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| Winter season changes for Air Serbia |
The 2014/15 winter season is around the corner and is due to begin in under a month’s time, on October 26. Air Serbia will be making some changes to its network. Notably, this winter will see significant adjustments to the carrier’s operations to Abu Dhabi. While Air Serbia will run daily flights to the Emirati capital, up from four last winter, it will also operate Etihad’s daily service between the two cities. Therefore, Air Serbia’s equipment and crew will operate on behalf of Etihad on the route each day as well. The service will be considered as an Etihad flight and will carry the “EY” flight number. Passengers are informed that Air Serbia is operating the service on behalf of Etihad upon booking their ticket. As a result, the Serbian carrier’s equipment and crew will run two daily flights to Abu Dhabi, although only one of the daily services is considered to be Air Serbia’s. Elsewhere, the airline will add an additional three weekly flights to its popular Prague and Amsterdam service. In addition, Air Serbia will increase its operations to Podgorica with the addition of a third daily flight. Therefore, it will operate a total of 21 weekly departures on the route. New services launched this summer, including Beirut, Budapest, Sofia, Tirana and Warsaw, will be maintained during the winter season as well. The airline will significantly boost capacity on many routes as the majority of its winter timetable will be operated with a mix of A319 and A320 aircraft compared to the Boeing 737 which was still dominant last winter.
On the other hand, the Serbian carrier will cut four of its weekly flights to Athens and Tivat when compared to last winter season. Furthermore, Etihad Regional’s Saab 2000 aircraft, which operated on behalf of Air Serbia to Banja Luka three times per week during the summer, will no longer fly on the route. As a result, Air Serbia will reduce its flights to Banja Luka from daily to four times per week. Tel Aviv will also see a reduction of three weekly flights while there will be one weekly departure less to Larnaca when compared to the 2013/14 winter season.
Below you can review the preliminary changes that will be made to the Air Serbia network this winter when compared to last year. The information is subject to change. The 2014/15 winter season runs until March 28. EX-YU Aviation News will be bringing you winter season changes for each national carrier in the former Yugoslavia over the month. Meanwhile, you can review the changes Adria Airways will be making this winter.
| Destination | Frequency W14/15 | Frequency W13/14 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi | 7 | 4 | ▲ 3 | - |
| Amsterdam | 10 | 7 | ▲ 3 | - |
| Athens | 7 | 14 | ▼ 7 | 10 flights from DEC16 |
| Banja Luka | 4 | 7 | ▼ 3 | - |
| Beirut | 3 | 0 | ▲ 3 | 4 flights from DEC17 |
| Berlin | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Brussels | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Bucharest | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Budapest | 7 | 0 | ▲ 7 | - |
| Copenhagen | 5 | 7 | ▼ 2 | 7 flights from DEC17 |
| Dusseldorf | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Frankfurt | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Istanbul | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Larnaca | 3 | 4 | ▼ 1 | - |
| Ljubljana | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| London - Heathrow | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Milan | 6 | 7 | ▼ 1 | 7 flights from DEC16 |
| Moscow | 12 | 14 | ▼ 2 | 14 flights from DEC16 |
| Paris | 14 | 14 | - | - |
| Podgorica | 21 | 14 | ▲ 7 | - |
| Prague | 10 | 7 | ▲ 3 | - |
| Rome | 6 | 7 | ▼ 1 | 7 flights from DEC16 |
| Sarajevo | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Sofia | 7 | 0 | ▲ 7 | - |
| Skopje | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Stockholm | 5 | 7 | ▼ 2 | 5 flights from DEC17 |
| Stuttgart | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Tel Aviv | 4 | 7 | ▼ 3 | - |
| Tirana | 3 | 0 | ▲ 3 | - |
| Tivat | 7 | 11 | ▼ 4 | - |
| Thessaloniki | 5 | 7 | ▼ 2 | 7 flights from DEC17 |
| Vienna | 14 | 14 | - | - |
| Warsaw | 6 | 0 | ▲ 6 | - |
| Zurich | 14 | 14 | - | - |
Aren't Moscow and Milan also being reduced? Milan won't be operated on Tuesdays.
ReplyDeleteSo it will be Air Serbia metal to AUH both times?
Banja Luka was four weekly before Etihad Regional decided to suspend Belgrade flights.
It says in the table 6 flights until DEC16 then 7 and SVO 12 flights until DEC16 then 14. BNX was daily before Etihad Regional and daily last winter like it says in the table.
DeleteThey added more than 25 weekly flights compared to last winter. Nice.
Does it mean they are expecting additional aircraft from December? Or do they plan on using B737-300 from then again?
DeleteNo, I presume its because November together with February is one of the slowest months in the industry.
DeleteStrange decision by EY to have the flight operated by JU! Probably they will collect the revenue and JU will have the cost associated with operating this flight on their behalf...really smart move by Hogan and his team!
