FlyBosnia outlines planned Europe network


FlyBosnia is gearing up to launch scheduled operations from Sarajevo, with ticket sales expected to begin soon. The airline is tipped to commence flights in May with its single Airbus A319 aircraft, with a further three to be added to its fleet in the coming months and a total of eight to be operated by 2023. The Saudi-backed airline has noted that its initial target destinations in Europe are London, Frankfurt, Rome and Warsaw as part of the first phase of its development. In addition, it plans to serve Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait and Bahrain in the Middle East. "Our schedule will be made up of both scheduled and charters", the company said. With exception to Riyadh, none of the aforementioned cities are currently linked with Sarajevo.

The start-up airline has contracted the UK-based Deloitte as its business advisor, Lufthansa Technik for aircraft maintenance and Turkish Airlines for servicing and parts. The carrier previously noted, "FlyBosnia has conducted extensive market research into creating an innovative, sustainable concept. The airline will offer passengers: a simple and clear pricing structure, allocated seating, combined business class and premium economy class configurations and on-line check-in at point of purchase". It added, "Ticket pricing will be dynamic and highly competitive, supported by an extensive, integrated marketing campaign and promotion. Existing connections with hotel and travel agencies will support and drive passenger demand. FlyBosnia’s on-line booking system will account for up to 80% of all ticket sales, enabling the airline to minimise distribution costs and, therefore, maintain a strong competitive pricing advantage".

FlyBosnia has been set up by Saudi Arabia's Al Shiddi Group, which was founded in 1975 with interests in various fields, including construction, real estate, agriculture and tourism. It has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006, where the group consists of four companies - SRE Investment, Shad Invest, Sarajevo City Center (SCC) and Hotel Bristol. "FlyBosnia has conducted extensive market research and detailed operational and financial business planning. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an emerging tourist destination, experiencing year-on-year growth of between 10% - 20%. There is no existing national airline serving Bosnia and Herzegovina, so FlyBosnia will immediately apply for national carrier status", the company said.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    ... Warsaw?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:43

      exactly my reaction lol

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:21

      Codeshare with LOT?
      Might be a good move. Hopefully they will codeshare with LH as well. Good luck!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:24

      Maybe Warsaw - Mostar, because of Polish pilgrimage travelling to Medjugorje?

      Delete
    4. Indeed, Warsaw is an interesting destination because of the pilgrims' market.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Odd Frankfurt I get but the rest I don't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:03

      Oh and I get the Middle East ones too :D

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    FRA and LON I understand, but FCO and WAW seem like odd choices for me. Any particular reason?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      I don't understand London either. Limited diaspora, visas, limited tourist numbers, no possibility for connections since Flybosnia doesn't have any codeshares or interlines, few business links...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      With Brexit (eventually) coming and little appetite in Britain for more emigration from Eastern Europe I don't see how this route can succeed.
      There isn't tourism demand for Bosnia from the UK either.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:13

      Didn't BA fly LGW-SJJ once upon a time?

      Delete
    4. Instead of Warsaw I would have rather understand Prague. Rome is understandable because of Medjugorje

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:25

      @9.13. They did. Started in 2006 and ended in 2008.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      Well surprisingly, according to SJJ, London is one of their top unsreved cities.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:56

      I'm sure they have done some analysis and there is a reason they want to fly to London first.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:00

      Tuzla - London didn't work out for Wizz Air.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:05

      Who would want to fly with Wizz?
      Luton is nowhere near London and one of the worst airports in the UK that's why those flights failed!

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:23

      With resonable prices and hopefully convenient Gatwick flights they could attract lots of tourists from UK.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Do we know the tourist structure in BiH? Are there some statistics from where the most tourists are coming from?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Middle Easterners because of no visa requirement. The rest are diaspora visiting home.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      From 2017:

      1 Croatia

      2 Turkey

      3 Serbia

      4 Slovenia

      5 South Korea

      6 Italy

      7 Poland

      8 Germany

      9 China

      10 United States

      11 Malaysia

      12 Saudi Arabia

      13 Austria

      14 France

      15 United Arab Emirates

      16 Montenegro

      17 Oman

      18 Netherlands

      19 United Kingdom

      20 Sweden

      21 Hungary

      22 Spain

      23 Kuwait

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      wow I'm really surprised with South Korea and Malaysia!

      Delete
    4. These are statistics (in Bosnian) for 2018

      http://www.bhas.ba/saopstenja/2018/TUR_01_2018_04_0_HR.pdf

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:52

      I assume South Koreans visit when they go to Croatia. Malaysia is a surprise. I know BiH and Malaysia are close, but I wouldn't expect there to be too many tourists. I mean there more than from Hungary even which is relatively close.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:42

      Malaysia is a Muslim country, so makes a bit of sense I think.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:25

      Many South Koreans spend overnight in Neum when they tour Adriatic coast. I was quite surprised when I saw what a year round business they have made in Neum by hosting these groups.

      Delete
    8. Neum has historically been a lot cheaper (especially food) then the surrounding areas of Croatia.

