The Slovenian government is considering revising its airline subsidy program in an effort to enhance the country’s air connectivity, while the possibility of launching a new national carrier remains on the table. The Ministry for Infrastructure has indicated that policy changes could follow the adoption of Slovenia’s new aviation law, expected later this year. This development comes after seven public tenders aimed at boosting connectivity received a mixed response from airlines. An eighth tender is currently in progress. So far, only 494.376 euros of the allocated 16.8 million euros has been spent, with Luxair, airBaltic, and Norwegian being the only carriers to benefit from the scheme.
Addressing the issue, the Ministry for Infrastructure said, "The Act on Aid for Ensuring Greater Air Connectivity, on the basis of which the current public tender is being implemented, will apply until October 5, 2025, i.e., until the new Aviation Act (ZLet-1) comes into force. After this date, it will be possible to notify the European Commission of a new financial aid scheme with a duration of up to three years and conduct a new public tender on the basis of ZLet-1, so the Ministry of Infrastructure is considering a possible continuation of the measure”. It added, “In addition to conducting the public tender, it is also intensively studying options that will improve Slovenia's air connectivity in the long term, as we are aware of the short-term effects of a time-limited public tender. We are open to various forms of cooperation with airlines that would help increase air connectivity in Slovenia in the long term and we are interested in discussing possibilities for cooperation. Discussions with carriers that present their proposals for improving Slovenia's connectivity are ongoing, but there are no concrete proposals for cooperation at this time ".
The Ministry emphasised that the creation of a new national airline remains a possibility, however, any decision on the matter will require a collective agreement by the Slovenian government. In July 2023, the Slovenian Parliament’s Public Finances Oversight Commission proposed for the state to enter into a strategic partnership with an established airline in the process of forming the country’s new national carrier. Acknowledging that the process of setting up a new airline could take several years, the government has previously said it would only do so through a Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Grant Thornton Advisory, which was commissioned by the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure to undertake a study on ways to improve the country’s air connectivity, concluded that launching a new flag carrier could be economically viable. According to the study, at least 300.000 passengers from Slovenia are using alternative airports outside of the country for their travels. The study found that in the case of a PPP, the national airline would break even in its seventh year of operations. The cumulative loss in such a case would reach 35 million euros in the sixth year, and after the tenth year it would amount to 28 million euros. The authors of the study estimated the private partner would have to make an initial capital injection of at least 35 million euros, or seventy million euros in the case of a more ambitious network.
No strategy whatsoever. Stunning.
ReplyDeleteSo smart. The GOV has no strategy, but damn Fraport only one, right? To canalise everyone via LHG hubs. To make slovenians pay 900€ for rt ticket LJU-FRA-LJU.
DeleteI didn't say Fraport had a strategy either. LJU definitely does not seem to be very important to them in their portfolio. The airport could have teamed up with the tourist organization, did more to promote the airport, create demand, try to implement policies that would stop bleeding passengers to other nearby airports...
DeleteWhere the hell did you pay 900€ rt LJU-FRA? I fly this route twice a month for work and last time paid 147€. The average price I pay should be around 180€ rt though. Which is fully fine in the current european aviation landscape.
DeleteYeah, we're back to "new national carrier". That's going to take over Zurich and Frankfurt and the amount of passengers will stay the same, if not lower. While we're going to continue using foreign airports. Excellent.
DeleteI don't get this notion that the proposed new airline would " take over" LH routes. Why wouldn't LH keep them?
DeleteDo you not remember where did Adria mostly fly to and which were the only profitable routes?
DeleteThe idea was that the new airline would make some deal with LH group and take over these routes freeing up capacity for the LH airlines.
DeleteGood luck with that
DeleteIt took just 8 attempts for them to realize these subsidies are not working.
ReplyDeleteThere will probably be more until they axe it :D
DeleteThis, along with Adria 2.0 is without doubt one of the longest sagas in the regional aviation.
DeleteTrue
DeleteOnly 494k out of 16.8 million euros spent? That’s a huge mismatch.
