EX-YU carriers eye new routes for 2019


The national carriers from the former Yugoslavia are beginning to make plans for the upcoming 2019 summer season, which begins on March 31, with all four considering potential new routes.

Adria Airways previously said, "We are interested in a destination on the Iberian peninsula in the southwest of Europe, a point in Italy, and more further afield we are looking at Dubai". The airline will be adding more Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to its fleet next year. Ljubljana Airport's General Manager, Zmago Skobir, noted that the Slovenian carrier will likely introduce flights to Stockholm next summer as well. He added, "Rome, Madrid and Barcelona also have great potential. We are also looking at alternatives for the Middle and Far East through Dubai, but we have very strong competition for these markets in Zagreb, Belgrade, Venice and Vienna".

Air Serbia is expected to launch operations between Belgrade and Brač in mid-May 2019, which would make the island its fifth destination in Croatia. Brač Airport's General Manager, Tonči Peović, said the airline is expected to introduce two or three weekly seasonal flights from the Serbian capital with an ATR72 aircraft. Air Serbia is also in talks over the opening of several routes from Niš Airport, according to the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, while the airline has also held talks over potential services to Mostar. The Canadian Ambassador to Serbia, Kati Csaba, said last week that it is still possible for the carrier to commence flights to Toronto next summer, but noted that a 2020 launch is more likely.

Croatia Airlines will maintain its new seasonal flights, launched earlier this year, in 2019 as well. They include services from Zagreb to Dublin, Split to Copenhagen and Dubrovnik to Munich. Croatia Airlines' Director for Network and Revenue Management, Krešimir Mlinar, recently noted, "We analyse some twenty potential new routes twice per year and only then make our decision. During the summer, demand is extremely high. If we had seventy Airbus aircraft, we would be able to fill them during the peak months, however, during the winter, demand is significantly lower and that is unlikely to change". Mr Mlinar added that the airline would continue to lease additional capacity during peak summer months rather than buy new aircraft. The Ukrainian Ministry for Infrastructure has noted that several airlines have expressed interest in establishing flights between Zagreb and Kiev. Croatia Airlines considered introducing services to Ukraine in 2009, however, ultimately decided against the move. Based on traffic flow, unserved European destinations which have been identified by Zagreb Airport as having the potential to sustain direct flights include Kiev, Basel, Geneva, Riga and Sofia.

Montenegro Airlines is looking to further strengthen its scheduled charter operations, which have proven successful for the carrier this summer. In 2019, the airline plans to run a series of flights to five destinations in France and one in Belgoium, in addition to its regular services to Paris and Lyon. The company will deploy its aircraft to La Rochelle, Rennes, Deauville, Nantes, Brive-la-Gaillarde, as well as Liege in Belgium. Furthermore, Montenegro Airlines will extend its seasonal services between Podgorica and Lyon by resuming operations at the very start of the summer season. Meanwhile, Pardubice Airport in central Czech Republic has proposed for the Montenegrin carrier to introduce summer flights from Tivat to the city which lies some 100 kilometres east of Prague. Montenegro Airlines is also considering introducing services to Perugia following talks between the carrier, Podgorica Airport and its counterpart in the central Italian city. Umberto Salimero, the head of Perugia Airport, said, "I have held talks with tour operators who highlighted to me that there is strong interest in Montenegro. It is an appealing tourist destinations for Italians, as well as for religious tourism. It is my desire for Montenegro Airlines aircraft to serve Perugia and we are prepared to lend our support in promoting flights between Podgorica and Perugia".

