Turkish Airlines overtakes Lufthansa as busiest carrier in Slovenia


Turkish Airlines has continued to perform strongly on its flights between Istanbul and Ljubljana, positioning itself as the busiest carrier in Slovenia during the first half of the year. According to the Slovenian Statistical Office, the Turkish flag carrier welcomed 81.184 passengers between the two cities during the six-month period. Turkish Airlines’ passenger numbers on its Ljubljana flights have increased 52.8% on last year and are up 13.4% on the pre-pandemic 2019. Istanbul was Ljubljana’s busiest individual destination during the first half of the year. On its 606 flights between the two cities (includes operations in each direction), the carrier utilised the Airbus A321 aircraft on 91% of rotations, with the A320 and Boeing 737-800 jets deployed on the remaining services.

Lufthansa has placed as Ljubljana’s second busiest carrier, having taken top spot in 2022. The German airline, which maintains operations from both Frankfurt and Munich to the Slovenian capital, handled a combined total of 74.681 passengers during the first half of the year. The figure is up 29.1% on 2022. However, passenger numbers on flights from the two German cities are still notably down on the same period in 2019 when Slovenia’s former national carrier Adria Airways was the sole operator on the two routes. Back then, it handled a combined total of 123.030 passengers over the six-month period. Between January and June of this year, Lufthansa used the CRJ900 jet on 92% of its Ljubljana flights, while the remainder were operated by the A319 (5%), the Embraer E190, E195 and the Airbus A320.

The two carriers accounted for 29.1% of Ljubljana Airport’s total passenger numbers during the first half of the year. The pair also play a leading role during the second half of the year. Turkish Airlines has 118.832 seats on sale from July until the end of December, up 48.6% on the same period last year. Despite having the same number of flights, the growth is the result of the airline scheduling the A321 jet on significantly more operations than last year. However, it is important to note that this is subject to change as the year progresses since the carrier adjusts capacity based on demand on a near-daily basis. On the other hand, Lufthansa has 117.458 seats on sale in the third and fourth quarters, up 1% on the same period in 2022.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    This just goes to show how important a national airline is. Adria handled almost 50,000 passengers more than Lufthansa on Frankfurt and Munich route even though back then there were also flights to Vienna (another LH hub) and much more flights in general to major European cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Yes, if we had Adria there would be no need for Turkish! My God!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:12

      That's not what he said, but there is more than enough potential in LJU to have our own national carrier.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:15

      I remember well the "good old days" of Adria Airways. I remember the corruption, nepotism, incompetence and the constant driving to other airports because flying with JP from Brnik was useless. I cannot believe some of you are arguing for this to happen again. Because it will happen.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:18

      ^ Based on the passenger numbers, it seems a whole lot more people are driving away to other airports.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:24

      Useless? if you mean with cancelation of flights that was happening after 4k took over. Before that JP was a solid carrier! And yes I know it was not profitable but other's are not as well but they cover their loss through other channels. Smart countries do that all the time.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:24

      It will not, don't worry. At least not any time soon.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:50

      For sure it will! And first step are gonna be here very soon.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:37

      You should make a lot of popcorn, because you'll wait for a long time..

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:42

      And you should buy a lot of Persen as you will need them very soon.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:09

      @09:03 Adria handled 50% more pax to Fra and muc but because of the transit flights from Skopje, Prishtina, Tirana, Podgorica and Sarajevo. Since then, Skopje, Tirana and Sarajevo as well as Pristina have good direft flights to Frankfurt.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:46

      But you forgot to mention that on other part LJU had much more flights to EU hubs as now, where LH clearly moves all the traffic through FRA (I would do the same in their position). It's good for them but not good for Slovenia's benefits.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous12:03

      OMG, forget about Adria already.. It's not here anymore because it was a badly run company. Pilots should fly, not make decisions. Cabin crew should make coffee and tea, not make decisions. Having 250 back office staff for a company that size is 30% too much. At least. And selling tickets for prices Adria did back at the time...well, just preposterous. Even back then people from Slovenia were flying exZAG, exVIE, exVCE,... I wonder why, when Adria was there, serving every need possible.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous14:26

      I agree that it could be managed better, but big part of that is on government as well. With cheaper airport taxes and fuel prices it would be profitable. Not to mention that's least what government should do as Airport and Petrol were both national companies. About expensive tickets I would suggest you to check prices to FRA and then compare it to those in JP times. Not to mention how many passengers are traveling via ZAG / VIE / VCE now as there is huge gap in passengers figures when JP was operating and now.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    The fact that Ljubljana can't even put Luxairs logo on their website shows how little they actually care about getting more different destinations in.



