Lufthansa plans to increase frequencies to a number of cities in the former Yugoslavia from the start of the 2024 summer season on March 31 next year. Within the region, the carrier will grow operations by 20% on 2023.
In Belgrade, the airline plans to run three daily flights from both Frankfurt and Munich, for a total of 42 weekly services. This is compared to the two daily rotations maintained from the two cities for the majority of the previous summer. The carrier’s summer operations to the Serbian capital will increase 33.6% on 2023, while capacity will be up 36.3%. In Ljubljana, Lufthansa is adding an additional daily service from Frankfurt and an extra daily rotation from Munich for a total of three and two daily flights respectively. The German airline will boast a total of 35 weekly services to the Slovenian capital. Summer operations to Ljubljana will grow 41%, while capacity will be increased by 39%.
Lufthansa will add an additional daily flight from Munich to Zagreb, complementing its two daily services from Frankfurt, which will be increased from twelve weekly last summer. Overall, the number of flights to the Croatian capital will grow 50% on the summer of 2023, while capacity will improve 30%. There will be a total of 28 weekly Lufthansa rotations to Zagreb next summer. During the height of the season, the airline will operate 57 weekly rotations to the Croatian market. Frequencies to the Croatian coast remain unchanged, however, two routes will be taken over by Lufthansa’s leisure unit Discover Airlines. These include flights from Frankfurt to both Split and Zadar.
Elsewhere, Lufthansa will continue to maintain ten weekly services from Frankfurt to Skopje, which were introduced earlier this year. In Sarajevo, the carrier will also operate ten weekly services from Frankfurt, an increase from the eight to nine weekly rotations maintained for the majority of the 2023 summer season. Overall, the German flag carrier’s Sarajevo operations will grow 17.3%, while capacity will be up 11.7%. Lufthansa’s Tivat service will remain unchanged with one weekly rotation from both its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
Lufthansa summer 2024 operations from Frankfurt
Lufthansa summer 2024 operations from Munich
We will see if these materialize. Each year they announce this expansion and each year they cancel it.
ReplyDeleteStaff shortage
DeleteNo thanks. I hate flying to FRA as I transfer to Canada. A lot of times I end up going through that super long security line and losing at least half an hour. Great lounges there but my fingers are crossed for the direct YYZ or even YUL flights so I save myself 4-6 hours of travel time.
DeleteProbably the worst security lines in the world. Last time I flew through FRA in September a guy working in security started shouting at me for putting my small backpack in one of the plastic boxes saying that it is against the rules. And all that after waiting for 45 minutes to get there in the first place.
DeleteExcellent news for all airports involved
ReplyDeleteThis will be most felt in Ljubljana considering low levels of traffic. Great news
ReplyDeleteTrue. The prices right now are quite high, will these new frequencies lower them? I'm flying TRS-BER in a couple of weeks and it was considerably cheaper to fly from TRS. The times were better, too.
DeleteThey are clearly very dominant in the whole region
ReplyDeleteIt feels Turkish and Lufthansa are sort of wrestling over the market here. LH Cartel probs has a larger share in LJU and Zagreb whereas Turkish probs wins out elsewhere
DeleteTK surpassed LH in Ljubljana in the number of passengers carried.
DeleteYou are right fighting for transfer traffic. I imagine Lh wins for those flying to North America and TK for those travelling East
DeleteYou would be surprised how many people use TK to fly to North America, even if it involves backtracking. Although it usually offers a better price.
Delete9:31 indeed they did, although don't forget that Lufthansa also owns Brussels Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines, which combined do have more than Istanbul
DeleteThere was a good article here on what were their main transfer points from ex-Yu
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/01/lufthansa-consolidates-ex-yu-operations.html
2 free suitcases on Turkish wins over paid on LH for price sensitive Balkan Market even it means backtracking and longer Total Time.
Delete@12:07: thanks for the link. That really was a good read.
