Air Serbia has recorded improved operational results during the first three months of the year, with growth in passenger numbers, cargo and its average cabin load factor. During the first quarter, the Serbian airline carried 453.859 passengers, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. It marks Air Serbia's busiest start to the year since its launch in late 2013. In comparison, in 2016, when the airline implemented network-wide cuts, a total of 419.824 travellers were welcomed on board its aircraft, while just under 453.000 passengers flew with the carrier during Q1 of 2015. In 2017, the average cabin load factor grew a notable 3.4% to 67% despite a significant increase in capacity with the introduction of the wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which was not part of the fleet during the first quarter of last year.
The airline’s passenger carrying capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), stood at 834 million at the end of Q1 2017, an increase of 20% over the same period last year. The amount of cargo handled also improved, with 490 tonnes transported in the quarter, up by 70% over the 877 tonnes flown in 2016. Air Serbia did not report on its financial performance during the first quarter and is yet to publish its financial results for last year, although the carrier is expected to post a profit according to statements made by its Supervisory Board Chairman. Air Serbia is the second national carrier in the former Yugoslavia to post its operational results for the first three months of the year following Croatia Airlines.
Commenting on the results, Air Serbia's CEO, Dane Kondić, said, “Our operational performance in Q1 2017 has been outstanding and reflects our continued efforts to enhance our travel proposition and capture more travel demand to and from Belgrade. We have continued to increase choice and convenience for our guests by introducing new travel options in Q2, so travellers can now select their preferred seat, buy additional baggage and purchase passes to our Premium Lounge in advance". He added, "The introduction of these new services, as well as other exciting developments we have planned for 2017, will ensure the upward trend of Q1 continues into the year”.
Congratulations on the passenger growth.
ReplyDeleteGood results for cargo too.
DeleteCargo growth is no doubt because of the New York flights. They do really well there.
DeleteI can only guess why they did not report any financial results. In the past they at least reported revenue but this time not even that.
ReplyDeleteRevenue most likely went up however I doubt it was high enough to cover all of their operating expenses.
DeleteInteresting that their LF is above Croatia Airlines since they have an A330 in their fleet.
ReplyDeleteIt is EXACTLY higher because of the A330 and more ASK offered (longer routes). Unlike LCCs that calculate their LF simply as a percentage of seats sold in relation to seats offered, JU and OU calculate them as a percentage of ASK to RPK (revenue passenger kilometres). Bearing this in mind the JFK service increases the LF across the entire ops significantly.
Delete+1
DeleteThank you. Didn't know that actually. I thought everyone calculated it like LCCs. Good to learn something new.
DeleteAnon at 9.36am - you make a very good point and hopefully, this can go some way to silencing the critics about JU JFK flights being poor performing.
DeleteIn order to signficantly increase and impact on the LF across the entire ops (as you have mentioned), the flights over Q1 must have operated with very high LF's -
which runs very much against the grain of all the comments that have been posted here over the past few mths
If you read between the lines what JU and state officials say about the NYC service it becomes very clear that JFK has a satisfying performance regarding LF (pushing LF up in the reported quarter) but that it financially is a big burden for the airline- hence it must be a big loss maker hurting them quite a bit. Only the reported results do not show that at all as they have not reported anything regarding financial performance. But In the end that is exactly the only thing that matters for a company's success. One needs to know how to interpret such type of report...
DeleteBest example is Swiss. Swiss reports a huge overall load factor (82%) primary because its long haul ops is so over proportionally high in comparison to their cont ops, which does not mean that those cont flights are full to the average of 82%. They might fly them with a much lower actual LF but the ASK weighing will push it up overall.
DeleteJeez you would have thought they were on the brink of collapse the way people comment on them here.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that just because they had more passengers doesn't mean they reduced their losses?
DeleteBut for sure they would have generated more revenue, right ? So if you generate more revenue, it is normal to conclude that you would also reduce your losses, yes ?
DeleteEver thought that the costs may increase more than the additional revenue???
DeleteLet's see if they post their Q2 results. Something tells me they won't.
ReplyDeleteI hope so because it will be interesting to see how their new strategy will work out.
