Lufthansa Group to launch six new routes in former Yugoslavia


The Lufthansa Group of airlines are preparing for a difficult summer season after reporting a combined loss of 6.7 billion euros in 2020. It expects for the summer to be dominated by leisure destinations as Europeans look for an escape following a long winter spent in lockdowns. Overall, Lufthansa’s airlines are prepared to deploy up to 70% of their 2019 capacity levels in the short-term. The group envisions that it will return to 90% of pre-crisis capacity levels by 2025. This summer, the group will discontinue a number of routes to the former Yugoslavia but will also launch six new services..

The below summary of its planned operations in the region is based on July's timetables. At this point, further revisions are likely.

Lufthansa

The German national carrier will reduce its operations out of Munich, suspending flights from the Bavarian capital to Sarajevo, Ljubljana and Zagreb this summer season. Services are not due to resume before October 31, at the earliest. Over the peak summer period, the airline will maintain thirteen weekly flights from Munich to Belgrade, eight weekly to Dubrovnik, two weekly to Pula, one weekly to Rijeka, eight weekly to Split, one weekly to Tivat and three weekly to Zadar. From Frankfurt, the carrier will fly double daily to Belgrade, daily to Dubrovnik, three weekly to Pula, triple daily to Ljubljana, six weekly to Split, one weekly to Tivat, four weekly to Zadar and double daily to Zagreb. Lufthansa will introduce a new service from Frankfurt to Sarajevo, which will run on a daily basis, as well as a one weekly rotation to Rijeka.

Austrian

Austrian Airlines plans to serve nine cities in the former Yugoslavia from its hub in Vienna. This includes 24 weekly rotations to Belgrade, ten weekly to Dubrovnik and Podgorica, thirteen weekly to Pristina, double daily to Sarajevo and Skopje, daily to Split and Zadar, as well as thirteen weekly to Zagreb.

Swiss

Swiss will operate flights from both Zurich and Geneva to former Yugoslav markets. From Switzerland’s largest city and its main hub, the airline will run three daily services to Belgrade and daily to Ljubljana (through its wet-lease partner Helvetic Airways). It will also introduce new flights to Sarajevo and Niš twice per week during the high season. From Geneva, Swiss will serve Pristina four times per week, while operations to Dubrovnik will resume following last year’s seasonal launch with one weekly service. The carrier will commence new summer flights between Geneva and Split, operating twice per week. Swiss’ sister company and leisure airline Edelweiss Air will run two weekly services from Zurich to Dubrovnik and Ohrid, twelve weekly to Pristina, one weekly to Pula, four weekly to Skopje, and six weekly to Split

Brussels Airlines

This summer, Brussels Airlines will operate two weekly flights to Dubrovnik, six weekly to Ljubljana, as well as one weekly rotation to Split.

Eurowings

Eurowings will have an extensive presence on the Croatian coast, as well as Pristina over the upcoming summer. The airline will fly from Stuttgart to Pula once per week, Pristina five times per week, Sarajevo, Zadar and Rijeka twice per week, daily to Split, and five weekly to Zagreb. The low cost carrier will also inaugurate a new three weekly service between Stuttgart and Belgrade. From Munich, the airline will run five weekly rotations to Pristina, while from Hamburg it will serve Pristina, Dubrovnik and Zadar once per week, Rijeka three times per week and Split six weekly. The budget airline will operate one weekly flight each between Hannover, Pristina and Split. Pristina will also be maintained from Frankfurt with three weekly flights. From Dusseldorf, the Kosovo market will be served with five weekly rotations, while services will also be maintained twice per week to Tivat. The airline plans to make a comeback in Mostar with one weekly service from Dusseldorf, while two and seven weekly flights are planned to Dubrovnik and Split respectively. The airline will also fly from Dusseldorf to Rijeka and Pula twice per week, as well as Zadar with three weekly rotations. From Dortmund it will maintain a two weekly service to Split. Out of Cologne, the carrier will operate three weekly flights to Sarajevo, Rijeka, Pula and Zadar, one weekly to Dubrovnik, daily to Split and six weekly to Zagreb. Finally, Eurowings will fly out of Berlin to Dubrovnik once per week, while services from the German capital to Rijeka and Split will operate twice weekly.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    With 3 daily flights Lufthansa will have complete dominance in Ljubljana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      They will be de facto national airline of Slovenia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      those schedules from network airlines for the middle of summer are stil "under construction". wouldnt bet too much on it. not only for LJU but for every other airport

