Ljubljana Airport aims to attract new airlines on an annual basis, while improving its connectivity to major hubs, in an attempt to reach its pre-pandemic traffic levels by 2025. Speaking to the “Finance” daily, the General Manager of operator Fraport Slovenija, Babett Stapel, said, “The biggest challenge is to restore traffic to the level before the pandemic and ensure Slovenia's connectivity. In these times, we are working even more closely with airlines, the tourism industry, and the state to achieve this goal. At the same time, we are taking an active role in working with stakeholders and looking at solutions that benefit everyone. Based on current analysis, we will succeed in 2025, but it is my job to get there sooner, if possible”.
Ms Stapel noted that more airlines will launch flights to the Slovenian capital in the coming years, in addition to the existing thirteen serving the city. “We are already on the right track [to reaching pre-pandemic traffic levels]. We will achieve this with our current partners, airlines that connect Ljubljana Airport, and we will add new ones each year. Currently, thirteen carriers fly to fourteen destinations. Prospects for the winter season are encouraging. Therefore, we will go step by step to reach levels from before Covid-19”, Ms Stapel said.
The General Manager pointed out that talks are currently under way with airlines over the launch of new flights to Ljubljana. “We are not allowed to talk about some of the new airlines and connections yet, because we have such an agreement with carriers, and we are still in discussions with others. It has been announced that Transavia, which will fly to Paris Orly, Windrose Airlines, which will connect Ljubljana with Kiev, and Finnair, which will fly to Helsinki again, are coming with the start of the summer season. A new Lufthansa connection to Munich has also been announced. I am also pleased that airlines which commenced operations this year, Iberia and Fly Dubai, will continue flying, as well as all other carriers serving Ljubljana. At the same time, some have increased their number of flights, which is equally as important”, Ms Stapel noted.
The General Manager believes the airport has to work on securing even better schedules to hub airports in order to improve connectivity to far-away destinations. “We must not forget that the entire aviation industry is in recovery mode, not a phase of growth”, Ms Stapel said. She added, “For starters, we managed to secure the return of all airlines that flew before the pandemic, which is a great success. I believe that, in the future, it is important for Slovenia to be connected to larger hubs and to offer even more suitable times for connections. Examples are Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Munich, Belgrade, Istanbul, and Dubai. Our main goal is to increase the number of flights operated by our existing airline partners”. However, Ms Stapel noted that leisure operations will continue to play an important role. “This year, 30% of flights were charters and we will continue to promote this segment in the future”, Ms Stapel concluded
Which new airlines could we see in Ljubljana?
ReplyDeleteNorwegian, Vueling, Airbaltic come to mind.
DeleteIt would be nice to see Aegean come back. I don't get why they gave up on LJU.
DeleteRyanair,KLM,Sky Up,My Wings Kosovo,Anadolujet,Croatia Airlines,Eurowings.And may be new Slovenian airline .
DeleteRyanair would be good but I'm doubtful with their existing operations to Zagreb.
DeleteKLM would be nice but with Transavia still present I don't think it will happen.
My Wings would probably ask for financial support. Those flights to Zagreb are likely getting state support otherwise not so many officials and ministers would have been at the route's opening.
Sky Up is unlikely because of Windrose.
Anadolujet and Eurowings would be good and I think they could be successful.
I think Spain and Scandinavia are underserved from Ljubljana and there is potential for these two markets.
Delete^ What about Italy?
DeleteYou have Trieste for Bari, Sicily and Rome and for everything else you have their high speed train network. The proximity of Italy means that it's easier to get to with other ways of travel too, which is often cheaper than a flight ticket. FlixBus has really good fares from LJ to Rome and I doubt it that anyone else than ryanair could compete it and they already operate Rome flights from Trieste which is 1h drive away from LJ.
DeleteDon't forget that the vast majority of trade happens between Northern Italy and the western half of Slovenia, much of which is almost equidistant between Venice and Ljubljana, with the closest airport being in Trieste.
DeleteI think between the three Italian airports and the public transport options - bus/train to Venice and then high-speed Freccia trains to Milan, Rome, etc. there isn't much leftover demand for flighs to Italy.
I would like to see TAROM, Bulgaria and Aegean launch flights.
DeleteSomething are wishes and completely different is what LJU can really get in near future. It's not so important which new airlines will come (if they) but frequencies and timings of those flights.
DeleteI really hope so
ReplyDeleteWhen will Windrose start selling tickets to Ljubljana? They still can't be purchased.
ReplyDeleteThey have been starting flights to Ljubljana for years and always cancel them in the end. So I'm not so sure they will go ahead at all.
DeletePlans for launching new route was already 1 year ago. But new dat is in april or june if I remember right.
DeleteLooks like LJU has really solidified its future with the Germans, Fraport and LH group.
ReplyDeleteI hope LJU gets better, but again, Zagreb is near, Wienna... A lot of competition.
ReplyDeleteAttracting more and more LCCs is the best way to compete against Zagreb at the moment. And also the best way too boost passenger numbers.
DeleteWell the problem is that there is simply not so much demand. Attracting LCCs alone doesn`t help, if markets like Berlin with 4 million inhabitants or Barcelona do not work (Easyjet flew, Adria flew and Vueling flew).
