Lufthansa consolidates EX-YU operations amid rising competition


Lufthansa is growing its operations across the former Yugoslavia this coming summer by directly serving six of the region's seven markets, as well as increasing frequencies and introducing new routes to counter growing competition. The airline is contending with the Air France - KLM Group, particularly on the Croatian and Slovenian markets, where the Franco-Dutch conglomerate has been expanding and performing well, notably with transfer passengers to the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. On the other hand, Air Serbia's growing network and transfer options for regional markets with new long haul services to the United States and China are also posing some challenges. As a result, this summer, the German airline is introducing operations to Skopje, as well as increasing frequencies to Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Ljubljana, Sarajevo and Zagreb.

Commenting on its operations, Lufthansa said, "In the very competitive Serbian market, Lufthansa has been able to grow its number of transported passengers between Germany and Serbia, a trend which we expect to continue. Lufthansa has been present in the Serbian market for over 55 years as part of the biggest foreign airline group. The Serbian market is one of the most important in Southeast Europe for Lufthansa and we see big potential and expect further positive developments". The US, secondary destinations in Germany, as well as the Portuguese market are among the most popular with Lufthansa's Belgrade transfers. Croatia remains a stronghold for the Lufthansa Group aided by its close partnership with Croatia Airlines. The German carrier plans to maintain up to 68 weekly flights to the country this coming summer. "We are delighted to have many happy customers in Croatia, which has resulted in our excellent reputation. We connect Croatia to the world via our main hub airports and contribute to its development”. In addition to the US, a number of points in Western Europe, notably in Spain and Scandinavia, are most popular with Lufthansa’s Zagreb transfer passengers.

In Ljubljana, Lufthansa now accounts for 15% of all travellers. Europe dominates among the German carrier's Slovenian transfers, with destinations such as London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, Prague and Oslo coming out on top. "The Lufthansa Group connects passengers from all over the world to Slovenia and at the same time has opened the gateway for travellers from the Slovenian capital to take advantage of the Lufthansa Group worldwide network", the company said. It added, "The Lufthansa Group has recognised the great need for connectivity in Slovenia, its population and the economy with our flight network". The carrier will maintain a record 35 weekly rotations to the Slovenian capital this summer.

Lufthansa is launching operations to Skopje in three months. The carrier previously boasted flights to the Macedonian capital two decades ago, which were maintained on its behalf by Cirrus Airways. "Lufthansa is offering Skopje for the first time from April 23 and will connect the capital of Northern Macedonia up to two twice a day. The flights are scheduled to be attractive for both business travellers and tourists. Lufthansa is strengthening its position in Eastern Europe by adding Skopje", the airline said. Transfer options to and from Canada are proving popular with Lufthansa's Macedonian travellers. In Sarajevo, the airline is introducing an additional three weekly flights from Frankfurt for a total of ten weekly. "Lufthansa has been expanding services from Sarajevo to Germany and the European Union by introducing new flights together with Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Eurowings. Our success would not be possible without our partners and customers. We look forward to continuing to provide services and a flexible network to travellers in the region". Major European hubs, such as London, Amsterdam and Madrid are most popular with Sarajevo's Lufthansa passengers coupled with points in the US such as New York, Boston, and Chicago.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Why am I not surprised that main European capitals are most popular transfer destinations for Lufthansa in Slovenia. If only we had nonstop flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Which is why the current situation is perfect for Lufthansa. 15% of the market will turn into 30% in summer 2023. And they managed to do its with just a couple of daily flights from Frankfurt and Munich.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      Well it is no real surprise with Fraport running the show in LJU. I mean Fraport and LH created a joint company just a few months ago. Of course Fraport is not going to go out and chase airlines to start flights and make things harder for LH.
      https://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/newsroom/releases/fraport-and-lufthansa-establish-fraalliance-joint-venture.html

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:20

      "The Lufthansa Group has recognised the great need for connectivity in Slovenia"

      You don't say...

      Delete
    4. notLufthansa10:18

      And they will solve it by increasing frequencies to FRA and MUC :)

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Interesting comments they made about the Serbian market

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:53

      Not particularly surprising. Of course it is one of their more important markets. It is one of the bigger markets in the region.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    I think Austrian will suffer the most from the LH group from all the increased competition in the region.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      Agreed, and not really sure why they change their tactic. The fact they are starting to fly directly, and ignore both OS and Eurowings may be a signal they need every euro they can get themselves through LH and not through OS in Austria and through money losing Eurowings.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:54

