easyJet becomes Slovenia’s largest carrier


easyJet is to become Slovenia’s largest carrier by seat capacity this year, following the demise of Adria Airways in 2019. The budget airline, which last year had 122.436 departure seats up for sale from Ljubljana, will boost its capacity on the market by launching a new service from London Luton next month. The UK’s capital is central to the airline’s operations from Ljubljana. It will now maintain flights to Slovenia from three out of the four busiest airports in London. In addition, it also links Berlin and Ljubljana. The Stansted - Ljubljana route remains the airline’s busiest, with a total of 130.932 two-way seats offered between the two last year. Overall, Stansted has been Ljubljana’s fourth busiest route in terms of passenger numbers.

easyJet attempted several other destinations out of Ljubljana in the past. In December 2010 the airline was due to commence services from Milan Malpensa but the route was cancelled prior to its launch due to poor ticket sales. The no frills carrier also maintained flights between Paris and Ljubljana from December 2010 until March 2012, but they too were cancelled. Asked if it is considering launching new routes to Slovenia, the airline said, "easyJet is always evaluating new options and opportunities to be more profitable and continue growing in Europe with the primary focus for the short-term to thicken our presence in our core markets".

High refuelling prices, state taxes and other charges, most of which are not set by the airport itself, continue to act as a deterrent for low cost airlines in Ljubljana. The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, previously said, “If Ljubljana Airport were to lower its taxes Ryanair would surely return to Slovenia”. The airline operated flights from London Stansted to Maribor for some nine months between 2007 and 2008. In addition to easyJet, Transavia and Wizz Air are the remaining two low cost operators serving Ljubljana. Wizz Air has reduced its presence in the Slovenian capital by suspending services from London last October. Its decision to downgrade its Charleroi service from year-round to seasonal summer operations was reversed in December, as a result of Adria’s bankruptcy. On the other hand, Transavia will add an additional weekly flight from Amsterdam this summer for a total of three per week.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    It is really surprising that LJU is linked with 5 airports in London. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:03

      Even more surprising that the market didn't get saturated.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:05

      Maybe another destination in the UK could also work.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:08

      Five?

      Gatwick, Stansted, Luton. That's three.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:09

      Sorry I meant to write four. BA flies Heathrow - Ljubljana

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:11

      + Heathrow by BA, should be 4

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:47

      Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh would give northerners a better chance to get to LJU. Those near to Luton and London are really spoiled for choice.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:52

      Agree. LJU needs more and more United Kingdom routes.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:27

      I would like to see more new routes from other European regions as well.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous14:44

      I'd expect something like a 3pw LJU-EDI on U2 working well. There is a solid contingent of Slovenians in Scotland and it's also far more interesting for LJU-originating tourists than the North of England (MAN/NCL/LPL). I think the nearest airports to LJU with nonstop flights to Scotland are VCE and VIE, plus some seasonal services to the Croatian coast. There is also quite some tourist interest going the other way of course. LIS/BCN/OPO are the other obvious candidates for a 2-3pw service.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Because Wizz Air is preoccupied with loss making Vienna hub. They are putting all planes and effort there right now. Vienna is a battle for dominance and no one is making money right now. That said VIE continued its impressive run, I think passenger numbers are up by 20% in January! I think Wizz Air is bothered by the fact that they are still smaller there than Austrian Airlines and Niki.

      Also Wizz Air seems to be only thriving in ex-YU in SKP. In all other places they are doing so-so.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:06

      I see potential for them to start some routes in Scandinavia and Spain.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:08

      High airport charges, high refueling prices, state taxes and other charges are not compatible with W6 or FR's business model.

      Delete
    4. I think W6 is currently busy with various reshuffling amongst most of its bases. They are probably concentrated on their future AUH base. They are pulling out completely of FRA, BOD, ODS reducing DWC, were not successful with LYS neither.
      I doubt we see any new move in the region soon.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:25

      BOD? From what I know Wizz Air doesn't fly to Bordeaux right now.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    So an LCC is Slovenia's biggest airline :D I believe only ex-Yu country together with Macedonia where this is the case.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Makes sense since they no longer have a national airline and have opened up their market. What's interesting is that in Slovenia that happened naturally without state help or subsidies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      LJU may be a small airport but it is well connected to Europe's main airports compared to SKP.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:15

      Exactly, starting with the fact LJU is served by both Swiss and Lufthansa, combined they have 4 daily flights. Also LJU has Aeroflot, more flights on JU and LO so in terms of connectivity the situation is not as bad as expected or as some have predicted on here.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:27

      LJU also has BA connecting to LHR and from there to pretty much everywhere on the planet.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:33

      @Anon from 09:05: Easyjet is also Austria's biggest operator by aircraft registered in the country. I don't know what point you're trying to make.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:34

      09:27 you are correct if you consider spending the night at LHR. Check the timetable of BA...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:39

      @9.08 but SKP has much more affordable travel.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:45

      @09:39 SKP has affordable travel to village airports.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:25

      There were attempts to link SKP with airports such as MUC or FRA but they failed because ticket sales were abysmally low. So once can't say airlines didnt try. Same with AZ, they lost money hand over fist in SKP and ended up killing the route. It makes me wonder how LO is doing, anyone know?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:25

      Does anyone know about LH group's schedule for SUTT? At least two daily at srnsible hours to FRA, MUC and ZRH would be nice.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:39

      @anon 10:25: Biggest change is morning/evening FRA flight. Other than that just minor timing changes.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:50

      some bunch of experts here ...

