Royal Jordanian studying Sarajevo flight potential


Royal Jordanian Airlines is considering introducing flights between Amman and Sarajevo next year. In a statement, the airline said that the launch of new destinations is part of its turnaround plan that includes, among others, "the continuous assessment of our route network, in order to enhance traffic to Jordan and improve connectivity via our Amman base". The airline added, "We are conducting a feasibility study. The new route could cater for tourism, facilitate travel for businessmen, and enhance trade". It comes just weeks after the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bakir Izetbegović, held talks with Jordan's Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, during which the two discussed potential flights between the two countries.

Royal Jordanian has been present on the Bosnian market through a codeshare agreement it has in place with Turkish Airlines. The Jordanian carrier has its codes and flight numbers on its Turkish counterpart's service between Istanbul and Sarajevo. In addition, the airline was also part of a Jordanian consortium to bid for a 49% stake in Bosnia and Herzegovina's former flag carrier B&H Airlines in 2008. Its bid was ranked second, behind Turkish Airlines. Demand from the Gulf for travel to Sarajevo continues to surge. The airport now boasts nonstop services to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and until recently Kuwait, which was suspended as a result of operational issues at Wataniya Airways. Both Kuwait Airways and Gulf Air have expressed interest in introducing flights to Sarajevo.

Meanwhile, Sarajevo Airport saw its busiest August on record, which marked the first time it handled over 150.000 travellers in two consecutive months. It welcomed a total of 159.506 passengers through its doors, representing an increase of 10.6% on last year. The number of aircraft movements grew 5.2% to 1.586. During the January - August period, Sarajevo Airport handled 749.028 passengers, up 12.1% on 2017. Over the same period, aircraft movements improved 6.2% to 9.321. In 2018, the airport anticipates welcoming over one million passengers in a single year for the first time.

MonthPAXChange (%)
JAN54.113 24.8
FEB48.986 19.1
MAR65.991 15.0
APR86.995 9.0
MAY81.026 3.7
JUN92.997 19.0
JUL159.380 13.8
AUG159.506 10.6

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Congratulations on the growth Sarajevo. RJ would be a nice legacy airline to add.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:04

      Weren't they interested also in starting Zagreb route?

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    2. Anonymous11:23

      Really? When. I don't recall that.

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    3. Anonymous17:37

      They weren't.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Would be nice if next year we had Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Royal Jordanian and Kuwait Airways all flying to SJJ.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      If any of them materialize. They are all interested in Sarajevo but never start flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:40

      Well if Flydubai can make it 3 times per day, then I don't see why these others couldn't a couple of times per week.

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    3. Anonymous14:37

      We need daily Emirates in summrs like Zagrab.

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    4. Anonymous17:38

      +1 flights would be full. And then bring back Flydubai in winter.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:06

    What's the smallest aircraft they have in their fleet?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      A319 - 110 seats.

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    2. Anonymous09:46

      110 seats!?! Wow that's roomy for an A319.

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    3. Anonymous09:49

      Wrong, they also have 5 Embraers which are ideal for the SJJ route.

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    4. Anonymous10:40

      How many seats do the Embraers have? I agree they would be ideal for this route.

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    5. Anonymous10:42

      E175 - 72
      E195 - 100

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    6. Anonymous10:48

      Thanks. That would be suitable capacity for SJJ.

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    7. Anonymous10:49

      Can the Embraer make it from Amman to Sarajevo?

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    8. Anonymous10:53

      Yes easily.

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    9. Anonymous10:59

      Yes. Air Moldova has a direct flight from KIV-LIS and they operate their E190 aircraft.
      FB also flies SOF-AGP with their E190 jet.
      No problem at all for RJ to fly SJJ-AMM.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:02

      Cool, then an Embraer E175 would make more sense then A319/320. Perhaps that way they could sustain the route during winter too.

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    11. There would be no problem sustaining the route with an A320, judging by the amount of passengers that Sarajevo handles on a daily basis!

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    12. Anonymous17:39

      A320 would be fine in summer but to keep the route in winter, they could switch to E75 from November.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:07

    This would be interesting since they are a oneworld airline. If I'm correct QR is the only other oneworld operator at Sarajevo.

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  5. Odlicna kompanija i jako zanimljiva destinacija

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  6. Anonymous09:10

    Who knows how things would have worked out had they won the BH tender.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      I'm pretty sure things would've worked out the same as with Turkish because of the corrupt and incapable government.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:26

    This could affect those Jordan flights from Mostar.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:48

      Which Jordan flights from Mostar? I know nothing about it. Only flights from OMO to that part of the World I know of are to Beirut, Lebanon.

