Greece’s Aegean Airlines has markets in the former Yugoslavia firmly on its radar with the carrier announcing the launch of flights between Skopje and Sarajevo yesterday, with another regional route likely to follow. As reported by EX-YU Aviation News back in April, the Greek flag carrier will double its frequnecies on the Athens - Skopje service from three to six weekly starting September 29, leaving a ten-hour turnaround time between the outbound and inbound service, enabling it to introduce additional flights inbetween. Potential additions, if Aegean seeks to introduce more destinations from Skopje, include the likes of Podgorica and Sofia, with the Macedonian government recently negotiationg with its counterparts from both Montenegro and Bulgaria over potential services.
Aegean has expanded its operations throughout the former Yugoslavia this year, with the introduction of seasonal flights between Athens and Ljubljana, which will run until October 13, as well as regular weekly charter flights from the Greek capital to Banja Luka. In addition, the airline has upgraded capacity on its Athens - Podgorica flights from the ATR72-600 tubroprop to the Airbus A320 over the peak summer months. Furthremore, Aegean plans to upgrade its seasonal Athens - Zagreb flights to year-round operations. The Greek carrier could still make use of a public call issued to airlines by the Slovenian government to introduce servces from the country in return for subsidies, while a simmilar tender is set to take place for operations out of Sarajevo in the near future.
The Greek carrier recently said it was looking to strengthen its role in Southeastern Europe. The airline purchased a 51% stake in Romania’s Animawings in 2021 and late last year said it was eyeing other acquisitions in the region. Aegean Airlines recently noted it was continuing to look into opportunities of aligning itself closer with Croatia Airlines, which could potentially lead to a strategic partnership between the two Star Alliance members. Commenting on its operations, Aegean Airlines said, "The former Yugoslav region is an important market for Aegean Airlines. Demand for these routes remain strong as passengers are able to travel to Athens and beyond. Our performance is satisfactory on these markets, as is the cooperation we have with partner airlines in the region. Almost all flights from the former Yugoslav republics to Athens offer very good point to point coverage, as well as access to Greek domestic destinations, connections to Cyprus and destinations in the Middle East, which have proved popular with passengers from the Balkan region”.
Slowly they have expanded a lot in ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteWhere do they get permits for this?
DeleteLocal governments
DeleteTime for JU to start BEG-ATH-LCA.
Delete#localgovernments
not gonna happen since both GR and CY have their own companies unlike MK and BH
DeleteJU needs to be an EU registered company to do that.
DeleteSo how can a EU registered company fly between two NON-EU states?
DeleteBecause non EU member beggars can't be choosers.
Delete@09:54
DeleteJU barely has enough planes and crews to fly its schedule out of BEG.
And you want them to waste their scarce resources on a ATH-LCA-ATH flight?
On a route already served by Aegean, Sky Express, Cyprus Airways and Wizz?
Why, just to lose money?
because both NON-Eu states have no own airlines
DeleteI don't want them to do anything.
DeleteI just wonder how Aegean got those permits whilst Wizz can't get BEG-TGD for example.
I don't understand how it is difficult for you to understand that they got permission from both sides just as they are getting money from both sides to operate this route as neither of the two countries have a local airline.
DeleteAnon 10:36
DeleteMultiple posters have answered your question.
Well the same way Wizz Air can operate hubs without having local AOCs. By locals law they must have a Serbia and a North Macedonian AOC to operate bases in BEG and SKP.
DeleteLocal governments love foreign companies so they made an exception and gave them all the permits. Heck North Macedonia is even giving them money.
JU can't launch any flight, being a non-EU airline, but in return Serbia/JU doesn't have to fully comply with EU policies regarding the financing, sanctions etc. before the association. So, something you get, something you lose. The only sad thing is when a company from the EU doesn't use any EU benefit, like OU.
DeleteAnon@11:48.
DeleteYou mistake local governments for national governments. Common mistake in today's comments. It is national governments that negotiate fifth freedom rights and bilateral agreements between sovereign states that allow third party airlines to fly from their home countries.
After the SJJ tag on from SKP could Aegean add BNX also for the other 3 days that its Atr will be parked in SKP?
ReplyDeleteOut of all the destinations I highly doubt it will be SKP-BNX.
DeleteIt will most likely be Podgorica
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/04/montenegro-and-macedonia-discuss.html
DeleteCould an SKP-OTP-SKP route work for the other 3 days?
