Brussels Airlines will launch direct flights from Brussels to Ljubljana from November 4th, 2019. This will be the first route taken over after the collapse of the Slovenian airline. The service will be operated 6 times per week using Airbus A319 aircraft, which takes 141 passengers on board.
I am convinced that a carrier with an attractive network of air connections, including from Brussels, will attract many businessmen and tourists. We hope that this will be reflected in the aircraft’s load factor from the first flight, said Zmago Skobir, Managing Director of Ljubljana Airport.
In the winter season 2019/2020, Adria planned to operate this route 12 times per week using smaller Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft. Brussels Airlines will offer 14% less seats than the Slovenian flag carrier.
Due to the bankruptcy of Adria Airways, other carriers also plan to increase their services. Montenegro Airlines will add one rotation per week in the coming winter season, allowing the airline to fly to the Slovenian capital five times a week – every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Air Serbia will launch three additional flights a week, making the Ljubljana-Belgrade route twice daily. Besides Airbus A319 aircraft will be used to operate this route instead of turboprops.
LOT Polish Airlines with the addition of the second daily flight on Fridays will increase the frequency of flights from seven to eight per week. Furthermore, these flights will be operated using Embraer E170/190 aircraft instead of Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. LOT’s seat capacity will increase by 12% in the winter season, making the Polish airline the fifth-largest legacy carrier at Ljubljana airport.
Air France will also increase the number of flights from 6 to 13 per week, and the flights will be operated by bigger Embraer 190/195 aircraft instead of E170. Aeroflot plans to replace Superjet 100s with Airbus A319 aircraft.
Before the collapse, Adria Airways offered 15 direct routes from its hub in Ljubljana to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris-CDG, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Munich, Prague, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Podgorica, Tirana, Vienna and Zurich. At the moment, services to Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Munich, Prague, Pristina, Sarajevo, Sofia, Vienna and Zurich remain unserved.