      Delete
  4. notLufthansa09:05

    exYu - would you please care to elaborate what are those other "not aiport set" taxes?
    "High refuelling prices, state taxes and other charges, most of which are not set by the airport itself"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Airports have to collect on behalf of the state a number of taxes and charges for security, people with limited mobility assistance, VAT, local and state charges.
      We call them all "airport taxes" but not all end up to the airport bank account.
      Of course this isn't just a Slovenian or even an ExYu practice. It happens all over Europe.

      Delete
  5. Great news for Slovenia! U2 is quite a decent carrier and has a neat product.
    Following the demise of AB, they took advantage of their TXL slots and aircraft and now beginning to expand even more. Next month they are even launching TIV, SOF, RHO, CHQ. I am assuming we either see more ex-Yu additions in the near future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:29

      They've mostly been focused on Croatia. I do hope they expand in ex-Yu more quickly.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:13

    I think they could have success with a route from Spain actually.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:14

    I am thinking why flights between Slovenia and Italy are unsuccessful?? Adria used to fly between LJU and Rome, easy jet from Milan. And everything failed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:21

      Too close and too small.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      Funnily enough we (JU) have transfers from LJU to FCO, not many but we do. I am sure LH via MUC does as well. There is a market but it's probably not big enough for non stop flights.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:17

    easyJet is first by seat capacity.
    Is Air Serbia still the first by frequency?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      Yes

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:27

      If you think about it, LH Group lost the most from JP bankruptcy.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:41

      They weren't prepared. But I also think Slovenia is the least of their worries. It's such a market that it obviously wasn't a priority for them.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:24

    Hope to see more LCC flights in Ljubljana soon. But LJU is having a lot of competition: Trieste, Klagenfurt, Graz, Zagreb are the closest. A lot of Slovenians (from central and western part of the country) use Venice airport. it's quite close, 2,5hrs by car from Ljubljana. VCE has very good connections all round Europe, and also with some destinations in US, Dubai...A lot of different companies, also low cost. And nearby is Treviso- Ryanairport. Not to mention Munich and Vienna are only 4 hrs by car from Ljubljana..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:36

      Sure it is close 2.5 hours by car. Vozite se sa DRDom i FlexiBusom 3.5 sata.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:00

      Don't want to sound douchey, but KLU is not that of a competition with those couple of flights per week.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:25

    Finally new LCC route to Ljubljana after a year. Pitty its London AGAIN!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      London is a city with continuous demand. Business, tourism, study, gasto, never ending events. Comes with no surprise that the airport has six airports compared other European capitals.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:01

      London has by far the busiest city airport system in the world. It's closest thing there is to the capital of the world.

      Delete
    3. @anon 9:54: I agree with you. London is attractive for tons of reasons. Additionaly, Britain is an island, therefore it makes sense they have bussiese ariports in the world.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:25

    LJU should support Easyjet to add Madrid and Lisbon to Ljubljana!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      LJU should not subsidize these low cost carriers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      These airliners are much better for users and for Slovenian tourism then adria airways

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:46

      I hope Easyjet will evaluate flights out of Ljubljana Dublin,Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:51

      @Anon09:46 Seeing Easyjet doesn't fly to DUB at all and only flies to MAD from a handful of select airports, those two are highly unlikely. I agree with BCN and LIS as good options, if probably not daily.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:53

      BCN is unlikely as it's not their base.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:33

    Not surprised.
    Easyjet is great company (actually together with Norwegian the best European LCC) and LJU could have only benefits from them

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:37

    Looks like that Brits really like Slovenia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      I don't know anybody who was in SLO and did not like it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:03

      Slovenia is great for life and visiting. However, working there is a completely different story.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:39

    Hopefully more new routes and airlines are to come. Maybe Wizz Air adds a new destination?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      It would be nice to Eurowings launch Ljubljana too. They were thinking about it two years ago.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:40

    LJU management identified Spain a few years ago as one of the most undeserved markets. I don't understand why they didn't do anything to attract an airline like Vueling or even get Wizz Air to fly to Madrid or Barcelona

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      +100
      Also LJU could easily get flights to Mallorca.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:01

      They did attract Iberia if that counts...

