B&H Airlines - too optimistic
B&H Airlines is terminating services to Prague and Berlin due to their low profitability. The 2 destinations were launched over the summer after the Bosnian national carrier received a Boeing B737-400 from Turkish Airlines. The services to Prague and Berlin were launched as part of 9 new destinations B&H had started up. Flights to Prague, which operated 4 times per week, will be terminated today while flights to Berlin, which operate 2 times per week, will cease on September 15. The flights had problems from the very beginning as the launch date of the services were constantly delayed and moved due to low passenger interest. Most other recently launched services are also unprofitable due to a lack of interest on behalf of passengers. During the summer B&H Airlines launched flights to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Skopje and Podgorica, together with Prague and Berlin.
Local media suggest that other destinations might be cut by the start of the winter season, which begins in late October. Dusseldorf is expected to join Prague and Berlin as a dumped destination although there has not been any official word yet. B&H Airlines will now serve a total of 11 destinations from Sarajevo. In the first half of the year B&H was also forced to terminate services from Tuzla to Frankfurt due to low interest.
Skywings International B737-300 now in Skopje
A new airline will grace Macedonia’s skies today when Skywings International begins operating scheduled services to nearly all former destinations of the now, almost defunct, national carrier of Macedonia. Skywings International will initially operate with 1 Boeing B737-300 (fitted with winglets). The aircraft has been leased from a German airline, Hamburg International, which will operate Skywings and it is expected that all flights from Skopje and Ohrid will be operated by its own staff. The aircraft has already arrived in Skopje and has received a new Macedonian registration - Z3-AAJ.
The airline was to be launched today at 07.00 with an inaugural flight to Podgorica, according to the airline's website. However, the flights have not been listed at the airport in Skopje or Podgorica and neither has it been listed in the largest ticketing reservation system called Amadeus. However, the flights can be booked on the airline’s website.
The airline was registered in Macedonia in April this year and its CEO is Dragan Dojčinovski. The airline is also apparently operating a flight to Berlin at 09.45 today although it has not been listed anywhere except on the airline’s website. It will also operate flights to Brussels, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Rome, Stuttgart and Hamburg from Skopje, mostly once per week. From Ohrid it should begin operating flights from July 23 to Amsterdam while flights to Dusseldorf are expected to begin on July 25.
In case of any new developments of this relatively unknown airline, it will be updated on the blog.
Problem solved
Serbian and Croatian officials met yesterday to discuss the issue of licenses which has developed into a mini scandal at the beginning of the month when Serbia’s Jat Airways resumed flights from Belgrade to Dubrovnik after 18 years, only to be ceased after a week due to the fact that the airline did not attain the needed license from Croatian authorities. After a media storm which ensued in Serbia the country’s ministry of infrastructure and the Croatian ministry of sea, transport and infrastructure met yesterday in Belgrade and talks will be finalised today when Jat is expected to receive a license to operate flights from Belgrade to Dubrovnik and Pula while Croatia Airlines will be given a license to operate flights from Zagreb to Belgrade and Niš, although it is up to the Croatian national carrier if it will take up the offer. From Wednesday all negotiations regarding services between the two countries will be in the hands of the two national carriers. Serbian officials say that that the air traffic agreement could be initiated as early as this week, but that this depends on the readiness of both sides. “The negotiation strategy not only with Croatia, but with all other countries as well, is to make one institutional and legal framework through political negotiations and then, via commercial agreements, between carriers practically identify which lines are justified commercially and see whether they want to fly them”, the Serbian official said.
Another issue to be discussed is the matter the Croatian ministry has in regards to Serbian air space. It wants Serbia to allow aircraft landing at Osijek Airport to use Serbian airspace when landing as if it were Croatian airspace. Due to the close proximity of Osijek to the Serbian boarder it would be extremely beneficial to the airport’s authorities. The Croatian side stated that this was on e of the main topics of discussion, but it remains unknown whether this issue will be resolved completely in the coming hours.
Croatian and Serbian traffic experts will talk about regulating relations by water, railway and highway travel as well, specifically regarding licenses for highway transport. Croatia and Serbia will regulate air travel between each other for the time in history.
