airBaltic has not ruled out launching additional routes from Ljubljana should opportunities arise, following the start of its second service from Slovenia to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Tomaž Kostanjšek, Sales Director of airBaltic’s General Sales Agent in Slovenia, APG, said, “Where opportunities arise, we are ready to fast-track new routes. Slovenia still lacks many important air connections, which means passengers often have to travel via neighbouring airports. Strengthening direct connectivity from Ljubljana remains a clear priority for us”. He added that flights between Las Palmas and the Slovenian capital are already sold out on certain dates, pushing fares higher over parts of the winter due to strong demand.
airBaltic began serving Ljubljana in 2024 with the launch of flights from Riga. The carrier has so far been the largest beneficiary of the Slovenian government’s subsidies aimed at improving the country’s air connectivity, accumulating over 300.000 euros over one and a half years. The state has previously signalled its interest in airBaltic taking on a greater role in Slovenia’s aviation market. In late 2023, government officials held talks with the airline over the potential opening of a base in Ljubljana. At the time, airBaltic said it had no immediate plans to establish a base in the Slovenian capital, noting that such a move would require significant financial and organisational investment, as well as the development of brand awareness on the Slovenian market. However, the airline expressed openness to further discussions.
airBaltic operates multiple bases. In addition to its main hub in Riga, the airline also stations aircraft in Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere in Finland, as well as a seasonal winter base in Las Palmas. In a recent statement, the company said, “airBaltic remains focused on long-term growth and reliability. The airline continues to identify opportunities to strengthen its network, including the potential introduction of new routes and additional flight frequencies. airBaltic consistently evaluates market demand”.
While a base is still unlikely, maybe we get seasonal flights to another Baltic destination?
ReplyDeleteIs there really demand for more Baltic destinations? It's not like Riga is fully year round.
DeleteI don't see that as very likely since they would jeopardize their Riga loads, since most of the passengers are transfers to/from other Baltic cities. Is there really so much demand only between Tallinn and Ljubljana? Other baltic cities are not such big of transfer hubs as Riga is.
DeleteI am hopeful in the new PSO that should be coming. Maybe something will happen with that. If only AirBaltic would serve a few destinations from LJU, it would be perfect. Let's say Stockholm, Malta, Cyprus, something in Spain, Bucharest and a few others ... But they would really need to build in brand awareness, and if done wrong, it won't work out for them, since they can't compete with LCC prices.
They can bring back Berlin or launch direct flights to Stockholm. Both routes would work with the A220 for sure.
DeleteI don’t see a base happening unless the government offers serious incentives. Other countries support aviation much more aggressively.
DeleteI agree. The current incentives are peanuts.
DeleteGreat news! Finally an airline that sees potential in Ljubljana. We desperately need more direct routes.
ReplyDeleteairBaltic has been a pleasant surprise so far.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSplendid.
ReplyDeleteSth will come out of this for sure!
ReplyDeleteAt least some W route.
Deleteno way Jose. Ryan at ZAG is too strong and it takes lot of Slovenes come here and take flights from ZAG.
DeleteI'm really not surprised Gran Canaria is doing well.
ReplyDeleteI really hope they increase frequencies next winter
DeleteSlovenians love Canary Islands in winter. There’s potential for Tenerife too.
Delete^ true
DeleteMany of the flights have been fully bought by the tourist agencies, but I only hope that the agencies are also managing to sell their holiday packages. I've seen quite a few ads about "Gran Canaria directly from Ljubljana" in the capital.
ReplyDeleteCanaries are proving successful for them. They could also offer more flights to holiday destinations like Malaga, Alicante and Malta working with tour operators.
DeleteThat would not be good news for Trade Air!
Delete^ Quite frankly, it is crazy how under the radar these Trade Air charters are. I think they are making very good money there. It is a big opportunity for any airline.
DeleteIf an LCC came in and opened a base Trade Air would be gone within months.
DeleteAccording to both tour operators, the first flight on Saturday was sold out.
DeleteBravo!
ReplyDeleteLjubljana - Riga is working out amazingly for them this year. From Jan to Aug the passenger growth on the route was > 50 % compared to last year. Their LF in June was 83 %, in Jul and Aug 87 %. No wonder they are increasing it to 3x per week next summer. Hopefully they go year-round in the next winter.
ReplyDeleteIt’s about time someone noticed the potential here.
Deleteif they are going to have just 3pw in the summer, where LF was not even 90, that is everything but amazingly performance.
Delete80% loads to Riga of all places on a fully subsidised route is good. it means they are making money on this route.
DeleteLisbon/Porto year round, Dublin? Rome? Stockholm and Oslo?
ReplyDeleteAll would be good candidates.
DeleteTirana, maybe too? They will have to compete with Wizz and Ryan from Trieste, though. But the same for Rome.
DeleteNorthern Europe is still difficult to reach from Slovenia.
DeleteIf the government won’t create a national airline, then they should at least build partnerships like this one.
ReplyDeleteWell they obviously tried in 2023 but air Baltic was not interested.
DeleteairBaltic base in Ljubljana would be a game changer. Connections across the Baltics, Nordics and Western Europe in one go. One can dream.
ReplyDeleteEveryone talks about “opportunities” but nothing concrete. We need action, not vague statements.
ReplyDeleteAirBaltic for sure is the one which did the most action until now.