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Ukraine would be a good market for OU, especially now that Adria no longer flies there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      If Adria failed, Air Serbia failed, Croatia Airlines would too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:05

      The route could work because OU for example could get transfer passengers to Europe and could benefit from holiday traffic. If there are seasonal flights from Ukraine to the Croatian coast it means tourists are coming and OU could easily connect them via Zagreb.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:06

      Only if point to point demand is strong. Otherwise competition is too strong from the likes of WIZZ and Ryanair. OU could never match KBP-ZAG-FRA on Wizz IEV-FRA direct for 20 EUR.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:12

      Lju-kbp will be with summer season

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:13

      Ukraine is a country of 40 million. All ex yu carriers have dropped the ball by not serving it.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:17

      People in Ukraine are starving ... apart from a small percentage of the population who can afford to fly. The rest drive to Poland where they work as blue collars or eventually fly with low cost carriers. Average salary in Ukraine dropped to 200 EUR.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:22

      Surprised that ASL cancelled their flights to KBP :/

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:23

      Considering the way OU has been opening new routes, I wouldn't be surprised they launch Kiev.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:57

      Croatia is a country of 40 million.
      If you are unable to succeed WITHOUT facing competition in that market it's your own fault, not the market's.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:58

      What on earth are you talking about? What 40 million?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:15

      Anon 09:58 I meant to write Ukraine, sorry! :D

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:16

      :D

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:34

      Were there ever flights between Ukraine and Zagreb? In the 90s or 2000s?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous10:50

      Aeroflot used to fly from Kiev in the 80s. Since then there have been none.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous11:06

      Interesting. Did they also fly from Moscow at the time?

      Delete
    16. Yes. Tu154, once weekly

      Delete
    17. Anonymous13:33

      Who was using that once a week flights? Tourists?

      Delete
    18. Anonymous17:41

      OU was fliying to KBP briefly in the 90s, from both ZAG and SPU.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous19:46

      Ukraine has very strong growth of traffic few year in a raw. For 2018 it should be at the level of more +20%. So both ASL and OU should use the opportunity. UIA will not fly to this region in upcoming years so no direct competition.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Belgrade - Brač would be amazing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Hope it happens. They have been talking about it for a while

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:34

      If tour operators are willing to buy seats, they should. No risk.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:35

      That is de facto carter flight. We have it to 20+ other destinations during summer.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    Very interesting about Adria looking into Dubai. They should have launched it years ago in my opinion. But it is also an indication to me that Fly Dubai has given up on all plans to fly to LJU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      JP could offer a lot of connections in the region.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      Instead of trying to compete against EK/FZ from Zagreb, they could consider Abu Dhabi and Etihad codeshare.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:21

      Not sure that Etihad would go for that considering they own an airline in the region.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:52

      JP and connections in the region? FZ/EK fly to all of JP’s destinations except TIA. With an enormous connection network out of DXB, I might add.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    strategija za zimsku sezonu treba da bude uspjesna,gubitak profita da bude manji

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Ovo je vezano za letnju sezonu ;)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      manje letova a treba da bude vise profita,cjena avio-karte treba da bude bar 8% veca.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:37

      Zasto bas 8% I kako u regionu sa ovako malo privredne aktivnosti I poslovnih putovanja?

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    So much for people claiming Adria will launch LED.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      If my guess is right, it wasn’t people claiming it. It was just one anon over and over again.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      LED,BCN, DUB and MXP would be good routes for Adria.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      In an interview with one of the Adria chiefs a few months ago they said they can't make Barcelona fit into their departure wave from Ljubljana and that Dublin is appealing but they don't plan to launch it.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:29

      With strong competition from Aeroflot on Moscow route now, I don't know how launching LED could develop. It could impact their passenger numbers on the Moscow route even more, or it could be a good way to compete against Aeroflot.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:05

      Potential route would also be Ohrid. Lots of Slovenians there this summer.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:20

      OHD is a small market. JP needs to expand in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Moldova.
      KIV is one of the fastest growing airports in Eastern Europe.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:11

      svasta .. JP just recently CANCELLED its routes to Ukraine and Poland because of NO SUCCESS.
      JP should expand first where it has economic and cultural ties ... and not science fiction like KIV, Belarus or Guadaloupe. SPU or OHD do sound more logical

