FlyBosnia plans to resume scheduled international flights next month with services from Sarajevo to the Gulf region. The carrier is expected to begin operations to Doha in Qatar, followed by Riyadh, Gassim and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Manama in Bahrain, as well as Kuwait City. The airline had previously served points in Saudi, Bahrain and Kuwait. The carrier will also run charter flights to Egypt and Turkey over the summer. It last operated scheduled flights in March 2020, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. FlyBosnia recently took delivery of a 180-seat all-economy Airbus A320 jet and plans to further grow its fleet with the same aircraft type.
The Middle East is one of Sarajevo Airport’s busiest markets. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, in 2019, 95.990 passengers flew indirectly between the region and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital on a single itinerary. According to global data provider OAG, 23.417 travellers flew indirectly between Kuwait and Sarajevo, 7.092 to/from Riyadh, 6.567 to/from Jeddah, 436 to/from Gassim, 2.755 to/from Doha and 6.652 passengers to and from Manama. During that year, in addition to indirect travel, Sarajevo Airport was linked to Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Gassim and Doha with nonstop flights. This summer, FlyBosnia will not be alone in maintaining operations between the Gulf and Sarajevo. Services will also be run by Flydubai, Air Arabia and flynas. Qatar Airways, which ran flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital prior to the pandemic, has suspended operations on the route until further notice.
FlyBosnia considers the Gulf its core market. Earlier this month, the company said, FlyBosnia will revolutionise air transport in the Balkans by providing value for money, taking into account the safety, health and satisfaction of our customers. FlyBosnia is known for its affordable ticket prices, motivating staff and professionalism. It is the main bridge between the Balkans and the Middle East”. The airline was set up by Saudi Arabia's Al Shiddi Group, which was founded in 1975 with interests in various fields, including construction, real estate, agriculture and tourism. The Saudi conglomerate has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006 and is the country’s largest Arab investor.
The Gulf, expected.
ReplyDeleteWhat were they supposed to do. Compete against Wizz to Europe?
DeleteThe Gulf was their niche from the beginning. And I think they did quite well on those routes.
DeleteSmart idea in my opinion. They would only be losing money on flights to West with 180 seat plane operating to expensive main airports. Stick to what you know. These flights can bring in some nice money.
DeleteThey tried flying to Europe in 2019 and it didn't work.
DeleteDo these markets even allow their own citizens to travel?
ReplyDeleteI know that Qatar allows it but you have to go into 2 week home quarantine on return.
DeleteThis i fantastic news for Sarajevo.
ReplyDelete*is
DeleteIndeed, Sarajevo's recovery will be very strong this year.
Delete+1
DeleteFantastic news for who? Arabs and their summer getaway plans? This never was and never will be a national airline. Just a tourist connection to B&H.
DeleteArabs bring money to Bosnia and help our tourism sector
DeleteAnd what's wrong with that @anon 9.49?
DeleteLike I said below, locals travel to the Gulf too, it's not that expensive, some just want to do a tourist visit, others have family and friends living/working there.
DeleteWhen will flights start?
ReplyDeleteNext month if all goes to plan.
DeleteMiddle of May when second plane arrives.
DeleteThey still haven't started ticket sales.
ReplyDeleteThat was an issue last time too. They would start ticket sales for new routes (London) just days before they launched. I hope their website is up and running soon.
DeleteThese are all good developments for Sarajevo. There will be an extensive Middle East network, Wizz Air is finally linking Sarajevo with main European markets, and there will even be flights to the US.
ReplyDeleteSarajevo's time to shine.
DeleteSJJ's numbers will sky rocket.
DeleteI will believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteSo the debt to Sarajevo Airport has obviously been settled?
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ReplyDeleteI hope it's more successful then the other airlines in B&H.
ReplyDeleteWell they've already lasted longer than most.
DeleteIt's a private airline, so the good news is that it doesn't really matter if it's successful or not, they are not burning public money like previous airlines
DeleteWho covered their debt to SJJ the last time around?
DeleteHopefully they will have more support from local authorities this time around. They will bring in key tourists for BiH that spend a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteWhy should the government help out a privately owned airline? I don't get it.
DeleteWell my guess their logic is they bring the passengers/tourists to Bosnia.
DeleteI highly doubt they do. It will probably be Wizz Air that brings the most.
DeleteI'm trying to be optimistic and I do wish them all the best BUT I think it will be very difficult for them. This isn't an easy business especially with all the changing travel restrictions and entry bans.
ReplyDeleteBahrain has reopened. You can go there with negative PCR test.
DeleteDo any locals from BiH use these flights?
ReplyDeleteYes. Everyone wants to spend a beautiful summer city escape in Riyadh and enjoy 50 degree weather.
DeleteTheir GCC routes did well because they were sold as part of tour packages
DeleteLocals travel to the Gulf too, it's not that expensive, some just want to do a tourist visit, others have family and friends living/working there. Stop seeing it as a one-way thing.
DeleteSretno i uspješno poslovanje
ReplyDeleteTo su ipak dobre vijesti! Ne treba zaboraviti da je u pitanju privatna kompanija.
Deletegiven that there will be SJJ-DOH, we can forget about QR returning on SJJ tarmac anytime soon:
ReplyDeleteI think the majority of QR's passengers were transfers. Even so I also think they won't be coming back, but not because of Fly Bosnia.
DeleteGood luck but Sarajevo needs more flights to western capitals.
ReplyDeleteThere is Wizz for that.
DeleteThey fly from secondary European airports.
DeleteSince when is Copenhagen a secondary airport?
DeleteCPH is the only main airport they are flying to in their Sarajevo network. I am also skeptical that they will really start flights as announced.
