Eighth Gulf carrier to commence Sarajevo flights


Omani low cost carrier SalamAir will commence operations between Muscat and Sarajevo next month, becoming the eighth Gulf airline to maintain services to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital this summer, with five of them introducing flights only this year. SalamAir will maintain one weekly rotation between the two capital cities, each Monday, starting July 12. The journey, which lasts over six hours, will be operated by the 180-seat Airbus A320neo aircraft. It marks the first time Sarajevo and Muscat will be linked by a scheduled air service. Based on OAG data, in 2019, which is considered the last normal year for commercial aviation, 9.784 passengers flew indirectly between Sarajevo and Muscat on a single itinerary. Sarajevo becomes the only city in the former Yugoslavia to be linked to Oman.

From the Gulf, Sarajevo Airport is currently served by Flydubai from Dubai, Air Arabia from Sharjah, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi from the Emirati capital, Jazeera Airways from Kuwait City, Flynas from Riyadh and Jeddah and Gulf Air from Bahrain, the latter introducing flights over the last weekend. They will be joined by Kuwait Airways this coming Saturday. Furthermore, a number of these carriers will increase operations to Sarajevo mid-way through next month due to the Eid al-Adha holiday, with the likes of Flydubai operating up to four daily flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital on select days.

The introduction of SalamAir’s service from Muscat will result in Sarajevo being linked to all countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with exception to Qatar, with its national airline discontinuing flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital in March 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost all of the demand from the Gulf to Sarajevo is generated exclusively during the summer, with almost all flights operated on a seasonal basis. Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a popular destination for tourists from the region. Arab investors are building homes and hotels around Sarajevo and heavily promoting the destination to middle class families looking for cheaper alternatives to Western Europe, fuelling point to point travel from the Middle East to Sarajevo. This has been further compounded in 2021 by Covid-19, with Gulf nationals and residents unable to enter the majority of the European Union and Schengen area this year. Following the launch of Muscat, Tel Aviv becomes the busiest unserved route from Sarajevo to the Middle East, while the busiest unserved destinations in the Gulf are Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Beirut in Lebanon.

Further flight details for SalamAir’s new Sarajevo service can be found here.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    wow go Sarajevo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    I can't wait to see Sarajevo's passenger numbers in July and August. I wonder if it will have more passengers than in 2019.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Who would have though there was so much demand to Muscat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:03

      Seems as if there is sufficient demand from Sarajevo to any Gulf country.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:06

      Middle East in general. You see that TLV is now top unserved route from there.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:48

      Surprised one of the Israeli airlines have not started Sarajevo.

      Delete
    4. Bosnians do need visa for Israel

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:02

    Now the airport, tourism board or whoever has to work on keeping these flights and tourists coming during the winter too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:02

    Nice addition

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:03

    8 Gulf carriers are there, but main 3 (QR,EK,EY) are still missing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      I don't think QR will come back since they have no flights scheduled in the winter either.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:05

      Well there is Gulf Air which is an important airline in the region, as well as Kuwait Airways.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:13

      My guess is Saudi Arabian Airlines is next.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:18

      There was an article here just a week or two ago saying that Saudia gas planned flights to Sarajevo but that the decision to keep visas for Saudi citizens has made them reconsider.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:03

    Did Qatar Airways make a really poor move by suspending Sarajevo this summer too? Especially since they are no longer blockaded and flying to Saudi and UAE.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      QR will be just fine. Their SJJ route generally underperformed. Maybe they return next summer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      I think QR relied on transfers from Australia and SE Asia hence halting SJJ. Anyway, their loss might be missed but SJJ managed to compensate with much more new carriers and connections compared to their 3 or 4 weekly flights.

