Air Serbia to consolidate prior to growth


Air Serbia plans ease seasonality, grow its load factor and consolidate its operations prior to expanding its destination network. Following on from last year's growth, the airline will introduce seasonal services to Venice this summer but has reduced its overall operations. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Air Serbia's CEO, Dane Kondić, said, "We have to iron out the seasonality. That is a huge problem for all EX-YU carriers and no one has cracked that nut. Bringing in aircraft, keeping them flying for four months and then parked on the ground for eight months is no good for anybody. We are having to do all of this against the backdrop of costs increasing significantly". He added, “If we were to go and put on new routes, they always take time. When we first launched Air Serbia it took a good eighteen months to two years for that concept to stick. If we now go on launching two to three new year-round routes, especially to some Central Asian or Eastern destinations, it's not easy, especially because you have to invest a lot, you have to stick it out, there is low efficiency of those aircraft because they miss two rotations that they could operate flying to nearer destinations, so it's expensive".

Mr Kondić noted that, “with our current business model, while still showing growth, it is growing at a decreasing rate. That means that we have to change something because we are not growing as fast as we need to grow with what we have. Meanwhile, if you look at the growth of low cost airlines, it is significant. So we can continue to do the same thing and grow at a slower rate, or we can look at the ideas that we are reviewing and see which of those we can apply to our business to ensure that we continue to accelerate our growth". He added, "Conceptually, we have to evolve our business model from what it is today, to a model that will allow us to continue to grow and continue to work to lower costs". Mr Kondić noted that fuel prices are increasing - it is already 50% higher than what it was last year - while ground handling costs at the majority of airports the airline serves have grown between 15% to 40%.

Air Serbia's CEO singled out lowering costs and tackling seasonality as some of the carrier's biggest challenges but noted that the airline's load factor has been improving over the years. "You don't solve seasonality by flying three or four new routes to various places. What we should be doing is growing our load factors with what we have. That's how you make a company stronger. There is still much more room to grow within what we have. The focus is going to be on internal consolidation and strengthening the business before we go on to any major further growth. We have to get better returns on what we have", Mr Kondić said. Air Serbia's average passenger load factor, a measure of seat capacity utilisation, increased to 72.4% in 2016, compared to 70.7% the year before. "When we took over the business, Jat's load factor for the final year was 67%. We achieved the same load factor with double the capacity. In the last three years, we have improved it year on year and we continued to grow the business", Mr Kondić concluded.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    Well I agree that they shouldn't be going around opening flights to place like Dushanbe and other far flung places some have been suggesting on here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Dude.. they can't even operate year-round night flights to ATH.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      Exactly, which is why I think people suggesting they should be flying to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan etx which we often read in the comments is just ludicrous.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:17

      That's because their frequencies to Europe are sad.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:21

      Compared to most companies in the region they are quite alright. The main destinations in western europe have more than one daily flight.

      I think a big problem is aircraft. They need a jet which is has capacity between the ATR and A319. That would give them a lot more opportunities.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:05

      Croatia has much more frequencies to main airport in Europe:

      FRA 7 per day (pd), 5 out of ZAG
      MUC 7 pd, 4 out of ZAG
      VIE 7 pd, 5 out of ZAG
      ZRH 4 pd, 2,5 out of ZAG
      CDG 3 pd, 2 out of ZAG
      AMS 3 pd, 2 out of ZAG
      BRU 2,5 pd, 2,5 out of ZAG
      LON 2 pd, 1,5 put of ZAG

      Concerning to major airport just to SVO, AUH, PRG and ATH JU has more than OU.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:12

      You are combining all airports in the country. I was talking about JU from BEG and I wasn't doing a whose is bigger comparison like you, I was simply stating that their frequencies were alright. You also don't seem to know JUs frequencies to most cities and also don't forget that JU is not a Lufthansa feeder.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:14

      What on earth does two and a half flights per day even mean?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous18:10

      In addition to SVO, AUH, PRG and ATH you conveniently forgot: FCO, MXP, TXL, DUS, STR, CPH, LED, CPH, SOF, OTP, SKG...

