Tour operator TUI and its affiliated airlines will launch seven new routes from the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands to Montenegro next summer. Apart from the previously announced new seasonal summer flights from Birmingham, Manchester and London Gatwick to Podgorica, which will be operated by TUIfly starting mid-May 2018, the leisure company has now announced the introduction of flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle, Lyon and Nantes to the Montenegrin capital. Furthermore, it will commence services from Eindhoven to Tivat. The development comes following recent talks between TUI Group executive Board Member, David Burling, and the Montenegrin Prime Minister, Duško Marković. “The arrival of TUI in Montenegro is an honour for us, but also a challenge. TUI is the global leader in tourism, which is a privilege for every country. It is up to us to make something out of it”, Mr Marković said.
TUIfly will commence flights from Paris to Podgorica on April 22, competing directly against Montenegro Airlines on the route. The leisure carrier will maintain one weekly flight between the two capitals with its Boeing 737-800 aircraft until October 14. Furthermore, it will launch a one weekly service from Lyon on May 12, which will be run with a B737-800 until October 13. Finally, the airline will introduce a one weekly flight from Nantes to Podgorica with the B737-700. The return service will be maintained via Dubrovnik, however, TUI does not hold fifth freedom rights between the two cities and will be unable to sell tickets on the sector. These services will operate until October 11.
The TUI Group has said it is planning on introducing even more routes to Montenegro in the foreseeable future, with new services from Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Russia and Poland. The TUIfly flights and tour packages to Podgorica and the coast mark the travel giant's first major expansion on the Montenegrin market since the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. Podgorica Airport, which has handled over one million passengers so far this year, anticipates for growth to continue in 2018. Apart from the TUI operations, several airlines have already announced new routes to and from the city next year, including Montenegro Airlines and Wizz Air, while others, such as Aegean Airlines, will boost frequencies on existing services.
| Route | Launch date |
|---|---|
| Paris - Podgorica | 22.04.2018 |
| Eindhoven - Tivat | 11.05.2018 |
| Lyon - Podgorica | 12.05.2018 |
| Birmingham - Podgorica | 16.05.2018 |
| Manchester - Podgorica | 20.05.2018 |
| London Gatwick - Podgorica | 23.05.2018 |
| Nantes - Podgorica | 24.05.2018 |
Congrats Podgorica. I notice that some tickets can be bought online but some can't.
ReplyDeleteBecause they are probably part of tour packages.
DeleteThey usually put those on sale too for individual purchase. For example they scheduled Brac 2 months ago but only put tickets on sale this week.
DeleteIt's really good that these new destinations are to places like London and Paris. So not only can tourists benefit but also regular point to points passengers.
Delete2018 will be a big one for Podgorica.
ReplyDeleteUnless Montenegro Airlines goes bankrupt.
DeleteIt won't but even if it does others will jump in.
DeleteI think Montenegro Airlines is vital for Montenegro because it maintains winter flights from Podgorica and Tivat. Podgorica has respectable number of passengers during winter months. I'm not sure that would be the case without YM.
DeleteMy oh my, just look at that small Montenegro quietly growing. People finally need another new and interesting sea destination. Croatia cannot have all the cake for herself, hehe. Thumbs up Crna Gora!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt's obvious Montenegro, and Croatia have alot more in common than meets the eye.
Delete"Croatia cannot have all the cake for herself, hehe."
DeleteYes, it can, at least most of the cake.
So not all of the cake.
DeleteSo new routes from Croatia:
DeleteDubrovnik 13
Split 12
Pula 11
Zadar 6
All other 10
= 52 new routes
2 Montenegro airports has less new routes than Dubrovnik, which, by the way, has 10% of inhabitants than Montenegro.
And what is the population of Montenegro and the size of the country compared to Croatia?
DeleteDoesen't matter. "Bravo Croatia" , "Croatia is the best in the world". Hope that is enough for your ego for today.
Let's take a different look. Let's take the length of the coast and the number of islands each country has and then look proportionally at the number of passengers they have.
DeleteThis is the first major expansion by a single airline in Montenegro in years.
