New Slovenian start-up eyes Maribor launch


KZ SS Airlines, registered in Maribor, plans to commence operations from the country’s second largest city, with some familiar faces behind the project. The start-up is run by Harjinder Singh Sidhu and Kandra Bhupinder, who were behind the short-lived Golden Air, which maintained services out of Maribor for a week in 2011 before it was grounded. KZ SS Airlines recently held talks with the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure, the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, as well as DRI, the state-run operator of Maribor Airport. They presented their plans to launch flights from Edvard Rusjan Airport and turn it into a hub. The company inquired about support options from the state.

The duo’s former venture, Golden Air, commenced operations from Maribor in October 2011. The carrier was initially to operate flights to London Stansted via Vienna with a Boeing 737-300 aircraft, with plans to expand in 2012 by introducing services to Birmingham, Bergamo and even Amritsar in northern India. Although the carrier did launch as scheduled, it operated during its first week with a Cessna plane before discontinuing flights. In 2006, Harjinder Singh Sidhu bought Air Slovakia, which was a small privately owned airline based in the capital, Bratislava, with plans to transform the carrier into a "Punjabi experience". The airline launched flights from the UK to Amritsar, Goa and New Delhi but eventually went bankrupt in 2010.

Maribor Airport has seen a fair share of interest from start-up ventures over the years. In 2017, SHS Aviation, which won a concession to operate Maribor Airport, established a carrier after purchasing the Belgian VLM Airlines brand and launched services from Maribor to Munich and Antwerp. It operated for several months before going into liquidation. SHS Aviation eventually terminated its fifteen-year airport concession on the grounds the state had failed to adopt a spatial plan, which would enable it to expand. The spatial plan has not been adopted to this day. Another Slovenian-registered carrier, Express Airways, had also planned to open a base in Maribor. Although the company maintained operations between Germany and the Croatian coast with a single ATR72, its commercial flight plans from Slovenia never materialised and its operating license was revoked in 2016. Maribor Airport last had commercial flights in 2015, operated by Adria Airways to London Southend. Today, it's primarily used by airlines for training purposes. Last year it handled a total of 4.055 passengers.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    Why not, this makes sense.

    They have my full support.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    Can't wait for Maribor - India flights :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:02

      with Cessna...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      Maribor-Amritsar coming soon....

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:39

      Yes but not before Maribor- Hong Kong

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:17

      Alpha Centauri double daily

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Maribor Airport seems to be cursed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      For some godforsaken reason, everyone wants to transform it into a hub for flights from Asia

      It's a scam magnet

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:08

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:08

    Jokes aside, Maribor Airport really needs to do something

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:57

      MRO facility for TUI

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:09

    There is no point in keeping airports like Maribor, Osijek, Brac... even open. They are loss making and will never be able to post a profit. All their markets can and must be served by larger airports close to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      Nonsense. Brač is a privately owned airport and it is profitable.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      Regional airports are important for contributing to regional development and decentralisation. That's certainly a reason for them to exist

      If, anything, ensuring transport to and from such areas should be a priority rather than just funnelling everything into the capital

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:24

      And what about Kraljevo?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:33

      What about Kraljevo? It’s had a record year in 2023 in terms of passenger growth and plans are in place for the extension of the runway to accommodate larger planes.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:12

    Yeah, ok

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:13

    I like that the Slovenian government gives everyone a chance to present their plans haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:13

      Obviously they offer the best coffee

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:14

    Holy shit from where do they keep on coming

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:24

    Love the name, KZ SS... Soooo catchy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:36

    lol

    ReplyDelete
  12. People in Slovenian government are either part of the scam to also take a cit of tax payers money or the most gullible people on earth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:50

      I think the Slovenians know exactly what is going here, but they’re desperate enough to hope that one day one of these scams might be legit.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:50

    KZ SS is a very problematic name. It reminds me of WWII, KZ : Konzentrations Lager and SS!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:55

    The best Ex-Yu article:
    https://www.exyuaviation.com/2011/10/golden-air-takes-off-from-maribor.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:56

    KZ - Kazakhstan?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:59

      Airline seems to be based in Kazakhstan, which makes it funny, considering its name is then SS

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:10

    Slovenian aviation is completely joke

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:24

    bohpomagej

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:38

    So the guy who wants to turn MBX into a hub for Asia flights has never before owned a successful airline that didn't go bust after 6 months or even earlier. Yeah okay.

