Ljubljana will become United’s third destination in the former Yugoslavia, complementing Dubrovnik and Split. Between January and May 2026, Slovenia welcomed 59.387 tourists from the United States, a 23.4% increase from the same period last year. This amounted to roughly 11.300 additional American visitors year on year. US tourists generated 134.565 overnight stays during the five-month period, up 22.2%.
New York is Ljubljana’s busiest unserved long-haul route and ranks among the airport’s ten busiest unserved routes overall.
The United States is also the Slovenian capital’s largest unserved country market. Based on indirect traffic, New York generates the highest demand, followed by San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Washington, Boston and Atlanta. United is already among the most utilised carriers for travel between Slovenia and the United States, with Lufthansa and United itineraries via Frankfurt and Munich particularly popular among Slovenian travellers.
The General Manager of Ljubljana Airport operator Fraport Slovenija, Jürgen Deischl, said, “Long-haul connectivity – either direct in the future or through strong one-stop partnerships – is a strategic priority, especially where we see significant untapped demand”.
United’s Boeing 767-400ERs feature a three-class configuration with 231 seats, comprising 34 United Polaris business class seats, 24 Premium Plus premium economy seats and 173 economy class seats, of which 48 are designated Economy Plus with additional legroom. Polaris is arranged in a 1-1-1 configuration, with fully flat beds and direct aisle access for every passenger, while Premium Plus is laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration. Economy uses the 2-3-2 layout. The aircraft is also equipped with seatback entertainment and inflight Wi-Fi
Despite its lack of transatlantic flights for several decades, Ljubljana has a long history of service to the United States. Adria Aviopromet, later Adria Airways, began operating charters to the United States and Canada in the 1960s, primarily for Yugoslav emigrant communities. After relocating its base from Zagreb to the newly opened Ljubljana Airport in 1964, these transatlantic operations formed part of Adria’s charter programme. The airline later revived US and Canadian flying in 1972, using leased Douglas DC8 aircraft, before withdrawing from the market the following year. During the 1970s, JAT Yugoslav Airlines commenced charters between Ljubljana and the US. However, on April 1, 1978, Ljubljana gained its first scheduled service to the US.
JAT introduced flights from Belgrade via Ljubljana to New York JFK, operated by the Boeing 707. On December 20, 1978, JAT brought its brand-new DC10-30 to Ljubljana on the New York route. JAT’s Ljubljana office had five aircraft pallets permanently allocated to the route, with Slovenian exporters such as Elan, Alpina and Industrija usnja Vrhnika making significant use of the service. JAT’s US operations from Ljubljana later expanded to include Chicago and Cleveland. The New York route continued to operate until the spring of 1991.
Source: Ex-Yu Aviation News
