Immediate launch for Air Serbia

Final curtain call for Jat

Etihad Airways plans to immediately launch the new look Jat Airways, to be named Air Serbia, the country’s state run news agency “Tanjug” reports. Air Serbia’s visual identity will be revealed at the planned press conference on Thursday when the Emirati carrier will take a 49% stake in Serbia’s national airline. According to news reports, Etihad will immediately provide two Airbus A319s for use this summer. The aircraft, which will feature the Air Serbia livery, will be operated by Etihad pilots and cabin crew until Jat’s crew is formally trained for the new aircraft in time for the 2013/14 winter season. From late October, Etihad will provide a further eight A319s and retire the aging Boeing fleet.

Alongside Jat’s existing destination network, Air Serbia will launch a further fourteen new routes this winter, Siniša Mali, the finance advisor to Serbia’s Deputy Minister says. EX-YU Aviation News has revealed eleven destinations the airline will launch this winter. They are Abu Dhabi, Banja Luka, Beirut, Budapest, Bucharest, Cairo, Ljubljana, Prague, Sofia, Varna and Warsaw. The preliminary schedules, as requested at a recent slots conference, are now being published by EX-YU Aviation News and can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section. As is visible from the schedule, Air Serbia’s aircraft will be operating continually with many flights running during the late night and early morning hours. Furthermore, the airline will operate double daily flights to Paris, Athens, Vienna and Zurich over the winter.


Etihad plans to immediately invest forty million dollars into Air Serbia, which does not include the price of the two leased A319s. The Serbian government will name five members of the Managing Board, while the remaining four will be named by Etihad Airways. In addition, Etihad will name a CEO and its own head of finance for Air Serbia. All details will be revealed on Thursday.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:08

    Wasn't Vienna double daily last winter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you're right. By the way I think 2xdaily Belgrade - Zagreb route would definitely be profitable. If Air Serbia doesn't launch route in 2013 I'm sure route would be launched when Q400s come to Air Serbia fleet.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:38

      Gdje si Baki, jel toplo u Nisu?

      Bolan tamo ni Atr ni Q400 netces videti...pre ce krava s dvorista da ti poleti.

      Delete
    3. Zar nisi video jučerašnji članak? Dobio si veliki pozdrav od mene ;)

      Što se mene tiče ne mora da sleti ni jedan avion. U Beogradu sam svaki drugi dan tako da mi nije nikakav problem da odatle letim :) a i let do Podgorice traje pola sata tako da je letetii iz Niša lakše nego što ti misliš :)

      Ej, ne znam kako je u Nišu, ali je u Beogradu jako lepo vreme, samo malo vetrovito.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:12

    ZRH goes double daily! Yes, baby! Four flights a day ZRH-BEG throughout the year. Couldn't be better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SuisseOuest22:25

      +1 (even from the other side of SUI)
      Do we know the times? I hope they don't mess up the evening flights. They could improve them, though, by having departures around 18:00 from BEG and returns 20:30 from ZRH, just to give "weekenders" a few more hours :)

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:17

    I am sure that even though it will be Etihad crew on those two A319s, they are most likely going to be Serbs. Etihad has been regularly recruiting in Belgrade.

    What's interesting is that Varna departs at 00:20. Could that mean that all Jat regional flights will be departing around midnight? Then again the Amsterdam flight will arrive after 23:00 which means this is likely going to happen.

    I am surprised that Beirut will be daily while Cairo three weekly.

    Still, amazing news!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL10:01

      EK is the one regularly recruiting in Belgrade, as well as QR. EY had its first open day in Belgrade in June, and the second will be in a few days time.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:26

    So far morning arrivals will look like this:

    05:40 Abu Dhabi, A319
    05:50 Varna, Atr-72
    06:00 Moscow, A319
    06:20 Cairo, A319
    06:40 Beirut, A319
    06:50 Skopje, Atr-72
    07:15 Sarajevo Atr-72
    07:20 Podgorica Atr-72

    I suppose that Skopje, Sarajevo and Podgorica might be moved to arrive earlier to Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:45

      Skopje, Podgorica and Sarajevo will arrive only once daily at around 15:00, A319.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:19

      Where did you get this information from?

      Delete
    3. DLDTWSKP21:12

      No morning connection for SKP to AMS via BEG anymore? bummer, it was good route for those travelling in from North America :(

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:23

      Bullshit. No way Podgorica would go once daily. It will be at least three times per day. The sheer fact that he made such a mistake means that he has no clue.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:29

    Hmm so there are still three more destinations that have to be announced.
    I hope one of them in Barcelona!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Yes maybe Barcelona, Nis and Lyon or Bagdad

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:08

      Maybe even a new destination in Switzerland?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      Geneva will be launch by Swiss so I don't think. Only Berne is possible

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:18

      Unless they are cocky and believe they can challenge them. It's not like the market is small.