      I just dont see it triple daily

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:16

      Well they officially published their schedule last week and publicized it, so I assume this is their plan.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:24

      i know but we will see

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:27

      Swiss' treatment of their Ljubljana route is most disappointing to me.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:58

      LJU can see 3 daily FRA flight earliest in 2024, let alone this July. Mark my words!

      And I have a feeling that the expectations in leisure traffic is overrated this year with capacities getting close to 2019 levels at intra-EU level, while the demand is significantly questionable.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:04

      @9.58 same like last summer.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:08

      They should reduce (or keep 3x daily) FRA but on other hand it would be much better to have twice per day ZRH and BRU. As other guy mentioned, schedule will change a lot in upcoming weeks..

      Delete
    9. Vlad13:18

      LH has made all of its cuts to the summer timetable by the end of February and no further cuts are planned unless something catastrophic happens. There will be no monthly "updates" like we saw last summer and winter.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous14:12

      Actually we are living in catastrophic time so nothing is for certain..

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    I find it interesting Austrian will fly four times per day to BEG. Hopefully there will be enough demand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:02

      Yes, even more than Swiss.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08


      They clearly aiming to carry Serbian market traffic on other points in Europe through their hubs.
      That would be bad for JU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:36

      They also send smallest planes to Belgrade from LH Group.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:40

      Tomorrow they are flying with Embnraer 195 which is not that small. At the moment they are sending E195 the most.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:47

      Considering they are currently only flying to BEG, TGD and PRN in ex-YU, it's no surprise.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:59

      ... and to add, currently also flying to SKP and SJJ

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    Why has Lufthansa suspended so many flights from Munich?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      I think they had to give up slots in Munich to get state aid.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      Frankfurt is Lufthansa's main hub.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:38

      Because it's too much to have three hubs so close one to the other plus AF KL has been attacking them left and right.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:45

      @9.08 lmao

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:01

      I heard that MUC has planned some construction works this year which is expected to reduce its capacity.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:03

      FRA has a massive catchment area, MUC doesn't. Also, FRA is the traditional LH hub that passengers are used to by now. MUC was still developing when covid hit so it collapsed like a house of cards. I don't see them returning to their former glory before 2025.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:45

      @11.03 lol

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:45

      "MUC was still developing when covid hit"

      WTF?!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:08

      MUC still had a large number of flights operated by regional jets while FRA was almost exclusively by A320 series. Also the intercontinental network at MUC was still weaker compared to FRA and total number of passengers and runways was 50% less than in FRA.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous05:46

      MUC's average gauge size has actually increased drastically in the past 15 years. Gone are the Dash-8-300s which then became CRJs then CR9s/195s now many flights from MUC are Airbus operated.

      MUC has the advantage for LH of having substantially lower unit costs than FRA. Overall, MUC serves a different purpose for LH, aiming a lot more to connect to the East and to Italy than FRA whilst also having a larger % of connections that are intra-Europe (MUC is also helped by a much more efficient layout of runways and terminal).

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    LOL at Brussels Airlines. They are avoiding this region.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      I remember reading an interview with them here how their first priority is to fly to capital cities of EU states. So that's the reason they don't fly to most ex-Yu countries. Plus they have had little success here anyway. They failed in Zagreb and Zadar.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:12

      Does it really mean Brussels won't fly any longer to ZAG?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:14

      Yes, they ZAG was terminated last year (not suspended)
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/05/brussels-airlines-terminates-zagreb.html

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:15

      That is good news for OU.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:37

      Brussels Airlines has cancelled a ton of routes, not just Zagreb/Zadar

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:39

      Ohrid is gone too.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:25

      Brussels is still in ZAG.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:28

