Sarajevo Airport is in the process of negotiating its first long haul flights with airlines from the United States, Canada and China. The airport’s General Manager, Alan Bajić, said, “In early June we successfully undertook a TSA [US Transportation Security Administration] audit as a precondition for the establishment of flights between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on the existing plan, Sarajevo Airport will have a one weekly service with the States”. He added, “We are in talks with airlines from the US. Furthermore, we are in negotiations regarding the launch of nonstop flights between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada, as well as China and several European markets with whom we lack connectivity, such as Italy, Spain and Poland”.
Sarajevo has never had scheduled nonstop flights to the United States, Canada or China. US-based carrier Eastern Airlines planned on launching operations between Chicago and Sarajevo this summer but cancelled ticket sales within days. It intended on operating the route once per week on a seasonal summer basis with its 238-seat Boeing 767-200ER aircraft. In the pre-pandemic 2019, New York, Chicago and Boston were the top unserved routes between Sarajevo and the United States based on OAG data. There was a total of 7.165 passengers flying between New York’s airports and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, 5.995 to and from Chicago and 3.165 passengers to and from Boston.
In 2019, 5.348 passengers flew indirectly between Sarajevo and Toronto, 1.895 between Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital and Montreal and a further 900 between Sarajevo and Vancouver. On the other hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of just a handful of European countries to allow visa free entry for Chinese passport holders. There have been prior attempts to establish flights between Sarajevo and Beijing via Belgrade, however, these never materialised. In 2019, 4.297 passengers travelled indirectly between Sarajevo and Shanghai, and a further 3.625 between Sarajevo and Beijing. “The increase in the number of flights, introduction of new destinations and arrival of new airlines is primarily the result of Sarajevo Airport’s shifting business policy which now includes incentives for airlines aimed at overcoming the crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic”, Mr Bajić noted.
The demand for seasonal route is there, but I doubt any US carrier will fly to SJJ before BEG and ZAG.
ReplyDeleteEastern Airlines send to want to.
DeleteThe CEO is obviously talking about them, since the schedules match.
DeleteIf they are proactive why not? Airports like BEG are not protectively seeking IS airlines for obvious reasons.
DeleteEastern seems perfect for this route. It has the right aircraft for these flights and they target niche markets.
DeleteDude you are obviously not following Eastern in the US. They are beyond unreliable. They keep on adding and terminating routes. They managed to keep only a handful of them.
DeleteKeep dreaming.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteUS fights with Eastern will happen next year. They were cancelled this year because Eastern was unaware other burecratic issues had to be resolved first.
DeleteHahaha wonderful airline, they start selling flights before clearing all administrative hurdles before.
DeleteVery ambitious.
ReplyDeleteStep in the right direction. They are aiming high and that is what every airport should do.
DeleteImagine if the Canadian airline is Air Transat :D
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised.
DeleteI don't see which other airline it could be. Especially if they are willing to fly just once per week.
DeleteThey were willing to fly Split once per week so I don't see why not Sarajevo.
DeleteGood on you Sarajevo
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see Sarajevo Airport finally with a proactive management.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteExactly. This Management did much more in short period than these guys before in years behind.
DeleteThose European markets mentioned seem ideal for Wizz
ReplyDeletePoland could be served by LOT too.
DeleteThat would be great. Don't know why they have been avoiding SJJ while flying everywhere else in ex-Yu.
DeleteMany will be surprised what is in store for SJJ :)
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the next announcement from SJJ to be that they have regional him ambitions :D
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteWhat could be the airline from China?
ReplyDeleteI mean who could be
DeletePlenty of no name airlines around
DeleteWhy no name? You have examples of many Chinese airlines operating single weekly flights to the most random places around the world. They don't need a visa to enter BiH so why not?
DeleteAlways good to dream big
ReplyDeleteWhen could these flights begin?
ReplyDeleteNext summer
DeleteNever
DeleteIs there really demand?
ReplyDeleteYou can see from the indirect traffic figures.
DeleteSeasonal low frequency flights, why not?
DeleteBecause airlines can't make money from seasonal low frequency flights.
DeleteBravo Sarajevo!
ReplyDeleteWould be fantastic to see some widebodies at SJJ.
ReplyDeleteAre there any landing/take off restrictions for widebodies at Sarajevo?
DeleteNo
DeleteMany airlines have changed their approaches to launching new routes due to Covid. They are more willing to explore new routes and operate them at low frequencies even if they cause for just a particular niche.
ReplyDeleteYes, and they especially more willing to launch VFR routes because they have a safe source of passengers no matter the circumstances.
DeleteVFR routes?
DeleteVisiting friends and family. Diaspora routes.
DeleteI'm glad the airport finally got its act together.
ReplyDeleteSee a lot of people sceptical but who would thought SJJ would have up to 4 daily flights to DXB, ahead of any other ex-Yu airport.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteDubai is one thing. This is another. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
DeleteSo Eastern Airlines might start flights to Sarajevo after all.
ReplyDeleteWow these would be nice
ReplyDeleteNot gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteSeems like it will.
DeleteWhere is the Bosnian diaspora mostly concentrated in the Canada?
ReplyDeleteToronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary.
