Regular flights between Ljubljana and Pristina have been restored after almost four years. Trade Air launched a two weekly service between the two cities yesterday, linking them for the first time since the collapse of Adria Airways. Flights will run twice per week, each Monday and Saturday. The service is being operated on behalf of the Kaltrina Travel tour operator with the 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. Adria Airways, which maintained a base in Pristina, operated double daily flights from Ljubljana until it cased all operations on September 30, 2019. Although it primarily catered for transfer passengers, Pristina has been within Ljubljana’s top twenty busiest unserved routes based on indirect passenger flow since the company’s bankruptcy.
Ljubljana - Pristina route performance
* Flights ceased on September 30
The Slovenian government recently said it would target regional routes with subsidies in an attempt to improve Ljubljana Airport’s connectivity, although these incentives are yet to be rolled out and have not been applied to this new service. Within the former Yugoslavia, Ljubljana is now linked to Belgrade, Podgorica and Niš, in addition to Pristina. Prior to Adria’s collapse, the Slovenian capital also boasted flights to Sarajevo and Skopje, with efforts being made for the latter to be introduced later this year.
There have been recent attempts to link Pristina with other former capital cities in the former Yugoslavia, albeit with little success. In late 2021, Croatia Airlines, Trade Air and Kosovo operator MyWings launched joint flights between Zagreb and Pristina. The service was initially maintained three times per week with the Croatian flag carrier’s Dash 8 turboprop aircraft before being decreased to two weekly shortly after. The service was discontinued within a month due to low demand. On the other hand, the resumption of nonstop flights between Belgrade and Pristina, trumpeted in 2020, has still not occurred, with the designated carrier Eurowings blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for the delay. “Unfortunately, there is still no further movement as a result of the Corona pandemic”, Lufthansa’s low cost subsidiary said late last year commenting on the service.
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Well that was unexpected
ReplyDeleteIf Adria's two daily flights could make it with transfers, then I'm sure 2 weekly flights for point to point passengers can work.
ReplyDeleteIt will end up like those Croatia Airlines from ZAG to PRN.
ReplyDeleteEspecially since tickets are not in free sale.
DeleteMy thoughts exactly. Plus this route is resumed after the holidays.
DeleteBizarre
ReplyDeleteWhere can we book it?
ReplyDeleteFor these flights their website says you have to call
DeleteFor reservations:
Kranj: +386 69 929 529
Pristina: +383 44 247 376
Podujevo: +383 44 319 330
What a stupid system
DeleteTime for Trade Air to start selling scheduled flights from Ljubljana. I don't know why they don't do it.
DeleteWhy would they do that and take on the financial risk? This way they have very lucrative operations from Ljubljana.
DeleteWhat they need to do is strike the deal with that agency, and sell remaining seats on their website for a fee; almost no risk for them
DeleteYes, that could work
DeleteGood news for LJU. It needs all the flights it can get
ReplyDeleteHow much are the tickets?
ReplyDeleteI'm quite interested in what the fares are like too.
DeleteWhere can I read about the fares ow/rt?
DeleteFor these flights they say you have to call
DeleteFor reservations:
Kranj: +386 69 929 529
Pristina: +383 44 247 376
Podujevo: +383 44 319 330
It is surprising how few flights PRN has to ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a lot of demand
DeleteMost of the Kosovar diaspora lives in Germany and Switzerland, not in ex YU countries.
DeletePRN could work as a feeder route for transfer pax, which Adria did with LJU - PRN and Croatia with ZAG - PRN. But there is no Adria anymore and also Croatia withdrew from it's ZAG - PRN route.
Deletethere are many ppl living in Slovenia from Kosovo and Slovenia is investing a lot there so it might work even without transfer pax
DeleteSome prior notice on their behalf might have been smart.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't LJU advertise any new routes? They barely even mentioned that Aegean will start flights from Athens next summer, let alone about these flights.
ReplyDeleteBecause they are nor flights operated by the Lufthansa group.
