Croatia Airlines and Air Serbia both presented plans for the opening of a base at Ljubljana Airport over the past two years, however, no progress was made after the government refused to approve the requested financial support. The two carriers have since dropped such plans. Lobbying documents show that upon Croatia Airlines’ request, talks were held with the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure, as well as the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, in May and August of 2020. The carrier presented a cooperation proposal, which included the stationing of a Dash 8 turboprop aircraft and flights to key European cities, as well as popular unserved destinations from the Slovenian capital such as Skopje. However, after submitting a final offer to the Slovenian government, no deal was reached.
Air Serbia also presented plans to establish operations from Ljubljana to several European destinations in September 2020. The then CEO of the carrier, Duncan Naysmith, was accompanied to Ljubljana by Luka Tomić, the head of the Cabinet of the Serbian Minister for Finance, as well as the assistant in charge for aviation from the Serbian Ministry for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zoran Ilić, where they held talks with the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure. “Air Serbia presented its proposal for linking Slovenia with nonstop flights to key markets, as well as flights via Belgrade. The airline outlined potential plans to open a base in Ljubljana, acquire a Slovenian Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), presented its strategy and network, and potential routes from Slovenia”, documents from the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure show. The two sides met again in February of last year.
Over the past two years, the Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology has turned down several offers by airlines to either establish the country’s new national carrier or station aircraft in Ljubljana, noting that none would have sufficiently improved the country’s connectivity and were “short-term oriented”. “There was actually no appropriate proposal which would have enabled passengers travelling from or to Slovenia to benefit from high quality service, based on the proposed destinations, the timing and flight schedules, as well as the opportunities for connecting onto flights at Europe’s most important hubs”, the Ministry told EX-YU Aviation news earlier this year. More recently, low cost carriers Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair have all shown interest in concluding cooperation agreements with the country’s Ministry for Infrastructure and the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology concerning the launch of new routes to Ljubljana. However, no agreement has so far been reached.
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disappointed but not surprised
ReplyDeleteThe very big problem is that the decisionmakers don't have a clue
DeleteThey are still waiting for the market to sort itself out like they promised
DeleteThey didn't gave enough thick envelope to the new disastrous Slovenian government. They are still dreaming that Lufthansa will make a base in LJU, but LJU is not much bigger than some small village airfield.
DeleteWow very interesting to see that JU was really serious about a base in Ljubljana. They even wanted to get an AOC. I really wonder how they were planning to organize this fleet wise.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I've never heard that they had interest in opening a base outside Serbia. They needed a Slovenian AOC in order to fly nonstop flights from Ljubljana to other European destinations since Serbia is not in the EU.
DeleteI think this was dropped once Naysmith left JU, he was, generally speaking, a useless CEO. Since his departure JU has gone into turbo expansion mode and has worked on expanding out of its hub in BEG. It made zero sense for them to open a LJU base before fully consolidating its position in BEG.
DeleteDo take into consideration when this was happening 2020/2021. Back then no one knew how long covid and travel restrictions would last. It was probably a strategy to open up a market from which there would be less restrictions.
DeleteI guess that today we have high quality service, great destinations, schedules and connections since that is what the ministry was looking for.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is not to generate any competition to Lufthansa Group.
DeleteWith Fraport running the airport, it makes sense.
DeleteHow many airlines did the ministry reject?
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines, Air Serbia, Air Dolomiti, Wizz Air and the list goes on.
DeleteAlso Solinair, Valljet, and an unnamed airline from the Middle East
DeleteThe Slovenian market is small and most of its customers are price sensitive. It also doesn't help that it has a few well-established airports in its proximity.
ReplyDeleteLJU management needs to be smart and to work on securing flights to markets with most potential. Dubai is a good example of this and so was Aeroflot (before the war).
They have the charter business going for them so they need to see what else can stick.
Maybe somehow getting a link to Berlin with a regional jet could work since there is no such connection from ZAG. easyJet's A319 was just too big for it.
Very interesting that easyjet operated BER-LJU for three years with no problems and even planned increase it from 3 to 4 weekly in 2020. So no, a319 is not too big ( it was even operated with a320 sometimes).
DeleteWell there must be a reason why the route didn't last. Loads might have been there but yields weren't. That is why a regional jet might be a more appropriate solution as you would have fewer seats to sell. Maybe over time this route could mature but let's not forget that LJU has become a tertiary airport after JP's demise.
DeleteSlovene market may be small, but Slovenes have high purchasing power and high GDP per capita similar to Cyprus or Luxembourg. Fraport and politics to some extent are playing a role here.
DeleteGermans are involved and giving LH Group a higher dominance in the airport. Fraport own 74% of Greek coastal airports and 60% of both Bulgarian ones. Very limited Ryanair presence or 8 year-round German destinations from Varna for instance.
Aegean Airlines indirect marriage with LH? Think about it.
"Loads might have been there but yields weren't." So true! That is why we have no ZAG-BER and why Wizz left Sarajevo itd
DeleteIs anyone here aware of total charges at BER, including governmental taxes, accumulate to almost 75 Euros per departing passenger?