DeleteLet's just hope it doesn't end up like this year and last year when they announced extra frequencies and then had to cancel everything because of a lack of staff.
ReplyDelete+1
Delete35 weekly flights from and to Ljubljana is insane.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Isn’t that what adria had?
DeleteI'm I going crazy or does it say JAT above the Lufthansa plane on the photo?
ReplyDeleteYes, thats the hangar of JAT Tehnika
DeleteOh tanks. surprised they still have the old JAT logo there :D
DeleteI noticed it as well. And didn't think was going crazy but was pleasantly surprised 😆 At least something left of good old JAT 😆
DeleteGlad to see that LJU gets 2 daily more in SUTT 2024.
ReplyDeleteDisappointing there is no increase for Skopje.
ReplyDeleteThe route is barely 1 year old. It still needs a lot of time to become 2 daily at least. Plus, SKP needs daily MUC and daily FRA instead of 2 daily FRA.
DeleteAnyone know how the route is performing?
DeleteNo idea. But it is operated by a mix of A319, 320 and 321. So, it does not seem to be doing bad, plus LH does not have basically a real competition
Delete09:15 It's literally a new (sort of) route. If it performs well after some time, then LH will possibly increase frequencies or add MUC if FRA-SKP is really succesful.
DeleteIt seems BEG-MUC is operated by the smaller CR9 in winter similar to ZAG. But not on all days. It will also be interesting to see if they deploy their Lufthansa City Airlines new airline next year. On Google flights, some flights are already designated with this operated with A319s.
ReplyDeleteYou mean Lufthansa Cityline?
DeleteThere is no difference between Lufthansa mainline and Cityline.
DeleteIs there a difference between Lufthansa and this Discover Airlines?
DeleteThere is a new subsidiary called Lufthansa City, which is different from Lufthansa Cityline, presumably created to get out of mainline collective agreements. No change whatsoever in hard or soft product vs. regular Lufthansa.
DeleteEurowings Discover is a totally separate airline within LH Group, a wannabe LCC which is not part of Star Alliance (so no status beans when flying them unless you're in Miles & More).
Thanks for the explanation!
DeleteDiscover is not a wannabe lcc its a LH airline aimed to compete with Condor
Delete12:36 It literally says Discover Airlines' parent company is Lufthansa. Also, just 3 months ago, Discover Airlines announced its new corporate identity, replacing the Eurowings Discover brand.
DeleteLH keeps expanding in BEG to offer more long haul connectivity. Air Serbia can't get A330s quickly and transatlantic expansion is not their top priority so LH will use the opportunity to grow.
ReplyDeleteThey launched 2 new long haul routes in the last year and literally said long haul is their priority over the next 5 years. Complaining just to complain.
DeleteIn the past 12 months Air Serbia launched only one long haul route, Chicago.
DeleteNo complaints, time to relax and have another coffee, Air Serbia will take five priority years to respond.
Tianjin was launched 12 months and 5 days ago, but you knew that and are obviously a nadzak baba in need to complain about something.
DeleteYou have already been told multiple times Shanghai and Guangzou will launch next year.
I bet you have never used Air Serbia long haul but are complaining for no apparent reason.
Been on JU500 many times. LH is not after JU's future PVG and CAN passengers but those transatlantic destinations JU keeps pushing back.
DeleteThey launch routes which make money for them, otherwise you would be first to complain that they are losing money. And I'm sture they have more insight into costs per route than you.
DeleteNot me, I always supported more spend. Go bolder and go faster.
DeleteIs this a better coverage than TK's?
ReplyDeleteIt's more destinations due to Croatian coast but they do have more frequencies than TK.
DeleteThey fly from both FRA and MUC, while TK only flies from IST, so it is logical they have more flights.
DeleteGermany keeps winning!
ReplyDeleteGlad for the airports, but LH service has gone downhill in every respect. They are living of the legacy of their famous brand.