      Delete
    9. Anonymous00:08

      We spoke about flights with several flights per day. And Croatia is much better on that list then JU. Even from ZAG. But what is wrong with flights from SPU, DBV, ZAD, PUY, RJK? Those are also flights to those cities.

      Unlike Serbia which does not have flights from INI, OU has lot of flight from other cities. If not ZAG would have much more passengers than BEG with connections to SPU, DBV, ZAD, PUY...

      CPH for sure is not between them as Croatia has more flights then JU.

      2,5 pd is twice par day + 3-4 more flights per week, so it is 17 or 18 flights per week.

      On that list (less than two flights per day) OU has more flights to SJJ, BCN, HEL, OSL, LIS, LYS

      Delete
    10. Anonymous00:11

      No flights from INI? Just goes to show you have no idea.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous00:17

      @ 12.08 I still don't understand what your rant is about? Where did I mention Croatia or Croatia Airlines in my original post? I just said Air Serbia has western europe covered quite alright. Read again if you have to.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous08:54

      "Compared to most companies in the region they are quite alright"

      Sooo... they are not.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    The best way to tackle seasonality is to work harder on turning BEG into a Balkan hub. The exact opposite of what they have been doing.
    Dane, in order for you to grow, you need to invest in marketing. Something you have continuously avoided. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @anonymous 9:04 - I don't agree. If any airport is doing a decent job of running a hub, it is BEG. BUD, SOF don't have a hub and spoke model, while other cities in Ex Yu are doing much worse. LJU, TGD and SJJ are ridiculous. ZAG is the closest one to the "hub concept", yet still not doing what it should be doing because it's hub airline in summer is operating at least 20 to 25% of its capacity to directly serve coastal cities. Some will say, yay for croatian tourism. I say "nay" because you can't sit on two stools at a time. BEG on the other hand has created a solid concept of several daily "waves" with decent connectivity.
      So, I would not say that BEG has been doing "the opposite" of what it should be doing... wish OU and ZAG do more of that... :)

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:06

    Having a widebody parked most of the time off season - bad planning
    You build everything from the bottom then go up
    First thing on the to do list were those regional jets, then you get the big guns

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      Agree about the regional jets. Anyone know what they plan to do with the regional fleet? They will have to replace those ATRs soon.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:06

    So this winter we will probably have the same scale of operations like 2 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      Hopefully not below that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:48

      In that case they should lease out a plane or two because they don't think they need a 20 member fleet for that schedule. Plus it's a way to make some cash.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:52

      They already placed an ad for leasing out one A319 after the summer season is over.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:24

      Really ? Where was that ?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:25

      Search for Air Serbia here: http://www.myairlease.com/available/available_for_lease_A320

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:12

    Seasonality is a big issue for all the airlines in this region, I completely agree and more or less no one had a solution. But Air Serbia has opened a lot of summer-only routes in the last couple of year so I do wonder how does that contribute to easing seasonality

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      True, most of the new routes are seasonal: St Petersburg, Ohrid, Venice...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:35

      they never tried OHD or LED in winter, who knows maybe it could work 2 weekly

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:36

      And they wanted to make Larnaca seasonal as well. Thank god they came to their senses.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:37

      I think Malta could work very well during the winter too. Jat used to fly it all year. They could have linked it to another destination during the winter. Now it's too late. Wizz Air is starting flights and they will be flying year round. That's the only reason why Air Serbia started Malta from the start of summer this year and will be flying it all summer.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:14

      Wizz Air to Malta ain't cheap, their average fare is about 80-90 Eur. one-way.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:18

    They have grown a lot on in the last couple of years. Over 10 new destinations in three years: Tirana, Zagreb, Sofia, Bucharest, Hamburg, St Petersburg, New York, Ohrid, Venice, Prague, Banja Luka... so I think it's normal to put the breaks on further growth, especially if you are about to change your business model.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:57

      You forgot to add the cessation of specific routes and flight reductions on some routes.
      Also JU have scaled back flights during what is deemed peak. I guess they are going to scale back further this forthcoming winter, meanwhile Wizz will increase the range of destinations and number of flights ex BEG.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:27

    This all sounds like an announcement for the upcoming hybrid model. It will be interesting to see what will be included in it. What sort of extras we will loose.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      I don't think they have decided for themselves either.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:42

