Greece's national carrier Aegean Airlines will commence a three weekly service between Skopje and Sarajevo on October 2. The route will be maintained through its regional subsidiary Olympic Air and its ATR72-600 aircraft on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. "We are thrilled to announce and congratulate Aegean on their decision to launch a flight from Skopje to Sarajevo, as of October this year, and to provide excellent regional connectivity, from Athens on the South, through Skopje, to Sarajevo in the North of the Balkans. At the same time, this service marks a significant milestone in our commitment as an airport operator to enhancing air travel options for our valued passengers", Nejat Kurt, the General Manager of Skopje Airport's operator TAV Macedonia said.
Commenting on the new service, Aegean Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer, Roland Jaggi, said, "We are pleased to announce the launch of our new route from Skopje to Sarajevo, commencing in October 2023 and the enhancement of our operations between Athens and Skopje through increased capacity and frequencies, as it reflects our commitment to expand our presence in the Balkan area and strengthen our footprint by providing increased connectivity at Aegean’s high‑quality services. This route marks also our return to Bosnia after the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we couldn't be more excited to reconnect with our valued passengers in this region. As of October, passengers from Skopje will have increased connecting opportunities via Athens hub to the Aegean network with almost a daily flight extending our reach to destinations across Greece, Europe, and the Middle East".
The new route will mark the first time Skopje and Sarajevo have been linked with a scheduled air service in thirteen years when the now-defunct B&H Airlines maintained flights between the two. Aegean Airlines had applied for the Macedonian government's subsidy program for the introduction of new routes from Skopje earlier this year but pulled out after the tender was declared void. It did not take part in the subsequent public call organised by the government. The Greek carrier served Sarajevo from Athens until March 2020. Skopje Airport has improved its connectivity to other markets in the former Yugoslavia this year with the recent introduction of seasonal flights from Split by Croatia Airlines and the upcoming launch of Ljubljana by Wizz Air in late September.
Further details for the new Skopje - Sarajevo service can be found here.
This is great!
ReplyDeleteDid not see this one coming
ReplyDeleteBravo!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSame will happen to Ljubljana after the tender is closed next week. 2h on ATR in the winter, and then A320 during the summer
ReplyDeleteWhat about Wizz which will launch these flights next month?
DeleteSarajevo-Ljubljana would work with ATR
DeleteOh I thought you meant they wanted to do Ljubljana-Skopje.
DeleteI don't think A3 will be flying an ATH-SKP-SJJ-LJU-SJJ-SKP-ATH
DeleteJust makes sense for them to also start ATH-SJJ as a triangle via SKP. I suppose that the flight will leave ATH-SKP and then do the SKP-SJJ segment
ReplyDeleteYes it will be Athens-Skopje-Sarajevo-Skopje-Athens according to the schedule posted
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/p/aegean-airlines-skopje-sarajevo.html
DeleteGreat news indeed, hopefully they will manage to maintain it, but I guess with ATR it should be doable. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWonder what the fares will be like
ReplyDeleteFantastic news!
ReplyDeleteA bit odd in my opinion. Will they get subsidies for these?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteNot such good news for OU which carriea most passnegers between SJJ and SKP.
ReplyDelete*carries
DeleteI would imagine OU and JU would lose some traffic as well
Delete@14.16 yes you are right.
DeleteShame they didn't take part in the subsidy tender the second time. I have a feeling they applied for SKP-LJU too.
ReplyDeletemaybe they have applied in the slovenian tender
DeleteThere is little point now that Wizz will fly the route with A320s and A321s.
DeleteGood evening schedule
ReplyDeleteThis is a bit of a surprise.
ReplyDeleteNice and great news for Skopje too. Lots of new routes this year.
ReplyDeleteAt least a new European destination for Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteHAHA now thats a good one!!
DeleteHonestly Sarajevo needs all the flights it can get to reverse the decline in passenger numbers
DeleteAnd last week they had A320 for first time on Athens to Skopje, things are I guess improving for Aegean at the Macedonian market
ReplyDeleteBravo Makedonija!
ReplyDeleteBravo Grčka
DeleteSkopje will have alot new destinations this year , this is just beggining , goos luck SKP with this and the future ones.
ReplyDeleteThe year ends in 4 months. How can it be the beginning?
DeleteHahahahha
Delete14:27 Beggining of the expansion of new routes , meaned for this year and the future , why need always to have someone to shit on all posts I really dont know
Delete16:40 Maybe because the same is happening in SKP with all those exaggerated comments being the centre of the univerise.....
DeleteSo glad there will be no comments such as "aegean got subsidies thats why they launched this route" or "skp pays money for their traffic".
ReplyDeleteBut it does. It has so far paid for 3 new routes this year.
DeleteYou setiously believe this isn't getting subsidies?
Deletehttps://seenews.com/news/bosnia-n-macedonia-eye-skopje-sarajevo-flights-bosnian-transport-ministry-773456
"Bosnia's Federation and North Macedonia could subsidise the potential Sarajevo-Skopje flights, as they would not be economically viable without state aid, Bosnia's ministry of communication and transport said in a statement on Tuesday."