UPDATE
Jat has received a temporary license to resume flights to Duborvnik during this summer season however the airline has chosen not to return to Dubrovnik this summer. Flights to Pula continue as normal. The Osijek airspace issue has also been resolved and the details will be finalised next Monday in Belgrade when members of the Croatian Airspace Control Agency arrive . Croatia Airlines can commence flights to Belgrade if it wishes to do so.
To Dubrovnik after all
After the squabbling which took place between the Serbian and Croatian aviation authorities, when Jat Airways’ license for the flights from Belgrade to Dubrovnik was revoked, there now seems to be a resolution on the horizon. The ministries responsible for transportation from both countries will meet on the 13th and 14th of July. The Serbian ministry for infrastructure, under which transpiration falls a part of, expects that an agreement regarding aviation licenses between Serbia and Croatia should be finalised and agreed upon by July 17. In the meantime, flights should continue to operate between Belgrade and Dubrovnik as normal. The Serbian delegation will also suggest for flights between Zagreb and Belgrade to begin and to be operated by Croatia Airlines.
Yesterday there were a total of 40 passengers on board Jat’s flight to Dubrovnik, which is less than expected. This is because many people decided to refund their tickets following the public dispute. A Jat spokesperson has said that if the issue is not resolved passengers will be reimbursement or, if they choose, will be flown to Tivat where bus transfer to Dubrovnik will be organised.
Dubrovnik Airport
Loudly billed as the big "return after 18 years", Jat Airways’ tourist charters from Belgrade to the Croatian resort of Dubrovnik have been scrapped after only two flights, authorities in Zagreb confirmed last Friday. Only two "promotional" flights have been agreed, one completed on Thursday and the other planned for later today, Croatian transport ministry spokeswoman Marinka Haluzan said. The other 664 passengers which have purchased their tickets on the Belgrade to Dubrovnik service will now be refunded. While Serbian authorities blame their Croatian counterparts for a lack of cooperation, the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency has blamed their Serbian colleagues for the same reson. The Croatian stance is that flights between Belgrade and Dubrovnik cannot be allowed because there is no bilateral air agreement between the two countries. This is despite the fact that flights from Belgrade to Pula have not and will not be affected. Serbian officials said talks would continue next week. In Zagreb, Haluzan said Croatia "in the past insisted on the air traffic agreement ... it is unclear why the other side did not want it”.
On the other hand a Jat spokesperson said that the airline has held talks with the Croatian authorities and that it had been given a license to operate flights to Dubrovnik until the end of August, only for its license to be revoked on Thursday afternoon (July 2). The airline said it is doing everything in its power to maintain its services to Dubrovnik. It will propose, tomorrow, for the airline to receive a license for two flights each week just prior to the actual flight. Jat has said it also strongly supports Croatia Airlines to commence services from Zagreb to Belgrade in hope that this could soften the Croatian Aviation Authority’s stance. However, Croatia Airline has confirmed that it currently has no interest to fly to Serbia. “The countries in the region which Croatia Airlines does not serve are our potential future markets. Currently there is no bilateral air agreement between the two countries and thus there cannot be any cooperation between the two national carriers”, the airline’s PR manager said.
Marinka Haluzan, from the Croatian transportation ministry, said that “charter flights are not a part of air traffic agreements between countries, only regular airline flights”. Talks between the two countries are complex as they involve issues of ownership over airports and other companies which remain open from the days of the former Yugoslavia. Jat Airways has said that interest for the Dubrovnik flights have been greater than the interest generated when flights to Pula were launched last year. The airline’s spokesperson said that the only problem is that citizens from Pula have a much greater wish to visit Belgrade than those living in Dubrovnik.