      Delete
    3. If corona scam situation stops and life gets more or less back to normal, and Australia opens, for the next summer I expect all Gulf airlines flying this summer to continue with the flights for P2P passengers, 90 % or more Gulf tourists, Qatar Airways to reintroduce the flights for transfers, and Saudia to start flights. I also think link to Iran is missing big time.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:04

    Well done Sarajevo!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:05

    Can people from Bosnia book these flights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Yes

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      You can but who wants to go to the Gulf in summer on 50 degree heat. Also, Bosnian citizens can't enter most of these countries because of Covid. Only Dubai is open out of all these countries.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:08

      ^ Dubai is the only destination out of these where there is some local demand from Bosnia. The rest is purely for Arab tourists.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:09

    All these new arrivals from the Gulf will hurt Turkish and Pegasus in Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      It will be made up for increase point to point demand between Turkey and Bosnia. Remember Turks can't go anywhere in EU either, as can't people from Bosnia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      True, didn't think of that

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:39

      It could have an impact on Fldubai which has a lot of transfers from these Gulf countries.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:09

    Fantastic news for SJJ. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:10

    Interesting schedule. All night flight from Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:11

    Good to see that SJJ is using the current entry bans in Europe to get as many of these Gulf flights as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:11

    This Gulf demand is crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:11

    Anyone ever flown Salam Air?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Is it the low cost subsidiary of Oman Air?

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:12

    Still no flights from Tehran?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      Iran is completely closed off at the moment.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:13

    Sarajevo now has a good balance of destinations in Europe and the Middle East. Finally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Still missing key European destinations. Not to talk about airlines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      If there were demand airlines would be lining up like these Gulf airlines.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:26

      Give it time. We just got a Wizz Air base. I'm sure there will be more good news soon :)

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:13

    Amazing

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:14

    Not surprised tbh. BiH is a beautiful country with a lot to offer and has breathtaking landscapes and mountains. Plus, Arabs are crazy about Europe.
    Clearly, the gold medal goes to SJJ this year. They secured European connections and even more Gulf ones.
    This current boom reminds me of Tirana.
    Well done, BiH!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. This year's winner is Sarajevo. Unbelievable improvement compared to just year or two ago. Glad about it. Congratulations SJJ!!!

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:15

    6 and a half hours in an A320. That's not going to be a comfortable ride.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      Well it is an LCC so you get what you pay for.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      At least it's a neo.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:16

    Amazing news for Sarajevo! Few days in July Fly Dubai will have FOUR daily flights to SJJ, and so will Air Arabia as well, so basically 8 daily flights just to Dubai and Sharjah, lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      Definitely crazy demand! Arabs escape from the super hot season and find cooler places to visit.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:19

    Such a missed opportunity for Fly Bosnia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      You snooze, you loose.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      They do fly to Kuwait.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous09:20

    Sarajevo is going to have capacity issues next month :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      How many aircraft can be parked at Sarajevo Airport at one given time?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:11

      13 aviona A321

      Delete
  24. Anonymous09:21

    Seems like the current management at SJJ really know what it is doing. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      It has been a real breath of fresh air. Hope we continue to see more new routes and announcements.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:27

      Getting rid of stupid taxes definitely helped in attracting airlines.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous09:22

    Love it

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous09:25

    Thankfully that new terminal is being built in SJJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:26

      They are taking their time.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:44

      It was delayed because of corona but now they are working on it full time.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:49

      Good that they are working on it again. Do you know when it is expected to be finished?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:51

      Should be by the end of the year

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:50

      Good to hear

      Delete
  27. Anonymous09:28

    Now imagine if we had a proper national airline that could have launched all these routes and then offered connections to the region.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:26

      +1

      Delete
    2. Bosnia has a proper Airline, "Fly Bosnia"

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:44

      Yes. The plane that they have painted with their logo has been sitting at the airport for 3 months.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:51

      Didn't FlyBosnia have plans for a lot of Gulf routes this summer? What happened?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:55

      They have started Kuwait and they are flying charters to Egypt and Turkey.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous09:35

    Which Gulf airline will be next to announce flights? :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:19

      Fingers crossed for Emirates :D

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:26

      I'm guessing the issue with Emirates would be seasonality and yields. Are there enough passengers flying business class. Also don't know what kind of cargo demand there is.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:48