      Could it be that another destination currently under consideration is Zagreb? It's the only bigger city in the region that wasn't announced? Would be great to have more options from Zagreb, especially to fly to the Balkans.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:00

      Perhaps it would be good linking Belgrade and Pristina. Flights from Pristina tend to be pricey, so this would allow for more people to fly via Belgrade. Although, I'm not sure whether a Belgrade-based company can still fly to Pristina (Kumanovo agreement). However, Pristina being the second biggest airport in Serbia, it would make sense to connect it with Belgrade.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:10

      I doubt that Kosovo-Albanians will fly via BEG since they have OU via ZAG and SKP becoming more important. And they also have a lot of direct connections to diaspora destinations whice are by far the biggest market for PRN. They are looking for routes like ZRH and that airport is covered with 3 daily direct flights for example.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:17

      I know Kosovo-Albanians who travel by car via Croatia and Montenegro for only one reason - don't touch Serbia or anything that is connected with that country. So, imagine how likely it is for them to fly via BEG with a company from Serbia. I don't say that there won't be anyone. But a huge majority will never use those flights. Not in the next 10-15 years at least.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:41

      I hope Barcelona is on "the list" as well.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:15

      Anyway, who cares if they could or couldn't fly to Pristina. There are far more important and lucrative markets around. People need to start thinking outside the box and understand taht there is a market outside Yugoslavia.

      Delete
    10. JATBEGMEL12:26

      The problem with JAT serving PRN is that the Serbian government stance is that the airport is 'closed'. PRN doesnt handle a/c above 10.000 feet and SMATSA doesnt allow transit through Serbian airspace to PRN or allow over fly to airlines over Kosovo airspace. People would use JAT if the price was good and flights convenient for them to travel, many frequent Belgrade with 4 daily buses to Pristina from Belgrade. Many 'Kosovars' have Serbian passports and prefer it to travel. In Tirana Airport for example I noticed many entering Albania on a Serbian passport rather than a Kosovar Passport.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:17

      REPLY TO "I know Kosovo-Albanians who travel by car via Croatia and Montenegro for only one reason - don't touch Serbia or anything that is connected with that country."

      They live in Serbia.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous18:51

      I am a Kosovo-Serb and I would love to feel like I'm in Serbia when I go to Gnjilane, but unfortunately I don't...

      Delete
    13. Anonymous22:16

      If Kosovo can still be considered as part of Serbia is really questionable, to say the least.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:29

    Excellent. Best of luck to Air Serbia. RETURN OF THE KING.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:43

    Great news for JAT. So exciting! Can't wait to see the new colour scheme!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:58

    I hope they have a stylized white eagle on the tail, similar to ehat Etihad has. That would be awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:59

      ...an eagle with two heads.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:44

    I dont know why but I am very sceptic about color scheme.. Let´s hope I am totally wrong but I think they are not going to come on with something very creative.. I cant wait to see it too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous11:25

    Albanian travelers are unimportant for Air Serbia market.The others can enjoy paying higher prices with other airliners,if they are bothered with name.There is no doubt,that prices will be mych lower than competition due lower kerozine prices.Possible destinations will be Munich,Zagreb and Tirana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL12:28

      Almost all travel agencies in Tirana advertise the sale of Jat Airways tickets. Would be surprising not to see a return to Tirana from JAT.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:03

      All travelers should be equally important. $ worth the same no matter whose pocket it comes from.

      It is business dude, not politics.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous11:49

    Greate. Is Serbia the newest country in the region? We will have fx. Croatian flying for about 20 years, Adria flying even more, and Air Serbia flying from... yesterday? Rediculous, Serbia is just rediculous. Sagradićemo novi i lepši stari most momenat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:05

      you just keep repeating that to yourself over and over... maybe it will become the truth

      /end sarcasm

      Petty people...meh...

      Delete
    2. Your English is horrible....

      Delete
  12. Anonymous11:52

    I think that Zagreb would perfectly make sence since OU is canceling its already small Network down to a minimum, which is very sad as OU and JP as two star alliance carriers could have opened a sensible regional base. And what do we learn? LH is the wrong partner. I am also very very exited about Air Serbia/Etihad plans and very curious about the livery, although I hope it's not a nationalist one with our emblem, it's very uncreative and definitely not the right logo for an international carrier. Anyways, држим фиге for Thursday and све најбоље новом јату

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:01

      What would a "nationalistic" livery be? The Serbian emblem? Give me a break. Stop Serb-bashing (iako si Srbin). I don't see what's wrong with Qantas having a kangaroo, Etihad having their eagle, British having the Union Jack, etc. I guess you prefer dots and something vague, so that God-forbid someone should know where Serbia is. Get over it, its 2013.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:23

      The kangaroo is not in the Australian emblem and the Union Jack is stylized. I'm talking about this livery here: http://www.kongres-magazine.eu/2013/07/no-more-jat-air-serbia-is-coming/ For a company like an airline a global brand with traditional influences should be set up and not a dacic/ nikolic inspired slobo themed nationalist brand. And I should stop Serb bashing? Execuse me, I'm proud that I'm Serb but I'm definitely not proud of the Serbia I'm living in, as are several people here. Do you expect from me to scream out slobo slobo as in the old days to show my patriotism to my great and prosperous motherland? What for did I then protest in the 90 s against? And no, you're right, I'm not a Serb, I'm a Yugoslav and although I'm not a great fan of Tito, I'm more proud to be a Yugoslav than a Serb!!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:34

      Well, the fact you are ethnically confused is your own problem.
      The fact that they might put the coat of arms is nothing bad.I am proud of my flag, the Cyrillic alphabet, the coat of arms and above everything, I am proud of my country. You might be ashamed of being a Serb, well shame on you. This country is the only one you have got.
      I want Air Serbia to be an airline that I see around the world which acts as the ambassador of Serbia. It can't be that if it is presenting some abstract region that, above everything, hates us.

