Air Serbia aims to launch its new frequent flyer program by the end of the year and is currently assessing the potential reconfiguration of its wide-body aircraft cabins. The airline also hopes to begin construction on its new Premium Lounge at Belgrade Airport shortly in a bid to elevate the passenger experience. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, provided more details on the status of each of these projects.
Frequent flyer program
The much-anticipated replacement of the carrier’s Etihad Guest frequent flyer program is advancing. Mr Marek explains, “As we speak, we’re in the final stages of selecting the platform provider for our new program. We’re also close to finalising the choice of our co-branded card partner. We expect to officially announce the program around October, and if everything goes according to plan, we aim to go live by the end of December. This is without a doubt one of our top priority projects for the year”.
It was previously reported that Air Serbia's new frequent flyer program will shift from a traditional miles-based system to more of a lifestyle-focused program, aiming to allow members to earn points through everyday spending, including activities like buying groceries, gas or attending the cinema. These points could then be used for flights or other purchases.
Long-haul cabin reconfiguration
Commenting on upgrading cabins on its Airbus A330-200 fleet, Mr Marek said, "This kind of decision isn’t easy to make, especially given how we originally planned our operations for this summer. Our strategy was to maintain some spare capacity, mainly for ad-hoc charter operations. However, we’ve already faced delays in maintenance. One of our [A330] aircraft was supposed to be out for three weeks but has only just returned after two months. And we are in the peak summer season, with tickets already sold.
Had we not planned for that spare capacity, we would have found ourselves in serious operational trouble. Fortunately, that planning has allowed us to stabilise, and we’re currently seeing very good on-time performance, which we intend to maintain.
Still, these are not easy decisions. For an airline of our size, investing in additional aircraft is a significant financial commitment. At the same time, the market is beginning to shift, aircraft are returning, often in good condition and with properly configured cabins, and at competitive lease terms.
So, with all these moving parts, we’re carefully evaluating what the right next step should be".
New Belgrade Airport lounge
The airline had hoped to open its new ticketing office at Belgrade Airport, which is already set up and ready, as well as its new Premium Lounge located in the C pier. However, neither has yet materialised. Mr Marek noted, "I would love to open the lounge already. The ticketing office is finished, it looks great, and everything is ready. But we’re still waiting on the airport to secure the necessary permits, whether it's a building permit or another type of approval. It’s not just our project that's affected; several others in the new terminal area are also on hold for the same reason.
The lounge project itself is fully designed and ready to go. We're essentially just waiting for the green light to begin construction. Once we start, the build will take around three months. So, we’re very close but just need final clearance to proceed.
In the meantime, the current lounge is already quite congested. Even after cutting access for Priority Pass holders, it's still crowded given the scale of our current network. There’s clearly a need for expanded capacity".
These plans sound promising but Air Serbia has been talking about a new loyalty program for years now. I'll believe it when I see it
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteFinally moving from Etihad Guest
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI hope they will have some airline partners too.
DeleteA tailor made program will be much more beneficial for loyal passengers
DeleteAgree
DeleteLoyalty program overhaul? But I was told repeatedly here that EY program is fine.
ReplyDeleteJU has been talking about new frequent flyer program for over a year. I personally am not so excited about a new program and I do think EY Guest is fine. You can redeem points for flights, you can earn points on partner airlines, you can spend points on hotel stays. Something tells me all of this will be much more difficult under the new program.
Delete^ Over a year? More like since Marek got the job! When was that, pre COVID?
DeleteNo he was not CEO pre Covid. No need to make things up. First mention of new loyalty program was made last year.
DeleteEtihad Guest never really fit Air Serbia’s brand
DeleteNope, they have been actually talking about a FF program since the Etihad collaboration ended and they stopped flying to BEG.
DeleteEthiad stopped flying to BEG much before the collaboration ended. The two are unrealted.
DeleteYes, Etihad stopped in September 2020, it didn't divest from JU until November 2023.
DeleteConstruction on its new Premium Lounge hasn't even started yet???
ReplyDeleteAirport does not have permit to allow construction to start. Like with many shops.
DeleteBravo Vinci, bravo transport ministry!
DeleteThey are being rejected for permits. It was written also not long ago in the consutrction update article.
DeleteVinci is so unprofessional, unbelievable. Some of the Western companies nowadays have a ridiculous quality level, but no wonder with the priorities they set. Who knows when this lounge will be open.... 😡
Delete^ you will get many triggered responses for this comment :D
DeleteConstruction permits all over Serbia have grounded to a halt as a result of the protests. No one wants to sign anything anymore out of fear of being criminally charged or mobbed online.