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:17

      the success of the TGD route proves that

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:33

      Anon 12:11 why so much hate in your words?
      jp already flies to skopie, no need to include ohrid.
      split is already saturated as a destination.
      "sci-fi" KIV currently is eaten alive by wizz and jp is lacking behind.
      guadeloupe most likely connect with belgrad after vinci takeover.
      MSQ already very successful in belgrad, so why not in lju¿

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:47

      because you are talking nonsence

      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:41

      16 November 2018 at 09:29

      This is truth. When I bought ticket the flight was on the CRJ9.
      Today flight to SVO with CR-7 and LF cca 35%

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:07

    How on earth will Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines fly all these new routes without new aircraft? OU can't add new routes unless they get more planes or cancel some routes like they did this summer in order to launch Dublin and the few new coastal routes. Same with JU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      Seemed to be a good decision for OU since they will be handling more Pax than ever. They expect the 2 millionth Pax over the weekend.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      JP will rent the aircrafts with the crew ;)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:27

      Haha true :)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:30

      JU actually have spare capacities.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:49

      So JU and JP keep expanding their fleet although not enough demand, and OU has demand as much as they want (at least from April to October) but just least 2 planes ... crazy.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:53

      Agree with you. Why don't they at least lease 4 aircraft. Summer is the only time money can be made.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    I don't see how Air Serbia could compete with FR and W6 out of Nis to western Europe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      Because those two will eventually stop flying from Nis judging by the way they are cutting frequencies and routes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      Mean

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      They could introduce a route not served by either or a route restricted to the other two, like Moscow or Istanbul for example.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      IST could even work on an ATR.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:31

      Exactly. LCCs are being chased out of Nis.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:06

      How? Low demand is not tha fault of anyone else.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:36

      They don't have enough aircraft in BEG as it is, let alone for Nis.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:37

      If there is lessening demand for LCC''s from INI with their low fares, how on God's earth can JU make it work with their high fare structure ?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:56

      Not everyone is willing to travel 2+ hours just to fly more cheaply.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:11

    AS ce imati naj vecu ekspanziju u 2019-oj. Dve godine konsolidacije su prosle,ukinuli su i redukovali neprofitabilne linije i sada sledi samo rast AS. Jos ako stigne i drugi sirokotrupac?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:15

      Највећу до сада неће али биће лепих изненађења.

      Ер Србија мора да прати раст српског тржишта јер у овом тренутну углавном профитирају странци. Следећа летња сезона би требало бити најспектакуларнија у повести српског ваздухопловства.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:18

      But with what planes? If they introduce new routes and have the same fleet it means they will cut down on other destinations.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:21

      Sa istom ovom flotom su pre dve godine imali za 20% vise letova.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      Nemjee, any hints :)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:28

      Cetvrti talas nije u potpunosti iskoriscen. Brac bi mogao biti recimo nocu i za to ne treba novi avion.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee09:28

      Regardless of what JU does or doesn't do, BEG and its customers are no longer victims of JU's incompetence and government protectionism.
      If JU fails in a market, it's not a big deal as someone else will step in. I think it's a shame we wasted five years with Etihad which has proven to all of us how clueless they were at running an airline. They were so bad that even Alitalia ran away from them.

      Delete
    7. Nemjee09:30

      Anon 09.28

      Питање је да ли Брач уопште ради ноћу.

      Anon 09.26

      Be patient a little while. :)

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:32

      Now that Hainan is closing BEG, JU should increase frequencies to Prague again.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:36

      Da nije Etihada AS nikad ne bi videla JFK i razmisljala o Torontu!