DeleteThey tried with Rome and London before virus and it didn't work. Why should they force some routes if there is no demand. That would be stupid from business point of logic. Right?
DeleteThey must have more than one plane if they are going to fly thee routes plus charters to Turkey and Egypt.
ReplyDelete" FlyBosnia recently took delivery of a 180-seat all-economy Airbus A320 jet and plans to further grow its fleet with the same aircraft type."
DeleteThe secret is in the charters and where the real money is made. This is what the majority of the other carriers must do - utilise the aircraft 100%.
ReplyDeleteBut what about low season (7+ months)?
DeleteWell, makes sense.
ReplyDeleteWhy not try Mostar?
ReplyDeleteNo one wants to fly from Mostar.
DeleteIt's good to see that they are serious and plan to expand.
ReplyDeleteI love their new livery, good luck FlyBosnia! :)
ReplyDeleteMe too. So much better than the previous one. I like the billboard titles and colours. Fit the plane well.
DeleteBravo Fly Bosnia! Maybe they can offer connecting flights via Sarajevo to some European cities? This airline has a lot of potential if the Bosnian authorities offer incentives.
ReplyDeleteThey already tried offering European connections. They flew to London and Rome but the routes didn't work even before covid.
DeleteThey also plan to connect Italy with Međugorje. That was behind the idea to have one aircraft at Mostar airport. Maybe they will re-activate this idea depending on Covid situation in Italy.
ReplyDeleteFirst Italy would need to open up. I wouldn't count on it for this summer.
DeleteAre Flynas and FlyBosnia owned by the same company?
ReplyDeleteHow many people in B&H even heard for Gassim?
ReplyDeleteSarajevo-Gassim postoji od 2017, i vrlo je profitabilna
DeleteIf they could get a small regional plane 50 seater to link regional cities with Sarajevo and then offer connections to the Gulf they could really become a Balkan specialist for the Gulf.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good idea actually.
Deletethat could work very well all year round... as low season is difficult for small airlines for sure
DeleteSJJ isn't suitable to be a hub, due to its weather-related limitations.
DeleteWho is the tour ops chartering the plane to Egypt and Turkey ? Any idea ?
ReplyDeleteCentroTours for Turkey, not sure for Egypt. Last year they were flying for Fibula.
DeleteI really like their livery. It may look like Ryan because of the colours, but not really.
ReplyDeleteSJJ will be booming this summer! Lets hope LJU also gets something and not only 1 weekly flight to BWK.
Riyadh will be daily, Gassim, Jeddah, Doha and Kuwait 2x weekly and Manama 1x weekly.
ReplyDeleteRiyadh, Manama and Kuwait will be departing Sarajevo in the morning and the rest in the evening.
DeleteAlso, should start 17th of May but I'm skeptical about that launch date.
DeleteThose frequencies seem rather reasonable.
DeleteIf that scheduling is correct it means they will have to have another plane in the fleet.
DeleteThey said they will have more than one plane.
DeleteEven this seems too ambitious with current travel restrictions.
DeleteI don't understand what they are doing with the plane. They got it last week and they are still not using it??
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened when they first launched flights in 2019. The plane came more than a month before flights started.
DeleteThey are waiting to be put in Bosnian registry. It will happen in next few days.
DeleteCouldn't they have done it before the plane arrived?
DeleteWhy not Dubai?
ReplyDeleteIts covered by Flydubai which will have 2 daily flights in peak season.
DeleteTrue. Makes no sense to compete.
Deletewow Sarajevo's coverage of mid East routes this summer will be fantastic Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Gassim, Bahrain. Nice
ReplyDeleteThose destinations are showing the way for the future of Bosnia.
DeleteOn the other hand not enough interest for prime airports in Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid, Brussels or EU in general. Based on this observation one has to wonder if Bosnia's long term future is in EU or where the demand really comes from.
So, just to get this straight, because Arab tourists are obsessed with Bosnia as a tourist destination, that for you means that Bosnia´s long term future is not in the EU? Lol, ok. Does that also mean because half of Belgrade and Air Serbia is owned by the Arabs, their future is also not in the EU? I mean, it would be fair to apply the same logic, no?
DeleteIf there is demand for gulf countries why should they force west Europe which didn't work?
DeleteIt's unbelievable that we are not free from blindness and stupidity of nationalism/racism even on this kind of web portals.
Impressive
Delete@Anon 22:35
Delete82% of Air Serbia is owned by the Government of Serbia. Majority of infrastructure and real estate projects in Belgrade are funded by EU and private investors from Serbia and Israel.
Sometimes it's better to keep mouth closed and appear smart than to open a mouth and prove you are a fool.
@Anon 01:19: Air Serbia until recently was owned half by the Arabs, it´s just recently that the government took over, tako da ne pricaj bajke. Yes, Israeli´s are investing here and there, in some shopping centers, GTC center on Novi Beograd and such, but come on half of Belgrade was taken over by Arabs, Beograd na Vodu npr. Serbia is getting infrastructure investments from the EU in the same ratio as Bosnia is, through the IPA projects for future members. On top of that China is investing a lot in Serbia, does that mean Serbia´s future is in China? It´s funny that you´re telling me that I´m a fool for mentioning that for Serbia and Arabs, but Bosnia not having a future in the EU because of Arab tourist is completely logical? Nece da moze ;)
DeleteSomehow claiming that you are professional does not seem to be professional. Being professional is about actions, not words.
ReplyDeleteFor those asking how they will carry out these flights, FlyBosnia's second A320 is currently being worked on at Istanbul Airport in the hangar. It will probably be done in a week or two.
ReplyDeleteWell done
DeleteDo you know the MSN of the Aircraft or the registration?
Delete