      And the fact that you consider yourself a Yugoslav is simply pathetic, especially since we were the greatest victims of that unfortunate creation.

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL12:39

      There is a kangaroo and an emu in the Australian coat of arms btw.

      Why does Serbian nationalism go to Slobo and the 1990's? Nothing wrong with being a patriot of your country and being proud of where you come from, you must learn to respect what is yours before being able to respect others. I dont associate the Serbian flag or our country with war, Slobodan Milosevic and mafia/criminal groups. Having the Serbian flag on our aircraft isnt a sin, Emirates who is one of the largest global airlines proudly flies the national flag of the UAE on its tail, and whos pax profile range from many nationalities. The western world tend to associate and stereotype Islam and Arabs to extreemism and terrorism yet EK, QR and EY are 3 of the fastest growing airlines in the world. Your comment is not only offensive, its rude and uncultured.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:42

      That's because the guy is most likely an LDP fan, that God forsaken party considers anything Serbian to be nationalistic. Pathetic.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:47

      Yes you are right, I really don't want to live in the past and of course we Serbs are the greatest victims of all the others, even more victims than the Bosnian. And of course, sorry, I am a proud Serb who will fight for the glory of his motherland hand in hand with all of our glorious generals against the rest.
      I want those great 90s back, where one coffee would cost a large pack of dinars and the c marketi were empty. I want to be unemployed with a master degree of economics which is recognized in no other country in the world. I want to go back to the streets where everyone was whistling against slobo and I want the spirit of the 5th October back.

      Could we stop this silly conversation please, this is an aviation forum and not a political discussion

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:54

      Well, if you want to stop this conversation then why did you bring all this up?

      Also, if you think that what I wrote up there is wrong, feel free to read a few books and then come back with concrete arguments and not some lame-ass rhetoric forged by Cedmoir Jovanovic and his gargoyles.

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL12:58

      You are the one who is bringing this offensive remarks that is off topic. Why dont you associate Serbian patriotism to the success of Novak Djokovic and our sporting legends? They proudly carry the Serbian flag around the world and promote our country for nothing but the possitive and the best...again an example. But to you patriotism is Slobodan Milosevic? This is nothing but offensive.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:02

      And Slobodan Milosevic is the symbol of Serbian nationalism since... When? Stop confusing populism and nationalism. Serbia has existed for a long, long time before the 1990s.

      Delete
    10. The livery on the tail should be 3 fingers with "Kosovo je Srbija" under!

      ;)

      Delete
    11. Anonymous13:33

      Of course, here is bitter Doot who can't miss an opportunity to trash Serbia.

      Delete
    12. how am I trashing Serbia?

      Clearly, I'm making fun of the bickering going on in here.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous13:48

      Yes, that is all you do. Every time there is anything related to Serbia you are here to contribute with your negativity. This has been going on for years now. Move on, friend.

      Delete
    14. not true. I make all sorts of comments on here.

      You say I'm "bitter", yet I'm pretty sure I'm the only one of us two that is posting with a smile on his face :)

      Delete
    15. Anonymous14:05

      Feel free to write whatever makes you feel better, we all remember your kind of contribution of the past several years.

      And here is a smiley and a heart just for you, :) <3 .

      Delete
    16. Thank you for your permission, mr. anonymous :)

      Delete
    17. Anonymous14:22

      You are most welcome Mr Doot. :)))

      Delete
    18. Sorry but I was in tears when I read doot's suggestion for the re-branding. Funniest post on this blog to date!

      Delete
    19. Anonymous18:05

      I don't see what's so funny about a region where Serbian cultural heritage was burned to the ground and where Serbs were butchered like animals. Show some compassion and respect for those who are no longer with us.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous18:28

      Of all the Serb-haters in the world the so called"Yugoslavs" are the worst...
      Of course they support EU-membership because it will ruin Serbia.In 50 years they will call them self Europeans.

      These people are also the most racist people as they equate everything Serbian as "Balkan trash", "Turboseljaci" or simply
      "Gypsies" who do not fit in their vision of a "white, civilized and European" Serbia.

      Delete
    21. BA88820:32

      Listen mate, I am proud to be from former Yugoslavia.

      Creation that is now Serbia (and unfortunately contains my home town) I do not recognise and I am mainly ashamed of.

      AND BTW…HOW DO YOU DARE SAYING I USE DEROGATORY TERM AS "GYPSIES" FOR MEMBERS OF ROMA PEOPLE? I am proud that at least part that I come from (otherwise known as Vojvodina) unlike the rest of Serbia finds living with other nationalities very normal.

      Delete
    22. Anonymous20:36

      Erm.. since when is a gipsy a derogatory term?