DeleteThe problem with the tender is that LJU lacks LCCs, whereas the tender is about as anti-LCC as possible
DeleteSlovenia definitely does NOT need a national carrier. Unless they want an unprofitable cash-burner!
ReplyDeleteWe only need FRA-LJU :)
DeleteYou're really not very funny. Ljubljana has way more destinations than just Frankfurt. But you know that already.
Delete@0906 and we have to pay for slovenske železnice? They make even less profit than adria did so I guess we can stop financing them? And not to mention all the other companys, maybe just maybe we don’t need 190k people on ministries and we will soon have money not for just one adria but for 10 of them
DeleteWhy the need to spread lies? Both SŽ potniški promet and SŽ tovorni promet are handsomely profitable.
DeleteA PPP model could work if there’s a strong partner involved.
Delete@1245 yes well if you put 100million in a company that has 80million loss you can show that as 20million profit. That’s exactly what SŽ is doing, okay the cargo part is profitable I give you that but the passanger part is deffinetly not. Adria would also be profitable if you would do as I described early, but you forgot the most important part, adria did 10million loss per year, yes, but they also did ober 140million indirect profit to our country… and we as country don’t have that much money to just decline this amount…
DeleteWell, if there is so much profit to be made, feel free to invest your own money into it.
DeleteGuess this tender is a bust as well
ReplyDeleteAnd so much for the Wizz Air talks :(
Delete"Discussions with carriers that present their proposals for improving Slovenia's connectivity are ongoing, but there are no concrete proposals for cooperation at this time ".
Yes it was reported that Wizz is asking for conditions nothing else
DeleteWell basically the ministry told them this subsidy scheme lasts till October and after that who knows. Not a real vote of confidence for anyone interested.
DeleteWith ongoing fleet issues it's unlikely they'd try to launch anything for this summer regardless. Maybe next one, depending on how the tender situation develops. Maybe they're modifying it for Wizz
DeleteIt would be nice but I highly doubt it.
DeleteThe elections are getting closer :D
ReplyDeleteDidn't Bratusek vow she would set up a new national airlines if she was part of this government?
DeleteHas she followed up on a single promise in any campaign?
DeleteShe tried but was blocked by her own colleague(s) from the government.
DeleteSince I'm an outsider, when are the next elections in Slovenia?
DeleteNeed to be held no later than late April 2026
DeleteOh so there is still time to hear more about new national airline :D
Delete3x ATR, 2x E195, and in summer wet lease one A320
ReplyDeleteA single-type fleet is generally more profitable. E175s instead of ATRs, for example
DeletePeople still think you can get aircraft like they are sold in a supermarket?
DeleteStill miss Adria Airways. At least we had some decent regional connections back then. Would support a new airline if it avoids the mistakes of the past.
DeleteOne thing I definitely miss is catching the morning flight for Frankfurt, attend to a single meeting or matter and then going back on the evening rotation. Did it only twice but it was unlike anything else I've had at LJU. And Lufthansa actually had a good service back then as well
Delete😂😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteLast chance that existed of an airline setting up base was Cyprus Airways. Now that is gone too.
ReplyDeleteThankfully. Would've only wasted our (tax payers) money.
DeleteTrue I'd rather spend the 10 million on Golob's laptop corruption schemes instead
DeleteDon't forget the court building where 5 million bucks vanished
DeleteOr party members' parents buying luxury apartments in cash
"Yes, we have corruption, so we can have even more corruption."
DeleteWhat is the airport doing? Where is its incentive model? Why isn't it talking to airlines?
ReplyDeleteDidn't they say years ago how they were in talks with 20 airlines?
DeleteSo much talk, so little action.
DeleteFulfilling its job.
DeleteLjubljana could have been one of Etihad’s first 10 new destinations with A321LR, but unfortunately Fraport didnt care to respond. They were invited to their fair, but did not care to attend.
