Soon in Belgrade
The low cost airline Flydubai has applied for a license to commence 4 weekly flights to Belgrade. The service from Dubai will commence in the first week of November. The no frills airline would be in direct competition with Jat Airways which is scheduled to operate 3 weekly flights from the Serbian capital to Dubai during the 2011/12 winter season. Dubai has been one of Jat’s signature routes and carries mostly transit passengers to and from Australia and New Zealand in cooperation with Emirates Airlines, made possible through a Special Prorate Agreement the two airlines have.
Flydubai, which flies out of Dubai’s terminal 2, operates mostly to the Middle East and West Asia region although has recently begun expanding into Russia and Ukraine. It was created by the Government of Dubai and although it is not a subsidiary of Emirates Airlines, the two are tightly knitted.
Flydubai will operate its flights to Belgrade with a Boeing 737-800. The airline will offer 756 seats per week from Dubai to Belgrade and vice versa, which will be difficult to fill. Jat operates its flight to Dubai via Larnaca in Cyprus, making the route profitable thanks to the large amounts of passengers flying to the Cypriot city.
Large amounts flying to the Cypriot city? There are roughly 1,000 passengers per month on the route which would equate to about 20% loadfactor.
ReplyDeletePlus, if anything, Jat has been losing money to Dubai as I doubt that they can make money with a loadfactor going from 44% to 55%.
Sorry for off topic question:
ReplyDeleteis Mat grounded again?
http://data.flight24.com/airplanes/z3-aam/
no flts since 11th AUg.
lol good luck to them making a profit out of this. Nearly 800 seats per week. Nuts.
ReplyDelete@Sky not grounded, but yes they dont fly
ReplyDelete(here a news from 2 days ago)
http://www.vest.com.mk/?ItemID=EDA2630CFF50984DB053C3F83BE1625D
Well let's not forget that there are a lot of Serbs who live in Dubai and who have been using Turkish Airlines for their trip.
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of market flydubai is aiming at.
Only Emirates employ over 500 Serbs! I read somewhere that there are roughly 7,000 Serbs living down there.
What most of the people forget is that there are a lot of passengers flying to AU/NZ via points in EU (JU to EU, then EK to AU/NZ via EU) simply because it's cheaper than flying directly to DXB and then on to AU/NZ. I gather from the article that FZ and EK cooperate closely which might mean that FZ/EK combination to AU/NZ will be even cheaper and by far more convenient. Therefore it can be expected that FZ flights to DXB will not draw only passengers who use JU to fly to DXB but also some of the passengers from other JU European destinations.
ReplyDeleteIf Flydubai comes to BEG, JAT will stop flying to DXB, JAT has already ceased selling tickets to Dubai for W11/12 although flights have not been cancelled yet.
ReplyDeleteIf somebody wants to fly BEG-DXB, he will take FLYDUBAI, its a nonstop flight with a better aircraft.
ReplyDeleteBRAVO!!! BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!! for Flydubai and for Belgrade and Serbian passengers!!! and of course Australian (Serbian) Diaspora!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNow it will be difficult for Jat. Low fares airline passengers to recapture him.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWill the Jat / Emirates agreement be in jeopardy now?
ReplyDeleteWould it suit Jat to change to flying from Abu Dhabi in cooperation with Etihad?
What about some flights to LJU and MBX???
ReplyDeleteHmm just heard a bit of inside news. Flydubai is very sceptical about these flights. They have requested a permit but are still considering whether to start the flights. Their flights leave BEG at like 11:00 in the morning which won’t catch any Australian connections. It will if PAX wait for 6 hours at the airport in DXB.
ReplyDelete@ Q400
ReplyDeleteNo, the agreement is not in jeopardy as it covers JU sectors within Europe and DXB and EK sectors from Europe to DXB and from DXB elsewhere. For example, for the routing BEG-DXB-AU fares are much higher than for routing BEG-EU-DXB-AU (the difference is around EUR 300 for a RT trip).