DeleteI think LJU needs to deepen its ties with easyJet which does not fly to Zagreb nearby. Forget Wizz Air, they seem to be in a strange place right now.
DeleteI hope easyJet launches something soon.
DeleteI think Berlin will be back in summer. they were about to increase to 4 weekly before covid.
DeleteGreat news for Ljubljana Airport. I'm glad things are finally picking up with new airlines and routes, new terminal and passenger numbers slowly beginning to recover.
ReplyDeletePicking up? It's not even in the ex-Yu top 10 busiest airport anymore.
DeleteWe are far from a recovery.
Deleteand you have to be aware that Slovenia is running EU presidency so figures are even a bit higher because of that. 23% of pre-pandemic while others are on 50+ %..Disaster!
DeleteSo next year we have as new Transavia flights to Orly and Windrose to Kiev?
ReplyDeleteIsrair will also start Tel Aviv and Air Serbia will bring back Nis-Ljubljana.
DeleteDid the fees and taxes increase at LJU with the opening of the new terminal?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteIs there a possibility for regular lines to Greece or Bulgaria?
ReplyDeleteYou would think so, especially since Fraport owns airport in both those countries.
DeleteUnlike LJU, Varna and Burgas Fraport developed them wonderfully!
DeleteFraport finally waking up from their sleep. I think that LJU's growth will be positive, steady and healthy in the next few years.
ReplyDeleteIt seems they will do anything as long as a national airline is not formed.
ReplyDeleteSome suggestions for LJU:
ReplyDelete- Try to get Amsterdam flights upgraded from Transavia to KL
- Try to get Finnair fly year round, not just seasonally
- More LCCs
- End Turkish monopoly on Istanbul route. Try to attract Pegasus
LJU will be super airport with:
ReplyDeleteLH A320 FRA 2X daily
LH A320 MUC 2X daily
OS E195 VIE 1X daily
SN A319 BRU 1x daily
LX A220 ZRH 1x daily
OU Dash Skopje,Tirana,Sarajevo,Prishtina
Eurowing Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne
I really hope that you are joking. BRU/ZRH/VIE 1x per day? at least two flights are needed for such destinations and departure has to be around 7 am which means that aircraft should overnight at LJU. and this is not going to happen...
DeleteI agree ! But transfer passengers are also needed.
DeleteI really hope for a turnaround will be sooner rather than later but I'm skeptical.
ReplyDeleteNumber of airlines doesn't mean a lot if their schedule is crap. So I'm glad the CEO is aware of this and that they will try to get airlines flying to hubs to improve that. We have seen this done with LH and LX already.
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe there are no flights to Vienna!
ReplyDeleteIt's too close. Majority of passengers to Vienna were transfers which have now been taken care of by other Lufthansa group airlines.
DeleteWhy? JP carried like 35 passengers on average and most were lower yielding transfers for OS. Market to the east is covered by JU, SU and TK just fine.
Deletelower yielding transfers? It does not necessary means transfer pax = low yield pax.
DeleteAnd to anon 09:27: which other LH group airlines you mean? LH or LH?
or did you mean LX/SN with those few flights per weak? and even those flights are in the middle of the day so totally impossible to get any serious connections out of ZRH/BRU
60k passengers per year clearly shows that there is more than enough demand
DeleteMost people expected some low cost boom at Ljubljana after Adria disappeared. To this day nothing. In fact LCC offer has decreased.
ReplyDeleteThis is because the airport is still expensive and the market is small. But Fraport doesn't seem to care.
DeleteYou have to understand that Slovenian market might not be massive but it's relatively well-off. It means passengers are not swayed by Wizz's trash fares and non-existing quality.
DeleteYeah, I'm sure passenger experience and comfort is the main issue.
DeleteThere is no market to fly a full A320/B737 to Ljubljana on most routes. Therefore we won't see any major LCC expansion.
DeleteThis "there is no market" mantra is now really getting boring.
DeleteIt's not mantra but it's fact that LJU is to small for LCC base. You will never fulfill 6 flights per day on A320/B737...Few flights per weak on certain destination is more likely, but base...in my opinion never or it would be extremely expensive for government/airport/municipality to cover loses.
DeleteI have a feeling its only one person repeating this over and over again.
Deletebefore covid there were 3 daily flights on a320 only to london ...
Delete...of which half the passengers were from Croatia. Nowadays it's the contrary..
DeleteHalf.. lol sure
DeleteCould you please provide info when did LJU had 3x per day to LON (any airport)?
Deletenot on one airport but on Luton, Stansted and Gatwick ...
DeleteAh the "no demand" guy again. We heard the same for BNX, ZAG, TZL, SJJ..
DeleteLol, are you aware that countries from where mentioned airport are have big part of population living across EU. And Slovenia? it seems that all LCC CEO are completely stupid because they did not base aircraft at LJU since now..
DeleteI just said we were listening to "no demand" matra to bunch of airport in the region, same as LJU now. But clearly people were wrong.
DeleteLJU needs a greater LCC presence.