Delete*not
DeleteBecause Aegean does not pay for marketing at LJU.
DeleteI give it a month.
ReplyDeleteEurowings' excuse is beyond stupid.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt has nothing to do with Eurowings at all, some sort of an agreement for air travel has to be drawn up first.
DeleteIt was already signed. Eurowings has exclusive rights, even without some other factors not being resolved yet.
DeleteAnonymous09:26
DeleteIt was not, it was an idea that never took place in reality. Many problems appeared right after signing, most of them are technical issues that occurred for political reasons:
- Serbia still has laws that ban overflying its sky on a route to and from PRN making it illegal for Eurowings to fly directly into the section of the sky controlled by SMATSA. So, flying from PRN than entering MNE or NMK would raise costs and travel time.
-BEG at the time did not have a domestic terminal (it doesn't have it even today but flights to INI are somehow managed), Kosovo would treat it as an international route, but Serbia would treat it as a domestic one, making it nearly impossible to set ID-Passport controls in BEG for that very same reason. Even if they did, it would make a whole set of problems especially for foreign nationals having Kosovar stamps and arriving to Serbia, or even worse, using a passport on a domestic route (which in practice is used while having a check on land)
-Also, Serbia wanted Air Serbia to operate the route, but in order to do that AS would have to comply with Kosovar laws which was also not an option for Serbia. Kosovars were not really keen on having a Serbian national airline at the airport they control. So that option was off the table even though AS expressed interests considering that PRN is basically their only major airport remained unserved in the region.
And lastly
Without offering any transfers from via BEG that route would be useless for point-to-point passengers (similar to one that AS has from BEG to INI) since you can take a return bus ticket that was about 30 euros and be in any of the cities in about 6 hours, or with Bla Bla car in about 4h. Counting check in times, transfers from and to the airport, taxing, luggage etc. travel time would remain almost the same. With new highways on both sides of Merdare being constructed and the administrative/border crossing expanded that line would be more than useless if not providing transfer options.
The idea of agreement was Serbia to give all permissions for this, change laws etc., not to establish the flight and comply with all contemporary legislative. But the deal wasn't signed through EU dialogue so I don't know if it's still in effect.
DeleteIt was never in effect, since it would be an unpopular decision to allow such a move. It would also be questionable if such legislations would pass necessary constitutional assessments for it to pass the parliament. Another technical issue would appear if Serbia formally allowed an international route between two airports IATA registered as airports in Serbia. Therefore, the idea died before the realization even started making it extremely hard for any airline to start flying that route any time soon.
DeleteIt is a pity, especially knowing that with AS flying to PRN it would bring necessary competition to an airport that suffers from extremely high-ticket prices, more options for the local travelers and potentially better business connections and collaboration for both sides.
Until major political issues are solved, regular everyday things like air travel will continue to suffer and people will be forced to look for alternative ways of travel.
Sure but the whole idea of dialogue is that the whole issue is precedent so the partial solutions will be precedents too.
DeleteI agree on that, however we must be realistic and acknowledge that far more important parts of previous agreements were not implemented even though they were aligned with all the legislation and regulation of both sides. When that is solved, I would be more than happy to see BEG-PRN in whatever form it comes and save my ass from Merdare summer hell during diaspora vacation season. :D
DeleteWait, what? So no announcment and the flights already started?
ReplyDeleteYep :D Good luck with that.
DeleteThe variations in those passenger numbers are wild
ReplyDeleteIt portrays Adria's frequency increases and cuts which were wild and changed drastically each year.
DeleteBest of luck
ReplyDeleteIs this a big tour operator in Kosovo?
ReplyDeleteFinally. Long overdue
ReplyDeleteNot having online ticket sales immediately reduces the chances of this route being sucsesfull.
ReplyDeleteTrue
DeleteThis route was much needed.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the solution...
ReplyDeleteWhy not? I don't see anyone else rushing to launch this route.
DeleteI agree with the above anon. Can't hurt to try. No one else wants to.