Emirates ist just using Flydubai to "test" the market and to prevent QR or EY to fly. If the flights go well, sooner or later EK will touch down in BEG with own aircraft.
ReplyDeleteI am personally not so happy since Flydubai is flying to "trashy" markets like Moldovia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Ukraine end so on.
ReplyDeleteWould much more welcome the EK product. But BEG is too small, since EK never starts with less then 5 frequecies and A330. So I think we should forget dreaming about EK in BEG soon....
Ek cannot operate BEG with own metal - A330 is simply too big. flyDubai, although independent, is managed by a team of ex-EK Vice Presidents and the two airlines have a close relationship.
ReplyDeleteIts a public secret that flyDubai will fly to all these "little" places which EK cannot profitably exploit so expect them to touch down in SOF, OTP, SKP, ZAG etc...
Now, let's not forget, this is just alicense application, it does not mean that the flights will actually commence.
I still believe that mixing a premium with LCC product for most pax will not be attractive and that sooner or later QR and EY will push in with their A319s/A320s and start offering a decent - full service offer to BEG from their respective hubs - and to destinations in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Asia and elsewhere.
I wish flyDubai the best of luck, but I just don't see them succeeding in the long run, especially when QR and EY join the bandwagon.
@trashy anonymous
ReplyDeletejust check which airlines are flying to Dhaka (Bangladesh) , and then youll be ashamed how trashy Belgrade in comparison is !
Fly Dubai will take all pax to/from Dubai ex Belgrade plus 100% of AU/NZ market in conn with Emirates.Have in mind that JU operate with 55% LF with very bad product and that TK is full of pax to Dubai from BEG they should be very succesfull. Only AU pax can make 10.000 to 15.000 seats per year plus all Emirates destination bejond Dubai.
ReplyDeleteFly Dubai will be very succesfull on BEG route just they should use advamtage of JAT sevice in the past because once Fly Dubai start JAT will cancell their flights for sure , they can not compete non stop service and Fly Dubai aircraft . Just for info JAT metal to DXB is over 25 yrs old.
Great news, even if it's just application!
ReplyDeleteThere may be almost 10K Serbian citizens in Dubai (coming from my friend who lives there). Add few more in other Gulf states ,who presently don't have that many choices to fly to BEG.
Lets not forget that Dubai is a very popular tourist destination for Serbs with 'deeper' pockets, now it may be within the reach of many more.
If four flights per week is too much capacity, what stops FlyFubai to reduce it to three.
Looking forward to route commencement.
There are some 4.000 Serbs living in the Emirates - closer to the official figure. 10K is stretching it a bit!
ReplyDeleteYeah, plus let's not forget that for the first time passengers flying out of Belgrade will be able to fly to all parts of Africa fast- not to mention ALL parts of Asia.
ReplyDeleteYes, Aeroflot is probably more direct and faster but Aeroflot's product can not compete with what EK is offering.
TK is good but the problem with them is that IST is getting overcrowded and that they are not consistent in the quality they are offering.
Also, Turkish Airlines' loadfactor out of Belgrade is everything but impressive. It is barely over 70%, usually between 60 and 70%.
Number of Serbs in Dubai is not most important , main traffis will be connections to Emirates network . Current Emirates figures ex Belgrade are very good and with Fly Dubai as feeder they will be choice nmbr one to east bound destination , you should be avarevthat manyairlines do not fly to BEG because of point to point routes but mostly because of connecting pax. There is no Serbs in Istambul and TK operate daily with very good load. With Fly Dubai and Emirates conn via DXB TK business in Sebia is in danger. Havi in mind FLY Dubai fares , compare KPB as 4,5 hours flight 250 eur to DXB , nobody can compare this.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that FlyDubai/Emirates interline tickets will be offered, with Jat and Emirates having interlining agreement for BEG?
ReplyDeleteFlyDubai may perhaps offer interlining tickets in cooperation with Etihad but not Emirates.
In most situations people heavily prefer bying interline tickets to separately bying tickets for each leg.
