Ljubljana AirportInter-European and transatlantic flights

The most lucrative destinations from Ljubljana’s Jože Pučnik Airport, Slovenia’s main air hub, are those found inside Europe however a few transatlantic services could also be found profitable according to current trends.

Berlin is considered one of the cities with the highest traffic potential for establishing services to Ljubljana. German tourists are listed second on the scale of tourist arrivals to Slovenia with 211.067 visitors in 2007. In the scope of tourism there is also high demand for travel to Berlin by Slovenians. Besides that the largest percentage of Slovenia’s diaspora is located in Germany with approximately 90.000 people. Furthermore German companies invest the most in the Slovenian market. Germany represents the most important trading partner to Slovenia with 13% growth in trade in 2008, which also results in 60.000 annual business trips. Scandinavian countries, especially Norway, are one of the most promising markets for the development of direct services from Ljubljana. In 2007 there were 6.990 arrivals by Norwegian tourists, and the number of tourists is still growing. There were 4 weekly flights during the summer from Ljubljana to Stockholm. This route proved to be very popular as seen in the very high load factor. Besides tourism, there is also potential for business between Sweden and Sweden’s financial centre Stockholm and Ljubljana. There was also one direct weekly flight in the summer timetable to Dublin, Ireland with an average load factor of 70%. Yearly, there are an increasing number of arrivals (10.813) and overnight stays (36.031) on behalf of Irish tourists in Slovenia. Dublin represents a chance for good business interaction between the two countries and could be especially attractive tourist wise for Slovenians and broader in nearby catchment areas. According to current trends Madrid, which will be served from Ljubljana from March 2009 on behalf of Adria Airways, should be very successful. Other European cities that could prove popular are Rome, Milan, Cologne and Dusseldorf.

There are no scheduled direct services between Ljubljana and New York although there is an increasing number of American tourists travelling to Slovenia (49.620 arrivals and 112.112 overnight stays in 2007). This transatlantic flight could be popular as a regular summer charter.

For newly introduced services or additional frequencies from Ljubljana, the airport managments offers special promotional prices with additional marketing support provided by the Slovenian Tourist Board and SPOT (Slovenian Power of Tourism) consortium in order to support introduction and development of incoming tourism.

Ljubljana is served by 8 scheduled airlines. Low cost airlines found it extremely difficult to make a profit flying to Ljubljana and ceased their operations to the Slovenian capital.