      Ah I remember the day when Austrian was a force to be reckoned with in Eastern Europe. They specialized in Eastern Europe in the 90s and flew to every village.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    Anyone has some info about the reservations to SKP? Can we see bigger birds there on some days or they will stick with A319?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      A319/A320 and A321 are planned depending on sales. I think we could see A321 in July/August.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      It's unbelievable that SKP receives proper LH flights when it has been flying to neighbouring countries for nearly 50 years.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:11

      There were no neighboring countries 50 years ago, there was only YU

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:21

      Wonder if they will finally launch PRN some time in the future. It is the only unserved market left.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:34

      They serve Pristina through Eurowings.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:33

      It's not the same.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:55

      Does Eurowings allow you to buy Lufthansa flights under the same ticket?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous21:40

      15:55 It depends on the route. Some LH routes can be booked P2P, others only transfer via Eurowings Connect, others only exclusive to some destinations.LH do not want to put their brand on leisure destinations but rather more prestigious destinations. Old marketing stuff.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Ouch!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:06

    No longer a free ride for Lufthansa.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:07

    Considering the deteriorating onboard service quality on Lufthansa and the mess with their scheduling during S22, I'm not surprised that more and more people turn their back on them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Agree. They have fallen from grace, especially during Covid.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      Chill with your attitude guys, LH with their hubs still remains and will remain extremely important carrier, especially for transfers.

      Most of European airlines had a decrease in onboard product.

      Like, the bag of chips and baby bottle of water instead of sandwiches and beverages is okay for you? Not trying to hate, but let’s be realistic and try to look things in the wider picture.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:26

      LH serves nothing. Just a bottle of water for free while prices have risen. They are also constantly late.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:27

      Their business class product has also deteriorated drastically on European flights.

      Delete
    5. LH European C class should be renamed to ECO+

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:02

      Sandwich for free on LH European flights?

      Not possible.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:42

      Does anyone actually eat anything on a plane? I only need water, I eat when I land. Food is only necessary when on a long hull flights.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:44

      I do like to eat during the flight and see nothing wrong in it.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:08

      The food isn't much better on their long haul flights anymore either.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:32

      Absolutely nothing wrong with eating during the flight. Wrong only for the quality deterioration apologetics …

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    Increasing frequencies and introducing new routes is the right way to go about combating competition in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      Lufthansa is not stupid. it has been around for decades. It knows how to compete.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:10

    Let's see if they will have enough staff this summer. They were very ambitious last year too and then it all went pear shaped.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      They will. They are in the process of hiring 20,000 extra staff at the moment for next summer.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:11

    I find it positive that LH expands directly and not through it's hybrid/mutant whatever it is Eurowings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      I agree with you, even though we saw many negative comments about LH, it’s good to see that at least they‘re fighting for the market and transfers.

      Wish that Air France would be proactive as well, especially in BEG.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      I think AF is very happy with their codeshare with Air Serbia which feeds their flights. I remember reading here that JU CEO said they have 25% lower costs on the Paris route than Air France, so Air France is content with Air Serbia to shuttle passengers for the,.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:56

      Air France's uncompetitive cost structure is their main issue.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:20

    What are Lufthansa's fares compared to Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines on competing routes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      OU and LH have the same fares.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:23

      Air Serbia is cheaper than Lufthansa. Although Lufthansa has brought down its prices on flights to Belgrade.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:22

      If JU had better and more diverse time slots, they would attract even more passengers.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:45

      I believe it is slot constrained in FRA.

      Delete
    5. @An.09.25
      No they don't. I have ticket for LH to go in a few days AMM-FRA-MUC-RJK. The last one, MUC-RJK, s operated by OU. The ticket with all three LH flight numbers was around 900 euros, one way. At the same time, ticket with first two LH flight numbers and last one OU flight number was 1.600 euros one way. People who understand what I talk about will understand. Bots will continue with Bravo Hrvatska

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:38

      Bravo Hrvatska ! 🤣 (joking obviously)

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:28

    Ex yu, you touched on the topic briefly in the article, perhaps it would be nice to write an article about the major transfer hubs for ex yu passengers to flights to North America or globally. Would be very interested in such statistics. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:34

    I think the Skopje route will be a big success.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      Definitely. And they wouldn't be starting off with 10 weekly if they thought otherwise.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:46

      I expect it will be double daily in summer 2023.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:46

      Sorry meant summer 2024.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:52

      I would be surprised if they increase frequencies for this summer already.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:54

      On what are you basing your optimism?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:26

      09:54 My thoughts as well. Given the fact that SKP is a mainly gasto airport, it will be interesting to see how a legacy airline will perform.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:35

      The SKP addition will definitely take a bite out of Turkish's market share.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:48

    LH is definitely going to loose a lot of European transfers from Belgrade. LH was poplar from BEG wto Italy, especially leisure destinations, all of which will now be served from BEG. Also with flights to Portugal starting up and most of Europe being served well from Belgrade, I expect they will be left with TATL and UK and Ireland transfers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      I’m certain they have been impacted on the Serbian market. Air Serbia has been really aggressive with Germany and now offer many German cities.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:00

      To be honest I think that they felt they had been impacted by JU and that is a reason they introduced 3rd daily flight from FRA.

