Lufthansa and Swiss attributed the most additional passengers at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport in January when compared to the same month last year, while Air France shed the most travellers. The two Lufthansa Group carriers each boasted over 1.000 additional passengers over January 2024, however, the German flag carrier with its two routes to Ljubljana had fewer customers than its Turkish counterpart with one. Seven carriers managed to register growth during the first month of the year, during which Ljubljana saw its passenger numbers decline, compounded by British Airways’ and GP Aviation’s winter exit and a reduced number of frequencies on existing services by several airlines.
Ljubljana passenger performance on scheduled flights by market, January 2025
Air France, which considerably reduced its number of flights, saw the biggest decline in the number of carried passengers, down by 604. Its average cabin load factor on the route stood at 76.9%. Wizz Air with its Skopje service was close behind with 584 fewer passengers and a load factor of 89%. Unlike last January when Wizz Air operated half of its January flights with the 230-seat Airbus A321 aircraft and the 180-seat A320, this year saw all services maintained by the latter. Although the UK market registered the biggest overall decline, it came as a result of British Airways suspending its flights to the Slovenian capital over winter, as well as the discontinuation of Wizz Air’s London service, which was still operational in January 2024.
Among the flag carriers from the former Yugoslavia, Air Serbia handled almost the same number of passengers as last year, with 6.454 travellers. The result was achieved despite a reduction in capacity, with the airline maintaining all its Ljubljana operations with the ATR72 turboprop aircraft this year, whereas last year it used both the ATR72 and the Embraer jets. Air Montenegro added 313 travellers, maintaining the same number of flights and capacity as last year.
Bravo Fraport!
ReplyDeleteSuccessfully implementing LHG business model. If you want to fly direct and/or low cost, go somewhere else.
DeleteHonestly, it's delusional to think that LJU will at some point be a low cost airline base, where a) nearly 90% of all trips of Slovenes are done by car and b) the local tourism focuses on green and sustainable tourism and not tourism for the masses.
DeleteGreen and sustainable, right. If I didn't live here, I would believe this nonsense. Slovenia isn't connected because it's short sighted and corrupt. And has lost its way. Most of us who live here could probably agree on that.
DeleteBravo LH!
DeleteNice performance by Flydubai
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAdmin, do you know their LF by any chance?
Delete60.7%
DeleteBased on scheduled numbers (https://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/02/ljubljana-airport-sees-softer-start-to.html) it was a bit over 60 %
DeleteThey had fewer flights as well afaik so this is definitely a nice surprise
DeleteAdmin, do you maybe have data about LF in january for Flydubai in Zagreb also? Just for information. Thank you.
DeleteI don't have the January data for Zagreb yet, but Flydubai's performance for 2024 has just been published here.
Delete60-80% loads seem to be the norm at FZ.
DeleteI suspect AF's performance will be further impacted by KLM. I know they are essentially the same company but still.
ReplyDeleteTheir load factor was good overall considering it is January.
Delete^ compare that to Wizz :D
DeleteWizz is an LCC and probably has the highest load factor of any airline at LJU.
DeleteWithout doubt.
DeleteYes it has highest LF but just 3 flights per week.
Delete4 weekly from next month.
DeleteWell at least KLM and Eurowings are coming this summer... And then you have LH using A320 for one of the Frankfurt flights too. So there are some positives. On the other hand still no flights to Vienna, Barcelona, Stockholm etc....
ReplyDeleteIt's not an international airport it's more like a regional one
LH is planning second daily A320 rotation in April and May only. Regarding P2P there is strong potential to other destinations as well (Berlin, Prague, "normal" Madrid etc), but it seems this is not top priority for Fraport. Maybe be get FCO at least soon. :-)
DeleteNot the OP but I've noticed that they've been upgrading the 2nd daily flight this week... It started with A320NEO being flown in April only on Monday and then yesterday they've added A319/A320 yesterday. So we might see further changes.
DeleteCSA is getting additional A220 for regional routes which could mean they start weekly flights to destinations where 7373 is just too big. Maybe Ljubljana is one od them.
Pretty sure Berlin will happen next year with Eurowings if EasyJet doesn't move in by then, and Madrid is getting upgraded yearly so there is a chance still...
ITA has a tender to apply for, but this is just hopium around here, they didn't apply a month ago, no idea why they would now
Well it seems it's not top priority for the airlines either since they are the ones they could be making so much money on these routes, right?
DeleteAnon 09:19 This is exactly the case. As soon as they found out that LJU airport cost would be 40 EUR per departing pax and they would have to pay extra high price for fuel, they go somewhere else.
DeleteCongrats to Turkish Airlines. Just 1 route and ahead of LH.
ReplyDeleteAnd FZ had no impact on them. Considering some people were saying it might take away some transfer passengers.
