The Lufthansa Group is making a series of adjustments to its operations across the former Yugoslavia for the 2027 summer season, with changes to frequencies, aircraft deployment and operating carriers.
Air Dolomiti will take over flights between Frankfurt and Ljubljana on behalf of Lufthansa next summer, deploying Embraer E190 and E195 aircraft. The Italian carrier, which is wholly owned by Lufthansa Group, will operate the service under Lufthansa flight numbers. Services between Munich and Ljubljana, which are being suspended for the upcoming winter season, will resume next summer, although at reduced frequencies. Lufthansa has scheduled ten weekly flights, down from the fourteen initially planned and slightly below the eleven weekly rotations maintained for much of the peak 2026 summer season. One of the ten weekly flights will be operated by Air Dolomiti.
Swiss will also reduce its planned operations between Zurich and Ljubljana, scheduling two daily flights for a total of fourteen weekly services. This compares to the eighteen weekly rotations initially planned for summer 2027 and the sixteen weekly flights operated during the 2026 summer season. In contrast, Swiss will strengthen its seasonal Zurich - Niš service, increasing frequencies from two to three weekly flights and extending operations across the entire summer season. Previously flights were maintained for some two months during the peak of summer but will now run from the start on March 28.
Lufthansa mainline will return to the Frankfurt - Dubrovnik route next summer, taking over the daily service currently operated by its leisure subsidiary Discover Airlines. Lufthansa previously maintained flights between the two cities until 2023. The service will complement its existing seasonal operations between Munich and Dubrovnik.
The adjustments come as Lufthansa Group prepares its most extensive network expansion since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with ten new long-haul routes and additional frequencies across parts of its international network. The 2027 summer season runs from March 28 until October 30. Lufthansa Group member Eurowings will unveil its network changes for the upcoming summer at a later date.
They are not coming back to Skopje? :(
ReplyDeleteNo unfortunately
DeleteThat ship has sailed sadly
DeleteI still don't get that they see no potential in launching PRN.
DeleteThem skipping PRN makes sense, the market is only strong to 5-6 destinations and yields beyond that are not great, many tried and failed.
DeleteBoth Prishtina and Skopje are low yielding destinations with limited numbers of passengers up front paying the big bucks.
DeleteThey can cover SKP in summer at least from May to October
Delete^ Well clearly they don't think its worth it.
Deleteand its not like LJU has higher LF if the numbers somebody posted bellow are correct
DeleteBut Ljubljana likely commands overall far higher fares (yields). That is what ultimately matters, not purely LF.
Deletemaybe
Deletethey will come when somebody starts stealing away pax from OS, until then they can play it safe
DeleteThey will come when the two cities can command returns that make it worth their while.
Delete11.52 we got your opinion at 10.50 no need to drag on
Delete11:52 +100
DeleteIm pretty sure the first massage at @9.02 is a false flag post
DeleteThe reason why LH left SKP is because OS was struggling when they came, less pax were flying to VIE than to FRA, which is expected cause from FRA u have more connections. If OS wasnt part of LH Group than LH would have stayed and OS would have significantly reduced its frequencies to SKP.
DeleteBrilliant observation
DeleteThe group simply consolidated the market under Austrian Airlines, which is geographically and structurally better suited to handle Balkan transfer traffic than Frankfurt. They'll come back one day no doubt.
DeleteNo doubt 🤣
DeleteThey are kind of treating Ljubljana as an afterthought
ReplyDeleteYep. Ljubljana seems to be getting the short end of the stick here. Both Munich and Zurich getting reduced while Frankfurt is being handed over to Air Dolomiti. Not exactly encouraging.
DeleteThat can't be true.
DeleteThey had Frapirt buy LJU so that LH would get preferential treatment and also kick all other airlines out.
At least that is what an expert has been telling us here for years. 😆
They did get preferential treatment for many years at LJU.
DeleteThank you Fraport
DeleteWhy would they stop getting preferential treatment all of sudden?
DeleteCheck recent Fraport-Lufthansa relations.
Delete09:07
DeleteSure they did buddy, sure they did!
@Anon 09:17
DeleteBut they are supposed to be the same thing, how can that relationship change?
People don't expect rational arguments from fanatics.
DeleteThe guy you are talking about blindly hates on everything LJU and LHG related.
