Emirates has said it is satisfied with its performance in the former Yugoslavia, which it serves both through its own seasonal operations, as well as its partner Flydubai. Speaking to the "Austrian Aviation" portal, Emirates' Area Manager for Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Martin Gross, highlighted Sarajevo as a "rapidly developing" route, despite strong competition from other regional counterparts including Air Arabia, Flynas and Qatar Airways. "There are many destinations [in the region] which are performing well. Sarajevo, for example, is developing very rapidly. Flydubai now flies there three times per day during the summer", Mr Gross said. The carrier will maintain four weekly flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital during the upcoming winter season, the same as last year. The route was to be upgraded to the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet, however, the deployment has been put on hold due to the global grounding of the aircraft type.
Commenting on Emirates' operations in Zagreb, Mr Gross noted, "Zagreb is an example of how much our cooperation with Flydubai managed to improve our results. We served the route in winter with our Boeing 777 aircraft. Then last year, the route was maintained for five months by Flydubai aircraft. This winter, Flydubai will operate for the entire winter season because it emerged that this route is not as strong in winter, so we can still continue serving Zagreb well". He added, "The cooperation with Flydubai is definitely a success story for Emirates". This winter season, Flydubai will maintain five weekly flights to the Croatian capital (with exception to the first week of the winter schedule), down from daily last year. "Zagreb was operated with Boeing 737 MAX equipment, but had to be moved to the B737-800. So the entire flight plan had to change and has been partially reduced. Now we have to see when the B737 MAX is allowed to fly again", the Area Manager added.
Mr Gross noted the airline is satisfied with its performance across the former Yugoslavia. "We are well positioned in the region of the former Yugoslavia through our cooperation with Flydubai", he said. In addition to Zagreb and Sarajevo, Flydubai will also maintain daily flights to Belgrade this winter, up from five weekly last year, and Skopje, which will operate twice per week, as was the case during the 2018/19 winter season. Emirates codeshares on all of Flydubai's services in the former Yugoslavia, which are run from Dubai Airport's terminal three. When booked together, as part of the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by Flydubai in both business and economy classes. In the region, both airlines cater primarily for transfer passengers continuing on to far-away destinations. In addition to its home market of Dubai, Australian, Asian and Indian Ocean destinations are on top of the list for passengers originating from the former Yugoslavia and travelling with the two airlines. However, both have seen a rise in travellers from the Gulf heading to the former Yugoslav markets for leisure purposes.
EK could fly seasonally to Sarajevo with B777.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteCan SJJ handle the B777?
DeleteI also think there is potential. I mean 3 daily B737-800 flights is more than a daily B777.
DeleteCompetition is definitely increasing. I think there is a big chance that QR will use A330 for the peak summer next year. This year they are using A330 for half of August.
DeleteI read somewhere that Arab investments in Bosnia are down, hopefully that doesn't affect flights and capacity offered.
Deletelol EK was butchered by QR in ZAG last winter, they are even sending widebodies this year while FZ is cutting flights. You win some, you lose some. KE also increased ZAG so the market is there, it just doesn't want to fly on LCC, that's a fact.
ReplyDelete"they are even sending widebodies this year"
DeleteFor the sake of being precise, they are sending an A330 a total of two times probably because of a group or cargo capacity. Please.
Something doesn't make sense to me. If ZAG is being reduced because of MAX grounding, how come BEG is being increased despite MAX grounding. Both routes were operated with MAXes.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's an excuse.
DeleteIt has nothing to do with MAX grounding but poor route performance.
How come BEG was reduced last year from the previous. Weak demand last year to BEG.
DeleteLooking at the prices on BEG-DXB and ZAG-BEG I would rather say it is a strategic weapon against the competition in BEG, wheras in ZAG their only competitor is QR.
Exactly, that is why EY introduced the A320 to LHR. Because of demand. There cannot be anything else but demand.
DeleteJust a note, the UAE finally abolished visas for Serbian citizens around 2 months ago. So I think we will see travel increase between the two countries.
DeleteDubai was always a popular destination for Serbs, I guess that's why FZ is increasing flights.
DeleteGood to hear that more Gulf tourists are coming to the region.
ReplyDeleteThis is an indication to me that EK won't be expanding in ex-Yu in terms of flying with its own metal.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately yes...
DeleteEmirates has a huge number of aircraft on order and will eventually have to factor in more cities in Eastern Europe into its plans. Hopefully we see more of them at our airports soon.
DeleteOTP has around 15m passengers and still no Emirates...
DeleteI don't think size of the airport matters that much. They fly to ZAG with 3 million passengers.
DeleteYeah but ZAG is currently their only seasonal destination.
DeleteBut still destination. And there is no "only", it is the most part of the year daily with 77W.
DeleteAnon 09.22, your comment makes no sense.
DeleteAnon 09.25 your anger about EK choosing to fly to ZAG makes no sense.
DeleteI really don't understand where he was displaying "anger". He said it is the only seasonal destination in EK's network which is true and is a fact. You replied something completely nonsensical.