Tivat
Tivat Airport has become the latest airport in the Ex-Yu region to be affected by the global financial crisis. Despite this seaside Montenegrin airport
expanding its apron recently so more aircraft can be accommodated, the airport reported a drop in aircraft operations as well as passenger figures. In spite of the peak season which is currently unfolding, the airport is reporting the same volume of traffic and passengers this summer while for the first six months of the year the airport has reported more than 17% drop in passenger movement. A total of 1.488 aircraft operated out of Tivat until the end of June this year, while a total of 171.000 passengers used the airport. That is 17.8% less passengers than in the first half of last year. The number of aircraft operating out of Tivat has decreased by only 3, meaning that the total aircraft operations amount to 569. During June alone there were 840 passengers less than June 2008.
The busiest day for Tivat Airport is usually a Saturday. So far this year, June 28 has been the busiest day with 7.380 passengers handled and 47 aircraft landing during the day. On average the airport handles 20 aircraft.
Tivat Airport is heavily used by charter airlines, particularly from Russia, during the summer months as it is the quickest way tourists can get to towns such as Budva. Recently, Montenegro Airlines has started focusing more on the airport by introducing services to Copenhagen, Priština, Niš and Rome.
Easy comes – easy goes
Serbia’s Jat Airways which yesterday resumed services to the Croatian town of Dubrovnik after 18 years has been forced to end all ticket sales after the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency decided to revoke Jat’s license to Dubrovnik. The Croatian aviation authority will allow the Serbian carrier to operate one more flight (on Tuesday) after which it will no longer have right to operate to the seaside town. The CEO of Dubrovnik Airport says that Croatia and Serbia have no bilateral air agreement and therefore the service will be blocked. Jat’s management announced that the ministries that are in charge of aviation in both countries will meet on July 7, when the airline hopes that this problem will be resolved. Jat has already sold 800 tickets to Dubrovnik and if the service is not resumed in time for next Thursdays flight the airline will transport passengers to Tivat in Montenegro where a bus shuttle will transfer them to their final destination. Dubrovnik was first connected to Belgrade by air in 1936 when Aeroput, Jat’s predecessor, operated the line via Sarajevo. After World War Two services to Dubrovnik were resumed on the service Belgrade – Sarajevo – Dubrovnik – Herceg Novi. On June 6, 1956 the first international service was operated from Dubrovnik while in 1983 Jat began operating the first intercontinental flights from Dubrovnik, connecting the city to Toronto.
Meanwhile, Srđan Radovanović has finally been officially named as Jat’s new CEO. He has not worked in Jat before however, with a law degree, has worked in some of Serbia’s largest state owned companies.
Visit tomorrow for exclusive information regarding Jat’s fleet renewel
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| Dubrovnik Airlines G-STRP |
Dubrovnik
After 18 years, Jat Airways' flight JU720 will depart for Dubrovnik from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport at 12.50 CET. It will be the first time since 1991 that the company has made that journey possible for its passengers. People from Serbia will be able to head to a city that is often described as the pearl of the Adriatic. A statement from the carrier earlier this year said that officials from Jat Airways and Dubrovnik Airport met on May 13 to decide that a new service between the Serbian capital and one of Croatia's most popular tourist spots would get underway this summer. Initial plans are to provide the route to passengers twice a week, on Thursday after midday and Tuesday mornings. The Belgrade to Dubrovnik link-up comes after Jat Airways restarted flights from the Serbian capital to Pula last year after a lengthy period of no service. As a result, today not only sees a flight to Dubrovnik from Belgrade, but also a flight to Pula (operated at 11.55 CET). Jat plans to introduce a third Croatian city to its destination network, Osijek, from summer 2010.
Meanwhile, there seems to be significant development on Jat’s fleet renewal and new aircraft might join the fleet earlier than expected. There will be more news regarding these development by the end of the week.
