Foreign carriers boost Ljubljana operations


Foreign airlines are increasing their presence at Ljubljana's Jože Pučnik Airport as the Slovenian national carrier Adria Airways continues to struggle both operationally and financially. British Airways has upgraded equipment on its planned new two weekly seasonal service from London Heathrow to Ljubljana, which is scheduled to commence on July 15. The carrier will offer an additional 76 seats per flight by deploying the Airbus A321 aircraft on the route, which has the capacity to seat 220 passengers. It initially planned to operate the smaller A319 jet. The service is set to run until September 2, however, the airline will consider extending its flights if they prove successful.

Air Serbia will add an additional 288 seats each way on its operations to the Slovenian capital from August 1 with the introduction of a new two weekly service from Niš. Flights will be operated by the Airbus A319 aircraft. They will complement the twelve weekly services maintained between the Serbian and Slovenian capitals. "The service to Ljubljana will serve as a bridge between Niš and Slovenia, which will benefit both people-to-people exchange and trade links. We hope this new route will result in the arrival of more tourists to Niš, considering some 100.000 Slovenians visit Belgrade and Novi Sad each year", the Mayor of Niš, Darko Bulatović, said. The Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia, Iztok Jarc, noted, "We are delighted by the launch of this new route. We see potential to cooperate with Niš in tourism, cultural exchange and sport. It is also important to note that we have excellent trade relations with Serbia. Slovenia is a significant investor in Serbia employing some 25.000 people in the country, while some 4.000 Serbs work in Slovenia".


Air France will more than double its flights between Paris and Ljubljana from October 27. The French carrier will maintain thirteen weekly flights between the two cities, up from six last winter season, through its regional subsidiary Air France HOP!. It will coomplement Adria Airways' flights on the route, on which Air France continues to codeshare. ”We are very proud to increase our capacity to thirteen weekly flights to Ljubljana, which will benefit everyone - passengers from Slovenia, France, Europe and overseas, Ljubljana Airport, French and Slovenian companies and, of course, Air France. Thanks to this additional daily flight, our travellers will have a wider access to our extensive network of worldwide destinations from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The world will become closer”, Air France - KLM's Country Sales Manager for Slovenia, Ildiko Kiss, said. The Head of Airline Management at Ljubljana Airport, Janez Krašnja, added, "The upgraded connection will benefit Slovenian tourism, as well as connectivity to the world. For outbound passengers, the new flights will come in very handy when planning their journey towards North America, because many afternoon flights will be available”. The company stressed its cooperation with Adria. "Air France would like to uderline that the codeshare on Adria Airways flights from Lljubljana to Paris remains well in place for connecting flights via Charles de Gaulle Airport. The code share on Adria Airways flight is important for Air France as it enables Slovenian passengers to connect to morning long haul flights from Paris to all destinations all over the world", it said.

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, Aeroflot has upped capacity on its flights from Moscow to Ljubljana 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.


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 measure is being implemented through the Slovenian Tourist Board which will offer funds for promotional and marketing activities 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. Following jitters over Adria Airways' fate, the Slovenian government announced last week that it has a contingency plan in place in case the national carrier is no longer able to provide services.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    This is great news, more airlines means more options which means lower fares.

    By the way, is CDG-LJU second busiest in ex-YU after CDG-BEG in winter time? I am speaking both about seats and frequencies?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhhhaaaaaaaa. Jeftinije kažeš? Si ti već ikad čuo za kartelno dogovaranje? Zanimljivo. U udžbeniku Ekonomika od Samuelsona taj se pojam objašnjava baš na primjeru aviokompanija.
      Inače, TK je na nekim linijama ukinuo 30kg prtljaga i možeš imati samo još 20kg, a Rossiya ukinula skroz prtljag. Sad moraš nadoplatit 40 € po letu, dakle povratni let do LED dođe te 80 € više.
      A da ne govorim da je TK poskupio letove za jedno 20% sigurno u usporedni s prošlom godinom.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      Not many ex-YU airports are linked with CDG. This is the current situation in winter.

      BEG-CDG
      JU: 11X
      AF: 7X
      Total: 18 weekly

      ZAG-CDG
      OU: 7X
      AF: 7X
      Total: 14x

      LJU-CDG:
      JP: 7x
      AF: 13x
      Total: 20x

      LJU leads in frequencies but BEG in total capacity especially if we add W6 to 'Paris.'