DeleteThey fly two daily and have a massive network. Not to mention how expensive FZ+EK combos are. No wonder it had no impact.
DeleteThat's true. I find EK to be extremely expensive compared to their competitors.
DeleteBecause their brand is highly valued. Even though their service is heavily overhyped and there are certainly much better airlines out there. But their marketing is top notch.
DeleteIt's a tough market, but seems like some carriers know how to make it work
ReplyDeleteLufthansa and Swiss growing is a good sign, but why is Turkish Airlines still ahead of Lufthansa despite having fewer flights?
DeleteThey have more capacity per day than Lufthansa on most days, depending on which aircraft they send.
Deleteand IST is still no.1 route from Ljubljana.
DeleteNo idea why Turkish isn't seeing the numbers and adding other destinations in Turkey. Antalya would work for them, their A jet subsidiary could start SAW flights etc...
ReplyDeleteAt least they are growing IST frequencies this summer.
DeleteThey are developing hub model from the region. P2P with 180 seater is just too risky.
DeleteBilateral air agreement also limits air travel between Slovenia and Turkey to Turkish and Adria only
DeleteAbsolutely not true. We had scheduled flights in 2021 and in 2024 to Antalya
DeleteThey were charters. There are limitations to the bilateral as poster at 9.18 said.
DeleteThey were not, they were scheduled routes and you could book the flights via both airlines that flew the route
DeleteAntalya flights were basically charters with extra seats on sale. They got special permit (with TK approval) and for Trade air this is still valid. In general it's like noted above, the agreement is very limited.
DeleteJust because you could buy a ticket does not mean it's scheduled. They can apply for charter permit every single week and get approval. It's a easy to get around bilateral but it's not very sustainable long term but some do it. There is also a possibility that an exception was made considering LJU barely had any fights then.
DeleteWhy did almost a half of airlines have lower passenger numbers than last year?
ReplyDeleteFraport only cares about LH having increase.
DeleteThat is straight bs, the relationship between Fraport and LH is very tense at the moment and already has been for the last couple of years. Fraport giving out LCC subsidies worried Lufthansa, on the other hand Fraport is angry at LH for basing all remaining A380s in Munich and so on...
Delete@09:25 The economy is not growing at 4-5% anymore and people are a bit more careful with their spending.
DeleteBut the table states that easyJet is the one with biggest decline? 4802 passengers.
ReplyDeleteNo. It shows that UK market had the biggest decline. If you read the text:
Delete"The UK market registered the biggest overall decline, it came as a result of British Airways suspending its flights to the Slovenian capital over winter, as well as the discontinuation of Wizz Air’s London service, which was still operational in January 2024."
The drop for the UK is not from easyJet, but from Wizz discontinued flights to Luton...
Delete^Primarily because of BA actually.
DeleteAh, I see. Then, is there no other airline (among those: BA, Wizz) that had higher decline than those 600 pax from AF? There must be if there are 4800 pax less and just few airlines that contributed to that.
DeleteI don't think that airlines that no longer fly on certain routes are taken into account.
DeleteWell Amelia is getting 2 E190s.... Not happening but this would be the perfect aircraft for Ljubljana
ReplyDeleteThat would be amazing but I think they said they looked at the numbers and it didn't work out for them.
DeleteAmelia said they would do it of they got some subsidies but wothout them no.
DeleteThe long-term return on the investment by the government would have been worth it.