Deletewhy not
DeleteSKP-OTP? LOL 😂
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/07/macedonia-seeks-romania-flights.html
DeleteThis is like SJJ started too
I hope Aegean will change its charter flight BNX ATH to regular flights.
DeleteA3 expanding in the region is not good news for JU.
ReplyDeleteYes, we already know that everything is bad news for JU but somehow they continue to see record passenger numbers and grow their network to record levels.
DeleteWho said everything is bad news for JU, what are you talking about? Tuzla loosing Wizz is good news for JU, Ryan killing Podgorica and Sofia from Zagreb is good news for JU. A3 expanding in region is bad news for JU. All these sentences can be true at the same time, no need for toxic comments.
DeleteI don't see how is it bad. If you want to fly from Sarajevo to Athens it is still better to fly by connecting through BEG with JU as the alternative is a 7 hour stop in Skopje.
DeleteIf you want to fly from Sarajevo to SKP it is better to fly direct instead of connecting in BEG.
Delete"A3 expansion in region", not just this specific flight which btw will take some passengers both from JU and OU, not from ATH but from SJJ-SKP. But, expanding in Podgorica can impact JU even more. I'm not saying it will, but it can. It will not depend only on A3 actions, of course, but the fact that this will reguire some JU resources focusing on this is definitelly not good news.
Delete@9.34 very few do fly SKP-SJJ via BEG because the connection is bad.
DeleteAnd still JU is beating Aegean left and right on its service to ATH. Not to mention SKG.
DeleteCalm down sweetie!
DeleteAegean is not a threat for a few reasons:
Delete1. ATH has a very inconvenient location to be a hub, for Middle Eastern traffic they are not competing with JU but with TK.
2. ATH is too small and poorly organized. They don't have the space to support A3's major growth.
This is just A3 going after crumbs.
ATH handles in a year some 8-year traffic of Air Serbia. But I don't know why anyone would compare an airline with an airport.
DeleteATH airport this year will have as much traffic as all 20+ airports in our region combined.
DeleteAtlanta has about five times more traffic than Athens. That doesn't make Atlanta a "threat" to Athens. Different markets. ATH and BEG are in most cases not overlapping and not competing for the same passenger.
DeleteWell, that's a completely different argument than "ATH is small and inconvenient" on which I was replying. Sure, BEG and ATH overlap just a bit and they are not competing.
DeleteThey are definitely ready to expand and do some new things in the region. They are a great airline, so wish them all the best.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! These sort of ventures usually never work out.
ReplyDeleteHope they can make it work in this region.
ReplyDeleteHow different the comments would be if this was being done by OU or JU. Everyone would be writing how it would be a distaste and won't work.
ReplyDeleteNo reason not to work as they're getting money for these flights.
DeleteATH and its feed could make these flights work while BEG's and ZAG's much smaller strength maybe could not.
DeleteSo someone flying from Sarajevo is going to sit in Skopje for 4 hours to connect to Athens to arrive in Athens at a time when all the main transfer routes have already departed? Ok
DeleteThis route is not at all about linking Athens and Skopje. It's about operating SKP-SJJ-SKP for good state money with minimum cost by using an ATR.
Delete09:14
DeleteI don't think they are different flights, it will be just a stop from SJJ-SKP-ATH.
Yes, with an almost 7 hour stop in Skopje
DeleteSJJ-SKP 20:50-21:50
SKP-ATH 04:35-07:00
As anon 09:14 already mentioned: this route is about connecting SJJ AND SKP not necessarily SJJ and ATH.
DeleteIt will probably be shown in your flight search for SJJ-ATH, but if the stay in SKP is too long then an alternative would make more sense, again NOT about SJJ-ATH but SJJ-SKP!
Aegean would also be perfect for SKP-LCA or SKG!
ReplyDeleteSKG is too close by road to make a flight worthwhile. Same situation for SKG with TIA and SOF.
DeleteWizz has a flight from SKG to TIA
DeleteAnon 09:27
DeleteNot yet, it starts on 14/8.
They tried LCA from SKP and loads were a disaster, the route was never brought back.
Delete@11.54 stop spreading fake news about loads:
Delete217 pax on at off season end of October:
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/inbound-plane-diverts-due-to-weather
this route stopped because of the pandemic
You can compare LCA-SKP with ATH or SKG to SKP. Macedonians used to travel to Greece since always and there is demand for these flights while year round flights to LCA didn’t make any sense.