Tivat Airport passenger terminal
The second largest airport in Montenegro is being expanded both service and capacity wise. A week after B&H Airlines launched flights from Podgorica to Skopje, Montenegro Airlines has launched flights to the Macedonian capital from Tivat. The flights, which operate 4 times per week, were launched last Sunday, on June 28. There were a total of 70 passengers to and from Skopje on Montenegro Airlines’ Fokker F100. On this occasion Lela Agović from As-trans Komerc, the representative of Montenegro Airlines in Skopje, said that the new line was established at the beginning of the summer tourist season and Macedonian citizens are very interested in it. She added that Montenegro Airlines has harmonised its flights from Skopje in a way that passengers from Macedonia can transfer to other flights towards European capitals. Montenegro Airlines recently launched services to from Tivat to Paris and Niš while it established services to Copenhagen and Rome yesterday. Flights from Tivat to Priština will begin on July 5. Montenegro Airlines has begun using Tivat as a testing ground for future services from Podgorica. If a certain service is successful from Tivat, it will be ended at the end of October and transferred to Podgorica.
Meanwhile, the general aviation parking at Tivat Airport has been expanded. The investment was worth 2.5 million Euros. The new expanded parking apron allows 6 smaller general aviation aircraft to be parked or two larger aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and the B737.
Will the 2009 Universiade mascot “Srba” bring Jat much needed passengers?
In 3 days the world’s largest sporting event of the year and the second largest sporting event after the Summer Olympics will begin in Belgrade. The 2009 Summer Universiade Games will bring 10.000 athletes to Belgrade and over 15.000 visitors. The event which Belgrade has been preparing for the last 4 years will be officially open in the evening hours of July 1. Jat Airways is the official carrier of the 25th edition of this sporting event. It hopes that the sharp rise in passengers resulting from Universiade could finally end its continual passenger decline. The rise in passengers is expected to have occurred in the last 2 weeks of June. The second wave of passengers will occur in mid July when Universiade ends which is good news for the airline’s July results. The rise in passenger flow has certainly been felt by other airlines operating to Belgrade with most sending larger aircraft to operate during the week including Russia’s Aeroflot which sent its 4 engined Ilyushin Il-96.
Jat will be the official carrier of Universiade for a second time, after it held the same title in 1987 for the Universiade in Zagreb. Over the years Jat has also been the official carrier of the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo in 1984. Universiade will be the largest sporting event ever to be held in Belgrade and Serbia.
The start to Jat’s pre-Universiade passenger rise has not gone too well. On Thursday the Serbian carrier’s B737-400 had problems with starting up one of its engines and therefore the pilots decided to wait for spare parts to arrive from Belgrade to Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt). The aircraft finally departed 24 hours later on Friday evening. The trouble continued when one of Jat’s B737-300s operating from Tripoli to Belgrade had to land in Malta after a passenger felt very ill. As a result of these two aircraft being extremely late on their arrival into Belgrade, many of Jat’s flights have been delayed and some even cancelled. The schedule is expected to be normalised by Sunday morning.
Jat has also announced that it will bring forward its services to Dubrovnik. The flights which will resume to the Croatian coast town after more than 18 years will be Jat’s second in Croatia after Pula and will begin on July 2, rather than July 6 as previously announced.
Pegasus Airlines 3 times per week from Belgrade
After a long row with Turkish Aviation authorities the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has approved a license for charter carrier Atlasjet and Pegasus Airlines to commence services to Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport, in return for the 300 charter flights Jat Airways will operate to the Turkish coast this summer. Both airlines have received a license to operate 3 weekly flights from Antalya to Belgrade although both airlines have yet to disclose how they will organise their flights. Atalsjet will also commence flights from Serbia’s third largest city, Niš, from June 16. Another Turkish airline is also interested in commencing services from Serbia to Turkey. The airline in question is Tailwind, which has shown interest in flights from Niš. The spokesperson for the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has said that the airline will most probably receive a license if it requests one. Tailwind is a British/Turkish joint venture airline which has 3 aircraft in its fleet and began services a month ago.
However, Serbian tour operators, which have been determined to see Turkish carriers commencing services to Belgrade, are now stepping away from previous comments and sticking to the national carrier Jat Airways. Serbian tour operators are sceptical to use Atalsjet due to the air disaster the airline had 2 years ago where 56 passengers lost their life. Further scepticism comes from using Tailwind Airlines due to the fact that it is unknown and new. Tour operators have welcomed the news that Jat Airways will decrease ticket prices on charter flights by 5% but they are demanding a further reduction. A spokesperson for Jat says that tickets for charter flights on Jat Airways are significantly cheaper than last year and that ticket prices only account for 20% of the entire arrangement holiday makers pay to their tour operators.