DeleteI wonder what would the ideal but realistic network look like from Ljubljana
ReplyDeleteExisting network:
DeleteLHR: Double daily in summer, daily in winter
LTN: 3x weekly on Wizz
LGW: daily
MAD: 3x weekly in summer with Iberia, 2x weekly in winter with Nostrum
ORY: daily in summer, 3x weekly in winter
CDG: 2x daily in summer, 9x weekly in winter (Monday, Friday)
BRU: 10x daily in summer, daily in winter
LUX: stays as it is
AMS/KLM: double daily in summer, daily in winter
AMS/TRA: daily in summer, 3x weekly in winter
FRA: 4x daily in summer, 3x daily in winter
MUC: 18x weekly in summer (6:30 am departure), 14x weekly in winter
DUS: 4x weekly in summer, 3x weekly in winter
CPH: daily in summer, 3x weekly in winter
WAW: 2x daily in summer, daily in winter
RIX: 5x weekly in summer, 2x weekly in winter
HEL: 5x weekly in summer, 2x weekly in winter (N0RRA)
BEG: 3x daily
INI: 2x weekly
TDG: 4x weekly in summer, 3x weekly in winter
TIV: 3x weekly in summer
SKP: daily
PRN: 4x weekly with Eurowings/Wizz
IST: 3x daily in summer, 10x weekly in winter
ATH: 4x weekly in summer, 2x weekly in winter
TLV: daily in summer, 3x weekly in winter
DXB: 5 weekly in summer, 10x weekly in winter
What's missing:
DUB: 3x weekly in summer, 2x weekly in winter
MAN: 3x weekly in summer, 2x weekly in peak winter
LIS: 2x weekly in summer
BCN: 2x weekly in summer
OSL: 3x weekly
ARN: 3x weekly Norwegian in summer, daily SAS
BER: daily in summer, 4x weekly in winter
CGN: 3x weekly in summer, 1x weekly in winter
STR: 2x weekly
PRG: 2x weekly in summer
KRK: 2x weekly
GVA: 4x weekly
MXP: 3x weekly
FCO: daily in summer, 4x weekly in winter
MLA: 3x weekly in summer
BUD: 2x weekly
OTP: 3x weekly
TIA: 3x weekly
CFU: 2x weekly in summer
SAW: 4x weekly in summer, 2x weekly in winter
AYT: 2x weekly in summer
LCA: 2x weekly in peak summer
SSH: 2x weekly
HRG: 2x weekly
JED: 2x weekly
DOH: 3x weekly
AUH: 2x weekly
Not going to happen, but I think that would be ideal case scenario for Ljubljana
+1
DeleteThe fact that this list is not unrealistic is scary
DeleteThat would be perfect
DeleteThere is nearly not enough pax infrastructure for this many flights. Even this summer it's a question if LJU will manage to do it without bad flight schedule being the reason for many delays due to staff and counters shortages...
DeleteSwiss is really the best of the LH group and I'm glad they are performing well.
ReplyDeleteBut I am not glad that they removed morning departure / evening arrival from the summer schedule.
DeleteHave they reduced flights or just rescheduled them?
DeleteNo it increases from 11 weekly last summer to 12 weekly this summer.
DeleteNice to see LOT back to growth at Ljubljana. They weren't performing too well last year.
ReplyDeleteThey have pretty good fares for transferring.
DeleteGood fares, good hub, ok service. No brainer.
DeleteIt's crazy that 20% growth is just a bit more than 1,000 extra passengers.
ReplyDeleteShows how low the base numbers are.
Delete:(
DeleteYes, same like when you see SJJ with 50% growth.
DeleteSerbia being 4th biggest market seems weird. Is that mostly trasnfers? I doubt there is such high demand for P2P, given that most people actually drive to Slovenia, when they go for a holiday or to visit family. Great numbers by JU though
ReplyDeleteLots of transfers, especially to southeast Europe and other ex-Yu destinations.
DeleteWould be interesting to see which destinations.
DeleteIt was published here a few years ago. But the list probably changed since Air Serbia doubled in size and Adria disappeared.
DeleteHere it is https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/air-serbia-among-busiest-transfer.html
DeleteBut yes, must have changed now. This is for 2020 and 2019.
Interesting. Surprisingly lots of transfers to Russia, which I assume are even higher now.
DeleteMakes sense
DeleteLjubljana Airport really needs a stronger winter strategy. Losing British Airways and Wizz Air’s London flights is a huge setback, especially for connectivity with the UK. The management should push harder to attract new carriers.
ReplyDeleteAlso Air France cutting back is another worrying sign. The load factor wasn’t even that bad at 76.9%, so what’s the reason? Could it be high airport fees or weak demand?
DeleteThey need to rethink their approach and find ways to incentivize airlines to stay through winter.
Delete+1 last anon
DeleteLJU needs to reevaluate its entire business model.
DeleteWhy? Are they losing money? If not then they don't have to reevaluate anything.
DeleteLjubljana needs more low-cost carriers, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteHigh-cost airport and low-cost airliners are not going well together.
DeleteThe airport is really not that high-cost. It's somewhere between TRS (which is cheaper) and ZAG (which is more expensive). The main problem are high fuel prices, which is the biggest reason why no carrier want to base an aircraft in LJU.
DeleteIs the fuel provider state owned?
DeleteAirport fees are comparable to ZAG and fuel is more expensive which makes LJU the most expensive airport in the region. Besides that, there are better incentives available in ZAG which are not considered as a state aid and linked to less administration.
Delete@13.11 I think it is owned by Crotian company, if it is Petrol.
Delete@14:16 Petrol is in fact a Slovenian company…
DeleteSorry I mixed it up. I thought Jadriplin bought Petrol but it is the other way around. So yes, Slovenian company.
DeleteI'm very interested to see how KLM will perform on its AMS route.
ReplyDeleteSwiss is the true winner in terms of additional passengers considering it is organic growth.
ReplyDeleteNow compare these numbers to 2018.
ReplyDeleteTK numbers will grow a lot this summer when they add the additional flights.
ReplyDelete