Air Serbia's JFK route "long-term investment"


The President and CEO of the Etihad Aviation Group, James Hogan, has said that Air Serbia's service between Belgrade and New York's JFK Airport, launched nine months ago, is a "long-term investment", which will take several years to achieve its full potential. Speaking to the "Blic" daily, Mr Hogan said, "The introduction of flights to New York is a long-term investment for Air Serbia. Such routes usually take three to five years to achieve optimal results. What you get from the service to New York is an important air bridge between the United States, Belgrade and other destinations. If you take into account the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and if you take low cost carriers out of the picture, because we are not one of them, Air Serbia is, in my opinion, one of the leading smaller brands. That is not a bad result for just three and a half years".

Commenting on future expansion, Mr Hogan said, "It's not all about expansion. It is important for a company to be of the right size and form. In the past, many companies expanded too quickly and then collapsed. It is important that we strengthen what we have and make it more functional in the right way. Air Serbia has a good image, good people and good operational results. There is room for improvement in a commercial sense but it is important for Air Serbia to continue developing. It is very important to sell Belgrade as a tourist destination". Last January Mr Hogan said the Serbian carrier could expand its footprint in North America in two to three years. "We have already considered flights to Chicago and Toronto and these services could be introduced in two to three years. First off, the New York route must become functional. We don't want to make a decision that would set Air Serbia back", Mr Hogan said at the time.

Passenger numbers on Air Serbia's New York route have been 40% above the business plan within the first half year of operations, although yields haven't performed as hoped for, due to less Americans travelling on the route to Europe for fear of terror attacks, according to the airline. As a result, the carrier has reduced frequencies to New York from five weekly flights to three weekly outside of the peak summer travel season. Furthermore, the airline has said it will not take on additional long haul aircraft for the time being. Serbia's Prime Minister has previously noted that the airline's New York route would become profitable within three years of operations.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    I still think this route came way too early and they should have strengthened the short haul network first before going into any long haul flights. That said I think they were forced into it politically or should I say by their 51% majority owner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    A lot of blah blah but really nothing new has been said here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Actually I find this quite interesting
      "It is important for a company to be of the right size and form. In the past, many companies expanded too quickly and then collapsed."

      They should have thought about that before they started these flights.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    you take into account the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and if you take low cost carriers out of the picture, because we are not one of them, Air Serbia is, in my opinion, one of the leading smaller brands. That is not a bad result for just three and a half years".

    Whats that supposed to mean???????????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Well he means that JU is a leading brand in Eastern Europe if you don't count LCCs.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      hahhaha and what about LOT, Aeroflot, Czech Airlines, International Ukrainian?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:40

      Flew once with Ukraine International to JFK. It was the most horrible experience of my life. It was like flying with Jat Airways 5-6 years ago but long haul. Horrible crew, service, seats falling apart...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:14

      Aegean, TAROM, ČSA, LOT, Air Ukraine, LOT, Air Baltic... that is rather unreal to say so, not to use some stronger word.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:51

      And especially Austran.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:09

      "Smaller brands in Balkans and Eastern Europe" for sure Austrian was not qualified in those.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:32

      Austrian carries more East European traffic than most of these "Smaller brands" combined.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous01:09

      That is not true!

      Austrian has 11 million pax. Most of them are Western Europe, than long-range, than Austria+Germany, and then Eastern Europe. Not more than 1,5 million pax in East and Southeast Europe.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:15

    That's actually the right idea. I think the JFK route was introduced too soon but nevertheless, if the company persists, it will become established and an option for more people in SE Europe who might otherwise use TK, LH or OS.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:15

    OK but are there any plans what they are going to do with the A330 next winter? If they keep 3 flight p/w they can comfortably use the aircraft on some other route. Letting it sit in BEG can't be cheap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alen Šćuric Purger09:36

      During winter even A320, A319 and 737 are stationed. And if you can not use all your A319, how on earth will you use A330 on some routes.