      This AF-KL growth in ex-YU is a good balance to LH Group.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:18

      Athoscro

      Ok but to CDG from LJU JP and AF do not cooperate anymore so prices should go down in theory. Also for connecting flights to USA and Canada as there is alternative to LH.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:25

      the article doesnt say new airlines, only frequency increases

      Delete
    5. @anon 9.18 za connectig letove se slažem. Malo konkurencije je dobrodošlo. Transatlantski letovi iz LJU i ZAG su puno skuplji nego iz BUD ili PRG.
      Za P2P ne vjerujem. AF ovo radi kao feeder flight i ne žele gubiti sjedala. Pretpostavljam

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    BA going from A319 to A321 is surprising considering Wizz Air and Easy fly to 3 other airports in London. Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      well it's the height of the summer season so the market is massive.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:05

      It seems the market is massive to/from London for everyone but Adria...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:35

      Adria has shown they cannot compete with anyone from LJU (SVO, WAW, IST, CDG without AF codeshare won't end well), but they still claim they are vital for connectivity from Slovenia.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    Great work Ljubljana!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    Expansion of the terminal can't come soon enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Will it be necessary if something happens to Adria?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:40

      Not if, when...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:19

      What is happening with the new terminal? No news lately.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:26

      They have chosen the company that will build it. Now all companies have a period of time if they want to complain about the tender. After that deal should be signed and construction cab begin.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:06

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

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:06

    Still no expansion by Wizz Air :((((

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      I think they are just waiting for Adria to go bust unfortunately. Not that I'm saying it will. I still think Adria will make it somehow.

      Delete
    2. I ja sam strašno tužan zbog toga. Najbolja aviokompanija na svijetu. Posramili bi Singapur Airlines

      Delete
    3. And why you think Wizz is waiting for adria to go bust. Adria is no factor to Wizz and cant fight with them i no way. I think mentality low costers will come when Adria dies is completely wrong. If there would be enough market they would be here now.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      just look at VIE, expensive airpor yet the sharks are there

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:07

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

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:08

    Hope BA extend the flights into winter, or at least until the end of October.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      I think if they were to extend them, they already would have done so in the system based on advanced bookings.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      Well they increased capacity from A319 to A321 so advanced bookings must be performing well.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:09

    I'm still baffled by Nis-Ljubljana especially on an A319. Not sure it will work, but the line is subsidized.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:10

    The increase by AF is quite impressive. How come the sudden jump in frequencies? Any particular reason?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Because AF finally woke up and realized it can kick Adria off this route.

      Delete
    2. Najvjerojatnije su osjetili krv. Vidjeli su s kojom lakoćom su LO i SU izbacili JP s linije, pa sad pokušavaju isto

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:18

      I doubt Adria will give up as easily on the Paris route as it did with Moscow.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:19

      It also helps that they can send the Embraer, it's perfect for this kind of route.

      Delete
    5. Zašto? Po meni SVO imala više potenciala nego CDG s obzirom na gospodarsku i turističku razmjenu.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:23

      Flight to Moscow is three hours and you have to suffer on a CRJ. Flight to Paris is 90 minutes so it's more bearable.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:09

      Good to see Adria will at least try and compete against Air France by keeping it daily in winter this year.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:11

    Are we ever going to see two JU birds at LJU at the same time?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      No they will operate at different times.

      Delete
    2. Ja sam vidio tri. Bilo to tamo neke 89.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:21

      Yes there were more than two JU birds at LJU at the same time before the 90s :D

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:23

      hahaha good one.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:12

    Another piece of news is that this summer SU has increased LJU capacity to A320. It's the default equipment. Another positive effect of paraistic JP being kicked out of a market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      In the text it says LOT has also upgraded equipment. This is also a route Adria dropped at the end of last year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Didn't LO also add flights recently?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:22

      Finnair has also been operating with A321 for most of the summer so far. Used to be A319/A320 in the past.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:26

      And Montenegro Airlines E190 almost since start of summer each day compared to F100. They even sent the B737 the other day.

      Delete
  13. JU520 BEGLAX09:21

    Now we just need at least one LH group flight as a good alternative to JP.
    JP did not pay back any compensations on my 10 trips. But it's fine, we hve already reduced travelling to LJU due to this, so we compensate our way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      OMG you had compensation claims for 10 of your flights? Eeek what is going on at Adria.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:41

      Send the email correspondence to media and Adria will pull Trump card and call it "fake news".

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:10

      Eurowings had LJU on that 'you vote we fly' thing. I hope they eventually laun

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:23

      Pitty Swiss didn't have much luck. They were the only LH group airline to attempt to serve LJU.

      Delete
  14. Dakle, sljedeća linija koju JP ukida je LJU-CDD.
    G. Kowatsch će reći da je to bila dugo priprema odluka kojom bi se još ojačala tržišna pozicija kompanije i implementirala dugoročna superhibridna vizija

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:24

    So everyone is basically just waiting for the official announcement of JPs bankruptcy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:26

      When the government says they have a contingency in place you can't help but think that Adria's days are numbered. Not to mention that Adria is back at it, cancelling flights, joining up flights. The other day they operated Ljubljana-Sarajevo-Pristina-Ljubljana.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      Not only did they combine the flight, they also failed to tell passengers in Sarajevo that they would be flying to Ljubljana via Pristina until they got onto the plane.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:39

      I can't see how this can continue financially. For the second year in a row cancellations, ad-hoc wet leases of ancient aircraft, delays,... . All that on top of unpaid passenger claims for last year and debt to suppliers.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:27

    Is there any possibility that LJU hits 2 mio this year? Any opinion?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      It really all depends on Adria and what happens to them. May numbers could be an indication because a lot of Adria's cuts have kicked in.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:33

    TK might add third daily flight in afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      Last year for a short while they added that third daily flight in the system but then removed it.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:38

    4k Serbs working in Slovenia? Make it 40k

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:15

      Serbs with Serbian citizenship. The number is correct.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:46

    Are there really many destinations missing in case that JP would be bankrupt? Could imagine that some others would take over couple routes.

