CHINA: Daxing Airport Opening Next Week.

Aircraft have begun to arrive at Beijing’s new Daxing Airport. The news comes ahead of the airports opening, expected to happen within the next week.

For some time now, Beijing’s Capital Airport (PEK) has been slowly filling up. As such the decision was made not to replace the airport, but to complement it.

The finished project is Beijing Daxing Airport (PKX). Daxing is a new four runway mega airport with plenty of room for future expansion. After years of hard work, the airport is finally set to open within the next week, with China United Airlines set to be the launch operator.

Beijing Daxing Airport will be launched initially with China United Airlines. The carrier is currently the only commercial user of a nearby airport named Beijing Nanyuan Airport. However, it is set to pack up shop and relocate to the new Daxing Airport.

As the airline’s current airport will be closed after it departs, China United Airlines is expected to move all of its assets to Daxing in one overnight operation. This will involve most of the airlines’ Boeing 737 aircraft being ferried across in one go.

China United Airlines’ first aircraft arrived in Beijing a week ago. However, this aircraft appeared unaccompanied, having sat on the ground ever since according to data from FlightRadar24.

The first aircraft to arrive was a Boeing 737-800 which operated the ferry flight with the flight number KN1001.

More recently, China United Airlines has repositioned five more Boeing 737 aircraft under flight numbers ranging from KN1001 to KN1007.

This brings the total number of China United Aircraft on the ground to six. These aircraft may be currently going unused for the airline’s flight schedule, as it could store the aircraft at the new airport today.

For other airlines, the move will be much more simple. Take British Airways and LOT Polish Airlines, for example.

They will both one day depart from Beijing Capital and fly back to their respective bases. The next day they will simply land slightly further south at the new Beijing airport instead.

While the move may be slightly more stressful for the other Chinese carriers, there will still likely be a large amount of planning going on.

However, these airlines don’t have the pressure of an airport closing behind them. As such, if something somehow misses the migration, it is not the end of the world. Around 13 hours ago a China Eastern Airbus A350 also landed at the airport.

Tourism Observer

USA: LOT Polish To Fly Non Stop To San Francisco

San Francisco will see an influx of new European carriers next year, with LOT Polish Airlines the latest to land in the California city.

The Star Alliance carrier will begin new service between its Warsaw (WAW) base and San Francisco (SFO) on Aug. 5, the airport confirmed Monday.

The new route will operate four days a week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — with a Boeing 787 aircraft.

LOT joins Alitalia in announcing new service to San Francisco in the past week. Last week, the Italian carrier unveiled plans to add service between Rome Fiumicino (FCO) and San Francisco on June 1.

Both announcements followed Icelandair’s disclosure that it will end flights to San Francisco in January. The Icelandic carrier cited commercial reasons, as well as the ongoing impact of the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, for the move.

We are thrilled that LOT Polish Airlines has chosen SFO for their nonstop flights to Warsaw, SFO airport director Ivar Satero said in a statement. This move reinforces SFO as the international gateway of choice for the San Francisco Bay Area.

With LOT’s new route, San Francisco will boast nonstops to 19 cities in Europe next summer, according to Diio by Cirium schedules. United Airlines, which operates a large hub at the Bay Area airport, operates six of those routes.

Tourism Observer

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Goes To Lublin And Other New Destinations

LOT Polish Airlines on 3 September commenced five times weekly services between its hub at Warsaw Chopin (WAW) and Lublin (LUZ).

The 156-kilometre domestic route will be operated by a 78-seat Q400, with no competitors currently serving this city pair.

The Polish flag carrier last operated the route in January 2015, with rival Small Planet serving the city pair until October 2017.

The outbound service departs Warsaw at 13:40, touching down in Lublin at 14:25, with the return leg leaving at 15:10 to land back in the Polish capital at 16:00.

The year-round service marks the 99th route for LOT.

The carrier’s only other direct service from Lublin in S18 is a connection to Tel Aviv, which operates twice-weekly.

Meanwhile, LOT Polish Airlines is back in Berlin.

LOT Polish Airlines now flies 12 times weekly to Berlin Tegel (TXL) from its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) hub, having ceased operations to the German capital in July 2013.

The route, which started on 4 December, is operated by the Star Alliance carrier’s Q400s and E170s, and a third daily flight will be added from June 2018.

Tegel is the sixth airport in Germany that LOT Polish Airlines operates to, with Nuremburg soon to become the seventh.

LOT Polish Airlines is back in Berlin. We are pleased that the airline is resuming its connection to Warsaw, says Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, CEO of Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

We share a long history: LOT was one of the first airlines at Schönefeld Airport.

It is good to know that they are once again securing this important route into the economic centre of our neighbours. There is no competition on the airport pair.

LOT Polish Airlines introduced services between Warsaw Chopin (WAW) and Oslo Gardermoen (OSL).

The Star Alliance member will offer 13 weekly flights on the 1,078-kilometre European capital connection using its fleet of E195s.

Competition on the route comes from Norwegian and SAS, with the rivals offering 10 weekly rotations combined between the two airports when referencing OAG schedules.

LOT Polish Airlines introduced two routes to its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) operation on 2 July, beginning a 12 times weekly service to Billund (BLL), plus a six times weekly link to Zaporizhia (OZH).

Both 867- and 1,125-kilometre sectors to the Danish and Ukrainian cities will be flown using the Star Alliance member’s mixed fleet of Embraer aircraft, with neither city pair expected to face direct competition in S18.

By launching flights to Billund, LOT becomes the Danish city’s 11th hub operator, with it joining airBaltic (Riga), Air France (Paris CDG), British Airways (London Heathrow), Brussels Airlines (Brussels).

Also Finnair (Helsinki), Icelandair (Reykjavik/Keflavik), KLM (Amsterdam), Lufthansa (Frankfurt), SAS (Copenhagen, Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda) and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul Atatürk) on the airport’s apron.

For Zaporizhia, LOT becomes the Ukrainian airport’s third hub operator after Ukraine International Airlines (Kiev Boryspil) and Turkish Airlines (Atatürk).

LOT Polish Airlines launched flights between Bydgoszcz (BZG) in Poland and Kiev Zhulyany (IEV) in Ukraine on 3 August.

The Star Alliance member will offer a twice-weekly (Mondays and Fridays) service on the 906-kilometre city pair using its mixed fleet of E170s and E175s.

The airline will operate this route between the Polish and Ukrainian cities using a Warsaw Chopin-based aircraft, with it operating a Chopin – Zhulyany – Bydgoszcz – Zhulyany – Chopin rotation.

