Air Serbia is recording strong travel demand for its Aviolet charter flights this summer, with the airline set to operate approximately 600 return charter services to popular destinations during the holiday season, in comparison to roughly 530 last year. Passenger numbers on Air Serbia's dedicated charter brand have grown over the years and now handle over 90.000 passengers annually. The Aviolet network has expanded to 23 cities across five countries this year, including Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Tunisia. The total number of services may increase further as tour operators continue to book additional charter flights to cater to the travel requirements of holidaymakers in Serbia. All flights are maintained with a fleet of three Boeing 737-300 aircraft which have the capacity to seat 144 passengers.
Air Serbia is currently considering future options for Aviolet, which was launched in the summer of 2014. The airline's CEO, Dane Kondić, told EX-YU Aviation News earlier this year, “Aviolet was created as a brand to take advantage of the old aircraft in terms of how we gave them separation to the mainline fleet. We will always be in the charter market, because that is the nature of the outbound Serbian market. While we have those aircraft, they will be branded as Aviolet”. He added, "Aviolet remains a good option for us but the interesting thing is to see if it has legs to do something more than just what it is currently doing".
Air Serbia has previously said it has two options for its remaining B737-300 fleet. Speaking to the "Tango Six" portal earlier this year, Air Serbia's Chief Operations Officer, Declan Keller, noted that the carrier could invest in the jets and thus extend their utilisation for a further four to five years. Such a move would require an engine overhaul and cabin refurbishment. Alternatively, the airline is considering the retirement of two B737s by year's end, according to Mr Keller.
I'm quite interested to see what will happen with this once the 733s are gone.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they will lease A320s in their place.
DeleteMy guess is the A320 neo will replace the A319/A320's in JU fleet which will then go to 'Aviolet'.
DeleteHowever, I dont think they will keep the Aviolet brand once they replace the B733, which was created to distance the B733 from the Air Serbia brand.
Didn't they used to have 4 B737-300s? What happened to the fourth one?
ReplyDeleteI dont know where did you see that they are not using 4?
DeleteJust check the link all 4 are flying regularly...
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/airserbia-ju-asl
They are probably scheduling charter flights as if they had 3 B733s while the 4th is kept as a backup.
DeleteSome people in Jat Tehnika said that two 737s are leaving the fleet after the busy summer season, I think those are YU-AND and YU-ANI.
ReplyDeleteI guess next summer we will see those Airbuses fly some charter flights.
I think it's a shame Tunis Air didn't get the flights they wanted. BEG's numbers would have been further boosted.
Dodn't they? They are flying Monastir plus Tunis.
DeleteYeah but they got half the frequencies they asked. For example, they wanted to weekly to Monastir but got one because our Directorate said that JU has the means to operate these flights.
DeleteThey won't have enough planes to do charters next year if they plan to do it with the Airbuses. Assuming they don't cut even more of their network.
DeleteIt would be a waste if JU invested money into the B733's. My opinion is:
Delete- They dont need capacity for 2 x A320, 8 x A319 and 4 x B733. This will only be more problematic once the A320 neos start to enter the fleet.
- 2 B733's returing after this season, and 2 next season falls into place with the A320 neo arrival.
- Money spent in investing into the B733 could be used to add ATR's which it desperately needs, or regional jets which would be a perfect aircraft to expand operations, especially now the massive gap between the ATR and A319. A regional jet would make JU more flexible, where an ATR can or cant be sent, however the A319 too large (PRG, VCE, HAM, VIE). The freed (mainly ATR) would in turn boost destinations such as TIA, SJJ, as well as possibilities on new destinations (INI, BWK, ZAD, OMO)
- A320 neos are scheduled to begin its slow arrival next year. A319's in this case would easily replace the B733 and not surprise JU travellers with the 'Aviolet' product. Maintenance would be cheaper, fuel costs lower, basically operating cost should be cheaper without the additional fleet (B733).
Voleo bih da nisam u pravu,ali čisto sumnjam da će Air Srbija(Aviolet)plaćati lizing erbaseva cele godine zbog letnjih čartera,možda eventualno ako nađu način da ih iznajmljuju tokom zimskog reda letenja kao što će već raditi sa jednim ove godine?