      I am sure that the entire Serbian nation is depressed and is crying because you do not approve of us. Give us a break, no one cares about you and the other 4% of Serbia which thinks like you. Stay in London where you are, it's not like we need you.

      Delete
    23. BA88820:49

      Unlike you...At least I have balls to identify myself and say where I am from...

      Delete
    24. Anonymous22:21

      Its people like you that call not only Roma but all Serbs Gypsies!
      Everytime they see dark-haired or tanned Serbs in tv or public they say" ah those Turboseljaci they are gipsies like Ceca,
      look how dark they are,they are not real Serbs.The real Serbs are white and European".
      A lot of so called modern people in Serbia think so.

      Delete
    25. Anonymous22:22

      Erm... why do you need to have balls to do that? I am a male Serb from Belgrade, Zvezdara to be more precise.

      Oh wow.. look, I got balls now.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous12:13

    Jat launches 14 new destinations, HELLO! If someone doesn't want to fly with something that has the name of his neighbouring country, just let him be! After one year he will get used to it, if the prices are lower than with other airlines. And that's all. None of the companies went bancrupt because of the name, just because of the poor management. Do you think someone in companies cared about what would the name "Croatian" provoke in other neighbouring nations? Or Turkish? Or Ethiopean? The biggest problem with Serbs is they have a constant feel that they are the biggest and only problem in the Balkans, and that every Serb that considers himself objective should be ashame of the nation he belongs to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:35

      I'm talking about the livery and not the name and if you think I'm ashamed of the current Serbia, of course. Look at our government and we are back in the 90's. look at our tv: no professional news (mabe b92), grand show, farma etc. and please don't tell me that this is quality tv, our population is becoming more and more stupid through the tv and our glorious politicians. Many young and educated people leave the country as there are no perspectives here (neither here nor in our neighboring countries,) and the unemployment rate is rising every month. And you want to tell me I should be proud of this? I'm proud of Serbia but not the Serbia as it is now. Sorry for not shouting out slobo and stuff like this but I have enough from nationalism and don't tell me that we Serbs aren't nationalist, the whole 90s were a nationalist decade. And sorry for talking about this here, but for the rest out of Serbia, you can't talk about nationalism and stuff like this without being judged as an idiot. Things have sadly changed here since the elections

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:44

      Good, since you are so competent and so 'enlightened' I hope you will get politically active and save us from the cataclysm of ignorance.
      You are no better than the people you condemn. Just another armchair philosopher.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL12:50

      The 1990's were not a nationalist decade, rather an extreemist and radical decade. Those people are not Serbs, they distroyed every little thing that was in our country, and brang nothing but the worst to it to which we still are paying the price for. In regards to Grand and Farma, if you dont like it dont watch Pink, many other chanels on TV to watch.
      Serbia has progressed a fair bit the past decade and will get better eventually. Before with our blue passports we were restricted with complicated process for visas, now we have a biometric passport with the name 'Republic of Serbia' valid in about 100 countries for visa free travel. Standard is slowly improving but neither is our people willing to work or support change, its more important for our youth to demolish Belgrade in several hours of rampage on every protest rather than to get a job.
      I didnt vote for SNS but to be honest, it is the first government to actually deal with JAT, and it has...for example.

      Delete
    4. Sorry for disturbing but i must tell you guys that this is blog for civil aviation. You may discuss political issues in different blogs, I got a headache reading your political posts ...so please, lets talk about new Air Serbia, new livery, new destinations, planes, airports in region and the future of airline companies in Balkans.Serbia is not Slobo, DS, SPS, SNS and other political parties..
      Thank you

      Delete
    5. The problem is that people like this think that everywhere else in world is beautiful, TV is educational, families are strong, jobs are plentiful etc. etc. etc. and only in Serbia everything sucks while your leader is taking heli skiing trips in Patagonia or Pakistan. Face it, whole world is facing issues, look at Europe, unemployment, actual divorce rate in North America is over 55%. So Serbia is not the only country with problems, there is no perfect situation. Love your country, your people or leave. Trust me when I tell you that nowhere else you'll be more welcome trust me. And one other thing, please take Webster or Vujaklija dictionary to educate yourself about the meaning of word nationalist, there is nothing wrong with being one.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:52

      SM, thank you for that post. It is brilliant.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous12:51

    I suppose that Air Serbia might receive a new website as well? I guess that all these new flights will be loaded into the system in August?

    By the way, last year, Belgrade Airport handled 221,000 passengers. With all these new flights starting in late October, could we expect this number to rise to 250,000?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous12:58

    Correct. I'm sitting in my chair, as I can't change anything alone. And whilst the small minded nationalists were sitting in their armchairs and watching the slobo dnevnik or at one of his rally's I was the armchair philosopher who protested every single day throughout the 90s until the day of the 5th October, where my armchair and me went to the skupstina to see it burn down with slobo and all of his puppies inside. I was the armchair philosopher who protested after djindjics death against kostunica and his puppies. I was the armchair philosopher who protested 99 against the bombing of our bridges. And I'm the armchair philosopher today who writes articles for a serbian newspaper and I'm proud of my self and my achievements. So then, who are you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:04

