Adria Airways is considering launching flights between Ljubljana and the Iranian capital Tehran this summer season, EX-YU Aviation News has learned. The service is likely to operate three times per week with the airline's Airbus A319 aircraft, starting mid-June. Tickets are yet to be put on sale. The Slovenian carrier has announced plans to expand its destination network this summer, noting that the frequency additions to its 2016/17 winter timetable were "just the beginning of changes to Adria's flight network". The new service to Tehran will be timed so as to provide connectivity to passengers and feed onto the carrier's Western European network. This is in line with the airline's plans to transform Ljubljana Airport into a transfer hub between the East and West. Adria has not responded to a request to comment on the planned new service by the time of this publication. During his visit to Iran in November 2016, Slovenia's Finance Minister said the national carrier was considering launching flights to the country.
European carriers have been ramping up their operations to Iran as the country emerges from international isolation and sanctions, which were lifted a year ago. Last month Austrian Airlines announced it would launch flights to its third destination in Iran this summer, Shiraz, following Tehran and Isfahan. Arrivals in Iran during 2017 are being boosted by increased air connectivity from a number of centres. Italy is benefiting from Alitalia and Iran Air tripling their scheduled seats since November last year, the Netherlands is connected by one more daily flight from Amsterdam to Tehran by KLM since October 2016, while an increasing number of Belgian travellers are using Amsterdam to transfer to Iran, while Swiss travellers tend to route via Vienna. In addition to Adria, other carriers from the former Yugoslavia have recognised Iran's potential with Montenegro Airlines recently confirming it would operate one weekly charter flights to Tehran this summer, while Air Serbia said it was considering services to the country this year.
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| Top performers among international arrivals in Iran in 2016 (click to enlarge) |
Adria has begun updating its 2017 summer season network which has so far seen extra frequencies added on flights from Ljubljana to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Moscow, Paris, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje and Warsaw when compared to last year, although more changes are expected. Adria has also expressed interest in other markets, such as Ukraine, and has been approached by Vilnius Airport over possible new flights. Unlike last summer, the airline is expected to operate a smaller network out of Poland following the suspension of its services from Olsztyn and Rzeszow last year. Furthermore, the carrier recently suspended one of its routes out of Lodz. Commenting on Adria's future plans, the General Manager of Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, Zmago Skobir, said in a recent interview, "Adria's management is attempting to improve the business and we are seeing a change. The number of Adria's transfer passengers (from the Balkans) are growing again. Adria's new owners are obviously doing the right thing and the market is growing".
Smart move. This route could perform really well for Adria. Hope it starts.
ReplyDeleteIt will be a great day when I read an article about Adria and say - ''now that's a smart business decision''.
ReplyDeleteis today that day?
DeleteNot according to some visitors of this blog who, every time someone mentions flights to IKA from anywhere in exYU, start their negative barrage of: 'it won't work', 'it's too late', 'big sharks are already there', 'they better sort out their regional network before going after Central Asia' and so on and so on...
DeleteBut who knows, maybe they will change their response this time and suddenly see IKA a very smart move.
For any destination to work with minimal p2p traffic, you need an expansive connecting network with sufficient weekly frequencies and convenient schedules. Don't see any ex-YU carriers quite there yet, but JU perhaps has the best chance.
DeleteI cannot see JP surviving on this route for long... its just not their ''natural'' market.
Adria has always thought outside of the box I think. Hey they were the first airline to fly between Yugoslavia and the US :)
DeleteWasn't that Jat?
DeleteNope Adria started with the first flights (charters), then Pan Am came, then JAT started.
DeleteThey were always able to think outside of the box, but very rarely any good came out of this.
DeleteSuper good job JP! Although, many carriers have launched flights to Iran and, yet again, JU has failed to react fast.
ReplyDeleteWhy don´t JP lease the JU 737?
Leasing a 35 year old airplane, always a good idea.
