NEWS FLASH
Air Serbia has launched new seasonal flights from Belgrade to Mykonos, its seventh destination in Greece, and Alghero, the tenth city served by the airline in Italy.
Commenting on the new Mykonos service, which will be served two weekly with the Embraer E195 aircraft until September 29, Boško Rupić, the carrier’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy at Air Serbia, said: “Year after year, Greece has been among the most popular destinations for Serbian tourists, which is why we are further expanding our presence on that market. During the summer season, we will fly to seven destinations in Greece, namely Athens, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Corfu, Chania, Heraklion, and now Mykonos. By introducing direct flights to the island, travellers can reach one of the most attractive summer destinations faster and easier”.
During the 2025 summer season, Air Serbia boasts 38 weekly flights between Belgrade and Greece. Furthermore, it also maintains services from Niš and Kraljevo to Athens, both operating twice per week. As a result, it maintains 42 weekly operations between the two countries.
The new service to Alghero, which was inaugurated today, will be maintained twice per week until September 30 with the Airbus A319 jet. Mr Rupić noted, “By introducing a direct service between Belgrade and Alghero, we further boost Air Serbia’s presence in Italy. Our passengers can fly to ten cities in the country, and the choice is not easy. From Rome, Milan, Venice, and Bologna to Florence, Naples, Bari, Palermo, Catania in Sicily, and Alghero in Sardinia, whichever you pick, you will surely enjoy the rich history, diverse natural beauty and outstanding cuisine”. This summer, Air Serbia maintains 39 weekly flights to Italy.
Very nice additions and both flights were full.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia has definitely become king of both BEG-GR and BEG-IT markets. At the end of the day it makes sense since the point of sale is mostly in Serbia.
Now they need to focus on boosting their network outside the three busy months.
One thing I didn't expect was that Air Serbia would end up so strong in the leisure department with LCC competition. They have a monopoly on the Antalya flights and completely dominate both Italy, which has strong Easyjet and Ryanair bases, as well as Greece. The only market that LCCs have really broken into is the VFR one and a few leisure routes with Wizz or to MENA
DeleteAir Serbia inherited quite a lot of charters from Jat Airways. No matter what happened in the past, charter traffic was always spared. It wasn't cut, flights were barely cancelled etc.
DeleteThey prioritized this segment and it is paying off now. Like I wrote above, it helps that the point of sale is in Serbia.
The rest of their network suffered in the past which is why many customers left them for their competition. For example, I flew on LH FRA-BEG this Saturday and our A320neo was overbooked. 90% of the passengers were Serbs connecting in FRA.
Air Serbia should ask itself how come Lufthansa fills three morning departures with A319/320/321 (FRA, MUC and VIE) where most passengers are not heading to the US and Canada. Same with Wizz Air.
Going forward, JU needs to work on regaining lost customers. I don't think they will be extremely successful but we should remain positive.
No wonder there, it is too strong a competition, the LH hubs, especially for business travel.
Delete"most passengers are not heading to the US and Canada"
DeleteBut most ARE heading there. That's LH bread&butter from BEG via their hubs.
" The rest of their network suffered in the past which is why many customers left them for their competition. "
DeleteDo you have any proof for your statement?
JU's passenger numbers are up this year by 6% and they serve 9 airports in Germany. Meanwhile, Lufthansa is still not operating at pre pandemic levels in BEG.
Anon 16.06, have you been living under a rock the last few years? Air Serbia's network was very unstable since covid ended. Routes were started then terminated, they would always create an unsustainable network which would be cut later on. You have multiple articles on their network modifications on this website. Then there was the whole Marathon issue as well as problems with unreliable lessors (Dan Air, that Romanian ATR Connect something) Research a little to know what I am talking about.
DeleteAll of this left a lasting effect on JU. As pointed out multiple times, there is a reason why they can barely get past the 50% market share mark. In order to be attractive to higher yielding passengers (especially business ones), they will need to have a denser network and a competitive loyalty program.
They improved a bit when it comes to the former but they are hopeless as far as latter goes.
@14:09
DeleteI think it's up to pricing strategy. Air Serbia's leisure destinations tickets are very affordable, sometimes even cheaper than Wizz on the same route. And they are legacy carrier after all. Promo fares like the one in February and May also helps a lot.
Greece has so much demand and more potential too. JU could definitely try new markets in Greece such as BEG-Kalamata, Kefalonia, Mytilene, Chios etc. They’re thriving in the Serbian-Greek market! Kudos!
ReplyDeleteKefalonia is charter route. Operating for years now.
DeleteBravo Fraport!
DeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteStrange they didn't cosider Cagliari, as a largest city on island
ReplyDeleteThe northern side of Sardinia is much more touristically developed.
DeleteAnd you also have Corsica which is easy to reach by ferry.
People choose destinations what they like, and not which city has most population. Did you except inbound traffic?
DeleteIn one of previous aritcles they said they wanted Cagliri due tht is better for signle traveler but airport has restrictioms and they didnt get a slot
DeleteDidn't they say they wanted Olbia?
DeleteAHO is the worst airport in Sardinia. IMO OLB>CAG>AHO. As a local, I hope the route does well! Belgrade is a blast so if somebody tries to go there for a weekend I am sure it will not be disappointed.
Delete