Luxair, the national carrier of Luxembourg, was one of two airlines to have applied for Slovenian government subsidies for the launch of new routes from the country. Although a commission is yet to review whether Luxair has met the tender conditions, the launch of new intra-European services from foreign markets is in line with the carrier’s growth strategy.
“We have applied [for the tender] in order to add routes from Slovenia”, an airline spokesperson told the “AeroTelegraph” portal. As a carrier from within the European Union, Luxair can introduce flights from any commercial airport in Slovenia to a third country within the European Common Aviation Area.
Earlier this year, Luxair launched flights between Antwerp in Belgium and London City Airport, marking its return to services outside of its home base in Luxembourg. CEO Gilles Feithin said recently that Luxair was evaluating foreign markets, recognising the limited size of its home catchment area. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, in 2019, Luxair used to operate in the German domestic market, connecting Saarbrucken with Berlin. It discontinued the service after it failed to secure an agreement with regional authorities over incentives.
In 2020, Luxair said it was studying the possibility of launching operations between the Grand Duchy and Ljubljana, noting at the time, “The entire Balkan region is developing fast and we are considering new destinations such as Ljubljana. These are our plans. The route has not been scheduled but we are analysing all opportunities and we will launch new routes once the time is right”.
Luxair boasts a fleet of nineteen aircraft, of which eleven are 76-seat Dash 8 turboprops. It also has four Boeing 737-700s and four B737-800s. It wet-leased a CRJ700 from Adria Airways from 2017 until the Slovenian carrier’s demise in 2019. Within the former Yugoslavia, Luxair maintains flights from its home base to Belgrade, Podgorica, Tivat, Dubrovnik and Zadar and has a codeshare agreement in place with Air Serbia. The Slovenian government is prioritising the launch of ten routes from either Ljubljana, Maribor or Portorož to Brussels, Skopje, Prague, Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen, Athens, Madrid, Amsterdam and Helsinki in order to boost the country’s connectivity.
Source: Ex-Yu Aviation