      If they work hard they can make JFK 4x weekly + 1 charter to long-range tourist destination (Cuba, Dominican R, Mauritius, Bali). But for that they have to make huge coordinated business with agencies in Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, BiH, Macedonia, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Czech Republic... And sill I am not sure if they can do it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:40

      We saw the results of the rush - BH Air returned their A330. You can't make such a step without being ready, but we can't blame Air Serbia for this. We all know that it was Vucic who was insisting on this route.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:17

    Good that they are not planning more long haul routes because that would have put even more pressure on them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:02

      They are waiting 2 years until NY becomes profitable. I think it's a good decision.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:59

      "2 years" to become profitable???
      Where does he say that? I know that is what they were claiming before the start of the flghts but today he said:

      "The President and CEO of the Etihad Aviation Group, James Hogan, has said that Air Serbia's service between Belgrade and New York's JFK Airport, launched nine months ago, is a "long-term investment", which will take several years to achieve its full potential. Speaking to the "Blic" daily, Mr Hogan said, "The introduction of flights to New York is a long-term investment for Air Serbia. Such routes usually take three to five years to achieve optimal results"

      That means that proftability is very far away into the future if it is ever achieved and certainly not in two years itme. Also there is zero mention of launching new long haul routes.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:18

    What makes me wonder is the mentioned business plan. How come an airline can carry 40% more passengers compared to the initial plan, while the frequency has been dropped from 5 to 3, ticket prices has been dumped by 50% and still half of the seats are empty in average. The only logical explanation would be that JU mistakenly assumed the route to be operated by ATR. Only that can justify the 40% above passenger numbers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      Well, from what I heard JFK was mostly full throughout January and December, I am sure that's where the numbers went up.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:41

      @Anonymous March 24, 2017 at 9:18 AM
      good one! May be this is how they are counting there...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:59

      Oh sorry, I noticed the detail afterwards. They preferred to mention the first 6 months only, the period prior to the cuts. My mistake.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:19

    "...although yields haven't performed as hoped for, due to less Americans travelling on the route to Europe for fear of terror attacks.."

    Rubbish info. Then why is Norwegian, many US carriers and now Level on the rise opening so many routes between US and Europe?
    They just don´t want to admit that the market is way too competitive. Especially when Norwegian further expands operations in Spain, France and UK this summer. Hogan can find another good excuse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      It sounds like Vucic's PR team wrote this speech for him.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:04

      my thoughts too. a good excuse nothing else

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:20

      No, it is not GOOD excuse.

      Norwegian
      LOT
      Swiss
      Air Lingus
      Alitalia
      Delta
      American
      Emirates from Europe...
      wow
      Iceland Air
      they all open more flights on Europe-USA flights

      So, it is very bad excuse.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee12:30

      The only problem with your list is that unlike Air Serbia, all those airlines with the exception of Emirates and Lot offer connections from Western Europe to the US.

      In the case of Emirates, their brand is so strong that they can solely rely on the O&D market. However, their ATH-EWR flights do get feed from Aegean's regional network, from destinations such as SOF, TIA...

      Unlike JU, LO can conveniently offer connections from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine...

      I am not justifying Air Serbia, I am merely pointing out the flaws in your argument.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:36

      Argument is about "how passengers are afraid of terrorism and because of that there are not enough passengers on Air Serbia flights".

      As you can see there are so many companies that increase a lot in TATL flights. And for sure potential passengers are more afraid to travel with Norwegian, Swiss, Aer Lingus and other western companies to western destinations than with Air Serbia to eastern destinations.

      But still those companies have huge increase, and Hogan made that as excuse to Air Serbia?!?!?!?!

      Delete
    6. Nemjee13:57

      What's with all the exclamation and question marks?

      Your argument would be valid if you knew where the point of sale was for all those airlines that added flights. Maybe they are seeing an increase in bookings in Europe, not the US.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:14

      so true, but than excuse can not be "terrorism fear" but

      "we did not made good research and analysis, so we made mistake thinking we will have same feeding as those Western companies".