    I hope it works out for them.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:43

    Seasonality is something majority of european airlines are faced with, LCCs included. FR parks approx. 20% of its fleet during the low season.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:48

    ".. increased to 72.4% in 2016, compared to 70.7% the year before" - How are they measuring the load factor? Is it based on ASK? If so the JFK flight helped increase the LF overall.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:49

    I think JU must look into Israel, Egypt or even Africa. Why not fly to AMM, HRG, Canary Islands during the winter? Or ski destinations such as SZG,Grenoble, etc? The A330 can fly to SE Asia with no problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:01

      JU has Aviolet for these kind of routes. SE Asia? Probably better ROI parking the A330 against the fence

      Delete
  12. that is just the kind of news i was hoping for to see here for months - rethinking the current business model!
    they are in fact a pretty capable bunch of people, but working on an archaic business model. i guess when they had two months to set up the company they had to work with what they had, and also had to accept some not tailored solutions from AUH... also my guess is that bullsh*t consultants weren't much help

    for one, the big problems is agency commissions that are insanely eating into the revenues because of the customer habits in these regions. flyfly travel and other agencies are going completely against the flow of the western markets and are opening more branches and people are for some reason coming in and buying tickets, instead of going directly to JU via web or phone. they need to churn that

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:09

      u poslednjih deset godina nikada nisam kupio kartu od
      avio kompanije ili na njihovom sajtu. uvek su medju najskupljima..

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:12

      Agree 100% Petar

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:27

      Simple fix: put a banner on Air Serbia web site that says "Guaranteed lowest price is on our web site".

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:02

      That wouldn't be fair to their various dealers/agents etc.
      Can't have it both ways.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:24

    So when will all these changes start?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:30

      June or July I think.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:35

      Quite soon. They will have to reveal all the details quite soon.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:41

    Maybe they should look at co-owning aircraft with the other Etihad partners like Virgin Australia or another company that has the opposite seasonality

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:09

      Unfortunately virgin Australia are struggling with financial woes and handing aircraft to LCC Tiger Airways. The Australian market is not seasonal

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:49

    They have to find a way to effectively compete against LCCs. They are being challenged on more and more routes which is great for consumers but this year they are competing against Transavia on Amsterdam route, Wizz on Malta route. What I do question is whether they can efficiently compete against LCCs by adopting a hybrid model.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:53

      I think their future plan is actually good but they will have to do a lot of marketing and promotion to sell it as an improvement to consumers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:38

      Does the LCC boom at Nis Airport impact on JU?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:03

      Not as much, they mostly created their own clientele. Like BTS-INI took passengers away from bus and minibus companies.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:51

      LOL 12:03
      300.000 plus passengers who until 2015 had no other choice to fly than BEG is not effecting BEG's and JU's performance?
      Get serious people.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:08

      People who lived in southern Serbia mostly used SKP or SOF, very few went to BEG which is much further away, some 250 km from Nish.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:57

      Not true. Unofficial numbers are: 60% went to BEG, 25% to SKP, & 15% to SOF.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous08:49

      Hmm yet BEG's numbers keep on booming. I guess it's because it lost those 60% of INI passengers.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:08

      Nobody said they lost those 60%. INI has raised from the dead largely based on new pax. Many people from Niš and the South continue to use BEG. So take it easy Jackie.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:54

    Сезоналност и немогућност да нађу добро решење за попуњавање кабине је само изговор за гомилу неспособних који им раде продају. На то додати оне који не умеју да испланирају ни сопствени доручак, а не добар ред летења са овако малом флотом и неред је загарантован.

