Ljubljana Airport eases reliance on Adria


Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, whose traffic trends and business has been heavily dependent on Adria Airways, has eased its reliance on the national carrier, with foreign airlines having an increasing impact. Adria's passenger share at its home base in Ljubljana stood at 56% in 2018, down from a high of over 77% in 2010. This year, the Slovenian carrier is estimated to account for around 50% of Ljubljana's traffic. "The share of travellers carried by Adria Airways has been declining for several years and currently accounts for more than half of our passenger traffic. The decrease in the number of travellers handled by Adria is being replaced by foreign carriers, which are introducing new services and increasing capacity on existing ones", Ljubljana Airport said.

This summer season, foreign carriers are boosting their presence in Ljubljana. British Airways will launch operations from London Heathrow Airport with its Airbus A321 jet, while Air France HOP! will add an extra weekly flight for a total of ten and increase capacity from the Embraer E170 to the E190 jet. Furthermore, Aeroflot has upped capacity from the Sukhoi Superjet 100 to the Airbus A320, while LOT Polish Airlines is maintaining all of its services from Warsaw to Ljubljana with its Embraer jet-engine fleet instead of the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop. Despite the growing number of foreign airlines in Ljubljana, the airport's General Manager, Zmago Skobir, recently said that Adria remains an important partner. "We are pleased that, despite numerous issues the national carrier has faced over the past ten years, things have started to improve. We will see the future outcome but, for the time being, our cooperation with Adria is exemplary and we expect its future plans to have a further positive effect. Of course, it wouldn't be the end of the world for the airport or Slovenia's connectivity if things didn't go according to plan", Mr Skobir said.

The Slovenian government recently adopted plans to subsidise airlines for the launch of new routes to and from Ljubljana Airport in an attempt to improve the country's air connectivity by 2021. The Slovenian Tourist Board recently launched tender procedures aimed at advertising and marketing services which will be provided on behalf of airlines establishing new flights to Ljubljana from markets deemed to be "of strategic importance for Slovenian tourism". This will also include subsidies for airlines increasing frequencies on existing services. "We are very keen to connect with the Iberian peninsula, as well as Scandinavia and northern Germany, and we are in constant contact with airlines. We are Slovenia's ambassadors, because we promote the state's development in order to convince carriers to launch flights. Our market's small size can be discouraging to major airlines so we put a lot of effort into these talks", Mr Skobir noted.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    I am not too worried about LJU. If Adria goes bankrupt (which I hope won't happen) other airlines will just come instead. Sure there would probably a large short term decline but things would recover. What I do not get is why LCC are so weak at LJU. Maybe Ljubljana could have capitalised on the fact that most low costers are avoiding Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      Of course other airlines will come in that scenario (on routes to Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Prague, Scandinavia). But LJU will loose some of its connections...and of course frequencies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:35

      LJU without JP is like a flower with no water.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:36

      I agree with 9.03. If JP disappeared from LJU other airlines would rush to fill the void. That is what happened to all airports where the national carrier went out of business.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:09

      Which airline will step in to fly to places like Sofija or Skoplje?
      Noone. There will be some damage to connectivity.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:11

      One connecting passanger counts twice, the traffic figure would go down like crazy and will take years to get back to square 1

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:13

      JP doesn't have that many transfer passengers because its network keeps on shrinking.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:47

      @10.19 Wizz will start LJU-SKP, its not going to be daily though

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:58

      Getting a LCC to base an aircraft in LJU would be beneficial. But the problem with LJU are also high costs and they have actually gone up since Fraport took over.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:09

      state taxes and other charges, which the airport has no control over, is the reason there aren't more LCCs in LJU.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:22

      What state taxes? LCCs mostly only care about airport fees which are very high in LJU.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Wow 77% share o.O that's something Wizz can aspire towards at Skopje :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    I think this is good because more foreign airlines are flying which is something Ljubljana needs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    So Croatia Airlines now has the biggest share at its base - around 60%, then Adria around 55% and Air Serbia around 50%.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      ASL share in BEG for 2018 was 46%