No other airline currently flies between Bydgoszcz and Zhulyany, however it should be noted that from 28 October Ryanair will begin a twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Sundays) rotation on the airport pair.

Along with Kiev Zhulyany, LOT offers a twice-weekly service between Bydgoszcz and Lviv in Ukraine.

It does not operate any further routes from the Polish city. With this launch, Bydgoszcz now has scheduled services to 13 destinations, with Ryanair serving Birmingham, Dublin, London Luton, London Stansted, Glasgow (ending 26 October) and Weeze.

Lufthansa offers flights to Frankfurt, while Onur Air links to Antalya and Travel Service Poland operates weekly rotations to Corfu, Dubrovnik and Zakynthos.

LOT Polish Airlines added its latest Asian spoke to its network on 15 May – Singapore (SIN) – with the Star Alliance member now linking its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) hub to the destination three times weekly.

The carrier will operate the 9,408-kilometre route using its 787-8s, with no other airline presently linking the two cities.

We are delighted to welcome LOT Polish’s new service which now connects us to Poland. This marks Singapore’s first non-stop link to Central and Eastern Europe, and will provide passengers with greater convenience and travel options.

It also presents growth opportunities for leisure and business travel in both regions, commented Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of Singapore Airport on the carrier’s launch.

According to the Asian airport, in 2017 traffic between Singapore and the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region totalled over 258,000 passenger movements.

Along with its flights to Singapore, another route launched by the airline from Chopin this week was Kaunas (KUN) in Lithuania, with LOT becoming the first hub carrier to serve the airport.

Flights on the short 372-kilometre hop will operate six times weekly (no Saturday services) and be flown by the carrier’s fleet of Q400s.

Services from the Polish capital city to the Lithuanian city will depart at 22:35, landing into Kaunas at 00:45, resulting in a night-stop at Kaunas.

Return flights to Warsaw then depart the following morning at 06:15, allowing for seamless connections onto morning services from LOT’s hub to destinations throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

LOT Polish Airlines commenced a weekly service between Rzeszow (RZE) and Tel Aviv (TLV) on 11 March, with the 737-800-operated service being flown on a Warsaw Chopin-based aircraft, routing Chopin–Tel Aviv–Rzeszow–Tel Aviv–Chopin.

The 2,274-kilometre airport pair launched by the Star Alliance member this week will not face direct competition, and will operate inbound from Tel Aviv on Saturday evenings, with the outbound leg from Rzeszow being flown on Sunday mornings.

With this launch, LOT now serves Tel Aviv from six airports in Poland on 21 weekly flights.

LOT Polish Airlines commenced a weekly service between Rzeszow (RZE) and Tel Aviv (TLV) on 11 March, with the 737-800-operated service being flown on a Warsaw Chopin-based aircraft, routing Chopin–Tel Aviv–Rzeszow–Tel Aviv–Chopin.

The 2,274-kilometre airport pair launched by the Star Alliance member this week will not face direct competition, and will operate inbound from Tel Aviv on Saturday evenings, with the outbound leg from Rzeszow being flown on Sunday mornings.

With this launch, LOT now serves Tel Aviv from six airports in Poland on 21 weekly flights.

LOT Polish Airlines introduced two routes to its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) operation on 2 July, beginning a 12 times weekly service to Billund (BLL), plus a six times weekly link to Zaporizhia (OZH).

Both 867- and 1,125-kilometre sectors to the Danish and Ukrainian cities will be flown using the Star Alliance member’s mixed fleet of Embraer aircraft, with neither city pair expected to face direct competition in S18.

By launching flights to Billund, LOT becomes the Danish city’s 11th hub operator, with it joining airBaltic (Riga), Air France (Paris CDG), British Airways (London Heathrow), Brussels Airlines (Brussels), Finnair (Helsinki), Icelandair (Reykjavik/Keflavik), KLM (Amsterdam), Lufthansa (Frankfurt), SAS (Copenhagen, Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda) and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul Atatürk) on the airport’s apron.

For Zaporizhia, LOT becomes the Ukrainian airport’s third hub operator after Ukraine International Airlines (Kiev Boryspil) and Turkish Airlines (Atatürk).


Tourism Observer

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Announced Warsaw To Miami Nonstop Flights From June 1, 2019

LOT Polish Airlines has announced the launch of Miami-Warsaw nonstop passenger service scheduled for June 1, 2019, giving Miami International Airport the only nonstop route between Florida and Eastern Europe, as well as the airport’s first-ever service to Poland.

Warsaw will further expand Miami International Airport’s current network of twenty European destinations, while Miami will join LOT’s five other nonstop destinations in North America.

LOT Polish Airlines is an exciting addition to MIA’s growing roster of international carriers, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

This new connection to Eastern Europe will go a long way toward expanding MIA’s role as a true global gateway.

LOT will operate four weekly flights with new generation Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that seat 252 passengers.

LOT’s hub operation at Warsaw Chopin Airport provides passengers more than 350 daily flights to 100 destinations worldwide, as well as extensive connections throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Miami is currently one of the largest markets in the U.S so far not served by LOT, said Rafał Milczarski, LOT Chief Executive Officer.

It is the first such convenient connection between Central and Eastern Europe and Florida with almost half a million passengers per year traveling between the two regions.

Thanks to our broad network of connections and the most convenient transfers offered via the hub in Warsaw, I am sure that many passengers from Miami will take advantage of our latest offer and fly on our board to Budapest, Prague, Kiev or Tel-aviv.

LOT, which launched operations in 1928, is considered one of the fastest-growing airlines in Europe today, with seven million passengers onboard each year.

LOT’s fleet of 73 aircraft is also one of the youngest and most modern in Europe.

We eagerly look forward to welcoming LOT Polish Airlines’ Warsaw service next summer, said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Lester Sola.

We are proud to be their first destination in Florida and to be part of their ongoing expansion into North America.


Tourism Observer

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Introduces Latest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner With Unique White And Red Livery

LOT Polish Airlines has introduced its latest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (SP-LSC) featuring a unique white and red livery, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence.

The special livery was inspired by a waving Polish flag moved by the take-off momentum. On the front doors, the outline of the Polish borders will be visible on the aircraft, with one side of the door holding a sign saying “Dumni z niepodległości Polski” or Proud of Poland’s Independence.

It is the first time in the carrier’s history that they have implemented a special paint job onto one of their aircraft.

2018 is a significant year for Poland due to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of regaining independence, said Adrian Kubicki, Director of Corporate Communications.