      I am sorry but do you think that your constant bitching and your strolls through the city are making you anything special? While you were busy hitting metal objects in the streets I was actually working on practical stuff as in organizing event and conferences which had a much greater impact than your strolls.
      So maybe it's better you keep on walking around and barking at politicians because it seems you are not competent for more. Especially since you have not yet understood that change in Serbia must come from the top, not from the bottom of the society. So good luck writing for some meaningless newspaper.

      ps am I suppose to thank you for contributing to the movement that brought us Tadic, Jeremic, Dinkic, Labus...?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:38

      Could please both of you stop? This is an aviation forum and not a round table of politicians. I know the 90ies were turbulent and to support the protest guy, those people really changed our country and I'm still proud of it today. Thus I agree with the statement that the change must come from the top. Anyways, these are great news for Air Serbia and I'm really happy about this

      Delete
  16. Anonymous13:07

    Has anyone seen the new, stupid, commercial of Wizz Air in Belgrade?
    It writes 'zWIZZni dok Skandinavije'. Someone should inform these poor fellas what 'zvizni' actually means.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:10

      *do Skandinavije

      Delete
  17. Anonymous13:31

    What happened to double daily flights to Amsterdam? Wasn't it reported a while ago that JU applied for slots in AMS for its second daily flight?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous13:45

    Could moderator delete all these comments about politicians, 90`s and nationalism.. It borders people who are here because of aviation.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous13:50

    'Furthermore, the airline will operate double daily flights to Paris, Athens, Vienna and Zurich over the winter.'

    The increase of Athens and the launch of so many regional destinations can only mean that Etihad is serious about making Belgrade one of the more dominant airports for Balkan flights. I am sure that with all these regional flights, there will a lot more demand for European destinations. Hence why I would not be surprised if by next summer an 11th A319 is introduced into the fleet.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous14:09

    :O.T.

    http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Ekonomija/396233/Iz-Jata-odlazi-500-zaposlenih-dolazi-10-novih-Erbas-aviona-i-po-sto-novih-pilota-i-stjuardesa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:15

      Hmm that's good. I hope they will also get new uniforms. :)

      Delete
  21. Anonymous14:13

    Which frequent flyer program if any will be available through JAT/Air Serbia?
    (I mean a global one, not a local JAT program)
    I am not sure but I think Etihad does not belong to any alliance?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:16

      You are right, they don't but I am sure they will have some deal that you can get miles if flying with Etihad and its partner airlines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:48

      Just googled it:
      Etihad does not belong to any alliance, however it bought the Topbonus system of Air Berlin. Air Berlin is a member of the one world alliance-Etihad however is not.
      I suppose either Etihad will become a member of the one world alliance or it will form an own alliance with carriers it purchased like Air Berlin, Air Serbia, this Indian carrier...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:00

      The topbonus program did already exist before etihads equity stake in air Berlin, I have it since 2009 :) well, so what do you think about the extra flight club then? I think it isn't bad for the beginning, but EY will either "revolutionise" it or they will bring the Etihad guest ffp as they did with air Seychelles, although I don't think so. In terms of alliances I see air Serbia maybe with oneworld as AB is there and star and sky team have members from the region. I don't think that this would happen that fast, although it would make sense :)

      Delete
    4. Etihad CEO actually stated that he is not interested in joining any alliance and in fact does not agree with the airline alliance type method. This is why they are buying airlines all over the place instead of cooperation.

      Delete
  22. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:17

      Could be, but at one point Etihad did state that they will need some larger aircraft so maybe:

      2 A320
      10 A319
      8 Dash-8

      Delete
  23. Air Serbia fleet in 2015 will be:

    12 A319
    8 Q400

    0r...

    10 A319
    2 A320(321)
    8 Q400

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. what about the ATRs they already have?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:26

      Those are scheduled to leave next year once the Dash birds start to arrive.

      Delete
    3. ATRs and 4 B733 will fly for Air Serbia daughters companies in Macedonia or in Middle East

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:30

      I doubt they will have an airline in FYROM or in the Middle East. Those planes are old and as time goes by they are becoming increasingly unreliable.

      Delete
    5. This was the statement of mr Vukasinovic, recent CEO of Jat Airways, i doubt too but who knows,time will show up what will happen with old fleet

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:38

      Sinisa Mali, Mr. Vucic's economic adviser, who made this deal happen, said that Boeings and ATR are going to fly in Macedonia and the Middle East.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:34

      Why not

      6 A330
      26 A320
      64 A319
      128 Q400
      1724 ATRR72

      seriously,

      Delete
  24. OT:

    Does anyone know what happens to Jat's frequent flyer program?

    Does it roll over into the new airline, or should we use our free flights by tomorrow :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:29

      Fly tomorrow, flyyyy, fly awayyyyy...

      Delete
    2. obviously from the same anonymous that called me "bitter" in the other comment.

      you do realize that the entire purpose of my blog is to elicit comments like that from bitter Serbs outraged by a foreigner telling it like it is, right?

      Besides, why would you want me to leave if you love Serbia. I provide more jobs for Serbs than you do.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:02

      How can I want you to leave when I love you Doot.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:44

      Thank you Doot for reminding us that we Serbs are such bad people!
      We are guilty for everything...
      Yugoslavia failed because of us,Croatia is failing because of us,
      Kosovo would be a second Dubai but we Serbs ruined it.
      Wev are guilty that Hitler lost the war!
      That there is no more Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
      When we enter EU it will fail only because of us.