      MUC was also before pandemic on 21 weekly, but FRA was maximum 14 weekly.

      They also decreased the prices. They reduced cheapest ticket on FRA-BEG-FRA route to 150 EUR coming closer to JU's cheapest ticket.

      Delete
    3. YU carried 27k pax from BEG to Germany in july+august 2019 vs 17k carried by LH. In the same period in 2022 YU carried 43k pax and LH 13k. Well done JU!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:31

      wow that's a big difference.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:37

      It is expected JU to have better results taking in consideration they were flying in 2019 to FRA, STR, BER, DUS and HAM and LH only from MUC and FRA to BEG.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:32

      It is still a mystery to me that JU has not started Munich.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:08

      And for me it is even bigger mystery that nobody is allowed to say a single word about the reasons why JU does not fly to MUC..

      Vow of silence.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:19

      Agreed. With LH going 3x daily to BEG you would expect JU could go 3x weekly to start.
      Never heard any explanation why this is so.

      Delete
    9. Maybe because Franz Josef Strauss is expensive. Maybe because JU is not * and not that many transfer options are available. Maybe because they can't rely on German passengers who prefer flying german airlines, both P2P or transfer. Maybe because family of four can reach BEG by car in 12 hours for price of two return tickets. Maybe because they already tried Salzburg as Munich South. Maybe because they estimate better results could be achieved on other routes. Maybe because they have some professionals working in network research and development and marketing....

      Delete
    10. Anonymous06:56

      But if the market is there for 3x daily flights, why couldn't JU grab at least 20% of it? Or create some of there own demand?
      Why don't the reasons you gave also apply to LH?

      Delete
    11. Because LH with its amount of traffic at MUC has reduced costs
      Because MUC as a hub has much bigger offer than BEG
      Because Germans use mostly german airlines, as I already said.
      Don't get me wrong, I wish if JU could open MUC, and many others. But according to their results so far, I believe they have very good reason not to have already started it

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:12

      Thanks for the explain.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous13:18

      That could be said for Vienna or Zurich too, yet JU has great number of flights to these destinations. There's some other issue with MUC obviously.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:56

    Good to know they are planning to put up a fight.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:56

    With new German law which will enable hiring West Balkan staff in Germany even without prooving there's no available local workers, the region-Germany markets will stay strong. Unfortunatelly for us?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:05

      There will be advantages and disadvantages of that new law.

      More air traffic, more money being sent home, less people staying in their own country, new generation of young people will become automatically Germans (probably the biggest and the most dangerous disadvantage).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:24

      I think many people that are temporarily there for work will just use LCC options.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:25

    What will be interesting is to see their response when Air Serbia expands US beyond JFK and Chicago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:44

      Even if Air Serbia expands further in North America, they wouldn't be anywhere close to being a threat to Lufthansa. Just look at the number of frequencies and destinations LH offer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:46

      Also worth mentioning is that are going up against, not only Lufthansa, but United, Air Canada, Austrian Airlines... all which are part of the JV.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:57

      Fully agree. No matter what JU does in this market LH and the JV you mentioned is too big, too well positioned to even feel it.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:01

      You would be surprised.

      Delete
    5. Boris20:05

      During this Christmas & NY break many flights were cancelled in Canada (70-80%) for the whole week. People are so upset that there were no communication from the Airlines with cancellations and refunds. In this particular case Air Canada can not blame weather for such a poor communication. If AirSerbia ever comes to Toronto I feel a lot of passengers from the Balkans will gladly give them a chance.

      Delete
    6. JU520 BEGLAX20:26

      AC has become one of the lousiest airlines in North America and this not just on the pax side, their cargo service sucks too.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:28

    Which other cities have potential for LH flights? INI, MBX, TZL?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:29

      I highly doubt any of those. More of a chance of Eurowings operating those cities, and even that is slim. I think Podgorica and Pristina are future destinations for Lufthansa.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:32

      It will probably take them a decade to introduce a new ex-Yu destination after Skopje.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:39

      Not really. It took them just 4 years between starting Tivat and introducing Skopje :D

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:10

      Nis has potential and Lufthansa has right-adapted planes for that route like the CRJ900.
      Three or four weekly can be good.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:00

      they didnt fly to ljubljana before. they started late 2019.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:59

      NI is not ready for LH. Swiss also failed in INI.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:01

      *INI

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:02

      Eurowings would make much more sense for all those cities.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:43

      15:59 ha! you are right..forgot about the LX flights to INI but maybe daily MUC CR9 could initially work. ZRH is an amazing airport but not developed for transfers. Maybe Eurowings Discover would actually work....