      Delete
    8. Nemjee16:53

      Well, no airline will admit to its own incompetence. They'll always find a way to blame someone else. Air Serbia is no exception.

      The market is there, no doubt about that. The problem was that Air Serbia didn't know how to convince passengers to fly with them and not with Turkish Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France...

      Delete
    9. Anonymous01:11

      So, true.

      So excuse is bad!

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:30

    This route is problematic because its extremely seasonal. In summer for 3 months you have 100% LF and at other times it is empty. Same goes for all flights to North America from herw. It was same during JAT but those were different times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Koje gluposti pričaš..jesi ti bio na jednom od tih letova koji su prazni??? Treba da radiš za kurir pošto njima trebaju takvi koji mogu da izmisle nešto u par sekundi. Celo leto popunjenos kabine u ekonomiji je skoro 100% a biznis oko 71%. Sta se tice zime skoro pa slični rezultati osim u novembru gde je par letova bilo 68% popunjenosti. Cene su naravno najveći problem pošto je Aeroflot drastično smanjio cene iz JFK za BEG preko Moskva a također i LOT je radio istu stvar tokom zimske sezone. Samo da vas podsetim AS je na Američkom tržištu samo 9 meseci i to su više nego dobri rezultati. Zahvaljujući direktor letu u zadnjih 6 meseci u Srbiji je otvoreno oko 4700 radnih mesta u IT sektoru a tek se očekuju i veće američke investicije do polovine 2018. Po komentarima vidim da mnogi ovde ne vide celokupnu sliku i prosto je smešno čitati neke komentare. Čini mi se kao da sam na pijaci :). Pozdrav svima iz AS i hvala mnogima na podršci

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:42

      Oko je to tako, zašto je onda avion sa tek 3 frekvencije veći dio godine, a samo 3 mjeseca je maksimlano utiliziran?

      Nema nikakve logike to što govoriš!

      Da je popunjenost toliko dobra linija bi od 10-11 i od 1-3 mjeseca bila sa 4 leta, a sve ostalo vrijeme sa 5, a nije tako ni izbliza.

      Avion koji je na zemlji u prosjeku 3 dana u tjednu donosi velik gubitak (leasing, posade, osiguranje, troškovi stacioniranja...). Koji smisao je toga ako je popunjenost odlična?

      4.700 radnih mjesta? E sad ga i ti kao i onaj prije lupaš iz rukava. Veće investicije iduće godine ista glupost kao i onaj iz Zagreba koji svake godine govori kako će iduće godine doći Delta, Korean, ANA, Air China, Aer Lingus, SAS, Alitalia, Tarom, Aegean, TAP... samo što nisu... Nema razlike tvojim prosipanjima brojki od tih koje kritiziraš.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:51

      let beg-jfk je otvorio 4,700 IT radnih mesta u srbiji?!?... majko mila
      hot lane i rodney su mi omiljeni likovi za čitati

      Delete
    4. I onda Hot Lane nije fanboy.
      :faceplant:

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:36

    Ohhh the Americans aren't travelling, because of terrorist attacks. I didn't know that Beograd is so dangerous lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      Beograd isn't but cities to which they offer connections are. Also, for most Americans when they see an attack in London or Paris they think it's like that in most places.
      The fact that an American was killed during the London attacks won't make things any better.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      yeah, because all Americans are connecting via Beograd to Paris and London.
      Come on, get serious!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:22

      How comes, than, that so many companies increase transatlantic flights?

      Delete
  11. "Such routes usually take three to five years to achieve optimal results"

    compared with

    "Biće bolje za dve godine"

    Notice the similarities?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:30

      We noticed zero aviation substance in your post. This is an aviation blog, you know.