In any case, neither Fraport nor LH are impressing anybody.
Delete10:25 Talk about projection.
DeleteMassive news for Nis actually.
ReplyDeleteGood news for Niš! Three weekly flights for the entire summer season is a very positive development. Hopefully loads are strong enough to eventually make this a year-round route.
DeleteLoads are obviously good as they wouldn't increase frequencies and season otherwise. Now, is it enough for winter, that we do not know yet...
DeleteINI got a few A320 and A321 this summer. What matters is that INI now will be connected to a major hub.
DeleteINI is already connected to a major hub, Istanbul, and JU and TK codeshare on that route, so I’m using INI as my starting point for my flights to USA via IST
DeleteDoes TK even sell connections via JU? I don't see INI on TK's website.
DeleteNot sure about website, but you can buy the tickets through Turkish Airlines app and Miles&More app…you can’t earn miles for INI-IST leg, but except that everything else is regular…2 pieces of luggage included…round trip tickets are quite affordable
DeleteMiles&Smiles app*
Delete@17:58 you can't by connections to the US from Nis via Istanbul on Air Serbia's website either.
DeleteGreat news for INI!
ReplyDeleteIt seems this Swiss route is the single valuable transfer route out of INI, so it is great to have it throughout whole season with increased frequency...
Congrats to both, Swiss and INI!
Wonder how much of the traffic is transfer passengers versus point to point.
DeleteAir Serbia flies to BEG as many as 4 times a week, so that, too, is a significant feeder.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised to see ITA or Dolomiti scheduling INI to MPX or FCO likes, since LH Group is in deadly need to strenghten its members feeding sources, especially now after acquiring TAP, making LH Group heavily stretched throughout Europe with growing challenges to feed the routes of their members. INI is JUs bacyard, but not defended with truly undiscovered potential...
Delete^ you are getting way ahead of yourself. You won't see ITA at INI likely never, unless it's a sports charter.
Delete@Anon 9.14 #1
DeleteIf you take a look at JUs 4pw INI-BEG you will see it is rather ferry, not transfer routes, scheduled to ferry AC back to BEG in 2 days a week. So, no JU is not taking care of transfers from INI through BEG
@Anon 9:17
DeleteDont be so sure. LH is seriously reshaping business model for the LH Group. To remind you, after acquiring ITA they intended to make it hub for Latin America. Now, with TAP in Group, they would certainly need to use TAPs foot print there, so no room for OTA abymore. So, ITA which struggling anyway, needs new purpose in the Group. At the end of the they, if Swiss as far more stable company decides on strengthening INI, I see ITA not being in any better position to choose among prime airports...
ITA does not fly to a single ex-Yu city but you expect them to launch Nis...
DeleteITA doesnt fly to MXP at all and not to mention that FCO, BLQ (JU) and BGY (FR) didnt work from INI
DeleteLH won’t develop ITA into anything - it will just destroy it as it has done with all other airlines.
DeleteYou mean like swiss?
Deleteor OS??
Deletesome nasty LH hater there
OS has absolutely been decimated since LH took over.
DeleteAir Dolomiti is a perfectly good airline. I don't really understand why people complain when Lufthansa transfers routes to them. The aircraft are comfortable and the service is often better than Lufthansa mainline.
ReplyDeleteIt's mostly a problem for business travellers, if the flights are operated with AirDolomiti flight numbers. You do not get miles that way.
DeleteCry me a river
DeleteAnon 09.28
DeleteIf you were a business traveller you wouldn't be writing like that.
Its ordinary passengers that matter.
Deleteyeah, why these plebeians get to comment at all? only business travellers should be allowed to fly!
DeleteOr you can just switch to LH M&M and then it doesn't matter :)
DeleteAnon 9:18
DeleteFor FRA-LJU-FRA, no change regarding miles and status.
“
My word children - are there any adults here?
DeleteJust biznismen.
DeleteTwo people got jealous when I mentioned business passengers.
DeleteLol, talk about ego
DeleteAre you really this insecure?
DeleteAt this rate Lufthansa mainline will eventually just operate long-haul flights.
ReplyDeletelol
DeleteAnd the schedule of MUC-LJU next summer is erratic.
ReplyDeletewhy so?
