Cyprus Airways, which previously held several meetings with the Slovenian government over the potential opening of a base in Ljubljana, has ruled out plans to do so or launch operations to the city for the time being. In April, the Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure, Alenka Bratušek, said the government was evaluating a proposal by Cyprus Airways to launch services out of Jože Pučnik Airport, noting the carrier had applied to run “quite a few destinations” through the government’s subsidy scheme aimed at improving Slovenia’s connectivity. Cyprus Airways also held talks with the Slovenian government on three occasions last year.
It has been confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News that Ljubljana is no longer on the airline’s radar. The carrier’s former management had coined an airline-in-a-box concept in markets with no carriers and pitched it to the Slovenian government. It involved the establishment of something alike to a virtual airline under a separate brand, where the majority of operations would be outsourced to Cyprus Airways. The virtual carrier would benefit from Cyprus Airways’ EU Air Operator’s Certificate, as well as EASA and IOSA compliance. The concept was also floated to the Montenegrin government. However, Cyprus Airways has since ran into issues with engines affecting its Pratt & Whittney powered Airbus A220 aircraft, forcing it to wet-lease capacity and reduce operations. Cyprus Airways has dropped plans to buy six A220s and the engine issues have had an impact on its financial performance.
The Slovenian government has been attempting to improve the country’s air connectivity with a series of public calls to airlines. The ongoing sixth call was launched days after the previous one failed to generate any interest. Luxair, airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Iberia, and Cyprus Airways have applied over the previous tenders, although the latter was said to have not submitted complete documentation. New routes launched by the other four have all been seasonal, with exception to airBaltic and Luxair, which will only run a handful of flights to Ljubljana this coming winter.
The Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure said in July, “The Ministry for Infrastructure is continuing to rigorously seek out solutions that will improve Slovenia’s air connectivity in the long-term, including talks with airlines that present their proposals for improving connectivity. The fact is that basing a few aircraft at one of our international airports would increase connectivity and also improve flight frequencies on individual air routes. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia will decide whether the establishment of a national carrier is the most appropriate solution for improving connectivity, after all options to increase connectivity are presented”.
Bravo Fraport! Bravo Bratušek! Heroes of Slovenian aviation!
ReplyDeletethe incompetence of the pair is astonishing
DeleteHow dare you criticize Fraport!
DeleteJust come to Zag ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
DeleteTheir Wikipedia page says they still have 8 A220s on order? Did they cancel those?
ReplyDeleteNo, the original order was larger.
DeleteBravo Fraport!
ReplyDeleteCan someone from the fanboys club explain to me why the govt is doing more work than LJU managers?
ReplyDeleteBecause Fraport realise the airport has enough flights for the local populations needs.
Delete^LOL
Deletexdddd
DeleteBecause Fraport is an airport manager, not an airline. Show me how Vinci negotiated all the new long haul routes In BEG. Show me how AdP brought Ryanair ZAG.
DeleteSure because airport management has nothing to do with bringing new airlines. Ryanair left FRA purely based on that FRA has zero demand. Also by the fact that we have seen in LJU how demand disappears overnight.
DeleteAlso ADP did give a discount to Ryanair lol, something Fraport would never do
DeleteWith the exception that airlines do not need to pay any fees for the first 6 months of opening a new line and a 50% discount for the next 6 months.
DeleteThe airlines I discussed with all said that there are some useful incentives (on pax fees, not all handling fees) but after the initial period the fees are too high, much higher than VCE, for example.
DeleteNo no no and no! LJU is the cheapest airport in whole region!
DeleteWhy did they drop their plans when there is so much demand from LJU?! Let me remind everyone that a third of the passengers from Zagreb are Slovenians (based on some guys vague estimate that a third of the number plates in Zagreb are from Slovenia).
ReplyDeleteYou should base your opinion on the guy that claimed he saw only 2 plates. And he probably lied because nobody from Slovenia uses other airports. LJU has zero demand and half of its passengers are Croats. Fraport is an amazing company with their innovative business model. Bravo Fraport!
DeleteTo say that a third of Zagreb's passengers are from Slovenia is an extraordinarily stupid thing to say.
DeleteThink around 15% was a pretty accurate assessment done awhile ago, with the share being higher during summer due to leisure routes
DeleteThey are many Italians, also Croatians flying with charters (leisure, seaside destination) ex LJU: no one in Italy or Croatia is complaining.
DeleteYeah, it's only a few anti-Fraport guys who think that Slovenian passport holders can only fly from LJU.
DeleteSlovenian passport holders should only fly from LJU. It has the best air connectivity in the world! Fanboys told me that.
DeleteMaybe OU may base some planes there, once their order is complete. I doubt that they may utilize all 15 at the same time. But only if LH don’t need them
ReplyDeleteThis (pushy) narrative makes no sense.
DeleteThey still lobby very hard to get some money and base 2xA220 in LJU
DeleteSo Air Montenegro opted out because they changed the CEO, Cyprus opted out because they changed the CEO and one of their planes wasn't operational....how unlucky can Ljubljana get?
ReplyDeleteThere goes another opportunity
ReplyDeleteWaiting for Godot. First we waited for Wizz or Ryanair. Then when nothong happened we waited for Croatia Airlines then when nothing happened we waited for Cyprus and now...
ReplyDeleteLjubljana can't catch a break
ReplyDeleteFraport must be delighted at this news.
ReplyDeleteThey are. But at least they are transparent, their CEO clearly said CY is not welcome.
DeleteWhat a surprise...
ReplyDeleteI’m wondering if Norwegian Air Shuttle will open a base there?
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get that idea from?
DeleteI heard Binter Canarias is interested.
DeleteAirKryo just submited their request
DeleteSo we can safely say the 6th connectivity tender will be a failure too. Can't wait for the 7th one two days later!
ReplyDeleteNow we can expect some interest for the next summer season. I expect at least one with 1-2 routes.
DeleteIberia will come for a month again
DeleteNothing can come out of nothing. There just isn't enough demand out of LJU. All these tenders for public subsidy just make it easier for airlines to make decisions but do not create huge additional demand. It can be explained why there isn't enough demand ( no gasto like PRN, excellent road and train connections to neighbours etc) but not much can be done about it. That said it is also true that repeating the same tender with exactly the same conditions isn't very smart.
ReplyDeleteThat also shows lack of ideas.
DeleteI understand this as public funds available and the call is permanently open, nothing wrong with that.
DeletePlot twist: they are going to Skopje :D
ReplyDelete