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Best/Safest way to navigate the Balkans?

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Best/Safest way to navigate the Balkans?

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Old Jun 16, 2010, 8:44 am
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Best/Safest way to navigate the Balkans?

Short of taking busses and trains are there any convenient and safe airlines to get around between FYROM, Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro? I'm sorry but BH Airlines and Montenegrin Airlines don't sound like carriers I want to set foot on.
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Old Jun 29, 2010, 7:55 pm
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Originally Posted by GetSetJetSet
Short of taking busses and trains are there any convenient and safe airlines to get around between FYROM, Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro? I'm sorry but BH Airlines and Montenegrin Airlines don't sound like carriers I want to set foot on.
They may not 'sound' like carriers that you want to use but doesn't mean that they're not safe. They're both allowed to fly into the EU, so meeting accepted safety standards and suitable enough that they are partner with *Alliance airlines such as Austrian and Turkish.

JAT, which may operate on some of these routes, is a grim reminder of 70s Yugoslavia: old planes, disinterested crew and low grade catering.

I'd forget about trains in the region and road travel is for the adventurous and time consuming...
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Old Jun 30, 2010, 7:51 am
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In B&H is 49% owned by *A member, Turkish Airlines.
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Old Jun 30, 2010, 8:47 am
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Baltic Air is rather good. The key to flying around this area is picking the right hub and go with one carrier and city to use to make your jumps around the Balkans.
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Old Jun 30, 2010, 11:23 am
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Originally Posted by jredknapp11
Baltic Air is rather good. The key to flying around this area is picking the right hub and go with one carrier and city to use to make your jumps around the Balkans.
Hm - AirBaltic (I suppose you mean that outfit) has Riga as its hub - that is rather (way) out of the Balkans; you could as well use Frankfurt as a hub then - or Zurich. I agree with your comment that you should find right hub - and if it does not have to inside the Balkans you might consider Austrian.
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Old Jun 30, 2010, 11:54 am
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BUD (MA) or VIE (OS) comes to mind as possible hubs. Depends on your destination and alliance affiliation (MA=OW, OS=*A)

MA serves BEG, TGD, PRN, SJJ, TIA, ZAG, SKP, SKG If you want to go to the Eastern Balkans, too (RO, BG) they serve SOF, BUH, TGM, CLJ

BUD is very easy for transfers, the flights are shortish hops.
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Old Jul 5, 2010, 4:13 pm
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Originally Posted by WilcoRoger
BUD (MA) or VIE (OS) comes to mind as possible hubs. Depends on your destination and alliance affiliation (MA=OW, OS=*A)

MA serves BEG, TGD, PRN, SJJ, TIA, ZAG, SKP, SKG If you want to go to the Eastern Balkans, too (RO, BG) they serve SOF, BUH, TGM, CLJ

BUD is very easy for transfers, the flights are shortish hops.
Fully quote. And I add also CSA airlines even if they have less connections and a more distant hub, Prague.

You can also try ADRIA airlines, the small Slovenian airline which is connected with Lufthansa and *A. Nice planes, good service.

Similar choice with CROATIA airlines! You have to check 4-5 websites in order to see how many frequent conncetions they have and which the one comfortable for you.
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Old Jul 6, 2010, 10:10 am
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Originally Posted by geronimo
road travel is for the adventurous and time consuming...
One exception might be Montenegro. Driving to Montenegro from Dubrovnik is very easy.
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Old Jul 6, 2010, 10:49 am
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Nothing wrong with Montenegrin Airlines, except for its limited alliance scope. I have flown with JAT and found them not much worse than Croatian Airlines, which is a Star Alliance carrier of good standing.
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