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    2. Anonymous11:55

      It started a few months ago - Jordan Aviation. But even though it says in the text that flights will operate until mid-October I think they have been cancelled long ago (not surprising since it says they had 35 passengers on the inaugural)

      https://www.klix.ba/biznis/mostar-zracnom-linijom-povezan-s-ammanom-cijena-povratnog-leta-izmedju-345-i-450-eura/180618038

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    3. Anonymous13:42

      Thanks. Had no info about it.

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    4. Anonymous19:05

      I don't blame you, I think it lasted 2 or 3 weeks :D unfortunately...

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    5. I know this is RJA to SJJ topic, but just for accuracy and details, which is missing here very often, the name of the airline is Fly Jordan and not Jordan aviation, which is defunct. The flights did not last only 2 or 3 three weeks and they were operated by B-737-300 once a week (Monday) - both JY-SOA and JY-SOB were used. The first flight was on 18 Jun 2018 and the last one was flown on 27 Aug 2018.

      [S.K.]

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:51

      I work at the customs in OMO, and flights to Amman were good, in total FlyJordan operated 10 roations to Mostar, and flights (except the inaugural one) were filled up to 80% LF, because inaugural flight was carying only press and airline representatives and some people from tourism board of Jordan to hold a newspress

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:35

    Stunning livery. Reminds me of NZ. Congrats BiH! :*

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  9. Anonymous09:41

    Great result for Sarajevo so far this year. I expect a million passengers to be reached in November.

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  10. Anonymous09:41

    Which aircraft could they use on this route?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:46

      A319 or A320.

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    2. Anonymous09:54

      E-175s or E-195s as well.

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    3. Anonymous19:04

      With just 110 seats on the A319 I assume they have quite a good business class product.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:49

    Bravo Sarajevo!

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  12. Anonymous10:41

    This would be a nice addition.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:42

    I hope this consideration becomes a reality.

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  14. Anonymous10:52

    Oh WOW, I was just yesterday thinking how it would be great for Royal Jordanian to start flying to Sarajevo from Amman!!! This would be fantastic! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:53

    I just arrived to Amman today, no problems whatsoever getting the visa on arrival with the Bosnian passport, this would be a perfect addition to Sarajevo, and Jordan is amazing! :)

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:55

      Interesting. Which airline did you use?

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    2. Anonymous11:22

      I'm also interested which airline you used. And you should write a trip report :)

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    3. Anonymous12:19

      I fly quite often to Amman due to work, I mainly use Turkish from Sarajevo to Amman. This time I used Alitalia, as I was in France on holidays, so I had a connecting flight in Rome. Sorry, I promise next time there will be a trip report :)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:02

      Looking forward to it. What's Amman like? Worth a visit?

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    5. Anonymous21:16

      Thanks! Hmmm, not really much to see in Amman itself, there is the citadelle and few other sites. But definitely connect it to the visit to the Dead Sea, Red Sea (Aqaba), PETRA, and Wadi Rum. Then the trip to Amman would very much make sense, but you would need at least a whole week to visit everything :)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:00

      Is there any chance we see any AQJ flights to ex-Yu? I read that Aqaba is much better than Eilat when it comes to beaches and product...

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:23

    This would be a nice catch for Sarajevo.

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  17. Anonymous11:58

    This would be great for Sarajevo. I still remember their planes landing in Belgrade in the 1980s :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous12:00

    It would be best if these flights were actually operated by Royal Jordanian's low cost subsidiary Royal Wings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:40

      Royal Wings flew to Belgrade in summer 2008 once per week. Unfortunately they never came back.

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    2. Anonymous19:01

      Didn't know that. I remember Jat Airways used to have summer charters to Aqaba between 2008-2013.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous12:32

    How many Jordanian visitors visited BiH and vice versa?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:40

      I think like a lot!!

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    2. Anonymous21:50

      Like less than 10k.

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    3. Anonymous22:01

      Thanks a lot, that's not a very small figure...

      Delete
  20. Anonymous19:02

    Good. So for next year we have Aegean confirmed and possibly Gulf Ait and RJ. Not bad.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:55

      Kuwait Airways might come as well as a replacement for Wataniya. They used to fly a couple of years ago.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous19:53

    What's happening with the new terminal? Have they started construction yet?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:25

      No. I think they just finished tenders and will start work in autumn.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous19:56

    Good results so far. Let's just hope for a mild and clear winter so it doesn't affect the airport.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous22:08

    SJJ - almost 1 million in 2018
    TZL - almost 3/4 million in 2018 (higher than INI)
    BNX - future 3 FR routes and ZAG alternative
    OMO - arrival of OU and EW

    One word: BiH rocks!

    Браво ¡

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:01

      Actually SJJ will be more than 1 million in 2018, not almost 1 million :)

      Delete

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