DeleteWell their new business model really starts from June so it won't impact much on Q2.
DeleteWhat will impact on their passenger numbers is network cuts. These really started to show in May.
From what I hear May passenger numbers are down around 5%, so are operations.
DeleteGET US BACK PROPER BUSINESS CLASS in Europe
DeleteFly TK or SU if that's your thing coz they're the only airlines flying within Europe to offer it
DeleteI got used to JU excellent business class service and I want to leave my money in Serbia not to give it to TK or else.
Delete+1000 @Anonymous 10:29 AM
DeleteAnonymous at 11.11am - i flew from DUS yesterday and they haven't changed their business class service at - just the seats... They aren't the huge seats that they used to have, but for a 2 hour flight, it was fine
DeleteDoes anyone know how many flight operations growth they had during the first quarter?
ReplyDeleteThey should really take a look at how Croatia Airlines reports its quarterly figures and how much information it gives.
ReplyDeleteI think OU is obliged to because it is a 100% state owned company. Air Serbia on the other hand does not have to report its quarterly results at all. It is only obliged to report its annual result.
DeleteHey at least you get something. Adria does not report any of its results.
DeleteSo Q1 17 passenger results:
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia - 453,859
Croatia Airlines - 329,320
Adria Airways - 227,588
That's growth for all
DeleteJU - +8.1%
OU - +4.4%
JP - +8.3%
I'm pretty sure I read on this website the other day, the OU CEO say that his airline was the regional leader.
DeleteSeeing the above numbers, clearly they aren't. They also are not, based on number of destinations they fly to or on the number of aircraft they have.
Can anyone help clarify what he meant or by which parameter/s he believes that OU is the regional leader ?
No one knows.
DeleteNot even Kučko.
DeleteI think he said a regional leader not the regional leader.
DeleteSemantics aside, it still remains to be understood on what criteria he sees OU as a regional leader
DeleteGet ready for the hate brigade to come out in force today ... it's gonna be a long day !
ReplyDeleteReally Nostradamus?
DeleteThe results are not good at all. They are product of huge decrease in 2016.
ReplyDeleteCompare to Q1 2015 the have just 880 passengers more, what is just 0,2%.
But in same time in 2015 there was no JFK flights, so we have 3x254 pax x 3 ways x 4,5 weeks what is 6.858 seats more on A330.
So results compare to 2015 is very bad. Big increase of capacity (A330) but still just 0,2% more passengers.
Not good, not good at all!
hate brigade has arrived!
Deleteheheheheh
DeleteYou're right!
How can pure facts and numbers be hate?
DeleteCan you demand those numbers?
Are those number right or not?
If they are (and they are) it is not about hate but about facts!!!
Once again facts:
DeleteNumber of passengers 1q 2015: 453,000
Number of passengers 1q 2017: 453.859
But cargo numbers:
1q 2015: 875t
1q 2017: 1,490
And number of operations:
1q 2015: around 6.900
1q 2017: around 6.300
No improvement?
Capacity is up with A330! Less number of operation means there are more planes grounded. Daaaaa! That is financial disaster.
DeleteI do hope they keep up the growth throughout the year like Kondic says.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how passenger growth will be maintained in 2017 with the suspension of Istanbul, Abu Dhbai, Varna, Kiev, cut in frequencies, and only addition is Venice.
ReplyDeleteThey also cut Warsaw which was operating last summer.
DeleteWith their retrofit of slim seats across their entire airbus fleet to be completed by mid-jun, they are going to have 13% more seats over the peak summer months. This will more than offset any frequency reductions. In addition to the new seats, they will have JFK operations in full swing - unlike last year which was start up.
DeleteIn other words, they will do exceptionally well this year as far as passneger number are concerned.
As for profitability, that is another thing altogether.Increasing fuel costs will certainly hurt them this year
I hope so concerning passenger numbers. As for profits, we can assume that some of these new measures will reduce costs and losses.
DeleteAnd who told them ( JU ) that by retrofit slim seats across the entire airbus fleet , they are gonna have more reservations ???!!!!
