Skopje, Dubrovnik, Ljubljana and Pristina in potential Qatar expansion


Qatar Airways is set to make a "significant network announcement" at the world's largest tourism trade fair - ITB Berlin - next week. These plans will be revealed during Qatar Airways' press conference for global media on the first day of the exhibition on Tuesday. The carrier is expected to announce a range of new routes after it settled its dispute with Airbus, which will see the airline return to service over twenty grounded A350 jets, revive its cancelled A321neo order, as well as take delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX jet soon. The carrier has been tight-lipped on its expansion plans but has considered several routes in the former Yugoslavia in the past, which could potentially be included in its future expansion.

Qatar Airways discontinued flights between Doha and Skopje at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and is yet to return. The airline told EX-YU Aviation News it would resume operations to the Macedonian capital "once it is commercially viable". Both the Macedonian government and airport operator TAV have been courting Qatar Airways' return for over a year. The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Blagoj Bočvarski, has held talks with the Qatari Ambassador to the country, where he emphasised the need for Qatar Airways to restore services between Doha and Skopje. “It is especially important for us to renew the flights between Skopje and Doha, in order to maintain business relations between the two countries”, Mr Bočvarski said. Airport operator TAV Macedonia noted, "Almost all destinations maintained from Macedonia’s two airports prior to the Covid-19 crisis are now back, except for Doha and Dubai from Skopje Airport. TAV Macedonia is working to retrieve these two destinations, as they offered solid transfer connections for the Macedonian diaspora in Australia and New Zealand, as well as connections for travellers going to Japan, China, India and exotic destinations in the East”. Qatar Airways handled 29.856 travellers on its Skopje route in 2019. The majority of the passengers were transfers. They primarily originated or were destined for the Australian market - 33%, followed by India 7%, Thailand 5% and Singapore 4%.

Qatar Airways was to introduce seasonal summer flights between Doha and Dubrovnik on April 20, 2020. The service, which was to be maintained between three and five times per week until late October with the A320 jet, was cancelled following the Covid-19 outbreak. As travel restrictions have been lifted in Australia, and have been eased in southeast Asia, which were the main source markets for the Dubrovnik service, Qatar Airways could reconsider plans to include the coastal city in its network. Qatar Airways entered the Croatian market in 2012 and was one of the busiest airlines in Zagreb prior to the pandemic, handling over 130.000 passengers in the city in 2019.

Qatar Airways has expressed interest in serving Ljubljana in the past. Prior to the pandemic, the airline's CEO, Akbar Al Baker, said, "Ljubljana is being looked at. We have many destinations we plan to operate with our narrowbodies”. Last month, the airline began codesharing on Air Serbia's flights between Belgrade and the Slovenian capital. Last year, a large Qatari delegation, headed by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, visited Slovenia, during which potential flights were discussed. "As for the air connectivity between Ljubljana and Doha, Qatar Airways is very interested in the European market, but opening a new route requires time to study the market. Once this is completed, flights will be launched. Slovenia is a tourism-oriented country that relies on this sector as a main resource in the economy and has attractive facilities. Tourism between the two countries could see a leap in the coming period", the Qatari delegation said last year.

Prior to the pandemic, Qatar Airways held talks with officials from Kosovo, with the Kosovan Ambassador to Qatar meeting with Mr Al Baker. The two discussed potential operations between Doha and Pristina. Several weeks later, Qatar Airways issued a call for its first crew recruitment event in Pristina. “We feel that the Balkans are underserved and we would like to provide countries in the Balkans with a five star product they deserve. That is why we are focusing on such markets with high opportunities, which benefits both sides, the people in these countries and Qatar Airways as well. We will continue to seek opportunities in this region”, the carrier noted at the time.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Pls LJU;)))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      They will most likely start it

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:40

      if they dont do it now they will never fly to ljubljana

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    It's time for them to come back to Skopje.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Maybe Tirana will be perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Fingers crossed that they will restore flights to either SKP or SKG

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    DBV seems most likely.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:07

    If they choose SKP they definitely won't start PRN (and vice versa)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:48