    Сезоналност не значи да људи имају потребе да путују само у једном делу године, попуњеност визера је рецимо добар пример да тражња током целе године постоји, само је треба препознати и реаговати, али аутистични људи упослени у продаји Ер Србије не умеју ништа друго сем да се жале на зло тржиште

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:43

      U potpunosti se slazem. Potpuna nesposobnost i pogresna strategija u toku zimskog reda letenja...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01:14

      Verovatno su zahvaljujuci nesposobnosti duplirali broj putnika u odnosu na Jat-ovu eru.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:04

    This was a wishlist for JU posted 2 years ago today. They have done a lot of these

    - nice widebody or two
    - Air Serbia branded credit card and local loyalty partners
    - smartphone and tablet app
    - 737 not in scheduled service
    - electronic boarding pass
    - ATR -200 replacement
    - free inflight games, map, music and video streaming
    - new codeshares
    - real time baggage tracker within app
    - no checked baggage fare option
    - ASL self serve check-in kiosks/bag drop at BEG airport
    - more slots at LHR for double daily
    - online checkin for all routes and departure airports
    - new destinations, both regional and USA/Canada
    - exit row/aisle/window seat selection for a fee
    - acquisition of another airline

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AirCEO15:46

      Wow, I forgot about this blast from the past. Don't know why I posted under Anon, but I admit it was me. Air Serbia did a lot in two years, but the glass is half empty when it comes to long haul strategy. There is no point in updating the wishlist until new Etihad management outlines plans for Air Serbia and, to some extent, BEG concession details are published. I just hope it is not LH/Fraport as it would lead to some sort of JP/LJU scenario.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:13

    - 100% discount (free) on some of BEG services
    - 50% discount on all other BEG services
    - 50% discount on NIS for petrol
    - 60 million EUR for fleet and other costs in just first year
    - 15 million EUR subsidies from Serbia
    - 30 million EUR debts in 2013 from which they finance some costs from 2014 in advance
    - 0 debts because all debts were transfer to Serbia
    - Indirect subsidies, privileges, company Support for free...

    And they still have to change their business model. Not good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:36

      It was an investment on the part of the Serbian government. The result is that you have 2,500 people with a job and an airport with almost 5 million passengers per year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:54

      There is no point in explaining. He will never understand.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:56

      What people often forget is how much help OU and JP have received over the years. Adria was even investigated for state aid, Croatia Airlines received a huge state injection just before Croatia entered the EU, they also get paid to fly over half of their domestic network and so on. I don't have a problem with it. Better support your own than a Hungarian company.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:18

      hahaha... Croatia injection was 40 million EUR, as much Air Serbia gets in one year from Subvention.

      2.500 people have a job? Good

      Spent 200 million of Serbian investment + subventions (without old debt), and that is 80.000 per employee. That is enough for 20 years of Serbian salary for each of them. Or think about how much benefit that would be Serbia invest in other business that kind of money.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:21

      And how much does OU get annually in subsidies to keep domestic flights without which it would have 400,000 passengers less annually?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous00:15

      Non, zero, nothing!!!!

      They get 10 million EUR per year for PSO, but I am sure you, as visitor to this site, know the difference between PSO and subvention. PSO is what Croatia gets, subvention is what Air Serbia gets.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous00:33

      Is ZAG-DBV also PSO?

      Grad Dubrovnik će, istaknuo je gradonačelnik Vlahušić, i dalje davati subvencije od 250 kuna po povratnoj karti

      http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/dalmacija/dubrovnik/clanak/id/313605/dubrovacki-hns-zelimo-jeftine-avionske-karte-grad-bi-kupio-50-tisuca-komada-za-svoje-graane

      Delete
    8. Anonymous08:47

      PSO is no different than a subvention.

      If JU didn't have subventions several routes would be either reduced or cancelled.

      If OU didn't get PSO several routes would be suspended or reduced.

      Delete
  19. OT:Wizz sent A321 to INI from BSL today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:43

      Yes, because have problem in rotation with A320 which operate from Skopje-Basel from yesterday and yesterday return flight from Basel to Skopje was canceled....(so miss airplani in rotation) >)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:26

      Maybe they might base one A321 in INI too just like they do in BUD, OTP and SOF. Lets wait and see.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:24

      hahahahah, Please do not be ridiculous

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:20

      Why is that exactly ridiculous?

