Serbia and Slovenia have become the strongest contributors to Emirates’ business in the former Yugoslavia, the airline’s Area Manager for Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Martin Gross, has said. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Mr Gross noted, “Emirates is currently represented in various countries of the former Yugoslavia by a General Sales Agent. We see a growing demand to a number of destinations we serve over our hub in Dubai and of course also to Dubai itself. The close distance to our own destinations Venice and Vienna make this area important to us and we also have a very good working interline relationship with Flydubai”.
Although Emirates does not serve any country in the former Yugoslavia directly, its close relationship with Flydubai gives it access to the hybrid airline’s flights to Belgrade, Skopje and Sarajevo. Flydubai plans to suspend operations to Zagreb this winter but is eying services to Podgorica next year. Asked whether Emirates plans to start its own flights to the region, Mr Gross said that the airline does not comment on speculation but added that, “Emirates is constantly evaluating possible new destinations all over the world”. Late last year, a high-ranking delegation from Emirates visited both Belgrade and Zagreb to study the potential of the two destinations.
The Slovenian government recently held talks with Emirates over potential services between Dubai and Ljubljana. The carrier said it was interested in serving the country indirectly through Flydubai. There are currently no flights between Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates, while there is strong competition from Gulf rivals Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways in Belgrade. Commenting on which markets are of most interest for passengers originating from the former Yugoslavia when flying with Emirates, Mr Gross said, “In addition to our home market Dubai, Australia and Indian Ocean destinations are on top of the list”. Emirates has a limited presence in Eastern Europe with Budapest, Vienna and Venice being the closest destinations to the former Yugoslavia currently served by the airline.
Dubai-Belgrade-Ljubljana would be good :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, and they will open the base in LJU!! And introduce flight to Sydney as well!
DeleteDon't see where I wrote that...
DeleteThat could actually work, especially if they can sell tickets for the BEG-LJU segment. There is a considerable market between Serbia and Slovenia and it can be further stimulated by bring in more competition which will lower the fares.
DeleteNo way they will be granted 5th freedom with Air Serbia around.
DeleteI didn't say that they would get it but that it would be a good thing for the market if they did.
DeleteThat said, I think it would be the first time since the retirement of the DC-10 that we would get a widebody on an ex-YU route.
Emirates has a huge number of aircraft on order and will eventually have to factor in Eastern Europe in its plans. Hopefully we see them at our airports soon.
ReplyDeleteIf they open routes in Ex Yu, and eventually they will, still think theire destinations would be Belgrade and Zagreb, not Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteZagreb's advantage over Ljubljana is that it is not in close proximity of so many larger and busier airports. Its disadvantage is that its passenger flow is much more seasonal.
DeleteBut it has smaller catchment area and lower purchase power as Ljubljana does.
Deletei don't think so....to my last count, there is smoe 10 000 Croats working in UAE which travel frequently to/from ZAG....and only handful of Slovenians.
Deletewhat do you think, who flays to, let say Australia, via DBX? Emigration of course and their relatives....so again, numbers go in favor of Croats. so again, think twice before writing.
Slovenians travel much more for leisure. Again, FZ suspending Zagreb and starting talks with Ljubljana does not support your argument.
DeleteI think they said they plan Podgorica for 2017, not Ljubljana.
DeleteLjubljana aside I still have a hard time believing they will manage to have a good LF on TGD flights, especially during winter.
DeleteWell I guess that buries the “Flydubai stopped flights to ZAG to make way for Emirates” arguments made by some people commenting here.
ReplyDeleteYeah I also don't buy that line of argument, especially because people were reporting here in the comments even a year ago that loads on that route were not that great. I do wonder how Podgorica will perform then.
DeleteAn.9.08 could you please quote part of the interview in which EK regional manager actually said that EK is not opening ZAG soon? No, you cannot, because the man didnt say that. Do you really think that EK will just sit and watch QR doubling their digits in ZAG and Korean and Chinese companies opening direct flights and they will not eat their piece of cake? I know some people here hate everything connected with HR but numbers of the visitors from the Far East and Australia nears a Million per year, and yes, Flydubai is redirecting their ZAG flights to LJU because Emirates is opening ZAG no matter how much you dislike that
DeleteBucharest will likely be the next EK destination in the area. They are really lagging behind Qatar in this part of the world.