LOT, as a national carrier, naturally acts as a Polish ambassador abroad.

As a national carrier, we welcome in Poland guests from around the world, offering them almost one hundred connections within our network, he added.

SP-LSC is a third of seven ordered 787-9s in the carrier’s order book. The aircraft seats 294, which is 42 more than the 787-8.

The aircraft has 24 seats in Business, 21 in Premium Economy, as well as 249 in standard Economy Class. The jet is 63 meters long, meaning that it is over six meters longer than its -8 sibling.

The livery will operate on the carrier’s long-haul flights to South America and Asia, with the aircraft also featuring the logo of the Niepodlegla or Independence program, which is an element of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of regaining independence.

By the end of 2019, LOT Polish will have 15 Dreamliners in its fleet, featuring eight -8s and seven -9s, all of which have been obtained under operational and financial leasing.

This means that LOT’s strategy for 2016-2020 will be implemented at least one year ahead of schedule.

On top of the Dreamliners, LOT is currently waiting for delivery for more 737 MAX 8s that they have ordered.

The carrier has SP-LVA and SP-LVB currently in service and by 2020, they expect to have 12 in its fleet.

The arrival of one of their 737 MAX 8s in the second half of June will also bear the white and red color scheme. The second plane will feature the airline’s standard livery.

Collectively, LOT will receive two specially painted planes from the Boeing plant, being SP-LSC and their upcoming 737 MAX 8 (SP-LVC).

We are proud that our national colors will decorate two of our most modern planes. We aspire to be the aviation leader in Central and Eastern Europe and our fleet purchases are part of that goal, added Kubicki.


Tourism Observer

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Introduces Flights To Gothenburg,Israel,Berlin Tegel,Oslo,Hannover, Domodedovo And Podgorica

LOT Polish Airlines has introduced a hat-trick of new routes, including one to Russia, the host country of the upcoming World Cup Finals.

The Polish flag carrier launched services from Warsaw Chopin (WAW) to Podgorica (TGD) on 2 June, to Moscow Domodedovo (DME) on 3 June and to Hannover (HAJ) on 4 June.

The 1,096-kilometre Podgorica connection and the 1,165-kilometre Domodedovo link will both be operated six times per week by the airline’s E-Jet aircraft.

The 766-kilometre Hannover route will be flown 12 times per week with E170s. None of the routes face incumbent competition.

LOT Polish Airlines introduced Gothenburg (GOT) to its network this week, beginning a six times weekly service to Warsaw Chopin (WAW).

Launched 28 August, the 824-kilometre route is already flown by Wizz Air three times weekly on A320s.

It is very pleasing for Swedavia to be able to offer more travelers a quick and easy line to the trendy and exciting city of Warsaw.

It is also an important line for business travelers in both Poland and Western Sweden, said Charlotte Ljunggren, Director, Gothenburg Airport.

LOT will operate the route using 70-seat CRJ 900s which it flies on behalf of Nordica, which on the same day began services to Gothenburg from Tallinn.

Gothenburg becomes LOT’s second route to Sweden from Chopin, with it also serving Stockholm Arlanda with three daily flights.

LOT Polish Airlines commenced a weekly service between Rzeszow (RZE) and Tel Aviv (TLV) on 11 March, with the 737-800-operated service being flown on a Warsaw Chopin-based aircraft, routing Chopin–Tel Aviv–Rzeszow–Tel Aviv–Chopin.

The 2,274-kilometre airport pair launched by the Star Alliance member this week will not face direct competition, and will operate inbound from Tel Aviv on Saturday evenings, with the outbound leg from Rzeszow being flown on Sunday mornings.

With this launch, LOT now serves Tel Aviv from six airports in Poland on 21 weekly flights.

LOT Polish Airlines now flies 12 times weekly to Berlin Tegel (TXL) from its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) hub, having ceased operations to the German capital in July 2013.

The route, which started on 4 December, is operated by the Star Alliance carrier’s Q400s and E170s, and a third daily flight will be added from June 2018.

Tegel is the sixth airport in Germany that LOT Polish Airlines operates to, with Nuremburg soon to become the seventh.

LOT Polish Airlines is back in Berlin. We are pleased that the airline is resuming its connection to Warsaw, says Engelbert LUtke Daldrup, CEO of Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

We share a long history: LOT was one of the first airlines at Schonefeld Airport. It is good to know that they are once again securing this important route into the economic centre of our neighbours.

There is no competition on the airport pair.

LOT Polish Airlines introduced services between Warsaw Chopin (WAW) and Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) on 25 March.

The Star Alliance member will offer 13 weekly flights on the 1,078-kilometre European capital connection using its fleet of E195s.

Competition on the route comes from Norwegian and SAS, with the rivals offering 10 weekly rotations combined between the two airports when referencing OAG schedules.

LOT Polish Airlines now flies 12 times weekly to Berlin Tegel (TXL) from its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) hub, having ceased operations to the German capital in July 2013.

The route, which started on 4 December, is operated by the Star Alliance carrier’s Q400s and E170s, and a third daily flight will be added from June 2018.

Tegel is the sixth airport in Germany that LOT Polish Airlines operates to, with Nuremburg soon to become the seventh.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) Is Most Compliant Airline At Heathrow Airport

London’s main gateway, Heathrow Airport (LHR) has unveiled its quarterly list featuring the top 50 noisiest, nastiest, most polluting airlines that fly into the busy airport.

The world’s seventh busiest airport, which registered the 78 million passenger mark in 2017, publishes this list on a quarterly basis, depicting those airlines that like behave, and those that don’t.

During the first quarter of 2018, EgyptAir hits the bottom of the list as the worst airline in the - noise quota count per seat measure.

This section measures the amount of noise a plane makes in relation to the number of passengers it carries.

The Egyptian carrier also scored the last spot, becoming the noisiest, and the one with most violations.

According to LHR, the Cairo-based airline flew routes, and that were less compliant with the noise abatement regulations around the airport.

The airline currently operates four flights per day to Cairo, departing at 13:30, 15:00, 21:05, and 22:35.

London-Heathrow has received thousands of complaints over the last decade because of the noise arriving and departing aircraft produce when operating in/out of the airport.

For this reason, there are pre-established arriving and departing noise preferred routes that airlines must comply with.

EgyptAir’s poor ranking is commensurate with its current flight schedule. The airline often runs delayed between the 23:30 and 04:30 curfew.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) scored the first spot as the most compliant airline of all.

Out of a possible score of 1,000 points, SAS landed at 944.