Jat charters to Turkey get green light
The intense battle waged by Jat Airways to operate charters to Turkey has finally come to a close and the Serbian national carrier walks away as the victor. The airline has been granted the right to begin services from Belgrade to Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum with the first charter service leaving Nikola Tesla Airport this evening.
The row with the Turkish Aviation Agency began when its Serbian counterpart declined to issue an operating charter license to airlines from Turkey which wanted to commence services to Belgrade. Instead, 3 of these airlines were given a license to operate to Niš, Serbia’s second largest city. Unhappy with this, the Turkish authorities revoked Jat its rights to operate 300 charter flights to Turkey during this summer season.
The breakthrough came yesterday after 9 hours of negotiating between the two sides in the Turkish capital Ankara. The row with Turkey seriously threatened Jat’s charter operations which have been the only sector recording big success for the airline this year. However, it has not yet been disclosed if the Turkish side has received something in return. The Serbian Directorate for Civil Aviation argued that the Turkish government should be happy with the fact that Serbian tourists are choosing to spend their summer in Turkey and therefore easing the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, after Jat’s Boeing B737-300 registered YU-ANJ received a new look interior, a second aircraft is to follow and expected to enter service during next week. During the fitting of Jat’s new cabin in YU-ANJ, the engines were also replaced with new ones. Another piece of news regarding Jat’s fleet includes a B737-300 registered YU-ANI, which is wearing the titles of Air Ivoire, the national carrier of the Ivory Coast. This is because the airline has been serving in Abidjan for the past few months and will once again be leased to the African carrier from July 1, 2009 until late October this year. The aircraft will replace Air Ivoire’s MD80s.
Priština Airport awaits Scanderbeg Air
The New York based Scanderbeg Air Corporation announced that it will commence nonstop flights between Priština and New York City this month. The 8 hour service between Priština and JFK Airport will be operated by a 214-seat Boeing B767-200ER, with flights starting on June 16. The airline’s executive director Petrit Ujkaj also said that the airline will begin nonstop flights to the Albanian capital, Tirana, on June 14.The new services are targeted at the Albanian Diaspora in the United States. This will not be the first time an airline has ventured to commence transatlantic flight to Priština. In 2007, ATA Airlines began flights to Tirana via Priština from New York. The American airline declared bankruptcy in April of 2008 and therefore did not return to the two cities during the 2008 summer season. The new flights to New York from Priština will operate on a seasonal basis.
Scanderbeg Air was established earlier this year by Albanian tour operators in the United States. The airline has a total of 2 aircraft (Boeing B767-200ERs) and will operate its maiden service by commencing flights to Tirana on June 14. The average return ticket price to Priština amounts to 1.200 American dollar (approximately 845 Euros), all taxes included. Ticket prices to Tirana are somewhat cheaper. Therefore, Priština will once again be the only city in the region to offer direct flights to New York.
All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.
Busy apron at Dubrovnik Airport
After a total of 18 years Serbia’s Jat Airways will inaugurate services to the Croatian seaside town of Dubrovnik on Monday July 6, 2009, after the airline was given approval by the Croatian Aviation Agency. Flight JU720 will operate from Belgrade to Dubrovnik every Monday and Thursday using the 66-seat ATR72. The flights will operate throughout July and August. This will be Jat’s second destination in Croatia after it resumed flights to Pula last year. Jat is hoping that the Croatian Aviation Agency will grant Jat the right to fly to Pula on a year round basis. According to sources this is also the wish of the management at Pula Airport. This is because the airport can only count on Croatia Airlines with its scheduled flight to Zagreb during the winter. Pula has turned out to be one of Jat’s most profitable services with an average cabin occupancy index of 98%. The agreement which allows Jat to fly to Croatia also allows Croatia Airlines to begin services to 2 Serbian cities of their choice although so far Croatia Airlines has shown no interest.
