Airports seek inter-EX-YU connectivity


Airports across the former Yugoslavia are looking to improve connectivity among each other, with talks being held by various stakeholders in several markets. This week, the General Manager of Sarajevo Airport, Alan Bajić, and the head of the Airports of Montenegro Supervisory Board, who is effectively running the operator, Eldin Dobardžić, held talks over the introduction of flights between Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital and Podgorica. The two cities were last linked by B&H Airlines prior to its collapse in 2015. “Together with the Montenegrin Ministry for Capital Investment, we believe that the introduction of nonstop year-round flights between Podgorica and Sarajevo, as well as the possible launch of seasonal operations between Sarajevo and Tivat, would be mutually beneficial for both countries”, Mr Dobardžić said. Last year, Air Montenegro launched a seasonal service between Tivat and Banja Luka which has proven to be extremely successful.


The two busiest unserved citypairs in the former Yugoslavia are Ljubljana and Skopje. The Macedonian capital has emerged as one of Ljubljana Airport’s busiest unserved routes following the collapse of Adria Airways. In 2019, 40.293 passengers flew between the two capital cities, from January until late September when operations ceased. In 2018, the figure stood at 44.828 travellers for the entire year. Air Serbia has since become the main transfer airline for passengers commuting between the two cities. Wizz Air has considered launching the route and has also approached Maribor Airport as an alternative to the Slovenian capital but has requested up to a million euros in subsidies and incentives to maintain services between the two cities. Ljubljana Airport’s management previously stressed that Skopje is an “extremely important” route that should be restored.

Air Serbia has held talks with Macedonian authorities over the launch of seasonal summer operations between Belgrade and Ohrid next year, which would serve both point-to-point leisure traffic and act as a feeder for its long haul network. The Serbian carrier initially launched a seasonal three weekly service between Belgrade and Ohrid in 2016, following a three-year hiatus. In 2017, operations were increased to four weekly. However, by 2018 the flights were discontinued amid a wide-ranging push to cut costs and rationalise its network. Back then, the airline primarily relied on transfer passengers to sustain its Ohrid service, with special fares targeting the Macedonian diaspora in Australia, many of which hail from the Ohrid region. However, the termination of Air Serbia's Abu Dhabi flights in 2017, which served as a feeder from Australia, significantly affected loads on the Ohrid route.

Croatia Airlines has held talks with airport operator TAV Macedonia over the potential expansion of its operations in the country. “If there is interest from Macedonian tour operators and partners, we are ready to expand our cooperation onto routes other than Zagreb and Skopje, like perhaps Ohrid and Split”, the carrier said. On the other hand, TAV Macedonia noted, “Road connectivity between our two countries is unsatisfactory, which is why new airline routes would be a big step forward. We believe flights between Ohrid and Split would be of interest to tourists, so they could visit both countries within a few days in one go”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    The route that makes most sense in LJU-SKP. Unfortunately it is a great example of a route that can't start because neither country has a national airline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Wizz could launch it if they want it. Especially with a base in Skopje.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee09:14

      I think Wizz Air's plane is too big for this market. Get JU to operate this route as INI-LJU-SKP-LJU-INI. The ATR is perfect for this route. It's small and efficient. Two weekly should be enough.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:16

      I would think it's too big too but then I see Ryanair is flying Zagreb-Podgorica twice per week with an A320.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:20

      Well, ZAG is a larger market than LJU so it shouldn't surprise us. Airlines flying into LJU mostly operate regional jets. Since JP died, LJU has shrank to a tertiary European airport.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:27

      True. Should keep in mind that Adria also carried quite a few transfers from Skopje which is why the route had something like 9-10 weekly flights. And in my opinion it also had the perfect aircraft type for these ex-Yu markets - the CRJ900.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:37

      Those who talk about SKP-LJU as busiest unserved routes clearly does not know the background of those passenger numbers. Or in other words, which route would have more passengers if they had exact same schedule/price etc:

      1) PRN-FMM
      2) PRN-MUC

      if FMM has more passengers we can not say that it's better than MUC. The same case is with SKP-LJU. Just check number of Kosovarians and Macedonians living in Slovenia and everything will be much clearer.