DeleteIt's good to see Adria getting back in the game after so many years. It has one of the best and youngest fleets in ex-yu and I'm glad their focus is back on Ljubljana.
ReplyDelete+1 agree. Iran is a huge market (80 mil of people if I remember correctly) with very weak connection to the Europe.
DeleteGreat news from Adria! Good luck!
DeleteThey will get transfers and I'm sure a lot of tourists.
ReplyDeleteIs it difficult for Iranians to get EU entry visas?
DeleteSlovenians travel a lot and I'm sure they would visit Iran as well. Everyone says it is an amazing country to visit.
DeleteI'm sure people will be equally happy to find out that travelling to Iran disqualifies them for US visa waiver...
DeleteSo if you have a Slovenian passport and go to Iran you can't travel to the US without a visa?
DeleteYes, if you have been in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lybia, Somalia, Yemen since 2011, you have to apply for the full US visa.
DeleteHappy travelling to Iran!
Interesting. Did not know that. Thanks.
DeleteThank you Anon 2:08. I definitely prefer to travel to Iran.
Delete+1 last Anon!
DeleteI was in Iran few years ago, and if Adria starts flying there, I will go again. Great country! I don't care about Trumplandia's visa requirement :)
If you have been to Sudan you can't travel to the USA visa free too.
DeleteBut if you have been to Saudi Arabia., No problem, no need to apply for USA visa you are welcome to USA.
DeleteOr Pakistan. lol
DeleteI think it's better to start serving OTP, SOF and KBP before IKA
ReplyDeleteLOL, there is absolutely no demand in LJ for these airports
DeleteLjubljana's groth is bad news for ZAG. That said great to see JP back in the game. I wonder if they might add more European frequencies. Why not consider flights to Rome and Milan? Both will be popular out of Iran.
ReplyDeleteWell it does say they are adding more European frequencies
Delete"Adria has begun updating its 2017 summer season network which has so far seen extra frequencies added on flights from Ljubljana to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Moscow, Paris, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje and Warsaw".
Yeah but even with all these their network is still weak. Let's hope they keep on reinforcing their hub with more and more frequencies.
DeleteAdria is back in the game!
Will this be Adria's longest route?
ReplyDeleteYes, unless they fly some longer charters. Should be around 4h 20min
DeleteThey could do it in one crew...
ReplyDeleteBut would need to expand their menucard buy on board to real menus like OS has it
That will be one long rotation for the crew.
Deleteno, they should offer free meals
DeleteIt's not that long, W6 is flying KTW-DWC, which is at least an hour longer than LJU-IKA.
DeleteOr Ryanair from Wroclaw, Warsaw, Bremen etc. to Tenerife. Adria still have full service on their flights to Moscow, so maybe they will have it also on the IKA route.
Deleteonly that Ryanair and Wizz are 5 times cheaper then Adria. Its really hillarious to mention Wizz and Ryanair here.
DeleteBig missed opportunity for Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines which just can't seem to get out of Europe.
ReplyDeleteAgree. First in first take.
Deleteko prvi do devojke njegova devojka .... ASL statira i razmislja predugo dok drugi rade. Uskoro kad trziste bude podeljeno i ne treba da razmisljaju da zapocinju letove za IKA.
DeleteFor Air Serbia this summer is now or never to launch Tehran.
DeleteGlad the rumours were true. Am very interested to see what kind of fares they will put up.
ReplyDeleteApart from Tehran it's good to see them adding frequencies too. No surprise since they will have a lot more aircraft in their fleet compared to last year, unless they lease them out again.
ReplyDeleteThere are also rumours that Tel Aviv will go year round instead of seasonal.
ReplyDeleteAdria FINALLY waking up after a long long sleep. Welcome back.
ReplyDeleteThe data for IKA is already known start is 1.6.2017 3 times per week 1,4,5 JP718/JP719 dep LJU 8.35 p.m, arr 6.10 a.m. (+1)
ReplyDeleteCDG, SKP, TIA goes duble daily
Nice! Good schedule too.
