Croatia Airlines in talks over Ljubljana base
Croatia Airlines is considering establishing a base in Ljubljana and has held talks with the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure, as well as airport operator Fraport Slovenija on the matter. According to the daily “Delo” newspaper, the carrier is ready to base one or two aircraft in Ljubljana but would also expect some form of incentives from the state. “Croatia Airlines is potentially interested in establishing flights from Ljubljana Airport in order to enable passengers from Slovenia to connect to European destinations”, the Croatian carrier said. Fraport Slovenija noted, “There is interest for cooperation on both sides, but we cannot reveal more at this point”. According to the operator, talks are being held with several carriers in a bid to revive traffic at Ljubljana Airport following the demise of Adria Airways last year.
According to the Ministry for Infrastructure, the conditions under which Croatia Airlines could establish flights from Ljubljana have been discussed with the company but no deal has been reached. Furthermore, no specific destinations that could be served by the carrier have been discussed so far. However, according to “Delo”, flights to cities which are no longer served from the Slovenian capital, including Sarajevo and Skopje, are being considered. The Slovenian Tourist Board, which provides funding for marketing activities, have also confirmed they are aware of talks between Croatia Airlines and the Slovenian government over a potential base.
Speaking at the Aviation Arena webinar last week, the head of Croatia Airlines’ Commercial Division, Slaven Žabo, said, “We have had some gain on the Slovenian market since Adria Airways’ bankruptcy where we offered certain solutions in order to react to the demand that was there. However, we had not added any flights to Slovenia because our hubs are nearby and we were more focused on our sales and marketing activities in Ljubljana at the time, which helped us significantly increase our market share in Slovenia”. Croatian charter carrier Trade Air plans to base an aircraft in Ljubljana in order to operate charters from the Slovenian capital to Dubrovnik and the Greek islands this summer.
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