      I remember that on this blog lot of BEG fans said INI does not have any potentials at all for air traffic. And this year they will have 300.000+ passengers.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous08:46

      People said they have potential but not for legacies, only LCCs and we were right.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous11:36

    So no new routes until next summer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is Venice and thats it...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:45

      Well it does not say they won't start new routes. It just says they don't plan any major expansion so nothing like last summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:03

      It's a bit disappointing INI didn't see any increases this summer excpet DTM

      Delete
  21. Anonymous11:53

    If there will be no new long hauls routes they better think of a way to utilize the A330 next winter. A 4-day parking is a disaster. Seasonality is really a deadly factor in this part of the world...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:20

      It may be that they calculated that it is cheaper to keep the plane on the ground then flying it to a more unprofitable route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:57

      I'm sure some winter charters to Asia might work.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:02

      I'm sure they would have done it if the figures were there.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:49

      Figures are not there for JFK as it is unprofitable in the first year. It would have been smarter if they added Toronto or Chicago 2 times per week to existing JFK service. It would not be profitable from the start but it would give them the first step to add another A330 and grow frequency.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:11

      Toronto has 4 things working against it:-

      1. Seasonality is even more extreme than JFK
      2. Slots that work to JU's network are not available
      3. Toronto airport is one of if not, THE most expensive airport to fly to
      4. No regulatory approvals for JU to fly to Canada - these are even more onerous than the US

      Delete
    6. AirCEO18:49

      1. True, YYZ can make real money only during summer. 2pw in winter is more of a placeholder for route to grow in summer.
      2. It would be unfair to say Air Canada is behind it. Still, there is plenty of slow periods and some changes might be needed on JU side of the network to enable connectivity. Lastly, get into YYZ while you can as things will get even busier. Plan is for YYZ to double from 40 to 80M annual pax by 2035. Airport is landlocked so don't wait.
      3. It is, but see how RV and TS long haul adapt to that.
      4. Change was initiated only recently, not back in 2013-2014 as for JFK. You would have approvals by now.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:50

      I think the plane would make more money flying once a week to YYZ than sitting on the ground waiting for the next JFK flight. It would carry our diaspora back home so frequencies are not important to them.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous19:05

      And what, you leave 19 crew sitting in a hotel and collecting allowances for 1 week ?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous21:15

      You fly them back as regular passengers.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous22:59

      And who operates the flight on the way back ? You don;t fly in the crew and then have them work on the way back....

      Delete
    11. Anonymous08:45

      You fly the crew two days before on Alitalia or Air Berlin. Like they did with the inaugural flight to JFK.

      It's not like the first time an airline would operate a long-haul flight with a single weekly frequency.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous19:19

      Aren't you smart one ... flying people like this leaves them subject to commercial demands of other airlines, meaning that to ensure that crew absolutely get to the destination, you have to purchase full fare one way fares - which is more expensive than leaving them in a hotel for 1 week and paying them allowances.

      If only it were that easy ...

      Delete
  22. Anonymous12:41

    OT:
    In 8 days Alitalia might be shut down by Etihad.
    http://aviacionaldia.com/2017/04/a-8-dias-del-posible-cierre-de-alitalia.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:54

      I doubt it will happen but that might actually be good news for JU.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:04

      Well even people on here predicted that Alitalia was a very bad investment for Etihad. But I also have my doubts they will shut the airline down. It seems every month I read that it will be shut down in 5 days, 10 days, two weeks.

      Delete
    3. I think Etihad might wait for the new CEO to take the helm before they make any drastic decisions but they could shut the airline down for a few days to demonstrate to the unions how serious they are. Qantas CEO actually did it a few years back, shut the entire airline down for a weekend. The strategy worked.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:25

      Missed that one at Qantas. What happened?

      Delete
    5. Happened in October 2011 and lasted for 2 days from momemory. Was a very bold and crazy move and many thought the CEO would be sacked but it worked perfectly for him.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Qantas_industrial_disputes

      https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/qantas-grounds-all-flights/news-story/2aabe0e51902dca90771d607f2c27d23

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:23

      Ahaha good speculation! Alitalia will never shut down, stop dreaming.

      Delete
  23. Uzeo sam proizvoljne datume za najslabiji mesec u avijaciji na jednoj tipicnoj gastarbaterskoj ruti gde JU ima konkurenciju.
    Dakle, cena karte sa JU: FRA-BEG-FRA (02.02-04.02.2018) 183,-EUR (sa prtljagom)

    Cena karte sa LH: 118 EUR (bez prtljaga koji izadje jos oko 30 EUR ako se uzima jer nije pod moranje).