DeleteAnon at 12.30pm - why else would they have done this before the upcoming summer season if they didn't believe that they could sell the additional inventory ?
DeleteWould you have expected them to do it going into the winter ?
They have very high LF's on most routes over the summer - into the high 80's - which means that demand is very strong so they have every reason to believe that this additional inventory will sell.
The additional seats across the fleet will equate to 1 additional aircraft in capacity terms - so it was a smart move. Shame they weren't that smart 3 years ago. Imagine how much revenue they have left on the table these past 3 years in not doing this when they first launched ?
During last summer, they had A LOT of op-ups. Even on my flight to FCO two weeks ago, there were 4 or 5 op-ups in J. So, while I hate to see their J product go, it obviously wasn't selling good, and they were overbooking Y in high season and upgrading pax like crazy because capacity wasn't there. And for Y pax, Recaro slim seats are actually more comfortable than the old seats used to be.
DeleteGood news.
ReplyDeleteThe trick will be to at best, continue to grow, at the least, maintain current passenger numbers - while they adjust their frequencies and continue to take cost out of their business.
ReplyDeleteNot easy at all, but at least they are trying to manage things. Challenge always is how you manage the winter months - no one yet seems to have found the magic formula for this
Very good results. I'm still so disappointed that they are not launching INI-BEG and neglecting the whole Southern area. It will work not only for transfers but for the domestic economy. Serbia's growth is expected to be 3% this year!
ReplyDeleteIs it? Just 800 more passengers in 3 month than in Q1 2015. but with one A330 more which was not there in 2015?!?!?!?!
Deletewhere is the announcement on NEOs cancellation?
ReplyDeleteHave they cancelled them?
DeleteNo, but the postpone them.
Deletepostponed, but until forever
Deletevery nice, but where are the financials?
ReplyDeletewhy?
we all know :(
The law only obliges them to report their annual financial results - which need to be uploaded into the APR register by Jun every year.
DeleteThey are under no obligations to even report their quarterly results
Very nice?
DeleteJust 800 more passengers in 3 month than in Q1 2015. but with one A330 more which was not there in 2015?!?!?!?!
i agree that they have no obligation, but also i don't see the point omitting financial performances when presenting results. either you give the full set, or stop this potemkin parade.
Deleteyou are flying to make money, not for sake of improving your LF or capacity. operations are just leading you to money, which is the ultimate measure of success and we are seeing diddly-squat of financials.
i do mind that the statement is saying "we are doing great", but behind those operational numbers lies the grim truth of financials. and i understand why it is always like this - because nobody from government or from the company wants to have a quarterly discussion on profitability, subsidies and are JFK flights actually good for the company.
btw, every major us/eu airline is having quarterly briefings with investors and analysts where they answer their questions as a responsibility they have towards their shareholders. with JU it seems they have no responsibility towards people that are providing them with money (subsidies) to fly and work. it is just this distorted boasting which is almost insulting to watch if you know how to deconstruct it's background.
as trump would say: "sad!"
@10:30
Deletedepends how you look on it. in my mind they have overreached with spokes and i don't mind shrinking routes with lower traffic.
i think that they are only now moving in good direction with dropping boutique approach, but it comes 3.5 years late.
also, my guess is that they seriously need to start working on strengthening owned sales channels. this fly-fly agencies are opening shops everywhere and if their commissions are eating into your revenues then you cannot compete with lccs of which they will be only more.
hopefully JU will become more agressive player.
Petar at 10.41am - JU shares are not publicly traded on any bourse - they have 2 shareholders - Etihad and the Govt of Serbia - who make up their Board of Directors in the ratio of 4 and 5 representatives respectively - 9 in total. That is who they have an obligation to report their results to - not you or me.
DeleteBy law, as a majority owned company of the Govt of Serbia, they must report their financial results by jun of every year -
which they have thus far done. So i'm not sure what is your issue with what or how they report.
Airlines who report their financial results quarterly has everything to do with their legal obligations as far as their listing requirements are concerned and nothing to do with them wanting to share these details with the wider public, just because they are good guys.