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:22

      What about Montenegro Airlines' share in Podgorica?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:43

      Last summer JU's share was down to 42%.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:09

    I really hope Wizz Air will expand its network to Ljubljana. I think there is a lot of potential. Why have they not done more?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      Maybe the airport is too expensive?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      easyJet would be the best fit for expansion

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:34

      Why easyJet?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:42

      I thin they serve the destinations LJU needs some LCC operator, plus they fly to main airports unlike Wizz. For example I could see easyjet being successful on routes such as Paris, Basel, Milan or maybe Naples, as well as another non-London destination in the UK.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:43

      Isn't Wizz increasing CRL to 3 weekly?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:51

      Fyi, Wizz also flies to main airports: FRA and VIE being just 2 examples

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:10

    One very nice plus of LJU is being connected to 4 London airports, which is really not bad. Fraport have realised they'd better start acting as the other airports are also acting fast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      Fraport has to get back 250 mil and make a profit as well. The only option is expansion.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:10

    Good to see that foreign airlines are adding flights. It's the reason they have had passenger growth so far this year since Adria's numbers have declined.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:14

      What happened with that rumour that Turkish will have three daily flights to LJU?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:12

    Good that they have finally realized not to put all their eggs in one baskets. A lesson to some other airports in the region.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Which goes to show that Fraport has had a positive impact on LJU.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:22

      Fraport is doing a good job.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:14

    The airport has really woken up lately and attracted a couple of new routes by foreign airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:43

      Very few in my opinion. More needs to be done.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:15

    I'm glad things are finally picking up for LJU with new airlines and routes, plans for a terminal expansion and passenger numbers growing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Let's see how Adria's network cuts will affect them in summer first.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:48

      Hope the construction of the new terminal goes to schedule and that it results in some new airlines like in Zagreb.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:51

      LJU already got easyJet from Berlin and Transavia and Aeroflot so they are not waiting for the new terminal.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:36

      3 routes in 5 years. Really impressive.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous02:53

      That IS a milestone for an ex-YU airport.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:16

    LOT is on a roll. I really don't understand how successful they became in the region.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      Good fares and relatively good service with excellent connections via WAW.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:23

      Same as why a lot of ex-yu airlines have survived. Heavy government subsidies.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:16

    I would love to see an LCC takeover some monopoly routes by Adria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      Like VIE-LJU for example.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      Laudamotion?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      VIE-LJU would never work on an A320.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:17

    Still no flights to Spain, the Middle East, Italy, Greece...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:26

      Apparently Qatar Airways will announce LJU flights this year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      Qatar won't announce anything about LJU except that they're still looking at it

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:43

      They will announce 8 new destinations in the second half of the year. Considering they have started launching secondary cities in Europe and the fact that LJU will offer subsidies, I see a real chance for Ljubljana.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:44

      There were flights to Athens and they turned out to be a total disaster.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:07

      ATH should work with JP, connecting on A3 network. They got SAABs now. They should try ATH.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:44

      Can the Saab make it from Ljubljana to Athens?

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:21

    I see potential for either SAS or Norweigan launching flights, possibly Brussels Airlines too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      Brussels Airlines has struggled on its ZAG route and now flies seasonally. I doubt they could do any better in Ljubljana.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      There is no need for Brussels Airlines. State employees will use Adria while for tourists there is Wizz Air to Cherleroi.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:38

      Brussels will do all year from this year in Zagreb

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:21

    Smart.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:23

    Overall LJU offers a nice range of destinations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:11

      Missing many major European cities.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:23

    "it wouldn't be the end of the world for the airport or Slovenia's connectivity if things didn't go according to plan"

    Do they know something we don't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:37

      They probably have a disaster scenario already planned up and ready to immediately set in motion if Adria goes down. It would be stupid not to have a disaster scenario planned out in a situation like this.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:51

      I really hope they do. This scenario is looking more and more real.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:30