    I jedna i druga kompanija letove obavljaju sa A319.

    LH vec sada popunjava svoje avione
    privlaceci putnike jeftinijim kartama i dok dodje Februar imace solidno popunjen avion.

    Sa druge strane imamo JU kojem sad ne pada na pamet da krene da popunjava avion povoljnijim cenama vec ce se 15.01.2018 setiti da izadju sa "novogodisnjom akcijom" i odredjeni broj sedista do odredjenog datuma prodavati po nizoj ceni.
    I onda se zalite na "seasonality"? Pa gde ste bili cele protekle godine da to shvatite?

    U zimskom periodu avioni se pune nizim cenama (kao sto to radi LH pa cak i EK) i ne moze se ocekivati prihod kao u avgustu ali se bar avioni ne moraju drzati na zemlji i otkazivati letove zbog malog broja putnika.

    Nece biti bas da LH ne zna sta radi kad se radi o cenovnoj politici.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mislim da se cene i revenue management rade u AUH. generalno, problem JU je što je dosta core delatnosti van kompanije i rade im arapi kome je sve što uradi JU kikirki u poređenju sa onim što inače hendluju

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:04

      Inače taj isti BEG-FRA-BEG je kod Er Srbije koštao 33.000 din. 27.01-30.01. ove godine a avion nije bio pun. I onda se žale na sezonalnost (avion nije bio pun).

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:12

      Hendluju! A joj.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:17

      Nebojsa Popovic - gee, aren't you so smart. You picked a really good example to cite. FTA is a LH hub, as is MUC. Do you think that ALL people travelling from FRA are P2P pax or OD as well ?

      LH has the majority of its pax on FRABEG and MUCBEG as OD pax - meaning that people are travelling from across their entire network that feed onto and off these flights, not to mention from the plethora of Star Alliance partners as well.

      JU doesn't have such a luxury and the P2P market is much smaller. Infact, on the P2P market, JU has 65% market share, so they are doing better than LH - irrespective of the fare that you found.

      Additionally, the fare you saw is not a fare that they have on offer for the entire cabin either - they may offer a handfull of fares at this price and then revenue manage it accordingly.

      Don't be so quick to make judgments around things for which you don't have all the information on hand.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:05

      I guess you work for JU since you referred to transfer passengers as O&D. That's a mistake all JU employees make.

      Delete
    6. Dear JU employee,

      1. I never said it is their fare for whole plane and of course it is not, but JU does not have even that. Not even couple of seats with that price at least to start filling the plane. Zero. But they complain about seasonality. Funny!
      2.Of course all the passengers are not P2P passengers, but I was looking the prices they offer for P2P passengers and nothing else. If you want to fly on these days on that route that is the price you are paying. End of the story.
      3.From the other side if LH filled their plane to BEG already with transfer passengers it is logical they would not be cheaper than JU as their plane is already half full. But, hey, they are still cheaper than JU. Logic zero.
      Try to understand people care about the price they pay and compare the prices of 2 airlines flying on the same route. Any other airline BS passengers do not care about.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous00:17

      MUC-BEG with LH is always so expensive. LH flies twice daily. I live in Munich and almost can never find a reasonably priced ticket to go home to BEG. It's always 300+ eur for the weekend, and with no bag.
      I keep writing to JU why don't they fly to Munich but they never give me an answer... it's annoying since there are so many diaspora in MUC

      Delete
  24. Anonymous13:18

    Each airline goes through something like this especially from poorer markets. We had Adria and Croatia Airlines do the same.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous13:25

    "Air Serbia plans ease seasonality, grow its load factor and consolidate its operations prior to expanding its destination network".

    This will take a lot of time. I assume until the end of the 5 year Etihad deal.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous13:36

    Alo Krasnodar?

    ReplyDelete
  27. All this looks sensible and is similar to what we have seen from OU in recent years.