ReplyDeleteEtihad covers much more of JUs costs then viceversa at least during the first year. EY is phasing out A319s and they will probably go to JU.
DeleteI think it's because EY doesn't have the necessary aircraft to operate Belgrade flights. Plus, it's not like they have to fight hard in Belgrade to preserve the market, they have Air Serbia for that.
DeleteInteresting developments regarding EY and JU's cooperation during winter.
DeleteNot only that JU will operate EY's flights AUH-BEG-AUH, JU will also operate some of EY's fflights on Abu Dhabi-Muscatt route (for example EY 388 and EY 381).
Great example of utilization of fleet there, as well as cooperation between Etihad and AirSerbia.
Regarding winter timetable, quite expected but good that they generally increased the number of flights and capacity compared to winter 2013.
Bravo for JU!
Muscat...typo above.
DeleteSource: etihad.com
I am sad about Copenhagen, even in november Wizz will fly four times per week to Malmo.
ReplyDeleteW6 will offer 1.392 seats vs 1.280 on JU.
I am not surprised. Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo (although JU doesn't fly there) are extremely seasonal to everywhere in ex-Yu and especially Belgrade. Except for May-September and December-January these flights are empty. Wizz captures a different kind of passengers with much better prices.
DeleteYou mean that Air Serbia's flights are empty?
DeleteNo I am not saying that. I am saying that there is less demand for these flights other times of the years because that is structure of passengers. That's why SAS/Snowflake failed on these routes a few years ago, the reason Croatia Airlines doesn't fly to Scandinavia, why Adria flies to CPH only 3 p/w this winter and the reason why Norwegian Air Shuttle flies only seasonal from Stockholm to BEG.
DeleteBy switching from EY equipment to JU equipment, they're making a significant drop in on board services. Most notably AVOD...
DeleteSnowflake failed for other reasons, primarily because Serbs needed visas back then. If your logic would apply then Wizz Air and Norwegian would fly only during the summers and around the big holidays, just like Vueling does.
DeleteNorwegian does fly seasonal. Wizz Air has a completely different fare structure. Better compare with Croatia Airlines and Adria's Scandinavia flights.
DeleteYeah but Snowflake was like Wizz Air, it had a similar fare structure. It was killed by its costs and Nordic unions.
DeleteI don't think you can compare the three. Croatia Airlines does not expand because its masters do not want it and Slovenia operates out of an incomparably smaller market so one would expect them to have much less demand for Scandinavian flights.
Norwegian flies seasonal Stockholm only, Oslo is a year long route to Beg for years, and it was never a seasonal one (usually goes from 2 pw goes to 1 pw during winter).
DeleteCroatia is flying to CPH 6 times per week all winter.
DeleteOT: Loving the crew of the week selection this week :D
ReplyDeleteSo the massive reductions people were talking about in the comments section and the end of the world as we know it turned out to be false. There are more flights than last winter, more destinations and more capacity. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteNadam se da ce biti od 2015 barem samo u letnjom periodu direktan let za/iz HAM Er Srbije. Ipak je Hamburg na 8. mesto stanovnika u EU i mislim da bi od Mar-Okt imalo dosta putnika (i tranzit). 1-3 nedeljnom je po mom misljenju sasvim dovoljno.
ReplyDeleteEkspanzija par postojecih linija i davljenje Montenegro A. Iduce leto mozda po par letova nedeljno madrid, napulj, venecija, peterburg i sirenje po bliskom istoku.eventualno bratislava ako zele preko bare.
ReplyDeleteBratislava bi bila cist gubitak Gospodine tu je LOWW prejak povezani su aerodromo brzom prugom cini mi se ali za Buseve znam =D
DeleteINN-NS
MUC i Spanija treba da sledi, ali ko zna. Pitanje je samo da li imaju dovoljno aviona za sirenje mreze svoje. Ako budu dolazili A6-EID i A6-EIE onda to bi bilo super. Sto se LED tice, JU je ogranicen sa letovima do Rusije, tako da ne znam da li imaju dozvole za LED.
DeleteNesto se pricalo i za Kavkaz, no videcemo. Kuvajt bi bilo super sezonska linija. Ocekujem takodje barem jos jedan italijanski grad, VCE?
Etihad Regional will continue coverinf BNX from tomorrow and all the winter seasson
ReplyDeleteIt’s time for Montenegro and Macedonia to consider Air Serbia as their surrogate flag carrier with some conditions, like using some of the local flight crew, having some aircraft based locally (Skopje, Podgorica) and maintaining some of the critical routes, while providing some incentive to the airline. That would be far cheaper than trying to keep national airline afloat (Montenegro) or start a new national airline (Macedonia). I didn't even mention B&H for a reason here.