      No it isn't. There are no tickets on sale.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    All in all not bad considering the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:05

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:07

    Good news but the frequencies are still low for some cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      At least flights are slowly being restored.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:07

    I'm sure LX will increase BEG and PRN as the time approaches.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      I'm sure we will see Edelweiss A340 in Pristina again :)

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:07

    Seems that despite all the doom and gloom and despite constant media bombardment people are still willing to travel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      The frequencies are way down on 2019.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:25

      LH Group is not giving ex-Yu priority, that's for sure.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:26

      that was the case last summer too but the planes were empty (look at DBV and SPU numbers despite having lots of flights resumed)

      capacity on the market is one thing. passenger numbers will need to be achieved

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:39

      Seems like Belgrade will remain pretty high on the list of priorities

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:08

    Great news

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:09

    Long road to recovery ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      I think it will be much quicker than most expect. At least on short haul routes like these.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      but not for transfer routes

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:09

    Good ol' Lufty

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:09

    I still can't get over at how few routes Swiss has in the former Yugoslavia. I mean this should be their goldmine! What happened?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      My guess is they were carrying low yielding passengers to the region. Not making enough money.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      True, they failed in so many cities. Sarajevo, Zagreb, Skopje, Nis... But it's good to see they will give SJJ and INI another go.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:18

      They failed in Sofia too.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:36

      Crazy

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:05

      They just seem not to care. If one Chair and the family reisebüros are more successful then them ...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous05:51

      It's mainly low yield trash except PRN where there's volume and yield.

      The low yield destinations are being taken care of ex-BSL by Wizz. It leaves a very small piece of the pie for Swiss/Edelweiss ex-ZRH.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:13

    Not bad for BEG I guess.
    So LH with 27 weekly flights, OS 24, LX 21 and EW 3.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:17

    lets see if all those materialize

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:19

    At least they cover all ex-Yu markets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Well we are talking here about 6 airlines!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:10

      What they cover is really questionable. If they fly once per day to ZRH and BRU from LJU then I wouldn't say that those routes are covered.

      Delete
  17. Wizzair SKP09:30

    Vielen Dank liebe Lufthansa for letting us the whole german market for ourselves again and again.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:38

    Speaing of the Lufthansa Group, it's interesting that Air Dolomiti never considered this region, not even seasonal flights to the Croatian coast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have you ever checked the prices for flights operated by Dolomiti? Super ultra extra overpriced. Guess that's why we don't see them here.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous05:53

      Air Dolomiti is basically a feeder airline whose operations are fully decided by LH. LH flies its own metal to the Croatian coast because there's enough volume to fill Airbus aircraft.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:43

    Lufthansa has it really easy in ex-YU. Am I wrong or is FRA-BEG the only route where they face actual, real competition?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Despite all of my criticism for OU, you are wrong because not only that FRA-BEG is not the only exyu route where they face competition, but in terms of some fanboys here, they are completely smashed and beaten on FRA-ZAG, where they operate two daily with smaller equipment, compared with OU's three daily with bigger aircraft. And LOL of course, both for your statement and my response

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:01

      But Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines are close partners. They codeshare with each other.

      Delete
    3. And what you think my LOL is for? :)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:05

      LH is smart, they get the corporate contracts with two flights and have OU fly transfers for next to nothing. I mean look at their FRA schedule, it makes no sense to have two departures so early in the morning.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:40

      LH and OU codeshare only on flights between HR and D but not beyond HR like SKP or SJJ which is bizzare because Adria did that

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:43

    Good to see

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous09:46

    wow at Austrian's ten weekly to Podgorica. I guess they don't plan on ToMontenegro posing any competition :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:58

      Of course not.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:54

      ToWhat?