      Delete
    7. @Nemjee
      During Yugo times, both JAT and Adria operated LJU-SKP twice daily, daily each. After the disintegration, Adria operated LJU-SKP twice daily. Roughly half of the pax were transfers and half p2p. Wizz, with its prices can fill 320 on LJU-SKP at least three times weekly. JU as third country operator cannot operate the service without interstate agreements and government approvals

      Delete
    8. Nemjee10:44

      If there was a market for an A320 on SKP-LJU then Wizz would have been all over it by now. They wouldn't have ignored a short segment with supposedly a lot of demand. Since they have not launched this route then it can only mean economics are not there to justify it.

      As for JU, both Slovenia and North Macedonia would have given the green light if JU was to operate this flight. There is no reason not to do that especially since regional connectivity has been really bad for many years now.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:55

      So every route that has demand has already been launched? By that logic there shouldn't be any new routes in whole world.

      Delete
    10. If there is one unserved line in ex-yu with the market and with demand, it's LJU-SKP. Why is Wizz not there, remains unclear to me. The only logical answer would be LJU taxes, which prevent not only Wizz but any other operator to start it. And also not so sure about green light from Slovenia

      Delete
    11. Nemjee11:06

      Anon 10.55

      No but every market has a certain level of demand that airlines look at and only then they evaluate if they can operate it based on available capacity. Wizz Air has been present in SKP for many years now, I have a hard time believing they did not take a look at introducing LJU flights.

      Pozdrav iz Rijeke, well I don't know if taxes at LJU are a problem since Wizz Air already offered some flights from there (don't know if they still do).
      As for the green light, I don't see a good enough reason why Slovenia would block such a route. There is no reason for such a move especially since they would be blocking a carrier which has a considerable presence in LJU. On top of that, Slovenia and Serbia have decent diplomatic relations.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:09

      I would say that LJU-SKP is definitely unserved, but there are other EX-YU routes with even higher demand from LJU..

      Delete
    13. Anonymous11:30

      @pozdrav iz Rijeke
      Huh, I remember flying SKP-LJU and back twice in the eighties (I am from Vranje). Both times by Adria, first time I guess it was DC9, and on the second occasion, I remember well, it was DASH 7, and it made a stop in Sarajevo. Can`t recall JAT was flying the route? Anyways, the tickets were boughtat the travel agent`s, and it might be that I was only offered Adria.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous12:45

      LJU-PRN for sure has more demand then LJU-SKP.

      Delete
    15. Agree about PRN to be with big demand to/from LJU as well. But there are two problems about it, and why SKP comes as more logical choice. The first thing is Wizz has aircraft based in SKP, not in PRN, the second one is inability of entering airspace of Kosovo the shortest route, over and from Serbia, which makes service longer and more expensive

      Delete
    16. @An.11.30
      Adria had operated daily LJU-BEG-SKP in the evening, returning from SKP in the morning. It was normally operated by MD-80, later by A320. There were also LJU-SJJ-SKP flights, on Dash/DC-9 during the day (afternoon). JAT had operated LJU-SKP daily, year round, three weekly DC-9 via SJJ, and four weekly via SPU, B727 summer and combo DC-9 /B727 in winter

      Delete
    17. Anonymous16:12

      Slovenia has no means to block Wizz (or OU) flight from LJU to SKP. Open Skies + EU-based airline

      Delete
    18. Anonymous19:51

      And in the last years of Adria, they flew twice a day to Skopje during the summer season. I remember that there were days when three airplanes of Adria were departing at 13:25 to Ljubljana, two of which were LJU-TIA-SKP or LJU-PRN-SKP and LJU-SJJ-SKP. So there is demand for this route, and Wizz Air is the perfect airline for it as it is cheap. When Wizz Air can operate twice a week with A321 to destinations such as Vaxjo in Sweden ( in the middle of nowhere ) then for sure they can fill up an A320 to LJU.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    OU has been talking about Split-Ohrid for so long

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Kroatovanje. They held several talks with Slovenians about Ljubljana base and nothing happened. They made the same statement about Podgorica and Montenegro and what happened? Ryanair launched it in the end. Then they turned around and made same statements about flying to Tirana and... nothing happened.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:32

      +1

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:10

      Thinking ,considering, looking into possibilities, evaluating, waiting, estimating... OU in a nutshell.

      Delete
    4. Ohrid could see more demand from ZAG than from SPU. SPU needs SKP on the other hand, which JAT operated 40 years ago 4 weekly on B727. But, hey, it's OU we talk about, so.....

