only one Paris flight in Europe, they have only 7 planes, no idea who came with the idea of this airline flying to Zagreb with what equipment ???? Absolute nonsense. If an airline from Thailand ever decides to fly to Zagreb, it'll be Thai airways.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:55

      It was them who said it. It was reported everywhere including Thai media - direct quotes from the airline. They gave the statement themselves twice about Croatia. The airline just ordered new A330s arriving next year and announced 3 new routes in Europe. They said they were looking into Prague and Vienna the same time they said they were looking into Zagreb. Now they are launching them. Follow the news a bit if you don't know what's going on. the problem is you don't like what you are hearing so some excuse has to be made up.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:57

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/01/thai-airasia-x-studying-croatia-flight.html

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:59

      Anonymous 25 July 2018 at 12:51

      You are mixing Thai Air Asia X and Air Asia X. And yeah inform yourself before writing rubbish just because you are unhappy with the outcome.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:16

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 12:55

      I don't believe a word you say, there was no such reports in Croatian media or i don't remember reading anything about Asia x coming to Zagreb or Croatia, same goes with Jing Air w/e they simply don't have the aircraft.

      If Air Asia X comes to Croatia or Zagreb, it won't be before they have 100 A330 neo delivered, for that it might take a while. I still think it is pure nonsense.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:21


      :@Anonymous25 July 2018 at 12:59

      "Thailand's long haul low cost carrier, Thai AirAsia X, is undertaking a feasibility study over the potential introduction of flights to Croatia. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, AirAsia said that, "Thai AirAsia X is exploring all potential opportunities to expand our network and provide more travel options. Apart from tapping into North Asia, namely Japan, Korea and China, Croatia has been one of the possibilities that we are currently engaging in a feasibility study". It comes after the carrier's CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, said last summer that the airline is considering flights to Eastern Europe, citing Croatia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Poland as possibilities."


      There is no outcome, never was, the airline said they might be looking at adding Zagreb, but it is just a feasibility, a potential, not a certainty or confirmation as in YES!!!

      There are potential flights for Moon, but hey doesn't mean it'll happen any time soon, so lets not jump to a conclusions, mkay.

      Air Asia X might come to Zagreb in 2025 or 2055!!! Nothing is certain until it happens.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:09

    US/China flights to ZAG and US/Korean flights to DBV, at least seasonally, could definitely work.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:12

    All of these airports are behind Budapest big time in terms of long-haul connectivity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:33

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:57

      Hungary 9,8 million inhabitants - One airport 15 Million Pax this year.
      Croatia 4,2 million inhabitants - Eight airports 12 Million Pax this year.
      Serbia 7,0 million inhabitants -Two airports 6 Million Pax this year.

      So overall BUD is the winner.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:13

    Seasonality killed all ex yu airports long haul & hub wet dreams...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Agree. All airports should focus on easing seasonality issues.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      You can't just fix that.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:32

      Correct. It has a lot to do with the travel culture, how affluent the market is, tourism etc. Most things an airport can't have any influence over.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:56

      BEG has year round flights to PEK and JFK

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:19

    I think Japan, China and the US are perspective long haul markets for Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      What about Split? Any chance we might see some seasonal long hauls from there?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:32

      Split Airport CEO said they are not interested in long hauls.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:41

      Capacity restraints.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:49

      Split Airport CEO said that they don't want to compete with Zagreb and that there priority is improving winter connectivity. It was published here a couple of months ago.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:06

      :( thanks

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:09

      There is also an issue that the runway is too short for a fully loaded widebody.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:21

    Hope all these announcements and plans materialise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:40

      I hope so too, but I think within the next year maybe two or three will at most.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:29

    For Belgrade I think having New York and Beijing is a good start. Maybe eventually add Toronto and possibly Chicago and that is more than respectable for a Balkan airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:57

      Lets not forget IKA

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    2. Anonymous11:57

      Is IKA considered long haul?

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    3. Anonymous12:54

      It is widebody

      Delete
    4. TheBosnian01:54

      And with what planes is that supposed to happen?
      Long haul from the Balcans will only happen when theres a government stupid enough to pay subsidies for those flights.....