ReplyDeleteThere are many cities in Europe that Emirates should start flying to before they even consider ex-Yu. Belgrade was on Emirates' radar years ago, back in the time when Jat Airways used to fly to Dubai. But then the crisis came along, then Fly Dubai was created which is a perfect match for low-yielding markets like ex-Yu countries and they simply no longer see the need to fly to Belgrade or Zagreb or any other ex-Yu city.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey could not fill 737 with Flydubai so I doubt Zagreb will see EK metal anytime soon. African and Asian destinations are more important on EK's
ReplyDeletelist.
I do hope LJU manages to get FZ. The flight to/from Zagreb were apparently filled with many Slovenians who bussed to ZAG.
ReplyDeleteFrom the information I got, when that "high ranking delegation" visited Belgrade in November 2015 they were proposing daily B777 DXB-BEG flights within two years. I have no idea how they plan(ed) on filling those.
ReplyDeleteEmirates will retire their A330s, A340s, and 772s (except for the LRs) by the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteSo basically all they will have is 773s and A380s. The few 772s they have are mostly for ultra longhaul flights.
Not much chance we will see them in ex-yu anytime soon. No airport here can fill 40 business class seats.
Well I am pretty sure they already have some destinations from which the business class cabin arrives to DXB empty. On such routes feeding other flights is more important than filling the business class.
DeleteThis of course does not mean they will start BEG, just saying it's not always about J.
@ Aleksandar
DeleteA330 and A340 will be retired within the next week or 2.
@ anonymous
EK doesn't have problems filling so much business as they do with First, hence the 2 class configuration on the A330, B777 and A380. 2 class is generally sent for MNL, CAN, CGK, DPS, CPH, DME, IST, Pakistan and some Indian destinations etc. Saying that however, yields are generally great.
Actually, EK have destinations where the first and business class fill, however economy not so much (GVA).
The biggest "problem" EK has is that they mainly fly bigger planes which can be tricky for smaller cities. Also, in general we see that the supply in general is becoming larger than demand. So many A380s, triple 7´s and no smaller a/c is not so good. Also, when Iran becomes equipped with new a/c they will compete a lot being in the same region.
ReplyDeleteI praise QR for their fleet and carefully covering potential and smaller cities in Europe by simply using their A320/1.
+1. I think Etihad has also employed a much better strategy on that front that EK.
DeleteIR has a long way to go before they become competitive.
DeleteIKA isn't that large, IR has an aging fleet, the onboard product needs to drastically improve...this will take along time to change.
Although EK hasn't had a narrowbody for over 2 decades, DXB is very slot restricted, hence rumours of FZ moving to DWC soon. The fleet works for them, rumour has it the A380 somewhat and some orders could be changed for the A350. Time will tell I guess.
QR has capacity issues with DOH again. AUH is a zoo and struggles with current capacity. EY isn't exactly profitable and neither are all its partners.
IR might not be where Emirates are today but with new aircraft arriving they are set to start expanding once again. This will make them more attractive to the massive O&D passengers heading to/from Iran.
DeleteLong-term, Emirates will do fine. DXB has a considerable local market and the airline has built a solid reputation as a good and reliable carrier.
What will be interesting to see is how both QR and EY cope with all this, especially once the situation in Turkey stabilizes.
The area is becoming quite crowded with airlines, especially with Saudia and Oman trying to copy their neighbors.
"...especially once the situation in Turkey stabilizes" If it stabilizes.
DeleteIR has a much larger population and thus a larger diaspora, so O&D is their biggest advantage. However, IKA will need drastic expansion for the wishlist.
DeleteEK will do fine as long as Dubai has the finance to make it an attractive destination and while EK makes a profit. The biggest advantage of EK is that Dubai is a tourist destination and has a large expat community which frequently travels, as well as business travel.
Saudia being in Saudi Arabia is their biggest minus with the way Saudi Arabia is and that wont change any time soon. Sure, they have their pilgrims, but that is low yielding and seasonal.
Oman Air I doubt could ever do what the ME3 have made. MCT has almost finished a huge new terminal, which would make travel via MCT alot better. There really isnt much in Muscat to see, however the resorts and beaches attracts its tourists.
Fly Dubai covers this market quite well. Don't see a need for Emirates start flying.