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:19

      Definitely more demand between Zagreb and Ohrid than between Split and Ohird... and definitely more demand between Split and Skopje than between Split and Ohrid.... OU seems to be "lost" again...

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    The only one that will launch is Belgrade-Ohrid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Wonder what the frequency will be

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      I think it was mentioned that 2 weekly flights have been proposed from June 2023.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:11

      Sounds reasonable

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:13

      Still waiting for PRN-BEG with JU double daily flights.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:05

      If PRN-BEG ever starts it's gonna be Eurowings

      Delete
    6. What happened to those flights, did they start in the end of was it just wishful thinking?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:40

      It looks new Kosovo government is not in favor of ex-govt deals

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    No surprise that the first thing the new CEO of Airports of Montenegro did is talk to Sarajevo Airport. He is the leader of the Bosniak party in Montenegro and was appointed CEO because he is in the coalition government. Of course has no experience in anything related to aviation or management.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      wow haha

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      The political link aside, I do think Air Montenegro could launch seasonal flights between Tivat and Sarajevo. I'm pretty sure it would work, just like Banja Luka. Bosnians are one of the top tourists in Montenegro.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      Where is Daliborka and why don't they consult her?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:31

      Don't worry, Daliborka is still a member of parliament and is the president of the anti corruption committee haha. I kid you not.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:40

      Didn't they start Podgorica-Tuzla while she was CEO?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      That lasted long...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:42

      @9.40 No, they actually flew Tuzla-Vienna for some tour operator. Routing was Podgorica-Vienna-Tuzla-Vienna-Podgorica. It failed after 2 weeks.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:43

      And yes, it was during Daliborka's time. In 2015.

      Delete
    9. You can speak whatever you want about Daliborka, probably you know better than me, and probably it's well deserved, but at her time Montenegro saw its best and most prosperous days, at least looking from the distance

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    "Extremely important" and nothing has been done. Only talks and talks, isn't it Fraport?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      They could have entertained Wizz Air to launch this route. But to me it is now obvious that LCCs are avoiding LJU for a particular reason and it probably has to do with fees. Wizz Air went to talk to Maribor and now Ryanair is talking about Maribor.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      Bravo Fraport!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:24

      How big are the fees in LJU? How about BEG and ZAG?
      Anyway, of fee is high to offer tickets of 9€, they can sell them for 49€ etc. We are not talking about hundreds of euros per passenger that airport is charging, right?!
      Everybody blame the fees and I am afraid it's simply the demand and small market that is already covered by neighbouring airports, so LJU is destined to be secondary or even tertiary airport for a long time.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:00

      Yes but companies are looking at overall profitability and, trust me, 10 EUR per passanger could make difference between profitable and not profitable flight.
      And no one is destined to anything, we saw best and worst of LJU already...

      Delete
  6. Nemjee09:11

    The best, cheapest and easiest solution would be for all ex-YU airports to work with Air Serbia. They could make the necessary arrangements for JU to work with them on linking regional airports.

    For example, JU could introduce morning flights to SKP which would be linked with TGD or SJJ through a W pattern flight.

    For example:
    BEG-SKP 06.30-07.30
    SKP-SJJ 08.00-09.10

    SJJ-SKP 09.40-10.50
    SKP-BEG 11.20-12.20

    Like that JU's ATR would be back in time to do a regional run while offering connections from SKP onto JU's regional network which departs after 13.00.

    If they operated such a schedule on Thursdays, they could offer connections from SKP to JFK, ATH, IST, OTP, TIA, SOF, ZAD, LCA, DBV, SPU,, TIV, TGD and even SJJ.

    Air Serbia would strengthen its brand even more in the region.

    It could be a win-win situation for everyone especially since BEG has the highest, year-round demand from all of ex-YU destinations and JU has the right plane for this kind of action.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Let's wait and see what the open Balkans initiative brings. From what I've heard cooperation in the aviation sector will be on the agenda next year. Air Serbia actually still has an airline registered in Macedonia - Aeromak.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee09:22

      I don't think JU will need Aeromak just like Wizz Air didn't have to register a separate business before opening a base at SKP. North Macedonian market is too small for JU to bother with so much extra bureaucracy. If JU ever expands in SKP it will be using its own brand, planes and crew.