DeleteAnd also I don't think anyone was making fun of it being seasonal. I would be very happy if they flew seasonally to my airport.
DeleteI don't think EK will be expanding much, they are struggling financially with massive drops in revenue and profits. They are introducing many ancillary charges.
DeleteAnd not even a mention of LJU. Really unfortunate. Why can't LJU attract Flydubai?
ReplyDeleteLJU would eat into their ZAG loads. Alot of Slovenians are using the EK flights out of ZAG, as well as the many Far East Asian groups who visit Slovenia as well.
DeleteLjubljana and Gulf flights. A never ending saga.
DeleteI wish FZ started flying to Ljubljana but I doubt that's possible with EK flying to Zagreb.
DeleteWell if FZ is not interested, there is always Wizz Air who could start LJU - Dubai World. They already fly the route from a few cities.
DeleteThey fly the route from cities where they have a base.
DeleteThere is no W6 base in either LJU or DWC.
With JP slowly but surely collapsing, it's time for W6 to consider a LJU base. A single A320 could do wonders.
DeleteLjubljana has to understand that they've no chance with ME carriers, due to the distance and size of their market. Narrow bodies can hardly reach LJU, and the size of their market is half of Zagreb.
DeleteFZ flies to Bratislava, isn't that further away than LJU?
DeleteLJU is further away by about 100 km.
DeleteThe biggest "problem" EK has is that they mainly fly bigger planes which can be tricky for smaller cities and markets. This deal with Fly Dubai is perfect for them.
ReplyDeleteIt is good deal, but not the perfect. When they receive A330s and A350s then they could open more smaller markets with their own metal, and no need to cooperate with almost LCC FZ. Lot of people avoid to fly with them and choose other airline, ZAG is the best example. First year, EK had more passengers in 5pw than FZ in with daily operations.
DeleteIf they have A330 they could survive winter in ZAG. But at this moment, 777 is actually very big and not profitable for them.
DeleteAnonymous at 09:21
DeleteSMFH...
Of course EK with 5 weekly 777-300ER carried more passengers than FZ with 7 weekle 737s!
2 times I flight from ZAG in winter last year and 737 max was 60-65% LF....
DeleteI flew 2 times with EK first year, ZAG-DXB was around 50%, DXB-ZAG around 65% LF... so..that is 2 times more pax per flight than with FZ.
Delete^I assume you are talking about winter?
DeleteYes, about winter... I flew EK in jan and march
DeleteEK loads to ZAG are decent in the summer, its that winter was the problem. Under 100 pax is ok for QR who send the A320 to ZAG, however for EK on the B77W its a horrible load.
DeleteQR has the advantage, not only in frequency, but in product compared to FZ when it operates. QR also market themselves alot better on the Croatian market compared to EK.
No surprise people from here are traveling most to Australia. Wonder what the Indian Ocean destinations are.
ReplyDeleteNot sure for other markets but tour agencies from Serbia are selling Zanzibar like crazy and it's not expensive at all. From what I see they mostly use FZ for these tours.
DeleteThey use it because its cheapest to include FZ in travel package. And later, people will need to pay for everything, food, drinks, entertainment...
DeleteSome agencies use QR too.
DeleteWell it's good that they are focusing more and more on the region which was a black hole for them just 5 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see FZ loads to BEG, SJJ, ZAG and SKP if someone has them :)
ReplyDeleteThe biggest obstacle for Emirates in Belgrade is Etihad. While Etihad has sway on the airport, the directorate and the national airline, I doubt we will see EK.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just EK, it's also SU and TK. Both of these have a lot of O&D market so they can afford to offer lower prices for transfer passengers. Not to mention that they all offer multiple daily departures, it's not easy competing against that.
DeleteAnonymous at 09:20
Delete+1
I doubt that they have any sway on Directorate regarding flights to UAE, as we have open skies with them. for Turkey, probably yes, because of bilateral, but for Russia and UAE no
DeleteWhen Emirates requested technical details from BEG 2 years ago, the airport didn't respond to them for two months.
DeleteI guess I know who pulled the strings here
DeleteBiggest obstacle for EK in BEG is not EY, it is QR. When flying two daily, QR sends A321 and A320, more than Etihad with 2 A320. QR has been growing faster than EY/JU at BEG in the past couple of years. Does that mean Qatar has a sway on BEG management/Vinci??? QR is more agressive, has better service and offers more destinations than EY.
DeleteSecond obstacle for EK in BEG is FZ. They offer inferior service to QR and connecting passengers prefer QR all the way, rather than FZ+EK from BEG. That's the truth and EK should learn from it. But since they have area ridiculously carved out as Austria, SVK and ex-Yu, they just don't want to learn.
