FlyBosnia is launching flights to London Luton from its base in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Tuesday 24th September. Simple Flying previously wrote about FlyBosnia as our airline startup of the week, and we also expressed the view that the airline is likely to be successful due to Bosnia’s growing religious tourism. As FlyBosnia enters the European market for the first time, we examine whether this strategic development will lead to success.
FlyBosnia is launching flights to London Luton from its base in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Tuesday 24th September. Simple Flying previously wrote about FlyBosnia as our airline startup of the week, and we also expressed the view that the airline is likely to be successful due to Bosnia’s growing religious tourism. As FlyBosnia enters the European market for the first time, we examine whether this strategic development will lead to success.
Wizz Air previously maintained flights between London (Luton) and Tuzla Airport, which is another city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is just 50 miles north of Sarajevo, from where FlyBosnia will operate. But services between London and Tuzla were discontinued in October 2017 after just a year of operations.
Still, other concerns remain about both FlyBosnia itself and the choice of London Luton as the airport for the Sarajevo-London route. Some local media have expressed concerns about a national airline that has a website in two languages, of which one is English and the other Arabic, but not in any of the three official languages of the country it is meant to be the flag carrier for.
It is also unclear what codeshare and interline agreements FlyBosnia intends to develop in the United Kingdom. Its options in London Luton are limited. Luton is served by fewer carriers than the likes of Stansted, Heathrow or Gatwick.
London Luton also has no long haul services that FlyBosnia’s passengers could connect to. This also means that FlyBosnia’s aircraft will not be filled by overseas passengers on their way into Sarajevo.
Instead, these passengers heading to and coming from overseas will continue using the Lufthansa Group airlines, Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines to reach the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its surroundings, Simply Flying reports.