DeleteReading North Macedonian comments on here one would think SKP has demand to JFK for daily flights. Then reality hits and routes like BCN, LCA, SOF... all get cut. Even LO is stagnating without subsidies.
Delete@12.20 why are you so trigerred about them?
Delete12:53
DeleteBecause SKP is the 2nd largest metropolitan center is the region! 😆
thats why you are triggered?
Delete13:40 +1000000
DeleteSKP fanboys think the airport and univerise is around them. The airport doesn't even have flights to major destinations such as AMS, CDG, LHR, BRU. It is mainly a Wizzair airport with gasto routes to German villages and a couple of flights to Turkey and that's it. Not to mention how vulnerable it is in winter....
The airport is doing exceptionally well
DeleteYes it is but at the end of the day it handles just over 2 million passengers, that's really not a lot. It's offer is mostly gasto routes and the management has failed to diversify their offer over the years.
DeleteOne Atr in Ljubljana for routes like Sarajevo, Prague, Bucharest, Vienna?
ReplyDeleteLjubljana-Sarajevo is next
ReplyDeleteIt makes no sense.
DeleteWhy not exactly?
DeleteLjubljana-Sarajevo makes the most sense. Bus tickets are currently being sold for 100€ or so, which is comparable to flights. You can easily fill 3 weekly ATR flights
Delete3 or 4 weekly Atr or Dash8 shouldn’t be a problem to fill
DeleteIronic that Aegean didn't want to fly to SKP just a few years ago and now they are applying for subsidies abd expand ops.
ReplyDeletenothing ironic, Aegean was a victim of the political telenovela. They could have been as big as OS in SKP with their european network (and great service). Now they have to catch up. SKP is stil an underestimated airport
Deleteand underserved
DeleteWell Aegean entered the North Macedonian market when the political blockade was lifted and when Greece got what it wanted.
DeleteOU is no serious threat to Aegean, Air Serbia, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines are.
but OU is much bigger at SKP then JU
Delete* than JU.
DeleteHow many flights does OU have and how many JU in SKP?
DeleteOU 14
DeleteJU 7
Excellent news
ReplyDeleteDidn't know about the Podgorica capacity growth. That is a significant increase in seats.
ReplyDeleteI hope they will expand and diversify their schedule in Ljubljana eventually
ReplyDeleteHope that they launc year round flights next year and add an additional flight per week maybe…as the flights seems to do very good
DeleteWhen will they put SKP-SJJ-SKP on sale?
ReplyDeleteI hope soon. I'm really interested to see what the fares will be like.
DeleteI hope we see Aegean add some routes from Thessaloniki to ex-Yu cities next. I know they fly seasonally SKG-DBV but it would be nice if we see some more.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThessaloniki - Belgrade , Thessaloniki - Podgorica can work with an ATR on a year-round basis.
DeleteAgree
DeleteAegean is a really interesting airline that has been growing like crazy. It was only a matter of time before they looked at ex-Yu in more detail..
ReplyDeleteAlways thought LOT would be the one to do something like this :D
ReplyDeleteInterestingly not a single Greek media reported that Aegean is starting Skopje-Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteNot something Aegean wants to advertise in Greece :)
Deletehttps://en.about.aegeanair.com/media-center/press-releases/2023/aegean-launches-new-air-route-skopje-sarajevo/
Deleteand in greek: https://el.about.aegeanair.com/media-center/deltia-typoy/2023/aegean-launches-new-air-route-skopje-sarajevo/
DeleteThe post in English is particularly interested, in many places Macedonian is being used without any issues :)
Deleteprivate companies are free to name themselves as they want (Prespa)
DeleteAs a Greek you are wrong many Greek media and news websites reported the news.
DeleteI really think this will not work out and that the flights will be discontinued next year. I mean, it looks like a complicated engineering, connecting time is long, apart from P2P travel, transfers probably will not work for SKP-SJJ
ReplyDeletewhat kind of connecting time and transfers are you talking aboout, jeez
Deletehe/she thinks Aegean is connecting SJJ and ATH, not SJJ and SKP
Deletethey are separetely connecting ATH and SKP and SKP and SJJ
DeleteIt is a shame but imagine Lufthansa would never let another Star Alliance member help a non-member but a partnership between Aegean and Air Serbia could work. Aegean has no ambition for long haul but as Air Serbia does could compliment each other.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia and Aegean codeshare on several routes.