      Delete
    2. unfortunately, politics and this loss making route, that is the subject of article, are inseparably connected

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:52

      They may be but your initial comment is still 100% political and belongs to a political campaign rather than an aviation blog.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:02

      Anonymous at 12:52 PM
      ASL flying to JFk is a poltical decision.
      So no way to talk about them without also talking about who ordered them

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:25

      First flight of Lufthansa to New York after WWII was also a political decision. Just because route starts as a political decision does not mean it will not be profitable in the long run.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:52

    JFK is definitely making losses and he is not hiding it. I find this interview to be very honest and open. If they work hard, they can make this route profitable in 2 years. 3x per week is just fine during winter season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who will pay for the plane being paid for, but sitting on a tarmac for 4 days in a week?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:53

      The airline will pay.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:17

      So the route will not be profitable if the aircraft is sitting on the tarmac sunbathing for days a week.

      Delete
  13. preletacevic10:08

    first class tickets for everyone! Nek se zna! Idemo svi za Nju Jork

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:26

    Weren't experts here predicting how they will cancel these flights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:16

      well the direction is clear. They reduced it to 3 per week. This means that the aircraft is sitting idle and thus increasing the cost of the route additionally. Pretty bad utilisation of the ac. Let´s see what happens next.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:27

      What happens next is going back to 5 days per week during summer. Bad news for you.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:51

    There needs to a be a year of operations before someone can judge the success of this route.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous11:25

    I'm surprised Air Transat has not considered YYZ-BEG on a seasonal basis for a couple of months during the summer. They could fill the planes for sure during this period.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:06

      TS would also have a hard time filling their 350 passenger sardine A330.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:07

      Diaspora travelers won't go and check configuration on a plane before they fly. They will just want the quickest way to get there. I'm certain they could fill up the plane if they had the same schedule as they did to Zagreb during their first year there.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:26

      How comes than that they, just one year after opening Zagreb flights increase capacity for triple

      - A330-300 instead A330-200
      - 2 flights pw instead of 1 pw
      - starting flights much earlier then last year

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:28

      ^ Because there is a different market for ZAG. It is not purely diaspora. It is also tourist travel which I don't think the BEG flight could count on.

      Delete
    5. Bolje je i Rouge iz YYZ nego Transat.. kod njih se ni stočić ne može otvoriti da čovek jede. Ja sam skoro leti sa njima iz YHM VRA na 737 i jedva izdržao 3 sata leta ..ne znam ko im dozvoli toliki broj sedala na 737 i 330? Verovatno ljudi iz ministarstva kanade ne lete takvim kompanijama i ne zanima ih da ljudi jednostavno ne mogu da se pomaknu tokom leta. Jedino je ok za starije ljude da mogu direktno da lete za ZAG i da ne moraju presedati na nekom od velikih aerodroma.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:45

      Bolje Rouge nego Transat! Apslutno.

      Ali svkako bolje Transat 2x tjedno nego ništa!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:04

      Dolaze sa A332 a ne A333. Pogledajte na njihovom webu raspored pa ćete videti.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous01:14

      Ne pričaj gluposti. I da je to istina ipak je to 2x A330 tjedno. Ali nije. Najavili su A330-300 i bit će. U rezervacijskom sustavu je A330-300.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:27

    Well, I remember that one of the first things they've said when they announced the JFK flights that it was supposed to take at least three years for these flights to go into black. Now, everybody seems to have forgotten it - it's either huge profits now, or bust.

    If all solutions were so simple as sometimes seems from reading the "expert" comments, I am damn sure Air Serbia (and everybody else) would be doing it already.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:28

      Not true:
      - first Vučić announcement: two years to make it profitable

      - second Vučić announcement: 3 years to make it profitable

      - now Hogan announcement: 3-5 years to make it profitable (read: 5 years)

      So, it does not go like they plan. Not even near (from 2 to 5 years).