ReplyDeleteA way they could perhaps fill planes to ex-Yu is if they link the to other cities. Most ex-Yu countries have open skies policies in place with UAE which would allow for such flights. The used (not sure if they are still) fly Dubai-Larnaca-Malta.
ReplyDeleteThey could but then again I don't see what they could link either than two ex-yu cities or a Eastern European and and an ex-yu city. Remember, Qatar Airways could not secure fifth freedom between Sofia and Belgrade (because of Serbian directorate) or Ankara - Belgrade (because of Turkish directorate).
DeleteThey still operate Malta via Larnaca, two times per week. The other five flights are operated as DXB-LCA-ATH.
DeleteNo surprise people from here are traveling most to Australia. Wonder what the Indian Ocean destinations are. Remember reading once that Male, Maldives was one of the best selling for Fly Dubai from Belgrade which was kind of a shock.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah I remember that. And apparently Kabul from Macedonia. My guess is Macedonia has some troops deployed there.
DeleteThere are thousands of Macedonian gastarbeiers in Afghanistan. They work as cooks, cleaners and manual workers in NATO basis.
DeleteSame for Serbs, a lot of them work as dispatchers and servicemen at US bases there.
Deletewow had no idea. Interesting. Thanks :)
Deletewow nice to here that about Slovenia. Did not expect it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the favorite topics for ex-yu aviation fans - waiting for Emirates :D
ReplyDeleteHahah good one. A new topic/obsession was needed since we can no longer speak of Jat's fleet renewal. :D
DeleteIf EK does start flights to BEG at some point it will be quite a hit for Qatar and Etihad because the market is not that big to sustain all three.
ReplyDeleteCould hurt TK even more.
DeleteBefore the world economic crisis there were roughly 20.000 passengers flying every month between BEG and LJU.
ReplyDeleteSo there is definitely a market if EK decides to eventually launch DXB-BEG-LJU.
Emirates have a really strong brand awareness which makes it easier for them to fill their planes.
So that makes around 240.000 per year? What was the structure of the passengers? There is clearly business travel on that route, but that much?
DeleteMind you that was what Jat carried which means that it was all O&D. Back then JU carried almost no transfer passengers. My guess is that it was a mix of business and VFR passengers.
DeleteWell its food that they are at least considering this region.
ReplyDeletethat was supposed to say good not food haha.
DeleteFZ is suspending flights to Zagreb??! Why?? Weren't they announcing not long ago something completely opposite? Does that have to do with QR increasing frequencies to ZAG? I don't understand. Why such a sharp switch in strategy? I mean, I can explain QR being so popular here, mainly because it provides connection to the far East and Australia via Doha, while FZ via Dubai required at least two different airlines, since I don't see too many people from Croatia visiting Dubai as tourists. But, that's a guess. Does anybody know what the actual explanation is, if it exist at all?
DeleteYou can probably rank the importance of the markets to them by the order of the countries in the title held by their Area Manager
ReplyDeleteArea Manager for Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina
I still d6't undestand why FZ left ZAG. As somebody said before, they were FULL of Slovenes. How come that Skopje works but Zagreb didn't?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is more expensive fees.
DeleteQatar flies to ZAG, while not to SKP. Simple as that.
DeleteIt's not just Fly dubai but also TAP left this year and Swiss is leaving and a number of airlines are reducing frequencies this winter. Maybe they hiked the fees at ZAG? They have to pay for the terminal they are building.
DeleteSo BEG can sustain Qatar, Etihad, Air Serbia, ZAG only one carrier flying to the Gulf?
DeleteWell if it wasn't the case then FZ wouldn't have left.
DeleteZAG has 10 flights per week which is more than enough and excellent connections to Australia while SKP pays and subsidizes FZ like the rest of the airlines to be maintained so it´s logic.
DeleteJa ovde mesecima pricam da Hrvati slabo lete Oduzmes strance i njihove letove Zagreb aerodromi na obali i dobijes smesne cifre. Samo punjenje LH hubova im dobro ide i na to ce se svesti. A mod samo brise. Niti ce Fly dubai leteti iz Ljubljane vise od dve puta nedeljno
DeleteFZ is the only one that gets subsidies in SKP.
Delete'while SKP pays and subsidizes FZ like the rest of the airlines to be maintained so it´s logic.'
