LOT to launch Sarajevo operations


LOT Polish Airlines will commence operations between Warsaw and Sarajevo this coming summer season, marking its entry onto Bosnia and Herzegovina’s market, its sixth in the former Yugoslavia. Flights between the two capital cities will be inaugurated on May 30 and operate five times per week, each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Services will be maintained with the 82-seat Embraer E175 aircraft. In keeping with its strategy for the remainder of its network in the former Yugoslavia, the carrier will offer transfer options to a number of destinations via its Warsaw hub for Sarajevo passengers. LOT’s arrival in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital further strengthens Star Alliance’s presence at the airport, complementing Austrian, Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines.

This summer LOT will also commence charter flights between Katowice and Mostar on behalf of the Rego-Bis tour operator. The Mostar charters will cater for religious pilgrims visiting the Medjugorje sight and will commence in June. Local authorities in Mostar concluded a three-year agreement with the tour operator, which foresees LOT as the operating carrier for its entire duration.

On top of launching flights to Sarajevo, during the upcoming summer season, the airline also plans to operate up to eleven weekly flights from its base in Warsaw to Zagreb, nine weekly to Belgrade, as well as six weekly rotations to Ljubljana, Skopje and Podgorica. In addition, the carrier will run services from the Polish capital to the Croatian coast, which includes six weekly flights to Dubrovnik, three weekly to Split and one weekly rotation to Zadar. Although LOT previously served Rijeka as well, flights are yet to be scheduled for the coming summer. Flights to Skopje, which are currently suspended, will be restored on May 17, following the airport’s runway overhaul. Previous plans to serve the Macedonian capital through Ohrid during this time have been dropped.

Further flight details for the new Warsaw - Sarajevo service can be found here.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    I wonder if these means new routes or more frequencies

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    The only places I can still see them start flights is Pristina or Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      They have pretty much covered everything else.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:05

      Maybe they reinstate their Budapest hub and launch ex-Yu routes from there :D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:07

      They planned BUD-BEG but then Covid started.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:12

      BUD-DBV too, although they did start them in 2020.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:35

      LOT had its own lounge at BUD, but they just gave it up, it became Plaza Premium Lounge this month, so i dont know what their long term plan with BUD as hub

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      I doubt BUD is in their short term plans at the moment. Airlines might be adding frequencies but the aviation industry is still a mess, and so are airline finances.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:28

      And it is Sarajevo :D

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Their frequencies are still rather low. They originally planned more for this summer but then revised it down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Hopefully as more and more restrictions are lifted, they will add flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:27

      They will add more flights as the virus situation improves.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      They will benefit from Aeroflot's demise, especially with transfers to Asia.

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL11:43

      @09,28

      I don't think they will. A couple of their larger transfer markets are closed (Ukraine, Russia, Moldova), while Russian airspace closure means longer flight times. ICN and NRT frequencies are down, China and Singapore wont restart before the winter 2022 timetable. Perhaps they may get some extra transfer pax from DEL, but that doesn't restart until the end of the month.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    What happened to all the coastal routes they had to Croatia from various Polish cities?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      Those were just temporary in 2020 when people couldn't go anywhere.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Fingers crossed for something exciting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:06

    So ZAG seems to be their strongest route in ex-Yu?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Yes. They carry a lot of transfers to the coast during the summer via ZAG and OU which is also Star Alliance.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:49

      They also offer transfer to Sarajevo via Zagreb with OU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:57

      Croatia is very popular among Poles during the summer. Also Croatian citizens can actually enter Poland unlike most other ex-Yu nationals.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:52

      Same thing with the Bulgarian coast. There will be lots of Poles this summer. For example FR operates WMI-BOJ 5 weekly and W6 connected with at least 5 Polish cities. Enter Air have many charter flights as well.
      Same is happening with Tirana by the way. No interest for OHD however.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:09

    I'm happy we will see them in Bosnia at least through Mostar charters. I hope they eventually launch Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      Is there any Bosnian diaspora in Poland?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:21

      Not really.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:22

      But LOT could provide good connections to Scandinavia, US and Canada.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:24

      There are barely any ex-Yu communities in Poland. Their main passengers are transfers, especially to Canada, US...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:27

      I'm surprised they are ignoring SJJ. They could have good transfer feed.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:33

      Agree. Hopefully now that Sarajevo has a proactive management, we will see them soon there.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:28

      It's like they read your comment :D Sarajevo is their newest destination.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:24

    Maybe they finally add flights from Krakow to ex-Yu cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Would be nice, finally

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:28

    They actually reduced frequencies compared to what they had loaded a few weeks ago. But still up on last summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      It is likely they revise it up as Europe seems to realise they will have to live with this virus.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:37

      I remember looking at schedule a few weeks ago and Ljubljana was 10 weekly, now just 6.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:42

      ^ Now in same league as Podgorica... from being the third busiest airport in ex-Yu some years ago.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:45

      TGD has more passengers than LJU.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:03

      How many flights per week did LOT have to each city in ex yu before covid?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:09