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:40

    Very interested to see how the Seoul-Zagreb route will perform during winter. The good thing is that they continue to Zurich.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:10

      Yes, however they need to make sure Zagreb - Zurich leg also works, tickets for who ever wants to fly to Switzerland via Zagreb should be available. Although I think flights to Zagreb from Seoul will be full, flying from Zagreb to Zurich should also be available to passengers in Zagreb, more options is needed so price of tickets goes down a bit. There are 70000 Croats in Switzerland, many who travel back to Croatia at least once per year. Also 250 000 Swiss visited Croatia last year, many visited Zagreb, the two cities are good distance for air travel, less than 600km, meaning flights are more likely than a train, bus or car journeys.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:43

    And yet another year without the Zagreb-JFK the government and airport promised us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      Now it's not even being mentioned anymore :(

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:07

      And people were saying that United would start flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:43

      They said it was round the corner...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:05

      United won’t start flights to JFK, they swapped slots with JetBlue and moved most of their operations to Newark. This year, they expressed intentions of returning to JFK, but even they admitted that would be extremely difficult and even if they do manage to get back in in significant capacity they will focus on domestic markets first.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:42

      My fav was when people were saying AF will launch flights from ZAG to JFK. Purger even wrote about it on T6.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:29

      @"Anonymous25 July 2018 at 09:43
      And yet another year without the Zagreb-JFK the government and airport promised us."

      Which government is that ? Croatian government never promised anything, they hope for flights, if they happen, they happen, if they don't, they don't.

      Commercially, an US carrier will come when they see there's a market, this year 575000 US visited are expected to visit Croatia, next year 700 000, this should encourage US carriers to consider Croatia, as it'll be finally in top 20 Destinations US visitors go to. So the earliest US seasonal direct flights that might happen will be in 2020.

      The flights could either be operated by American Airlines or Delta, unlikelly United will initiate such flights, they only fly to major airports in Europe, London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Frankfurt, Amsterdam...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:33

      Oh they most certainly promised. Refresh your memory. Read up what dear Gari said last year how seasonal flights from New York would start to Zagreb and Dubrovnik this year with Zagreb to go year round in 2019.

      Gari Capelli is part of the government right? Maybe not if it doesn't suit you in this case.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:18

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 13:33

      Didn't see said they're negotiating ??? feel free to post the link where he said flights would start this year ?

      From what I understand, no US flights are possible before Croatia gets visa lifted by US State department, and this is unlikely to happen before Trump is out!

      However, there's a possibility of flights to Croatia on a seasonal basis by above mentioned airlines if number of US visitors goes beyond certain point. Croatia expects 575000 US Visitors this year, 500k is normally a benchmark where US Carriers start to pay notice.

      By the time 1 million US visitors visit a country there's at least one US carrier operating there, some year round and some seasonally. Over 1 million visitors, there's two carriers operating to a destination. Croatia will have around 1 million US visitors by 2023, and 1.2 million in 2025, at similar (reduced 7-8% yoy growth) trend.

      Meaning by 2025 Zagreb and Dubrovnik will be served by both US Carriers, Zagreb definitely, Dubrovnik by at least one carrier. For year round flights there has to be a commercial demand beyond travel and tourism. Us lifting visa on Croatian passport holders would ensure that demand.

      With Trump in the white house, this is atm is quite impossible.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous14:34

      Huh?!?! Serbia and Poland need visas for the US yet there are normal flights between the countries. Visa regime has absolutely nothing to do with anything especially when it's super easy to get it.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous14:46

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 14:34

      Most serbians can't get a travel permit to visit Germany and you're telling me you can get US Visa easy, give me a brake, seriously such delusions of grandeur. No, for Serbian passport holder to get an US visa, you need to prove you have a stable job in Serbia, an income and savings that exceeds certain amount and property or lease agreement that would ensure you do return to Serbia. O yes, a criminal check and fbi-vetting. In Serbia only one if 10 can get US visa and the waiting time is anywhere between 5 and 10 weeks.
      And even then the refusal rate is one in 6.

      Croats and Poles have it easier, but even with Croats refusal rate is one in 30 applications. so don't give me that nonsense easy.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:49

      You don't need a travel permit to visit Germany with a Serbian passport. What are you smoking?

      I got a ten year multiple entry tourist visa to the US last year with a Serbian passport in Serbia. Took me the whole of one week for the entire process to be completed.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:58

      HAHAHAH dude, what illusion of grandeur? Getting a US visa is a joke for a few years now. Americans just want their $170 and if you are not too suspicious you will get a multiple visa entry for a period of ten years.