DeleteIf you repeat it 1000 times, will it become truth?
How can an airport possibly more than double its traffic in less than 3 years? SKP is not a hub nor a financial centre, or a super touristic destination such as BUD or PRG for example.
DeleteOK, for BEG it´s quite understandable because of the new JU, long-haul flights, etc.
Besides, most of the airports in the region showed good results but not exaggerating ones. This sudden growth was after 2013, which was indicated in the EU Commission report.
@Anon 12:09PM A Srbi su poznati po tome da imaju pare koje troše na putovanja po Europi i svijetu? Gdje čupaš te informacije?
DeleteI could have guessed about Serbia but always would have thought that Croatia would be doing better for them than Slovenia.
ReplyDeleteYou are underestimating number of Slovenians traveling with Emirates especially from Venice and Vienna, but also from Bologna, Munich and Budapest. And add to those also the ones that used Flydubai service to Zagreb.
DeleteThis myth of Slovenians using FZ to fly from ZAG is just funny. Any numbers to prove your theory? Basically you are saying that FZ planes from ZAG are packed with Slovenians. Do you know what is the first summer destination for them? Croatia. So this theory of yours of very rich Slovenians flying all over the world is a bit strange. If they are so wealthy, why did FZ opened ZAG and not LJ? Why is Qatar avoiding Ljubljana too?
DeleteIt's not a myth. Had you ever flown on the Flydubai flight from Zagreb you would have seen it for yourself. And by the looks of it, FZ will open LJU which is wht ZAG was suspended.
DeleteThe purchasing power of an average Slovenian is light years ahead of an average Croat. And they love to travel. On the other hand, Croatian air traffic is generated by tourists and Australian gasterbeiters.
DeleteWell it is not all about purchasing power. Otherwise FZ or Emirates should be flying to Luxemburg, the purchasing power is quite hight there too1
DeleteI flew a couple of times with EK from Venice and there where definitely some Slovenians among us. The purchasing power is for sure higher, but you don't have to exaggerate. Your fellow patriots like to travel, again true, that is why half of them are in Croatia during summer.
DeleteAha, se nekaj, this is the average wage of EU countries: Slovenia 1010 eur per month, Croatia 749 eur per month. Light years?
DeleteThat's quite a different when you consider it on a yearly level.
DeleteOjoj, lepo te prosim, kaj si bos se izmislil, da bi povedal da so Slovenci super bogati...Vidim, da vsaka ex yu republika ima svoj kompleks.
DeleteOjoj, lepo te prosim, kaj si bos se izmislil, da bi povedal da so Slovenci super bogati...Vidim, da vsaka ex yu republika ima svoj kompleks.
DeleteDon't be funny!
DeleteFirst of all do you really know how many Macedonians work in UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan?!
Second do you know that after the Greeks, Macedonians have one of the most populous diasporas in Australia?
Third the route DXB-SKP is 2 hours less flying than ZAG which makes it from the very beginning more profitable.
Fourth, while flying from ZAG to FRA, CDG or LHR is hassle free and dosen't add too much time when continuing to AUS it mekes a quite difference from SKP because you must transfer.
Fifth, I assume fees in SKP are quite lower than ZAG. Nothing to do with subsidies!!
OT:
ReplyDeleteSPU
9/2015 288.038
9/2016 341.405
+18,52%
So how many so far this year?
DeleteIt was reported here a few days ago - 2 million
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2016/09/split-terminal-construction-to-start-in.html
It would be nice but I just don't see EK in ex-Yu anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought about Qatar and Etihad too and now look at the situation.
DeleteThe 5 million passenger mark seems more and more realist for this year. Belgrade airport records another record month, and breaks the 500,000 passenger mark in a single month, for the first time.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/srbija.php?yyyy=2016&mm=10&dd=03&nav_id=1183476
It seems impossible. Just do the maths.
DeleteSo is there any chance that they will start flying to ex-yu within the next year?