BEG-DXB serves mostly connecting pax and not O&D traffic, and Jat may start flying it directly once it leases aircraft capable of flying that distance with full load (737 NG perhaps).
i would be sooo glad if flydubai took over this route and kicked out jat from it. jat's fares of 420 - 440 euros for beg-dxb-beg in economy where a robery for 25 yrs old metal and the service they provide.
ReplyDeleteJAT service on the DXB route isnt all that bad, ive done the route a few times and know for myself. JAT is far from expensive on the DXB route, actually it is one of the cheapest (the last time i checked TK was the cheapest and JAT was 20 AED/4 EUR more expensive). The product isnt the best but not the worst. DXB has been one of the most profitable destinations JAT have and its a shame that JAT is busy with stupid destinations and poor management who dont expand the fleet. Alot of my friends who fly TK complain about it and the connection in IST isnt always the best.
ReplyDeleteI dont see EK bringing in their metal before the A350's come through, the A330's are bad, the IFE screens have the very old ICE system which i hate.
flyDubai for me will be more O&D rather than connecting the Australia bound pax. I doubt they will start, but will be nice if they did. The BEG-DXB route is definatelly being underserved by JAT and if it takes FZ to fill in the gaps then let it be. will be interesting to see what happens.
JAT alredy stop to sell tkt on DXB route since news about FZ reach CAD Serbia , having in mind dep/arr FZ time ( dep dxb 9.00 , arr dxb 21.00 ) all AU flights will be cover . emirates reinstate midnight SYD flight from 1oct.
ReplyDeleteWith such potential there is no doubt that FZ will be succesfull on the route.
Yeap, no tickets available after 1st Nov @ jat.com.
ReplyDeleteJU could maybe codeshare on the BEG-DXB sector? I think thats allowed having in mind bilateral agreement, right?
Does FZ codeshare with any airline?
They do not need to code share with JAT , their role from BEG is conn to Emirates network bejond Dubai and with such arr/dep time they will be perfect feeder for all EK flights. Of course FZ will not have competiton on BEG/DXB with non stop service.
ReplyDeleteJU tickets to DXB will be available for booking again from next week. And yes the FlyDubai does connect onto EK’s Aus flights, if passengers want to wait 6 hours (when going from BEG). Also, flydubai still hasn’t even decided if they want to launch this.
ReplyDeletei think 4 frequencies per week is too much for this route.How will Flydubai make this route profitable?
ReplyDeleteJAT havnt stoped selling tickets for this route and have been available both via jat.com and via the JAT office in Dubai.
ReplyDelete4 p/w is not alot and the BEG DXB route should be done daily with JAT, and flyDubai could add additional frequencies. If JAT were smart, they would get a/c suitable for the route, which could also be used onto other destinations, like the B757 or 767...As far as i know, Canada has granted rights for JAT to restart Canadian ops, YYZ and DXB with 2 B767 could go well if done right...
This is final news , Fly Dubai start 31Oct with BEG flight , mon , thu , sat , sun in winter timetable.
ReplyDeleteInterline tkts with EK to all EK network beyond DXBwill be available through any tvl agent in Serbia and worldwide.
Dep DXB 09.00 arr BEG 11.45 , dep BEG 12.30 arr DXB 20.40
Fare for online bookings RT 340 Eur inluding all tax.
Officiall announcment will be by end of next week.
This is final news , Fly Dubai start 31Oct with BEG flight , mon , thu , sat , sun in winter timetable.
ReplyDeleteInterline tkts with EK to all EK network beyond DXBwill be available through any tvl agent in Serbia and worldwide.
Dep DXB 09.00 arr BEG 11.45 , dep BEG 12.30 arr DXB 20.40
Fare for online bookings RT 340 Eur inluding all tax.
Officiall announcment will be by end of next week.
will jat stop dubai from october 31st
ReplyDeletei heard jat will operate DXB during Christmas & New Year and then during summer 2012 ?!
ReplyDelete@miki10
ReplyDeleteThanks for this news- made life a lot easier knowing I dont have to do Istanbul transit with a 2 year old. How sure are you about this though??