DeleteHAHA and i was thinking all the time why is their aircraft parked from 18.15 til 4.35 at Skopje airport!!!
ReplyDeleteI was silently hoping for 6 weekly SKP-LJU (or 3x PRG and 3x somehwere else) but Sarajevo never came into my mind because of flight rights
Brace yourself for another announcement of 3 weekly flights form Skopje to somewhere else with Aegean!
What route do u think they will launch? I am not sure for Ljubljana cuz it will be too much, maybe Prague or Bucharest?
Delete@14.35 exactly those two were in my mind but maybe PRG is bit far away for an ATR. Maybe TGD who knows
Delete@14:39 I cant wait for the second route now! Yeah it may be tgd as there were news that macedonia is in talks with montenegro over establishing flights.
DeleteWhere do they say that they will launch a second route?
Deletewhat about TIA??? now that would be a sensation :D
Delete@15.03 nowhere. He is just assuming that since from late Septembr Aegean will fly 6 weekly to SKP with very long turn around time they will fill those three extra weekly frequencies with another route.
Delete@15.03 because they will not let their aircraft parked at Skopje airport for 10 hours on the other 3 days in the week when they can easily do an evening rotation.
DeleteHow about Sofia? Travel by road is too long considering how close SKP and SOF are by air.
DeleteOh no, just not Sofia, last time someone attempted to do a flight between these two cities failed miserably. Prague might actually work.
DeletePrague is too long for them to make the rotation back from Skopje to Athens.
Deletebut their flight back to ATH is in the morning
DeleteIt's going to be Sarajevo Ljubljana
Deleteit arrives in SJJ at 20.10 and goes back to SKP at 21h. If they launch SJJ-LJU then its going to be something like ATH-LJU-SJJ-LJU-ATH
DeleteWizz Air is starting SKP-LJU as of September with 3 weekly flights. I assume there is no room for 2nd carrier on the same route.
DeleteIf they are going for Ljubljana it's either going to be Pristina or Sarajevo - both cities are in the priority list
Deleteisnt SKP in a higher priority list?
DeleteWe are talking about a route from skp here since the plane will be parked at skp for longer then 10 hours, not about sjj or prn. If they launch skp - tia and if the prices of the tickets are cheap, then there will be many people who will fly ti tia with A3 and then fly somewhere else from there with w6. I would do that since we dont have flights to Spain and little flights to Italy and UK.
DeleteTiming is not great, arriving to SJJ at 20:10 in late October, November, December and part of January may well be impeded by fog. At the end they will have to find better timing, perhaps mid day. Also any connectivity to Middle East that Sarajevo has potentials to fill will not be available given their departure just around midnight from Athens and early morning arrival to Athens.
DeleteHow exactly did Aegean got the permit?
Deletegetting green lights from MK and BiH
DeleteGood news for both North Macedonia and for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Given that it's an EU airline, and linking two non-EU markets... how did this work, did they get some sort of exemption from both governments?
ReplyDeletewell they have been pushing for this route a couple of times
DeleteThese flights have been subject to negotiations for a few years. The two governments which are subsidizing these flights have been trying to find an interested airline for them so I assume an exception has been made.
DeleteDoes Aegean have traffic right or NOT?
DeleteIs there a bilateral between B&H and N.Macedionia that would allow seventh freedom? Not that I know.
DeleteIsn't this fifth freedom? Aren't the flights operated in connection with flights to/from Greece?
DeleteWell done, Skopje and Sarajevo. Great opportunity.
ReplyDeleteagree
Deletequestion to the LJU fanboys: is it possible for A3 to get slovenian subsidies for LJU-SKP?
ReplyDeleteyup
Deleteomg
Deleteinteresting
DeleteI don’t think so as W6 is already launching SKP-LJU in September
DeleteBut it makes sense. LJU-ATH is performing very well this summer, but scheduled only until mid-Oct. With LJU-SKP-ATH they would get subsidies for LJU-SKP, which in case of direct LJU-ATH they are not eligible...
DeleteWOW that's such good news !!
ReplyDeleteThis opens up a lot of possibilities for Ljubljana as well - they could operate some W flights there too.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know when the next tender will be closed in Slovenia?
30 July
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/06/slovenia-launches-fresh-subsidies-for.html
How long did it take them to announce which companies applied for it the 1st time? Just the names, not the routes?
DeleteSeveral weeks
DeletePolitics aside, economic relations between the two countries have always been great. Lot of Greek companies are operating in North Macedonia, and has chosen the country as a sort of entry into exyu markets. Some of them that might be familiar (at least to Serbian citizens) are Veropoulos, Jumbo, Germanos, Cosmote (the last two has left the market), the only refinery in the country Okta is part of Hellenic Petroleum, one of the major three banks is Greek owned, Mikel coffee chain, Goody's... So Aegean choosing Skopje for this sort of flights shouldn't come as a surprise.
ReplyDeleteThats some pretty good news Aegean is not like OU they seem to be a smart airline I think they will grab every chance and they will improve more not only in SKP but in whole Ex-Yu area!!