ReplyDeleteMGX is getting more and more competition on routes. Now they will have to compete on the Paris line which they have been reducing year after year. Adria is also attacking them on the LJU route. They really need to be very smart about next year.
ReplyDeleteAnd Eurowings expansion in Montenegro is imminent.
DeleteUsing Montenegro Airlines and smart in the same sentence just doesn't go together. They had over 20 years to prepare for competition. Their problem if they can't adapt.
DeleteI still don't get why do so many airlines fly to Podgorica and not Tivat. I mean wouldn't it be more normal that all these routes were launching to Tivat instead?
ReplyDeletePodgorica is used to get to the coast just as much as Tivat
DeleteIf you travel south of Petrovac than it's about the same distance timewise from TIV or TGD (according to Google).
DeletePodgorica is much cheaper than Tivat.
DeleteArtificially they try to make it bigger than Tivat.
Great news.
ReplyDeleteSo new routes next year from TGD - Tehran (Montenegro Airlines), Warsaw and Katowice (Wizz Air), Nantes, Paris, Manchester, London, Lyon, Birmingham. And it's only December!
ReplyDeleteYou really think Tehran is happening?
DeleteWhy wouldn't they? Deal has already been signed with tour operator
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/11/montenegro-airlines-to-launch-tehran.html
Why the sudden interest though?
DeleteTourism is developing.
DeleteNice work! With all these announcements next year will be busy. Montenegro will have 2.3 million passengers this year. For a country of 600,000 that's not bad at all.
ReplyDeleteLCCs are mostly to thank for that.
DeleteAround 500.000 of those are between Belgrade, Podgorica and Tivat.
DeleteNext year they could even reach 3 million.
DeleteCongrats to MNE. They invested quite well into touristic infrastructure. Now it pays off with more and more demand from western markets.
ReplyDeleteThere is still a lot of untapped tourism potential in Montenegro so I think over time we will see more and more airlines start flights.
ReplyDeleteOne of the issues is Tivat. It can't grow anymore during the summer because it is operating at full capacity. An expansion is badly needed.
DeleteThat could be one of the reasons so many of the new routes are to Podgorica instead of TIV.
DeleteAnt other airlines planning new flights to Podgorica?
ReplyDeleteRead in the comments above. Someone listed all of them.
DeleteYes, I see it now. Thank you. Maybe there will be a few more.
DeleteGood news.
ReplyDeleteBravo Crna Goro!
ReplyDeleteI think Tui would be a perfect airline for Sofia-Brač and Kiev-ZAG routes...
ReplyDeleteDoes TUI fly from Ukraine?
DeleteWhy do you think Tui would be perfect exactly for those city pairs? On account of what exactly, especially Kiev Zagreb ans Sofia Brac (and without generic Tour Operating arguments...)?
DeleteJesus, would you please stop with this Brac trolling??
DeleteThe INI troll finally stopped and now there is a Brac one
People are free to express their opinions, anon 3:59pm, just because you had a bad day doesn't allow you to attack the people.
DeleteBrac is a small airport with potential and so is INI. What's the problem in that?
Also lots of Bulgarians visit Croatia and so do Ukranians. If you cannot bear the fact that regional airports are growing, I recommend you to start accepting this fact. Thank you.
But is there a Tui Ukraine and Tui Bulgaria? Of course not, hence why it was stupid statement.
DeleteBrac should have Teheran instead of Belgrade.
DeleteBrac should have Toronto instead of Zagreb.
Brac should have Kiev instead of Ljubljana.
Brac should have Dubai instead of Sarajevo.
Brac should be the first airport in exYugoslavia. And biggest hub! And intercontinental airport.
Yesterday it has 4 seasonal flights, this year 20, but next year they should have at least 1.000 flights.
Yes, we get your message. I am sure it will be like that. Just because you repeat this every day at least 20 times.