DeleteAirport (and the subsidy scheme) brought many new airlines in the last couple of years but you know, some people will only be happy if the airport would have more passengers than x (insert random Ex-Yu airport here).
DeleteThey are in talks with 14 airlines, not 20.
DeleteSure they are
DeleteThis has been dragging out for way too long. Either find a solution or cut the crap,
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteAt this point, just cut it.
DeleteStill hoping for a positive outcome
ReplyDeleteThe only solution is to create a new airline.
DeleteIt is not. Let the market regulate itself and a new airlines is definitely not needed. There hasn't been a single remarkable new national carrier in the past years and current ones are also struggling (Croatia Airlines, e.g.).
DeleteIf Slovenia wants to grow its tourism sector, especially outside Ljubljana better air connectivity is essential.
DeleteWhat happened to the various Air Slovenia and Slovenia Air start ups that were planned?
ReplyDeleteNothing, obviously.
DeleteNone of those proposals were serious.
DeleteMostly just shell companies to try and get a few subsidies before mysteriously going bankrupt with its owners fleeing to the Virgin Isles or Bermuda
DeleteThe more time passes the less of a possibility to find a solution.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSlovenia's entire aviation sector is in complete shambles and all aviation professionals have found jobs elsewhere. Maribor Airport is falling apart. Main airport sold to German airport group which has shown it has no interest to develop air traffic and no local passenger airline.
ReplyDeleteBut from what I notice, it does not really seem that general public cares so much. Which is sad considering the aviation legacy Slovenia actually has.
DeleteWhy do so many comments express negativity toward Fraport. It does its job and employs people who pay taxes and spare money. Meanwhile, a totally incompetent state does nothing or only prepares useless tenders. The perfect example of state incompetency is MBX. Without Fraport, LJU will share the same fate as MBX.
Delete@Anon 09:43: There are plenty of people who would come running home in a split second, especially if a government-backed airline with unlimited funds like Adria is established again.
Delete15% annual growth is decent. Only hope next winter will be better than this one
DeleteSlovenia would be best expanding the subsidies to cover UK carriers - easyJet serve London at the moment and could consider Manchester with support, Jet2 and TUI do mountain and lakes programmes which could be attracted to Ljubljana with support
ReplyDeleteThe issue is that EU needs to approve all of these subsidy schemes if EU funds are being used and of course EU only wants to approve for subsidies if it involves other EU members.
DeleteAfter eight tenders and such low uptake, it’s clear the current subsidy model isn’t attractive enough.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that but the government does not seem so sure yet. I can guarantee you they will just approve the same subsidy scheme for another 3 years.
DeleteThen just drop it.
DeleteNah government is doing nothing but they need to keep up appearances
DeleteWith so many Slovenians using airports in Trieste, Zagreb and Vienna, the demand is clearly there. The question is whether Slovenia can create a competitive offering or just continue losing passengers to neighbors.
ReplyDeleteYes, the demand to Trieste, Zagreb, Vienna etc. is there, as well as the demand for Ljubljana. Are we again proposing this ridiculous idea that Slovenian should only fly from Ljubljana airport?
DeleteBe realistic. No tender ever will succeed. Slovenia has been economically devastated by politicians through at least 30 years of constant arguing and nagging. So, SLO becomes an unimportant player compared to other countries in the neighborhood, and consequently, it is not interesting to anyone. For serious tourism, is Slovenia too small to have the advantage of air connectivity? And also easily reachable by car. The airports from the vicinity of every part of the country cover all air connectivity demands well. It is an ugly truth that dreaming about the airlines that would be happy to fly to Slovenia should stop immediately. Wake up before more money will be spent on such endeavors. The national carrier for less than 2 Mio people is just another stupidity from the politicians.
ReplyDelete+1.
DeleteConnection to hubs, plus a few LCC routes, and summer charters is realistically all LJU needs.
Subsidies should be tweaked to allow UK-based airlines to bid. Not everyone wants to holiday on the Luton riviera, so more choice of airports within the UK would be very welcome.