DeleteAegean need to launch SJJ from ATH too tho.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if SJJ-ATH route becomes direct for 2024 summer season.
Deleteits such a nightmare to reach Sarajevo by road from Skopje! This route is more then welcome
ReplyDeleteIsn't air montenegro flying it this summer?
DeleteNo, Air Montenegro is not flying Skopje-Sarajevo. Where did you get that from?
DeleteAir Montenegro will fly charters Sarajevo-Tirana. That's what you probably mixed up.
DeleteOU slept on this one. I hope their SPU route is doing fine otherwise A3 should take care of it :)
ReplyDeleteOU slept on every single one for about 30 years. They are ultimate shame of Croatia. They could have been the size of A3 after 30 years or slightly smaller, they could have operated long-haul to North America and Asia like JU, they could have covered Balkans and ex - yu like OS, and so on and so on...
DeleteBut yet they didnt...so lets get over that
DeleteAre there any numbers of passengers between SKP-ATH and SJJ-ATH?
ReplyDeleteYes, SKP has improved connectivity with ex yu capitals this year: LJU and SJJ also SPU, we only need TGD and it`s almost like in the good old days.
ReplyDeleteSKP-TIA may also be a viable option. Google maps says you need almost 5hrs to get there.
Will you be able to fly from Sarajevo to Athens now? Or is it just a flight from SJJ to SKP and then you will need to take another flight from SKP to ATH? Will it be the same aircraft or something I don't understand..
ReplyDeleteThe routing is Athens-Skopje-Sarajevo-Skopje-Athens. You will be able to fly Sarajevo-Athens but with a stop in Skopje. The aircraft performing all these flights is the same.
Deleteif you can then you will need to transit through SKP from 22h til 4am
DeleteThis will be the first transit at skp for years! As i read the comment something didnt sound right and usual to me, it will be fantastic that skp will be transit for some pax again after 20 years!
Delete17:27 Yes as I heard it is possible next year Ryanair to enter Macedonian market , and + there will be more new routes and airlines that will enter the market , so definitly SKP will become transit ppint
DeleteI don’t see anyone transferring in SKP from 22 till 4 a.m. to get to Athens at 7 a.m. I can only imagine some Bosnians to use this route to connect from Wizzair’s W.Europe routes to A3’s SJJ route cause till 7 p.m there are a lot of incoming W6 flights in SKP. And A3’s flights won’t be stopover so it means it won’t be possible to fly from ATH to SJJ.
Deletewho the hell started with the transfer nonsense this is simply for p2p between SKP and SJJ
DeleteBip, bip, bip: Aggressiveness, please enroll to anger management course. Thanks your bot.
DeleteLegally, did they need any extra permission, considering that both markets are non-EU?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteSo, Agean can start flying Belgrade-Podgorica?
DeleteAnon @17.28 is not correct. They needed permission from both sides and obviously got it especially since both sides said they would subsidies any airline to fly between the two cities. No, Aegean can't start flying Belgrade-Podgorica.
DeleteEx Yu Admin, is it known how many passengers travel indirectly between SJJ/SKP both ways? Thanks
ReplyDelete15k and now with this situation for Bosnians they will do transit in SKP until they get new airline to serve them
DeleteIndirectly, 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.
DeleteWill Air Serbia maintain Ohrid during winter season?
ReplyDeleteI think for this year no , I also think it will be just summer route.
DeleteOhrid is far from Skopje, so Air Serbia should do this route during winter as well as Split. They have to be fast, thus because of lack of aircrafts they did not introduce Sarajevo night flights.
DeleteWith all these extra ATRs there will be good options for new winter regional routes from JU
DeleteSPU and OHD would be nice at least 2 weekly
DeleteBravo Skopje and Sarajevo. With subsidies in place from both countries, this route will succeed.
ReplyDeleteRoutes should not have to rely on subsidies. It's nothing to brag about.
ReplyDeletefingers crossed for PRG now
ReplyDeleteWill be great to extend this service to Ljubljana too.
ReplyDeleteATH-SKP 17:40-18:10 A3984 123456
ReplyDeleteSKP-SJJ 19:00-20:10 135
SJJ-SKP 20:50-21:50 135
SKP-ATH 04:35-07:00 A3985 234567
This is a tricky schedule in winter season due to frequent fogs in Sarajevo. I wonder how it will affect the punctuality of the SKP-ATH service.
Deletethen somebody wonders why there is no base at SJJ when they couldnt land after 20h???
DeleteInteresting timetable! What does the aircraft do in SKP on other days of the week than 135? Is it just parked on the ground from 18:10? If so, do crew have enough rest on those days to be fully productive the following day? How does it work when they only have 6h rest on three days of the week? Can they fly the next day?
DeleteTo Anonymous 09.38: The number of cancelled flights because of fog during winter period at SJJ is neglible.
DeleteSarajevo opening up all these dumb short-distance flights is just useless.
ReplyDeleteAirports and cities don't open up routes. Airlines do.
Delete