Interest from low cost airlines to fly to Sarajevo Airport

Sarajevo could soon see low cost flights from London, Rome and Dusseldorf as the Bosnian government relaxes its conditions towards no frills airlines. The government currently requires low cost airlines to pay a levy of ten euros per passenger in order to operate flights to the country. Until recently, the levy amounted to fifteen euros but the state government gave up on its share of the takings while the Federation government is expected to follow suit. According to the Al Jazeera Balkans network, interest has been shown for flights to commence from London, Rome, Dusseldorf and a city in Sweden to Sarajevo this summer. Recently, the low cost Austrian airline Niki, owned by Air Berlin, said it was evaluating the Bosnian market.

New airlines would be more than welcomed by airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In February, the country’s busiest airport, Sarajevo, suffered a 21% passenger decrease by handling only 26.278 passengers. During the month the airport was affected by bad weather but also B&H Airlines’ route suspensions. However, the full brunt of the carrier’s woes is to be felt at the airport in March. Currently, B&H operates a single daily flight to Istanbul with an ATR72. During February, Banja Luka Airport welcomed 424 passengers and Mostar 318. Tuzla did not manage to attract any passengers last month.

Sarajevo Airport is served by two low cost airlines - Germanwings and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Norwegian operates flights on a seasonal basis and will be resuming services from Oslo and Stockholm to the Bosnian capital this summer. On top of its all year round service from Cologne, Germanwings will resume seasonal flights from Stuttgart to Sarajevo this summer as well.

Flight delays and cancelations at Croatia Airlines

Croatia Airlines has been forced to cancel many of its flights today as the union of Croatia Airlines pilots, cabin crew, airline technicians and the “Novi sindikat” planned to begin a 24 hour strike. However, late last night they announced they were cancelling today’s strike. Nevertheless all of the planned flight cancellations remain in place. Despite spending over a year discussing the terms of their collective agreements with the airline’s management, no solution has been found. Today's strike was only supposed to be a warning to the management and further industrial action could be taken in the coming months if no agreement is reached. Despite the fact that the strike was supposed to last from 06.00 this morning until 06.00 tomorrow morning, the Croatian national carrier was forced to cancel its evening service to Sarajevo yesterday, since the aircraft would be unable to return to Zagreb in the morning and several flights will be cancelled tomorrow as well. Furthermore, passengers can expect delays on early morning flights tomorrow until operations resume to their full capacity.

The unions note that Croatia Airlines will be operating 80% of its scheduled services. Today, the airline has cancelled its flights to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, Dubrovnik, Split, Rome, Priština, Vienna, Munich, Pula, Zadar, Sarajevo and Skopje. As a result, return flights from Pula, Zadar, Sarajevo and Skopje, which are scheduled to operate on March 9 have also been cancelled. It should be noted that on some of these destinations, Croatia Airlines operates more than one daily flight and in most cases only one of the daily flights has been cancelled.

Croatia Airlines’ management is fuming over the planned walk out by staff saying that the industrial action is unnecessary. It has been further angered after employees said that they wouldn't strike with the airline unable to resume normal operations today. The carrier claims that the terms set out by the unions go against the airline’s cost cutting measure while seven of the eleven conditions set out by the unions go against Croatia’s state laws. Furthermore, the management says the strike will cost the airline 200.000 euros. Croatia Airlines is offering passengers the opportunity to be either rebooked on other flights or compensated to the full amount of their ticket price. Latest strike details can be found on the carrier’s website here. Those interested in viewing the collective agreement from 2011 that unions want to be changed can view it here (PDF document - in Croatian).

New hope for B&H Airlines

Members of Turkish Airlines’ management flew into Sarajevo yesterday for talks with the Bosnian government over a deepening row regarding B&H Airlines, three weeks ahead of the 2012 summer season. The government, which is B&H’s majority stake holder, is unimpressed with the way the Turks have managed the carrier and are requesting for Turkish Airlines to adhere to its takeover contract. Local media report that Turkish Airlines has not fulfilled many of its obligations which it signed up to back in 2008 when it took a 49% stake in the carrier. The Bosnian government is further angered that it has had to pump in 3.4 million euros into the national airline on an annual basis, despite Turkish’s presence.