Da li FZ pocinje DXB-BEG ili ne?! Nema najave... Sta je sa JU? Nastavlja ili obustavlja BEG-LCA-DXBvv?
ReplyDeleteRoutesonline
Breaking News
Flydubai to Begin Georgian Adventure
Posted 14/09/2011
United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier Flydubai is to inaugurate a twice weekly flight between Dubai and Tbilisi, the capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Republic of Georgia. The new service will commence from November 4 and will represent the first time a UAE carrier has provided a non-stop link between the two countries.
“Flydubai's entry into Georgia is a momentous step in UAE-Georgia relations and I am sure the connection between Tbilisi and Dubai will help to establish and strengthen ties between the countries,” said George Karbelashvili, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development in Georgia. There is actually a lot of business links between the two countries with a number of common areas of interest such as banking, real estate, oil and gas and tourism; and air service connectivity will provide the opportunity to step-up collaboration in these sectors while exploring new relationship avenues.
An estimated 19,000 O&D passengers travelled between the UAE and Georgia in the past year, up 9.2 per cent on the previous 12 month period. The majority of these (around 95 per cent) flew on the Dubai – Tbilisi route, making use of the flights of Georgian Airlines – the carrier offers two rotations per week.
“We are grateful to the Georgian authorities for welcoming flydubai into Tbilisi. As Georgia's largest city as well as its industrial, social, and cultural centre, Tbilisi is gaining prominence in the Middle East both as a business and leisure destination,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai.
Located at the crossroads of West Asia and Eastern Europe, Georgia has one of the strongest and fastest developing economies in the region and in recent years has made foreign investment more attractive through reduced regulation and taxes. It is also one of the members of the GUAM Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development along with Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. There are estimated to be more than 55,000 expatriates from Georgia and the neighbouring region residing in the UAE and more than a million tourists visit the emirates from this area every year.
“Improving air links between Dubai to Central and Eastern Europe is of great strategic importance to us,” added Ghaith Al Ghaith, noting the airline’s expanding network in this part of the world. Flydubai currently operates five routes to former Soviet states, namely: Yerevan (Armenia) Baku (Azerbaijan), Ekaterinburg and Samara (Russia) and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) and will be launching two additional routes to Russia - Kazan from September 14 and Ufa from September 17. It is also preparing for its expansion into the Ukrainian market with new links to Kiev and Kharkiv beginning on September 16 and Donetsk from September 17.
WAM Dubai, Sept. 19th, 2011 (WAM) -- flydubai today announced the launch of flights to Serbian city Belgrade from this November.
ReplyDeleteGhaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai said: "We are committed to opening up routes previously underserved by direct UAE air links and are proud to become the first airline to operate direct services into Belgrade from Dubai. We anticipate a strong demand for flights, both from the Serbian community in the UAE as well as travellers looking for a low-cost link into one of the most dynamic cities in the world." Now an established tourist hub in its own right, Serbia has nurtured rich music, sports, architecture, nightlife, arts, and cultural scenes. Belgrade, its capital and largest city, currently hosts a number of international festivals including FEST (Belgrade Film Festival), BITEF (Belgrade Theatre Festival), BELEF (Belgrade Summer Festival), BEMUS (Belgrade Music Festival) and Belgrade Book Fair and has built one of the most interesting cityscapes in Europe with architectural styles ranging from Soviet to gothic.
"Serbia has taken numerous steps to develop its travel and tourism potential in recent years, including visa liberalisation and open skies policies. The subsequent entry of a number of European low-cost airlines has led to an influx of European travellers to the region and we fully expect the launch of our services to Belgrade to have the same effect here in the UAE," added Al Ghaith.
http://www.wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1289995097029&p=1135099400124&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews
Letovi su sada bookable na flydubai.com
ReplyDeleteBEGDXB FZ742 1240 2045 1--4-67
DXBBEG FZ741 0910 1155 1--4-67
Najniza cena je 330 EUR rt / all in.