      Delete
    3. I agree with everything you wrote, just getting other governments permits seems mission impossible to me

      Delete
    4. Nemjee10:45

      Which is why you start with low risk routes like linking North Macedonia with Bosnia and Montenegro. I don't think either one of the two would say no to such a route.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:14

      +1

      Delete
    6. JATBEGMEL11:56

      @nemjee

      I couldn't agree more with what you wrote.

      JU in the past operated flights out of BNX (I think it was TIV and ATH), so I think, as you said, operating flights between Macedonia, BiH and Montenegro shouldn't be a problem.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:54

      OU is in better position to do so, they have one market they don't need any permit (Slovenia) and with politics involved here I think they could get permit for SJJ easier than JU...

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:03

      Air Serbia can't strenghten their brand in the region if politicans will continue shaming people for travelling and vacationing somewhere in the region.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:14

    Croatia should think about seasonal DBV to SKP. Dubrovnik is breathtaking place but driving some 600km almost 10 to 12 hours is not fun at all...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      Won't work, Macedonians have breathtaking Greek beaches down the road. Holidays in Dubrovnik would be quite expensive.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:03

      True Greece is close and everyone primarily goes there for holiday

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:13

      It makes sense, Greece is a global super power when it comes to tourism. They really did perfect this industry and that is why they are doing so well this year. ATH is already at 95% of pre-covid numbers meaning they will handle over 20 million passengers this year.

      Delete
    4. @An.09.15
      Just to inform you that JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated in season DAILY DC-9 DBV-SKP 40 years ago. Also good information for all those claiming how everything was so bad in Yugoslavia and is so perfect today

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:34

      Yes and times were different back then, situation is no longer the same. Most Yugos didn't travel abroad for holidays, now they go to Egypt, Turkey, Spain and so on.

      Delete
    6. More Yugos were able to afford holidays abroad at that time than today. All three airlines - JAT, Adria and Aviogenex had hundreds of charters to all of the Southern Europe and North Africa for local tourists plus scheduled services, mostly JAT were used. Number of huge tourists agencies in all cities and ex republics were in dozens. It has nothing to do with then domestic and now regional traffic - people were able to afford both

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:17

      Those charter flights were to bring foreigners mostly to the coast. Yugos traveled abroad to Trst to buy cheap foreign jeans. JU's network abroad was very weak even during the best years.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:50

      "JU's network abroad was very weak even during the best years" - you MUST be kidding. Have you seen their schedule and destinations at late eighties?

      Delete
    9. Obviously he is one of brainwashed kids. No one living in Yugo time and knowing how Yugo aviation was developed and how much people travelled couldn't say such a BS. Plus what I like the most, there is no explanation, no numbers, no comparisons, no analysis, nothing, just it was like that because someone told me it was like that. And btw, majority of people can't afford even going to Trst today.

      Delete
    10. JATBEGMEL18:08

      @15,17

      Thank goodness for the miracles of the internet and that timetables and route maps can be compared.

      For what Yugoslavia was, JAT had a fantastic network. You've got websites like 'timetableimages.com' to compare the network of JAT to airlines such as TK, OS, AZ and you will realise that JAT wasn't bad at all, in fact decent.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:17

      @pozdrav iz Rijeke
      Jel možeš da nam kažeš koliko je Jat prevozio putnika u toj glamuroznoj Jugoslaviji? Koja je njihova rekordna godina?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:21

    Weren't some flights attempted a few years ago from the Croatian coast to Macedonia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      SPU-SKP and they failed miserably. They operated for barely 3 months. OU is useless. They also failed on SPU-BEG while JU is thriving.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      Actually SPU-SKP lasted just 2 weeks.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      Ou failed miserably on all ex-Yu routes it attempted with exception to Sarajevo and Skopje. It also failed on Mostar route (even with subsidies)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:29

      SPU-SKP failed because
      A) Croatia Airlines started sales less than 2 weeks before the flights started when everyone in the mid of summer already had their summer vacations booked
      B) They published some outrageous fares on this route.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:32

      * Exemplary planning lol

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:13

      I remember fares were as high as €300 one way.