Recently, in retaliation, Turkish Airlines took back its Airbus A319, which was operated by B&H and flights to Amsterdam were suspended with little warning. The return of the A319 to Sarajevo was discussed in yesterday’s meeting and progress is said to have been made. In February, B&H Airlines saw passenger numbers stumble 40%. It not only battled with constant flight cancellations as a result of its spat with Turkish Airlines but also saw extreme weather conditions.

Only last week, the Bosnian government approved a 1.3 million euro cash injection to cover B&H’s operational costs. Today, the carrier will only operate one return flight to Istanbul with other services cancelled. Furthermore, one its ATRs is undergoing maintenance leaving the carrier with a single ATR72. Yesterday’s meeting between Turkish Airlines and the Bosnian government is said to be going in the right direction, bringing hope to employees and passengers that the situation can be resolved.

Soon in Sarajevo

The Austrian low cost airline Niki, now owned by Air Berlin, plans to introduce flights to Sarajevo, its Managing Director, Christian Lajsek says. The airline is in the process of evaluating the Bosnian market but also other countries in the Balkans, with Tirana mentioned as a possible addition to its network. Speaking to “ATW Daily News”, Lajsek says its network expansion will take place after Air Berlin enters the One World alliance on March 20. For the past year rumours have been circulating that Air Berlin is considering launching flights from Dusseldorf to Sarajevo.

A new service from Vienna would be warmly welcomed by passengers and would mark the end to Austrian Airlines’ monopoly on the route. When B&H Airlines announced its plans to resume services to Vienna this summer, Austrian was forced to reduce its ticket prices. After news broke last week that the Bosnian national carrier cancelled its planned summer expansion, Austrian inflated its prices. The Austrian national carrier will operate two daily flights between the two cities over the 2012 summer season. Niki’s arrival at Sarajevo would also see the return of a One World alliance airline, following British Airways’ pull out from the Bosnian capital. Currently, nearly all airlines operating to and from Sarajevo are members of Star Alliance.

Air Berlin and Niki are present in the region. The two airlines operate flights to Priština, Skopje and Belgrade and seasonal flights to the Croatian coast as well as Tivat in Montenegro. Lufthansa’s Germanwings is the only low cost airline operating all year round services to Sarajevo. During the summer Norwegian Air Shuttle operates flights from Stockholm and Oslo.

Many flights cancelled

Since Tuesday, B&H Airlines has operated only one return flight to Istanbul, cancelling its services to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Banja Luka and Zurich, which were scheduled to operate over the past two days. It follows B&H’s decision to cut down on flights until the start of the summer season. Despite several attempts to contact B&H Airlines, there has been no response from the carrier. Today, the airline is only operating its morning service to Istanbul cancelling its other two flights for the day - one to Amsterdam and the other being the afternoon service to Istanbul. The return flight on the morning Istanbul service has also been cancelled.

B&H Airlines’ network wide cuts were scheduled to begin in March. As it stands now, over the next month all flights to Amsterdam and Copenhagen will be cancelled. Services to Zurich will operate only once per week while many flights to Istanbul, the carrier’s signature route, will also see cancelations. In November 2011 the airline similarly suspended flights to Amsterdam and Copenhagen for a month. In December it launched services from Banja Luka to the Danish capital, however, they were suspended after only four flights.

In late 2011, the CEO of B&H Airlines, Altan Buyukyilmaz, said the carrier was looking to stretch its wings in 2012 and open new routes. However, as of Monday the airline’s planned new flights to Vienna, Skopje and Dusseldorf have been removed from global reservation systems while ticket sales have been blocked since early February. Meanwhile, the government of the Bosnian Federation approved a 1.3 million Euro cash injection for B&H Airlines yesterday. The bulk of the money will go to covering airport fees, purchasing jet fuel and to Euroctonrol.