Meanwhile, the enlargement of Dubrovnik Airport continues. Construction work on the 147 million Euro reconstruction of Terminal B at Dubrovnik Airport is in the final phases.
B&H staff at the launch of the Sarajevo – Dusseldorf service
The CEO of the national airline of Bosnia and Herzegovina, B&H Airlines, has announced that the carrier has big plans which include doubling the current number of passengers and opening new services. Nudžeim Rečica says that the carrier overcame many difficulties, from being a failed airline called Air Bosnia to becoming a strategic partner of Turkish Airlines. B&H Airlines has recently received a Boeing B737-400, the third aircraft in its fleet, and as a result has begun services to many new cities. The airline’s management has ambitious plans for the carrier. During 2008, a total of 70.000 people travelled with B&H Airlines but the airline only held a 17% share of passengers from its hub Sarajevo. With the new aircraft the carrier expects to take over passengers from other airlines, particularly to Scandinavia and Germany. The airline’s management expects it can have a 30% share of all passengers departing from Sarajevo by the end of the year. Rečica says that the carrier could transport 250.000 passengers per year. B&H should receive another B737-400 by the end of the year while a third jet engine aircraft will be considered.
Yesterday, B&H Airlines’ management held talks with the Montenegrin minister for transportation as the Bosnian airline plans to commence services from Sarajevo to Skopje via Podgorica. The service would operate in form of a charter flight with 3 weekly flights. The service would operate with an ATR72. The Montenegrin minister said flights could begin within 2 weeks. B&H Airlines operates flights to Skopje but does not fly to Podgorica.
Tehran
Croatia’s national carrier is in negotiations with a tour operator to begin seasonal summer charter services from Dubrovnik to Tehran, the capital of Iran. The last group of Iranian tourists visited Croatia’s coast in 2007 when Turkish Airlines offered services from Tehran to Zadar in cooperation with Croatia Airlines. However, this arrangement did not continue into 2008 due to the political situation in Iran. Currently Croatia Airlines is unable to come to an agreement with the tour operator in order to begin services to Iran. Nevertheless the management of the Croatian national carrier believes that the service to Tehran could be very profitable if operated during July and August in cooperation with a tour operator. Croatia has invested greatly in the promotion of its tourism offer in Iran in the past few months. Croatia Airlines is hoping that this way it will contribute to the Croatian tourism industry which is facing an extremely difficult summer due to the global financial crisis. If the flights become a reality it would be Croatia Airlines’ longest service.
Meanwhile, Croatia Airlines will be wet leasing a single Bombardier CRJ200 from Adria Airways. The aircraft, registered S5-AAG, is in the Star Alliance livery. It will be used mainly on services from Zagreb to Munich, Zadar and Pula until the arrival of Croatia Airlines’ new Dash Q400 in July.
More visits to Skopje - Austrian Arrows Bombardier Q400
Austrian Airlines will be adding an extra four services a week, on top of the existing Vienna to Skopje daily flights to be operated by Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. MAT Macedonian Airlines operated this service 4 times per week in a code share agreement with Austrian. As MAT has been grounded, the code share will now end and Austrian Airlines has committed itself to flying the route with its own services. The existing daily flights will remain the same, and as such the carrier will move to 11 services a week. “The new step represents a significant expansion in seating capacity. The Balkan region represents an essential and strong pillar of the strategy of Austrian Airlines”, the carrier said in a statement.
Operating under the Austrian Arrows brand, the new 72 seat Bombardier services will be operational from June 2 this year. Macedonian Airlines (MAT) has run out of aircraft in the past three weeks following the misunderstandings between the carrier and the Civil Aviation Agency, which were triggered by the overhaul of MAT's sole aircraft, the Boeing B737-500.
From June 1, 2009, Adria Airways will have the greatest share of services from Skopje. It will have a share of 19.7% of all flights, Jat Airways will enjoy a share of 16.9%, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Austrian Airlines both with 15.4% of all flights from Skopje, Croatia Airlines with 11.2%, CSA Czech Airlines with 8.4%, Turkish Airlines with 7%, B&H Airlines with 4.2% and Bulgaria Air with 1.4%.