Delete^^^
Delete- JU is already looking to lease out 1 A319 in the winter. Lets see how that goes and what becomes of it.
- JU would have a unified product on the Airbus fleet which could easily go between charter and scheduled. The B733 steps in when it needs to.
- Airbus fleet has better fuel efficiency and is cheaper to operate. The B733 is in their ownership, the B733 isnt the cheapest to operate, burns more fuel and would require expensive maintenance to keep it flying.
- Sooner or later the B733's would have to leave the fleet, even if they wanted to or not.
- No known plan has been made for the retirement of the Airbus fleet. A320 neo will take a couple of years to fully enter the fleet.
@JATBEGMEL - Love your comments!
DeleteTheir branding has always struck me as way too similar to Nouvelair
ReplyDeletehttp://m.suvarnabhumiairport.com/img/airline_logo/LBT.png
lol they ripped it off :D
DeleteWell the positive development is that they updated their website and schedule
ReplyDeletehttp://aviolet.rs/
Wht not base one Aviolet plane in Nis or Banja Luka and operate a few destinations direct from their? You can keep the same Aviolet branding and service.
ReplyDeleteBelgrade airlines would never do that!
DeleteNe znam samo gde bi ih tamo odrzavali? I ko bi ih odrzavao uopste?
Delete+1 last anon
DeleteIt's too expensive. Who is going to do maintenance, who is going to pay for crew to stay in INI or BNX, who is going to do catering etc.
Sta lupetas kakav ketering samo voda.
DeleteШта ти лупеташ? Авиолет има сервис исти као и Визер, имаш ценовник и купујеш оно шта желиш.
DeleteНема потребе за тако простачким и примитивним начином изражавања.
А додао бих да ЈУ нема више сервис на свим летовима на којима лети Атр изузев Веча, Венеције и Прага.
DeleteA da neko mozda kaze da Jat/ErSrbija/Aviolet i ne mogu bas kad se sete i kako im se prohte da otvaraju baze i linije po drugim drzavama, jer je, koliko me pamet sluzi, BNX jos uvek u drzavi Bosni i Hercegovini
DeleteЧисто сумњам да би се тамо неко противио да ЈУ отвори базу.
DeleteWont happen because:
Delete- Takes an aircraft from its base (BEG) which is lacking aircraft.
- Defeats the purpose of their hub system in BEG.
- No support in INI/BNX (technical etc).
- No catering (water, food, beverages).
- No crew base. JU has an excess of staff as it is so hiring a seperate staff for the new base isnt the smartest of choices.
- There is only soo much JU could offer from both INI and BNX, with LCC seeming to be the best option for these airports, something JU isnt.
Nothing to with JU being 'Belgrade Airlines'. Just as AF is based in CDG, A3 in ATH, TK in IST, SU in SVO, LO in WAW, AZ in FCO, JU is based in BEG. Serbia isnt Germany, Niš isnt Munich. JU should simply restart BEG-INI to fit in its waves in BEG. Would be great if the government would finance it as a PSO route, as with UZC/KVO.
They could have come up with Sun-Serbia, or something along those lines, like Sun Country Airlines... It would be funny. Air Serbia and SunSerbia.
ReplyDeleteI always liked the name of Sun Country Airlines, don't know why.
On the other hand, they should really develop a proper sub-brand for charters and politically sensitive destinations (PRN comes to mind) and invest accordingly in fleet and in product.
+1
DeleteI dont think JU intended for Aviolet to be a brand that will stick, more like something in the mean time to keep the B733 however distance it from its brand, that is not painting the aircraft in Air Serbia livery. The aircraft is only used on Air Serbia scheduled flights when one of their aircaft (usually ATR) is AOG. Once the B733 is retired, I dont see Aviolet existing anymore.
DeleteWell I'm not surprised they have more flights considering there is no one else flying to Turkey except for them this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just to Turkey but to Greece, Tunis, Italy and Spain.
DeleteWell to Greece Aegean and Ellinair fly charters. To Italy and Spain there were never other airlines operating charters or interest from other airline to operate charters.