    The timing for me is no coincidence with this all happening not long after Etihad made changes at the top. I'm thinking Air Serbia had somewhat of an open cheque book or was able to be more ambitious with its plans under Hogan.
    Now they seem to be told they have to stand on their own two feet or so it seems.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous15:25

    All good things have to come to an end

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:45

      Oh, and what has come to an end?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:58

      The "new wings of Europe" boutique airline concept.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous15:27

    As expected Etihad is investing much less in any of their subsidiaries. So no money will be given for lease of new planes, service improvements etc. So it's no surrse these changes are coming about at JU.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous16:11

    OT
    Passenger growth in April at LYBE is gonna be between 15 and 20%.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:17

      how come?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:55

      Ok but today is 10.04.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:41

      Someone has a flux capacitor

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:43

      If he said -10% you would all be celebrating.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:22

      I was flying last Thursday, April 6th from IST to BEG in the morning by TK. A321 almost full in economy, probably 95%. Business had passengers too, did not see how many. Same day at 1pm I was again at BEG arrivals waiting for my colleague. Landed several aircrafts and tons of people are coming through exit doors, many many Israelis. I am FF for 15 years, flying at least once per week both ways from/to BEG and never saw such crowd there.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:24

      Forgot to say - my colleague was on LH from Munich, he told me that plain was packed - A319

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:52

      Orthodox and Catholic Easters coincide this year, so it´s going to be a very busy week ahead. Maybe 12% but 20% is way too much. Lets wait and see.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:56

      First three Transavia flights to Belgrade, 73W(2) and 73H(1), plf 89% both directions.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous21:13

      Transavia is really bad news for W6

      Delete
    10. Anonymous21:22

      bravo!

      Delete
    11. Anonymous22:09

      Transavia is even worse news for ASL.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous22:43

      Not really. Different kind of products, different kind of market... those who fly with Transavia now did not fly with JU before

      Delete
  31. Anonymous16:31

    It's ok and I don't have a problem with this whole new business plan they have, I realise Etihad is no longer writing blank squelches but the timing is unfortunate. They were forced into launching JFK and it would have been useful for that route to have been able to benefit from extra frequencies and connections for at least a year. Now you will also be impeding that route too.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Nemjee18:03

    Makes absolute sense:

    - New York
    - Transavia
    - Atlasjet
    - Air Serbia flying to Malta, St. Petersburg...

    Plus last year there was no real growth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee18:04

      Comment was a reply to Anon 4.11

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:54

      You forgot to add Beijing and Krasnodar as future destinations.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee21:11

      Well, we were speaking about April, not 2017.

      Delete
  33. Makes total sense what he's saying. More emphasis should've been put on that approach from the get go. However, they have done a lot in the past several years, regardless of so much more to do and I've read some good coomemts and proposals in that regard on here in this thread! I'm also elated that they are abandoning those flights to different Central Asian 'Stans!!
    Btw...my colleague is flying on Air Serbia in business class from JFK to Ben Gurion in a couple of hours. He had never even heard of Air Serbia before, I recommended it to him! :)) It is an emergency flight that he had to make and all the direct flights were sold out. Alitalia via Rome was sold out too. And as for the rest, only Turkish Airlines via Istanbul and Air Serbia via Belgrade had somewhat decent prices. Turkish was considerably cheaper, but he's decided on Air Serbia nevertheless!! :)))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous01:32

      Good to hear that he is flying AS. Let us know how his flight was.

      Delete
    2. Sure thing. He said he'd text me when he lands to Belgrade and then to Ben Gurion. He only has a couple of hours of connection time at Tesla, so he's happy about that! I am so jelous because I only flew AS short haul and in coach.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous05:18

      Thanks man.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:42

      Yeah, I think he arrives at 05.30 and departs to TLV at 07.45. Not bad.

      Delete
    5. He is just approaching Tel Aviv. Landed to Ben Gurion at around 11:30 AM local time, that's 10:30 our time.
      He said that a few really minor things aside, such as very pricey WiFi, this was one of the best business class experiences in his entire life! And, unlike me, he regularly travels business class. Said the crew was absolutely unbelievable, the meal, the drinks served, pretty much everything waw 1st class, not business class...totally amazing! He was even thrilled with the A-319 flight from Belgrade to Ben Gurion, lol!!
      Anyway...AS has got a new customer for life! :))

      Delete
  34. Anonymous14:00

    Thanks for that report brother.

    ReplyDelete

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