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:42

    The only potential feeders of this route are the Balkans because, most CEE capitals are connected to NYC. Even tiny Riga, which is considered BEG´s rival to traffic and transfers has a direct flight operated by Uzbekhistan Airways.
    On the other hand, EK will probably find other cities after MXP and ATH to connect NYC and this might be BUD or OTP.
    The EU-US market is changing very quick and so should JU.
    The ideal situation is to fly to more Balkan cities to ensure the flight will be well fed.
    CLJ, LWO, KRR, ODS, TBS, SVX, DEB, KIV. Just look how many destinations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:04

      Sve su to luzerska mesta kao i Pristina nema tu para ni za Ostrijan. Vise ce zaraditi na presedanjima za Veneciju iz Tel Aviva i Bejruta.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:12

      Riga is not tiny. Plus it is a major tourist destination.
      Plus it is not rival to the Balkans. Completely different part of Europe, completely different markets.
      Cheers!

      Delete
  19. Anonymous12:02

    Ultimately these flights should have launched around 2018/2019.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:04

      But you are forgetting that the conditions were right. There is such a thing as first come first win. If you wait for everyone else from the region to start flights you are in a much worse position to begin with. They are having enough trouble establishing themselves on the TATL market as is. Also, fuel prices were at a historic low when they started flying. Who knows what the situation will be like in a couple of years but for sure it will be even more competitive.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:33

      win what and what competition? it is one year later and nobody from the region is even thinking of flying there, with this project even confirming that there is no economics to fly to usa from the region

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:13

      Comments about Air Serbia JFK flights being early or unnecessary come from interests of EU members of Star Alliance. Everyone else loves it and understands it will make money over time.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:42

      Sure!
      Star alliance carriers shake in their boots now that the "new wings of Europe" fly three times a week between BEG and JFK for rock bottom prices...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous01:11

      No one said they shake in their boots, that's your dirty attempt to switch topic. They, and their supporters are truly jealous, esp those alliance carriers that don't have their own flight to NYC.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous06:16

      Jealous? What are they, 6 year old girls?
      So which Star carriers are "jealous" of JU losing money flying to JFK?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:35

      OU

      Delete
  20. Anonymous12:10

    What is really interesting that Aegean has not considered long haul flights. Emirates has now killed any chance of them flying to New York.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:50

      If Aegean was to decide that it wants to launch direct flghts to North America Emirates would imediately lose the rght to fly from ATH to NYC.

      EK got the route offered by the Greek goverment and it can only fly it as long as the Greeks agree to it.

      They could continue flying it without goverment aproval only if they had a European AOC.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee17:19

      True plus not to mention two important things:

      1. Aegean is actually cooperating with EK.

      2. The airline will undergo major changes in 2017 with the most noticeable change being the reduction of its turboprop fleet. They are also currently negotiating with both Airbus and Boeing regarding an order for new planes.

      In an interview, Mr Vassilakis complained how government taxes are too high. If a pilot earns €45.000 per year, he actually costs the airline €130.000!

      Delete
  21. Anonymous12:11

    I don't get why they didn't purchase a couple of ATRs or Embraers to expend their regional network before they go long-haul and start flights to PRN, ZAD, MBX, OMO, and increase frequencies to the crucial regional markets. Would have made New York much more viable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:13

      The problem is that they can't afford extra aircraft. If they could then they wouldn't be still using the old Boeings.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:17

      But they can afford having an A330 sit in Belgrade 3 days a week and flying to New York the other 4?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:16

      Naravno kada imaju dinkiceve kadrove koji jedva cekaju da propadne i da sve prodaju nekom. Mogu oni leti carter da naprave do Katanije. ali ne zele da se potrude i prodaju skuplji aranzman nekom od par hiljada beogradskih bogatasa. Ima barem 5 hiljada ljudi u Beg koji imaju pare za to znaci svake godine ih treba privuci to je 40 letova u vansezoni * 250 putnika to je 10 hiljada putnika. Znaci oni sada lete sa Ostrianom i Laudom do Puketa i slicnih destinacija.Nema pevaljke i glumca koji nisu na FB okacili sliku sa plaza u Tajlandu.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:54

      ATRs or Embraers and flights to VAR and OTP are not as prestgious to a politican as an A330 anf a flight to New York city. ;-)

      Delete
  22. Anonymous12:25

    As time goes by let's hope JU's situation improves. These US flights were unnecessary.