DeleteThis is for today:
Delete08.55 Corfu
09.00 Antalya
15.00 Rimini
15.00 Skiathos
Yesterday
05.20 Samos
05.20 Enfidha
10.20 Cephalonia
10.30 Antalya
13.40 Zakynthos
15.00 Palma De Mallorca
15.45 Skiathos
So you see, not so many flights to Turkey
Coming from Croatia in my opinion this is something Croatia Airlines should have done years ago. Lease or invest in 2 planes for the summer and operate charters all over Europe. If Aviolet gets 90,000+ passengers per year, I'm sure a OU charter brand could match those figures or even more. In my opinion it is a smart move by JU management.
ReplyDeleteJa vam pricam da morate promeniti flotu jer slabo letite (sad ce da skoci Purger) drugo su turisti jedna kompanija za Hrvate sa RJ druga za turiste sa A321 kao nekada Aviogeneks i AdriaInex.
DeleteJa cu ti kazat kako pricas gluposti.
DeleteBeduin
Croatia airlines does charters too but they just use their own brand and aircraft. From memory they had a decent amount of charter based passengers but can't remember the figure.
DeleteJust 56,100 pax on charters last year at OU.
DeleteMaybe that's because they carry a lot of tourists on scheduled flights?
DeleteYou miss out on a lot of potential tourists by just offering scheduled flights. A few years ago OU pilots wrote a letter to the CEO where they highlighted the lack of charters. It's very easy money because you sell all the seats on the plane to tour operators. Even if the plane goes half empty you still get paid as if it were a full load.
DeleteZašto bi ja skočio?
DeleteOT
ReplyDeleteI see QR is sending its A321 to BEG, is the first one?
"Starting July 1. the airline will up capacity on its existing four weekly service from the A320 to its 182-seat Airbus A321 aircraft"
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/06/gulf-airlines-ramp-up-belgrade.html
God bless you. Thanks. Their A321 looks stunning.
DeleteGood to see charter demand growing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they can make Aviolet as ASL low-cost subsidiary to compete with Wizz and other LCC in Beg and INI.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what's going on at ZAG this morning? Lots of flights are delayed:
ReplyDelete08.25 VIE OS Q400 (dep 09.37)
08.25 LHR OU A320 (dep 09.23)
08.30 PRG OU Q400 (dep 10.51)
11.40 SPU OU Q400 (est 12.15)
11.40 BWK OU Q400 (est 12.50)
This is really bad. The weather is fine so...
Also, Qatar cancelled its second-daily flight, demand?
DeleteI thinkbl it's because the terminal is still new, Kucko complained about this. The man saw it coming.
DeleteQR217 is canceled because it is scheduled only 2 days ago (QR goes 2Xdaily to ZAG)... so... it is not easy to fill A320 in that short time :)
DeleteI don't get why they would add flights three days in advance. They need at least a month in order to fill a plane
DeleteKoji vrag se danas događa u ZLZ. Vrijeme je savršeno, a apsolutno svi letovi kasne. Što više odmiće dan to je veći kaos.
DeleteSPLIT OU 650 06:30, kasnio 5 minuta
MUNICH OU 4436 06:45, kasnio 10 minuta
FRANKFURT LH 1405 06:50, kasnio 12 minuta
PRAGUE OK 819 07:00, kasnio 13 minuta
BARCELONA OU 374 07:10, kasnio 8 minuta
FRANKFURT OU 410 07:40, kasnio 26 minuta
VIENNA OU 440 08:10, kasnio 27 minuta
AMSTERDAM OU 450 08:25, kasnio 15 minuta
LONDON OU 490 08:25, kasnio 58 minuta
PRAGUE OU 320 08:30, kasnio 2:20 sati
COPENHAGEN OU 480 08:35 kasnio 18 minuta
VIENNA OS 682 08:59, kasnio 37 minuta
ZURICH OU 462 9:00, kasnio 1:15 sati
PARIS CDG OU 470 09:00, kasnio 15 minuta
FRANKFURT OU 416 09:05, kasnio 14 minuta
ZURICH OU 460 09:05, kasnio 7 minuta
ISTANBUL TK 1054 09:30, kasnio 19 minuta
DOHA QR 216 09:45, kasnio 11 minuta
BARCELONA VY 1281 10:00, kasnio 33 minute
BELGRADE JU 231, 10:05, kasnio 6 minuta
MANCHESTER ZB 3421 10:40, kasno 6 minuta
SPLIT OU 652 10:40, kasnio 1:35 sati
BOL OU 640 11:40, kasnio 1:10 sati
WARSAW LO 612, 12:00, kasnio 10 minuta
SPLIT OU 654 12:10, kasnio 20 minuta
Jedini on time:
STOCKHOLM ARLAND DY 4350 10:30 - jedini on time
Qatar QR218 za Dohu je otkazan (jel to zbog ovog kaosa ili zbog toga što su dali 8 aviona Britishu radi njihovog štrajka?)