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:41

      Немје, популизам и протекционизам не раде на овом свету

      Delete
    11. Anonymous09:48

      Let's hope it doesen't end up like their last major expansion where the only route that survived was New York.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:38

      @9.21 da ali ranije Airbusi nisu leteli cartere. Sledece godine itekako hoce.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:41

      Funny how the issue of the NEO's just died a slow death ... they were supposed to arrive now and instead, they have said squat about the order .... hoping that by ignoring the issue altogether, it would somehow go away - very unprofessional.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous10:46

      It did not die. They are saying squat because they are waiting for Etihad to decide. Order is still listed in Airbuses October books.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous11:01

      BTW, there are huge issues with NEO deliveries across the world caused by engines problems. Lot of big airlines has run into trouble because of this, delivers are postponed etc.


      Nevertheless, those NEOs are not the most suitable airplanes for AirSerbia at the moment...

      Delete
    16. Nemjee11:42

      Slightly off topic but it seems like Aegean has extended its flights on Thursdays until the end of November. Last year it was three weekly right from the start of the winter season. Fourth weekly rotation is back on 07.03.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous11:53

      The surprises Nemjee is talking us about are Nis, Brac and one destination in Germany. Oh, and the slight increase to Dubrovnik.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous14:14

      Twice daily BEG-INI PSO would make sense.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:40

    Scandinavia needs much better coverage from LJU. So I'm hoping JP does resume Stockholm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      Agree. Croatia Airlines has done well in expanding into Scandinavia in recent years. Hopefully Adria can do something similar on a seasonal basis.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:47

      Croatia Airlines' seasonal expansion in scandinavia is purely the result of tourism. In winter, there are barely any flights and no other airline flies from Scandinavia to Zagreb outside of summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:55

      Yes pity there is not such a big gastarbajter community in Scandinavia as it is from Serbia. Then flights could work also in winter.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:57

      That is true. Other ex-Yu markets (Serbia, Macedonia) rely on diaspora for Scandi routes, Croatia on tourism. I don't think Slovenia can still expect such huge demand from tourists to make this routes work. But ARN perhaps with codeshare on SAS routes to elsewhere so there are connecting passengers.

      Delete
    5. @anon 09:55

      Yeah, such a pity that even more people didn't flee out of the country so they could be filling up the planes.
      Lupi i ostane živ.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:11

      JP used to fly to Stockholm some time ago. Difn't work out.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:36

      Yeah, it's much more lucrative for *Alliance servants to funel pax through MUC, VIE and FRA. All other routes just don't work out.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:54

    I hope all the ex-yu airlines add more new routes and expand next year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:08

    Air Serbia could get some feed off the New York flight to Mostar. Back in the JAT days there were many transferring from the US flights via Belgrade to Mostar to visit Medjugorje.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:30

      They should use this opportunity while there are few flights to Mostar. If nothing they could get transfers from Italy.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:40

      Croatia Airlines is struggling to Mostar. Their General manager said so themselves. Don't see how Air Serbia would work.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:48

      They have smaller capacity plane, they fly to US, they fly to Rome, Milan (and codeshare on many Alitalia flights)... Issue with OU is that they fly to Rome via Split/Dubrovnik from Zagreb. Not worth the journey from anyone going from/to Mostar.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:09

      Would be more beneficial if they added a second daily flight to Sarajevo than flights to Mostar.

      Delete
    5. Small correction : Back in JAT days, most of the US and Canada flights to BEG were landing first in ZAG, LJU or DBV. There were passengers to Medjugorje to transfer via BEG, of course, but they had been transfering as well via ZAG, as JAT operated ZAG-OMO too, and via DBV, with ground transportation to OMO, with or without stay in DBV.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:29

    Air Serbia needs more regional aircraft and they need them fast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:39

      They ideally need a 100 seater. Same as Croatia Airlines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:45

      +1

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:49

    Good to see Montenegro doing more charters where they can make money. I'm surprised by all the French cities. Are there a lot of French tourists in Montenegro?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:23

      2017:60 865, 292545 nights...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:32

      2018:58186 in a collective accommodation for the period 01.01-30.09

      Delete
  14. Anonymous11:06

    I'm surprised Montenegro Airlines does not fly to Prague.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous11:11