In the second place, LOT Polish Airlines follows with 938. Aer Lingus, Etihad Airways, Flybe, British Airways, Finnair, Delta, United, and Iberia complete the top-10.

During the same period in 2017, British Airways came up in the first spot, followed by Aer Lingus.

Etihad managed to keep the third spot for its second consecutive year.

As far as the local airlines are concerned, Virgin Atlantic keeps the 17th spot, scoring a modest 855 points.

The airline scored the 6th spot in noise quota per seat but dropped to the 36th spot in track keeping violations.

Flybe, however, was the number-one in noise certification, engine emissions certification, and early movements between 23:30 and 04:30.

British Airways (BA) long haul made the 22nd spot with an 824 mark.

The airline reached the second place in noise quota and emissions per seat. However, it fell to the last spot in engine emissions certification.

In the short haul segment, BA remains within the Top 10, scoring 935 points. The airline made the number-one position in noise quota and emissions per seat mark.

Overall, it’s a positive result for the British carriers, scoring decent points and remaining in acceptable positions against its competitors.

The middle of the table finds some interesting airlines.

In the 20th spot, Air India marked an 840 score, followed by Cathay Pacific, Aegean Airlines, Swiss, Qatar Airways, Air France, South African, Eurowings, Singapore, and Thai Airways.

Two of the Middle East Big Three carriers are outside the Top-10. Qatar Airways made the 29th spot in track keeping violations and 35th in continuous descent approach violations.

Emirates, on the other hand, made the 11th overall spot with 881 points.

The Dubai-based giant sometimes brings up to six Airbus A380s per day into LHR—one of the most silent aircraft in the industry.

However, it made the 16th spot in noise quota per seat, mainly because some of its flights operate between late night or early morning hours.

The worst 10 airlines, other than EgyptAir, are Kuwait Airways (49), Turkish Airlines [short haul] (48), El Al (47), Pakistan International Airlines (46), Turkish Airlines [long haul] (45), Korean Air (44), DHL (43), China Southern (42), Air China (41), and Gulf Air (40) complete the list.

Last year, El Al occupied the last spot, scoring 362 points.

This year, however, the Tel Aviv-based carrier scored 528, occupying the 47th place—a three-spot improvement.

In January, LHR announced that environmental charges over airlines increased 7%, starting from January 1, 2018.

The airport expects to reduce the impact on local communities by making it cleaner and quieter with the restructured environmental charge, encouraging airlines to deploy its newest aircraft on LHR-bound routes.

This is the best way to cut emissions and shrink the noise footprint around the airport.

It is a tangible step that will make a real difference to local communities, said John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow CEO.

The new environmental charge forms part of Heathrow’s sustainability strategy called Heathrow 2.0. The airport’s goal is to reach at least a 50% of its passengers to travel in “sustainable transport” by 2030.

This quarterly list is, therefore, a clever way of showing which airlines comply with the airport’s regulations.

By 2025, Heathrow 2.0, will establish an airside ultra-low emission zone, to improve quality of life of local communities through cleaner air.

Heathrow has also been recognized as the Best Airport in Western Europe and for the 9th year in a row, Best Airport for Shopping.

This achievement follows what has been a successful year for the airport, carrying 78 million passengers annually.

The 82% of passengers surveyed in 2017 rated their experience traveling through Heathrow as Excellent or Very Good.

On top of this, Heathrow recorded a personal best in improving flight punctuality with 80.2% of flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departures.


Tourism Observer

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Starts Flying To Kaunas And Singapore

LOT Polish Airlines added its latest Asian spoke to its network on 15 May – Singapore (SIN) – with the Star Alliance member now linking its Warsaw Chopin (WAW) hub to the destination three times weekly.

The carrier will operate the 9,408-kilometre route using its 787-8s, with no other airline presently linking the two cities.

We are delighted to welcome LOT Polish’s new service which now connects us to Poland.

This marks Singapore’s first non-stop link to Central and Eastern Europe, and will provide passengers with greater convenience and travel options.

It also presents growth opportunities for leisure and business travel in both regions, commented Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of Singapore Airport on the carrier’s launch.

According to the Asian airport, in 2017 traffic between Singapore and the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region totalled over 258,000 passenger movements.

Along with its flights to Singapore, another route launched by the airline from Chopin this week was Kaunas (KUN) in Lithuania, with LOT becoming the first hub carrier to serve the airport.

Flights on the short 372-kilometre hop will operate six times weekly with no Saturday services and be flown by the carrier’s fleet of Q400s.

Services from the Polish capital city to the Lithuanian city will depart at 22:35, landing into Kaunas at 00:45, resulting in a night-stop at Kaunas.

Return flights to Warsaw then depart the following morning at 06:15, allowing for seamless connections onto morning services from LOT’s hub to destinations throughout Europe, Asia and North America.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: Rossiya Airbus Wheel Traps Worker's Foot

Rossiya Airbus A319-100, performing flight from London Gatwick to Saint Petersburg, was being pushed back for departure when the aircraft was stopped.

Emergency services staff responded to attend to a ground worker, who became trapped with his foot under one of the aircraft’s wheels.

Emergency services released the man and airlifted the ground worker with serious injuries to a hospital.

The aircraft was subsequently returned to the gate, the passengers disembarked.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Gatwick about 6 hours later.

The airport reported an incident took place in which a ground worker received injuries.

Meanwhile, LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 787-800, performing flight from Mexico to Poland, was enroute over the Atlantic Ocean when the crew needed to shut one of the engines down.

The aircraft diverted to New York JFK and landed safely on New York’s runway 04L about 2:15 hours later.

The crew advised no further assistance was needed and taxied to the apron.

A replacement Boeing 787-800 registration SP-LRB departed about 3 hours after landing of SP-LRF and reached Warsaw with a delay of about 5 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in New York about 91 hours after landing.



Tourism Observer

KENYA: Sebastian Mikosz Kenya Airways CEO Appointed To IATA Board

Sebastian Mikosz The Kenya Airways CEO
Kenya Airways chief executive Sebastian Mikosz has been appointed to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) board an interim basis.

Mr Mikosz will stay on the board until next year when IATA holds its annual general meeting in Sydney, Australia, from June 3-5.

I am honoured to be appointed to the Board of IATA. This for me represents an opportunity to bring knowledge, experiences and passion for my profession to serve current, prospective and future communities, while also focusing on diversity and inclusion in the aviation industry, Mr Mikosz said

The KQ chief executive has more than 20 years of professional experience in executive management both in the private and public sector.