    Adria's share is still huge. A bit less than Wizz in Skopje but still huge. More competition needed.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sve u svemu, ne čini se da je dolazak Fraporta išta promijenio. Jedina nova linija je ona za LHR, a povećanje frekvencija i kapaciteta nije zbog Fraport managementa, nego jer linije jednostavno dobro idu i jer je JP u punoj defanzivi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:29

      No matter how people feel about Fraport I get the impression that they have been working on diversifying the offer. They managed to bring LOT, Aegean and Swiss (short period), British Airways, Transavia, new easyjet flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:40

      How on earth they bring LOT and Swiss. They bring 3 companies in 5 years. That is very bad result. Even if they bring 6 routes in 6 years that is far from good.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:48

    Norwegian please considers some of those Scandinavia routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:52

      They said ages ago they were interested in flying to LJU but since then nothing.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:03

      I see potential for SAS launching flights from either Copenhagen or Oslo. Especially since they are Star Alliance and could cooperate with Adria.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:41

      Out of all airlines I'd like to see a yearly service of Norwegian air. Maybe 2 seasonal destinations by them oslo and Stockholm, but 1 of those should be yearly, preferably Stockholm. Their network is good and would allow us to visit the northern destinations as well as connect to a lcc transatlantic route.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:25

      Norwegian's expansion is slowing down due to financial problems. Add to that the MAX fiasco as well as 787 engine problems, I don't see them coming to LJU any time soon.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:06

    I'm hoping Vueling or Iberia start flights from Spain if Adria doesn't want to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:40

      Madrid and Barcelona could probably work 2 or 3 p/w. Possibly even Valencia or Sevilla during the summer season.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:43

      JP could try days 1,5,7 BCN with 1,7 evening an day 5 morning flight CR9. Promote it well in Spain too.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:51

      Vueling was in LJU, they did not return, so seems they were not happy

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:09

    How many pax will Ljubljana handle this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19

      1.9 million

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:36

      2 milion is realistic

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:02

      I hope they manage to maintain the growth this year despite Adria cuts.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:54

      So there is no chance for them to overtake Skopje this year?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:04

      Sorry but I don't think it was ever in contention of overtaking Skopje.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:02

      LJU EVER overtaking SKP, lol dream on dude

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:14

    Which new airline could Ljubljana realistically get?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:27

      There are a number of airlines Ljubljana could try to attract like Iberia, Lufthansa, SAS, Alitalia....

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      It's surprising that Lufthansa doe not fly to Ljubljana at all. Eurowings would be a good fit for LJU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:42

      I don't think we'll see either one of these. AZ would have made the most sense but not now when they are falling apart once again.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:47

      Attracting LH wouldn't help LJU. If LH starts to operate MUC/FRA-LJU, passengers would just move from JP to LH. Pax number for the airport would remain more or less the same.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:13

      Manchester, Liverpool and possibly Glasgow are potential destinations which could be served from the UK to Ljubljana.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:06

      No need for Lufthansa. Adria does the job for them.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:20

    This is good news for Ljubljana Airport which needs more destinations and airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:24

    My observation from flying through LJU since last 1 year. Adria share is decreasing because LJU airport is already lifting its hands off when Adria flights are departing. Whenever I fly Adria there are huge queues with just 2 security counters working. Even at the toilets I had long queues. Its another matter that the toilets are much smaller than a bus stand in a small town.

    Staff checking in are going around and boarding of Adria flights is delayed because the same way to the fingers has to be shared by multiple gates and we have to wait until one flight is boarded before they start other. I also heard that LJU airport keeps flights waiting to process handlers to make the flight ready.

    When I fly other airlines its a completely different story. Sometimes the whole airport was for ourselves. Toilets did not even have lights switched on and restaurants closed. Empty queues.

    It sounds like airport is not able to meet the growth demand of Adria. Improved processes might help a bit there. On the other hand it is also not fair to ask Adria to run their flights during non busy times. Why would they not pick up passengers in busy time because airport cannot handle them. Obviously no one would connect with Adria if they are asked to wait for long hours in this huge airport with multiple facilities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:28

      Would you go head over heels and try to provide excellent service for an airline that doesn't pay you (or does so months late)?

      Probably not.