DeleteAegean has ambitions for long haul and you’ll see that in the next years.
DeleteAny numbers in ATH-LJU flights?
ReplyDeleteFlights are full
DeleteAnd why aegean hasn't upgrade them yet to year-round?
Deleteno demand in winter
Deletemy fanboy dream: PRG,OTP
ReplyDeleterealistic options: LJU,TGD,TIA
economically most reasonable: LJU, PRG, TIA
P.S the elephant in the room is SKG
I also think Prague could work out well. The ATR can make it from SKP to PRG right?
Deleteyes it can. on the other side they can get excellent discounts at TIA (incentive scheme) and slovenian subsidies for LJU
Deleteno elephant in the room, re SKG, SKP-SKG makes absolutely no sense.
DeleteYou`ve got a highway and rail. (and buses)
And it`s not only about flying time. You need to calculate getting to the airport and time spent there. Why would anybody do that to save 30min and pay much more than to just go by car.
Why?
ReplyDeleteI think SOF could also work. Experience with that other airline that flew on the route for like 2 weeks shouldn't be taken into consideration.
ReplyDeleteThat airline was Gullivair.
ReplyDeletethats 9 weekly A3 flights from SKP , not bad. might jump to 12 as well
ReplyDeleteNo it is not 9 weekly. You didn't understand. It is 6 weekly with 3 of the 6 weekly flights continuing to Sarajevo.
Deleteagain transfers SMFH
Deletethey surely dont continue in the other flight direction ...
Delete"According to a draft agreement between the states, all airlines, including those outside the three countries, will be invited to operate the service, which would be subsidised. “Talks concerning the establishment of this route are ongoing. This service would contribute to improving connectivity between the three capitals” this has been going on since 2018 (SKP, SJJ and TGD)
ReplyDeleteSo? Obviously no one sees potential in it except Aegean. And maybe no one else has available aircraft or has more important markets and routes to tend to then filling up holes in Macedonia's connectivity.
DeletePeople claiming how this somehow hurts OU or JU, just to let you know that the market between SKP and SJJ is TINY and extremely low yielding. Which is why TWO governments have to pay for this political route to survive.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/02/sarajevo-and-skopje-seek-air-service.html
Delete4k transfer traffic (2019) is promising!
That is a disaster. It will be 12 passengers per flight.
Deleteso much hate dude
DeleteNo hate. Just stating facts. If my opinion differs from yours does not mean I hate you or your country. I just think this is a big waste of resources that could have been used on some much more useful route.
Deletewhat facts? nobody knows how much these flights will get supported in a financial way
DeleteStating facts is hardly hate. It's low yielding ethnic traffic between the two.
DeleteBoth countries are poor with next to no local industry. People are used to taking a lot of luggage with them so buses will be dominant here.
Can you please spare us your attacks the moment someone doubts something related to your precious SKP. People are allowed to comment and doubt certain business decision.s
Like someone already wrote, the market is so limited that both countries need to pay for flights.
alo Nishlija no problems with that but when you say "facts" you need to present proof of it otherwise its only your personal thoughts
DeleteOMG, somebody didn^t get their morning coffee.
DeleteAnyway, regarding the alleged "12 passengers" here`s what ex yu wrote in a comment yesterday about this "political" route:
"Indirectly, on a single ticket, just over 2.000 passengers travelled between the two. However, this usually doesn't represent the true potential of a route as people may have travelled by land or by booking two different airlines. In any case, Sarajevo is the second busiest unserved destination from Skopje within the former Yugoslavia, the first being Ljubljana"
You have facts online starting with tour operators which sell holiday tours with flights from SKP.
DeleteПаметном довољно.
Actually 12 passenger per flight comes from the 4000 figure someone wrote. 6 (return flights) times 52 weeks per year divided by 4000 gives you a load factor of 12 passengers per flight.
Deletethe potential of one route is always a multiple of the indirect traffic numbers which is only an indication. 4k is a solid base for it to start with (and OU is not the cheapest airline, the majority on this route flew with them). Bologna was indirect only 1.6k or something now they can feel 2-3 weekly with A321
Deletefill*
DeleteYou are right my friend, these flights will be an instant success because Skopje is a tourist Mecca which thrives on a daily basis. That is why so much money needs to be given to carry these 12 passengers between two cities.
DeleteNeither SJJ nor SKP have any major potential. Like someone wrote, SKP profits from INI's inactivity and PRN's high fares. Otherwise it would be slightly busier than OHD. I am sorry but those are the facts.