    Amsterdam --> Transavia already
    Brussels --> Maybe Brussels
    Copenhagen --> Maybe SAS
    Frankfurt --> Probably Lufthansa take over
    Munich --> Probably Lufthansa would take over
    Paris --> Air France already
    Podgorica --> Montenegro Airlines already
    Prague
    Pristina
    Sarajevo
    Skopje --> Maybe WizzAir
    Sofia --> Maybe WizzAir
    Tirana --> Maybe WizzAir
    Vienna --> Probably Austrian Airlines would take over
    Zürich --> Probably Swiss would take over

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:49

      Brussels already has W6 from CRL though.

      As for SOF, TIA and SKP those routes are mostly for transfers so no one would really step in. Maybe EW would open a small base with a single CRJ to cover the Star Alliance network though FRA could be taken over by LH.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:54

    Good news for LJU! This shows how the market share is nicely increasing among st the foreign carriers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:58

      If Adria falls I think it will be bad news for LJU in the short term but eventually it would grow at a faster pace than it is currently growing.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:54

    Maybe it is time to upgrade LJU to Air France mainline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:58

      There is no difference whather its mainline or Hop. They are flying Hop because the aircraft they use.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:00

      If LJU would manage to get AF instead of Hop! and KLM instead of Transavia that would be great.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:23

      Ant idea on how Transavia is performing on the AMS route?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:03

      The terminal HOP! flies from at CDG is pretty bad in terms of its location.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:01

    Now its time for easy and wizz to expand their operations in Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19

      Wizz has been really lethargic in Ljubljana for a long time. Hopefully things change.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:28

      I don't think there has been a market W6 has served for longer and made the fewest changes then Slovenia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:30

      I don't understand how Wizz does not see potential to launch new routes from LJU. There are many potential destinations they could launch.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:02

    Norwegian please considers some of those Scandinavia routes to Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:09

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

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:17

      Stockholm, Cologne-Bonn, Madrid/Barcelona, Milan/Rome, Oslo, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Dublin could all work from LJU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:21

      Maybe its time for Finnair to FINALLY start year round flights. They have been sending A321s to Ljubljana for the better part of the summer already.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:11

    Fraport finally realizing it can no longer rely on Adria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      It's not about realizing. They have no choice. They see the writing on the wall with Adria.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous10:15

    Which aircraft will Air France use during the winter?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:27

    Why not include Maribor in the subsidy scheme?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:29

      Because underperformance in Ljubljana in light of Adria's situation is a much greater loss than Maribor not having flights.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:28

    I really wish new airlines will start flying to LJU with new destinations, as there sure is a lot of potential...

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:34

    Kakve su sanse da prestanu prevoziti putnike i opstanu samo kao ACMI?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:20

      Moguce. To su planirali bili za Darwin.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:35

    Good that they are starting to prepare for the inevitable end of the Adria story which is fast approaching.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous13:20

    Can we expect maybe to get TAP flights to LIS?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:22

      They failed in ZAG and BEG. I don't think they would have much better luck in LJU either.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous13:21

    Attracting more and more LCCs is the best way to compete against other airports in close proximity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:27

      Like I said the other day, if Bratislava which is next to Vienna can have so much more traffic compared to Ljubljana, without a national airline, then Fraport should realy be doing a better job.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous13:22

    Still waiting for Ryanair.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:27

      Doubt we will see them any time soon in LJU.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous13:24

    Any idea on their performance in May?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:30

      We will know next week.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous13:30

    Wow Air Serbia will have really a lot of capacity to Ljubljana from July. 1,128 seats per direction o.O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:55

      Good luck filling it up.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:26

      I doubt they will have problems filling Ljubljana, especially now with all the fuss on borders crossing with Croatia.

      I fly BEG-LJU at least twice a week, the planes are regularly full. The flight with most empty seats was one back in March. 41 occupied out of 66. Steady mix of business pax and connections.

      Also, JU manages to keep the prices at rather high level for such short regional hop, especially for morning flights on Mondays and Saturdays and evenings on Fridays and Sundays.

      Pozdrav,
      Eight

      Delete
  35. Anonymous13:55

    Does Adria still codeshare with Air Serbia between Ljubljana and Belgrade?

    ReplyDelete

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