      At least Doot employs some of us although we are not worth it...
      Our evil music and tv destroys everything of civilization that was left after the war.
      The sun does not shine in the night because of us.
      Etc,etc....

      Delete
    5. You're absolutely right. Serbs will destroy this planet ;)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:36

      Hey, you forgot to add the most important thing: we Serbs are also responsible for global warming.

      Delete
    7. And of course global water crisis. Kids in Africa are dying because of us...

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:37

      @AnonymousJuly 30, 2013 at 7:36 PM
      not global Warming, just genocide.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous22:49

      The only genocide that occurred in the Balkans was the one in Jasenovac and we all know it was not the Serbs who were the butchers there.

      Delete
  25. Most of the airline names in the world seems to have country association. Then there are those that are not (EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz etc.) who do not have it. Which is better? Who knows-there are successful companies on both side of the fence. I would say the choice probably depends on the situation and what the potential market is. Contrary to the opinion of some people on this blog I think that making this truly Serbian airline is a very good move. Starting with the name and liver is natural. While the word Serbian might have negative connotations in the some countries (especially in the region) I love the fact that they are tackling the issue head on and not running away from it. No matter where, even in PRN people are going to get used to it and if you offer good product at the fair price they’ll stop avoiding it sooner or later. Very often companies open new destination with not a lot of success and sustain losses but they work on it increase the marketing effort and frankly just give it some time and that things start working out. I think new company might face same issue especially with such an aggressive expansion. I hope they have the strength to take care of the growing pains. Regarding the name itself, I was hoping for something more distinctive. If you go to any site today listing world’s airlines those that start with Air XXX are majority, however I understand that there are limitations here.

    Like everybody here I’m very interested the new name, branding, livery etc. I hope they end up being new, modern and innovative in every aspect. For the livery I hope they go something like Frontier Airlines style, that represent Serbia but in an out of the box way. I’m not big fan of classic liveries with logo at the tail and name on the body. I loved those artist renderings that showed up couple of months ago involving Tesla's figure at the tale; I loved that approach. However, considering what Etihad, Air Berlin liveries are I probably will not have my wish granted.

    Regardless of what it ends up being, this is a great news. I can’t wait for Thursday’s press conference and to fly with them. Wishing prosperous future to Air Serbia and its employees.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous14:49

    I am really curious and very excited about the new livery! Colors, signs, uniforms, image campaigns and many many more other things. I mean there's so much work to do to make it high class, professional, and suitable for a European airline. I hope the Arabs do it as it's expected.

    Also I just wonder what's up with the domain? Airserbia.com, airsrbija.com are in use and it doesn't look like there're going to be sold. However, I don't think they use the .rs country code since it's not a common thing for international airlines. And jat.com doesn't make sense, maybe only for redirecting to another page for a certain period.

    Generally, I wonder which branding/design studio is doing all that stuff.

    I really hope it's not going to be a disappointment.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous14:52

    Note to self - in future, read the news items (the only reason for visiting this site in the first place) and avoid the readers' comments, seeing as they mostly are nursing their own (nationalist) frustrations here. You've absolutely no idea how hilarious you are to read.

    Have a nice day you sad lot. And get a life.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous15:03

    No berlin anymore?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous15:13

    Brilliant news here, I hope the coverage is good. I'm exited about the livery and the general brand image and I hope they will promote air Serbia with a good marketing campaign to sell the new brand to the customers. Finally I have a real choice of flying out of Belgrade instead of taking lh and os via vie/fra/muc to cities like Barcelona or Brussels or taking the old atrs :) Hopefully air Serbia will be a quality carrier like EY and become a real good regional airline or even more :) all the best :))) btw: will the YU code remain with air Serbia? I think so, but I'm not sure :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is JU code not YU, and it will stay

      Delete
  30. Anonymous15:33

    It would be nice to re-connect Belgrade with the old overseas destinations, like Chicago, Toronto, Sydney and New York, where there is large numbers of Serb diaspora. Has there been any talk about this with this new restructuring?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As much as I would like Belgrade - Chicago route I don't think anybody will consider flights to US before BEG reaches more than 4,5-5 million passengers a year...

      Delete
  31. I think the additional 3 destinations will be ZAG, TIA and MUC

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous17:14

    blimey, it's all go.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous17:38

    I can't wait to see it :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous17:49

    has anyone noticed the new Hungarian Airline that is supposed to commence operations soon? Arabs are creating it and have a plan of 55 planes by 2017 and 96 destinations. Some planes include wide bodies.
    http://www.xpatloop.com/news/73934

    I wonder if the new Air Serbia will face a chance with Budapest becoming a possible hub again? Or will the airline "Solyom" not be able to compete with the new "Air Serbia"?

