Air Serbia kicks off winter expansion

Air Serbia launching Banja Luka, Prague, Ljubljana and Bucharest

Today Air Serbia begins the expansion of its destination network with the launch of four new routes over the next ten days. Flights to Banja Luka will be inaugurated today with a special promotional flight. Paying customers and members of the press will have the chance to fly the airline’s Airbus A319 between Belgrade and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city. Due to the promotional nature of the flight, the timing of the service has been modified with passengers to depart Belgrade at midday and return in the evening. Air Serbia’s CEO, Dane Kondić, is also expected to be on the flight. Air Serbia’s predecessor, Jat Airways, last operated services to Banja Luka in 2009, however, the flights failed to attract passengers. Air Serbia will operate daily flights to the city with an ATR72. Photos from he inaugural flight can be viewed here.

This morning Air Serbia launched flights to Prague. The new destination has proved a star performer in the airline’s network. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, the Czech capital has become the most popular destination to be introduced by the airline. Air Serbia faces no competition on the route. Jat Airways suspended its flights to Prague in 2009 as part of its cost cutting measures. ČSA Czech Airlines followed suit as it downsized on its own network. Flights between Belgrade and Prague will operate on a daily basis with an ATR72

From December 10, Adria Airways will lose its monopoly on the Ljubljana - Belgrade service. Air Serbia will launch daily flights between the two cities with an ATR72. Adria has been unchallenged on the route  since 2011 when Jat Airways suspended flights to the Slovenian capital. Air Serbia’s Ljubljana flights have proved popular with passengers transiting through Belgrade to Moscow, Thessaloniki and Athens. Recently, Adria CEO Mark Anžur commented on the competition his airline will face, “We fly to Belgrade and we will see how things play out. At this moment Adria is not threatened”.

Finally, in ten days time Air Serbia will inaugurate flights to Bucharest in Romania. It will mark the first time a Serbian airline has operated scheduled flights between the two cities since 1999. Air Serbia will compete against TAROM Romanian Airlines which operates daily flights. TAROM will reschedule its services from December 10 so as to better compete against the Serbian carrier. Air Serbia will operate flights to Bucharest with an ATR72 on a daily basis.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Don't TAROM and Air Serbia codeshare? I would not call TAROM's rescheduling of flights as a way to better compete, but as a way for both airlines to make most out of the route.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      Exactly, Tarom has offered to cooperate with Air Serbia hence why there is a codeshare and better flights.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    What does it mean that Prague is the most popular destination? Words without figures don't mean much.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:39

      Bravo, thats what Im always saying. Here, Ive never had any pax numbers per month or on a years basis how many passeneger travelled for example in Rome or wherever. How do I know its popular. If they just wrote that there was no any sit on todays flight to Prague, I would write, yeah, thats good. But this way, I dont know what does it mean popular. I agree, its popular but by bus. travel agencies make Prague by bus and buses are very often full until the last sit.

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    2. There is a poll on the left side of the page. And it says 'the Czech capital has become the most popular destination to be introduced by the airline.', so maybe number of sold tickets is reason to write that.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:20

      Well many times you don't get that kind of information after an airline started operating the route, so how can you expect getting the info before they started? You get that kind of information before the product is introduced if there is a TREMENDOUS pre-order for it, like in the case of GTA video game. It can be quite usual that companies do not reveal the bookings before they even started. What we have here is an "insider information", not an official one, cause that's not the part of their policy.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    samo napred air serbia! samo sta mi jedino nepase to su letelice atr 72! ove malo novije koje su dobili YU-ALT i YU-ALU nisu lose, ostatak je katastrofa! Unutra u avionu imas osecaj kao da si usao u 80´godine! Najgori avioni trenutno u jatu po meni!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      p.S dash je za njega kralj! neznam sto neprelaze na njega?!