      Delete
    9. South Korean tourists mainly go to Međugorje. There is an important Christian population there.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Warsaw?
    Is there really demand for travel between the two countries?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      Only religious tourism for Medjugorje I would guess. Other than that no.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    I find it odd that no one has ever launched FRA since B&H Airlines died. Lufthansa could have but they only serve Sarajevo from Munich.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:25

      LH is expanding more their MUC operations. For transfer passengers MUC is much better option

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:09

    They need to fly all year around to FRA, DUS, TXL, AMS, CPH and ARN

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:40

      Agree. These are the main gasterbaiter routes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:51

      Bosnian diaspora estimates:

      1. Germany – 180 000
      2. USA– 145 000
      3. Austria – 90 000
      4. Sweden – 54 000
      5. Turkey 45 000
      6. Switzerland 40 000
      7. Australia - 35 000
      8. Canada – 30 000
      9. Netherlands – 25 000
      10. Slovenia – 21 542

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:29

      3x as many Bosnians live abroad, hmm, where are they?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    My only guess is that Warsaw and Rome will be from Mostar while Frankfurt and London (and Middle East) will be from Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:40

      they must have enough money to waste on SJJ-OMO ferry flights ..

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      I do wonder how that would work. Would they do a ferry flight or would they do SJJ-FCO-OMO-FCO-SJJ?

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:11

    Well their website finally seems to be up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Looks good actually. Hope bookings start soon.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:08

      Yes quite nice.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:11

    SJJ-WAW is probably linked with LO. I smell a codeshare agreement between the new airline and LO. The same applies for FCO. There it will be AZ.
    Winds of change are awaiting BiH.
    Not to mention the new, young player: BNX.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Flybosnia can't make codeshares. It doesn't have an IATA assigned airline code.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:13

    Warsaw and Rome to Mostar could make sense but not to Sarajevo. Unless there is a highway or railway line Sarajevo - Mostar...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:15

    I'm interested to see which airport they will fly to in London.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      STN or LTN most likely. LHR and LGW are pretty much maxed out and it is difficult to get any decent slots.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      Yes STN and LTN make most sense. I just hope they can fill an A319 to make it work.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:20

    If they keep on expanding in Europe then it could negatively impact TZL numbers which is the closest LCC alternative to overpriced SJJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:26

      I think people will still to prefer with the low cost option - Wizz.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      The creation of Flybosnia will give Wizz Air a better negotiating position with Tuzla Airport since they are getting competition. They will be able to ask for more in order to extend their contract.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:38

      But how much more can they get? In the end Wizz will become too expensive for the city. It's not like Tuzla is rich.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:40

      Wizz is Wizz. They will use the opportunity to get out as much as they can.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:34

    Have no clue who they plan to fly to London. And I don't think many people will be lining up at the embassy to pay 200 euros for a British tourist visa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:42

      and why should they with the rest of Europe visa-free

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:54

      Yes I agree. But that's the more reason I don't understand them wanting to fly to London.

      Delete
    3. Maybe they want to connect Gulf Countries with London through SJJ. Just guessing

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:34

    This is great news. Sarajevo is finally being connected to main European airports.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:40

    Their plane went to Zagreb the day before yesterday. Doing some maintenance?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:40

    Nice crew

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:46

    they should consider LJU (huge diaspora) and SKP (BiH and MK gov. wanted to sponsor this route anyway so theres a chance to get on some some cash)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:50

    No matter the choice of destinations, I think we can all agree that this is the most serious airline project in Bosnia ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:01

      I agree. They seem serious.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:54

    Could this have an impact on some airline in SJJ that rely on transfer passengers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      I doubt it. At least not at this early stage.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:55

    A319 will be difficult to fill at first on many of these routes. As a new company, they will have to have very good advertising and very attractive prices.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02

      Yes and they have to start ticket sales ASAP if they want to launch in May.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:55

    Warsaw is definitely the weirdest. Much more so than London.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:01

    I like the plans so far.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:02

    I'm just glad it won't be just Middle East flights. Finally connections to some world cities.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:08

    Warszaw is chosen probably because of Međugorje, Rome as well.
    Although Bosnains need visa for UK, London is still top unserved destination from SJJ.
    They released the website so you can see how serious partners they have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:15

      +1. These owners have very deep pockets. I have no doubt they will take off.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:24

      It's surprising Wizz Air hasn't started flights from Warsaw to Bosnia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:27

      Wizz doesn't fly to Mostar and it only flies one susbidised route from Budapest to Sarajevo. There is no interest for Poles to fly to Tuzla.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous10:09

    So they will fly to Riyadh plus Flynas will fly to Riyadh?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:15

    Really exciting times ahead for Bosnian aviation. Finally!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:17

    When will the next A319 arrive?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21

      Around a month ago they said the second plane would come within six to twelve months.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:38

      Anyone know the registration of their current plane?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:44

      E7-FBA

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/01/flybosnia-outlines-fleet-and-network.html#comments