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:46

    Dublin could work with tourists like London. Is there a Slovenian diaspora over there?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:53

    Thanks for the U2 numbers. Any idea how Wizz Air is performing?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:01

    What are the chances of seeing British Airways flying Heathrow year round?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:05

      If they will be doing well this summer I think it's realistic to expect year round flights next year.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:02

    I feel sorry for the Fraport. Not only have they lost their based legacy carrier, they have ended up with LCCs being the main customer. Together with the passenger numbers, yields drop too. That really must have hurt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:20

      You don't have to feel sorry for Fraport. It's big difference between having the most seat capacity and being the main customer. Now LJU finally has a good mix of legacy and LCC airlines, all are important but none of them being existentialy crucial for the airport. Fraport can in the long run only benefit from this situation.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:13

      I would bet Fraport got more money (as in cash, not revenue on paper) from passenger tax in January 2020 than August 2019.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:08

    Interesting. Who would have thought easy would have emerged as no. 1.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:09

    What makes them think Luton will work if it didn't for Wizz Air?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:29

      What makes you think LTN didn't work for Wizz? They obviously stopped LTN for other reasons (read capacity, their other battles ie. VIE and so on). I can tell you first hand that Wizz to LTN had very good LF and of course Easy didn't want to miss this opportunity. Remember they also stopped CRL for the same reasons, but then changed their mind and now again CRL has very good LF from LJU. Things are usually not so straight-forward in aviation anymore.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:15

    Perhaps Paris could work for easyjet now that Adria is out of the picture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      Isn't Paris 2 daily with AF?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:18

    Very nice development

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:19

    Won’t the market become a bit saturated?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21

      Obviously not.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:27

      If there would not be demand there would not be such offer. Looks like that Brits like Slovenia

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:28

      Maybe a lot of people from ZAG use these flights if they are cheaper.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:30

      The flights to London from Ljubljana are used by quite a lot of people from nearby cities, not just Zagreb.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:34

      Yes, that is true. In such a small region it is normal.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous10:21

    Would have preferred a different destination to be honest.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:35

    Excellent news. This will at least compensate for the loss of Wizz's Luton-Ljubljana flights at least.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:41

      How many weekly flights did Wizz Air have from Luton to Ljubljana?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:01

      3 weekly

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:35

    Things are finally starting to move at LJU. Next up should be Fly Dubai announcing new flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:38

      Wouldn't hold my breath about FZ.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:41

      Ljubljana should be connected with Dubai and Doha soon.Why are they waiting for]?Slovenians travel a lot. And of course Slovenia is a perfect getaway for Arab tourists.Turkish airlines flies twice per day, there is definitely space for some gulf carrier.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:46

      There's not enough demand for DOH/DXB to fill A320/B738 for a daily flight, which you need for onward connections.

      And that's before considering that EK flies to ZAG, VCE and VIE.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:06

      If their is market they would for sure start to fly to Ljubljana at least before Skopje, Sarajevo and Pristina. But as we can see they do fly there but not to Ljubljana.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:35

      @anon 10:46: But there's enough demand to fill 2 daily A321 to IST with the same customers? Don't you think most Slovenes would rather fly from LJU instead of ZAG,VCE,VIE if there was good priced option?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:20

      You are too small got it? From IST they travel to Asia and Africa and US not only to Gulf.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:03

      Anonymous27 February 2020 at 12:20

      I believe you are mistaken. Gulf carriers are already serving many Slovenian passangers to Asia, Africa and Indian subcontinent from VCE, VIE or ZAG. By flying from LJU they would canibalize their own flights from ZAG, VCE and VIE.

      The only reason why a lot of us use TK is the fact, they fly from LJU.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:35

      You guys are also forgetting SU, they carry a lot of the same passengers TK does and EK or QR would as well in LJU.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous10:37

    Well it's at least something. I see this as a beginning with more routes to be added in the future, maybe two, maximum three.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:06

      Fingers crossed

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:41

    Is this seasonal just for the winter or will it fly through the whole year?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous11:07

    Ok I would have been more excited if they launched a new destination rather than just a different airport from a city they already serve but I will take it. Better something than nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  31. LJU to Manchester or Birmingham would be perfect, not everyone wants to visit London.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:52

      You can get from most London airports to Birmingham in about 2.5h. And there's much more to see for an average tourist in London than in Birmingham.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous16:31

    Interesting that today AF sent the A318 to LJU! Market seems to be recovering quite nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  33. what about LJU-SEN=? MAD,BCN and charters to PMI and LPA? LED (pobeda)? FCO/TLV/MIL? LJU still has place to improve and maybe to restart organized transfers from Europe to LJU and then with planes that lands on the see that have been in use in Croatia for some destinations as POZ, LSZ?

    ReplyDelete

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