    Good for TK and LH, bad for anyone else

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      They also don't know how alphabet works. They put Aegean on the bottom of the list of airlines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      GP (for better of worse) is also missing. And generally they don't update the flight schedule as quickly as they should


      A shame, because the website is probably one of the best in the region

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:55

      Haha, apparently they are reading this blog - the website has been updated!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:23

      Oh wow, they actually did update it within 6 hours of being called out!
      Now all they need to do is add logos to the flight schedule and replace "LUX" with Luxembourg :D

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:28

      I was not sure what are you talking about :) It’s only in English version, Slovenian is fine. But we can still agree that this was a fast reaction.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous07:41

      Of course they are checking this site, all the comments of "concerned taxpayers" or "we don't need national carrier" are from Fraport employees.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    Can someone explain why Turkish’s numbers have risen so much?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Using a321 instead of a319/20 and load factors


      Flights are almost full

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      More people are traveling to Turkey, TK is flying to a record number of destinations and just like everyone else they have benefited from Adria's bankruptcy. While Adria didn't fly to Istanbul, people are transferring more via Istanbul because there are fewer destinations from Ljubljana. Also, they probably picked up some transfer traffic from Aeroflot.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      Interesting, thanks

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      Because their service is great, prices are affordable, they're flying to basicly everywhere...?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:32

      The market is still underserved and Turkish is using it at its best. Even more, they can not dedicate more capacity to LJU, even when there is a demand and at LJU office they still sell around 30% of their tickets for departures from Italy and Croatia... S24 would support 3 flights per day, if capacity available.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:34

      Probably cheap labor force is coming with Turkish. From Nepal and similar countries

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:35

      Yeah I'm sure that this is driving up their passenger numbers.... Increase of 20,000 passengers compared to precovid are migrants from Nepal.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:05

      People in Slovenia discovered that you can also go to Turkey for holidays instead of Croatia.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    Well deserved. It is the best airline

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      with unlimited amount of subsidies everything is possible. Don't forget that EU regulations does not apply for them.. But I agree, Turkey spend their money wisely and established one of the best airline in the world.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      What kind of subsides? They've finished last year with almost 3bn $ profit. During covid, they didn't cancel a single job. Investing in people really paid off.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:55

      What subsidies? You really think that TK is paying market prices for petrol etc. in Turkey?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:20

      I can't believe that some people still thinks that profit is only measure how to be successful. As mentioned in previous comment, fuel price is probably much lower for TK in Turkey than it was for JP in LJU. not to mention all other cost related to airline. I also believe that TK is not paying full price on their domestic airports. Not to mention that how many aircrafts TK (or Turkey) bought without any loans which lowers their operational costs significantly. But as I said before, Turkey did that very smart and they invested money to establish world wide network!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:02

      What prices for petrol do you think they are paying? Turkey is no oil exporter. And there are no taxes on air fuel.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:06

      People in Slovenia, specially Adria lovers, act like cry babies. Adria paid fuel, Adria paid airport taxes, Adria had to pay for water to serve on board... Well, guess what; everybody else are doing the sames. And are still around. And, no, that doesn't mean that are subsidized. That might just mean that they are properly run with good business model. Which was rarely a case with JP.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous07:42

      Huh funny guy :) So you are saying that every airline is paying same price of fuel and all of them have same costs on particular airport? Make a world better and leave aviation please..

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    I believe that people just go to other airports if they want to fly to the West. I do not believe the expensive national airline with expensive tickets will solve that. What would happen is either national airline will be feeder of LH/OS/LX or they will dump the prices and kill the airline.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:07

    Any chance TK could increase frequencies in near future?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      Yes. They want to go to 21w at least in summer schedule, but lacking planes at the moment.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:25

      Midday flight?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:21

      Yes

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:08

    Flydubai starting flights obviously had no impact on Turkish in Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:37

      True. Flydubai is mostly generating new passengers. Either those flying from ZAG and VCE before, or didn't travel at all.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    Turkish is doing extremely well on all ex-Yu markets. Their passenger numbers are up everywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:14

    No surprise

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      I think it is. Did not see Turkish overtaking Lufthansa with its 2 routes.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:15

    Really fantastic performance by TK in LJU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      visa and no turkish diaspora

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:01

      the route isn't only P2P so I don't really get your comment

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:19

    To be honest,. I thought nobody would be able to catch up with Lufthansa in Ljubljana. I stand corrected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      Well, if you look at LH GROUP, this is still the case. The are, and will be, very well protected by FRAPORT.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:20

    Let's see if it stays this way until the end of the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      Based on the capacity availability during the second part of the year, it probably will.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:24

    wow TK is using the A321 a lot to Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:25

    Would be interesting to compare these numbers with Turkish's performance in Zagreb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      I don't think they are comparable. TK also flies to Dubrovnik in Croatia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      ZAG and DBV have nothing in common except that they are in the same country.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:16

      @09:53 hahaha bravo!