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    2. Zato sto stizu ATR 72-600, nabolji turboprop avioni u civilnoj avijaciji, vec su naruceni za Etihad Regional i Air Serbia

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    3. Ер Сербија не прелази на Бомбардијер зато што, барем за сада, не планира да користи пропелерце на летовима дужим од 500 нм. Ако се не варам, тренутно најдужи лет пропелерца у Ер Сербијиној флоти је Праг. Ако је истина да је за сада лет популаран, онда претпостављам да ће ускоро бити замењен са А319. Јат је користио пропелерце на летовима ка Риму, Милану, Атини па чак и ка Минхену. За такав модел пословања Бомбардијер би имао смисла, посебно зато што је бржи и удобнији. На пример, Јату је требало 02.20 да стигне из Београда у Атину, а Олимпику 01.25. То је ипак велика разлика.

      Из Београда постоји мноштво одредишта у радијусу од 500 нм и верујем да су баш зато одлучили да задрже Атрове. Лако су могли да пређу на Бомбардијер тако што би узели пар летелица од Ер Берлина.

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    4. Anonymous11:15

      You should keep in mind that an aircraft with a turboprop engine (ATR72 or Q400) is much more cost effective than any aircraft with a turbojet engine (A319 or CRJ900) in terms of fuel consumption. So I think flight times and passanger comfortability are secondary for Air Serbia

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    5. If comfort was of secondary importance to them then they wouldn't be adding pillows, offering decent catering and so on on all their flights. Also if JU can fill an A319 on a 45 minute hop to Podgorica then I guess the sheer volume of passengers compensates for lesser aircraft efficiency.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:32

      Izgleda da je danas odleteo erbas, a ne ATR, izgleda da je svecanije tako :D

      Delete
    7. Судећи по сликама лет је био пун, претпостављам да је то разлог што је послат Ербас.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous10:16

    I wonder when they plan on loading the next round of destinations into the system. They are supposed to start in a bit more than four months.

    If they keep the current five Atrs, will it be enough for the summer season? Also, does anyone know how many B737-300 will stay in the fleet? I suppose the two Bulgarians are here to stay at least until the end of the 2014 summer season?

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  5. Anonymous10:19

    OT: I want opinion of people who are into airline industry if its possible.
    http://www.bastabalkana.com/2013/11/zasto-su-seici-kupili-jat-air-srbija-nema-gde-da-sleti/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This site doesn't work

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:53

      Here it is:
      http://www.vesti.rs/JAT/Zasto-su-seici-kupili-Jat-Air-Srbija-nema-gde-da-sleti.html

      To comment on this, you don't need people who are into airline industry but paranoic doomsday preppers with the third eye on their brow.

      Standard 'cheap agriculture land' crap, this time enhanced with a huge GMO conspiracy of biblical proportions - and Air Serbia is there to prevent 'the truth' from coming out.

      Internet is sometimes the dark side of humanity.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:57

      Site works.
      Text is written by fired&frustrated 70-year old stewardess.
      Complete crap.

      Delete
    4. Not even signed by the journalist, very "professional" indeed, and , btw never heard about this VT.

      Delete
  6. It is normal all over the world that airlines use turboprop planes on short routes, one hour of flying with is not so much uncomfortable if the planes are safe and ATRs are very safe planes.Passengers like to feel safe in an airplane! I love ATR because i feel real flying when i am on board.I love their engines, their noise and it makes me to feel safe.It is just my opinion.

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  7. Anonymous11:41

    samo cekate da se pojavi Air Serbija i ondak se desava - MASTURBACIJA !!!!! :)))

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  8. Anonymous11:52

    Pa sta ces kada je seksi zenska...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:16

    Ex-YU, are you flying to Banja Luka today with the journalists?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous12:23

    It took off:
    http://www.flightradar24.com/JAT102

    ReplyDelete
  11. YU-APE took off for BEG from Muc!

    ReplyDelete
  12. http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/yu-ape

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:08

      Has it landed in Belgrade or is it off radar?

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    2. It is over Hungary now...

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    3. http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/airserbia-jat....just click YU-APE

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:19

      It's actually JUYUAPE, that's why it did not work at first.