    ReplyDelete
  23. OT
    http://hr.n1info.com/a186812/Vijesti/Franjo-Tudjman-ne-moze-se-mjeriti-s-Beogradom.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Danijel13:26

      Marusic? LOL!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:23

      Not even opened yet, and already unraveling. lol

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:53

      Nebojsa, jel' se sada bolje osjecas? ;)

      Delete
    4. Ne,osecam se isto. A ti?

      Delete
    5. Fake news. (and if it isn't we will soon find out) for example where it says Belgrade has already passed 5 mil pax mark.
      Only real concern is lack of ramp space which can be fixed if it becomes a major issue.

      Look at the video at the end. I have never seen this before and you see that there is clearly ample room to service the aircraft, fuel trucks included.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous13:22

    Heard of a prestige project? Isnt investing money in the water polo team a different story?
    Not everything is money, non of the countries in the region have it, and that is somehow cool and prestigious, for a cost of probably yearly one cent per person in Serbia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:49

      Prestige like national flag on aircraft to every part of the World is ancient history. It finished in 1980's. Exempt in North Korea and Cuba, but they can not afford this kind of "prestige", so they don't have it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:17

      Hungary didn't have money to pay for Wizz in 2000s so they got external source to pay for prestige LCC project.

      Delete
  25. JU520 BEGLAX14:23

    Etihad should hve routed daily AUHBEGJFK 773 flight. This would compensate JU 500 plus JU and EY BEGAUH 319/320 flts
    All flies in one catch ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:28

      Do you know if they will send it in the future? Also, they should immediately abolish visas for Serbs entering UAE. Who knows, we might even see the A380 in the peak season e.g. New Year or 15th February

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:22

      Well who on earth would fly on AUH-BEG-JFK flight. Gezzz, your comments are completely delusional. You probably don't work in the aviation industry.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:42

      JU520 BEGLAX gledam ispade nedeljama i cudim se

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:45

      @Anon 3:22
      The same people who fly DXB-ATH-EWR and DXB-MXP-JFK.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:52

      I presume it is more about ATH EWR and MXP JFK in those cases; question is if BEG JFK would be sustainable (profitable) enough for EY to dedicate it's own plane instead of using it on some other route (of course, pending no legal issues are there to have 5th freedom on BEG JFK). I can also assume that it is better for EY to leave this to JU and reduce direct risk and costs while using their own metal solely feeding their own AUH hub.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:04

      @Anon 3:45
      Totally different situation. Athens are tourist mega-hub and Milan is an alpha global city. I would need more time to explain, but I don't have it. Again AUH-BEG-JFK is delusional (same as the original poster).

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:14

      Actually boys and girls, believe it or not but EY and its pax to the US would in fact benefit from a BEG stop enroute to fetch their laptops and electronic devices that are now banned on all flights originating - among others, from the UAE.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:18

      Anonymous 4:14, I sincerely doubt it is that benefitial; it would be convenient, but then you lose competitiveness of direct flight (you need to reduce fares), costs are higher....convenient for SOME (minority,a nd that would be business class who would't buy it in the first place due to additional stop en route vs zillion other combinations without it), but overall not even remotely good reason to even go to the drawing board for such a concept....

      Delete
    9. Nemjee17:21

      Talking of the electronics ban, kudos to Royal Jordanian:

      https://scontent.fbeg1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17309821_1515209415155893_5081775755829356536_n.png?oh=92d733ad9f67937acc7413711c0e6d5b&oe=597084EC

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:51

      TK will allow the banned equipment to the boarding gate in IST. Their staff will collect the items from passengers, tag and safe store them on board, and return during the disembarking process at the destination.

