Ljubljana capacity unreplaced following Adria demise


Despite a rise in the number of airlines operating to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, capacity this summer will be nearly 45% lower than before the collapse of Adria Airways last year, Cirium data shows. In June 2019, Adria Airways had a dominant market position in Ljubljana, accounting for 1.509 of the 2.188 aircraft movements at the airport, or 69%. This coming June 2020, if schedules remain intact as a result of the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak, and with Adria no longer flying, other airlines have 1.325 movements scheduled. This is a 90% increase in non-Adria take-offs and landings, but the total is still down 39%, and seats are down 44%.

The Lufthansa Group has been the most active in increasing its presence in Ljubljana. Lufthansa's capacity from the Slovenian capital to Munich and Frankfurt rose from zero in June 2019 to a scheduled 180 movements per month a year later, or an extra 16.200 seats. The group's Belgian unit, Brussels Airlines, has launched Ljubljana flights that will account for sixty movements in June, or 8.460 seats, while Swiss has linked Zurich to the Slovenian capital at the same frequency. These flights add 7.646 seats. As a result, Lufthansa partially replaces Adria's position as a feeder airline for the group. Adria's 178 flights to and from Frankfurt alone in June 2019 accounted for 19.480 seats - nearly 12% of Ljubljana's total capacity. Combined, Adria's flights to Lufthansa hubs represented 27% of Ljubljana's capacity last summer.

Air Serbia also moved quickly to fill Adria's place. The Serbian flag carrier is scheduled to add 64 movements, or over 5.600 seats, in June 2020, to reach a total 160 per month. Other airlines have also increased their services. By June 2020, Air France and Aeroflot will have doubled their capacity with sixty extra movements a month each. Montenegro Airlines is adding fifty while Turkish Airlines, Windrose, Israir, Finnair, LOT and Sun d'Or are also increasing capacity or introducing new flights, Cirium data shows. However, this still leaves Ljubljana's capacity well below its level last summer, especially given that some airlines have also reduced capacity. Wizz Air has cut its route to London Luton at the end of last summer, shaving off sixteen movements or 3.680 seats, while Transavia has reduced its service to Amsterdam, lowering its movements at Ljubljana from 42 to 34. easyJet is also pulling back slightly on its route to London Stansted, from 144 movements to 142, although the carrier did boost its service to Luton by two movements a week. However, this only replaces Wizz's cancelled service.

The planned capacity allocation for the height of the coming summer season could be severely disrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak, however, at this point, no changes have been made.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    This is exactly what some people here have been saying. It's nice that new airlines are coming but they can't replace Adria. Figures at the airport will keep declining until October.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      More likely until September.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:34

      Without a hub airline operating at LJU numbers will never reach pre Adria levels again.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:10

      ^ Of course they will. Give it some time.

      Delete
    4. notLufthansa15:01

      no they will not. It is very different operation if you fly 2 or 3 daily services with CRJ900 or one with A320. LJU is well past its glory days. Simple as that. Small market sans state operator is doomed to what others think is viable operation.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    And my guess is there will be further reductions because of Covid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      The good thing is that Adria went bankrupt when it did. Had it somehow survived it would have gone belly up now. This would have left LJU in a very bad position to fill the void.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      That's true. LJU would have been in a much worse position now.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    The positive is that despite less capacity people have a greater choice in terms of airlines and more competitive pricing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:37

      completely wrong

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:03

      technically correct. More airlines: check. Less expensive: when I last time bought tickets (and checked some other destinations), BRU was cheaper and ZRH was cheaper. FRA and MUC were a bit more expensive. SVO was cheaper. So generally said your statement is factually correct.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:08

      Haha, that's a good one.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:11

      more airlines: LH group. gimme a break

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:16

      Well, still better than one airline, which was doomed to fail eventually.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:30

      @Anonymous 13 March 2020 at 10:16:

      So you're saying that before Adria's bankruptcy, no other airline was flying to/from LJU?

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    Goes to show how dominant Adria was in LJU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:11

      Used to be much more dominant few years ago.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    "but the total is still down 39%, and seats are down 44%."

    Ouch

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    This is why a new national airline is required.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      No thanks. We are fine.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:09

      Sure you are.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      Are you going to pay for it with your own money?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:30

      No, with yours.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:12

      No thanks

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:09

    Very interesting data. That is if airlines keep current schedules until June, which I doubt.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:14

    And who has the most capacity from Slovenia overall?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      easyjet. It was reported before.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      and busiest route is Istanbul.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:18

    I wonder if corona has actually forced more people from Slovenia to actually travel from Ljubljana, seeing as airports in Italy, popular with Slovenians have been shut down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:12

      Corona has force most people to stop travelling ;)

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:21

    Even if the virus ends tomorrow, I doubt airline will keep the same capacity in Ljubljana this summer. Many will look to save costs.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:27

    Aegean should come back now that they have suspended Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:12

      They already flew to Ljubljana and it did not work. So did Adria to Athens and again it didn't work. There is just not enough demand.