Mr Mikosz, who took over at Kenya Airways in June, has previously been CEO of eSky.pl, the leading central European online travel agent.

He has also been president and CEO of LOT Polish Airlines, one of the oldest airlines in the world - a position he held twice including an in depth turnaround of the company.

Kenya Airways is eyeing New York as its first destination when it starts direct flights to the US next year.

The national carrier sees the city as a convenient East Coast aviation hub to mark its entry into the US, before spreading its wings across the world’s biggest economy.

The airline, which last week received regulatory approval to operate direct flights to the US, also estimates that it will move 60,000 passengers in its first year of operation on the route.

We are currently focusing on New York due to the importance of point to point traffic with Nairobi. However, we are also studying other options on the US territory as we may expand our network in the US in the near future, Kenya Airways (KQ) Commercial Director Vincent Coste said in an interview.

In its submissions to the United States government, KQ had said that it plans to launch direct flights in April 2018, although the company has since indicated June 2018 as a more likely date.

New York’s JFK Airport was the United State’s fourth-busiest airport in 2016, according to Airports Council International.

The city is the country’s economic hub and being on the East Coast, it would be easier to reach relative to other hubs such as Atlanta International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare, and LAX on the West Coast.

KQ received a foreign air carrier permit on September 5th from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).

Meanwhile Jetways Airlines, is set to launch daily flights to Diani in November targeting tourists visiting the Kenyan Coast famous for its white sandy beaches and marine sports.

The airline will operate two daily flights to and from Wilson and Ukunda Airstrip. This will be the second scheduled flights route for Jetways, which also flies the Wajir.

Ukunda Airstrip is used by both commercial and chartered aircrafts. Passengers will pay Sh10,000 for a one-way ticket. The firm is flying to Wajir at a promotional fare of Sh6,000.

The airline says it is targeting holiday makers visiting Southern Coast regions that include Tiwi, Diani, Galu, Kinondo and Chale Island.

Diani Beach is one of the most exclusive locations for Kenya beach holidays and has consistently been voted one of the top beaches in Africa,it is home to several organisations such as The East African Whale Shark Trust which works to protect whale sharks,reads a statement on its portal.



Tourism Observer

Airlines In Network Expansion

Two European flag carriers (KLM and SAS) both made the top 15, while British Airways and Lufthansa both only just missed out.

British Airways has done quite well at growing its route network from London Heathrow during the last couple of years. This got our data elves wondering which of Europe’s flag carriers has seen the biggest growth in its route network from its home base in recent times.

The criteria selected was to compare the number of destinations served non-stop at least seven times during 2015 from the airline’s biggest hub,usually serving the country’s main airport in the capital city with the number of destinations served non-stop at least seven times during the whole of 2016 and 2017.

This allows for inclusion of those seasonal services that may only operate once per week during the peak summer period. Some liberties were taken with SAS being counted as the flag carrier for Denmark, Norway and Sweden while Aegean Airlines was designated the national carrier of Greece.

Consideration was given to examining the largest carriers at capital city airports that no longer have an obvious national airline,such as in Cyprus, Hungary or Slovakia but this was rejected for this analysis.

If this kind of analysis had been undertaken a couple of years ago the winner would most likely have been Turkish Airlines, but due to recent events in the country the airline’s network growth has slowed somewhat, though it still serves more destinations non-stop from its Istanbul Atatürk hub than any of its rivals do from their hubs.

However, the European flag carrier airline that will have celebrated the most new route launches in the last two years, come 31 December 2017, will be LOT Polish Airlines, which has seen its network from Warsaw Chopin grow by 28 destinations from 46 in 2015 to 74 in 2016-17.

Many of these ‘new’ routes are actually service resumptions after the carrier cut routes as part of a deal with the EU regarding financial support. LOT was given permission to grow its route network once more from the beginning of 2016 and since then the Star Alliance member has been busy making up for lost time.

While the rapid network growth is indeed impressive it is worth noting that way back in 2010 the airline was already serving more than 70 destinations non-stop from the Polish capital.

Finnair’s rapid growth from its Helsinki base has been more genuine, with the oneworld carrier starting several, low-frequency, seasonal, leisure destinations to its network in S16 and S17.

In 2016 the airline began new routes to Billund, Edinburgh, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Preveza, Puerto Plata, Pula, Rimini, Santorini, Skiathos, Varadero, Varna, Verona and Zakinthos.

This year it has already added service to Alicante and Reykjavik/Keflavik with additional new connections to Astana, Corfu, Goa, Havana, Ibiza, Menorca, Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco set to begin before the end of the year.

KLM’s net gain of 21 new non-stop destinations includes new routes in 2016 to Alicante, Astana, Dresden, Dublin, Genoa, Ibiza, Inverness, Salt Lake City, Southampton, Tehran and Valencia, as well as new services which have either already launched, or will be shortly, to Cagliari, Catania, Freetown, Gdansk, Graz, Malaga, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Porto and Split.

Despite the capacity constraints face by the carrier at Heathrow, British Airways has managed to grow its route network by almost 20 destinations since 2015.

Last year the oneworld carrier added new routes from Europe’s busiest airport to Asturias, Biarritz, Billund, Chania, Doha, Innsbruck, Inverness, Kalamata, Menorca, Muscat, Palermo, San Jose and Tehran, while 2017 will see the UK flag carrier add links to Brindisi, Montpellier, Murcia, Nantes, New Orleans, Pula, Santiago (Chile), Tallinn and Zakinthos.

In terms of destinations served non-stop, Turkish Airlines is way out in front among Europe’s flag carriers with non-stop flights in 2017 to almost 270 destinations, more than any other airline from a single airport anywhere in the world.

In Europe, Lufthansa is in a clear second place with its Frankfurt hub, though the battle for third place is pretty close between Air France, British Airways and KLM. A total of 10 national airlines offer non-stop flights to at least 100 destinations.

The main airports in Denmark (Copenhagen) and Sweden (Stockholm Arlanda) both offer almost 90 destinations with SAS. However, the Scandinavian carrier’s network from Oslo is rather smaller with fewer than 60 destinations served.

KENYA: Sebastian Mikosz To Steamline And Make Profitable Kenya Airlines

Kenya Airways’ new chief executive Sebastian Mikosz is expected to increase its passenger numbers, further cut its operational costs, optimise its assets, review its networks, and reduce its dependency on shareholder bailouts.

The Polish national and aviation turnaround specialist is expected to push the national carrier towards self-sustenance in the short term, The EastAfrican has learnt.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that the incoming chief executive got the job because of his strong aviation experience, reputation and record, which saw him turn around LOT Polish Airlines to profitability after years of government bailouts.