DeleteBER-SPU via AMS it's about 45 Euro, SPU-BER via MUC 45 Euro taxes etc.
DeleteDespite the high fees, there were flights to Berlin from Banja Luka, Tuzla, Niš and of course Belgrade, as well as all coastal cities (Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik). So why doesn't BER- Zagreb, Ljubljana, Sarajevo really work?
Just for your info, I flew with easyjet to Berlin in november 2019 and the plane didn't have one empty seat. Same story on B737-800 (Transavia) to Amsterdam and back.
DeleteDisappointing for Ljubljana that nothing came out of all of this.
ReplyDeleteAnd now we have nothing.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I would be happy with anything as long as we get more routes and passengers in Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteSame. I don't care which airline anymore
DeleteTalk to Turkish airlines. Nr 1 airline in Europe
ReplyDeleteNo. 1 by which metric?
DeleteShock... not.
ReplyDeleteHad the government been serious about this it would have started talks with airlines well before Adria went bankrupt.
ReplyDeleteExactly. They should have been thinking about Adria's replacement months before it went bankrupt as everyone knew it would go bankrupt.
DeleteThe whole aftermath of Adria going bankrupt was handled extremely badly. This is just another example of it.
DeleteMy question is what on earth is Ljubljana Airport doing. Waiting for airlines to flock to them? Go out and get some customers (airlines).
ReplyDeleteIt's 09.30 and until the end of the day there are just 10 flights out of LJU. Fantastic result.
ReplyDeleteSad :(
DeleteWhich routes does Ljubljana really need?
ReplyDeleteAny would be fine :D
Deletebring back SKP & SJJ
DeleteSKP yes but SJJ wouldn't work. It only worked in the past because of Adria's transfer model.
DeleteMUC / ZRH / VIE...and those who will mention that MUC and ZRH are covered please make yourself a favor and leave airline business asap!
DeleteFor fanboys everything is covered and we don't need anything more. Bravo Fraport!
DeleteOU normally has more advantages because it's an EU carrier. Don't forget that LJU is the only European airport 100% owned by Fraport together with Frankfurt airport and the Brazilian airports, so they will logically perhaps prefer a German airline.
ReplyDeleteJu was obviously planning to set up a Slovenian operations since they were seeking a Slovenian AOC so it would have been an EU carrier too.
DeleteGood move, but something tells me they prefer German. Look at EW base in PRG. Also, Germany is not a huge fan of Ryanair. Yes, they obviously operate flights but the market share is not that big. Remember how they were kicked out several times especially in Frankfurt?
DeleteRyanair also has a significant share in countries like Spain or Poland.
Perhaps Ljubljana Airport could have helped in these talks?
ReplyDeleteThey would only have sabotaged them.
DeleteThe only solution is through LH unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see Air Dolomiti launch a few routes from LJU
DeleteApparently their offer was really expensive.
DeleteAir Dolomiti probably would not be the best option. They would just fly to Lufthansa hubs.
DeleteOnce again, we really have to thank Mrs. Black Mamba and Mr. Serpentinsek (and their supporters) for selling LJU airport to Fraport and flushing Adria Airways down the toilet. They really couldn't have made it without the support of the concerned taxpayer brigade. Well done to all!
ReplyDeleteWell Slovenia has a new president who seems to be proactive so things are going to start changing for the better.
DeleteDoes the president have much power or say in these matters?
DeleteNo
DeleteBut she was flight attendant in her younger times.
Delete@9:39
DeleteYeah, I wouldn't count on it. It's the same thing, just different face (let's not forget that Black Mamba and Serpentinsek are a part of Golob's government). People fall for it every time: first it was Janković, then Black Mamba, Serpentinsek and now Golob (oh, and Mr. Whiny somewhere in between).
and Jansa & company did really good job to solve this issue, right?
DeleteAdria was going down to the toilet well before the sale or bankruptcy.
Delete@14:42
DeleteYeah, during the corona crisis new national carrier was number one priority for the concerned taxpayers. Those were the ones who were cycling every Friday.
@14:48
DeleteSo is Alitalia/Ita, Croatia Airlines, TAP, Icelandair and probably some other carriers as well. Your point being? After three years it should be more than clear that air connectivity has to be paid for. You won't get it for free.
We are destined for this status quo
ReplyDeleteAt least it's good to know someone was interested in Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteJust keep rejecting... In the end the offers will stop.
ReplyDeleteThey already have.
DeleteNot exactly. "low cost carriers Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair have all shown interest in concluding cooperation agreements with the country’s Ministry for Infrastructure"
DeleteDon't worry: the LCC boat has sailed. FR will announce a base today in TRS and that's that.
DeleteNo base, just 2 new routes.
Delete@16:09
DeleteYep, you're right (there were some rumors going around in FR about a possible base in TRS):
https://corporate.ryanair.com/novita/ryanair-presenta-loperativo-estivo-piu-grande-di-sempre-per-trieste/?market=it
In my opinion this were their last chance. None of those airlines will come back again with an offer after being rejected.