    I believe Etihad should have a more ambitious and aggressive plan for Etihad and Belgrade so they don't have to worry about this new possible Humgarian one, if it even materializes. I believe this because this airline "Solyom Hungarian Airlines" is supposed to be booming faster than "Air Serbia" and even though Budapest has a larger population as well as Hungary, Etihad should step it up in Belgrade. However, this is just the beginning. I wonder if it is even possible to have in the future those 2 hubs competing - Belgrade and Budapest head to head?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:03

      Well, the Hungarians plan on launching their airline with three B737-500. Doesn't seem that threatening... at least not for now.

      Also, don't forget that Solyom first has to deal with Wizz Air and Ryanair and only then with Air Serbia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:01

      not to mention they sound unprofessional, and that the newspaper is writing that they will "crash" and their math is making no sense and that they are too ambitious..

      I guess Etihad is doing everything exactly spot on with smart people :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:20

      Hungary in the EU, no visa restrictions or regime in place, free travel and access to all EU airports.

      Serbia not in the EU, no visa regime in place yet, but might be re-instead as few EU countries are calling for visa regime on Serbia.

      Air Serbia needs to apply for any additional slots over EU skies, it won't get them as EU gives preferential treatment to EU based airlines and any EU airline can block Air Serbia's request for additional slots.

      What's left is non-EU market where Air Serbia will play feeder airline for Ethiad and Air Berlin.

      We'll see how many Airbus aircraft Air Serbia gets, I mean leases from Ethiad, if 10, I doubt Air Serbia will have much of free room to maneuver, and the fact all new destinations are in eastern Europe or Asia, proves my point.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:16

      Last jealous anonymous. So tell me, all the recently announced destinations are being solely introduced for the purpose of O&D? ;)
      Are you telling me that there is enough O&D demand for daily flights from BEG to BEY and Varna?

      Wake up and smell the roses. Air Serbia is being built into a powerful airline and BEG will become a true crossroad. I am sorry that this positive news brings you down. I am sure you are a minority in that regard.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:18

      'and the fact all new destinations are in eastern Europe or Asia, proves my point.'

      Are you telling me that additional flights to Athens, Zurich, Amsterdam, Paris... are qualified as eastern Europe or Asia?
      Also, I would like to point out that Ljubljana, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Varna, Prague and Warsaw are ALL in the EU. Sorry buddy but you have failed.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:30

      And who is going to fill all these flights, Serbia is a 3rd world country with 3rd world infrastructure, why would anyone want to go to Belgrade.

      Belgrade/Serbia is barely attracting 600 000 tourist per year and all cities in the region have excellent connections with the rest of the Europe due to Wizz air and other low cost airlines that are discovering Ex-YU.

      I mean really you should come down of your nationalist cloud and thinking Ethiad will somehow create some sort of major hub out of Belgrade is just pure fantasy.

      90% of all passengers that use Belgrade Airport are Serbians, or with a Serbian passport, indicating Belgrade isn't important or significant to mount to anything and now you want to compare yourself to Budapest, Vienna and even Athens.

      Give me a brake. u wake up and smell the coffee.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:48

      LOL sure, I guess your current information is as solid as the one where you mentioned that Air Serbia's future expansion will NOT be in the EU.

      I feel sorry for you, I really do.

      Delete
  35. Anonymous20:28

    perhaps headline for tomorrow, Split Airport is to invest 60 million in to new airport terminal.


    Zračna luka širi terminal i ulaže 60 milijuna eura!

    U sklopu ishođenja potrebne dokumentacije za projekt proširenja putničkog terminala, investiciju vrijednu 60 milijuna eura, Zračna luka Split podnijela je Ministarstvu zaštite okoliša i prirode zahtjev o potrebi procjene utjecaja na okoliš, uz koji je dostavila i Elaborat o zaštiti okoliša, u kojemu su detaljni prikazi namjeravanih zahvata.

    Sukladno zakonskoj proceduri u tijeku je jednomjesečni rok u kojemu se može očitovati i zainteresirana javnost. Odluku pak o tome treba li raditi procjenu ili je dovoljan predani elaborat, donijet će Ministarstvo.

    - Procjena utjecaja na okoliš korak je koji prethodi traženju lokacijske, a onda i građevinske dozvole - kazao nam je direktor splitske Zračne luke Lukša Novak. Kako bi se održao najavljeni ritam realizacije projekta, u prvoj polovici 2014. objavili bismo natječaj za proširenje terminala, a nakon ljetne sezone 2014., krenulo bi se i s gradnjom. Budući da vlastitim sredstvima rješavamo polovicu investicije, u tom razdoblju riješili bismo i način financiranja drugoga dijela - kaže Novak.

    Parking na 35.500 kvadrata ispod Stare kaštelanske ceste

    Od navedenih 60 milijuna eura, Zračna luka do sada je osigurala kupnju zemljišta u Resniku od “Kaštelanskih staklenika”, te na pripremu dokumentacije utrošila deset milijuna eura. Ovoga trenutka osigurala je dodatnih 15 milijuna eura, s tim da namjerava osigurati još desetak. Preostali dio može se riješiti na tri načina: kroz EU fondove, sudjelovanjem mirovinskih fondova ili kreditnim aranžmanom s nekom od banaka.

    U svakom slučaju, splitski aerodrom će rekonstrukcijom i dogradnjom putničkog terminala povećati bruto površinu zatvorenog dijela za oko 34.500 kvadrata, što će omogućiti povećanje kapaciteta putnika sa sadašnjih milijun na dva milijuna godišnje, čuli smo od direktora Novaka.