Banja Luka Airport terminal building
B&H Airlines and Serbia’s Jat Airways are negotiating with the airport of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city, Banja Luka, in order to begin new services from the airport. Jat Airways, which currently operates 3 flights per week from Belgrade, is interested in beginning services to Tivat in Montenegro from mid June. Banja Luka Airport is trying to persuade B&H Airlines to introduce a stopover on its new flights from Sarajevo to either Stockholm, Gothenburg or Copenhagen. B&H Airlines operates 3 flights per week from Banja Luka to Zurich which according to Banja Luka Airport CEO is recording satisfactory passenger numbers. “The flights to Zurich are very popular which is the reason why the number of flights have been increased from 2 to 3 per week”, Velimir Bobić, Banja Luka Airport CEO said.
During 2008 a total of 12.000 passengers passed through the airport’s doors, while this year the number is expected to be significantly increased. The airport’s management believes that passenger figures would be even higher if the rigorous visa regime currently in place would be lifted. Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina must have visas to travel to any country within the European Union and they are often difficult to get.
Currently, the cost of tickets from Banja Luka to Belgrade one way amount to 148 Convertible Bosnian Marks (75 Euros) while a return ticket costs 273 Convertible Bosnian Marks (139 Euros). A one way ticket on flights to Zurich cost approximately 178 Euros, although there are 10 different pricing options, all of which depend on the amount passengers stay in either Zurich or Banja Luka, depending on which city they travelled to. Plans for the launch of the low cost Sky Srpska, which was to have its hub in Banja Luka, have been delayed until further notice.
Dubrovnik Airlines soon with regular low cost flights
As the peak of the summer season begins to arrive, new airlines have announced services to and from Croatian cities. The national airline, Croatia Airlines, will face serious competition in Zagreb from the local charter Dubrovnik Airlines as it announces regular low cost services. Dubrovnik Airlines, founded 5 years ago and based in Dubrovnik, has until now operated European charter services with its 5 member fleet combination of MD82s (3 aircraft) and MD83s (2 aircraft). The airline will inaugurate low cost regular flights out of Zagreb from June. Flights will operate to Helsinki twice per week, Madrid three times per week, Rome three times per week and Stockholm also 3 times per week. Madrid is shaping up to be the new destination of the year as Iberia also prepares to launch the service later in July. All flight details will be visible soon on the right hand side in the new route launches section. Despite competing with Croatia Airlines, Dubrovnik Airlines has leased one of its MD83s to Croatia Airlines as the national carrier awaits the arrival of its delayed Bombardier Q400 jets which are now scheduled to arrive in June.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian charter carrier Lotus Air will unexpectedly begin services to Osijek. These flights, which begin on June 15, were originally supposed to operate from Hurghada to Belgrade however the Serbian Aviation Authority has denied issuing the Egyptian charter carrier a license, in order to protect the national carrier Jat. Serbian tour operators which have already made agreements with Lotus Air will now have to transport their holiday makers to Osiejk where they will connect to Hurghada. Jat Airways still has a license to operate charter services to Egypt with services to Hurghada, Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh. However, Jat recently lost its charter license for flights to Antalya, Turkey after the Turkish authorities were unsatisfied with the fact that Turkish charter airlines only received a license to operate to Niš, but not to Belgrade within Serbia.
B&H Airlines is terminating services to Prague and Berlin due to their low profitability. The 2 destinations were launched over the summer after the Bosnian national carrier received a Boeing B737-400 from Turkish Airlines. The services to Prague and Berlin were launched as part of 9 new destinations B&H had started up. Flights to Prague, which operated 4 times per week, will be terminated today while flights to Berlin, which operate 2 times per week, will cease on September 15. The flights had problems from the very beginning as the launch date of the services were constantly delayed and moved due to low passenger interest. Most other recently launched services are also unprofitable due to a lack of interest on behalf of passengers. During the summer B&H Airlines launched flights to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Skopje and Podgorica, together with Prague and Berlin.