In any event, when they do report their annual results most people - especially those who comment on this website, say they are complete B.S and are fabricated. And when they don't, people like you, criticise them for not reporting anything at all.
It seems that no matter what they do / don't do - the hate brigade will be out in force, just because thats how things seem to be when it comes to JU
Excellent comment last anon.
DeleteWhen is the annual financial result going to be published for 2016?
ReplyDeleteSee below.
DeleteWhat is their financial performance of 2016. Hve not seen any figures and it s May already
ReplyDeleteThey have until June to be published.
DeleteWill they keep Venice during the winter or it's just a seasonal route?
ReplyDeleteOT: SKP April : 148.530pax or +10,0116%
ReplyDeleteJan - Apr: - 501.483pax or +7,394%
extra
DeleteGood numbers for Air Serbia. Well done.
ReplyDeleteIs it? Just 800 more passengers in 3 month than in Q1 2015. but with one A330 more which was not there in 2015?!?!?!?!
Delete^How many times are you going to copy-paste that comment?
DeleteAnon 10:32 why do you deny reality?
Deleteabslutely right. JU had ONLY 800 PAX more in Q1 2017 vs Q1 2016 (see above in text) HOW is that good numbers? It is HORRIBLE, considering the ASK increase.
Delete@ 10.31 I'm, not denying anything I just noticed that you have managed to copy paste up to 4-5 of the same comments. That boarders on spam.
DeleteSvaki uspeh Er Srbije jeste povod za radost. Medjutim zbog velike konkurencije, ogranicene ekonomske moci potencijalnih putnika jugoistocne Evrope, comercijalni zivot dodatno konkurisu lou cost prevozioci. Pored svega toga Er Srbija uspeva da postepeno transformise. Obzirom na velicinu flote kojom trenutno raspolaze, ipak rezultati su pozitivni. Dolaskom nove flote Erbasa od iduce godine, imace vece mogucnosti za pokrivanje vise linija gde konkurisu loukosteri.
ReplyDeleteVreme Er srbije tek dolazi. Ali joj je potrebna puna privatizacija. Zbog efikasnosti, fleksibilnosy, poslovnosti... Drzava ne treba da se mesa, izuzev da kontrolise pravilnost primene zakona u poslovanju i punoj naplati poreza. Zdrava kompanija, zdrava drzava. Zadovoljni ljudi kompanije i putnici.. Svako dobro Er Srbijo. Na uspesnom putu si. Bericetna sezona i profitna van sezona.
Iz Kings Parka,
Sa zimovanja u Sidneju, Rodney Marinkovic & Co
pozdrav za rodneya!
DeleteVama Anon 1:46 PM,
DeleteVeliki otpozdrav sa zimovanja iz suncanog Sidneja? Hvala Vam na paznji i prijatno leto gore na severnoj hemisferi
Rodney 🌏⛪🗺🏖🛫☉
Auzzie talk "select preferred seat" in fact means buy preferred seat. This guy is sooo good at selling SMOKE!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't wish to make a selection, the system will allocate you a seat for free - end of your dilemma
DeleteMy preferred seat is for sure not the middle one so that leads to the conclusion either you don't have a good command of English or you are ignorant and rude!
DeleteNo issues with my English at all ... so if you don't prefer or like the middle seat, then pay for the seat you want to ensure that you get it.
DeleteWhat's the problem with that ?
No problem at all, he will just take his business elsewhere
Delete...where in most cases he will also get assigned middle seat if he doesn't want to pay for a better one!
DeleteI actually expected numbers to go down so it's positive development but let's see how the rest of the year pans out.
ReplyDeleteSeriously losing my shit because VUCIC hasn't announced those Hainan flights yet? wtf is going on. Anyone have any details...
ReplyDeleteHe won the elections, that whole thing was just a hoax
DeleteYeah and the Chinese PM who publicly stated last week that the flights will happen is also part of the hoax. Because Vucic's electoral base is really going to vote for him if we have flights to Beijing. LOL.
DeleteLOL all you want, but it's already the end of may, and no announcenent has been made yet
DeleteChinese airlines make their announcements 2-3 weeks before they launch.
