FlyBosnia to launch London service in September


FlyBosnia plans to commence services between its base in Sarajevo and London in September, making the British capital its first European destination. The carrier's CEO, Tarik Bilalbegović, confirmed the new route to London as the airline opened its representative office in the city, on Regent Street. It is believed FlyBosnia will serve either Gatwick or Luton airports in London. The airline will link Sarajevo with the UK for the first time since British Airways discontinued services to Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital in 2009. FlyBosnia also plans to introduce flights to Paris and Rome in the near future, as well as add a further two Airbus A319 aircraft, for a total of four, by mid-2020.

Since launching commercial operations last month to several destinations in the Middle East, FlyBosnia has handled over 16.000 passengers. The airline recently inked an agreement with Bosnia's leading tour operator Elite Travel to shuttle passengers between Sarajevo and Tunisia. As a result, it has begun operating charter flights from Sarajevo to Monastir on the Tunisian coast. "We are pleased to work together with Bosnian tour operators, because it is yet another step forward in the development of FlyBosnia", one of the company's founders, Nudžejma Skenderović, said. The airline also reached a deal with local tour operator Globtour Event Sarajevo for the sale of its tickets.

FlyBosnia currently maintains scheduled flights from Sarajevo to Jeddah, Riyadh and Gassim in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait City, as well as Manama in Bahrain, which was inaugurated last week. Commenting on its operations, the carrier previously said, "We are a niche airline designed to provide affordable, direct flights to key destinations where we know there is demand. We have conducted extensive market research into creating an innovative and sustainable concept". It plans to operate a fleet of eight A319 jets by 2023. "These aircraft will enable FlyBosnia to progressively expand its destination network", the company said.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Interesting first destination in Europe. Will it work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

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

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

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

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:23

      Anything but Luton...please.

      Seems like only LJU can handle multiple daily year-round flights to London. All other markets seem to have rather limited demand. I am curious to see how this one goes.

      Did W6 suspend TZL-LTN?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:38

      With Arab money everything works. There is another airline in the region funded by them too...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:40

      @9.23

      yes TZL-LTN was suspended.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:04

      They don't have any codeshares yet, but opening an office in London may be a sign they will ink some codeshare agreement soon.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:22

      Anon 09.38

      It was actually funded by Serbian funds, not Arab ones.

      Delete
    8. Very strange. I would always guess something in Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Scandinavia.
      London office also seems bit of strech and waste of money. But let's see. :)

      Delete
    9. Anonymous14:51

      will they have the rights for it? its not that 51% of the capital is Bosnian

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    I wonder if the European destinations are also being targeted at Middle Eastern passengers who will transfer via Sarajevo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Hope not since SJJ is too small for transfer passengers, it's already bad as it is.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:02

      Gulf countries already have better connection with european airports, so it doesn't make sense.

      Delete
    3. Maybe if they offer 300 eur flights from Kuwait/Manama/Arabia to London. Wonder they would make any money out of it. AirSerbia lost massively with that strategy few years back.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:26

      Air Serbia did not lose one euro. Under current brand they never fly to Kuwait/Manama/Saudi Arabia. If you have to troll against Air Serbia at least pick a route from the nonfiction section.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous08:54

      JU didn't lose massively, those were introductory fares needed to attract customers. Everyone does it. But then again you have a grudge against JU and you can't spend a day without mentioning them.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:13

    Finally! Wish them good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:13

    Will be interesting to see which of the two London airlines they choose. I think London and Paris are good starting points for them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:13

    Good that it will start during summer season.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:14

    At least they are starting European flights, so that's more than I hoped for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:07

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

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:21

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:57

      LF was 80% which is not enough for a low-cost airline.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:15

      Luton is nowhere near London and one of the worst airports in the UK that's why those flights failed!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:22

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, hope they go for Gatwick. Or at least Stansted.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:23

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:57

      Why does it make most sense?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:01

      They will most likely choose Gatwick since it was already been on fr24 that they took a slot there.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:39

    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. Anonymous09:40

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

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:59

      Gulf countries already have direct flights to London, so it doesn't make any sense.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:27

      If they offer good prices and a free layover in Sarajevo who knows.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:45

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

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:46

    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. Anonymous09:56

      I agree. They seem serious.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:05

    BiH is nicely developing. Maybe TZL is struggling a bit but nothing serious.
    By 2020 SHE will definitely grow even more when all 4 jets arrive. Go SJJ!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:05

    For all of you saying that this airline will be another fiasco. Greetings from Sarajevo ��

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:10

    Let's wait to see the prices. They are quite expensive on their Gulf flights.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:28

    Although Bosnains need visa for UK, London is still top unserved destination from SJJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:53

      London is London, baby. There is no other European capital more connected to Europe.
      A rich city with 6 airports, banks, tourism, study.. you name it.
      I also suppose there is a Bosniak community over there.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:00

    Really exciting times ahead for Bosnian aviation. Finally!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous11:01

    When will the next A319 arrive?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:01

      I think by end of the year

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:02

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

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous12:26

    Where are German routes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:17

      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.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous13:14

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

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous13:16

    Will the Gulf flights continue in winter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:19

      Yes but probably with fewer frequencies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:29

      I wonder have their flights had any impact on Fludubai's and Air Arabia's ops. to Sarajevo.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous02:01

      Considering one is flying triple daily and the other double daily, I doubt their numbers have been affected.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:40

      How would they be impact when they fly to completely different destinations?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous13:19

    Why not LCY?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:28

      They can't land the A319 there.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous02:01

      BA flies from City to New York with A319.

      Delete
    3. It is A318

      Delete
  24. Anonymous13:20

    Finally a European destination.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous14:31

    I wonder how they will get slots. LGW and LTN are both full airports except at some unattractive times of the day.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous23:27

    Good luck FlyBosnia!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous12:05

    All this negativity! Come on people give them some credit and support, time to move on......? Go
    Go Fly Bosnia, sound terrific!!!!! Very best luck!

    ReplyDelete

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