      Delete
    10. Anonymous18:47

      Such a funny comment. But not in a funny way.
      Eurowings Discover only flies to exotic holiday destination with mainly A330s so sure they will scrap Punta Cana and Tampa and introduce flights to INI.. and,
      ZRH is not developed for transfers?? It's one of the main European Transfer Hubs.
      Jesus....

      Delete
    11. Anonymous02:07

      Anon 18:47 I think I agree with you, especialy on cancel Tampa to do INI with A330 😀 with Tampa booming and attracting way more Europeans, British, Virgin and Swiss will also cancel Tampa and go to INI 😜

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:09

    Let's go Lufty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:17

      Lol

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:38

      LOL indeed

      Delete
    3. You mean let's go Cartel?

      Delete
    4. notLufthansa22:21

      You mean Luftkartel gmbh?:)

      Delete
    5. Ja, ja, genau wieso, naturlich geehrter Herr

      Delete
  20. Anonymous12:18

    Interesting that LCCs like Wizz and Ryan flying from ex-Yu didn't have much of an impact on Lufthansa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:23

      Much of this traffic is intercontinental transfer traffic where LCCs can't really compete

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:31

      Exactly they carry completely different passengers.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous12:23

    Lufthansa ima solidnu klijentelu sa Beogradskog aerodroma. Medjutim trenutni razvoj Er Srbije na njenom novoizgradjenom Habu koji se razvija, bice Lufthfansi nesto ozbiljniji konkurent. Prosirenje mreze na Evropskim destinacijama kao i broj letova za Njujork i Cikago cini Er Srbiju prirodni izbor.
    Dolazeca letnja sezona pokazace koliko kolaca ce uzeti Luftfhansa. Bar sto se trzista Srbije tice. 😀✈🛫

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous05:39

      Na lufthansinim letovima su 90%stranci koji lete preko Frankfurtu ili Minhena sa Star Alliance dalje u Europu ili Ameriku, Kanadu ili Aziju. Tako da nema bojazni za nju. Sada kada i ATI Airlines kupi imat ce i talijansku trziste za sebe.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous15:34

    ex-Yu population seems to be particularly mesmerized by Lufthansa and I really don't know the reason why. They are far from being some wow airline.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous15:35

    Lufthansa has a massive advantage on other airlines of having so many transit passengers on their flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:43

      But as competition rises, which it certainly is, the number of transit passengers is getting lower.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:51

      You are gravely underestimating LH.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:01

      How will LH transfer option beat Wizz on BEG-LIS?

      Delete
    4. Vlad17:14

      There are many people who would never fly Wizz regardless of convenience (such as myself). I prefer to actually know I have a ticket when I buy a ticket.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:42

      We went to LIS through Munich with LH. Wizz is not that bad to enjoy dirty Balkan flights part of Munich airport.

      Delete
    6. Vlad21:43

      What part of MUC are you referring to? All LH flights depart from the same terminal.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous06:48

      Vlad, when you buy a ticket you always get a ticket, and if you didn't get a ticket, that means you didn't buy a ticket.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous15:52

    LH should be more present on the Montenegrin market rather than the 1 weekly seasonal flights to Tivat. With Air Montenegro barely surviving month after month they could really take a bigger piece of the cake and compete with JU for the market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:01

      Their presence is rather symbolic. I wonder why they don't start flights to Podgorica.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous15:58

    Despite this proactive effort, I would not be surprised if there is stagnation or even slight decline of the combined LH Group passengers in Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous16:00

    After years on of taking ex-Yu market for granted they finally woke up.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous16:03

    I hope Lufthansa restores Munich-Sarajevo alongside Frankfurt flights.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous16:20

    Here we go ...

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous16:24

    Wasn't a CRJ900 scheduled for MUC-LJU for the winter? I flew with LH to Manchester with them a week ago and had a sold out crj on a flight tu MUC and a sold out A319 on a flight back to LJU. I was surprised about A319.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:04

      Yes i think they have to MUC 2x weekly A319, 1x weekly E190(EN) and 2 weekly CRJ9, and it's quite interesting they don't fly daily in January

      Delete
  30. Anonymous02:11

    Even do I would love to se KLM starting AMA-SKP I hope it doesn't happen so it would not kill FRA-SKP on the start. After MAT bankruptcy SKP needs at least one main Europe HUB. Good job Lufthansa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous06:45

      BEG. dats all day needs.

      Delete

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