      Why is the same point not valid for Turkish or Pegasus?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:12

      because demand to Turkey is big from the Balkans

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:12

    This would be fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:12

    Can the A320 operate Ljubljana?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Yes, they operate the A320 to Prague for example.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      Didn't know, thanks

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:48

      As well as to HEL.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:14

    QR would be a fantastic addition in any of these airports.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:25

    I mean surely they cannot miss with Ljubljana, Turkish flights are full, and FlyDubai has surprisingly high numbers (talking about Asia/Africa transfers). Three or four weekly with A320 should be a must.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      Gov was explaining also that they need to study possibility for non-eu Airlines to apply for upcoming support.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:48

      Exactly so I am pretty comfident that the filgts will go ahead.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:55

      But can they fly double daily to zagreb (like they did in the past) and still start ljubljana plus codeshare on airserbia? Or you think they will downgrade zagreb to one daily and start Ljubljana? Or its not connected at all?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:13

      LJU will probably steal some flights from ZAG, that's for sure - just like it happened with DXB

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:22

      An 10:13, such a great demand. They should open Dubai with a380.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:30

      an 10:22 was it needed that?

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:33

    Doha will be restored maybe this year if not for the next would be for surr , also and Dubai route. Our Australian diaspora slowly but for sure its returnig to Macedonia and their best option is Doha and Dubai for sure.So we will see them soon. It is also possible we see new route Skopje - Abu Dhabi this is from close source , the talks have been made so we can expect this too. I personally think that this year would be good for Skopje as for passenger number as for some new airlines will enter the market with new routes as well , and from 2024 this trend will continue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12

      SKP wasn't Qatar's best performer even before the pandemic. In 5 years of operations they didn't once increase their frequencies or capacity and the number of annual passengers mentioned in the article is rather low. I hope they do return to Skopje but they could link it up with another destinations.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:23

      Maybe Qatar will launch new flights, because with presence of flydubai they might have a better chance to succeed this route but I don’t think Abu Dhabi flights will come. Macedonians need visa and demand is not that high. Doha and Dubai together had 59.000 passengers so I am hopeful that Qatar is come back.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:20

      Doha and Dubai are most common routes for our diaspora , so their frequent pax are the Australians who are coming in Macedonia all year round and especially in the summer , so Doha and Dubai will come back in SKP soon or later.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:11

      Abu Dhabi is Wizzair, totally different market then the connecting ones. Personally I would want to have one connecting option plus a lcc option for p2p

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:22

      no demand for skp from QR and FZ and they know it....before the pandemic many people used to travel and not fares to and from australia r very very high

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:24

      @15.22 see the statistics before you present us your nonsence

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:47

    Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:47

    Does anyone remember the schedule for the Dubrovnik flights for 2020?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:10

      Departure time DOH: 07.00
      Arrival time DBV: 11.35

      Departure time DBV: 12.40
      Arrival time DOH: 18.45

      Day operating: 1-345-7

      Delete
  14. Anonymous11:11

    They could start DOH-SKP-LJU. I'm sure they would get fifth freedom rights for SKP-LJU too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:39

      Or DOH-SKP-TIA

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:21

      Or DOH-SKP-LJU-VIE-LJU-SKP-DOH. Since Skopje doesn't have other connections, let's say over Istanbul, for ppl willing to transfer multiple times before reaching their destinations. So they would prefer flying 1hr in the wrong way instead and pay double and triple airport taxes every time. Sounds like a reasonable idea

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:10

      Are u out of your mind? How many crew will Qatar need for six sectors? Plus that route will take whole day, funny 😂

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:09

      but they have done triangle routes in the past (SOF;OTP)

      Delete
  15. Anonymous11:15

    In 2016 it was also during the ITB when Qatar announced their SKP flights

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:39

      Fingers crossed for Tuesday

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:43

    If they want to better compete against Emirates/Flydubai they need to start more ex-Yu routes.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:43

    It's interesting how Sarajevo has been downgraded to a seasonal route since Covid.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous12:38

    Slovenian govmnt Falcon 2000 flew to Doha yesterday. Coincidence? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:53

