Air Serbia will boast an average of just over sixty weekly additional departures from Belgrade this coming winter season when compared to last. Although frequency growth will vary by month, the carrier currently has an extra 43 weekly departures scheduled from Belgrade in November, 54 additional services in December and January each, 81 extra flights in February and 71 in March. Air Serbia frequently adjusts its network based on demand, making further changes to the upcoming winter schedule, which begins on October 26 and runs until March 28, highly likely.
This winter, Air Serbia will continue operating flights to Geneva (three weekly), Tbilisi (three weekly) and Florence (two weekly), all three of which were introduced during the current summer season. At this stage, the airline also plans to maintain year-round operations to Bari, Naples, Ankara, Gothenburg, Florence, Hamburg, and Hanover, all of which either operated partially or were suspended during the previous winter season.
Based on the carrier’s preliminary November schedule, Air Serbia will add an extra three weekly services to Thessaloniki (for a total of ten weekly), Sofia (twelve weekly) and Tirana (double daily), as well as an additional two weekly rotations to Athens (twelve weekly), Budapest (sixteen weekly), Paris (sixteen weekly), Copenhagen (daily), Milan (ten weekly), Bucharest (eleven weekly) and Vienna (sixteen weekly). An extra weekly service will operate to Stockholm (daily), Barcelona (nine weekly), Ljubljana (seventeen weekly), Madrid (four weekly) and Zurich (seventeen weekly).
At this stage, Air Serbia has also increased frequencies on its services to North America. Flights to New York are scheduled to run three times per week throughout the entire winter, up from two weekly in November, December, February and March. Furthermore, services to Chicago are currently planned to operate twice per week through the winter, up from a weekly rotation in January, February and March.
Good to see. Let's hope it sticks.
ReplyDeleteWell there will certainly be growth. Just take into account that the E190 fleet will be double the size of last winter with 4 planes. Plus then you have 2 E195s (and another 2 are expected).
DeleteAlso don't forget that ATRs were not fully utilised last winter.
DeleteBravo JU 🇷🇸
DeleteBut they will have 2 A319s less.
DeleteThey have already confirmed incoming A320 and 2 E195s. So they will have more planes than last winter.
DeleteLove it
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Air Serbia expanding steadily and not just adding new routes but also reinforcing existing ones.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThis looks like the most ambitious winter schedule Air Serbia has had so far.
ReplyDeleteYou can already tell some of them are way too ambitious, for example BUD 16 weekly or TIA 14 weekly, but they didn’t even manage to keep those numbers during the busiest summer months.
DeleteI think it's good that they are not giving up on Tirana. The bubble over there seems to be reaching its maximum capacity and things seem to be slowing down. Now it remains to be seen what LCCs do over there in winter as well as next summer.
DeleteAs demand starts to stabilize, JU should still offer a competitive number of weekly flights.
Or the increase in frequencies to TIA might be for the same reason so many other airlines have increased flying there as well. Everybody wants to visit beautiful Albania!
DeleteThere`s noting wrong with high number of frequencies to the two most used airports in the neighbourhood - it is likely that some people don`t undestand the hub-and-spoke model (like the one neighbouring "analyst" of ours who claimed BUD won`t work).
DeleteYes but I am referring to their surreal growth the last couple of years. It was not organic growth, it was stimulated by the country through very generous incentives. It can't last and we just need to see where TIA will land. After all, there is so much capacity their terminal building can handle.
DeleteAnon 09.17
DeleteTIA is a special case because JU (and many others) have become victim of the W6/FR war. That is why people are skeptical of what will happen this winter especially as someone mentioned, they plan more flights than in summer.
No one is denying that JU is running a hub. It's about filling all those seats at such an extremely competitive market when demand becomes softer.
"For he will fill most of the seats, who has a hub more competitive" :)
DeleteThe new equilibrium point of traffic to TIA will be for sure way higher it was before FR and W6 started fighting for it. It is a very successful strategy that transformed both the aviation market of Albania and its tourism industry.
DeleteJU is just being smart taking advantage of that.
When it comes to Albania, it will be interesting to see how traffic will develop in Tirana once Vlora becomes fully operational. Will some traffic shift or will overall numbers keep on growing.
DeleteI am not familiar with Albanian demand trends but I don't know if it would make sense for JU to consider flying, at least seasonally, to Vlora.
I think that would indeed make sense.
DeleteI think TIA is a tricky market to predict when it comes to JU. Yes, as Nemjee said things are slowing down which was of course expected. You can't have 50% growth infinitely. However W6 and FR are there to stay and that's not going to change. I hope JU will be able to maintain double daily operations there year round but right now I can't see it being sustainable, and things like the recent incident in BEG related to a TIA flight certianly won't help. But the day flight being upgraded to Embraer is a good sign for sure.