    Air Serbia is missing the following jewel destinations:

    * Izmir (no competition)
    * Lisboa (previously operated by TP)
    * Samara (no visa for Russians)
    * Orly
    * Krakow
    * Moscow-Zhukovsky (4th Moscow airport)
    * Lviv (now growing)
    * Madrid (code share with Iberia)

    Leisure:

    * Corfu
    * Chania
    * Batumi
    * Hurghada
    * Malaga

    Room for many, many missed opportunities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:15

      They fly to Hurghada, Chania and Corfu during the summer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:18

      You mean Aviolet. Those flights are not sold on their website.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:12

      +1 for Madrid and Malaga

      MAD would work year-round and AGP would almost certainly work seasonally.

      Delete
    4. MAD wouldn't work year round.
      First of all BCN is the top destination for people from Serbia and even BCN is still seasonal.
      First of all BCN needs to be year round in order MAD could become seasonal and MAD to become year round is still very far away.
      MAD was tried some years ago with Spanair and very shortly they closed that route even before they stopped all the operations.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:30

      It's unbeliavable that a city of more than a million with an airport serving more than 5 million pax per year and calling itself a hub is lacking a link to one of the biggest and most important markets in Europe. BEG needs flights to both BCN and MAD asap.

      Delete
    6. You can find these kind of examples all over the world. Nothing new

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:15

    Belgrade-Pristina might happen too next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:22

      Depends from politics only

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:16

    OU: Is the Air Nostrum wet lease (or any other) coming back next summer? Doubling the frequencies worked well on some routes (eg. SKP)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:20

      If it doesen't come back they would have to cut numerous flights. So I think it's safe to say the 2 CRJ1000s are coming back next summer.

      Delete
    2. Yes, CRJ will be definitely operating in 2019 summer schedule. All of the Scandinavian routes need bigger planes than CRJ 1000, the demand is too high. Two airbuses are being re-considered which are due to arrive in autumn 2019, as dry lease, finally.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:42

    My conclusion is that Air Serbia will launch Nis under pressure from the government. Brac could be launched in summer 2019. As for Mostar I am not holding much hope but who knows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:07

      PM Brnabic recently admitted in her comments about state "supporting" ASL that Air Serbia is effectively a state subsidized carrier a.k.a. "gubitas" involuntarily supported by all Serbian taxpayers (not just those living in BEG catchment area).

      Therefore, it is only fair that some of those loss-making, subsidized flights are also made available to taxpayers living in the south ("Kad je bal nek je bal"). I think JU should open a twice daily BEG-INI ATR service with connections to other destinations priced similarly as direct flights from BEG.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:21

      kad je bal nek je maskenbal

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:12

      I still cannot believe that politics must also be involved in domestic routes!!!
      This is unbelievable! :o

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:16

      It would be a good idea to launch BEG-INI. If they do it through PSO routes like Croatia it may be a win-win situation for all - GoS getting political points, a better image and losses covered for JU, more transfer pax for BEG, all with a blessing from Bruxelles.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous12:21

    nova ruta ne donosi vise novca,treba vam bolji biznis plan za postojece rute

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous14:51

    I wonder if JU would have been better off with A220 fleet, instead of 319/320. It seems that AirBaltic made a good call.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:03

      All ex-YU airlines would probably be better off with A220 instead of A32S.

      Delete
  21. Super. Svaka nova linija je prilika za novo otkazivanje letova. Ne mogu čekat da letim 6 sati LJU-DXB na CRJ bez IFE... Nema do retro

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous00:37

    I doubt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:38

      I doubt Adria will introduce new routes next year, most probably it will suspend routes and try to wet lease (acmi) most of its fleet.. from the looks of how it was working this year it's going in this direction...i remember a funny comment in an article not long ago, one gave JP a new name Adria acmi airways ����

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01:27

      AAA :)

      Delete

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