DeleteIt was written here the other day that because Vinci initially didn't get the correct permit when they built the new terminal, all shops and facilities now require a separate permit, which would not have been required had they filed the correct permit in the beggining. It also says that Vinci is filing these permit requests full of errors. So it is a long process. They submit permit request to the Ministry, the Ministry then takes 2 months to respond and say that the permit is declined due to errors, then the airport must submit a new request, then that takes another several months to get reponse from ministry and usually something else is wrong in the permit request and so on.
DeleteYet nothing has said regarding long haul cabin reconfiguration. There were ideas of a 3-3-3 economy class config.
ReplyDeleteHe has said that they are obviously not planning it for now.
DeleteThe way I see it, YU-ARC is leaving the fleet next November. There is absolutely no point to reconfigure an aircraft leaving in just over a year which is going to be used as reserve. They will probably decide after they get a replacement for ARC what to do with cabins.
Delete^ makes sense
DeleteYU-ARC should have never been leased in such a condition.
DeleteThe condition is fine. In the last maintenance they fixed the few seats that had defects. People who have never flown the plane complaining about it. Oh and had they not leased it, you would be complaining how they are not starting long haul flights.
Delete^ You do realize that YU-ARC was not the only used A330, right? Right?
DeleteYou know what the conditions on the market were at the time? You have insights on what was the A330 availability and leasing conditions at the time, right? Right?
DeleteBack in 2022 the aviation market wasn't even close to recovering from Covid and there were a lot more aircraft parked.
DeleteDo you have a different view? If so please do share it with us.
Yes, I have a different view. You just confirmed that you do not have a clue about the market conditions at the time. The market may have looked oversupplied on paper but it wasn't the case. Many of those idle aircraft were under existing lease contracts, even if they weren't actively flying. Lessors were unwilling to terminate those agreements early without significant financial penalties. it was also not easy to find power by the hour contracts at the time like Air Serbia did. You porbbaly forgot how volotile the situation was and no one could guarantee that the world wouldn't introduce a new round of entry restrictions within 24 hours which is why such an agreement was needed.
DeleteGood news
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of earning points through daily purchases, not just flights. That’s how modern loyalty programs should work.
ReplyDeleteYou can earn it with EY guest but only in UAE. So this is going to be much better.
DeleteSeems a lot like the American style system. Which would be great if they partnered with AIK bank or postanska to make it work.
DeleteI'm sure they will partner with several banks, although branded credit card might be with Postnaska Stedionica considering it is state owned.
DeleteAlso, a good indication of where you will be able to earn miles is from the list of hotels, restaurants, museums, rent a car etc that are involved in the Keep Boarding program.
DeleteHere is the link to that
Deletehttps://www.airserbia.com/en/explore/special-offers/keep-boarding
For God's sake avoid partnership with worst bank ever - Postanska Stedionica. Cooperate with large and popular banks such as Raiffeisen, AIK and Intesa.
DeleteIn that case diaspora would be excluded? Cause we can’t open the bank account in Serbia
DeleteWell yes, same way you can't earn United miles in Serbia with a Serbian bank account. Same way you won't be able to earn Air Serbia miles through the bank in the US or France or Germany. That's normal.
DeleteAlta banka entering the chat...
Delete14:02 - Unless they partner with a foreign bank like Lufthansa with Barclay's, Air France/KLM with Bank of America and Avianca with Amex.
DeleteYou can not possibly expect Air Serbia to partner with Barclays? While I understand some people'
Deletes enthusiasm, you should keep in mind the size of Air Serbia and the country it comes from.
The new lounge can’t come soon enough
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWhen will YU ARD come back from maintenance?
ReplyDeleteAnd is possible to send any of A330 to Antalya charter? That would free some capacity. If JU can't send wide body there is there any reason for that?
I don't think ARD is undergoing maintenance but I don't know.
DeleteARD was apparently damaged in BEG by ground which is why it is going put to NAP.
DeleteAs for charters to AYT, travel agents are those who organise aircraft/capacity not JU. So unless a travel agency specifically requests for an A330 JU won't be using it.
Dissapointing they won't unirom the A330 cabin anytime soon.
ReplyDelete2 out of the 3 A330s actively used have the same cabins and the there is barely any difference compared to the third one.
DeleteWhen ARD and ARE joined the fleet they said that they had already purchased seats and cabin fixtures to standardized the fleet. What's happening to this plan?
DeleteRead the artciles. They are removing one of the aircraft from the fleet. Cabin retrfoti is not just installing second hand seats.
DeleteWe all have read this and the previous articles about purchasing seats for retrofitting YU-ARC.
DeleteWe are not getting answers what are they going to do with these seats.