DeleteWhen it comes VLO, well, it's pretty doubtful that it will impact TIA a lot. I can see JU operating there successfully with seasonal flights.
Agree with previous comments regarding VLO seasonal. Perfect ATR route. Even maybe from KVO.
DeleteCertainly not from KVO, as there are no connecting flights there.
Delete@ anon 14:58
DeleteVLO will be leisure destination mainly. Seasonal KVO-VLO would work fine as KVO-SKG and KVO-TIV. They are not connecting flights eider.
Lol again with this KVO obssession. VLO needs a connection to a proper hub not village
DeleteKVO is located between two cities, Kraljevo and Cacak, what exactly is a village here?
DeleteNemjee my good friend, it's called a hyperbole, similar to how tertiary German airports here are referred to as villages. I did not mean to insult the metropolises of Kraljevo and Cacak.
DeleteSo do you agree that it is logical to start flights from Kraljevo to VLO before BEG?
Hopefully this time the scheduled increases will materialize, since there was a similar situation before summer season.
ReplyDeleteIf this happens, the seasonality issue will be lowered to historic levels.
Is there info available about what is the percentage growth in seats available for winter season 25/26 compared with W24/25?
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for any help.
10% increase or around 180.200 additional seats.
DeleteSeems like organic growth. I think they will not cut it
DeleteThank you Admin.
DeleteSo is it reasonable to expect 5-6% pax growth in winter months?
DeleteGood to see more consistency with routes instead of seasonal chopping and changing.
ReplyDeleteWell I am sure they will eventually reduce these numbers but these cuts should not be as drastic as in the past since this winter they will have quite a few E90/95.
DeleteThey desperately need more E jets. Thanks to four Bulgarian E90s staying during the winter, JU will become more flexible in scheduling than ever.
DeleteJust look at CPH, remained on same level of frequencies during winter because it is completely operated by E90/E95, Milan also switching more and more to E90. Naples also brought back as year round thanks to extra E90 capacity.
Indeed. JU kept on struggling the moment they retired those DC-9s. The E90/95 jet is the most perfect replacement and we saw its true benefit already last winter when their network started to stabilize. I would also like to add that BRU is another destination where the E90 thrives.
DeleteNaples can be served with AT72, like Bari. No worries about them
DeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteSolid boost across the board
ReplyDeleteIt is important that Chicago is increased. One weekly is really not a good look, it looked like a symbolic move to keep the route alive. With 2 weekly you have at least better options.
ReplyDeleteTrue, maybe the most crucial increase across the network.
DeleteThe Florence route continuing through winter is a nice surprise.
ReplyDeleteIt was scheduled as year round route from the start.
DeleteThey will also increase number of flights to China.
ReplyDeleteThese haven't been scheduled yet.
DeleteWhen will they announce it?
DeleteIs it going to be for both PVG and CAN?
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/03/air-serbia-plans-china-boost-in-h2.html
DeleteThat was back in March. Questionable if it will happen.
DeleteTalking of China, JU's PVG-BEG flight flew over Russia yesterday. Doesn't happen very often but it seems to be happening more and more often. It could be that the air space is less congested than the southern corridor which is becoming increasingly restrictive due to various war zones.
DeleteBy using the Russian airspace they shortened the flight by some 20 minutes.
Only YU-ARC and only from PVG, not from CAN
DeleteYes, I wrote that it was the PVG-BEG flight. CAN is all the way to the south so there is no urgent need to reroute the flight via Russia.
DeleteSpeaking of China. I might be delusional, but with so many Russians living in Serbia and struggling to get visas for holiday destinations, Air Serbia could follow the lead of many Russian airlines and start flying to Sanya. It might even become the first non-Russian European airline to serve the island. Hainan is already a popular and affordable holiday spot for Russians, and it could be an attractive exotic destination for Serbians too.
DeleteCurrently, Sanya Phoenix Airport handles over 21 million passengers annually, and a second airport is being built on an artificial island nearby. The Chinese government is investing heavily in tourism, large industrial parks, and a research and technology hub. In the long run, the region has strong potential—especially since no other airline from this part of the world, including Arab or Turkish carriers, is flying there yet.
I could definitely see JU flying to SYX or HAK.
DeleteWell, maybe "Hainan" starts Hainan flights.
DeleteThat would be good too. I prefer ASL starting the route and being the connection point of the rest of Europe for the island of Hainan.