ReplyDeleteNo flights to Iberian Peninsula, North Africa or CIS (except SVO). Sweet spots in EU already covered, light presence in the Middle East. Not much low hanging fruit left if you are risk averse. Let’s hope there’s big push for summer 2015 + long haul announcement.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLets not forget that Jat was not the best carrier standing in BEG, with its existence in question. The first year of ASL brought many changes to scheduling, fleet, brand, catering, product, route network etc. It was not long ago we used to see routes like BEG-AMS-BRU-BEG, now AMS will be flown 10 x weekly, BRU is daily. DXB was at best 6 x weekly when Jat flew the route via BEY, LCA and KWI, now AUH will be 2 x daily. 2 decades of mismanagement, sanctions, political interference, scandals, strikes raged JU, that doesn't change overnight.
DeleteWhen we had Jat, how often did we talk on new routes to be opened? or an increase in frequencies to its existing network? or new partnerships? early last year when one would talk of JU flying Trans Atlantic we used to have a good laugh considering half the B733 were grounded.
BEG is still growing, space is limited, facilities so so, shops are still closed for the midnight wave, workers are still catching on that they need to actually work for their salaries with frequent controls being made to ensure work is being done.
I have a feeling something interesting will follow with AZ, and more cooperation there will follow. EU expansion isnt still complete, neither that on the Balkans, MUC is also missing for a start and as mentioned the Iberian Peninsula, Croatia is still seasonal as well.
As for long haul, I feel it may be a push from EY who could be restricted to bilaterals ie: Canada. As I mentioned earlier, I wouldnt be surprised to see future JU widebodies being used ex AUH as we are starting to see with the A319.
Are you working for Air Serbia? You seem to have become their PR machine.
DeleteLast anon.
Delete+1
JATBEGMEL, I was not complaining, quite the opposite. What Air Serbia management did in about a year is nothing short of a miracle given the condition of the JAT they inherited. However now that foundations (from new destinations and fleet renewal to organizational and change in employee attitude) are set, it is time to push for new opportunities, perhaps riskier than before.
DeleteAir Ceo najbolji ste strucnjak ovde
DeleteINN-NS
@AirCEO
DeleteIts good that were on the same page :)
I dont think the foundations are quite set just yet, many changes are still taking place and will for a while. A recruitment period for ground staff has finished which will be great, many more are needed. Major problem is the luggage sorting which is done manually and mainly by people with a very relaxed mind set. Not long ago were 3 workers terminated from their positions for 'taking a break' in the city for drinks. The whole seriousness is kicking in, but i dont think that the foundations are quite set. I fear BEG might hold JU back. Maybe another 2 years max for the same type of expansion (+10 destinations). 19 gates are not enough, especially with 4 to soon shut for renovation.
@ anonymous
I wouldnt mind working as PR in Air Serbia :) forward a recommendation for me :D I think a couple bloggers here do it better than they do, we should form a team :)
'...and mainly by people with a very relaxed mind set.'
DeleteThat's very far from the truth. The guys in the luggage sorting facility and the cleaning team are the ones who work the hardest in the whole of Air Serbia. If any were 'terminated' then that's because they were fed up of being three people in the midnight wave of departures to sort 5.000 pieces of luggage. True, they did add a couple of people now but it's still not as it should be.
So please, do not label innocent workers who were simply fed up and who had enough of BEG management's incompetence.
1 - I never mentioned the cleaning team.
Delete2 - The ones terminated were from the day shift.
3 - They were not terminated because they were 'fed up', they were terminated because they were stupid enough to 'take a break' in the city for coffee.
The luggage sorting isnt working the most efficiently, its true they lack workers and some facilities, but being slow to react doesnt help the situation either. A change in their contract MUST come as just about half their salary is taken by the Omladinska zadruga which is outrageous.
I'm a bit disappointed that ATH, LCA and TLV are being reduced. I'm hoping for a round of expansion for the 2015 summer season as well as more aircraft next year! I hope they break even this year!
ReplyDeleteLooked at Air Serbia in flight Elevate magazine for October. I am the only one to note the interview where Sinisa Mali mention of JFK and YYZ as first North American destinations is in contrast with Hogan's hint back in May that ORD would likely be the first NA destination? My money is on all three being worked on, does not matter which one is technically first.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Elevate has dozens of mostly text pages on Air Serbia and Etihad news which is fine if you care about the industry, but regular transit passengers still can't find maps of Belgrade airport terminal (and perhaps Abu Dhabi airport) in the magazine. Seriously?!?
That's because Air Serbia and Etihad are no Lufthansa... they are just playing aviation while Lufty is the real shit. Let's give them ten years to play catch up.