ReplyDeleteLufthansa = one of the most overrated carriers over there (along with Emirates). How they even think to be able to compete with Turkish (in terms of product, onboard F&B and global network) is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteAgree on both airlines. Like I said above both (EK included) are living off their brand fame.
Deleteand yet they compete and are successfull...
Deletealso many in the west decide against flying with TK because of the wannabe Sultan...
I used to fly Lufthansa myself for years and found them good & reliable, before the started going tremendously downhill. Nowadays, they are just an overpriced easyJet. TK beats them in basically all aspects. Personally, when I travel, I do not care much about Sultans, Kings, Queens & Co: at the very end, its normal people that truly matter. When you travel, you gotta be open minded my friend, otherwise its better to stay home. Less mainstream media, please.
DeleteI'm yet to fly with Turkish, but have with LH and in many time frames, I can concur with everything @fil wrote...If Turkish was bad, nobody would fly with them. Yes, it is extension of Turkish desire for greater influence in the world...but, which country (besides Slovenia and Croatia for instance) don't do that? Lufthansa is well supported by its state, that it should be renamed Luftwaffe :)
DeleteRegardless of politicical agendas.
Deletewe must be honest when talking about airlines and their product. So as unhappy as it makes people the fact is TK offer a much better product and service than most other airlines in europe. I cant think of any airline in europe which has put as much effort and focus to improve their reputation and service provided to passangers other than TK.
My personal hope is for JU, OU, 40, FB, LO would one day work to improve their brands and service to be of a greater standard.
Agreed. TK is far from being perfect, but remain 1 of the leading carriers in the world and definitely the best in Europe. Talking about Europe, lets acknowledge the incredible improvements Air France has made in the last years. They are the second best in Europe atm (imo).
DeleteI am not sure what people are expecting on those flights and why everyone keeps complaining how most airlines are not what they use to be in 80s. That is done, I have 0 expectations when flying, going from point A to point B with a hope that my luggage arrives with me. I am super happy as long as my seat is clean and an airline gets me where I need to ne safely . You guys are just bunch of complainers about everything.
DeleteLufthansa is currently serving 1 (one) choice of meal - vegetarian pasta - on 10-hour long-haul flights in Economy. In business, they are still flying a 15-year-old product where 1/3 of the cabin doesn't have direct aisle access, and God knows when the new Allegris product will roll out, considering the constant postponements. Service-wise, they have fallen behind US carriers, which was unthinkable a decade ago. FRA is a damn mess and is getting worse all the time, especially for non-EU connections.
DeleteIn short, people have every right to complain about the utter decline in service standards on Lufthansa.
@13:54
Deleteyou are correct in your view, it is fair to only expect it to be clean and get the passanger there safely and on time. but in this case the price of the ticket should refelct this. if they want to give LCC service then charge LCC price.
Disagree about EK. Fully agree about LH : Four and a half hours flight AMM-FRA, one tiny tiny sandwich, FROZEN, not defrosted, almost broke my teeth, and ONE drink, no coffee and juice, coffee OR juice. Never smaller, harder and more uncomfortable seat in my life, plus delay and I barely made to my connecting flight. And totally fake cabin crew, behaving like they are attending Space Shuttle. For 700+ euro OW economy. Avoid, Avoid, Avoid!!!!
DeleteWe will see next February if they will start cancelling flights for summer like they do every year for the past few years.
ReplyDeleteI'm reallly surprised they don't fly to Podgorica
ReplyDelete*really
DeleteThey barely fly to Montenegro at all.
DeleteIt's impressive that they have more flights to Skopje than Sarajevo considering they just started flying to Skopje.
ReplyDeleteIt helps that they get subsidies on the SKP route.
Deleteexcept that they dont get ;) to our surprise
Delete@10:14 yeah thats why they send A321s on some days. Some people here…
DeleteMore money from the region going to German companies...
ReplyDeleteMore people go to work for Germany. I think thats worse.