      Can Sarajevo handle B777. I'm talking about landing and taking off, I'm talking about catering, gate size etc.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:12

      SARAJEVO može primiti sve tipove aviona, samo ne znam za AN225

      Delete
  29. Anonymous09:49

    It is worth to say that no country from Gulf (aside from KSA) needs visa for Bosnia, that's one of the reason of such high demand

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:19

      Why did they only leave them for Saudi? Doesn't make sense.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:57

      Decision to suspend visas during summer was rejected by one party in Council of ministers (allegedly in order to keep visa policy in accordance to EU policy, but doesn't make sense since other countries aside from UAE need visa for EU and don't need for Bosnia). I guess visa policy for KSA was kept all these years (or decades) for safety reasons.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous10:54

    Really interesting summer for Sarajevo! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous11:18

    Who thought Sarajevo would go through its most exciting period during the pandemic :D

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous11:30

    The EU has just announced that it is putting Bosnia on the green list of safe countries, lets hope this will further boost flights :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope so. With all this demand from East I would be great if we have to the West as well.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous11:52

    This is a nice exotic route. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous11:52

    I really hope more airlines stay after summer. I think Bosnia could be equally as interesting for Arab tourists in winter as it is in summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are not interested into Winter. Tourism need another destination for winter promotion as well.

      Delete
  35. Anonymous12:47

    SJJ has been very busy lately. I'm really glad that this pandemic which has been a catastrophe for aviation ha at least resulted in some good news.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous12:48

    There is also an ex-Yu diaspora in Oman which could use these flights.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous12:50

    More airlines to the Gulf than some of Europe's biggest airports :D

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous14:40

    Good schedule

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous15:35

    Meanwhile other airports in the region do nothing to attract these airlines .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:14

      Sarajevo airport did nothing to attract them thats for sure.
      Wizzair also contacted the airport not the other way around.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:47

      That´s not really true, the airport did have an open announcement for benefits for airlines who opened a base there, that is when Wizz applied.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous16:27

    These Gulf tourists obviously dislike variety.
    Imagine them all sleeping in the same hotel and going to the same restaurant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:42

      Stupid comment of the day.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:58

      You mean like Serbian tourists travelling to Corfu, only to end up in a Serbian bar over there with turbo folk playing?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:28

      Or Germans going to Mallorca en masse .
      For Beer and Schnitzel .
      Not to forget the Britons, they get drunk already in the morning .
      What if in future restaurants dont serve beer or only halal meals .
      Istanbul already prohibited outdoor consume of beer .

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:04

      Sarajevo got a new mayor Benyamina Karic.
      She wants to help Sarajevo keep its multiconfessional character.
      Restaurants will stay ats they are and everything will be fine.
      She is the right person at the right time.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:30

      Benjamina is fantastic! The best thing that happened to Sarajevo in years, and she has Jewish heritage :) Agreed with anon above, she is the right person at the right time, and Sarajevo is looking at some shiny and bright years ahead :)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous05:02

      ^ No more SDA mismanagement and corruption.
      No more extremist and one sided politics.
      Without them Sarajevo will shine again.

      Delete
  41. Anonymous18:06

    I just hope that Sarajevo does not become another Dubrovnik.
    Mass tourism destroying everything and making life too expensive for locals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:48

      Good point, but Sarajevo is desperate for any kind of tourist. The numbers are still not high enough to do any real damage.

      Delete
    2. Sarajevo is still far from Dubrovnik. These tourists from East are mainly interested in lakes and rivers around Sarajevo.

      Delete
  42. Anonymous21:12

    Just checked out that they have 6 new A320 neos and the oldest one is 3 years old.
    And yes, as somebody said above, their schedule is amazing on both legs. Just shows how powerful the A32N are - this is quite a long journey but still manage being able to fly that range. Reminds of FlyBosnia with the A319 to Kuwait I think it was.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.