BCN, LCA, SOF... and many more were tried and they failed in the end. Market is extremely limited and that is the reality. Sorry.
haha again you with the "facts".
DeleteJasmineeeeeee!!! Dje si? Je l'se otislo na godisnji? Kupa li se sta? Jedri li se s gazda Ivanom? Jel ' mogo' mozda OU zadnjije 10 godina 'vako po Jugi? E, al' kako bi se onda u Vrankvurtu i Minkenu pun'lo...
ReplyDelete:D :D
DeleteNije loše, Pozdrave, kupam se malo u Umagu, više pratim tenis. Sve će biti OK, ne brinite. Idem da se janjetina ne hladi, morski pozdrav
DeleteNo one is mentioning that BEG-ATH with Aegean goes daily next summer!!! Aegean is really doing something in Ex Yu and we should be happy !!
ReplyDeleteThey have to be responsive in BEG when JU basically went crazy in Greece this summer. They launched scheduled flights to Corfu, Heraklion, Chania and Rhodes on top of Athens and Thessaloniki.
DeleteThey also pushed Aegean out of BEG-RHO market, they had charters last year but not this one. Air Serbia forced them to become more proactive in Belgrade.
That’s good tho as passengers we like a good old healthy competition!
DeleteAegean is flying 1pw to RHO.
DeleteNot this summer, they were supposed to but then they removed those flights. I guess tour operators prefer a scheduled flight. It's easier to book passengers on them like that.
DeleteSkopje-Sofia should be operated by rail service. It is too close for air service. Look what is going on in France with regional routes.
ReplyDeleteAegean was interested in Croatia Airlines ownership, now they just talk about partnership. Isn't Aegean excited about OU getting A220s and benefits that ownership of Croatia Airlines could bring them?
ReplyDeleteMaybe Aegean realised how corrupt OU is and they lost interest and now they be more interested in making a mini hub in SKP.
DeleteThey're a Greek airline, they know very well what's corruption.
DeleteMaybe Aegean does not see profits in owning OU.
DeleteMaybe OU sucks in corruption too...
DeleteAegean wants a one type fleet. A220 is no consideration from the moment A3 decided to replace island hoppers (exception to only 320series)
Deletefrom DH84000 to ATR72600
A one type fleet for their network? Are u serious?
DeleteYes.
DeleteAnd how they're gonna fly from ATH to JED, RUH, KWI, DMM or RAK with the A220? That's pretty uncomfortable and non profitable.
DeleteDon't think there is any demand between SOF and SKP for more than obvious reasons. Even the number of tourists to OHD has went down as well. And the distance is barely 190km.
ReplyDeleteThere was a publication about ATH-Skp in Greek media. One in capital.gr and one in printed kathimerini.gr.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of Aegean going intercontinental this is at the moment no matter.The maximum will stay A321 maybe XLR but no more. From a fleet of 100 or more A3 says it may consider intercontinental. For 2024 eastwards to Indian Pacific could be under consideration.
Very interesting.
DeleteDo you have a link about it?
Thank you my friend.
Aegean is interested in long haul and Aegean’s ceo when he was questioned he didn’t reject it.They will not stay in A321 and you’ll see it in near future.
DeleteThe founder of Aegean Vasilakis said that on a shareholders meeting some years ago- it is something like A3 constitution that they will go longhaul if they feed it with their own fleet
DeleteSo long haul is no issue for A3. They want to have power to compete within 5-6 hour flight limit easily.
DeleteOn Lufthansa as a competitor one should consider only extreme diversity of its fleet , the high level of employees salaries and the restrictions at German Airports for night flights.
ReplyDeleteI miss Nemjee's comments on topics like this :)
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAegean are basically most present in BEG, Let's be honest, 2 weekly turboprop to SKP for example is just another politically correct route. BEG needs Sky Express as well to ATH as well as ZAG and LJU and SJJ.
ReplyDeleteIt's logical they are the strongest in Belgrade when it's the largest market in the region. We saw it will have one million seats in August and that is not a small number. Very good result for BEG. With TZL dying, OSI dead and TSR weak, BEG will continue to grow.
DeleteSKP-SOF was tried and it failed miserably after only a few flights. Time to put that one to rest.
ReplyDeleteI would kill for BNX - ATH flight, cause I have to fly via BEG 3-4 times a year...would take it even more often if there was more direct way there
ReplyDelete