DeleteFeeds onto the morning wave. Smart
DeleteLove it! Great move on Adria's behalf.
ReplyDeleteSo we finally get flights from Ljubljana to the Middle East. Never though it would be by Adria though haha
ReplyDeleteKinda OT: Where is ASL on this? Why is it taking them so long for IKA?
ReplyDeleteNo available aircraft for Tehran. BEG-IKA would be around four hours which means it wouldn't fit into the night wave. In order to offer convenient connections to Western Europe it would have to sit for a long time in Iran.
DeleteNow, if JU had a European bank at the same time as LHR it would be a whole different story. IKA could depart at around midnight and be back in BEG between 08.00 and 09.00.
Don't think we will see any major expansion from Air Serbia until the neos arrive next year.
DeleteEven then it's a big question since they are going to use them to replace what they have now.
DeleteThx for the replies guys.. @nemjee what do u mean by "European bank"? A slot?
DeleteNo, no... what I mean is that IKA is too far away for it to depart at around midnight and to be back by 06.00 like LCA, BEY...
DeleteIf it leaves at, let's say, 23.40, it won't be back in Belgrade before 09.30. Only connections that would make sense at this point are LHR and JFK... and only one way.
For Tehran to makes sense it needs to land at BEG either at around 05.00 or 16.00.
That said, I think Tehran is getting overcrowded at this point. Air Serbia should have launched it at about the same time Aegean did. Since then thousands of seats were added to the market making it extremely competitive.
On top of that, IR will receive two A332 which will be dispatched on some European flights such as London, Paris, Amsterdam...
Until now it was extremely difficult for Iran Air to remain competitive. Things are changing now. With local airlines improving their overall product, there will be less and less need for Iranians to connect when flying to the West.
Here's a link where you can see their first A330-200 wearing the IR livery.
Deletehttps://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/58421/iran-air-awaits-new-a330-delivery
Could Adria fly to Iran via Belgrade?
DeleteWhy would JP do that?
Delete@12:51PM Because there are no flights between Iran and Serbia, because stop is on the route, because for better CLF, more...?
DeleteIma jos potenicjala u IKA a pogotovu bi imali dosta transfernih putnika prema Skandinaviji Svajcarskoj , Nemackoj i Austriji ali se za sad ignorise kao i jos nekoliko Destinacija.
DeleteSvakako odlicno izgleda IR livery na A330-200 bilo bi lepo ga videti u BEG.
INN-NS
Anon at 2.02pm .... you are obviously new to aviation, so let me help you here.... JP does not have any "beyond rights" from BEG (called 5th/6th Freedoms), so they cannot pick up and carry any passengers that are exclusively travelling between BEG and IKA. Only a Serbian or Iranian registered carrier has this right (called 3rd/4th Freedoms).
DeleteJP could only do this from within the EU - for example, LJU-ZAG-IKA, or LJU-BUD-IKA etc etc
I wonder if Adria would consider other Mid East markets. Lebanon would be a good choice. Has workes out extremely well for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteCan someone help me, I am in Amadeus and OU has loaded only 4 weekly flights to BRU for this summer season. It has to be a mistake, no? They were supposed to operate 11.
ReplyDeleteKada ce ostati bez kesha i ici na bubanj je jedino pitanje. Poseduju li oni vise ijedan avion? Izgleda da LH ne interesuju.
ReplyDeleteSamo da pričamo domače. Great news Adria.
Deleteok but who will fly to IKA with only hand luggage and no free catering ??? Will they make an exception for this flight? They must otherwise they are not competitive!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I hope they make an exception for these flights but then again you would have an issue if you are transferring. Unless all passengers originating from Tehran or with their final destination being Tehran are exempt.
DeletePeople fly with WIZZ to Dubai and pay for baggage and food - which is much further than LJU-IKA.... so what's the issue ??
Deletethen start offering prizes like Wizz and stop rippin me off!
