FlyBosnia is aiming to operate a three-member fleet by year’s end which will serve a number of destinations in Europe and the Middle East from its hub in Sarajevo.The start-up carrier’s CEO, Chris Gabriel, said, “We currently have the first Airbus A319 in our fleet. We are aiming to have another two aircraft this year and, by the end of five years, we aim to have a fleet of five aircraft. We are looking to increase the number of flights in and out of Sarajevo by more than double in the next twelve to fifteen months. With our first aircraft we are focusing on Europe, probably London and Frankfurt.
In the Middle East we are looking at Riyadh, Jeddah and Bahrain”. He added, “As we take on more capacity, we will be expanding in Europe to cities like Rome, Paris and potentially Moscow. In the Middle East, we will probably look at Kuwait and Beirut. So we will selectively expand where we know there is demand. and we will serve our customers both here and overseas”.
The carrier is currently in the process of finalizing its schedule and is expected to announce its launch date within the coming weeks.
“We have a list of destinations, especially in Europe and some in the Middle East, that we are now finalizing the schedule on. In addition to that, we have received numerous charter requests. So many in fact that we probably can’t fulfil the demand in the early stages. We have built our schedule up and we are just slotting those charters in”, Mr. Gabriel said. He noted, “We are in the process of getting slots at the various airports we intend to fly to.
That is underway and once we actually get that confirmed then we will announce our schedule and our packages that will be offered via our website. We will go public with that in the next one or two weeks and everyone will be able to see what’s going on. They will be able to book directly via our website both their flights and packages, including accommodation, tours, transport, and then they can come and experience beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
FlyBosnia intends on becoming the national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, focus will be put on sustainability.
“FlyBosnia is a very young company that aspires to be a sustainable airline and we are focusing on connecting the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina via direct flights to select cities in Europe and the Middle East.
We want to be a safe, reliable and affordable airline. We want to care for our customers and give them the ability to finally experience the beauty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We don’t want to be all things to all people. We will be a niche market. We are focusing where there are markets and where there is demand where direct flights do not exist”, the CEO concluded. FlyBosnia currently has four fully trained sets of crew, Ex Yu Aviation reports.
