Ryanair announced the introduction of flights to Sarajevo last week from five European cities starting next March, with the continent’s largest carrier aiming to carry 200.000 passengers in its first year of operations and grow further thereafter. “Ryanair is the only airline that can deliver rapid growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina – a stark contrast to competitor airlines who continue to cancel routes and reduce capacity. These new routes will drive valuable inbound tourism and business opportunities to Sarajevo from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the UK – whilst also providing connectivity for Bosnian citizens and visitors at Europe’s lowest fares. We plan to handle 200.000 passengers on these flights within the first year and create 150 local jobs”, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness, said.
Taking aim at its competitors, Mr McGuinness added, “We have worked closely with our partners at Sarajevo Airport, the Tourism Association, and the government to launch these five new routes, and we hope to strengthen these relationships over time as we continue to work together to deliver further inbound tourism, connectivity, and low fares to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens and visitors. For too long Sarajevo Airport’s traffic has been held back by high fare incumbent airlines such as Turkish, Austrian, and Wizz. This era of high fares ends with the arrival of Ryanair’s low fares”.
The Chief Commercial Officer ruled out the opening of a base in Sarajevo for the time being but added the carrier plans a long-term presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital. “I think Sarajevo always presented a void in our network and we have always had the desire to fly out of Sarajevo, but the costs were too high. We have no interest in short-term agreements and deals. These five new routes are just the beginning. During my discussions with the airport’s management and government ministers I said that Ryanair is here to grow. We want to expand in Sarajevo, but one must also take into account the very competitive market at the moment”, Mr McGuinness said. He added, “We will not initially have a base in Sarajevo. When we establish a base, then we will directly employ technicians, pilots, and cabin crew. We are not at that stage yet, but we are working on it”.
Ryanair announced its arrival into Sarajevo after applying for a public call for the provision of subsidies for the launch of new routes. A new tender has since been launched, although it is being targeted primarily at Norwegian Air Shuttle and SAS Scandinavian Airlines, both of which have expressed interest in serving Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital. The former applied for the previous tender, however, its application was submitted past the set deadline.