DeleteWhat?!?!?!
ReplyDelete?
DeleteHow many passengers did they have on the first flight?
ReplyDeleteI don't know but on their facebook page quite a few people seem to be boarding these flights.
DeleteLJU doesn't even have these flights listed in their winter timetable on the website..
ReplyDeleteThey were listed on the "live" arrivals/departures page yesterday.
DeleteWell it obviously wasn't something that was pre planned months in advance.
DeleteDoesn't seem it will stick around for long either.
DeleteLet's wait and see.
DeleteIn LJU's case I would take whatever I can get.
DeletePresence of Trade Air is no big surprise in PRN. They operate up to 5 daily flights on some days to German and Swiss destinations including GP Aviation:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.limakkosovo.aero/
But yeah, it is kinda weird not to additionally sell tickets online and reserve them entirely for the travel agency.
According to the Slovene registrar, Kaltrina have a company registered in Kranj managed by Burim Babatinca:
https://www.bizi.si/KALTRINA-TRAVEL-D-O-O/
There is very few or no information about this person online and the company uses a gmail address. When you lack transparency, something fishy is going on. Trade Air might be partially dealing with a shady business. This is a personal opinion.
Also one God knows how they manage to fill significant amounts of seats for Trade Air, GP Aviation, Bul Air, Enter Air...PRN after all managed to handle almost 3 million passengers last year, which is not a small amount for an ex-YU airport with no LCC base, nor flag carrier. It will also be very interesting once visas are dropped for Kosovars in January 2024. Will be following PRN as it is definitely an interesting case.
I honestly don't get why this seems to be exclusive for PRN. I'm talking about these agents and tour operators filling seats on these, sorry to say, no name airlines. I mean I find it odd. I don't know some other European market that functions this way. Obviously it doesn't matter since the passenger numbers are there but it is an oddity.
DeleteTruth be told all these tour operators working with airlines in Kosovo seem kind of shady.
DeleteHalf of the tour operators are mafiosi.
Delete11:16 for sure! Just checked out a bit further and Burim Babatinca is apparently involved with some construction stuff in Kranj:
Deletehttps://www.companywall.si/podjetje/anuari-doo/MMAgpWOD
After the Adria scandal with the corrupt crooks that were the main reason why the airline went bust, now you apparently have money laundering in Kranj. I don't know why Slovenia is in a deep sleep and not investigating those serious issues.
This is the Modus Operandi for some PRN flights. A local tour operator charters a plane for a certain route and exclusively sells the seats. People seem to be fine with it, as they still book tickets in this weird way. Every summer season, the same scam appears in Switzerland. Kosovars book tickets to PRN through a non-existant tour operator, pay for the tickets and get tricked. After that, the usual crying to the media starts.
DeleteThey announced it on 25.12 - 10 days ago....:
ReplyDeleteDecember 25, 2022 at 9:22 PM
·
Pristina - Ljubljana - Pristina ✈️
From January 4, 2023 the new Pristina - Ljubljana - Pristina airline starts every Monday and Saturday!
For reservations contact us:
Pristina: +383 44 247 376
Podujevo: +383 44 319 330
That doesn't make it much better.
DeleteReally hope it works out.
ReplyDeleteWhat equipment did Adria use on this route?
ReplyDeleteCRJ900
DeleteWhich routes did Adria fly outright from PRN?
DeleteFrankfurt - 8 weekly
DeleteLjubljana - 14 weekly
Munich - 6 weekly
In 2018 they flew to Malmo as well but didn't bring it back in 2019.
DeleteIn 2016 they also flew Pristina-London Luton.
DeleteInteresting thanks!
DeleteMuch good that did them
DeleteWish it was an actual airline operating these flights with online ticket sales.
ReplyDeleteSame. This way, this route is destined to fail.