ReplyDeleteZagreb works perfect for Qatar, with 10 weekly flight (7x A321 + 3x A320 in winter time). This capacity is close to one daily Dreamliner. With prices which offer QR, FZ and EK can't compete. Prices on last sale was cheaper than in other QR airports in surrounding and from other carriers. So why you will choose FZ+EK combination for more money? QR with OU offer connections to all Croatian airports, even with SJJ and SKP.. Zagreb is QR "base" for this part of Europe. EK will wait till order new small widebody aircrafts, than we can expect other destinations in ExYu. Even Prague is one suprise for me, EK fly now with A380 there, just because of tourists. Zagreb have great potentials to be one of new EK destination, just because of tourists, because EK will not adding SPU, DBV, they will fly to Zagreb and than with local carrier to smaller destinations. But just have on mind that EK watch potentials on some market. When they will se potential, thay will start flying to this destination.
ReplyDeleteNaah.. if flydubai couldn't make ZAG work then EK surely can't. I think it's time to understand that the market is not that big.
DeleteYeah, based on one analysis and the fact that FZ left, Zagreb has absolutely no chance of ever getting EK flights.
DeleteI wouldn't use the word ever but surely not in the next 5 years.
DeleteConnection times with FZ are not so great. Some 5 hours to continue to Asia or simmilar on way back. With QR connection times are from 45 minutes to 2 hours. So FZ+EK have higher prices and worse connection time. Also what was funny, prices from Zagreb to Dubai is cheaper with QR than directly with FZ.
DeleteEK in Zagreb, why not? Why you don't see EK in Zagreb?
It´s very difficult to maintain a full EK B777 or A330 everyday to/from ZAG. Doubt if this will happen even in BEG.
DeleteBUD for example receive the B773 and now have a direct link to China so the market is MUCH bigger.
The only possible future destination is OTP but they already have 2 daily QR and 1 daily FZ. Besides, RO will soon stop flying to DXB anyway and Wizz already fly to DWC.
SOF is smaller and aleady have daily QR and 3 weekly FZ. Usually the EK passengers fly from/to ATH.
Sure, now is not possible to fill 777, but A330 now is not problem.. QR can fill now one A330/788 daily from Zagreb. Who knows what will QR do on summer 2017. schedule in ZAG. In next years, with grow of American and Aisan tourists in Croatia, we can expect more direct intercontinental links from both continents and capacity grow.
DeleteNe znamo to sto je neko izvalio da ce QR dovest B788 je cista glupost,koje se svi drze ko pijan plota
DeleteNebitno dal se držimo te priče kao pijani plota, ali to je realan rast kapaciteta na liniji prema Zagrebu. Kada je QR krenuo za Zagreb, prvo je to bili linija par puta tjedno preko Budimpešte. Sad je linija narasla na non-stop 10x tjedno, sa A321 svakodnevno i A320 3x tjedno (to po kapacitetu odgovara 7x tjedno 788 ili A332). Iduće što je moguće je rast na 14x tjedno sa A32S. Nakon toga mogu samo povećavati kapacitet, pošto je neralno očekivati da će uvesti 3x dnevno. Sada otkako se FZ povukao, pravu konkurenciju niti nemaju, izuzev TK.. Također će mnogo ovisti o raspodjeli flote po mreži i dostupnosti većih aviona. Sa "problematičnom" isporukom A320neo, tko zna kako će ići raspoređivanje flote, te dal će ići na povečanje kapaciteta na postojećim destinacijama ili na otvaranje novih linija..
DeleteBile bi vece sanse da se ne resavaju A330 ali i ovako postoji nekoliko szenaria za letove koji su vrlo verovatni.
ReplyDelete1 da let ide DXB-OTP-BEG sa 773 / 77W
2 DXB-BEG 773 4 pw mada je moguce i sa 77L posto ga cesto salju za neke Evropske Destinacije
3 malo verovatno DXB-LJU-BEG sa 773.
4 naravno bi se let za BEG najvise isplatio zbog velikog Kargo tereta koji inace EK prevozi.
INN-NS
Ako je ovo vrlo verovatno -.-
DeleteJa prosto obozavam Markove postove <3
DeleteGospodine @ 2:19 PM
DeleteKad vi jednom napisete nesto pametno ovde javljate se da ispravljate druge .
Gospodine 2:23 PM
Vi sto ne pratite Vesti i ne znate da se EK resava A330 i A340 nije moj problem i zato zaobicete moje postove .
Ali vama smeta izgleda sto je Gospodin Gross pre stavio Srbiju na listu Putnika EK nego druge zemlje ili je mozda problem Avion ASL pa imate neke potrebe da komentarisete .