B&H cancels expansion and temporarily suspends Amsterdam and Copenhagen

B&H Airlines has cancelled its planned new flights to Skopje, Dusseldorf and Vienna which were due to be launched during the 2012 summer season. Ticket sales were first suspended in early February and flights have now been completely removed from global reservation systems. Services to the Macedonian and Austrian capitals were to be inaugurated on March 25 with five weekly flights each. B&H suspended flights to Vienna back in May 2011 due to poor passenger figures. Austrian will operate two daily flights from Vienna to Sarajevo this summer season. Services to Dusseldorf were planned to launch on June 2 twice per week.

Since yesterday, B&H Airlines has begun cancelling flights to Amsterdam. All flights will be temporarily suspended from March 4 until early April. Furthermore, the Bosnian national carrier will see cancelations on its flights to Istanbul throughout February and March, Copenhagen has been temporarily suspended until April (for a second time this winter season) while Zurich will operate only once per week until the start of the summer season.

The cancellation of planned flights to Skopje, Dusseldorf and Vienna won’t affect the airline’s seasonal services to Gothenburg and Stockholm set to launch this June.

Passenger boost for Sarajevo Airport

Sarajevo Airport has started the year off on a positive note by handling 33.063 passengers, an increase of 9.1% compared to the same month last year when it saw 30.292 passengers pass through its doors. The number of operated flights to and from the Bosnian capital stayed almost the same with 371 operations compared to 376 in January last year. B&H Airlines remains the dominant carrier at the airport with a 33% share of all scheduled arrivals and departures followed by Croatia Airlines and Austrian with a 17.5% share each.

Numbers at Bosnia and Herzegovina’s main airport could suffer in February due to many cancellations and diversions throughout the month, which are still ongoing, due to thick fog and record snow fall. This summer the airport will benefit from new services to be introduced by B&H Airlines as well as the resumption of seasonal summer flights from Oslo and Stockholm (to be operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle) and Stuttgart (by Germanwings).

Proposed future look of Sarajevo Airport terminal

This year there are plans for the much awaited expansion of Sarajevo Airport to begin. The head of the airport, Ivica Veličan, said last year that the 32 million Euro project should commence in 2012 with 7.000 square metres to added to the terminal building, a new apron to be built and existing jetways to be overhauled. “The expansion of the terminal building will allow better quality service for our passengers and will improve our country’s image”, Veličan said.

EX-YU cities loose Budapest flights after Malev collapse

Following Malev’s demise on Friday, EX-YU cities have been left without direct air links to Hungary’s capital Budapest, which, amongst other things, attracted many transit passengers. None of the national carriers of the former Yugoslavia have attempted to introduce flights to Budapest and try to scoop stranded passengers. On Friday Lufthansa, easyJet, Wizz Air and Air Berlin were quick to react and increase frequencies while Ryanair announced over thirty new destinations to the Hungarian capital.

Malev had an extensive network in the former Yugoslavia operating flights to Belgrade, Priština, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Skopje and Zagreb. The Hungarian national carrier operated nine weekly flights to Belgrade. Recently, the airline had seen sliding passenger numbers on the route as more competition saw fewer transit passengers. The airline planed to reduce the service to one daily flight from the 2012 summer season. Malev operated two daily flights to Priština and thirteen weekly to Skopje, from which it saw numerous transit passengers. There were no plans to either increase or reduce flights over the coming summer. Sarajevo enjoyed daily flights and Podgorica six weekly while nearby Zagreb saw 18 weekly services between the two cities this winter. None of the former Yugoslav national carriers operate flights to the Hungarian capital and none have jumped at the opportunity to inaugurate services between the two cities since Malev’s demise. While the Hungarian low cost airline Wizz Air is based in Belgrade, it is unlikely it will be tempted to launch flights between the two cities as its aircraft are too big and inter Eastern European flights have proved unsuccessful for the airline in the past.

Officials at Budapest Airport, one of the biggest losers of Malev’s grounding, said it doubts the flights will ever be reinstated. "There are some estimates that over 20 or 23 routes of Malev will never be served by other airlines", airport spokesmen Mihaly Hardy said. It is believed that the Hungarian government will work to set up a new national carrier by the start of the 2012 summer season, which begins in over a month. It remains to be seen whether EX-YU destinations, on which Malev had a complete monopoly, will be resumed.