DeleteDefine Bosnian diaspora, please.
DeleteDoes it include Croats and Serbs from Bosnia?! I am not so sure, so it's only Boshnjak diaspora, right?!
Well this is unexpected
ReplyDeleteCan US flights to Sarajevo work?
ReplyDelete238 seats once per week for a few months could work.
DeleteSo they passed the TSA audit?
ReplyDeleteSeems like it.
DeleteSarajevo is on fire this year!
ReplyDeleteTrue. New Wizz flights to European destinations, lots of Gulf flights, new flights to Turkey, potential transatlantic flights. They are doing better than pre-Covid.
Deletethey are doing well. But it will be interesting to see if August will have more passengers than in 2019.
DeleteAre you people for real?
ReplyDelete?
DeleteThere is a greater likelihood for US-Tivat flights to launch than US-Sarajevo flights. I don't think any of these will happen and it's just a list of nice wishes.
DeleteGood luck Sarajevo! Wish them all the best
ReplyDeleteSarajevo is having one of its best years in the middle of the pandemic :D
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting year for Sarajevo :)
DeleteIt's fantastic to see so many new positive developments at Sarajevo
DeleteSurprised about Boston being third on the list in the US.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Bosnian diaspora there.
DeleteIt's also interesting to see Shanghai having more indirect passengers than Beijing, similar to Belgrade.
DeleteSame about ZAG and LJU.
DeleteAny particular reason? Or is this standard for all destinations because Shanghai is the bigger city?
DeleteThis would be like a dream come true. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a great development for Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteIt could really put it on the map.
DeleteDoubt anything will come of this.
ReplyDeleteHave there ever been any long hauls to Sarajevo?
ReplyDeleteFrom the article. First sentence: "Sarajevo Airport is in the process of negotiating its first long haul flights"
DeleteYou can talk about these when you first secure flights to the UK.
ReplyDeleteWizz launches London in November.
DeleteYou heard it here first:
ReplyDeleteDelta, ATL-SJJ, A350, daily, from March 2022.
United from Chicago daily with B787-10 and double daily AA New York with B777-300ER.
DeleteBoth are wrong:
DeleteAmerican Airlines, 777-300ER SJJ-ORD 4 daily.
Hmm, I did laugh reading previous posts, because on the first glance it does not seem real that SJJ gets serious NorthAm connection looking at passenger numbers only. But then, getting little deeper into the picture, I wouldn't even be surprised with Emirates starting 3 weekly DXB-SJJ-JFK next summer. It is kind of their playground after all
DeleteReally enjoy while looking at (for some reason) triggered people here who hate SJJ possible success.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is about hate, it is about what is probable, viable and more likely to happen. Non-stop flights to BEG, ZAG or SJJ? Some people base their statements on facts others on their personal and individual desires.
DeleteBosnia has huge diaspora in USA, especially in St. Louis. That route (and similar ones) would make perfect sense. We don't know until they materialize.
Delete@sloavio I doubt the general manager of Sarajevo Airport just made up that they are negotiating with airlines about these flights.
DeleteLook at the guys at LJU? Dreaming about direct flights to Japan. Everyone can dream.
DeleteWhat was the largest passenger plane to land at SJJ?
ReplyDeleteQR used to deploy A330 sometimes. Not sure if we ever had B777.
DeleteSJJ handled a B777-200ER, as well as B747-400 a couple of months ago. As well as the B787 Dreamliner
DeleteCan't wait
ReplyDeleteSarajevo, despite being important as the capital of Bosna/Hercegovina is still a small city. It will never be a regional or European hub so despite ambitious officials, it will never have daily flights to the US, Canada or China. But lacking a national airline, it was due time Sarajevo officials became proactive.
ReplyDeleteSJJ is already regional hub for ME. No one expects daily flights to USA/China/Canada
DeleteSamo gledaj kako Sarajevo postaje regionalno čvorište za Aziju i SAD, sa sve više europskih ruta. Pozdrav
DeleteI really think that more and more people don't know what the term hub (or cvoriste if you please) actually mean. Sarajevo cannot be a hub without an airline hub there that has transfer opportunities. You can have flights to Papeete 2 times a day but still it's not a hub if it's P2P.
DeleteSJJ is already regional hub for ME? Whose hub is SJJ? I do not know anyone who connects in SJJ?
DeleteNe znaš ti, znam ja
DeleteJao sto si mu rekao :)... Samo prvo da se sjetite da aerodromi mogu i da rade 24h dnevno a da nemaju radno vrijeme kao Kaufland.
DeleteIs Sarajevo airport or someone else providing incentives or any other support to Eastern to start Chicago-Sarajevo flights? It is hard to understand financial justification for once weekly flights unless some other money is supporting this.
ReplyDeleteSarajevo Airport said that they were in negotiations with airlines to establish air traffic between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States, so it is not yet known what they agreed on, but Sarajevo International Airport abolished taxes, which resulted in an increase in passengers and new airlines. . Over 50,000 Bosnians and Herzegovinians live in America, and where there are still citizens there would be EX-YU, who would use this flight + tourists. A flight once a week would be very profitable, and in the summer months I think that additional flights between Sarajevo and the USA could be introduced.
Delete