Hybrid carrier Flydubai will expand its presence in the former Yugoslavia in the coming months, with the airline to commence flights to Ljubljana, further grow frequencies to Sarajevo and begin Boeing 737 MAX operations to Belgrade. As recently reported, the carrier will inaugurate three weekly services to the Slovenian capital starting September 24. Up until now, over 70% of passengers flying between Ljubljana and Dubai did so with Turkish Airlines. "For us, this new service creates new opportunities for re-growth and development. Operations will commence after the opening of the new passenger terminal, which represents a special turning point and a new era for our airport", the General Manager of Ljubljana Airport, Zmago Skobir, said.
Flydubai is expected to restore pre-pandemic frequencies on its service between Dubai and Sarajevo, tentatively scheduled from July 12. The carrier is expected to operate three daily flights during the peak summer months. Flydubai’s Senior Vice President Commercial Operations and E-commerce, Jeyhun Efendi, previously told EX-YU Aviation news, "Sarajevo is one of our more popular routes but it is quite seasonal. Over the years we have witnessed almost 50% year-on-year passenger growth on this route. Travellers on this service predominantly come from Dubai, as well as our connecting flights from the Gulf. This is obviously inbound tourism". All flights will be operated with the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
The Emirati airline has been one of the most successful foreign carriers in Belgrade since restoring operations to the city in June last year following the global lockdowns. The airline has already matched its pre-pandemic frequencies on the route, operating daily flights. Starting July 1, it will deploy the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on all of its Belgrade services. The jet features an upgraded on board product, including ten fully-flat 198cm business class seats across three rows. The first and last rows are configured 2-2, but the middle row has just two “throne” seats. Furthermore, each seat features a 39.6cm HD 1080p screen. In economy, the Recaro CL3710 seats are fitted with 29.4cm HD screens.
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| Flydubai B737 MAX business class cabin |
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| Flydubai B737 MAX economy class cabin |
Starting next Friday, Flydubai will restore seasonal two weekly flights to Tivat, which will run until September 3, while its summer flights to Dubrovnik will not return this year. Services to Zagreb are scheduled to resume on September 1 with four weekly rotations, while Skopje is currently planned to return to the carrier’s network on November 1, with two weekly services.
Let's see how their LJU launch affects their ZAG operations.
ReplyDeleteTK loads to Ljubljana could also be impacted.
DeleteEmirates could easily send a B777 to Sarajevo in the summer peak without a problem.
ReplyDeleteDa, ne znam zašto to ne urade, umjesto 3 leta na dan, da stave 1 Emirates B777-300 i jedan FDB b737 Max
DeleteI guess it goes down to costs. If Emirates was maintaining flights tickets would be more expensive and I assume it would not affordable for the majority of clientele on this flight.
DeleteCan the B777 even go on the airbridge in SJJ?
DeleteJedan let 777 sigurno neće biti popunjen kao 3 leta 737 jer je manja mogućnost konekcija. Iako je većina putnika p2p ipak je postotak transfer. Također, nikome pa ni EK se ne isplati zbog 3 mjeseca popunjenosti slati 777. I tu priča sa EK u SJJ završava
DeleteIts not only about connections, its also about the demand for business and first class. While there are fairly enough economy travellers for even an A388, there might be too few business and especially first class travellers, its the key determinant.
Delete^ True
Delete@Anon 11:16 - your absolutely correct. The cost to operate a wide body is dependent on the premium cabins being filled. Globally airlines have discovered frequency trumps capacity. Having 3x flights a day gives more options than one large B777, B787, etc. I’m still surprised that there are 3x a day with FZ though. What was FlyBosnia doing operating to London??
DeleteI'm so happy that Ljubljana FINALLY got those Gulf flights. It took 10 years but it's finally happening.
ReplyDeleteThose? or you mean this one destination?
Deletethose 3 flights per week probably ...
DeleteZanimljivosti da mnogo interesa imaju za letove za Dubai državljani bivših 6 Republika EX-YU, jer su svi očekivali da će 90% ovu liniju iz Dubaija za Sarajevo, Beograd, Skopje itd koristiti arapski državljani, ali ne, mnogo koriste i naši ljudi
ReplyDeleteLoving the Max cabin. That business class looks better than most European airlines have on weidebodies.
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic
DeleteLet's just hope it's safe.
DeleteI flown with it once on FZ and the product was top notch.
Deletemust say new business class seats look amazing for a hybrid/low cost airline. They are lie flat. 2-2 seats in first row, then 1-1 in second and 2-2 in third.
DeleteI think Skopje is hit hardest in terms of MEA connections from the corona pandemic. Both Dubai and Doha are not available and there is no sign of Wizz starting any flights from Abu Dhabi.
ReplyDeleteWith the success of FlyDubai in Tirana, it will be even harder for SKP to regain the market share in a near future...
I'm also surprised there isn't enough P2P demand to make FZ sustainable. For Qatar I understand. The flights are used almost completely just by Australian diaspora and seeing as Australian citizens and residents can't leave Australia it makes sense. But for Flydubai I would expect flights. Even in November they plan just 2 weekly (if it starts).