      Delete
    7. OU failed miserably with its bare existence. They were in position to be what Austrian or Turkish are, and Air Serbia is becoming, for the Balkans, or what Air Baltic, SAS and Finnair are for Baltic and Scandinavian countries. Instead, they are pathetic miserable feeder full of crime and corruption and full of incompetent uhljebs uninterested to do anything

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:39

      Turkish? HAHAHAHA sure.

      Delete
    9. Instead of hahaha, try to understand what I wrote. I wouldn't say OU would be as big as Turkish today, but it would have transfer passengers from entire Balkans like TK or OS, or even JU lately, instead of being only miserable feeder

      Delete
    10. Anonymous23:02

      Oh those people thinking TK was always powerhouse

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:33

    Unfortunately inter- ex-Yu market is rather low yielding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      It depends what plane you deploy. On an ATR72 or Q400 most routes can turn a profit.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:34

    I think a route Air Serbia should consider is Nis-Zagreb. It could work on the ATR72.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:14

      INI-BNX makes a lot more sense.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:37

      Anon 10:14, why INI-BNX ? Is there a diaspora or anything ? I’m curious to know

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:45

      BEG-BNX is 2 per week so INI-BNX is science fiction

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:33

      Novi Sad - BNX would be a perfect line.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:41

    I'm surprised there are no flights between Skopje and Sarajevo and between Skopje and Podgorica. Isn't there demand?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      Didn't B&H Airlines fly Sarajevo-Podgorica-Skopje at one point?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:45

      The issue with Skopje-Sarajevo is that there is no airline that can operate these flights. Wizz Air can't operate between two non-EU countries. And I'm doubtful there is much demand anyway.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      @9.44 yes they did

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:48

      Did they have 5th freedom rights between Podgorica and Skopje?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:59

      No

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:48

    Flydubai flew Sarajevo-Podgorica for one winter season. They even had rights to sell tickets between Sarajevo and Podgorica. But it didn't work out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:59

      How were they allowed to do this. A non EU airline flying between to third non-EU countries?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:02

      Because UAE has open sky agreement with Bosnia and Montenegro. This allows them to fly between these countries. I believe they have open skies with every ex-Yu country, including the EU ones - Croatia and Slovenia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:09

      Thanks, didn't know that.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:10

    FR has shown it is not afraid to launch regional routes from Zagreb. I mean they fly Podgorica, Sofia and Thessaloniki from Zagreb. I'm hoping they consider some other ex-Yu routes too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12

      They could try Zagreb - Skopje - Ljubljana - Skopje - Zagreb

      Delete
    2. OU could do it as well LOL!!!

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:11

    I'm glad all these cities are exploring new routes and better connectivity among each other.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:14

    What about PRN - PUY at least during season, it sounds like no brainer...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:15

    So far only Serbia is doing something.

    INI-LJU
    INI-BEG
    INI-TIV
    KVO-TIV

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19

      It has the most nonstop flights to ex-yu. Besides those it also has Split, Pula, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Rjeka, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Skopje...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:23

      Of course but BEG is its main hub, I was merely speaking about other airports it serves.

      Btw they also fly INI-IST, INI-ATH and KVO-SKG which is also regional connectivity when looking at the Balkan peninsula.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:26

    There was an OHD-LJU line back in the late 90's and early 00' by Adria. I know there is no one to fly this route nowadays but I think there could be some demand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      They use to fly to many ex-Yu cities in the 00s. Even Ljubljana-Banja Luka.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      Adria was also flying Dubrovnik - Ohrid too in YU times, with Dutch tourists mostly I think - and with packages for both towns..

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:28

    Would be great! Let’s be honest, a quite far from reality..Maybe double flight on SJJ-BEG has potential..if AS announced network is fully operational

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:30

      They need more planes. Especially the turboprops.

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL12:03

      @10,30

      It was mentioned that they are looking into as many as 10 ATR's to have in the fleet. The current ATR fleet will be fully replaced by the end of the year, which will set them up for future expansion.

      While at the Farnborough Airshow, Marek was quite active in talks with Airbus and ATR.