Kenya Airways is facing the same issues his previous airline did. We were impressed with his strategy, as KQ shares a similar challenge. He is up to the task,Mr Macharia said.

His credentials that got him the job. We will be banking on them to make a success out of our airline.

In him, we got the best candidate and his credentials will be a plus to our national carrier. We believe he has what it takes to navigate us back to profitability in the short term,Mr Macharia said.

Mr Mikosz is expected in Nairobi mid this month. He is reputed to be a cost management sleuth, a factor that KQ badly needs to come out of the red.

Kenya Airways needs $600 million to stay on a straight course.

Mr Mikosz was tapped twice, in 2009 and later again in 2013, by the Polish government to head the LOT Polish Airlines, in which the state has a 69.97 per cent stake.

LOT, like KQ today, was in the middle of a financial crisis, had lost its market share, faced a labour crisis and consistently posted losses, which threatened to send it into bankruptcy.

Within six years, in his two stints as the chief executive, he reduce the headcount, improved liquidity and changed the operations style cutting net losses to $42 million, from a massive $187 million.

But during his first stint at LOT, he faced opposition over his proposed workforce and salary cuts, while cutting down its dependence on government aid, and eventually quit after he failed to meet the government’s timelines in the turnaround plan.

The KQ board is pushing for a quick turnaround. In a previous interview, former board chairman Dennis Awori hinted at seeing the airline back to profitability in the next year or two, with a projected profit of $20 million.

We want him to do the turnaround in the shortest time possible as we have a great outlook for Kenya Airways, Mr Macharia said this week.

The incoming chief executive managed to convert the regional European airline into a long range carrier, optimising the use of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet to achieve success.

He is now expected to replicate that with KQ, whose strength has been intra-Africa networks, where it has been pushing the long haul customers to its Sky Alliance partners, including its other shareholder KLM, through codeshare agreements.

We hope to start flights to the United States soon, and through his strategy, we should see more of such operations across the globe, farther in the Americas and East Asia, Mr Macharia said.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Mikosz said that he wanted as little government aid as possible for the Polish Airlines.

I am always not happy reaching out for government assistance. We want the aid to be as small as possible, so we are pushing ahead with cost cutting measures to squeeze as much savings as possible from all the aspects of our operations, he said.

Kenya Airways board chairman Michael Joseph said that outgoing CEO Mbuvi Ngunze will stay on as an advisor till the end of July.

MOLDOVA: Chisinau Airport Passenger Traffic Grew 25 per cent Last Year

Moldova’s increasingly popular Chisinau main gateway airport is enjoying a much-needed renovation boost, despite fears of alleged corrupt ownership practices at the airport, which is being managed under a controversial 49-year government concession contract.

The substantial renovation work follows on from some significant performance improvements at the airport over the last five years, so that 15 carriers now operate scheduled services from Chisinau airport (IATA code: KIV) to 38 destinations in 17 countries.

Six new carriers were attracted during 2015 and early 2016: LOT Polish Airlines, Ural Airlines (Russia), VIM Airlines (Russia), Volotea (Spain), Aegean Airlines (Greece), and Fly One (Moldova).

Newly introduced destinations include Parma, Florence, Brussels, and Russia's Voronezh. Frequencies were increased on several existing routes.

Moldova is a country of modest means, and whilst it is currently on the cusp of both the pro-Russia and pro-EU development opportunities, the nation is especially interested in the fortunes of its hard-currency-earning aviation enterprise – and developing Chisinau airport is viewed as a top priority.

Economically, the country has not been doing particularly well of late: it ranks 131st in the world by purchasing power parity, and among all the post-Soviet states, only Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan fare worse.

Hence the government's keen interest in the future of the country's main air gateway, which saw passenger numbers double from 1.04 million in 2011 to 2.22 million in 2015.

One particular indication of that growing potential is Hungarian carrier Wizz Air’s plan to start using it as its base in the spring of 2017.

Against this positive backdrop, and somewhat controversially, the airport is operated by Avia Invest, a Russian-controlled company which, in November 2013, was handed ‘ownership’ of the airport in an exclusive 49-year concession.

According to the airport's 2014 corporate statement, Avia Invest was initially co-founded by Russia's Kolomna Plant, which manufacturers railway rolling stock and is part of locomotive manufacturer Transmashholding.

The other co-founder was Khabarovsk airport, also located in Russia.

It was later reported that Kolomna Plant had ceded its share in Avia Invest, and that Khabarovsk airport's share in the company had been cut from 50 to five per cent.

The new proprietor of 95 per cent of the shares in Avia Invest is Russian firm Komaksavia, owned by British entity TB Team Management LLP and registered at the same address as businessman Konstantin Basyuk Komaks’ managing company, the same Komaks which runs Russia’s Khabarovsk airport.

The convoluted ownership of Avia Invest has prompted Moldovan media outlets to describe the concession deal as highly suspicious, and a number of local politicians and state officials have been calling for the contract to be cancelled or reviewed.

Critics include Maia Sandu, a pro-European candidate at the latest presidential election, who insists that the concession agreement is in breach of the law, going on to describe it as part of “the fraud of the century” (also pointing the finger at an allegedly illegal withdrawal of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system).

Sandu says these are part of a “shady deal” about which the current government is refusing to provide detailed information.

Avia Invest’s managers dismiss all these claims as populism: “The airport's concession deal was the right and necessary step.

In all the 24 years of the country's independence, only around $10-12 million had been invested in the development of this strategic facility, whereas Avia Invest, in just under two years, has already invested four times more,” says an official statement.

Moldovan journalists remain sceptical as to the agreement's benefits to the country, though. They point to the fact that Avia Invest's annual financial performance figures, including its revenues and taxes paid to the state, are not available on the company’s website.

The only information accessible is in the form of press releases, which do not provide a full and clear understanding of the airport's financial state and the sums invested to date.

The airport's passenger traffic in 2015 grew 25 per cent year-on-year and 68 per cent up on 2013.

The improvements are attributable, it is said, from Moldova having joined the Single European Sky initiative in 2012, and by the lifting of the short-visit EU visa requirement for Moldovan citizens in 2014.

Avia Invest insists that the ongoing project to modernise and develop Chisinau is already appreciated by passengers.

The airport's throughput capacity has been increased from 420 to 750 passengers per hour, the check-in area has been expanded two-fold to 1,100 square metres – and there are now 18 check-in counters and six passport control desks, served by 12 border guards.