DeleteAnonymous15:00 Despite its name, Hainan Airlines primarily focuses on connecting China with international destinations through airports outside Hainan. Both Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines seem to prioritize non-Hainan hubs, particularly for routes to Europe, rather than developing Sanya as a major gateway for international flights (which would make no sense as it is far south).
DeleteHainan Island itself has a relatively small population—around 11 million, which is less than Beijing’s—but it attracts nearly 90 million tourists annually. This presents a strong opportunity for AirSerbia to operate one or two weekly flights, especially during the winter season, leveraging the island's high tourist traffic.
How long would take Belgrade to Sanya flight?
DeleteAnonymous15:22 About 11 to 12 hours with an A330
DeletePoor Sarajevo still on 7x weekly, why :(
ReplyDeleteBecause there are probably more profitable destinations where they can deploy aircraft.
DeleteFully agree that a 2nd daily ATR flight would be a smart move for JU.
Delete^ There is obviously a reson they are not doing it.
DeleteI did see the E90 being dispatched to SJJ. Seems like there is enough demand to upgrade the route. I am sure night flights will come. However, given the weather in winter in SJJ, don't know how smart it would be to fly there during that period.
Delete@09:53
DeleteThat would make sense if whole ATR fleet is deployed during the night. But since couple of them are always sitting at tarmac, there is an available capacity and increasing SJJ would be the most profitable.
To me it looks like SJJ is still not ready to operate 24/7 and that there is some kind of disagreement between JU and the operator. Maybe they were offered morning/afternoon flights, but these wouldn't be so beneficial to JU.
Anon 09:58 could you tell us what the reason is?
DeleteThe fog in Sarajevo makes any departure except the midday one very uncertain.
Delete@Nemjee
DeleteThe winter weather in SJJ isn't holding back other airlines operating before midday. When decent fog hits Sarajevo even the midday operations are effected. BEG isn't a stranger to SJJ diversions in the winter. JU is at an advantage being fairly close to SJJ so upgauging the flight to a larger aircraft is possible without notable disruptions to their BEG operations. Additional frequencies into SJJ would also lower the effects of disruptions caused by fog with more options for rerouting, more passengers in case of combining flights etc.
@10:11
Morning/Afternoon rotations aren't a problem anymore at JU since their network expansion the past couple of years. SJJ is pretty much unserved from the wider region (OTP, ATH, LJU, BUD, SKG, SOF, SKP, TIA) plus there is long haul (JFK, ORD, PVG, CAN) and a fair few European destinations (LIS, MAD, FCO, SVO, CDG, ZRH) the morning and late afternoon departures can connect onto plus interline parters (QR, FZ). Not to mention the increased flexibility for O&D travellers.
my grandmother actually loves connecting in beg (from sjj) with a long layover, wonder if its a common pattern for bosnians who arent as time poor as us in the west?
DeleteTrue dat. And no language issues.
DeleteFrom what I know, the ATR would be used on the night flight and don't they have issues with fog? Isn't JU the only ATR operator in SJJ? If JU had a spare E90 then maybe they could send it to the overnight flight.
DeleteThis is very solid. Well done
ReplyDeleteAnd that means , they will maintain those unbearble Getjet wet leases !
ReplyDeleteYes, they already said that
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/06/air-serbia-to-add-more-aircraft-looks.html
Ideally, we aim to concentrate our heavy maintenance during the winter season. That way, we can avoid major disruptions during peak months. Interestingly, because wet leases are usually in demand during summer, we’ve been able to negotiate favourable deals by also offering winter operations as part of the arrangement. This strategy allows us to maintain continuity at lower cost”.
Mr Rupić added, "In June, we will launch a Request for Proposal (RFP) to extend our wet-lease agreements with GetJet Airlines and Bulgaria Air beyond October. Both partners are finalising the recruitment of locally based crew, meaning that Serbian-speaking staff are now present on nearly every flight.
With the wet lease market cooling down, this is the ideal time to renegotiate terms, especially as we’re discussing operations for the winter season. In this context, the negotiating advantage is on our side. We fully expect to retain some level of wet-lease capacity during the winter period".
I wonder if we will see a new route or two in winter.
ReplyDeleteBrnabic recently mentioned on a trip to Israel that Air Serbia is preparing to resume TLV. So it is possible they return this route.
DeleteVucko said a year ago when he visited Egypt that a return to CAI by JU was imminent.
DeleteHe also said NRT was coming as well when he visited Japan. I wouldn't hold my breath on what politicians promise, specially in this political climate
They are increasing CDG to compete against easyjet. Will be interesting to see if Easyjet can survive on the route.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the point of LCCs starting flights which are already served 2 daily. Better that they started something without competition and develop the market like Manchester. I don't think easy will survive on this route. I give them a year tops.