      @10,28

      I wouldn't say never. Throw in subsidies and anything is possible.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:50

    You pretty much can be profitable on all capital to capital routes with ATR 42–600. Even 72 would probably work

    ReplyDelete
  20. If only there was no war and disintegration and if only JAT Yugoslav Airlines from 1980's remained to serve the entire ex-yu market from its 1980's network as a base, today it would have been giant with well over hundred aircraft and all ex-yu city pairs would have had at least double daily links, up to 10 daily between the biggest in peak season. But......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL12:16

      ...but 30 years later we are talking about JU operating flights between ex-YU cities...again. We have to be amongst the smartest stupid people on the planet.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:24

      Yes but from JU's perspective this setup is much more favorable. Having a multi base operation rarely works. BA struggled with it, SK is struggling with it and only LH comes to mind and that is probably because their two hubs are in economic super power cities.

      Without political pressure JU is free to pursue a purely financial expansion policy. Back in YU they had to focus on all airports so that no constitutents felt left out.

      At the end of the day, JU and BEG are profiting from this setup much more.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:27

      BEG only reached its 80s passenger numbers a few years ago and and Air Serbia isn't even close to reaching JAT's passenger numbers.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:21

      BEG's record during YU times was 4.5 million. BEG surpassed that record in 2014, so 8 years ago. That's more than a few years ago.
      In 1985 JAT carried five million passengers which was a record. Before covid JU carried 2.810.000 passengers, so they are already at 56% of JAT's record.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:43

      ^ if you think that this is some kind of success after 30 to 35 years...

      Delete
    6. JATBEGMEL17:13

      @13,24

      I somewhat disagree. We can see airlines such as LOT and BT operating multiple bases and they seem fine. The question would be how JAT would have adapted to changes in aviation, especially with the growth of ULCC's.

      Another question would be how the other Yugoslav carriers would look today. Would have JP and AGX survived? Would they be bigger? What kind of competition would they have be to JAT? Would have Wizz existed and grown to be the airline that it is?

      Also, how would JAT look today? Would it have 2 major hubs in BEG and ZAG with smaller operations from LJU, SJJ, SKP and seasonally from DBV? Would its ops be in the form of W patterns (iw ZAG-FRA-SJJ-FRA-ZAG, BEG-CDG-LJU-CDG-BEG)?

      JAT's fleet was also much larger, with brand new aircraft. It would be safe to assume a fleet of 80-100 aircraft today. Is JU really that better off today? Are the ex-YU airports better today? Are the former republics better connected today than what it could of been?

      Soo many more questions to ask and ponder about before jumping to the conclusion that JU is better today. At first glance, it isn't, and the more you dig down the more you realise that alot more could of become of JU and the Yugoslav market as a whole.

      Delete
    7. @JATBEGMEL
      Plus one million ☺

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:11

      But instead of separation with single market we decided to go through WW2 again. We live the consequences.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous13:19

    Were there any flights ever from Ohrid to Split? Maybe Pozdrav knows. If someone above mentioned that Skopje-Split failed miserably, then how will Ohrid be any different being much smaller?

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    Replies
    1. As far as I know, there were never scheduled flights between SPU and OHD. Not even ZAG to OHD. Adria did fly between DBV and OHD and JAT between DBV and SKP. However, plenty of tourist groups from Croatia, mostly team building and/or companies awarding their employees or individuals they cooperate with, visit Ohrid for two or three days. Trade Air operated several such charters.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:40

      Interesting, thanks for the info. Do you think that there is demand to maintain such as a route as SPU-OHD at least seasonal or to better restore DBV-SKP?

      Delete
    3. Believe DBV-SKP could work , demand wise, in season. Not so sure about SPU-OHD, maybe like one day trip in cooperation with tourist agencies, but it's almost impossible operationally

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:01

      My thoughts about SPU-OHD as well. North Macedonian market is quite small and heavily depends on its Albanian diaspora (visible in SKP in the gasto routes) and to an extent Australia but the Gulf carriers also kept postponing their resumption. Only Turkey is where more demand is there via air.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous23:25

      OHD now doesn't have single connection in the region so I don't think SPU will be the first one.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous18:38

    Air Montenegro should first fix their connections with Belgrade as these deteriorate more and more .
    Many flights get cancelled or reduced to just a daily rotation .
    Before Corona YM dominated this market .
    Why serve the whole thing to the competition on a silver tray ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:32

      ^ People preferred YM because JU utilized mostly outdated and noisy turboprops .
      Now its all modern jets - thus no more any competitive advantage for YM .

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:17

      True that. I was booking Tivat recently and in the same day I could choose between ATR, A319 and A320 with JU (ATR was the most expensive). Their offer is now superb on that market.

      Delete

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