A new baggage processing system has been installed, as well as ultramodern lighting and improved air conditioning.

As part of the modernisation, the airside area has been expanded by 900 square metres and fully renovated. “We increased the number of boarding gates and security checkpoints, which additionally improved the airport's throughput capacity,” says Avia Invest, which adds that it has also fully overhauled all the networks and systems supporting the terminal operation.

The most spacious multi-storied car park in the country, a four-level facility for 800 vehicles, has been erected opposite the airport terminal.

Avia Invest has also been working to improve the airfield infrastructure, a project which embraces the comprehensive renovation of more than 500,000 square metres of airfield area, including the single 3,590 m by 45 m runway, as well as taxiways and apron areas.

Avia Invest believes the renovation and development scheme, in combination with an effective new strategy for attracting additional airlines, are helping the airport to start offering new routes and increase the frequencies of existing services.

Increase In Traffic A Feature Of 2015

A major feature of the year 2015 was the change in ownership. In the early months of the year a new owner, Fraport AG of Germany, obtained a 100% holding in Aerodrom Ljubljana, and on the final day of March the company was converted from a public limited company into a limited liability company. Its shares were withdrawn from the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, and the company has since been headed by a general manager, the former president of the management board, Mr Zmago Skobir. A great deal was subsequently done in the area of integration into the Fraport Group. Financial reporting, planning and analysis were adapted as part of this process. Certain costs were optimised, and certain work processes were modified.

We were pleased to record a sharp increase in passenger traffic throughout the year. The millionth passenger was welcomed to the airport on 2 September, approximately three weeks earlier than in 2014. Passenger numbers in public transport were up 10% on 2014 at 1,438,304, while the number of aircraft movements in public transport was up 3.8% at 23,212 (number of total aircraft movements was up 4,7% at 32.893). Total cargo tonnage was comparable to 2014 (18,570 tonnes, down 0.2% on last year), while air cargo tonnage was up 3% at 10,115 tonnes.

The increase in traffic is the result of new and upgraded routes, and the resulting more competitive services, which are allowing passengers to choose Ljubljana Airport more frequently for travelling directly to nearby destinations, and to more remote destinations via major European hubs. Swiss International Air Lines launched daily flights to Zurich in March, but unfortunately withdrawed the route in the new year. The domestic airline Adria Airways began flying to Berlin and Stockholm in April, while Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia increased their number of flights to Istanbul and Belgrade respectively. In general airlines have made increasing use of larger (and heavier) aircraft, and load factors have also improved. The domestic airline’s passenger numbers were up 4,9% on 2014, while the foreign airlines’ passenger numbers were up 21,6%. Traffic was growing faster at Ljubljana Airport than at competitors in the region. It is followed by Graz with 7,4%, 6,5% at Zagreb, 3% at Venice (period 1-11/2015 and 2014) and 1.2% at Klagenfurt, and a fall of 0.5% at Trieste (period 1-11/2015 and 2014).

Other notable achievements of the year 2015 include the sale of the participating interest in Adria Airways Tehnika and the work done to reduce harmful impact on the environment. This work was confirmed with Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 2 certification and ISO 14001:2014 certification.

Integration into the group will continue in the future. Moderate growth in traffic is forecast. Two new scheduled airlines are coming to Ljubljana Airport. LOT Polish Airlines will operate five flights a week to Warsaw from 1 March, while Greece’s Aegean Airlines will serve Athens twice a week from June.

If the focus this year has been inward, on internal projects and changes, next year the focus will once again be on a series of project that will be outwardly evident. The main objective for 2016 is to improve the passenger experience. In this connection we will begin the refurbishment of the passenger terminal next year. It will be undertaken in phases and will be completed by 2018. We will also commence the project of moving the road running alongside the airport, thereby improving access to the airport and allowing the development of a commercial and logistics complex on the north side of the airport.

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines To Link Ljubljana And Warsaw With Six Weekly Flights

On March the first Ljubljana Airport will welcome a new carrier, LOT Polish Airlines that will connect Ljubljana and Warsaw with up to six weekly flights. Through its hub in the Polish capital, passengers will be able to take advantage of LOT's onward flights to numerous destinations in Europe, North America and Asia. To present the new route, LOT Polish Airlines and Aerodrom Ljubljana held a press conference on Wednesday 10 February.

Starting from the beginning of March LOT will be operating as much as 6 flights weekly from Ljubljana to Warsaw. With frequent flights and a convenient schedule the Polish national airline will enable passengers traveling form Ljubljana access to the worldwide network, including all major European destinations as well as Beijing, China and 3 major destinations in North America.

“Due to its excellent service and individual approach to the need of passengers, LOT has the greatest potential to become one the best alternative for travels to Toronto, New York, Chicago or Beijing for thousands of passengers starting their journey in Ljubljana. Flight to Warsaw last less than 2 hours, and total travel time to North America is only 13 hours including very convenient and short transfer at our hub, Warsaw Chopin Airport. Up to this moment Slovenian passengers had to travel via other crowded and complicated giant hubs in Western Europe” – says Adrian Kubicki, Corporate Communications Director.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays flights to Warsaw will take off at 13:35; on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 17:05. Late afternoon flights give passengers access to the evening wave of domestic and European flights, i.e. to Krakow, Gdansk, Riga, Amsterdam, London or Brussels and many others. More accurate schedule is available here.

“For example transfer time to Copenhagen is 45 minutes only! This is not something we promise. This is something we deliver. Passengers traveling from Ljubljana deserve an airline, which will bring them closer to dozens destinations worldwide. Right now opportunities are limited, and we raise the bar of service and bring to the completely new level of travel experience” – Kubicki adds.

The commencement of LOT's flights to Slovenia was welcomed by his excellency, the ambassador of Poland to Slovenia, Mr. Paweł Czerwiński: “Direct flights are of key importance for relations between the two countries, that are almost neighbouring, considering the small distance between them. Polish and Slovene people still know too little about each other, even though the cooperation between their countries is strengthening on different levels each year. The trading of goods has already surpassed 1,3 billion euros and still growing. Warsaw is an attractive tourist destination, also for a weekend trip. The city offers renowned theatres, concerts, historic-cultural monuments, modern interactive museums, rich culinary experiences, disco clubs and many more.