      Seems like a pretty perfect solution in terms of physical safety of banned items. The problem that remains is the inability to use personal gadgets on a long haul flight, however it will be much less of a problem with carriers that offer rich IFE.

      Delete
    11. JU520 BEGLAX20:01

      Whats so wrong about 773 AUHBEGJFK if u can save on JU 500 and daily 2 BEGAUH flts??
      JU500 probl next 2-3 years will still fly losses. Also operation of one 332 in JU fleet with just 3 WITT longhaul doesnt do any good to yr budget
      It would be an investment like EK is investing into ZAG
      Where s Hogan on this blig, dint u like my idea. ZAG EK needs some competition :-))))

      Delete
    12. Anonymous20:09

      Pax in First and Business who fly on actual business will surely be severely affected by not being able to use their laptops during such long journeys. This is a huge hit at TK and ME3. European and American airlines are at an enormous advantage now in terms of attracting regular premium passangers. For holidaymakers who fly once a year in Y or J, sure, IFE will be more than enough.

      Delete
  26. AirCEO14:26

    "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". As a result of that I refrained from comments for the last couple of weeks.

    Hogan however deserves a praise for his outstanding work to transform JAT into Air Serbia. There would be no Air Serbia as it is now without him and Kondic, and Serbia should be thankful for their contributions.

    Now that Hogan is going away, I would prefer to wait for his replacement to talk about long term plans for Air Serbia before making any conclusions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:55

      This post looks like Kondic himself wrote it. What Hogan and Kondic really did would be seen by the end of this year. First indicators are not good: 12% decrease in number of flights this summer, with the tendency for further cuts.

      Delete
    2. AirCEO18:06

      Nope, I wrote it. Even with 12% cut Air Serbia is far ahead of where Jat would be if Hogan and Kondic didn't help. Is it really that hard to give credit where it's due? I am not saying everything is perfect, in fact I criticized many things, but Air Serbia has been given a great start by Hogan and is now in a solid position to move ahead.

      Delete
  27. AirCEO14:30

    OT: Is it just me noticing how "serbian taxpayers" will have to "subvent" carrier from China if they want to have flights between BEG and China? Didn't see any other comments on that news.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:38

      You mean subsidize? I wouldnt be too sure since the Chinese government already subsidizes most international flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:40

      Ne vidim problem i da budu subvenconisani ti letovi?
      Ako si neko ko se razume u avijaciju, mozes znati i sam koliko drugih benefita moze doneti ta linija?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:57

      source?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:00

      Source for what? He is just predicting that there will be those sorts of comments.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:51

      Vučić je naveo da 31. marta čeka da mu se predsednik Nikolić javi iz Pekinga i da mu kaže: "Spremaj ugovore, vidi kako da pomognemo subvencijama da bi počeo direktan let Beograd Peking".

      http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2017&mm=03&dd=24&nav_category=11&nav_id=1243194

      Delete
    6. Anonymous00:16

      If Vucic wants to subsidize foreign Chinese airline for flying to Belgrade, he might as well subsidize Air Transat or Air Canada to start Toronto-Belgrade flights. If Air Serbia doesn't mind subsidy because they don't have second big plane for China it also means Air Serbia doesn't have a plane for Canada and it won't have a problem with Serbia financing Canadian airlines.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous14:40

    Some more positive news:

    - easyJet upgauges GVA-BEG from an A319 to A320, three weekly.

    - Lufthansa upgauges MUC-BEG from E95 to A319. Seats increase from 116 to 138 per flight.

    - Lot's Friday flight is operated by the E95.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:11

      Do you mind sharing the reference?