Deletehttps://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/322003361_858239498843476_8531759457356210444_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=tW-6dkI0x7YAX-TTBEp&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=00_AfBWy79kgPVpVDOf7_M9_Eul3OH2NT-iCshCFR_S0m8skg&oe=63BAB43C
ReplyDeleteCroatian airline operating flights for Kosovo tour operator from Slovenian airport :D
ReplyDeleteOd Vardara pa do Triglava, od Djerdapa pa do Jadrana 😃
DeleteExactly the way it should be. Keep revenues in the region. If OU would be managed smartly, they could fly fm LJU too
DeleteIf OU would have been managed smartly, they could have and should have flown not only from LJU but from at least three times more airports from at least four continents with at least triple bigger fleet, and with three times less losses, or even minimal profits. But instead to be decent airline, they opted to be humiliated Cartel feeder, Uhljeb sanctuary, political tool and Kradeze money laundry machine
DeleteDid not see that one coming.
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDeleteThis won't be profitable.
ReplyDeleteBased on what did you come to that conclusion?
DeleteWell if its not Air Serbia, it wont be profitabile.
DeleteHope these will stick around and frequencies increase over time.
ReplyDeleteThe plane is too large for this route. Not sure how they will fill seats come February.
ReplyDeleteFor 2 times per week it is not too large.
DeleteHow is possible that the price of the tickets is not published on the Internet?
ReplyDeleteThey don't want customers, publicity?
Do you really need to call to a specific number just to ask about it?
These two Balkan destinations are not in the Internet era yet?
Retro style :(
Agree. It will discourage people from using this route.
DeleteWill it really?
DeleteYes. You will instantly gain more travelers if they can simply book it themselves then call someone.
DeleteThey need to do some proper advertising for this route.
ReplyDeletePerfect
ReplyDeleteWhat is the schedule?
ReplyDeletePoor LJU really. When it finally gets flights, you cannot book them online. Same was last year with italian routes our of MBX. If people cannot even book online or search the flights, what did they expect?
ReplyDeleteIt's just for Kosovar immigrants, what's your problem?
DeleteYeah so? Do you think everybody is reading aviation portals? People don't even know this route exists, so how do you expect to fill up the planes?
DeleteI'm sorry were you planning to fly to Kosovo from LJU? The target group will find out, don't worry. This type of operation is modus operandi in PRN if you didn't know already. How do you think they're filling out seats
DeleteI am sure there are notsopublic channels (like FB/Viber groups) where Kosovars will spread the word amongst themselves about this.
DeleteAnd those who won't find out this way will continue to call LJU airport every day for the information about PRN flights.
DeleteFor these flights they say you have to call
DeleteFor reservations:
Kranj: +386 69 929 529
Pristina: +383 44 247 376
Podujevo: +383 44 319 330
Anyone knows how much are the fares?
ReplyDeleteFor these flights they say you have to call
DeleteFor reservations:
Kranj: +386 69 929 529
Pristina: +383 44 247 376
Podujevo: +383 44 319 330
This coming Saturday there seems to be no flight LJU-PRN. At least u cant find it, on LJU APs webpage
ReplyDeleteFor those interested.
ReplyDeleteInformation about these flights are available on the Slovenian website of Kaltrina Travel: kaltrina.si
The prices are very steep: 320.00 EUR cheapest return fare including 15 kgs of luggage per passenger. Very important that even children receive 15 kgs of free luggage with their ticket.
Kaltrina Travel operates buses and minibuses between Slovenia and Kosovo, so they know the market. But I am not sure if the bus ticketing approach to selling air fares will be successful or not. I very much hope they will be.
FYI, on Saturday there were bus after bus after bus leaving Prishtina to Ljubljana and onwards to Austria and Germany. But they all have Ljubljana as a scheduled stop. So, passengers are there but that's not a guarantee of its success.
My bad, promotional pricing valid for 09 January 2023 only was 99.00 EUR apparently.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0qrY6nPEGZ6dDsYutok8RfhoCz6VhQQian8q4Yi5tw1GspqhRnXHSw96LBKdE2F7El&id=100088884735812
Www.kaltrina.si of course you can book online
ReplyDelete