      FBI vetting? 5 to 10 weeks? You are told right away during the interview if you got it or not and the visa is issued within a period of three days.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous16:05

      If a Serb wrote such a comment on Croatia there would be ten Serbian apologists by now. Funny how there are never any from Croatia.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous17:06

      Haha they ignore to reply as they saw what kind of comment they provided

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:46

    I don't see Jin Air flying anywhere to ex-Yu in the near future if their parent company, Korean Air, is setting up ZAG as a year round, 3 flights per week, destination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      Why not. Jin Air said they would fly to ZAG in 2019 and BEG in 2020.Obviously they won't fly to Zagreb but who knows maybe they start Dubrovnik.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:20

      They have never flown to Europe and the only long haul routes they have are Hawaii and Cairns in Northern Australia (seasonal) both big and long established markets for Korean tourists. There are bigger markets they can first tap into in the Asia-Pacific region in my opinion.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:32

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 09:46

      Jin air is a joke, they won't be flying anywhere beyond Asia, they have very few aircraft for such flights, and no additional wide-body aircraft on order.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:14

      Jin Air already fly to USA (Hawaii) and Australia seasonally (Cairns) so it isn't just Asia. They are a a well run Korean LCC and are part of the Hanjin Chaebol (Conglomerate) along with Korean Air. They don't order planes in their own right but take on used aircraft from Korean Air. Given KE has B787-9s and B777-300ERs on order some of their existing 777-200ERs can easily be transferred across to Jin Air. Having said that, flights to ex Yu are not realistic in the next few years I think because of the new Incheon-Zagreb route starting up in September with KE.

      Delete
  17. realan09:53

    Ukoliko AS krene sa Torontom to automatski povlaci dolazak drugog A330 sledeceg leta a to opet znaci sigurno otvaranje jos jedne dugolinijske destinacije jer ce Toronto ici maksimum 4X.Mozda Cikago 2X?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Toronto i Cikago imaju najvise smisla

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:41

      Cini se da to jos ni u JU ne znaju. Da li ce krenuti sledeceg leta sto bi znacilo da moraju naci drugi A332 ili ce cekati zimu 2019/2020 da testiraju YYZ i/ili ORD pa onda da odluce da li ce u leto 2020 uzeti drugi sirokotrupac nije izgleda ni njima jos poznato

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:12

    I don't get why BEG wants second China route when PEK is only two weekly not even direct.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      It is direct, it's not nonstop ;)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:39

      Because most of Chinese people living in Serbia come from Shanghai area

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:25

      And why wouldn't it want? Why would any airport not look for long haul flights which make more money than short haul? BEG has more potential for another Chinese route than SKP becoming a Balkan hub for long haul flights, yet you are only mentioning and questioning Belgrade's plans.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:32

    Lat's not forget VLM with it's long haul flight plans from Maribor :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:36

      Alpha Centauri -MBX non stop daily

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:32

    What are the top unserved routes of each airport? I'm mainly interested in Ljubljana and Skopje

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:40

    We clearly see how you're trying to ease the pain of Zagreb folks by writing an article in such a tone over services that never started and with a lot of wishful thinking. Your bias is clear. On one hand you write about Tokyo, Shanghai and what not that have as much chance to start to Zagreb as from Skopje but omitting the fact that Air Serbia flies to New York almost daily. Hainan barely launched and maintained Prague now linked to Belgrade. In the middle of their debt crisis the first thing they're gonna do is to launch Zagreb over say Kiev or Athens. Yeah, right. EK failure will be a sign to many carriers and will send many aftershocks. The idea Air Asia X was to launch Bangkok was ludicrous and the very fact talks ever happened was a result of pressure from French side. However with EK we see how far pressure can go. The only thing that might happen is ANA converting their charter flights into seasonal scheduled ones but that's about it. Let's get back to reality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:45

      Have you actually read the whole article? It mentions a lot of different countries including Serbia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:10

      Serbia is irrelevant. This Zagreb PR is getting out of proportions. We need to be reminded that this is a highly seasonal airport with low outbound demand handling 3 million pax per year. Long-haul prospects still exist on the coast especially Dubrovnik during summer months.

      Delete
    3. And you need to be reminded that all ey-Yu airports are quite seasonal, especially DBV.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:32

      Some are seasonal with no outbound demand, some are seasonal with some outbound demand.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:08

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 10:40

      You're clinging and hoping Emirates pulls out of Zagreb with such desperation and such zeal, one would think you love Croatia :D

      Don't you worry about Zagreb and EK flights, EK will be flying to Zagreb for many many many years.

      And your jealousy is beyond obvious, good to see something in Croatia pisses you so much that you can't keep your rage inside.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:36

      What makes you think they will stay for many, many years? This downgrade is definitely not encouraging. We were telling you that from the beginning but you weren't listening.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:32

      Well guys, lets not forget that ZAG is just one of 8 international airports in a Country o 4,2 Million that in total has 12 million pax. That is quite good - and should grow in the future.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:36

      A downgrade ??