      Delete
    2. ATH-BEG-LJU was a cheaper option and still is so there is no need for a direct flight.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:27

    And people said Slovenia was better off without Adria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      It is.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:32

      Yes at -40% capacity at LJU is a clear example of we are better off.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:36

      Great success without Adria
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/03/ljubljana-airport-figures-continue-to.html

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:48

      things will never be the same again.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:11

      Yes, now our health care system is one of the best in the world and we have so much spare capacity that we didn't close the borders due to corona.

      Also, the pensions have gone up by 40%.

      Donald. J. Sarec

      Delete
  13. Austrian Airlines, Croatia Airlines and Air Serbia have all +20% growth in SKP in Q4 (compared to Q4 '18). just saying

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:29

    It will take time to recover from Adria's bankruptcy but I think they are doing it at a much quicker pace than most thought they would.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:45

      Well, we will see how quick it is going to be after the virus. Small markets such as Slovenia will be the first to be cut by the big airlines as they try to survive financially.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:31

    Expected. Hopefully things get better in winter 2020/21.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:33

    LJU management should exploit ZAG's high charges and attract more LCCs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      Ljubljana Airport is just as expensive.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      LJU airport fees are quite high and the market is relatively small and in close proximity to more affordable airports. So it is not surprising why a lot of LCCs are avoiding LJU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:52

      They should lower their charges and provide a scheme for a new carrier to base their operation there.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:53

      Airport should do everything to have a profit at the end of the year. So reducing prices for airlines doesn't always work.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:36

    This is the reality.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:36

    Wish them good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:39

    They will recover. More airlines will step in over time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      After the age of corona? Good luck with that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:16

      Yes even after the age of Corona. Life will go on. Just as it did after WWII. This is a virus which has infected less than 1% of the entire global population. Get a grip people.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:54

      +1 last anon!

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:44

    Like I said before, this goes to show that national carriers do have an important role, despite what many think here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      Even with Adria, Ljubljana was still missing many major European cities. So this is not good for them.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:19

      Important role?

      Boosting LJU figures by transferring passengers from SKP, TIA, PRN, SJJ to Europe and having Slovenian taxpayers pay for it when things didn't work out, which was most of the time?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:35

      What's up with the "Slovenian taxpayer" excuse coming up all the time?! Are Slovenian taxpayers happy, that people will be getting 80% of their salaries for sitting at home due to corona? Who do you think is going to pay for that?

      A lot of airlines are forcing their employees to take unpaid leave or face termination. Only in Socialist Federative Republic of Slovenia are people rewarded for doing nothing.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:47

    This really was their own fault to begin with. The writing had been on the wall for many years and the management refused to diversify.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:49

      It must be said that the offer was diversified in last 2 years and LJU's reliance on Adria decreased. They brought LOT, Aeroflot, Transavia...

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:53

    Things could change quickly if new national airline is set up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Yep, that will work in a global recession that is around the corner.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:20

      Plenty of A380s available, so I expect launch next week. Expected LF 95% as everybody wants to travel these days. They'll smash Lufthansa and Ryanair within weeks and become the new global leader.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:09

      And they should get Fly Bosnia for their management. An experienced start up ;)

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:00

    yeah right. 3/4 were transfer passengers, unimportant to the economy are "important role". who's your dealer can i have his number? like someone already said: if you get back to the "old" numbers, you actually replace transfers with O&D passengers, and you are actually in full mode positive numbers. remember only 400k O&D passengers on JP were LJU in/out-bound. Transfers are therefore basically irrelevant in the gradns scheme of thins for the LJU passenger (ok, as of yet you cannot fly directly to the Shqiptar lands...boo hooo).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      the last bit tells it all from what mindset youre coming from

      Delete
    2. It is a very nice mindset.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:06

    :(

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:16

    In the short term it won't be easy to replace capacity, that's for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:27

    Can anyone estimate what the decline will be in March?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:21

      LJU hasn't had too many cancellations over covid. But it will still have a big minus because of Adria.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:07

      There have been cancellations too.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:08

      And also it's not just about cancellations. There are barely any passengers on the flights that are operating.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:28

    Weather the storm LJU.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:31

    that is a price of destroying its own national carrier

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:08

      We will survive.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:33

    LJU will bounce back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:08

      Let's hope so. But corona situation may push back their recorvery.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:05

      I don't think Ljubljana would have surpassed 2019 numbers even without corona. Now for certain not.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:07

      Of course it wouldn't just read the article. Capacity in summer is down 45% even with all the new airlines starting flights - if they start.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous11:21

    Will 2020 have less passengers than 2019?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is that a trick question?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:04

      haha

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:37

      @frishki:
      Sure it is :D.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous15:56

    No direct flights from Manchester now. Absolutely gutted. 2hr 15 minute flight could take all day now. Sorry Ljubljana but not viable for us from the UK

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous19:56

    Not only Manchester/Liverpool, Ljubljana should be connected to Dublin, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, St. Petresburg, Minsk, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Sofia, Sarajevo, Skopje, Pristina, Tirana, Dubrovnik, Split, Athens, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, Cologne, Amman, Kuwait, Tehran, Doha, Dubai, New Delhi, Tokyo and New York.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You forgot Sydney and Santiago.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:39

      Sydney via Dubai, Santiago via Madrid:)

      Delete

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