DeleteLCCs are interested in flying to where they think they can fill up the plane and make money.
DeleteThey are not interested in developing routes and opening new destinations. They are only interested in making money and that is why they have higher profit margins than legacy airlines.
Wtf you how is introducing another option to compete with the other two bad? And if you're talking about market development perspective, I'd say further developing a route to one of Europe's most important cities is way more important than a route that in the most ideal scenario can have maybe several flights per week and the any further growth is capped by the UK visa regime.
Delete^ maybe calm down
DeleteThe Embraers are allowing them to keep some routes they otherwise would cut over winter. They need more of them asap.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. It also allows them to upgrade certain routes from ATR and free up more ATRs.
DeleteAir Serbia fleet and network management teams really know to their job. Bravo guys.
ReplyDeleteKZN and AER also also present for the whole winter season, unlike the previous one.
ReplyDeleteBudapest, sixteen weekly, this coming winter, who would have thought.
ReplyDeleteI would think that a vast majority of these passengers are transfers within JUs network and not P2P.
DeleteActually, I know many people flying BEG-BUD P2P. They don’t want to bother with border crossings.
DeleteOne of them here. Driving there and back on the same day is lottery on the best of days. Or if you want to be certain that you will not spend hours at major borders, drive to Rabe adds full hour to the trip each way.
DeleteIn addition, for sole traveller, flying is significantly cheaper than driving. It would take at least 3 people in the car for that to be an economical option.
DeleteHow much will the new high speed rail effect drivers?
DeleteIt will not affect drivers in any way. There should be few of them less. The overall amount of traffic between the cities should expand.
DeleteFor one person traveling by auto it will definitely be cheaper to take the train.
Delete@anon 14:54
DeleteIt depends on how long would take border control. Have in mind that Hungarian side is fare from finish their side of the railway. Car drive has advantages also. Flexibility and amount of luggage. But for a business traveler flight is unbeatable.
Well, for a business traveler, train is unbeatable. Downtown Budapest to Central-ish Beograd in about 3 hours, depending on border procedures. There is a plan to speed up border checks by having the customs/border guards from both countries enter the trains at stations near the actual border, and do their work before they get to the border. Anyway we shall see how the works out.
DeleteNo. Flying is hands down the best option if you are a business traveller. You can be at BEG an hour before your departure, 45 minute flight and then an hour before your flight at BUD. Your total travel time is less than three hours.
DeleteC'mom man. Nothing beats the comfort of a train. Regular seats are like business class seats on a plane. Ups, no business class seats are available on JUs flight to BUD. Say you live in central Beograd, biggest problem is to get to Prokup Station. You take a 30 minute taxi ride to get to the station 10 minutes before departure. If you're let, you got another train in 30-60 minutes. Three hours or so later yous in central Budapest. So about 4 hours altogether.
DeleteBy plane you have to be at the airport about 90 minutes before departure. Anywhere from south of the Sava will take you 30-45 minutes by taxi to BEG If flight is on time, big if, about 45 minuets later you land in BUD. At least 30 minutes until you leave the airport. And another 30-45 minutes to central Budapest. Total time, about 4-4.5 hours.
So train wins on comfort level alone.
Trains in Hungary will travel 120-160 km/h. That’s considered slow
DeleteThis article should have 30 maybes in it. YU adds and removes frequency every year. It's a good strategy, but makes questionable announcements.
ReplyDeleteIf yoi bothered to read, it actually says that.
DeleteAdmin, do we know the factory cabin of BEG - TIA flights ?
ReplyDeleteIdemo dalje...
ReplyDeleteI like it.
ReplyDeleteFinally JU considers increase in frequenciy - that was always their weakest point.
Madrid four times in winter is really good.
I hope it becomes daily next summer.
I hope JU's CEO won't order these flights to be cut like he did last winter. They have to do their best to reduce seasonality.
DeleteIs it realistic to expect 9 million in 2025? Maybe some foreign airlines will also increase their flights?
ReplyDeleteWill be really close to 9m.
DeleteI am no expert but maybe Air Serbia could try to fly to Plovdiv in Bulgaria with their ATR.
DeleteTwice a week to Bulgarias second biggest city even in winter could be an option.
Bansko and Borovets skiing resorts are nearby thus extending flying into the winter should make an opportunity that other places rarely do have.
^ Interesting. Didnt knew that Plodiv is Bulgarias second biggest city..
DeleteAnd also much nicer than Sofia. I think I read they were approached by Plovdiv airport, but - at least in my opinion - it is too close to Sofia they serve daily. It's a one hour drive - speed limit is 140.
Delete