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:46

    does Oneworld stil exists?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      In ex-Yu only in the form of Qatar Airways :D

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:58

      Woeful.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:28

      Consider that Serbia is not the only country in the exyu. British, Finnair and Iberia are flying to Croatia while S7 to Montenegro.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:30

      Yes and you have Macedonia and Bosnia with no oneworld airline at all.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:37

      BA and Finnair both fly to LJU. And LJU would have Iberia, but unfortunately they canceled flights

      Delete
  23. Anonymous09:55

    Notice how Germany Pristina market is pretty much non existent?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:56

      Eurowings operates some.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:06

    Losing LH on MUC-ZAG is a massive blow to Zagreb's prestige. Hopefully the airport works on getting them back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:55

      It's good to see LH is finally resuming FRA-ZAG today.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:47

      Kudos

      Delete
  25. Anonymous11:10

    I am not surprised about their commitment to BEG. China announced that they will be issuing covid passports for all those who want to travel abroad. LH Group wants its own share of China-BEG market.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous12:55

    Total overview for ex-Yu for Lufthansa group:

    Lufthansa
    BEG 27
    LJU 21
    DBV 15
    SPU 14
    ZAG 14
    ZAD 7
    SJJ 7
    PUY 5
    RJK 2
    TIV 2

    Austrian
    BEG 24
    SJJ 14
    SKP 14
    PRN 13
    ZAG 13
    DBV 10
    TGD 10
    SPU 7
    ZAD 7

    Swiss
    BEG 21
    PRN 16
    SPU 8
    LJU 7
    SKP 4
    SJJ 2
    INI 2
    OHD 2
    PUY 1

    Brussels
    LJU 6
    DBV 2
    SPU 1

    Eurowings
    SPU 32
    PRN 20
    RJK 13
    ZAG 11
    ZAD 10
    PUY 6
    SJJ 6
    DBV 5
    BEG 3
    TIV 2
    OHD 1

    All together
    BEG 75
    SPU 62
    PRN 49
    ZAG 38
    LJU 34
    DBV 32
    SJJ 29
    ZAD 24
    SKP 18
    RJK 15
    PUY 12
    TGD 10
    TIV 4
    OHD 3
    INI 2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:26

      you cant count like that, some of these are only running for weeks

      Delete
  27. Anonymous15:04

    Let's also not forget that LH is expected to have a huge expansion to 15 summer destinations as well:

    Corfu (CFU) Two weekly flights Start: April 4
    Chania (CHQ) Three weekly flights Start: April 1
    Djerba (DJE) One weekly flight Start: April 3
    Hurghada (HRG) One weekly flight Start: April 3
    Mykonos (JMK) Two weekly flights Start: May 4
    Kos (KGS) Three weekly flights Start: April 2
    Kavala (KVA) Two weekly flights Start: May 4
    Gran Canaria (LPA) Two weekly flights Continuation Winter
    Paphos (PFO) Two weekly flights Start: March 29
    Preveza (PVK) Two weekly flights Start: May 2
    Rijeka (RJK) One weekly flight Start: May 8
    Lamezia Terme (SUF) Two weekly flights Start: April 3
    Tenerife (TFS) Two weekly flights Continuation Winter
    Varna (VAR) Two weekly flights Start: May 1
    Jerez de la Frontera (XRY) Two weekly flights Start: March 28

    RJK needs LH!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's be honest :RJK needs anything, to anywhere, like for 3 decades or more, but nothing serious ever happens. Just crumbs and leftovers

      Delete
  28. Anonymous16:45

    It would be nice if eurowings could launch LJU-BER now that easyjet is gone

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous17:10

    Greece announced today that from May vaccinated Serbs can enter the country. Those who did not get the vaccine can enter with PCR. I think LH Group knows that other countries will follow so they are preparing themselves in BEG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:40

      they announced that everone can and not only Serbs ... you should also read international news not only domaci

      Delete
  30. Anonymous20:45

    LH Group will have big competition now as Air France-KLM " miraculously discovered " the existence of Belgrade airport .

    For Oneworld the word still ends east of Croatia, they still live in their dark ages ...

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous20:51

    Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the Eu in the second part of this year must be virtual because I don't see huge connections that they were talking about; including the new termnal must be open for it and similat blabla.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:45

      Obviously in these circumstances there won't be much traveling involved with the EU presidency.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous19:24

    They can close Ljubljana airport, overall it means 6 flights/day, shame

    ReplyDelete

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