DeleteWho on earth would be flying on those flights? Ok they could generate a bit of transfer pax, but only to those destinations that are already served by direct flights like AMS, FRA, CDG which in turn reduces yields significantly. There are a lot of companies in those countries doing business with Iran who fly direct, but also a large diaspora. They would fly on Adria only if it is cheaper, but the question remains if you can make money with them on an A319.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the connecting flight would be cheaper than a direct one. Also, Slovenia is a good destination to travel to and I bet you can find enough people out of 80 million Iranies who'd fill the seats. I just hope Adria+Slovenia make a good marketing campain in Iran. It all depends on that
DeleteAnon 11:13, using that logic, Adria must launch flights to China and India immediately. At the end, they have more than 1 billion citizens each, who could fill up the seats to Ljubljana, right? Even Nigeria should be in radar, with a population of 175M.
DeleteGod bless irrationalism!
direct flights from the mentioned AMS, FRA, CDG (and put MUC and VIE in that list) are extremely EXPENSIVE!. Adria is chaper then OS,AF and LH and can collect some transfer pax. LH will be competing against Aegean and Pegasus on this routes fare-wise
DeleteJP not LH obv.
DeleteAnon @11:54 The thing with China and India is that they're already well served and have been open countries for a while. Iran is basically an 80 million place that has traveled relatively small amounts since the revolution. And if you jump early and with competitive prices on an unexplored or young market like that, you have potential. It's up to you to turn that potential into something good (good marketing) or screwing everything up.
DeleteVec su uleteli oni kojim je bilo zabranjeno 2008 godine. Postoji svet i pored zapadne evrope i amerike.
DeleteOT
ReplyDeleteArkia has increased TLV-BEG this summer from a one weekly flight to two weekly.
BEG-TLV will have 10 weekly flights this summer, as many as AMS and more than DUS (8), TXL (9) or STR (7).
Israir, not Arkia, sorry.
DeleteI was very apprehensive of the new management at the start but said I would give them a year before I start judging. I'm still not completely sure but I am liking some of the action they have been taking lately.
ReplyDeletewhat a nice surprise from Adria! :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I still don't understand 4k's strategy in respects to Adria. Will they try to turnaround the company and then sell them or are they in it for the long haul.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely smart move. Maybe backward thinking European people think that Iran is in the middle ages, they coulnd't be more wrong. Plus, LJLJ was one of the rare airports not following unofficial ban for Iran Air to make technical stop in EU. Persians don't forget such niceties :)
ReplyDeleteWell... I've been in Iran (as a traveler) and it is definitely not a country in the "middle ages". Actually young people in Tehran are quite progressive even for western standards.
DeleteI wonder if Iran Air will codeshare on these flights.
ReplyDeleteBig strategy shift for Adria. I think it's a move for the better.
ReplyDeleteSvakako odlican potez Management-a JP.
ReplyDeleteMogli su neki pre ovoga da reaguju i pre nego sto dodju mnoge Evropske sanse ma da i sad postoji ogroman potencijal na toj liniji.
INN-NS
Na koga mislis kada kazes neko? JU?
DeleteNo ideal connex ex Europe for IKA flight except on some days SVO with 1850h
ReplyDeleteEx YU ZRH FRA on way to IKA would hve transit time of 4 h in LJU
Return however is well
I think they had to schedule 2035h in order to meet the crew duty time
In my opinion the best part of this route is the time-frame for arrivals. Getting to IKA around 6AM is excellent, especially with the upcoming extension of the Tehran metro to the airport, as this would mean an arrival within its operating time and therefore the avoidance of overpriced taxis when either shuttling to Tehran or making connections to other transportation (via the major bus terminals or Mehrabad airport). For me, this alone makes it more appealing than say Pegasus or Aegean, which both arrive between 3 and 4.
ReplyDeleteConsidering Iran has been put on this travel ban list by the orange clown currently in the White House, I don't know how successful this will be as it will certainly have wider repercussions with regard to traveling to and from Iran.
ReplyDelete