All flights between Warsaw and Ljubljana are operated by modern and technologically advanced Bombardier turboprop aircrafts. They are appreciated by passengers for spacious cabin, no middle seat and quiet cabin. All long haul flights are operated by the state-of-art aircraft Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Mr. Janez Krašnja, Head of Airline Management at Aerodrom Ljubljana, welcomed the arrival of the new carrier with the following words: “Even before the summer timetable the flight network of Ljubljana Airport is expanding. We are looking forward to LOT arriving in March and greatly complementing the offer of scheduled flights from Ljubljana. We believe the service will be interesting for business and tourist passengers. Besides frequent direct flights to Warsaw, they will be able to take advantage of their onward flights to other European destinations and their transatlantic flights. Aerodrom Ljubljana expects the service to generate around 30,000 extra passengers on a yearly basis.”

Ljubljana is one of the first destinations to open by LOT after formal completing the successful restructuring process. The airline says that Slovenia is a very important market for both business, as well as rising number of leisure passengers. Together with Ljubljana LOT launched several other exciting routes, such as Luxemburg, Ljubljana, Athens, Beirut, Nice and many others.

Tickets for flights are already available on www.lot.com, via their mobile app, LOT’s Contact Centre and through other sales channels.

Photographs of LOT’s fleet, products and services available for download under this link: http://corporate.lot.com/pl/en/media-library

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines And Air Moldova Create More Flights

LOT Polish Airlines and Air Moldova Have Teamed up to Give You More Routes Options

LOT Polish Airlines and Air Moldova has signed a Special Prorate Agreement which entered in force on December 1st, 2015.

The goal of this agreement is to offer passengers new routes from Moldova to LOT Polish Airlines’ route network with connections in Warsaw Chopin airport.

Air Moldova’s passengers can take advantage of flight routes to New-York, Toronto Chicago and all the European destinations included in LOT Polish Airlines’ route network from Warsaw.

Flights to Warsaw from Chisinau to will be resumed on January 2nd, 2016 and will be operated according the following schedule:

- on Mondays and Fridays:

Departure from Chisinau at 14:45 and arrival at Warsaw at 15:35

Departure from Warsaw at 11:20, and arrival at Chisinau at 14:10

- on Tuesdays and Saturdays:

Departure from Chisinau at 17:55, arrival at Warsaw at 18:45

Departure from Warsaw at 14:30, and arrival at Chisinau at 17:20

SLOVENIA: Ljubljana Airport Passenger Growth Of 11% In 2015

Ljubljana Airport, owned by the Fraport Airport group, serves the capital of Slovenia. Located at the middle of an old trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, it was the historical capital of Carniola, a Slovene-inhabited part of Austria/Hungary.

Now the city is home to 277,000 people, and in 2014 over one million on-night stays were had by international visitors, with Italy, Germany and the US being the three largest countries for tourists visiting Ljubljana according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. So far this year, the city’s airport is reporting growth of 11% with July seeing passenger numbers surpass the 170,000 mark for the first time.

Ljubljana witnesses growth again
After seeing a period of traffic decline between 2009 and 2012, the airport recorded positive growth for 2013 and 2014 respectively. So far in 2015, the airport has witnessed growth in five of the seven months where data is available, with the months from April through to July recording double digit growth, most notably in May when passenger numbers were up 16% when compared to the same period last year. At this rate Ljubljana Airport might be able to reach 1.5 million by the end of the year. Nonetheless, this is still well below the 1.67 million achieved in 2008.


2015 growth much faster than in previous years
When comparing the same time periods of the past three years between the months of January and July, growth in 2015 has been much faster than that experienced in the previous two years. 2013 and 2014 both showed average growth results of 3.7% and 3.1% respectively. However 2015 has witnessed over double that of 2013 with an average monthly growth rate of 7.8%. The higher growth rates in the most recent summer months means that overall passenger numbers are up 11% in the first seven months of 2015.
SVID says “Good”

When analysing the passenger statistics of 2014 for Ljubljana, the result shows that the airport achieved a SVID score of 8.69 (“Good”). For a comparison, an analysis was also carried out for Zagreb and Belgrade airports. The reason that these two airports were chosen was because of them both also being capitals, and also due to the close proximity that both have to Slovenia in relation to other European capitals. Zagreb achieved a score of 6.46 (“Good”) and Belgrade achieved a score of 8.77, also (“Good”).

Adria Airways runs the show
After reporting a growth when compared to last September of nearly 14%, Adria Airways maintains the number one carrier position out of Ljubljana. One noticeable change from last summer is that Turkish Airlines has now overtaken easyJet to become the airport’s second largest carrier, helped in part by the Star Alliance member reporting a growth in seat capacity of over 25%, making it the third fastest growing carrier out of the Slovenian capital after Montenegro Airlines (+39%) and Air Serbia (+49%).

With SWISS also serving the airport, it means that Star is the major alliance at Ljubljana with three carriers present. SkyTeam and oneworld are also both present at the airport. However, each is only represented by one airline; Air France and Finnair respectively. One airline that is also climbing up the table is Wizz Air, after recording growth in seat capacity of 16% when compared to last summer, the LCC can expect to overtake easyJet (+7.6%) for third spot in 2016 if the rate of growth for both airlines continues at current levels.

LOT Polish Airlines to resume Warsaw
From 2 March next year, LOT Polish Airlines is to resume services to Ljubljana with an initial five times weekly service from Warsaw Chopin operated by E170s, meaning that the airline will help grow the Star presence in Ljubljana to four carriers. From 26 March, the service is expected to increase to six times weekly, with Q400s also being introduced onto the sector alongside the currently planned E-Jet operations.


Zurich now #1 route
After recording a growth of nearly 36%, the 470-kilometre sector to Zurich has become the number one route from Ljubljana, helped by Adria Airways increasing its capacity on the city pair by 9.8%, and SWISS introducing services on the sector in March, according to OAG Schedules Analyser. Although Frankfurt, also run by the Fraport group, witnessed an increase of 0.4% in seat capacity, Zurich’s larger expansion pushes the German hub down to become the second most popular destination in S15 in relation to capacity. What is interesting to note however is that the top four routes from the Slovenian capital are to the large Star Alliance hubs in Europe, with services to Stockholm Arlanda and Copenhagen (both SAS hubs) not appearing in the top 12 routes, but served by Adria Airways, with the former launching on 23 April. The fastest growing route in the top 12 is Belgrade (highlighted in light green), which is new to the list after witnessing a growth of 49%, helped by the increase in services by Air Serbia. Another new route to the list is London Luton (also highlighted in light green), after seeing a seat capacity increase of nearly 24% by operating carrier Wizz Air. As a result of growth witnessed on these two routes, it means that Moscow Sheremetyevo and Skopje both leave the top 12.