      They can be happy they still get fuel in Ljubljana and their flight plans are still accepted.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:02

    The airport needs to be careful, though. If they attract too much competition to JP to "balance" things, they may end up pushing JP into bankruptcy. Sure, other airlines would fill part of the void, but the airport can forget all about LJU as a hub if that was to happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:05

      Adria is now a private company. Their well being should not be Ljubljana Airport's priority.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:51

      Yeah but over 50% of their passengers come from Adria. If they went bust it would really hurt the airport, at least in the short term.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous11:16

    Leisure travellers from Slovenia flying around are more and more every year (compared to previous years) ... but they are flying from nearby airports (Italy, Austria and Zagreb);
    business travellers are a little less but many (not government paid) are flying -again- from nearby airports
    even some returning foreign businessman are using nearby airports not Ljubljana: for convenience (despite car transfer following arrival), price etc.
    Adria Airways just bullshit ... just no sense talking ... to give the impression they they are busy finding new opportunities, solutions
    Expansion project at airport? please First make more competitive conditions for foreign airlines flying there! If you want traffic no monopoly ... always the same

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:21

      I agree, it's incredible how much airport shuttles from Ljubljana (and other towns in Slovenia) have grown in the last few years. There are many many shuttles daily to Venice, Treviso,Trieste, Munich and Vienna. For sure LJU can't compete with airports like MUC, VIE, and to a certain extent VCE too, but i'm sure there's a potential for flights inside Europe. An airline has to offer flights at affordable prices though.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:43

      Slovenia needs to attract many more tourists who would travel there by plane instead of car. Only then we would see serious improvement to its aviation sector.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:00

      CRL is also close to BRU but look how it transformed itself - now serves over 7.7 million pax.

      Delete
    4. Slovenes use also RJK and PUY in Croatia, not only ZAG, to much less extent, of course, in the sam way that passengers from Zagreb, Istria and Rijeka sometimes use LJU. But of course, we all use more TRS, TSF and VCE, as they have more flights and lower prices

      Delete
  28. Anonymous11:27

    Adria's passenger numbers are down quite a bit in January and February but it's great to see that LJU has been mostly unaffected.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous11:29

    I think they should really work to bring Fly Dubai, which I'm sure would work well and give Wizz a chance to expand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:38

      I'm also surprised that there are no flights from any gulf airline to LJU.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous11:42

    Hope to get soon some new flights. Specialy Valencia, Madrid or Hamburg would be interesting destinations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:10

      Why Valencia? Wouldn't Barcelona make more sense?

      Delete
  31. Anonymous11:51

    If they really want to increase pax numbers, they need to catch thousands of people, who are using GoOpti to go to TRS,TSF,VCE,BLQ,BGY and are flying everywhere in Europe with FR and EZY.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous12:02

    It's good to see LJU has finally ended its dependence on JP. The Q1 results prove it.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous12:05

    Ljubljana should really try and capitalize on the fact that Zagreb has high fees and try to get some more LCCs. Especially since many of them are avoiding Zagreb at the moment. Instead of people from Ljubljana going to Zagreb they could really reverse this trend.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous12:52

    Can someone tell me what's Lufthansa's share in Frankfurt or Austrian Airlines in Vienna?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:55

      Austrian in Vienna in 2018 was 47.5%

      Delete
  35. Anonymous14:53

    Adria share at LJU

    2010 - 77.4%
    2011 - 72.9%
    2012 - 69.5%
    2013 - 66.9%
    2014 - 67.8%
    2015 - 65.0%
    2016 - 60.5%
    2017 - 58.4%
    2018 - 56.0%

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:05

      What happened in 2016?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:33

      4K happened in 2015

      Delete
  36. I just checked that there will be many flights in the peak summer season to TLV. According to the GDS, there will be flights by Adria, Israir and El Al. Shows how W6 or FR can get a slice of the cake.
    TLV is connected extremely well to almost all EU capitals.
    We will also see if W6 will switch to the new Ramon Airport this winter as Eilat is now closed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:50

      Ovda closed as well

      Delete

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