As someone who flew Sydney-Dubai-Belgrade once per year for several years I would recommend people avoid the Emirates and Fly Dubai combination. It's just not worth the hassle and the Fly Dubai service leaves a lot to be desired. Also the "free food" is so tiny its hilarious. Also the crew acts as if you are a regular passenger not EK passenger and they will try to sell you food. Only if you tell them that you are coming from an EK flight will they check and give you something awful. This is for eco class though so maybe its probably different in business. Etihad service is nothing better either.
ReplyDeleteAnd then people wonder why QR increased BEG to 10 weekly this summer. lol
DeleteI didn't want to mention them because I didn't want my comment to be interpreted as some ad but more and more of my friends have migrated to the Qatar Airways option. Those using Emirates and those using Etihad. In my opinion, at the moment it is the best option with some very good prices. Their service is also very good. Due to circumstances I used Etihad this year and to tell you the truth never again. The Abu Dhabi - Belgrade sector is fine but Sydney-Abu Dhabi was just a disaster. And this may be an isolated incident but I think the air conditioning was broken on the flight from Sydney. It was so cold in the cabin people were sitting in their jackets for the entire flight. Thankfully we had them since it is winter in Australia.
DeleteQatar service to BEG is way behind. I flew A320, no IFE, hard seats, absolutely non comfortable for a five hours flight. And it was routed over Syria - I really do not have any fear of flying, but that time I felt a bit thrilled having the MH17 in mind.
DeleteYou were really unlucky if you got a non-IFE QR A320. They have only 3 of those in the fleet. I actually prefer their A320s then the A321 they use on the midday flights from BEG because it has wifi.
DeletePR at its finest, at least in case of ZAG. In reality, QR blew them to pieces (or sent them to ćevape) in all periods except for Summer. Plus it is pure luck for EK/EZ that QR cannot currently also serve DXB and Saudi Arabia, as that would dent their prime DXB sales as well.
ReplyDeleteGulf competition is really heating up
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteLooking back 3, 4 years ago how much capacity was added from DXB/DOH/AUH to ex YU + TK as well...simply amazing!
What's up with Skopje? Why so few frequencies. Even Qatar doesn't maintain too many flights?
ReplyDeleteBecause Turkish is king in Skopje.
DeleteIt used to be in Sarajevo too but things have changed.
DeleteYes but Sarajevo has a lot more point to point demand.
DeleteNot enough demand
DeleteIf there was more demand then they would add more flights to SKP.
DeleteSarajevo is a mich bigger tourist destination than Skopje, hence the bigger point to point demand
DeleteTK's success to Skopje has more to do with SKP limited options to European than the existence of massive demand for travel to Turkey.
DeleteIf SKP manages to attract major European carriers and gets connected to their hubs TK's position will diminish.
But it looks to be more focused getting connection to villages from W6 instead.
Didn't TK decide against increasing SKP a while ago?
DeleteIm actually very satisfied with flight options to the middle east and Asia/Australia from SKP: QR, FZ and TK (and some star alliance options). For a country of 2 million, that is actually pretty good.
DeleteIt's not bad but would be better if more frequnecies were available.
DeleteTK is 2x daily
DeleteQR is 4x weekly (in summer) and
FZ is 2x weekly
Again, for the Macedonian market its quite good
I think next for Flydubai in ex-Yu will be Pristina.
ReplyDeleteSplit could be a possibility.
DeleteSPU makes much more sense IMHO
DeleteDBV too.
DeleteFlydubai already flies to DBV, seasonally.
DeleteHas the UAE abolished visas for Montenegrins, Bosnians and Macedonians? It is an unnecessary and expensive hassle.
ReplyDeleteThey have abolished visas for Serbs and Montenegrins. Bosnians and Macedonians still require a visa unfortunately.
DeleteThis is a must
DeleteUAE wanted to abolish the visas a long time ago for Bosnians, but its stuck in the Bosnian Parliament for ratification.
DeleteShame
DeleteIt's an electronic visa, fairly easy to get.
DeleteHope they add more destinations in ex-Yu soon.
ReplyDeleteOther than LJU I don't think anything else could work.
DeletePristina could work out potentially.
DeleteAir Arabia tried and failed,
DeleteWe all remember very well that EK announced few months before opening ZAG that they are not interested in ex-Yu market.
ReplyDeleteSo for me their announcments are worth zero. Nothing but PR.
What has happened to FZ's plan to relocate to DWC? Has this been cancelled?
ReplyDeleteThey are delaying it as much as possible and as partnership with EK grows it will probably be shelved. The entire DWC project is a complete miss for what it was originally planned.
DeleteNew IST will destroy any more ideas about that project!
DeleteI wonder if Emirates and Etihad will eventually merge.
ReplyDeleteI think SKP could work great for EK. Big catchment area encompassing several countries. Skopje has already shown it can easily handle large birds.
ReplyDeleteThat's a stretch.
DeleteYes, that is why FZ 737 is 2 weekly and QR 320 3-4 weekly?
DeleteTime for Fly dubai to finally launch Ljubljana! Why is every Gulf airline overlooking it?!
ReplyDeleteToo close to other cities with nonstop flights to the Middle East.
Delete