      To a certain Serbian posters here, everything is downgrade in Croatia, Croatia is a downgrade too, lool. man just chill, EK is going nowhere, they are just letting flyDubai do 3 months cover cause clearly first 3 months of the year are not producing desired result and sending massive b773er would be waste of money.

      They'll be back on march 30th with daily flights to Zagreb with massive b773er and who knows perhaps one or two a380 chucked in for a good measure.
      Mirna Bosna!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:54

      Just curious, what are the LFs for Hainan in BEG (Prague excluded, of course)?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous18:02

      I love how Croats on here present this as something fantastic even though it's an obvious failure and a massive downgrade as EK won't operate for six months.

      It's a failure, deal with it.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous18:42

      Six months?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous22:44

      @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 18:42

      You know rage and foaming at the mouth i was talking about in the above post, that's him going totally off the rails, soon he'll yell 6 years !!! LOL

      Man clearly hates everything Croatia, must be the old guard, with Kalashnikov in one hand and a keyboard in the other hand, screaming at computer, keyboard warrior type.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous01:40

      Frishki, you're not funny.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous25 July 2018 at 18:02

      And I love how Serbs on here present this as a failure. Wet dreams.



      Anonymous26 July 2018 at 01:40

      I couldn't care less what you think what and who's not funny.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:33

    Ex-Yu this captcha thing is really getting on my nerves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:16

      cannot agree more!!!!!!!!!

      Delete
  23. Anonymous11:45

    "Still, most of the passengers originating from the Balkan region must make at least one connection to fly transatlantic, which is a hassle. In this regard, if Skopje manages to serve a transatlantic flight in the future, this will be beneficial for the whole Balkan area. A nonstop flight to North America would lead to additional feeder flights from the Balkan region to Skopje."

    that is our balkan logic at its finest.
    can't they even afford to pay an intern to check their statements before they get authorized?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:40

      I have no idea who wrote that @Anonymous25 July 2018 at 11:45 but he/she needs to ask few relevant questions.

      Does Macedonia have visa free deal with US?
      How many visitors from US to Macedonia?
      Is there a commercial demand for US flights?
      How many passengers are expected to use Skopje for US flights ?
      And is the service viable ?

      Delete
  24. Anonymous14:20

    3 million passengers and one odd (seasonal) flight makes me so jealous...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:44

      Yes!! It makes you so jealous and envious, angry and frustrated that you can't stop banging on about it. Also full of hate and resentment towards anything Croatian. You still live in 1990s, sadly. World has moved on.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous14:45

    Does anyone know about Norwegian's plans about DBV-JFK and DBV-BOS flights?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Split especially, but even Dubrovnik in my opinion are too shy about going after long haul flights. Especially considering that realistically, they have the best chance, other than Belgrade and Zagreb.
    Dubrovnik has the new terminal and Split will have it next year, so they should be able to handle it. And with Asian tourists traveling in winter too (Americans also), that should further prolong the season.
    Decentralization in general is good for Croatian economy. I was happy to read about Rimac opening an R&D branch in Split.
    That said, I hope Ljubljana finally gets something.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Zašto Philadelphija. Na pamet mi padaju 3-4 veća huba na istočnoj obali za DBV. Pored JFK i EWR još ORD i ATL.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous00:22

    Thank you for this info on long haul flights today. Ex yu is a fertile ground for long haul optimism. In reality, only one long haul (Korean) was officially announced this year but that didn't stop airport managers and politicans alike (they are cut from the same cloth, aren't they?) to provide optimistic long haul information duly noted here. Extreme optimism is not illegal, so they fueled some headlines from the last two months or so on this site:

    Serbia seeks Japan flights
    Croatia targets four long haul routes
    EX-YU airports move to secure China flights
    Belgrade to get new China, Canada flights
    American eyes Dubrovnik service
    Belgrade Airport negotiating flights to new markets
    Croatia negotiating Beijing and Shanghai service
    Chinese PM hints at Sarajevo flights

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:37

      U stvarnosti ceo exyu region zajedno ima samo ove direktne redovne letove, ne računajući Bliski Istok

      JFK
      YYZ
      PEK
      uskoro ICN

      Ako podignemo kriterijum na nonstop celogodišnje letove ostaje samo jedna 3pw destinacija za ceo region. Optimiste treba spustiti na zemlju.

      Delete

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