Flight delays and cancelations across EX-YU

UPDATED 21.00 CET

Snowstorms, fog and freezing weather have disrupted flight operations across the former Yugoslavia. Podgorica has been closed on and off for the past three days while Sarajevo Airport closed its doors this morning until 20.00 CET. In Belgrade meanwhile, the airport was evacuated when an anonymous call came that there was a bomb on board Air France's jet, which turned out to be false.

Both snow and fog are proving to be a problem at Sarajevo Airport. Sarajevo closed this morning with all departures cancelled for the day. Nearly all flights from Sarajevo were cancelled yesterday as well. Only early morning departures and B&H Airlines’ flights to Zurich and Istanbul were unaffected. Austrian was forced to divert its evening Sarajevo service to Belgrade. Operations resumed in the evening hours with Austrian, Jat and Croatia Airlines performing their flights as normal.

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport saw short delays throughout the day however there was some panic after an anonymous phone caller said there was a bomb onboard an Air France jet which was being prepared for its return flight to Paris. The airport was forced to evacuate and the flight cancelled although no bomb was found. The caller, a 62 year old from Bor, was later arrested. He said he was “only having some fun”. It was later disclosed that the man in question is mentally challenged.

In Montenegro, most flights to and from Podgorica Airport have been cancelled for the last three days due to heavy snowfall. There is now a big backlog of passengers on the Podgorica - Belgrade - Podgorica service with both Montenegro Airlines and Jat Airways cancelling most flights between the two cities. The two airlines attempted to operate flights to Tivat yesterday but before making their descent into the coastal city were forced to turn back to Belgrade. In order to clear the backlog of passengers Jat planned to operate an early morning service to the Montenegrin capital at 4.40 today but has cancelled the flight.

In Skopje, Priština and Ljubljana, flights have been operating normally (other than those to Montenegro) although all with an average forty minute delay. Out of all the airports in the former Yugoslav region, Zagreb was operating most smoothly with nearly all flights taking off from the airport yesterday, registering only minor delays. Split Airport has been closed due to snow and extreme winds reaching up to 180 kilometres per hour.

All of Eastern Europe is grappling with a Siberian freeze which is spreading westwards. Freezing conditions, which have claimed hundreds of lives across the continent, are set to persist for days to come.

B&H back to Dusseldorf as Adria moves from Gatwick to Luton

B&H Airlines will be resuming another destination from the past as it plans to launch services to Dusseldorf on June 2. It comes days after announcing it will inaugurate flights to Vienna, Skopje, Stockholm and Gothenburg this summer as well. Flights will operate twice per week, every Monday and Saturday with an Airbus A319. Details can be viewed here.

B&H Airlines has previously flown between the Bosnian capital and Dusseldorf. Flights were launched on May 18, 2009 and suspended on March 15, 2010 due to poor loads. It will be the airline’s first destination in Germany since discontinuing flights to Frankfurt last year. In Germany, the airline has also flown to Cologne, Berlin and Stuttgart in the past. B&H had its last major network expansion in 2009 when, besides Dusseldorf, it inaugurated flights to Podgorica, Vienna, Prague, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Berlin. Most were cancelled within a year, although many are set to see a comeback this summer.

Meanwhile, Adria Airways, which announced its service launch to London Gatwick Airport a few weeks ago, has now decided to move the flights to London’s Luton Airport instead. The Slovenian carrier said that operations to Luton will allow passengers faster rail connections to central London and notes its close proximity to main motorways. It is believed the airline will move operations to Luton because of lower handling fees. Flights will operate four times per week, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with tickets to be put on sale next week.

B&H expanding network for 2012 summer season

B&H Airlines is spreading its wings this summer. After announcing that it will resume seasonal summer flights to Stockholm and Gothenburg, the Bosnian carrier will now also resume two destinations from the past - Skopje and Vienna. Flights to Vienna were terminated last year along with Frankfurt to the dismay of many loyal passengers. B&H Airlines plans to operate up to 5 weekly flights to Vienna with the regional ATR72. As a result, a ticket pricing war between B&H and its rival Austrian has now begun, with Austrian lowering fares over night. Austrian profited from B&H’s pull out on the Vienna service and it currently operates two daily flights to the Bosnian capital. However, it remains to be seen whether B&H will make the Sarajevo - Vienna route work this time around. In 2011 the airline suspended the flight citing poor loads. Flight details for the service to Vienna can be found here.