    - Broj putnika na godišnjoj razini povećan je za 11 posto, a u srpnju ove godine za 13 posto, i već sada bi nam, radi kvalitetnije usluge, dobro došli dodatni kapaciteti terminala - obrazlaže Novak.

    Projekt obuhvaća i izgradnju parkinga za osobne automobile i autobuse ispod Stare kaštelanske ceste, na zemljištu kupljenom od “Kaštelanskih staklenika”, na ukupnoj površini od 35.500 kvadrata, s tim da je u sklopu parkinga predviđena gradnja praonica vozila i objekt za prihvat putnika s rent-a-car uredima koji će se pješačkim mostom povezati s glavnom zgradom Zračne luke.


    http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Split-županija/tabid/76/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/216937/Default.aspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:31

      And good news from Split continue,,,,

      "Očekujemo 1,5 milijuna putnika i 210 milijuna kuna"

      Skupština Zračne luke Split, održana 9. svibnja usvojila je financijsko i izvješće o poslovanju Društva za 2012. kao i plan poslovanja za 2013. godinu.

      Na osnovi prijedloga ovlaštenog revizora koji je obavio reviziju poslovanja za 2012. godinu, prijedloga Nadzornog odbora i sukladno odredbama Zakona o trgovačkim društvima, Skupština je donijela i odluku o povećanju temeljnog kapitala Društva unosom dobiti iz poslovne 2012. godine. “U 2012. godini ostvaren je rast prometa putnika od 10 posto. Ukupan promet putnika od 1.425.479 najveći je u povijesti ove zračne luke. Ostvaren je i porast tonaže zrakoplova od 5 posto. U srpnju 2012. godine ostvaren je rekordan promet sa preko 293.000 putnika”, kazao je direktor Zračne luke Lukša Novak.

      Ukupni prihod za 2012. godinu iznosio je 203.938.000 kuna odnosno 8 posto veći nego u 2011. godini. Ostvarena bruto dobit iznosi 46.495.000 kuna. Ukupna aktiva Društva je povećana sa 500 milijuna kuna na 567 milijuna kuna. Ulaskom Republike Hrvatske u Europsku Uniju očekuju se dodatni pozitivni učinci na fizičke i financijske pokazatelje poslovanja. Za 2013. godinu je planirano povećanje prometa putnika od šest posto, odnosno 1.515.000 putnika kao i povećanje prihoda na 210.400.000 kuna.

      Planirana su daljnja ulaganja u obnovu opreme koja je neophodna za sigurno i kvalitetno opsluživanje zrakoplova, te podizanje kvalitete aerodromskih sadržaja koje koriste putnici i zračni prijevoznici. U planu je i završetak tehničke dokumentacije rekonstrukcije i dogradnje putničkog terminala za čiju izgradnju je već rezerviran dio sredstava. Početak izgradnje se očekuje iza turističke sezone 2014. godine. U prva četiri mjeseca ove godine ostvaren je promet od 149.000 putnika od čega 110 tisuća putnika u međunarodnom prometu što je rast od 7 posto.

      http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Split-županija/tabid/76/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/209955/Default.aspx

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:33

      Wow... You Croatians really hate it when you are being ignored.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:19

      Slobodna Dalmacija - Don't worry, soon there'll be more news about Croatia network downsize/

      Delete
  36. Anonymous20:41

    Oh dear God,
    I want BEG-LIS sooo much!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous21:03

    Cudi me sto nasi pisu na engleskom. Da li zive vani pa su se odvikli matetnjeg, ili sta? I dosta negativnih komentara! I Srbi i Hrvsti su stvarno vise primitivni sa upoređivanjima stalnim.

    Sjajna je vest za Air Serbia. Treba da smo super zadovoljni. Nove destinacije... Verujem i konkurentne cene karata, novi avioni. Vise turista, vise priliva novca....Nije li to dovoljno?


    Sto se tice grba bilo bi fenomenalno staviti stilizovanog dvoglavog orla. Treba se ponositi da smo bili nekad okrenuti Vizantijskom Carstvu, centru ucenosti i kulture. Odatle i dvoglavi orao za vasu informaciju. Eto!
    I sa srecom Air Serbia!!!! ♡♡♡

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:09

      А ти што пишеш латиницом мислиш да пишеш на српском?

      Delete
  38. zoki22:08

    For thursday i expect a massive shitstorm here on the blog.
    Two hundred posts and the majority of them complaining about new name,look and uniforms.
    Please have in mind that as with all things we will never get something that everybody will agree on!
    People should take it more easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:24

      Any way what ever we get will be much much better than what we had so far. Etihad takeover is the best thing happened for Serbian economy in the past decade. With good conections with the region many companies and organization will decide to move their regional offices to Belgrade. Region can expact prices go down and better conections with Eastern Europe and Middle East. Our region needs at least one good player.

      Delete
  39. Anonymous22:24

    I still hope for a different name than Air Serbia. Originally, they stated that the name would have a more regional implication.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:51

      Chill a bit, would you?

      Delete