INN-NS
People in Slovenia are obsessed with air travl. Price must be the lowest possible and distance must be as far as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe majority among them are using Emirates special offers. When you fly far away for 400-500-550 euro max.
People working in the public sector in Slovenia (namely government offices) can take vacations whenever they want. They just need to advise shortly (sometimes even few days) in advance. SO they are all using EMirates special offers because choice of time-season is not a problem for them as long as they have vaction days left.
SO you have hordes going to Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and shopping to USa etc.
Obsession is so big that you can find web pages (with full time worker working for it)in Slovenian with short articles advertising low priced flights and destinations. The market is small but obsession is huge. Most views are done during weekdays and office hours.
DeleteYou know, total low end market is not something that usually attracts many carriers. If it is like you describe, along with the fact that market is really small, you have low volume combined with low yield (slovenia is small in population even if they travel more often per capita).
DeleteJU statistics in September :
ReplyDeletea) 296.500 transported passenger, up 7,1% yoy
b) operations from Belgrade up 9,3% yoy
c) average passenger load factor 78,2%, up 1,0% yoy.
d) PLF for JFK 72,2%.
A-c looking quite good. D is scarry knowing we just went through the summer season.
DeleteI am sure economy class loads are great, it's business that is dragging it down. :/
DeleteIf BEG had a 6% increase and JU 7% does it mean other carriers didn't perform as well?
BEG will probably have 3-4% increase. So ASL is performing very, very well.
Deleteoooooooo yes......Emirates is coming to Slovenia with some stopover definitely. Belgrade, Sofia or Bucharest, especially if they want to expand
ReplyDelete???? :-D
DeleteA wish my friend:-D
DeleteIf you actually think about it, EK might come to ZAG next spring and it might make sense.
ReplyDelete1. The new terminal in ZAG is opened in spring.
2. FZ is soon expected to relocate to DWC, therefore making FZ-EK connections really hard (trust me, you don't want to go trough whole Dubai during rush hour, DWC and DXB are far opposite parts of the city). Because EK's business model is revolving around the hub-spoke model and relies on connections, it is far more convenient to have a connection in same airport. Therefore, FZ might be just reallocating resources while making way for their big brother.
3. Region Jadranska Hrvatska (HR003) is the 4th most popular touristic region in Europe. That means it is more popular than Veneto (ITH3) where EK flies to Venice once a day, more popular than Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (FR82) where EK flies to Nice once a day etc. Data confirming this is on web pages of EU Commision. Of course ZAG isn't a coastal city, but a codeshare agreement with OU would make any coastal city just an hour away for any passenger coming to ZAG.
Don't think Qatar made a decision to have more ZAG flights just out of nowhere. If EK decides to add ZAG to their network next spring, they'll take a lot of Qatar and Turkish passengers to them, because they have a far bigger presence in the Far East and Australia than those two. Loads on ZAG flight might be close to ones on VEN and NCE: you can make a case those are sesional destinations too, but EK is flying there also during winter with not so great loads because they are completely full on these routes for 6 out of 12 months in a year.
Add a big Croatian Aussie diaspora to that and ZAG might be a realistic destination after all.
The new terminal has nothing to do with EK's decision to launch ZAG flights, they are after markets, passengers, not shiny buildings.
DeleteFlydubai failed in ZAG because their loads were abysmal. That means that even the O&D market was abysmal which makes EK in ZAG even more unlikely.
You have QR, be happy about it. No need to stress of fantasize about unrealistic things.
No one said they would be coming to ZAG because of the new shinny building, but eventually because ZAG can accept more airlines and passengers, which is almost impossible with the present terminal building.
Deletewow, one very, very general and courtous statement from EK manager and already discussion on who has the biggest...even the numbering of the countries in his signature is important :)
ReplyDeleteHe was talking about outbound sales FROM these countries. Of course Slovenia is high since they have VCE and VIE nearby.
However, decision on launching flights lies in inbound demand from australia or asia since local markets (all) are too small to be any factor.
That being said, I dont expect EK in any ex YU country soon, especially not in LJU, but when overall demand is considered (so both incoming and outgoing), with the ongoing travel trends I would place a bet on ZAG. But again, I sincerely doubt it will happen anytime soon, especially since EK doesnt have anything smaller than 777-300.