Anon 10.33 pm
DeleteMalo si se zajebao jer ja osobno uopce nisam komentirao niti prisustvao danas na forumu,ali mi se svida tvoj malouman nacin razmisljanja gdje se definitivno vidi koliko pogresno donosis zakljucke i kad se ulovis nekog drziz ga se kao pijan plota..znaci vidis samo jesno ispred sebe i nista drugo..i svaka poveznica s bracom odma te asocira samo na jednu osobu...super
Ali pogreano mislis..sva sreca da ne trebas donositi neke druge ozbiljnike zakljucke jer ko zna kako bi tek oni pogresno ispali...
Ann 7.33
Svaka cast slazem se s tobon...nigdje ne pise sa je ovo forum vezan samo za nekoliko aerodroma u ex you iako bi to nwki htjeli...stoga moj prijedlog za vas je da otvorite forum samo za odredeni aerodrom koji je vama najvise drag i tamo kometirajte i uzivajte do mile volje....
Vulgaran ton kojim se obračaš, koji se ne može nazvati ni birtijački, nego kočijaški, zapravo dovoljno govori o tebi.
DeleteNe, nisam se "zajebo" jer se nisam ni obračo tebi nego onom koja konstantno siluje ovaj blog, 10 puta na dan sa rečenicama tipa "ako je Croatia odlučila ne leteti iz Rijeke za London, onda bi bar 3 puta sedmično trebala da leti iz Brača za London", ili "KLM bi trebao da otvoriti liniju Brač-Amsterdam" i slične gluposti. OK je voleti svoj aerodroma, ali brate treba da budeš realan. Pa što ne bi svaki dan 25 aerodroma napisalo "Irak Air bi trebao da leti iz XYZ aerodroma umesto iz Beograda". Umesto XYZ upiši Maribor, Niš, Banja Luka, Lošinj, Rijeka, Ohrid, Tuzla, Mostar, Osijek... i ostali veći aerodromi od minijaturnog Brača. Ajmo svaki dan istu rečenicu!
Nitko na ovom forumu ne spori da Brač ima potencijala, ali zar stvarno treba da pišeš po 10 komentara, baš na svaku uvedenu liniju kako bi ona u Braču bila perspektivnija?
Kao što ti kažeš da bi "mi" trebali otvoriti forum koji je nama najviše drag, eto predlažem da ta osoba otvori forum "sve linije iz regije samo u Brač".
Da imas pravo svi osim tebe imaju rijecnik kocijaski ili pak neki drugi kako ga ti nazivas ,a samo si ti valjan i ispravan i samo ti imas pravo komentrati i pisati o onome sta tebi odgovara sve ostalo sta tebi ne odgovara..osobno sam komentirao za brac u godini dana na maksimalno 6 tema i nikada sigurno po 2 kometara a kamoli svakodnevno 20 kao sta ti kazea jer onda izgleda da ti ni racunanje bas i ne ide...
DeleteZanimljivo je to kada se bas na svakoj temi bez obzira o kojoj zracnoj luci i kompaniji radilo spomene beograd ili pak zagreb to ti ni najmanje ne smeta a spominju se redovno i da po 20 i vise komentara na te teme pohotovo beograd...i znaci smetati brac koji se godisnje spomene od strane svih komentatora maksimalnih 20 puta osim mozda u temi koja govori o bracu onda se spomene malo vise, a ne a smetati to svakodnevno isticanje beograda ili pak zagreba i raaprava na temu koji od njih je jaci ili bi pak trebao biti ili oceli dobiti jesan neku liniju ili pak drugu..i ne ne treban ja otvoriiti takav forum jer ipak meni ne smeta nikakvo spominjanje bilo kakvog aerodroma pa cak ni minijaturnog braca kojeg uporno omalovazavas i koji ti je trn u oku iz nekog razloga vec ti kojem spominjanje odredenih aerodroma izaziva nervozu i zivcanoat jer ipak taj brac na tvoju zalost nije probao nego se lagano budi...i da u onome trenetku dok joa beac nije iz odrredenih razloga povezan s nekim linijama naravno da bi mu dobro dosle..dok su ostali aerodromi sa svim tim linijama povezani...a tu uvijek kad pricam usporedujwm na na split a ne neki drugi...jer preko splita jos uvijek dolazi preko 90 posto i vise gostiji koji ljetuju na otoku bracu..