DeleteStill, it won't happen this year, maybe next
DeleteGuess I better book in the Beijing --> Moscow --> BEG Flights then! I was just hoping it would be announced so the prices drop in relation to competition. Any point waiting any closer to my travel date in July? Or should I book now? Advice greatly appreciated
DeleteIt seems Hainan has more important bussines do...it is rumoured that they are interested in Alitalia
Deletehttp://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1363727
http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1363727
Like I said, there will be no flights
DeleteYou said the same for JFK flights.
DeleteHope they manage to keep these positive figures.
ReplyDeleteOT: What kind of flight is this from ZAG (today):
ReplyDeleteEmirates to Sharjah EK1122?
Anyone with aviation knowledge and financial understanding will notice that the numbers are in fact desastrous. In Q1 JU had only 800 Pax more although its offering was much increased (no JFK flights in Q1 2016). The rolling year on year comparison shows that they increased their numbers, but here a calendar year will show the true results because they compare a longer period with the additional offerings. The LF factor increased only because the ASK grew. So reading the text between the lines suggests it is really bad. Not knowing the financials one can only guess the true disaster.
ReplyDeleteThere are 34035 passengers more than in Q1 2016.
Deletehe meant Q1 2015.
DeleteBecause in Q1 2016 there was huge decrease of passengers.
So since you want to know why it is such a big improvement check all the facts not only the ones you like:
DeleteNumber of passengers 1q 2015: 453,000
Number of passengers 1q 2017: 453.859
But cargo numbers:
1q 2015: 875t
1q 2017: 1,490
And number of operations:
1q 2015: around 6.900
1q 2017: around 6.300
So with around 600 (around 10%) fewer flights they had the same number of passengers and around 70% more cargo.
Now you tell me are those results better or worse?
+1 Anon 5:10
DeleteAnon 1:16 is a typical representative of the hater/activist brigade polluting this blog. They compare apples with oranges hoping to find something that could fuel their hate and then they present it with: "Anyone who knows something about aviation knows..."
DeleteThankfully there is usually someone who indeed knows about aviation to debunk their pathetic activism, yet the noise they create is quite irritating and it often prevents any normal discussion.
More planes
Deleteless operations
what is that telling you?
Anyone know how to modify flights..as on manage booking doesnt work..as i get this message:
ReplyDeleteAction not allowed
tripManager.errors.EXCHANGE_GUEST.bookingSource.disallow
I presume that their new website and system still doesnt work properly as few weeks ago didnt work to put yout EY card and personal details
For me its working fine
DeleteMaby they should base obe A319 in Nis and start some unserves routes.Thay will have a free aircraft since they cutted all those routes.
ReplyDeleteUnserved*
DeleteThat would be too logical for them... unfortunately competition will take care of that...
DeleteWhat is Air Serbia long haul strategy? Other than New York, do they have any long term long haul ambitions?
ReplyDeleteJust flew BEG-IST on a KK flight. 60 pax total, none in J. On an A320.
ReplyDeleteI understand one flight does not necessarily describe the overall performance of the route.
I also appreciate KK may need some time to make the route work properly.
And I am 100% sure if this flight, with this LF, was operated by JU on a JU route, we would have a thread of at least 20 doom & gloom comments starting with: "Bad, bad, very bad!" Doomsday preachers would not give (as they never do) an inch of slack to JU.
So true, but KK is not eating my tax as it is not financed from Serbian budget. So, I don't care if they loose money. They are not loosing my money.
DeleteRight now in Serbia only airlines operating from INI are financed using your tax money. Your tax money is used to cover expenses for operating and expanding the airport.
Delete@10:50
DeleteI just hope there is Železnice, RTB Bor or Srbijagas forum around, where you post 50 times as much messages, because that is exactly how much more subsidies these companies receive in comparison to what Air Serbia got from the state budget in previous years. And it's the only one who actually has to show for something out of all of them.
Lepi, ljudi kao ti na socijalnoj pomoci ne pune budzet nego ga trose, nesto si pomesao. Niti je novac iz budzeta tvoj.
DeleteOhhh it does. This year you have 2 basics on subvention Air Serbia with several million EUR together.
Delete