DeleteLufthansa has been performing well in Belgrade. Not surprised by the growth there.
ReplyDeleteYes, sent the A321 to BEG throughout summer.
DeleteI wonder how many passengers LH handles to ex-yu each year.
ReplyDeleteProbably a million or so.
DeleteTheir prices have become really expensive.
ReplyDeleteI find, at least from BEG, that they have become really expensive on transferring to other European destinations. they used to be very competitive but now not anymore.
DeleteAviation market is oligopoly at the best in bigger airports like Belgrade and total monopoly in smaller airports like Ljubljana where you have one team (company) in different colored jerseys doing bussines on major routes.
DeleteIf we note that FRA and MUC were 50% transfers, three and two daily is not bad. I think the many Swiss flights and these Lufthansa frequencies are more than satisfactory.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons Austrian Airlines didn't come is the strong presence of LX and LH. But I think VIE can work.
Delete^
DeleteI know they are one airline but apparently they want LX and LH to become LJU.
Looks like LX will be 14 weekly, Sun 1 flight, Thu 3 flights, other days 2.
DeleteFat chance of them upholding this planned schedule.
ReplyDeleteStill no flights to PRN...
ReplyDeleteThey use Eurowings (and Dolomiti, and Croatia and....(pick your favourite podguzna muha -pozdrav iz Rijeke TM - airliner) for dirty jobs...
DeleteDoes LH fly to Tirana?
DeleteOf course they do, for a long time. Next summer they have double daily FRA and 13x weekly MUC scheduled.
DeleteNice. I would really like to see more of Lufthansa mainline in the region. They have no flights Podgorica or Pristina
ReplyDeleteWish to see SKP-Munich with Discover.
ReplyDeletetolku li ne e jasno? Discover is set for LEISSURE HOLIDAY destinations
DeleteMUC is an option only with LH
Considering the 10 weekly flights of Wizz to FMM, there is demand, not to mention that tickets to FMM are almost always expensive.
Deletedemand is not the issue its just that MUC is a very expensive airport which doesnt fit any low cost airline. Compare the fees at FMM and MUC
DeleteWhen so many airlines have made plans to grow their operations in the Yug, it will be interesting to see how this will impact OU and JU. With the expansion of Lufthansa, Turkish, RyanAir and Wizz it will be more difficult for them.
ReplyDeleteLooking at random week in next July (15-21):
ReplyDeleteLJU-FRA 3 daily with CRJ900 (3780 seats),
LJU-MUC 2 daily with CRJ900 (2540 seats),
LJU-ZRH 2 daily with A220, A320 and E-jets (4064 seats)
LJU-BRU daily with A319 (1974 seats)
Total 8 daily flights and 12.338 seats on average per week.
Thanks for the info. Interesting read. ZRH is obviously doing very well. CH overtaking DE as Slovenia’s biggest export partner have anything to do with it?
DeleteThis is why LH is hesitant about OS in LJU. 8x daily is a huge coverage. Also explains why AF/KL are not relevant players in LJU. But a daily VIE should work as well with their Embraers.
DeleteAF-KL are not relevant because they don’t even try despite AF having flights full. Agree that daily VIE would work well. Let’s see if LO will grow operations in LJU next summer, position itself as even stronger player for Eastern Europe and cover it completely instead of share it with OS.
DeleteLH group domiannce.
DeleteLJU - MUC will be 1 daily flight with A319 and 2nd with CRJ 900. That's means 700 seats more.
DeleteI'm actually flabbergasted how many flights they will have to ex-Yu next summer. I didn't expect this volume.
ReplyDeleteWith 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.
DeleteInteresting that LCCs like Wizz and Ryan flying from ex-Yu didn't have much of an impact on Lufthansa.
DeleteBecause they rely on transfers
DeleteWhich other cities have potential for LH flights? INI, MBX, TZL?
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to put POW on that list
Delete