DeleteSKP underpeformed in the past both for them and QR. I don't think we will see them back before Australia opens up, that was the main market for both carriers.
DeleteUnfortunate there are no flights to the Middle East from Macedonia anymore but the majority of people flying QR and FZ were diaspora from Australia. Since they can't leave the country, there is little point for these flights.
DeleteThere is also TK which dominates MKD market and they offer two stop options from SKP to anywhere in Australia via Singapore.
DeleteBut FZ and QR are one stop options... Much more competitive.
DeleteFlydubai seems to have done quite well in the region, even after Covid they were quick to resume flights.
ReplyDeleteThat has more to do with Dubai which adopted very sensible entry measures (without ridiculous bans or quarantine) while having appropriate safety measures. Many people went to Dubai just to feel a sense of normality.
DeleteAnd not to mention they vaccinated the majority of their population already.
DeletePretty amazing results, especially in BEG and SJJ. But FZ is on fire in our surroundings as well - TIA, BUD. WAW, CLJ, MLA, SZG, CTA... all this over the past 3-4 months.
DeleteI guess a smart recovery tactic by the EK Group... but am surprised they will be going head-to-head against EK on some of these routes - BUD, WAW, PRG... I guess demand is there for both carriers which leaves hope for a ZAG resumption and perhaps a seasonal BEG and SJJ inclusion next, even if seasonal.
Agree with you, those cities can sustain both FZ and EK. Most people don't realize that the two have very different passenger structure. There is also a reason FZ didn't work out in Zagreb but EK did. FZ has very few transfers in this region and rely a lot of P2P. Emirates is a different story.
Delete@9.10
DeleteDubai's hotel occupancy rate was 60% last year, which is amazing by all counts. Their summer June-July-August when no one usually travels there was better than pre-Covid.
"FZ has very few transfers in this region and rely a lot of P2P. Emirates is a different story."
DeleteI don't get this statement, since you can easily connect from FZ to EK and vice versa? FZ will even give you a full hot meal if you connect onwards to an EK flight.
It's true what you say Vlad but people just don't like transferring between the two.
DeleteThis is true. And besides Belgrade and Zagreb which are at T3 (Emirates), SJJ for example is operated from Terminal 2 at DXB so it requires you to transfer between the two terminals and T2 is not very nice.
DeleteWill they be using their MAX 8 or MAX 9 to BEG?
ReplyDeleteI guess 8 as they have more competition now from Wizz from AUH and especially if EY returns to Beograd.
DeleteI really hope that Etihad returns.
DeleteIt would be crazy if not considering that their daily flights had an average loadfactor of 90 percent.
It won't come back until Australia and China reopen. it made up the majority of their passenger structure. That's why they are gone.
DeleteThere is EY schedule for direct flights published on BEG site for this summer.
DeleteThe problem is that they haven't yet started selling tickets.
It's not valid. It shows daily flights yet they end days before the winter seasons starts which makes no sense. Seem to be an old schedule listed by mistake. Certainly wouldn't be daily even if they started.
DeleteWhat they listed is the EY slot request from BEG. No mistake there.
DeleteAin't gonna happen.
Delete@9.11 it will depend on the load. Officially listed as 737 MAX in the system meaning both will be used.
DeleteTheir MAX 8 has 168 seats while MAX 9 has 172
DeleteI'm still dumbfounded that there are nonstop flights between Tivat and Dubai. Good on them.
ReplyDeleteSeems to be working. Especially since they brought it back rather than Dubrovnik.
DeleteIt works well because many people go to Porto Montenegro as part of package tour on Flydubai.
Delete3 daily to Sarajevo in summer :O wow
ReplyDeletethat's like more than 1000 passengers between SJJ and DXB every day if the planes are full, crazy
DeleteLot of demand but very seasonal on this route.
DeleteI look forward to seeing more of flyDubai in ex-YU
ReplyDeleteI like that they gave this region some attention and are trying out routes like Tivat.
DeleteThey tried Sarajevo - Podgorica at one point too :D but it didn't work out.
DeleteThey could try Pristina same way they did Podgorica with a stop. Maybe via Skopje.
ReplyDeletemaybe its too close to SKP
DeleteAir Arabia failed miserably in Pristina ..
DeleteSJJ is getting 3 daily to Dubai but PRN doesn't have any flights. Why?
DeleteI remember reading DXB is one of Pristina's busiest unserved routes. Also just before corona, Qatar Airways was in talks over potential flights. I remember there was an article here.
DeleteSJJ is 3 daily because of huge tourism demand from Gulf states to Bosnia which is almost exclusive for June, July and August, especially from Kuwait. Since there are almost no flights from Kuwait they all transfer through DXB.
DeleteWouldn't be happy to fly in Max... such a disappointment from Boeing, knowing they deliberately sacrificed people over profit.
ReplyDeleteIt is just at the moment that Flydubai is most successful in Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteFlydubai is overwhelmingly O&D.
Before Corona Etihad and Qatar had much more frequencies because they overwhelmingly attracted transfers.
That in mind Emirates should finally give Belgrade a try even if it is with the 777.