Do you fly Air Serbia A330s for this to be vital to you? Lofically, they will use the seats so they can replace the ones in YU-ARD and YU-ARE when required.
Delete^ Other than assumptions do you have an insight why the company changed course?
DeleteWill this information change your life? Have you thought that maybe they realised cabin retrfoirt would take 6 months since everything is taking months and months longer. Or maybe they decided to invest that money in expanding their route network.
DeleteAlso, it is a question if the lesor comply with cabin retrofit? Maybe they will ask to put back old configuration at the end of lease term
DeleteIt could be that pax feedback for the 2 new A330's is making them reconsider the cabin upgrades. After all, the "new" cabin is an outdated Etihad product. ARB seats are much better.
DeleteYou really are talking nonsense now. ARE and ARD seats are much better and a newer generation seat than ARB. They also have 1-2-1 configuration in business unlike ARB. They alsp have larger screens in both business and economy. As someone who has flown both products I can tell you ARD/ARE is much better and passengers are definitely not complaining about them.
DeleteARB has in 2 rows where it is a 1-2-2, other than that it is 1-2-1. Nothing dramatic here, it's still decent. EK and TK for example do 2-3-2 on the B777. ARD/E doesn't have overhead stowage compartments in the centre so that must be great on a full flight. ARB on the other hand has it plus more stowage space in the seat area. IFE is better on ARD/E, more responsive.
DeleteNot only is the IFE better on ARD and ARE, the seats have more privacy, the screens are bigger, the IFE actually works while on ARB many seats get audio from different seats. I don't understand people just saying matter of factly how something else is better without actually trying the product. Not to mention that the poster concocted a complete lie how someone is complaining about the seats on ARD and ARE. One of the reasons I dislike reading comments here is that so many people post pure fabrications in them, present them as fact and that people just take it for granted and go along with it. 2 weeks ago when someone asked why YU-ARC was still in Naples (it returned since then) the other person answered that Air Serbia has returned the plane to the lessor and that it is an ex- Air Serbia plane now. Just like that. Made something up on the spot and presented it as fact.
DeleteARB issues is more on how JU maintains the cabin. Give ARD/E some time and it'll go down that path as well unfortunately.
DeleteStatements such as "it could be" and "probably" isn't stating fact, it's merely opening a route for discussion. Thats the idea of a forum, to discuss and provide opinions. You've had made up statements and facts in this comment section for years, especially around the time when ARA arrived, but you learn to spot it, ignore it and move on.
Marek has done a 360 when it comes to cabin retrofit so something is a problem. Statements such as "aircraft are returning, often in good condition and with properly configured cabins" allude to JU not being entirely satisfied with the ARD/E product and/or configuration. It could be a comment related to ARC, we will have to see I guess.
You are right, I have started spoting made up nonsense and your comment falls into that category. But creating made up conspiricies, all of which turn out to be false, is a sepciality among some here.
Delete"Statements such as "aircraft are returning, often in good condition and with properly configured cabins" allude to JU not being entirely satisfied with the ARD/E product and/or configuration."
What imagination. So you have made up in your head that they are unhappy with ARD/E based on absolutely nothing at a time when they are considering a replacement for YU-ARC and looking at the market for other second hand A330s and are angry they are not replacing seats on an aircraft that is being returned to the lessor in a year and half and needs to be returned in the same condition it was leased. Well done. Since you have time on your hands to make things up, why not try to enquire when and where there are free slots for cabin reconfiguration. You might be surprised to find out there are none available for almost a year in advance.
No need to be aggressive in a civilised discussion. If you don't agree or have a different opinion, great. If you think my observation is nonsense, great, lets have a civilised discussion.
DeleteFact is that ARC was supposed to go for cabin retrofit as mentioned by Marek in an interview last October. Obviously that isn't happening and the aircraft is going back with the new information recently given. Nothing out of the ordinary. ARB was to go after ARC for retrofit. All information available online in interviews given last year. Let's see what happens there. But fact is the product on ARD/E is quite dated and will be even more going forward. Afterall, the cabin is over 10 years old and was showing age back in EY. This isn't false claims or conspiracy theories. There are those who know the product very well. No where was it mentioned that it is a definite they are unhappy with the product but no where do they say they are happy with it either. It's probably the best they can do without splurging for an expensive new product that is en mass available and EY had just under 18 A330's configured that way.
Anon 15:56, dude,one can't make 360, it is a same direction. 180 is opposite if that is what you meant.
Delete@17.54 you do realise Etihad has exactly the same seats (product) on all its B777s as YU-ARD/ARE?