DeleteThe schedule has 7 different departure times for 10 weekly flights
DeleteDepending of availabile slots probably
Deletelol
DeleteBig decreases for LJU, since Lufthansa was often using A320 and A321 on FRA route this year. They expanded greatly in 2026 but sadly the expansion didn't produce the best LF's, so the reduction somewhat makes sense:
ReplyDeleteLJU-Germany:
Jan 2026: 12384 pax (67,0 % LF)
Feb 2026: 12292 pax (67,2 % LF)
Mar 2026: 16378 pax (70,6 % LF)
Apr 2026: 16947 pax (55,5 % LF)
May 2026: 21052 pax (80,2 % LF)
Jun 2026: 28406 pax (71,2 % LF)
Jul 2026: 28916 pax (73,8 % LF)
Aug 2026: 28192 pax (74,1 % LF)
LJU-ZRH:
Jan 2026: 8289 pax (76,8 % LF)
Feb 2026: 11350 pax (78,2 % LF)
Mar 2026: 14131 pax (78,2 % LF)
Apr 2026: 14625 pax (63,2 % LF)
May 2026: 16239 pax (70,0 % LF)
Jun 2026: 14689 pax (70,7 % LF)
Jul 2026: 12695 pax (61,3 % LF)
Aug 2026: 14419 pax (68,8 % LF)
I think there is a reason Lufthansa didn't want to fly to LJU while Adria was around.
DeleteSome oh those LF are abysmal
DeleteLF shows that Air Dolomiti are a perfect fit for LJU.
DeleteRich Slovenes do not care for FRA, MUC, and ZRH.
DeleteIt's really odd those LH flights. I was flying Munich twice this year. Once on A320 once on A319 same time, I think even same day, 2 weeks difference. One flight was overbooked, and one had 100 pax on. So no idea what's going on. ZRH can not be explained in my eyes...why are they sending A320neos and A220-300s if they have E190s from Helvetic available?
Deletewell didnt expect such low numbers
DeleteFlew to ZRH in the end of June on A220. There was approx 35 pax on board.
DeletePerhaps they were sending those planes because of cargo.
DeleteI fly LJU–ZRH often, and the difference between flights is striking. Morning departures are sometimes nearly empty (I was once on a June flight with just 16 passengers), while the evening arrivals are almost always full.
DeleteWhat about late evening arrivals? Maybe they cover for the morning departure
DeleteSwiss need to keep Air Baltic for route Zrh- Lju.
Deletemore likely some ATR from the numbers above
DeleteThis is weird, I am flying twice a month via MUC, FRA or ZRH from Ljubljana, throughout the whole year, and LF was never below 90%, quite often it's fully booked.
DeleteAnyone know why they are moving DBV back to mainline?
ReplyDeleteI would assume they get a lot of premium transfers from their longhaul routes
DeleteWrong. Both Croatia (state) and Croatia Airlines don't need long-haul and don't have long-haul transfer passengers. You can ask experts from the third floor in Buzin about it, as well as some (Party and/or nazi) experts posting here
DeleteIt's astonishing that out of Niš, there will be so much more capacity to Zurich than to Belgrade. Air Serbia is stubbornly ignoring the transfer pax it could get from Niš with two daily ATR flights and good marketing promotion.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a lot of transfer demand. So many routes have failed out of Nis with multiple airlines. That is a clear sign.
DeleteTeo daily atr? Are you mad lol
DeleteJU is not going to take out several aircraft out of setvice to cater for Nis passengers which would be low yielding.
DeleteAt least Swiss is keeping the morning departure in LJU, they didn't offer that before this year.
ReplyDeleteThis is LH. They will probably revise the schedule ten times by next summer.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteTrue! They’ve no idea what they are doing.
DeleteIt would be interesting to see the total number of seats offered from Ljubljana rather than just frequencies. A reduction in flights doesn't necessarily mean a reduction in capacity
ReplyDeleteLufthansa returning to Dubrovnik is welcome, although I doubt the average passenger will notice much difference compared to Discover.
ReplyDeleteI personally prefer Discover, but high yielding pax -especially ex USA and Canada- prefer LH, probably because of the name alone.
DeleteWith nonstop United to Newark and Air Canada to Montreal from Dubrovnik, I don't know why would anyone go through nightmare luggage losing transfers in horrible Frankfurt with either Discover or Lufthansa, shitty as it became
DeleteThe important question is whether Lufthansa will also increase capacity from Belgrade and Zagreb.