DeleteBEG isnt a large airport and is easy to navigate. Many large airlines dont have airport maps either. Maybe you could email the suggestion to JU :)
Delete@ anonymous
JU was never LH and never will be. Comparing Germany to Serbia is stupid. Why not compare LH to EK and TK. Both have a better product than LH. As a matter of fact, LH is very threatened to EK as much as to lobby the German government to not allow any more rights for EK.
Lufthansa is miles ahead of Emirates, they have been in this business for decades now. They have found their way out of numerous crises in the past, they will do it again.
DeleteThe Persian Gulf bunch still have to show their worth.
JATBEGMEL, I know very well BEG is not LHR or JFK, but still it's a common courtesy to provide a map. First time transit passengers might want to know where their connecting flight departure gate might be located, where to buy Belgrade souvenirs or a Boss shirt, is there a business lounge or a transit desk? All of that should be on the map.
DeleteOther airlines already have airport maps on AVOD screens or within their smartphone apps, but for starters one printed map page in Elevate magazine should do it for BEG.
As for email to JU, I know they work really hard but they still have enough time to take a peek at this blog from time to time!
Lufty sucks.
DeleteLH may have been there for decades, but LH havnt caught onto changes, AVOD is a joke, service is average. EK have been here for just about 30 years, and have grown from a leased ac from PIA to the most travelled international carrier. Everyone knows Emirates. That cannot be said for Lufthansa.
DeleteIn the same article, did you also note his comments regarding JU flying to Zagreb and Pristina ?? They needed to do this, before considering further expansion .... interesting
DeleteFirst of all, it's the Persian Gulf, it has been that for centuries now and no nouveau riche Arab can change that, sorry.
DeleteAs for Lufthansa, you can't compare them with Emirates. They operate in an incomparably more competitive market and they had far more issues to deal with than any of the Persian Gulf carriers. Who did Emirates have to compete with in the 1990s and early 2000s? Iran Air? Saudi Arabian? Gulf Air? Give me a break.
It also helped that back then Dubai had lots of oil and it turned Emirates into their project of national importance. On the other hand, Lufthansa has been run as a profitable business for the past decades, not as a project of national importance for Germany. Furthermore, Lufthansa is one of the few airlines that has managed to successfully run a split hub system. And so on and so forth....
I would have liked to see where Emirates would have been today if Air India and PIA had pulled their shit together and if they were actually normal airlines.
p.s. both Etihad and Emirates are kitsch airlines, especially in business class. That's something we can't really say about their direct competitors such as Qatar or even Gulf Air.
Dubai doesnt have the oil like its neighbour Abu Dhabi. EK as an airline contributes more to Dubais GDP than oil does. Business class in EK isnt kitsch, maybe first is what you meant? I guess its time for a little reasearch first?
DeleteIf LH wants to operate as a split hub, thats all good, its Germany's airline. EK is Dubais airline, and focuses from its main hub - Dubai.
Your argument focuses on the past, thats all nice, but its time to look on to tomorrow. LH isnt exactly innovative in ideas, and are desperately looking into ways to stay competitive, especially looking into its Wings brand. An airline as large as LH from a country like Germany should be pioneering in todays aviation, but the fact is it isnt. Internationally, it lags behind many foreign carriers in service and product.
Possible JU flights to ZAG and PRN have been mentioned and discussed here before.
DeleteWell those frequencies ExYU published are just for one month from middle of December to meddle of January. In 5 months of winter reduction is even higher:
ReplyDeleteAthens 7x weekly
Beirut 3x weekly
Milan 6x weekly
Moscow 12x weekly
Rome 6x weekly
Stockholm 5x weekly
Thessaloniki 5x weekly
So, it would be fair to write in table situation that is in most of winter, not just 3-4 weeks during Charismas.
Not true, the frequency increase goes until the end of March
DeleteIn rest of October, November, part of December, part of January, and all February frequencies are like I wrote.
DeleteIs March missing somewhere, and 5 days of October are taken into account?
DeleteFirst part of March is like this I wrote, on second part there is more frequencies but not as in December. So, this situaction which is on table is just for 3-4 weeks duting winter and it is misleading the public.
DeleteI dont think its been mentioned here but JU will be opening its own lounge facility in BEG.
ReplyDeleteAs well, EK started offering complimentary chauffeur drive service for business and first class pax travelling ex BEG with an EK ticket. Rumour is that EK will start BEG early next year.
+1 to Ex-Yu for Air Koryo.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments on Airlineratings.com about service on Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteOh please any idiot can write there what he wants about any airline. Did you ever fly with them? Look at ratings about Emirates on the same website, you will see there are a lot of unsatisfied "passengers". However, I am living in Australia and I flew with Emirates about 3 times, all flights were extremely comfortable and flight attendants were very nice and friendly. So I don't get why are you trolling.
DeleteOvo je kreativno knjigovodstvo da se manje crveni haha
ReplyDeleteWhy no Spain flights?
ReplyDelete