The national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina will also expand regionally by launching five weekly services to Skopje. Flights will also operate with the ATR72. The airline has previously flown to the Macedonian capital nonstop as well as via Podgorica. Details can be viewed here.

During the 2012 summer season, B&H Airlines will operate flights to Amsterdam, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Vienna, Skopje, Istanbul, Banja Luka, Copenhagen and Zurich. However, the airline is still formulating its summer timetable, leaving the possibility for other new routes to be announced. Both flights to Skopje and Vienna will be launched on March 25.

Soon in Stockholm and Gothenburg

B&H Airlines will be resuming flights to Stockholm and Gothenburg this summer, as a seasonal service only. B&H suspended flights to both cities in August 2011. Services to Sweden, used primarily by the Bosnian diaspora, are extremely seasonal and see high passenger numbers in the summer months but struggle during the low winter period. Flights to both cities will operate twice per week. They will be separate services unlike last year. Both will operate with an Airbus A319, from June 2 to September 1. Flight details for the Sarajevo - Stockholm service can be found here, while details for the Gothenburg flights can be viewed here.

Late last year, B&H Airlines’ CEO, Altan Buyukyilmaz, said the airline was looking to expand its operations in 2012. Italy has been viewed as a potential new market for the Bosnian carrier after it successfully performed charters from Mostar to Pescara last September. The airline is in talks with Mostar Airport management to launch two weekly flights to the city from Sarajevo but is requesting handling fee exemptions.

Meanwhile, it was a matter of bad luck for B&H’s hub Sarajevo Airport as it handled 599.996 passengers, four short of its 600.000 passenger goal. The airport was hampered by foggy weather throughout November and December, which saw many flights diverted or cancelled. Still, the airport can be content with a 6.5% passenger increase on 2010. Bosnia’s second busiest airport, Mostar, saw impressive growth of 107% thanks to numerous charters for religious pilgrims and welcomed 36.807 passengers. Despite all of its financial problems, Banja Luka Airport pulled of a notable 74% passenger increase by handling 8.367 passengers. However, Tuzla underperformed with only 4.527 passengers, down 20% on 2010.

Sarajevo - Mostar in 2012

B&H Airlines plans to launch flights from Mostar to Sarajevo next year in hope of attracting transit passengers through the Bosnian capital. It has been proposed for the flights from Mostar to depart early in the mornings in order to connect on to B&H’s European network. The flights from Sarajevo to Mostar would leave in the evening hours, with the service to be operated by an ATR72. B&H has requested an exemption from fees at Mostar Airport during its first year of operations and has asked for the flights to be partially subsidised by the Mostar city authorities.

B&H operated flights from Mostar to Pescara in Italy for several weeks over the summer, which proved popular with tourists. The airline is mulling over plans to launch services to Rome next year. B&H Airlines will handle similar passenger numbers as last year. Despite a promising start to the year, with a strong passenger surge recorded, numbers were severely hit in the past few months after the airline’s destination network was significantly cut. On the other hand, Mostar Airport handled 35.329 passengers by the end of November, an increase of 98%.

Now you see it now you don’t … B&H dumps Banja Luka after four flights

On December 1 B&H Airlines will launch its new service from Banja Luka to Copenhagen, with the flights originating in Sarajevo. However, the service won’t stick for long as the airline plans to drop the route after four flights and operate a direct two weekly service from the Bosnian capital. On October 30, B&H temporarily suspended its Sarajevo - Copenhagen flights and announced the route would receive an additional stop in Banja Luka from December. At the time the airline stressed that the flights would operate until at least March 2012.

Although the suspension of the Banja Luka flights will be welcomed by those boarding in Sarajevo as it will reduce flight time, it is more bad news for Banja Luka Airport. Adria Airways recently cancelled its service to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city as well. Still, the airport will continue to see flights to Zurich operated by B&H Airlines which also originate from Sarajevo.