ReplyDeleteWell you have Transavia adding new flights, Wizz recently launched new route. So they are working on it obviously.
DeleteJust keep a good work. We are on 23% of pre-pandemic traffic in period when Slovenia is running presidency of EU. If we reach those figures next year we should be happy..
DeleteWe will never reach same figures without national carrier.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWe might eventually see three daily JU flights to LJU.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know from which destination Air Serbia gets the most feed on flights to or from Ljubljana? The most transfer passengers?
Delete2019 - Athens
Delete2020 - Skopje
Based on OAG data.
Thank you!! I guess Skopje appeared since there are no flights anymore between them and Ljubljana.
DeleteBoth unserved routes which must be launched. No surprise.
DeleteBig amount of passengers to/from SKP should be deployed to PRN as LJU does not have connection to PRN except with 2 stops.
DeleteThey should work on getting an airline to fly to Scandinavia. Currently there are no flights to any Scandinavian city.
ReplyDeleteSAS would be a good option.
DeleteThere are no flights because Scandinavia used to be covered by Adria. Fraport has done a bad job at finding substitutes for Adria routes. They only focused on Lufthansa hubs (what a surprise).
Deleteand even those hubs are not recovered at all. FRA to be honest is covered pretty good (afternoon outbound flight should be much later to have it perfect but ok), then we have ZRH/BRU which are not covered at all.
DeleteHopefully more new airlines to come.
ReplyDeleteWe only need one and we need it ASAP!
DeleteFraport's CEO is very active in media after rumours of new national carrier. Sooner she realize that without national carrier LJU will never get figures as it had before Covid better will be for LJU.
ReplyDeleteThe Slovenian tourists are and will be flown by foreigners. Great.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately yes, but even bigger disaster is that most of those tourist are departing/arriving to ZAG.
DeleteWho cares? In 2019 Adria's charter flights were a total mess. Huge delays, families with babies waiting in Ljubljana and Greek islands for hours... Everything is better than that. Who really cares about the nationality of a crew members nowadays?
Delete@anon 09:56 and who do you blame for that? our government or 4k because they rather flew for LH group instead of scheduled/charter flights...
DeleteWho cares. For the passengers it was Adria. Who do you as a passenger blame for LH of AF delays? The owners?
DeleteFor passengers it doesn't matter, but it matters what Adria (under government ownership) meant for Slovenian economy. And now we see how important it was when none of foreign carriers does not even care for LJU...
DeleteI hope these talks about the arrival of new airlines will not take 10 years like the talks with Flydubai.
ReplyDeleteWish them good luck.
ReplyDeleteIdk, but the current situation with the airlines is far from easy. Wizzair are doing massive cuts in their network especially in Milano. Vietnam Airlines will sell 27 aircraft, Eurowings launching flights in 2023 to get some cash, US airlines affect on Dubrovnik, shrinking of both SKP and OHD routes are some of the many examples that 2022 ain't gonna be a great year for aviation. So idk how LJU will be coping with this situation.
ReplyDeleteLJU needs outgoing infrastructure to the main hubs in the continent, plus sessional charters = enhanced JP 2019 network. Everything else is compromise.
ReplyDeleteIt is a real pity that Air Serbia has not taken chance of the poor LJU connectivity. JU could have done far better than they did!
ReplyDeleteThey are the third largest airline in Ljubljana after Lufthansa and Turkish. They have done well and continue to do well.
DeleteWhy should JU take care of LJU connectivity? to maintain good connectivity does not really mean that you are profitable at all. So why on Earth should JU doing loss on other market. For national carrier I understand as with decent connectivity you get revenue in state economy and that's exactly what they are doing in Serbia and what national carrier should do in Slovenia.
DeleteJU were the first to react to the JP bankruptcy. Frequencies on BEG-LJU increased to 17 pw while other regional frequencies also saw an increase in flights. JU is currently the third largest airline in LJU. What more should they do?
DeleteSome think that JU should move whole fleet from BEG to LJU :)
DeleteRyanair should have made Ljubljana their base instead of Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines will never stop operating because Croatia can get indefinite money from EU funds.
Of course they should, because Slovenia and Croatia are very similar in terms of number of gastoz around EU and in terms of tourism overview. They really made mistake...:)
DeleteLJU-ATH is a big market being unserved , Aegean should grab the opportunity and I think they will as they're expanding their network .
ReplyDeleteI think for A3 the problem was not enough frequencies to compete with JU, which was practically offering double daily connections between ATH and LJU via BEG.
DeleteThere are talks about airline called Starways being established in Slo and Cro marketspace
ReplyDeleteAny chance you have some more info about it?
DeleteI have a friend who "works" with them, it's still early stages but 2023: Lju regional hub and 2024 Lju and Zag LH hubs with A321LR
DeleteThanks for the answer. And if I understood correctly, it's to become kind of cro-slo eurowings, under LH umbrella?
DeleteDublin - Ljubljana with Ryanair or Aerlingus would be very nice
ReplyDeleteJU will restart INI-LJU starting 6th January.
ReplyDelete2 pw every Thursday and Saturday on the ATR.
Flights seem to be timed to, operate BEG-INI-LJU.