ReplyDeleteThe more time passes the less of a possibility to find a solution.
ReplyDeleteIn a year's time the government will also be talking about receiving offers but none were right for them.
DeleteOU can't cover their own market and their share is at an all time low and yet they wanted to start Slovenia..
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSounds exciting. Shame it didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteWhy not make the offers public? Reveal how much money they were asking for.
ReplyDeleteBecause these kind of things are a business secret.
DeleteI'm surprised Trade Air is not interested in doing more in Slovenia other than charters.
ReplyDeleteThey are smart and don't want to loose money. They don't do much more than PSOs in Croatia either.
DeleteThe situation on the Slovenian market is poor.
ReplyDeleteSlovenia has been too passive since the demise of Adria.
Deletehow would JU get a permit as a non EU airline to fly between EU countries ??
ReplyDeleteRead the article. It says they wanted to get a Slovenian AOC. That means they would have re-registered at least one plane in Slovenia and with Slovenian AOC they could have flown between any EU countries.
DeleteIt's not as easy as getting the AOC, they would also need an EU entity to be a majority owner of the company.
DeleteJat Airways back in 2009 got rights to fly between POW and FCO (which in the end never went ahead). Routing was to be BEG-POW-FCO.
DeleteSerbia has an Open Skies Agreement with the EU since 2009. I believe it is possible, without much effort, to have intra EU flights. They wouldn't be the first to do it either. You have a couple interesting carriers doing this (LATAM between MAD and FRA). And Jat previously had a couple of intra EU/Schengen zone flights (AMS-BRU, CPH-ARN), however I am not sure if they took on pax between the 2 cities.
I believe the trick is, if I'm not mistaken, that the flight would have had to originate from the operating carriers home country (Serbia), stop via 1 Schengen zone point (in this case LJU) before continuing onto another EU destination, with the sector between the 2 EU cities being treated as an international flight rather than domestic. For example BEG-LJU-AMS with the LJU-AMS sector treated an an international flight rather than a domestic (intra Schengen) flight.
A new national airline is required. We shouldn't spend our money on foreign airlines.
ReplyDeleteThe never ending story
DeleteI would have loved to have had JU establish a base, it would have given me more options for flights than what we have currently in Ljubljana. It's like we are being held hostage by the big airlines and their stooges working in the Slovenian parliament.
DeleteIs there still a chance that Slovenia might be interested in setting up a national airline? Or are we too far past that point?
DeleteNo chance unfortunately.
DeleteI hope that Golob will see that this is only solution, all other parties in coalition already expressed their wishes for national carrier. Only the biggest one is (still) against it.
DeleteSuch a sad story
ReplyDeleteThis statement from the Ministry makes me so angry.
ReplyDelete“There was actually no appropriate proposal which would have enabled passengers travelling from or to Slovenia to benefit from high quality service, based on the proposed destinations, the timing and flight schedules, as well as the opportunities for connecting onto flights at Europe’s most important hubs”
I have no words
+1
DeleteBasically we are screwed and no one in government plans to do anything about this.
DeleteWhat happened to former managers of 4K company that owned and bankrupted Adria? Did they get caught and serve any prison time?
ReplyDeleteThey are under criminal investigation but nothing has happened to them as yet.
DeleteWere they located, transported to Slovenia and arrested? If not, they could care less for investigation. Probably drinking cocktails at Maldives, Mexico or Sochi.
DeleteKad Kroacija bankrotira JU otvara bazu u Zagrebu. Oni će im sigurno dati dozvolu.
ReplyDeleteNo no no and no. Its bravo Fraport and Slovenia! LJU had 93.020 passengers last month. Thats 93% of 2019! Bravo Fraport LOL!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Dubai and exotic destinations are now promoted on Fraport Slovenia website. Maybe it is time for them?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.lju-airport.si/
Colombo and Bangkok
Bruh, they just redirect you to Skyscanner...
DeleteThats why i have met somekind of eagle, where they should be. Not far from my building. No jets, more animals. True, covid was reason too. And Adria bankrupted, market too small.
ReplyDeletethis is actually quite funny - the nationalist forces in Slovenia will go mad lol! 30 years of independence, to rely at the end on two ex-yu republics for air connectivity..... Hahahaha, good one :)
DeleteAS treba da pocne sa jednim A319 iz LJU kao prosirenje lokalne mreze.
ReplyDeletestvarno bi se izplatilo!
DeleteVery dissappointing! I cannot repeat enough times that as soon as Croatia joins the Schengen area, LJU will disappear in oblivian forever, thanks to Slovene arrogance!
ReplyDeleteTo me this smells like possible racketeering. It is very strange that none of the five offers was good enough, while the explanations given by Slovenian side are very vague!
ReplyDeleteProud Slovenians. It is better to destroy aviation in the Slovenia than the sign contract with Serbian or Croatian airline. Corrupted Slovenian polititians and famous Slovenian mentality against neighbours from EX YU.
ReplyDeleteRasipanje resursa za ju. Bolje da startuju ex sssr zemlje i tu sebi grade pozicije, a zatim long haul po planu
ReplyDelete