3x daily Dubai-Sarajevo, that's a nice summer at SJJ ! Well done !
ReplyDeleteIt already was 3 x daily in summer 2019 ..
DeleteI would like to fly Air Arabia on Belgrade to Sharjah .
ReplyDeleteFlew some times their Sarajevo to Sharjah flights and was positive surprised .
Pax are mostly locals from the UAEs .
Sharjah Airport is practically Dubais second airport just ten kilometres northeast of its own Dubai International airport .
LOL 3x daily Dubai - Sarajevo, thats crazy! Sarajevo is killing it this year, well done! :D
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, before the MAX plane was grounded, flydubai planned to use B737 MAX 9 on Sarajevo route. Hope they bring those plans back.
ReplyDeleteOne thing doesn't make sense for a Hybrid/Low-Cost airline is that return tickets BEG-DXB are around 400 Euros compared to Wizz's lowest rate of around 50. Are the costs on this route that high? For instance, QR offers BEG-DOH-DXB, with the DOH-DXB segment on a widebody plane for somewhat 385E return.
ReplyDeleteTransfer is always cheaper than nonstop.
DeleteWizz's AUH-BEG is still new so they get all sorts of discounts from the airport. Also not all tickets are 50 Euros return, those are just a few that are sold until the plane fills up. FZ is making a killing on the route, a friend of mine flew to DXB yesterday on his way to Zanzibar and the flight was full.
DeleteAnother thing benefiting FZ at the moment in BEG is EY absence. The Abu Dhabi government's decision until recently to enforce 2 week quarantine had a terrible affect on Etihad as well, to the point that for the first time ever Etihad was advertising DUBAI (not Abu Dhabi) and how you can travel with Etihad to AUH and then they will drive you to Dubai.
DeleteGreat news.
ReplyDeleteThose screens in the new economy cabin are huge! Good work Fly Dubai.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the return ticket price now from the region to Dubai?
ReplyDeletePrices fluctuate. Check their site.
DeleteThat wasn't very helpful Anon 1321
DeleteThose max cabins look fantastic. Would be great for 5 hour flight from the region to DXB.
ReplyDeleteWill they come back to Dubrovnik net year?
ReplyDelete* next
DeleteI'm really interested what happens with Zagreb. Will Flydubai actually return in September and what will happen next year. Will Emirates be back?
ReplyDeleteCroatia needs to do more to stimulate local travel. The suspension of these long haul routes have shown more or less that all these flights are heavily dependent on tourism only.
DeleteAgree, especially since Dubai is open and it's an accessible destination to travel to.
Delete@14.13
DeleteMy guess is the following : FZ starts 3 weekly in September, as announced, and keeps it until summer timetable 2022, when it goes daily. Keeps daily in winter 2022/23, presuming Australia and Far East fully opened by that time, and summer 2023 EK comes back daily in summer, as before, and FZ daily in winter, as before, until EK gets smaller wide body and continues operations year round. If meanwhile we don't experience new sars, covid, aids, ebola or the newest other lab released "epidemic"
FZ fully using QR's departure from Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteConsidering QR has restored flights to the Gulf region, I think they made a mistake not resuming Sarajevo, at least during peak summer.
DeleteSarajevo this year will get a lot of competition from the Greek islands which sell extremely well.
DeleteA lot of new routes from the middle east especially to Mykonos.
Well there seems to be a lot of flights from the mid-East this year with new destinations too. Air Arabia from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, Flydubai from Dubai, Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways from Kuwait, Flynas from Saudi Arabia and there might be more arrivals announced soon. So seems Greek islands didn't impact demand.
DeleteEmirates has 787s on order so we might see them fly to certain cities in ex-Yu in the future.
ReplyDeleteThat is a long way off.
DeleteDelivery is planned only in 2023. So like the anon above said, they are not due for a while.
DeleteEmirates constantly keeps changing up their orders, threatening to cancels plane orders because of late production so I wouldn't set those 787s in stone. They are officially ordered but EK itself is very vague on whather and when they will come.
DeleteSeeing airlines add flights at this time is good.
ReplyDeleteWow nice business class on those MAXs.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if some people will purposely avoid the plane since its a MAX.
Delete99% of people don't even know what aircraft type they are flying, let alone know what MAX's history.
DeleteStarting July 1st all SJJ and BEG flights will be on the MAX. MAX 8 or 9 will depend on the day-to-day loads.
ReplyDeleteSJJ is still listed as B737-800 in booking system.
DeleteSJJ on their website has a MAX shown the entire month. On all flights. A friend I know who works there also says their internal system shows a MAX.
DeleteWhy not fly to Podgorica in winter and replace it with Tivat in summer?
ReplyDeleteThey tried exactly that a few years ago. Loads were unsatisfactory. They flew it via SJJ and it didn't work.
DeleteGood to see them start Ljubljana. It has been a long time coming. I wonder why they were so apprehensive for so long. I'm sure it will be successful.
ReplyDeleteThe route is probably expensive. it is one of the longest in their network. On top of that LJU's fees were expensive pre covid. Now that LJU has barely had any traffic for almost 2 years they probably got a good deal.
Delete