      Delete
  13. Yes, but i found it immediately...approaching Serbian airspace

    ReplyDelete
  14. YU-APE has landed at BEG.Welcome!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous14:00

    Does anyone else find it weird that neither on Air Serbia's official facebook page nor Radiotelevizija Srbije page we do not have any news about AirSerbia flying to Prague, we just have info about Banja Luka.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:07

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:21

      Well, flying to Prague is not ment as "nastavak rata drugim sredstvima" or "popišavanje teritorije". Off course it is totaly stupid, it is far more important that we have flights to Prague, as to God forgotten and miserable Banja Luka. But our nationalistic air company has to reconquist Bosnia at least at the symbolic level, since they feiled to do it real... Stupid nationalists

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:39

      @AnonymousDecember 1, 2013 at 4:21 PM

      Hey! Just relax!No one is reconquesting Bosnia. It is just a local line...when you,during winter,have 3 flights per day to Tivat,I think it's ok to have one to Banja Luka.

      P.S. Yes,Prague is more important than Banjaluka,but this small city doesn't try to compete with Czech capital anyway...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:03

      Eventhough I am the Anonymus who asked about Prague, I dont think it is popisavanje teritorije. It's clearly a political thing, but not necessarilly towards Greater Serbia. I never heard in my life that establishing an airline route is a form of some expansion or nationalism... Just relax :)

      Delete
  16. Anonymous17:16

    I have the impression that Air Serbias A319 are underutilicized...
    They barely are in the air.Whats the reaspon?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Here is a picture of the A319 in Banja Luka today. I took the picture from their Facebook page:

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1464633_619807388061372_1775783696_n.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  18. Actually here is a link to their photo album:

    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.619810431394401.1073741833.585944918114286&type=1

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous23:12

    can anyone provide us with the loads for the flight to prague

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous23:29

    Big deal for BNX under the link below.

    http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1615626&page=4

    http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1615626&page=5

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous00:26

    Banja Luka is domestic, not international. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous01:27

      Sorry to say...Banja Luka is in Bsnia Hercegovina, so that makes it international.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01:36

      No shit?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:33

      He was referring to the fact that Republika Srpska has nothing in common with the Federation and that 98% of its population feel as part of Serbia- hence why his comment about the domestic flight.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:06

      It would be considered a good manner some guys from Serbia (the politicians too) stop looking down on the Republic of Srpska as a vassal. We are equal or not together.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:51

      Sorry but we are not equal and I am originally from Republika Srpska (Banja Luka). How can a sovereign state be equal to an autonomous province?! Let's be realistic. Republika Srpska would be 1000 times better off as part of Serbia than to be an independent entity.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous01:35

    First of all awful name - Banja Luka. Spa port..
    Second no wonder PRG is the cash cow. From Thessaloniki to Ljubljana there is not a single direct flight to PRG. Even LIS has more flights than PRG and the market for the second is 100 times bigger. So not a wonder at all.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous05:35

    Some JU facts ... 23 Nov flew JU801 AUH-BEG (SAA). Departing AUH 1 hr late. Passenger load factor very low; total onboard about 35. Cockpit crew not Serbian; captain actually from Switzerland. Cabin crew professional and ehthousiastic all Serbian. Catering very good with tasty breakfast after departure and snack later in the flight. Cabin confort good especially enhanced by fact that many seats were empty. Interior of aircraft and seats clean and up to specs but nothing extraordinary. Overall pleasant experience and good service however with chronical delays and such a low CLF how long will AS be able to maintain the route!!????....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:36

      Thanks for the update! Well, Air Serbia just recently revised its schedule to Abu Dhabi in order to facilitate onward connections but also to improve connectivity at its own end in Belgrade. The route was launched like a month ago and it needs some time to mature.
      Let's also not forget that this route has to compete with flydubai which flies into DXB, Qatar to Doha and still, it also indirectly competes with Etihad whose onboard product is still better.

      Delete

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