      Ljubljana - 7 weekly (was supposed to become 8 weekly in summer 2021)
      Podgorica - 6 weekly
      Skopje - 6 weekly
      Belgrade - 11 weekly (was supposed to become 12 in summer 2021)

      I can't remember what was Zagreb's frequency. I think it was double daily or almost double daily.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:13

      It will take some time for LO to recover.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:57

      ZAG was double daily

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:43

    Is Poland still strict with entry restrictions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:47

      Yes, for most ex-Yu countries.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:43

    What is the financial situation at LO? Before the Covid crisis they seemed to be doing great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      They got 650 million euros in aid due to Covid.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:49

    What equipment are they currently using on most of their ex-yu routes?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:58

    Great news

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:01

    They should open routes from Ljubljana and did what they were planning. A few rotations to Skopje etc. Slovenia would (hopefully) be ready to subsidize this routes

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:22

    Finally Sarajevo!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:27

    Another great news for Sarajevo! This summer will be really interesting for SJJ!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:27

    Yay tickets already on sale for Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:46

    Fantastic news for Sarajevo. It's going to be a busy summer.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:46

    They are starting very strong to SJJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:48

      5 weekly flights. Not bad at all.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:47

    Sarajevo is becoming a Star Alliance fortress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:00

      "Fortress" :)))

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:04

      Well I'm sure they handle over 50% of Sarajevo's traffic at the moment. Which is not a bad thing. What is positive news is that the variety of their offer is getting bigger and bigger.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:05

      Bring on TAP now :D

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:49

    More and more key airlines are finally coming to Sarajevo. About time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:51

      It just goes to show how poor the former managements were.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:52

      While I agree the new management is doing a good job, it also has to do with the fact that the government finally removed taxes which only applied for airlines landing at Sarajevo so airport like Tuzla and Mostar can be funded. They removed these during corona and all of a sudden airlines start flocking to Sarajevo.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:12

      Yes, the tax seemed to have a big impact on attracting airlines. But also this management is doing a much much better job than the previous ones.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:50

    Seems like ex-yu knew about it. This morning when I entered the site the news was about LOT planning to announce ex-Yu expansion and when I came in 2 hours later, it was about LOT launching Sarajevo :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59

      admin was probably waiting for tickets to go on sale.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:52

    This is excellent news for people in Scandinavia, US and Canada. This will allow great connections.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:53

    Bravo SJJ and LOT!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:54

    Nice. Anyone know what kind of service is offered on LOT on these EX-YU flights. Are they standard European kind of service or have they kept some of that legacy shine?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:00

      It still has legacy shine (to my big surprise). I found out after reading a recent trip report here. I think route was Warsaw-Ljubljana.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:01

      Here it is

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/02/trip-report-lot-warsaw-ljubljana-warsaw.html

      They still offer free drinks and snacks on intra-European flights. This has really become luxury on legacy airline in Europe unfortunately.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:08

      You are right. Very little difference between legacies and LCCs these days.

      But looks like LOT has a very decent product. Good work and thanks for the link.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:11

      What about their long haul product?

      Delete
  26. Timing perfect for 3-day city break (Sat-Mon) :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous11:04

    Not such good news for OU

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:05

      I don't see how it can hurt OU. I assume transfers to Germany and western Europe will keep flying with OU. LOT will get a lot of transfer passengers to Denmark and Sweden, I'm sure. Also Baltic countries and of course US and Canada.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous11:08

    Great news for point to point traffic to. I expect number of Polish tourists to increase significantly and that they will now explore more than just Medjugorje :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:11

      *too

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:14

      There will be tourists in the other direction too.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous11:09

    So Pristina is now only capital city they don't serve in ex-Yu.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous11:09

    Will this be a year round route?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:31

      I think it will depend on demand. No final decision has been made yet.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous11:10

    What are the fares like?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:23

      I randomly selected dates in June and return fare in lowest economy saver fare is 140 euros.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:43

      Prices fluctuate of course

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:52

      Not bad

      Delete
  32. Anonymous11:13

    I'm not surprised. A few months ago Sarajevo airport CEO said that they are negotiating flights to Warsaw. Although personally I thought it would be Wizz. What I'm surprised is that it took LOT this long to start these flights.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous11:13

    Love LOT

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous12:04

    Congratulations SJJ. You have made so much improvements during the last couple of years. I love to see how BiH grows and a beautiful country with so much potential. I think it could be the second most visited country in ex-Yu if it were in the EU. I am confident this route will succeed very well.

    ReplyDelete
  35. random13:12

    WOW fantastic news for Sarajevo! :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous13:16

    With LOT starting SJJ i hope Aegean returns to Sarajevo too , we miss A3!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:30

      Would be another great addition.

      Delete
  37. Anonymous20:31

    Can't wait to see their birds in Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous20:32

    Good news. I think if SJJ were operational 24/7 it would attract much more airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous20:34

    “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”

    Based on this article. Maybe we get flights to Spain and Italy next

    https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/01/sarajevo-plans-new-routes-as-it-reaches.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.