      Delete
    4. They are actually quite similar. ZAG is probably slightly ahead since in the period from January to May TK had just under 76k passengers to/from ZAG, but I have not seen the results including June.
      Guessing based on the previous months results, the number for the first half of 2023. should be at around 90k or slightly above. So just about 10k more than at LJU.
      TK had also started using wide-bodies on Sundays at ZAG over the peak season - June to September or October.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:29

    They could increase LJU to 18 weekly and eventually 3 daily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Turkish I mean

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:59

      Hope so

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:31

    I wonder what are the numbers of Air Serbia in Ljubljana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      40466 in first half of the year.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:41

    Would be nice if Turkish considered getting Anadolujet to try out some new routes to Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:48

      Yes, from Ankara or Izmir

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      Are there many charters to Turkey during the summer from Ljubljana?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:34

      Yes there are to Antalya

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:59

      I believe there are also to several other cities on Turkish coast.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:52

    I wonder how many transfers LH and TK carry on these Ljubljana flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:55

      90%

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:59

      90%?!?! I highly doubt it. Many Slovenians visit Istanbul and many also travel to Munich. Frankfurt not so much for P2P.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:53

    One thing is for sure, it is absolute Star Alliance dominance in Ljubljana :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      Always was considering Adria was in Star too ;)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:58

      It still has airlines present from all of the major alliances :) - Air France from Skyteam and British Airways and Finnair from Oneworld.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:57

    Really interesting to see the passenger numbers. Things are improving at LJU this year nicely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:56

      Market that needs to recover the most is UK (London) i believe...

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:57

    I do not understand the absence of Pegasus airlines from both Ljubljana and Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      visa and no turkish diaspora

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:57

      But Turkish seems to do well even with visas and no Turkish diaspora.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:30

      they mostly fly tourists transfering through IST in both directions. Pegasus is more for local people from Turkey

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:05

    I would like for them to deploy a wide body 1x or 2x a week, to satisfy also the cargo demand that can't fit on a narrow body, but also doesn't need a freighter. If they'd do that, it'd be such a huge boost for cargo and I'm sure they could fill the plane with pax as well, if they'd have only 1 flight that day instead of 2.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:32

      Well Turkish Airlines' expansion plans are notable, with a 48.6% increase in seats for the second half of the year. Flexibility in adjusting capacity based on demand is key.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:37

    I just realized that no airline has competition on any single route in Ljubljana. Every destination is served by just one airline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      There is competition on London routes, although different airports.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:57

      Also to Paris but to different airports (operated by airlines under the same ownership :D)

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:37

    LH helped destroy Adria and now they are reaping the profits from us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      How exactly did LH destroy Adria?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:09

      @10:40 With better business model.. :) Just leave JP fan boys, they're not from this dimension.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous13:28

    Together, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa contribute significantly, accounting for almost 30% of Ljubljana Airport's passenger numbers. A duopoly that's driving growth!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous13:29

    Impressive growth for Turkish Airlines in Slovenia!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous14:19

    It's interesting to observe the aircraft preferences of these carriers. Turkish Airlines' substantial use of the Airbus A321 on 91% of rotations and Lufthansa's utilization of the CRJ900 jet on 92% of Ljubljana flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:07

      I actually thought LH sent the A321 to Ljubljana from time to time but seems I was wrong.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:48

      LX from time to time with A320 more and more frequently.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:56

      @15:07 unfortunately they have not sent the A321 to Ljubljana yet. The biggest we've seen from them is the A320 once in June.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous14:57

    Aaaand Brussels just went 4x weekly during the winter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:48

      This is known fact since they've uploaded winter flights, so no surprises, it was not planned otherwise.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:37

      from 19x weekly (wizzair flights included) in 2019 to 4x weekly... a tragedy

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:54

      It really is :( where did all that demand evaporate in the meantime?

      Delete
  29. Anonymous15:08

    Anyone know what is the number 1 transfer destination for Turkish and Lufthansa from/to Ljubljana?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:54

      ex-Yu reported a few years ago. I believe in 2021. It said Izmir was number 1 for Ljubljana and Helsinki for Lufthansa. But situation has probably changed since covid was in full force back then.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous19:33

    I opt for Orient Express!

    ReplyDelete

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