Delete^ don't bother. Be has already concocted a story in hus head and he won't let go of it. By his logic Air Serbia may be interested in A380s. They haven't said it but by his logic they haven't said they are not either. So it's entirely possible.
Delete@18:05
Delete...and when did EY get those B777's that are btw being phased out?
^ can I ask what sort of product you want? It's a 1-2-1 product in business with a lie flat bed and large responsive screen, usb ports and charging port, large table.ir's a seat by Sogerma. This very model is used by Emirates , Cathay and many others today. Not sure what you want on an A330? Sliding doors and a shower pod?
DeleteThis is definitely progress
ReplyDeleteWould love to see more communication on timelines.
ReplyDeleteTimelines are not their strong point.
DeleteMost of the things in their timeline does not depend just on them.
DeleteIt's always someone else's fault if things are delayed in our region.
Delete^ No, most people, like yourself, are armchair CEOs who are experts in all fields from tennis and football to running an airline company.
DeleteI’ve flown over 30 sectors with Air Serbia in the last two years. A new FFP tailored to their network is much needed and a way of retaining passengers.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely use that frequent flyer program.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they will offer status match to the new program for current Etihad guest members.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely will. Maybe even for other FF programs.
DeleteDefinitely
DeleteShort haul business class configuration improvements please. There used to be bigger seats than economy. Stopped doing upgrades because of it.
ReplyDeleteThat’s not gonna happen.
DeleteAnd which airline in Europe other than Turkish Airlines (and even they don't have it on all planes) has different business class seats than economy?
DeleteNone
DeleteBut seat pitch is larger in front rows for example at LX.
DeleteOnly on A220.
DeleteMarek is all talk at this point. I'll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteStill can't get over this circus livery
ReplyDeleteIt does not look that bad
DeleteLooks nice live
DeleteNew Frequent flyer program sounds like Iberia plus( the new one refreshed started this year), hope it will be the same one world and that we will be able to earn miles from Banks like Revolut. As well I hope that Revolut's clients holders of world elite cards will be able to use New Belgrade Airport lounge.
ReplyDeleteYou will for sure not be able to use Revolut with Air Serbia as the bank is not officially present in Serbia.
DeleteI guess in the US we are lucky enough to have a Flying blue co-branded card with a US bank, Don't believe we will be so lucky for an Air-Serbia co-branded card but I am more interested in the Status tiers/ requirements once they are available. Nice to hear the tentative dates being shared.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia says the market is beginning to shift for aircraft. Passenger market is also shifting, less travel between Europe and the US however no drop in demand between Europe and Canada.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of decision to return YU-ARC or keep it, seasonal YYZ now seems like a safer choice to start next summer. MIA could be a problem is ARC replacement is not available in Nov 2026, but that would not affect YYZ as it would be seasonal.
Finally an Air Serbia's frequent flyer program. This is long overdue.
ReplyDeleteAnd I find the discussions about seating configuration very boring. Most frequent flyers really don't give a damn. I have never, ever heard any flyer ever talk about it in any airport lounge.
As a premium passenger and once a holder of Etihad Gold, I can just say that Air Serbia’s “premium” service is poor and practically non existing. Just a few remarks from the last week’s flight in business class - the price of the ticket is over 700 eur. This is a new standard for the past few months with JU, they just overprice business class tickets. The lounge is overcrowded, even at the time for a flight to London, which is performed out of the departure waves - can just imagine how it looks when there are 20 simultaneous departures. Boarding - they call for business class passengers first, but they allow all passengers to immediately surround the desk. There is no dedicated entrance for premium passengers, which existed previously for years. The A319 is in a very bad shape - seats are old, and the interior has a tired look. They do not even bother to align seat/head covers, they are all not aligned and messy. They don’t offer even a glass of water before t/o. The business class toilet wasn’t working, and one in the back had a vacum system working all the time (not just when you press the button) - this is sad and akward at the same time, and this was an outbound flight from BEG - they just let the plane with a number of deficiencies to fly. Cabin crew was pleasent and apologetic due to all problems we were facing. Meal was decent, but unlike years before, they now serve breakfast instead of a lunch on London flight. Frequent flyer program is a special story, but people wrote enough about it and how pointless it is - I can just confirm that they are just not entering every second or third flight unless you complain and wait for a month or so afterwards. All in all, you have to be careless or ignorant to fly with Air Serbia in business class. You can fly for approx. 150-200 eur less with other airlines.
ReplyDeleteYou obviously posted this without reading the article, which is rude to day at least. If you did you wouldn't have posted some comments. Their A319 cabin is in the same shape as most LH A319s. Alignment of seat covers points to your OCD. Closing sentence shows your real intent - advert for other airlines. Sad.
Delete