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:46

      E7-FBA

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:02

      Thank you

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:20

    Will this be the first time there will be Sarajevo-Warsaw flights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:24

      I think so. I don't remember LOT ever flying to Sarajevo.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:04

      They haven't. But I could see them start seasonal flights next year.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous10:36

    Kuwait is going to be a cash cow. Especially now that Wataniya Airways has gone bust.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:03

      Kuwait Airways could have launched these flights at least seasonally. One thing is for sure - it will be a great year for Flydubai in Sarajevo witha lot of connecting passengers from GCC countries.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:09

      That's why they will be flying three times per day.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:57

      And they even planned B737MAX9

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:19

      Yeah I don't think those MAX flights are realistic now...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:04

      I think their pax planes actually have less capacity then the new generation 738s.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous10:46

    MirnaBosna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:03

      MirnaBosna Airlines :)

      Delete
  32. Anonymous11:10

    Good. Finally a national airline that will serve its own people.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous11:13

    If the Arabs can be trusted, there will be 3 birds by 2023. This will mean that SJJ will significantly increase its traffic and the prices will go down because of the competition with other carriers.

    https://www.flybosnia.ba/media-release

    I don't think W6 will be happy about their existence . They might contact the local government and have their share of the cake.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:47

      That would be nice. If Flybosnia is successful, it will certainly make others take note and the Star Alliance monopoly at the airport can be broken.

      Delete
  34. So cute, but they won't make it to 2020.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:47

      Why do you think so?

      Delete
  35. Anonymous12:20

    Can't wait to see their fares. Hope they are competitive.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Rome is acceptable according this.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous15:03

    Italy and Poland will be for pilgrims. Germany and UK for diaspora. Middle East for Arab tourists.

    ReplyDelete
  38. There is some tourism demand from UK for Sarajevo as City break. So prob for that rather than diaspora. Whenever I have been on OU from zag to SJJ there have been British (and american) tourists on boards..one of the best cone tions or Austrian vie VIE. Ditto. Brits are looking for interesting and value short break destinations. BCN..DBV...FCO..NCE now getting v expensive. We will see. Sadly it it is LTN will be mostly stag parties...horrible airport

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:02

      Well dear, Luton itself seems like an Asian/Middle Eastern town, let alone its airport.
      As for London, there is almost demand everywhere you can think of. This city has the most connections on the entire planet. 6 airports is simply crazy.
      Besides if BA once served SJJ, then there was a very good reason behind that.

      On my opinion, the most logical airport is Gatwick as it before with BA.
      Concerning Warsaw, I would say Chopin Aiport and not Modlin, because it´s served by Ryanair.
      Rome will be FCO and not CIA.

      Delete
  39. Anonymous22:46

    Citam komentare na moguce destinacije Fly Bosnia. Ne mogu vjerovati sta citam, ne mogu vjerovati da skoro i ne postoji komercijalna i marketing sluzba. Da se ne zna sta i gdje ce letiti ali se spominju gradovi koji se nikada nisu smatrali ozbiljnim odredistima. Kakva Varsava, kakav London (LHR i LGW zaboravi, ostaju samo STN i LTN), pa ko to jos iz regiona leti za Varsavu , Adrija prestala, Srbija prestala, LOT jos nesto pokusava na ovim prostorima ali zato sto ima dobre konekcije za Ameriku,Kanadu, Japan,Kinu. Maleziju itd. Ali onda bi trebalo pricati sa LOT-om, a zato treba biti clan IATA, treba imati elektronske karte itd itd itd. Jedan milion evra investicija u insfrastrukturu NAJMANJE ! Avione (ako dodju) treba uposliti na provjerenim destinacijama a jos vise gledati da se napravi medjunarodni audit o kvaliteti i bezbjednosti letenja (IOSA) ili nesto slicno da bi se mogla dogovarati kratkorocna i dugorocna saradnja sa kompanijama u regionu i van regiona. Pogledajte samo Trade Air, na njih se treba ugledati. Privatnik a pametan ! U ljetnjem periodu svima trebaju avioni, sto u carter letovima sto u redovnom aranzmanu. BH Airlines je 4 mjeseca prije prestanka operacija trebao napraviti wet-lease posao decenije sa Air Serbia tj. da na 6 mjeseci iznajmi jedan ATR72 sa komplatnom posadom i da preuzme liniju Sarajevo-Beograd-Sarajevo. Na zalost do toga nije doslo. Ali sve to zato sto je BH Airlines konsekutivno 6 godina imala IOSA certifikat. Kosta, ali se isplati. Ocigledno je da vlasnik FBA ima sredstava za to i neka onda to i napravi. Kako god, sretno ali i pametno !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:18

      Dal si ti čovječe ikad čuo za Međugorje?
      Dal znaš da je London najcesce odrediste iz sjj koje nema direktan let?

      Delete
  40. Where is Amsterdam?
    People from saudi could take connecting flights via Amsterdam. And a lot of dutch people are interested in visiting Bosnia...

    ReplyDelete

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