As a result of the Banja Luka - Copenhagen suspension, flights from Sarajevo will now operate nonstop with an Airbus A319, a welcome changed compared to the ATR72 which was originally planned for the Sarajevo - Banja Luka - Copenhagen flights. The last service from Banja Luka to the Danish capital will operate on December 12 while the first direct flight from Sarajevo will be inaugurated on December 17. No official reason has been given as to why the flights are being shelved although low interest is a strong possibility.

B&H back at Schiphol

B&H Airlines will resume flights to Amsterdam on December 15, just over a month after the service was suspended along with Copenhagen. Services to Amsterdam will operate three times per week. The equipment to be used on the service will vary. As it currently stands, two flights are planned to operate with an Airbus A319 and one service will be operated by an ATR72. While flights on the A319 will take just over two hours, those travelling on the ATR will endure a journey of three and a half hours. The resumption will coincide with the relaunch of the carrier’s Sarajevo - Copenhagen service which will now operate via Banja Luka. Those flights are set to begin on December 1. To find out more about the Sarajevo - Amsterdam service, click here.

Meanwhile, in the past three months, B&H carried 38.691 passengers, a decrease of 29.9% compared to the same months last year. However, it should be noted that the airline more than halved the number of operated flights compared to the same period last year, which naturally resulted in the passenger decline. By the end of September, the airline welcomed 104.000 passengers onboard, a decrease of only 4.7% despite the fact that the number of flights were slashed by 38%. It remains to be seen how the rest of the year will play out and whether the negative trend will be halted. B&H recorded its best year on record in terms of passenger numbers last year when it handled 138.241 passengers.

Winter changes

The 2011/2012 winter season begins tomorrow.

As has been previously reported, B&H Airlines will suspend flights to Amsterdam this winter. Compared to the 2010/2011 winter season the airline has terminated a total of six destinations. Since flights to Copenhagen will now operate via Banja Luka and all four weekly frequencies from Sarajevo to Zurich will also make a stop in Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina will see six weekly flights operated by B&H, which is an increase of one compared to last winter. The frequency for the airline’s Zurich service has decreased by one flight since last winter and will be served four times per week. Flights to Istanbul remain unchanged.

Croatia Airlines won’t be making too many changes to its winter line up of destinations and frequencies compared to last year. Flights from Zagreb to Istanbul, which were launched over the summer, will remain throughout the winter period while Priština will also see an extra weekly flight. Facing competition from easyJet, Croatia Airlines will decrease its Paris flights from daily last year to five per week. On the other hand, it will continue to operate to the French capital from Dubrovnik two times per week, which is a new addition. As has been the case in the past few years, the airline won’t operate flights from Rijeka and Osijek during the winter.

Montenegro Airlines will see frequency cuts across the board over the winter period. However, it should be noted that last winter the airline practically operated its 2010 summer season timetable. Flights from Podgorica to Belgrade, Frankfurt, Moscow, Rome and Zurich will all be decreased while flights to London suspended. However, the airline will continue to operate flights from Tivat to Moscow which were launched during the 2011 summer season.

By clicking on the links below, you can view the 2011/2012 winter season changes in more detail.

B&H Airlines • Croatia Airlines • Montenegro Airlines

B&H dumps Amsterdam and temporarily suspends Copenhagen

B&H Airlines will suspend flights to Amsterdam at the start of the 2011 winter season, the Dutch “Scramble Magazine” reports, leaving the airline with a total of three destinations. B&H recently removed Amsterdam from its webpage booking option and the service has disappeared from global ticketing systems. In recent weeks, flights from Sarajevo to Amsterdam were operated by an ATR72, adding additional flight time to the service. The final flight from Sarajevo to Amsterdam is scheduled to operate on October 27, just under a year since it was launched.

From October 30, B&H will also temporarily suspend flights to Copenhagen but those are set to resume on December 1 with the service rerouted via Banja Luka. Flights to Zurich will remain during the winter, however, all of the four weekly services will operate via Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city - Banja Luka. The only service which remains unchanged over the winter season is Istanbul. Turkish Airlines, which will be decreasing its frequencies to Sarajevo, will introduce its brand new Boeing 737-900 on the route from December 8, thus increasing capacity. So far this year B&H has suspended flights to Vienna, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Belgrade.