      Delete
  29. Anonymous15:15

    Sva sreca pa vecina ovde ce i buduce pisati komentare i nece se nista pitati, hvala Bogu da je tako.
    Da odmah rascistimo nesto, nisam fan ASL vec sam objektivan. Radim na BEG za ANTB a ne za ASL i za te tri godine sam video poprilican pomak u organizaciji a i sprovodjenju planova ASL.
    ASL je politicki projekat, politicari na silu povuku neku pricu kao letovi za JFK (setite se da je ASL na manje od mesec dana dobila A330, na brzinu je organizovana i obuka kompletnog Cabin Crew, par dana pred prvi let dobijena je konacno dozvola od USAD, potom letos letovi ka Rimu gde se usput u hodu popravljali manje tehnicke probleme, desavalo se i da ne lete zbog tehnickog kvara kao 12.11.2016., marketing oko tog aviona je ofrlje uradjen, mnogi putnici i dan danas ne znaju za taj let, pa lete kao KLM putnici za AMS pa iz AMS idu ka NYC).
    Posledica toga je da se menadzment ASL (ne Kondic, vec ljudi koji izmisljaju uspesno nacin da ostvare te sve zamisli) bori zverski da isprave sve svoje greske. Secate li se da su pre 2 godine bili 1.5x skuplji na relaciji BEG-ZRH nego LX?
    Oni ce ove godine u toku leta opet leteti 5x nedeljno ka JFK. Putnicki LF je ok, oni su na proseku od 65% van sezone. Najbitnije je da im je cargo krcat na letu ka JFK. Do donosi takodje profit.
    Ono sto bih voleo da vidim je da na letu postoji vise od 3 business pax-a, koji su kupili business kartu po business tarifi. Da nema free upgrade-a, da nema smesne doplate od 300e za business mesto u avionu + complete service.

    Zato, da su savrseni nisu. Da li imaju greske? Itekako imaju! Da li ih ispravljaju i rade na tome da im bude bolje? Apsolutno!

    Zato, dajte im malo vremena i ovaj politicki projekat ce uspesno tranzitirati iz politickog projekta u uspesnu kompaniju.

    Hvala!


    *Fanatik

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:05

      Žao mi je, ne može. Objektivnost nije dozvoljena. Dozvoljena su samo tumačenja po kojima je unutar kompanije sveopšti raspad po svim šavovima, avioni lete prazni, svako ko zna nešto o poslu je oteran a ovogodišnje redukcije na redu letenja su samo početak čitavog niza katastrofa kojima se stručnjaci koji posećuju ovaj blog nadaju kao krokodili koji čekaju da im goveče upadne u baru.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:23

      hahaha nasmeja me druze! najgore je sto ce te neko shvatiti ozbiljnim :D

      *Fanatik

      Delete
    3. Anonymous01:24

      Ja eto to ne mislim i nisam tako što čitao ovde. Napisa čoveče tonu gluposti.

      Ali ono što je objektivno je:

      -46 sedmičnih letova manje nego prošlog leta = -12%

      Delete
  30. Is there any new info on EK flights to BEG? Also is Korean going to fly this year to ZAG? Thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:38

      Nothing new about EK in BEG so far. Yes, Korean will continue operating to ZAG this summer.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous20:19

    Any news on BEG-PEK?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous15:24

    Americans not coming is party due to AirSerbia not being a member of any major alliance. JFK to BEG is about 10k elite qualifying miles - that's a lot of miles to waste. It could mean missing the next elite level for some people. I personally get complementary upgrades to biz about 40% of the time on Delta due to my status. I'm not gonna give that up just to avoid a two hour layover once a year. I realize this is irrelevant to people who get on a plane once a year, to go "home". But for other passengers this is a big consideration. Especially in the US, as I've noticed that airline status is not really a big deal in Europe

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous06:31

    I don't rate anything Hogan has to say. He has no commercial acumen. Great at spending money until that runs dry. If JU is happy to support a loss making route for up to 7 years at the expense of the entire operation then this will be a sad outcome.

    ReplyDelete

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