Ne moras ti voljeti nijedan aerodrom oaim svoga?ali isto tako ako te neki aerodrom ne zanima onda ne moras ni komentorati na kometare o odredwnom aerodromu..
I da bas nikad nisam reko da bi neka linija na bracu bila perspektivnija nego u nekome drugom gradu...vea sam nekoliko puta reko da odredene linije prema bracu imaju perspektive
DeleteJer ako split ima 16 polazaka za npr frankfurt tijedno onda kazem pa bi i brac mogu imat nekoliko polazaka tijedno...ako je london povezan 5 puta dnevo sa splitom onda bi i brac direktno mogo biti nekoliko puta tijesno povezan zar ne?
Znaci moja usporedba nikad nije bila i nece biti takva da kazem da brac ima vecu perspektivu nego neki drugi aerodrom i nikad necu rec da je bolji i da treba biti kao neki veci jer to jednostavno ne treba i ne moze..a onaj netko tko kaze da bi brac u 3 godine treba narasti do 100000 putnika i da bi to bio vrh malo se preracunao jer koliki bi godisnjo rast omda bracu trebao biti...ako brac u tri godine i manje udupla svoj rast s odredenim i jako velim ogranicavajucim faktorima kao sta je duljina uzletnosletne staze koja jos nema dovoljnu duljunu za sve i kad bude imala opeta ce imati odredena ogranicenja,onda je napravio dobar posao i svaki pa i 1 postotak rasta za brac je dobra stavr jer ni jedan drugi aerodrom nema drugi veliki awrodrom u blizini kao brac....
Ko usporeduje brac nekim glavni i vecim aeordorom ne zna o cemu prica jer taj netko onda uporno brcka jabuke i kruske.....
Brac nema sve to sta imaju drugi aerodromi i uvijek je za vecinu stvarih ogranicen,on se ne moze mjerit ni s jednim drugim a pak niti usporedivat upravo radi svih tih ogranicenja sta ima....staza od oko 1760m.
Svaki pomak i rast na bracu je lijepo za cut i vidit jer netko tko se zatvarao i ima toliko probelma da se probusi i krene na bolje je vec super stvar.....brac nikad nece biti ni split ni beograd ni zagreb,niti jedan drugi aerodrom....on je tu da sluzi prvenstveno bracu i to mu je jedina namjena...trebao bi vas veselit rast neceg tako malog a ne izazivati vam zivcanost i bijes...
It's good that they plan to launch even more flights.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting they say they plan to open fligts from Poland to Montenegro. Considering Wizz is launching 2 routes from Poland next summer it looks like there is a lot of interest from the Polish market for Montenegro.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget LOT which started flying from Warsaw this year.
DeleteWhat are the number 1 tourists in Montenegro after Serbs?
ReplyDeleteAlbanians?
DeleteI think its russians
DeleteHow long is the TGD-DBV flight they will operate?
ReplyDelete20 minutes!
DeleteHaha well that will be a short one.
DeleteI wonder if there would be interest for people to fly between these two cities.
DeleteGreat news ! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteEx-Yu airports with success stories during the last 5 years:
ReplyDelete1) SKP
2) INI
3) PRN
4) PUY
5) SPU
6) DBV
7) TGD
8) TIV
Room to improve:
1) SJJ
2) OHD
3) LJU
4) OMO
5) LSZ
6) KVO
Interestingly you forgot Belgrade which in the last five years added 2 million passengers, which is more than any other airport in the region.
DeleteI'd say the winner for 2017 is definitively Split.
DeleteI meant "definitely", sorry.
DeleteBEG and ZAG are already big, therefore not included. Compared to other capitals in the region, there is room for improvement. See BUD, OTP, SOF and even CLJ not being a capital.
DeleteWhat exactly should BEG do? It got connected to JFK, PEK and soon IKA. It's home to a legacy and a lowcost. More and more airlines keep on adding flights.
DeleteI think the airport is developing quite nicely