ReplyDeleteCreating a national airline sounds romantic, but in today’s market it’s a very risky move unless it’s part of a broader tourism and economic strategy.
ReplyDeleteAviation business is consolidating in the European continent (has been in America before) and some still try to go against the tide, instead of understanding and developing strategies accordingly.
ReplyDeleteWell you know all the angry ex-Adria pilots come here to shake off their frustration as now they fly for a low cost airline and sleep 21days per month abroad. You know the same kind of pilots that were saying they won't accept an overnight abroad while they were flying for Adria.
DeleteThe only public that needs a new national carrier are politicians and their friends so they can, for a few years at least, enjoy another outlet for chanelling public money into their private pockets. They have obviously failed to notice that EU aviation has been consolidating for some time and there is no place left for cost-ineffective state-owned carriers. No decent strategic partner would bite that bait either.
ReplyDeleteSure 1,2 million passengers per year that Adria carried were only politicians and their friends. BS you read here is unreal.
DeleteNothing will come out of this. They will just keep going on with the same sort of subsidies.
ReplyDeleteIt time to cut this nonsense. Ljubljana airport offers pretty much everything what Slovenians need and use. Sure maybe there could be direct flights to Rome, Barcelona, Berlin and Prague but that is all that is missing in my opinion. Any other routes wouldn’t really make sense. A lot of ex Adria routes are well covered by other carriers which by the way offer much lower prices than Adria did (most of them).
ReplyDeleteSo why do over 300,000 passengers from Slovenia travel via airports outside of Slovenia if LJU has everything we need?
DeleteBecause it's better, closer, more convenient? Are you trying to imply that someone from Novo Mesto needs to fly from LJU just because they have a Slovenian passport?
DeleteNo but, someone from Ljubljana shouldn fly from Venice if he watns to go to spain under 100 eur. ffs Im starting to belive that fraport has an employes to fighht back at this portal lol
DeleteThen make your own airline and fly from Ljubljana to Spain and sell tickets for 100€. See how far you get.
DeleteBack in the day people from Italy and Croatia were bleeding into Ljubljana to fly to Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.
DeleteRight now the opposite is happening. It's clear that the competency used to be there, but has disappeared since Zmago left
LHR is being sold out in summer months...in MARCH, so if someone says there is no demand, just see Fra, Lhr, Rix, Mad, Ams flights prices...it's insane
ReplyDeleteSo they didn't give money and subsidies to Adria yet it's ok to give funds to foreign airlines?
ReplyDeleteAdria didn't receive any subsidies? Really?
DeleteNot when it was collapsing.
DeleteWhy should anyone give subsidies to a collapsing company?
DeleteShouldn't the airport operator provide incentives for airlines?
ReplyDeleteThey do provide incentives. If I remember correctly, the airport charges are free for the first 6 months of opening a new route.
DeleteThey also introduced incentive where they cover 50% of the airport fees for the 3 years after the government incentive runs out.
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteWeren't some people claiming how the market would sort itself out? Obviously it hasn't. If it did, we wouldn't need these subsidies in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThe market solved itself. It proved that Adria's business model was unsustainable and that Ljubljana is actually a pretty small and unimportant city.
DeleteBring back a national airline! Slovenia deserves a flag carrier. It’s about more than profit, it’s about visibility and independence. Just partner with someone like Lufthansa or LOT to do it smart.
DeleteAlso, this isn’t just about flights. It’s about access to jobs, business, and tourism. Slovenia needs better air links and if the market isn’t stepping up then the state has to intervene somehow.
Delete"It's about independence! Just partner with Lufthansa!"
DeleteThose two don't really go together..
Even if the airline is losing money, the net benefit for the local economy is bigger. That's why they are subsidised
DeleteWell, Slovenia had that subsidized system and people were still flying from VCE/ZAG/VIE/BUD etc. since subsidized Adria tickets were too expensive for the common man.
Deletecreating a whole new airline sounds like a long shot when even subsidies aren’t attracting carriers.
ReplyDelete