      Yes it is. Government officials just went to UN summit being held in Doha.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous13:51

    Hopefully they will also think about the price policy & layover time in Doha when flying from ZAG. Before covid, even with the cheapiest option, u had 2-3 h layover time in Doha before catching your plane for Asia. Now, 10-15 h, or in some cases, September flights, only 45 min but that is impossible to catch. I guess they wanna sell only the most expensive tickets or send ppl to other airline companies.Vienna stayed on the same time schedule considering layover time. I guess our area is not important enough, do take it or leave it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vlad14:23

      QR is pretty full these days and the prices reflect that.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous15:30

    LJU makes the most sense outta the whole list of destinations. We all saw the huge success of the Dubai route, which quickly became on the top 10 list of destinations in LJU.
    LJU also needs to be connected to AUH and RUH as they are currently on the trend. Saudi Arabia is opening up for foreigners quite a lot. Jeddah seems like a very cool coastal destination. They even began allowing electronic music and female DJs!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4HdwHOuHYk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:51

      JEDDA had music and bars and everything even 7 yrs ago. RUH stayed more conservative, but since MBS abolished “mootawa” (moral police) even RUH is more alive (cca 4-5 years).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:02

      Wow! Thanks for sharing! So you are sayin' RUH is more liberal than JED?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:19

      Definitely not !
      Jeddah is a harbour city and much more lively - albeit in the night hours .
      Daytime is much too hot .

      Delete
    4. Ready for Jeddy! 😃 Should be used for promotional purposes 😃

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:12

      Hahaha Pozdrav !
      Have you ever been to Jeddah ? I guess so because it seems that you get around a lot .
      I was once there and everybody went out after midnight by car for the beach to picnic .
      Many families with children - very relaxed and joyous atmosphere but definitely not the kind of fun you would recommend to tourists .
      Still good for my taste but dont forget that without a car you can do nothing in SA .
      And days are scorching hot phew ..

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:23

      where did you see success on DUB route? Tehy reduced it and this blog reported theor LF few weeks ago

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:23

      DBX sorry

      Delete
  21. Anonymous16:36

    It would surely be nice to have flights to Abu Dhabi/Riyadh/Jeddah but I highly doubt that Lju will get them before other regional airports like Venice or Vienna (Saudi cities from Vie).

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous18:17

    I would recommend Qatar Airways to not fly to any of these destinations .
    Sorry people but except Belgrade and Zagreb there are no big urban centers in Ex Yu .
    And even these two are not really comparable !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:26

      So Qatar should hire you as you are giving them such good pieces of advice? That is nonsense what are you talking about.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:38

      You are right. And not only Qatar but also other airlines. Other airports should just close. There is only demand for megacities like ZAG and BEG LOL.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:56

      Exactly

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:03

      Why should Qatar fly to Ljubljana and Prishtina when they could fly to Hannover or Leipzig ?
      Those two German cities are much bigger, richer and tourist friendly .
      Still they will never get these flights because Hamburg and Berlin are even more so .

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:09

      ^ Dont anger our Balkan people - Donja Restelica is big city and deserves daily A380 flight with Singapore Airlines and Qatar .
      Nek puknu Dushmani ...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:26

      LJU is a much bigger emitting market than ZAG. City size is not everything.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:53

      I mean anon 18:17 is simply brutally honest. BEG and ZAG hold the list of the most important markets.

      Delete
    8. You are wrong. It's Ljubljana. Much bigger "emitting" market not only than Zagreb but Belgrade as well. That's why their airport has that many airlines, destinations and passengers. Little bit less than Tuzla, but hey, who cares, city size is not everything

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:22

      @18.17 Gosh what did I just read . SMFH

      Delete
  23. Anonymous19:29

    There are only a handfull countries where Qatar Airways doesnt fly to .
    Of course we will be happy getting flights to all mentioned cities .
    On the other hand many destinations are lossmaking for them and they are heavily subsidized and bailed out .

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous12:15

    Again one big nothing from QR.

    ReplyDelete

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