Hybrid carrier Flydubai, which has expanded to include a number of destinations in the former Yugoslavia, has unveiled some of its short-term plans for the region. Among them, the airline touched upon its operations to Podgorica, Dubrovnik, potential services to Ljubljana, as well as the growing demand for flights to Sarajevo and Belgrade.
Flydubai will not be resuming its seasonal winter service to Podgorica, which was initially launched last November via Sarajevo. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier said, "Flydubai currently operates flights to Tivat in Montenegro as part of its summer seasonal routes with three flights a week until August 31. There are currently no plans to operate Podgorica during the winter season". Flights to the Montenegrin capital were maintained twice per week, with the airline securing fifth freedom rights to sell tickets between Sarajevo and Podgorica as well.
The Emirati airline launched flights from Dubai to Dubrovnik in April, with the carrier satisfied with the route's performance so far. "Flydubai currently operates Dubrovnik as a seasonal summer route, offering up to four flights a week between April 10 and October 25. We have seen this route grow in popularity, especially in our business class". Asked whether the service could be extended past the summer months, the airline said, "Dubrovnik will remain a seasonal summer route".
Despite talks between Flydubai and Ljubljana Airport's operator Fraport, which were backed by the Slovenian government, the airline says it currently has no plans to include the city into its route network. "We are always looking at exploring new opportunities on our network, but at the moment we do not have any immediate plans on Ljubljana", the carrier said. Last month, the General Manager of Ljubljana Airport, Zmago Skobir, noted, "We are constantly working on the Gulf area, so we are very active in this respect. It is one of the most important goals not just for Fraport and the Slovenian National Tourism Board, but also for the country and the airport itself. The more direct lines, the more investors there will be, as well as more tourists. So, the Gulf is our priority".
Finally, since inking a wide-ranging codeshare and partnership agreement with Emirates last year, Flydubai has seen strong growth on two of its best performing routes in the former Yugoslavia - Sarajevo and Belgrade. "During the summer we have seen significant demand from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council states) for travel to Sarajevo and it remains one of our most popular routes in the region. Following our codeshare partnership with Emirates last July we have also seen an increase in demand on our flights to Belgrade". Starting December 2, Flydubai will move its Belgrade departures and arrivals in Dubai from its dedicated Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 used by Emirates, allowing for more seamless transfer options. Emirates currently operates all its flights out of Terminal 3. Belgrade was selected along with another nine destinations which will be moved, with additional routes to be added in the summer of 2019.
Emirates and Flydubai have continued to strengthen their cooperation. Earlier this month, the latter aligned its frequent flyer program to Emirates Skywards. The partnership, announced in July last year, goes beyond codesharing to a number of initiatives spanning commercial, network planning, airport operations and customer journey.
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Besides, since EK and FZ are tied up now, guess they will probably focus on EK ZAG in full to absorb current capacity and maybe in the future increase frequencies (I don't expect that though at least for 2 years).
They have some overlap routes, in PRG you can find 2 daily EK and 2 daily FZ. Why not in ZAG for summer season?
" "In Zagreb we did not coordinate our suspension with Emirates. This was a coincidence. However, as part of our cooperation with Emirates, besides having codeshare flights, we are going to have more network coordination. Since we have narrow-body aircraft, we are able to operate more routes. "
Fact is that their loads are not good enough to warrant extra flights to Dubai. My guess is that EK is trying to put additional pressure on both QR and TK in ZAG.
Qatar's numbers are growing rather slowly, they are adding some 2.500 passengers per quarter. This December they even recorded a drop compared to the same month in 2016 (9.699 in 2017 vs. 10.225 in 2016).
As for TK, in 2017 they finally managed to improve their numbers in ZAG after several years of decline. In the Balkans (plus BUD and KIV), ZAG ranks as TK's 10th busiest destination behind airports such as LJU, SKP, PRN, SOF, KIV...
EK is smart to be doing this. They have launched a bloody battle and Qatar seems like it has the most to lose as TK will always have a healthy amount of O&D to fill its seats.
T3 and T2 are on opposite sides of the runway
Considering heavy volume losses QR suffered to GCC area (as significant number of their pax at the time was to UAE), especially during Winter season (when we compare year on year), the fact that they mostly compensated overall volume by growing elsewhere tells me that EK was not too detrimental for QR.
Anyway, as far as I know (I cannot quote), relevant sources indicate that QR expects year on year growth in summer/winter season in range of 15-20% so they seem to have rebounded and demand growth is of course helping them (and all the others).
They weren't flying last winter so that is going to affect SKP schedules.
same as when people post their prognosis for number of pax. to certain airports for the next 5 years.
So no surprise there are so many flights to OTP by FZ, QR, TK... Turkish even sends its A330
You disembark at T2 like a regular passenger, go to the transfer desk area and board the bus to T3. The buses leave every 15-20 mins and need approx. 20 mins to make it between terminals. The whole transfer is airside, of course, so you only need to clear security upon arrival to T3. It took me about one hour in total to make it from disembarkation to the outbound gate. That was around 8pm, so before the rush hour, which is generally after 10pm at DXB.