DeleteI think Wizz has brought more passengers than air Baltic.
DeleteSupport them and more routes will follow
ReplyDeleteThey are getting support!!
Deletejust give more choice than Lufthansa via Frankfurt for everything.
ReplyDeleteyou have KLM via Amsterdam, LOT via Warsaw, AirFrance via CDG, Swiss via Zurich, Turkish via Istanbul, Air Serbia via Belgrade etc.
DeleteThe number of legacy choices from LJU is actually very high. What we lack is LCCs.
Delete@Anon 11:01 nah, we need more legacy routes as well. Practically the whole western Europe is missing - UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal ...
DeleteWe have another airport that would be great for LCCs – MBX. It's literally a smaller secondary airport, the kind LCCs use in many other countries. Why shouldn't that be the case here as well?
An Air Baltic base in Ljubljana could work.
ReplyDeleteWon't happen when they can just wet lease planes without any additional risks and costs.
DeleteAirBaltic with base in LJU - my dream!
ReplyDeleteShould have done this years ago.
DeleteI knew that the Riga-Ljubljana route would be successful. This is a terrific option for flights to CPH, ARN, OSL and other destinations in this region. It also allows for some more interesting destinations in BT network.
ReplyDeleteLjubljana has potential but Fraport needs to lower airport fees. Airlines won’t expand if it’s too expensive to operate here.
ReplyDeleteairBaltic is smart. Start slowly, test the market, and then expand.
ReplyDeleteThey have not expanded much. One additional seasonal route 1x per week. Nothing ground breaking.
DeleteFor once, Slovenia should think long-term and actually support an airline that wants to work with us.
ReplyDeleteSlovenian market is small but wealthy. The problem isn’t demand but lack of vision from the government and airport.
DeleteSorry to spoil your day and your dreams, but wealthy in european terms go for Luxemburg, Switzerland, Norway, Danmark... Slovenia is an average, mid-developed eastern european country
DeleteWell they are supporting it. They got over 300,000 EUR
DeleteWhen will we see actual results?
ReplyDeleteWell they just launched Las Palma 3 days ago.
Deletecrazy that there were no article on a new route here on this page ...
DeleteThere have been several articles covering this route over the past few months. As for the inaugural flight, an article featuring all new routes launched over the past seven days will be published towards the end of the week, considering there have been twelve new services introduced from the region.
DeleteDo we know LF for first flight?
DeleteThe first flight was sold out months ago because tour operators bought all the tickets.
DeleteHope they don’t give up on LJU
ReplyDeleteFlights are sold out because they fly only once per week. Increase frequencies!
ReplyDeleteI flew with airBaltic last month. Great service, new planes, friendly crew. Definitely welcome here.
ReplyDeleteThey are a good airline
DeleteThey only solution for Ljubljana is an LCC base.
ReplyDeleteI agree. But LJU is so late to the table… ZAG has a huge base, TRS now too, even KLU has been working with FR for years. LJU is zzZzzzZzzzZzz
DeleteYou are right. They are late. Could have been the first back in 2021.
DeleteAre you insane?!
DeleteThanks God Ljubljana Airport is smart enough not to give in to LCCs' "negotiating" (bullying).
We do have an airport that could actually benefit from LCCs though: Maribor. They have nothing to lose, any traffic would be better than what there is now.
Is their Gran Canaria route subsidised as well?
ReplyDeleteNo. Only Riga
DeleteThank you
DeleteThey'll have 3 weekly Riga flights next year, they should do W flights - 2x to Berlin and 1x to a Greek island. Would work wonders and would test the waters for potential base in 2027.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth noting that this is the first airline in Ljubljana (apart from TradeAir) that is working 24/7 with turist agencies, which could mean that we could slowly see a switch from full charter flights to the likes of this one, where only about 40% of the tickets are on the market
Surely more is to come
+100
DeleteNothing will happen out of this
ReplyDeleteMost likely.
DeleteEvery time something positive happens with aviation here, people complain. Support airlines that want to fly to LJU and more will follow.
DeleteThese two routes won’t change anything. We need at least 10–15 new destinations and only airline that can do that is either Ryanair or Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteI’d rather have a stable airline like airBaltic operating here than rely on Ryanair or Wizz Air, who can cancel routes whenever they want.
DeleteUntil Ljubljana Airport reduces fees, airlines will keep choosing alternative airports in the region. It’s basic economics.
DeleteBe realistic. It's a small market.
DeleteSo you are saying OSI or KLU are bigger market than LJU?
Delete14.34
DeleteAir Baltic is not stable at all. It's on the brink of bankruptcy and it survives by leasing out half of its fleet. I keep my fingers crossed for them to survive but they are far away from being stable. Compared to them, Ryanair is not stable but solid as a rock.
Our connectivity depends on what foreign airlines feel like doing.
ReplyDeleteIncoming comments from people who think everything can be solved by bringing back Adria Airways…
DeleteHow much are the subsidies per pax in LJU? Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteI don't think its paid on a per passenger basis. The subsidies cover airport costs.
DeleteAdmin, any news about Pegasus flights between SAW and LJU?
ReplyDeleteNews just days ago
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/10/ljubljana-airport-confirms-pegasus-talks.html
I am asking, if are any new information after this news.
DeleteIt has been barely a few days
Delete