ReplyDelete... und no more ZAG-VIE flights by OS ?
ReplyDeleteNope, they are out of ZAG, GRZ and KLU is next in winter 2028
DeleteGoodbye VIE as a hub for Austria then? Now people from Carinthia have to drive to VIE to catch flights abroad? Or combine train + plane? Practical and not at all tyring.
DeleteLufthansa group now gives you a train ticket option from Vienna do Graz for example
DeleteAnonymous 11:53: KLU is still served.
DeleteLast flight in the booking system is on Jan 4th, after that no more OS flights to ZAG seem to be bookable.
Delete
ReplyDelete349
Perhaps the load factor on Lufthansa flights to LJU is 'too low,' which is why there is a change. One of the reasons for the reduction in flights from Germany is likely the anticipated arrival of United Airlines at LJU, which will result in fewer passengers flying via FRA and MUC. It makes sense to me that they are reintroducing flights to DBV, as many travelers begin their tours at LJU airport and end them at DBV airport, or vice versa.
where united is also present???
DeleteI think it’s just LH being LH. It seems a very erratic-run company, at least to me. Although advance bookings from Slovenia’s tourism for 2027 would also explain a lot if we knew them. Are they cooling down? Or perhaps a lot of SLO inbound traffic is moving to Ryanair, which is not present at LJU.
Deleteadvance bookings ....
DeleteI don't think Slovenia's tourism is cooling down, we are getting three new routes which are gonna be primarily serving incoming tourists (United and TUI). I think it's the opposite. With the increasing route network there is less and less need to transfer. We now have BCN flights, the UK is mostly covered now, most important exyu routes are covered etc.. Along with that, there is growing transfer competition with Turkish increasing the frequencies, KLM now having double daily flights etc. I think that the demand is still slowly but surely increasing, it's just now getting spread among more and more carriers.
DeleteWhat will be reduction in capacitiy for LJU? Because LH was flying mostly a320 and a32, and Airdolomiti will use E90 and E195.
ReplyDeleteCompared to the original plan for Summer '27, there is a shortfall of approximately 100K on the FRA, ZUR, and MUN routes.
Delete100k if true is huge for a smallish airport like LJU
Deleteback in the days JP always sent their smallest planes to MUC
ReplyDeletethere is a bit of an overcapacity on this route
Are you really estimating the demand based on the aircraft type Adria sent to MUC 10 years ago??
Deleteuhm its not like LJU airport is thriving in the last ten years ... or are you suggesting even smaller planes?
Deletewhat about Eurowings tho?
ReplyDeleteIt says
Delete"Lufthansa Group member Eurowings will unveil its network changes for the upcoming summer at a later date."
@Admin, is VIE-ZAG by Austrian cancelled after January 10th?!
ReplyDeleteYes it is, but is seems it is not covered here.
DeleteLH group became completely unreliable. Cancelling, rebooking, rescheduling... Every long haul flight I booked recently was rescheduled and had to be rebooked... Virtually no difference whether you book any low cost airline or them. Shame that we don't have long haul low cost (yet). That time may be coming...
ReplyDeleteReally? Never had any issue with them.
DeleteThey are nothing secial intra european. All intar european aviation is basically the same nowadays.
DeleteLOT and Aegean offer more than the average (and the average is some water + chocolate).
Delete^ No the average is nothing at all. Because the largest airline in Europe by a long way is Ryanair.
DeleteI think LH Group is doing the right thing and getting back on track. In a way, they are following Air Serbia lead when it comes to using Embraers where they are a better fit than narrowbody Airbus fleet. Also expanding long haul albeit on a larger scale than Air Serbia. Steps in the right direction
Delete^ You realise the Lufthansa group have 274 aircraft and serve 229 destinations. JU has nothing to do with anything today.
DeleteThe Group has nearly 730 airplanes.
DeleteEven more reason why 15:40 is nonsense.
DeleteThree previous comments don't understand the words "larger scale than". If you don't understand that, how can you comprehend complex undercurrents of modern aviation business?
Delete'they are following Air Serbia lead '
DeleteHaha
DeleteNice photo from Corfu :)
ReplyDelete