    ReplyDelete
  19. there are always these fantasist. there is a guy in England who works in a:department store..I think he may be connected with that Pragusa thing from DBV. crazy. Little boys who probably wanted to be pilots. Time wasters but hopefully nothing worse...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:54

      I think most if not all of our department stores have closed. Nice story, though.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:32

      That Pragusa guy is fraudster.He had a lot of false projects like ATA.ONE, Paulana(factory for car and airline seats ), Bioplanet bike....and now Pragusa

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:49

    I'm saying this for 100th time but skyalps seems to be the only one with the fleet suitable for Slovenia. And they are seemingly expanding everywhere so Slovenian government really should reach out to them

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:58

      So does AirBaltic, Cyprus airways, etc...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:38

      CY is a small airline they can't maintain flights to LCA what makes you believe that they're gonna thrive in LJU?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:17

      "can't maintain flights to LCA " lol

      Delete
  21. Anonymous11:24

    KZ SS?? They will NEVER get allowed to fly to/over Germany or Austria with that name (both parts and especially the combination)... WTF nisu normalni

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:36

      The airline (if it ever happens) won't necessarily be called that way. It's like Air Montenegro whose actual legal name is ToMontenegro.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:56

    Maribor seems to be a magnet for this type of nonsense. I don't know which if any routes MBX could sustain, but it deserves far better than lurching from one embarrassing story to another.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:08

      Maribor could probably sustain, if anything, Istanbul, Munich, Zurich, Belgrade and London a few times weekly. Maybe a few seasonal leisure flights like Tivat, Split or Heraklion. Doubt anything more than that could work, though

      Delete
  23. notLufthansa12:09

    My guess is, they have already been in deep talks with Ms. Bratusek. They would accept talks from company Vivudlakjtuskruju d.o.o. if only they promise scheduled fligths from anywhere in Slovenia.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous12:37

    KZ SS?! Are you f **** kidding me? Do they realize what these letters stand for in history? Shame on them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:55

      Maybe they do, however, Mein Kampf is a highly popular book in today's India (check it if You don't beleive it). Not everyone comes from Europe...

      Delete
  25. Anonymous15:01

    They could not find a better name? Especially for entering German market, they will "highly appriciate" the name KZ SS, Oh my God... are they really so stupid and unsensitive???

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous15:52

    What is KZ SS ( not for airline)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:01

      KZ - Konzentrationslager (Nazi concentration camps)
      SS - Schutzstaffel (Nazi military organization)

      So yeah, pretty bad choice of acronyms lol

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:44

      🙈

      Delete
  27. Anonymous15:56

    I just want to hear a trip report from people who have traveled with Golden Air. I would buy it just for the fact that I will be flying the modern Cessna🤣🤣🤣🤣

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:58

      Me too! And flying with a Cessna to London lol

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:01

      As businessman 😁

      Delete
  28. Anonymous17:56

    Keep dreaming 🤣.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous20:49

    Waw, I have to say that I consider EX-YU aviation news as serious portal but when a story like this is published I really don’t know what to think. To me, today “main news” is more in the corner of “believe it or not”. At the same time, thank you EX-YU aviation news for bringing such news, at least we know where we stand with commercial aviation in Slovenia right now.

    ReplyDelete
  30. notLufthansa09:16

    they are only testing our vigilance :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. India here we go....I couldn't be more thrilled. Sure. 😂 If they´ll offer flights with Cessna to India the flight would take about a week or so. If the weather would allow it. 🤣😂

    ReplyDelete

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