If any changes to B&H’s current winter operations occur they will be reported on Saturday along with all the changes being made by Croatia Airlines and Montenegro Airlines over the winter season, which begins this Sunday.

Adria prepares for privatisation and keeps Banja Luka flights

The Capital Assets Management Agency of Slovenia has announced that it will begin Adria Airways’ privatisation process in March 2012 at the latest. Economists believe the Slovenian national carrier could attract interest from Qatar Airways, Emirates and the Air France-KLM group. Over the past year, Star Alliance partner Lufthansa has also been rumoured as a potential buyer as well as the financially troubled Air India.

Adria recently began its restructuring process by suspending several destinations, formulating a new fleet plan and composing a new collective agreement for its staff. However, the airline is still facing problems. Robert Vuga, the carrier’s Executive Director who has played a key role in securing a government bailout over the past several months has announced he will resign from his post. Furthermore, the airline recently endured negative publicity after it cancelled one of its Ljubljana - Sarajevo - Ljubljana flights due to poor loads. The few passengers were put on a bus and were driven to their final destination. They were not offered alternatives on other airlines nor were they offered a refund for having to travel by bus.

Meanwhile, Adria has reconsidered its decision to suspend flights to Banja Luka. The airline will continue four weekly flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city, operated by a CRJ200. However, flight times have changed with aircraft departing Ljubljana late in the evening while the return trip to Slovenia’s capital takes off at 05.30 in the morning the next day. The news will be warmly welcomed by Banja Luka Airport which will see direct flights to Copenhagen, Zurich and Ljubljana this winter.

From Banja Luka to Copenhagen

B&H Airlines CEO, Altan Buyukyilmaz, recently announced that the Bosnian carrier will launch several new flights over the next few months. The first new service to be introduced is from Banja Luka to Copenhagen, in order to aid the struggling direct service from Sarajevo. Flights from Sarajevo to Copenhagen will no longer operate nonstop, instead, they will make a stop in Banja Luka. B&H Airlines will operate the service twice per week using an ATR72, meaning that passengers will endure a three hour trip to the Danish capital. Flights commence on October 31. This will come as good news for Banja Luka Airport which is experiencing financial problems.

Due to lower passenger numbers one of B&H Airlines’ ATR72s is now serving both the airline’s Amsterdam and Copenhagen flights, resulting in longer flight times. The Airbus A319 is currently being used for the evening Istanbul flights while another ATR72 (registration E7-AAD) has been out of service for weeks.

B&H Airlines has had a difficult year with the carrier suspending several key routes including Frankfurt, Vienna, Stockholm and Gothenburg. However, it has managed to maintain passenger growth throughout 2011. The Bosnian carrier is yet to officially announce its 2011/12 winter season timetable.

Sarajevo Airport to get new look

The new CEO of Sarajevo Airport, Ivica Veličan, has announced that the expansion of Sarajevo Airport’s terminal building will begin in the fall of 2012. The airport has secured a loan of 25 million Euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development which will be used to expand the terminal by 7.000 square metres, build a new apron and overhaul existing jetways. The final price tag of the project will amount to 32 million Euros. Veličan said, “The expansion of the terminal building will allow better quality service for our passengers and will improve our country’s image”. It was originally expected for work on the terminal to begin this year. While the airport is still functioning effectively, capacity constraints are starting to emerge at peak hours with security and duty free facilities in need of expansion. In 2005 Sarajevo Airport was named the best European airport to handle up to 1 million passengers.

In July this year Sarajevo recorded strong growth. It handled a total of 81.042 passengers, an increase of 12%. However, in August, usually one of the busiest months of the year, Sarajevo Airport saw its figures slip by 2.8% compared to the same month last year. Contributing to towards the downward trend is the significant reduction in flights operated by B&H Airlines. The airport is hoping to handle 600.000 passengers by the end of the year.

Veličan also added that Sarajevo Airport is working to attract low cost airlines. Currently, only Germanwings and Norwegian Air Shuttle offer low cost flights to the Bosnian capital. However, according to some sources, Wizz Air has expressed interest to commence flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tuzla is hoping that it will bag the low cost airline ahead of Sarajevo.