I koji je ovo vrag?
ZAGREB (a ne VIE) OS 682Q (Q????) 08:25, nije poletio????
* za Zagreb iz Zagrebu u 8:25
Purger can you guess what's wrong?
DeletePurgeru,
Deletepretpostavljam da znas da se kasnjenje do 15 minuta u avijaciji ne smatra kasnjenjem
Some of these flights had delays well above the 15 minute mark.
DeleteBritish Airways arrived on time:
Deletescheduled: 11.35 // actual: 11.42
Departure
scheduled: 12.30 // expected: 14.00
Maybe there is a problem with the system? The airport is still brand new so we should give them some time to adapt.
DeleteNot even a guess? You probably know more than all of us here when it comes to the wy ZAG operates. :)
Delete@ AnonymousJuly 1, 2017 at 12:56 PM
DeleteThey have been "adapting" for 4 months already and had another 3 months of testing before that.
What confuses me is that some airlines like Monarch, Air Serbia or Lot departed perfectly on time but some others are late, very late. BWK just got moved to 13.15.
DeleteCould this be related to OU's industrial action??
DeleteSpeaking of industrial action, BA's flight is being operated by Qatar. This could be why the outbound flight has been cancelled.
Q400, no those planes were taken off from the flights operated to the Arab countries before the ban
DeleteBEG has similar delays almost every day and nothing is new. Predominantly JU leads the pack of delays, as soon as summer schedule hits they seem to go bazook. Not any much better than joke about time.
DeleteThis is seriously getting out of hand:
DeleteBWK OU Q400 11.40 // 13.52
LHR BA A320 12.30 // 14.13
MUC LH E95 13.15 // 14.10
CDG AF A318 15.00 // 16.12
Most other flights were around 30 to 60 minutes late.
Even Emirates which has been sitting there for like 3 hours.
@4.14 compare the times at Zagreb and Belgrade today and then talk about joke about time. Better to recognize that there is a problem then claim that everything is fabulous and amazing while planes are delayed up to 3 hours. Putting issues under the carpet rearely solves anything.
DeleteBEG had two severely delayed flights today:
DeleteATH JU A320 12.20 // 13.13
ZRH LX A320 14.40 // 15.49
JU to ATH was delayed because of traffic at ZRH while LX arrived late to ZRH from Valencia this morning.
so 2 big delays today.
Exactly. That tells you that not a single flight was delayed because of issues at BEG. While in Zagreb planes are sitting three hours even though they arrived in Zagreb on time. But anyway if it doesn't bother you it doesn't bother me, just don't attack others to justify the issues they are having.
DeleteThe reason OU is having problems is that one of the Dashes has broken down... again
Deletehttp://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/zapeli-u-becu-satima-cekali-u-avionu-croatia-airlinesa-a-jutros-posadu-da-se-naspava/980207.aspx
Anon 4.37
DeleteDo you know the registration?
Anon 4.14 came here to cause trouble, the discussion occurred because there are unusual delays at ZAG especially since planes arrive on time but end up being late by over 2 hours.
Delete@ 4.38
Delete9A-CQD
Thank you! So on top of OU having a chaotic day so did the airport. How unfortunate for the passengers.
DeleteBy the way, from the article it says that the hotel and all that was taken care of by OS. Doesn't OU have a station manager in VIE?
ZAG delays already with new terminal????
DeleteYou said it yourself, NEW terminal.
DeleteAnd why ZRH flights are so late lately, CDG, AMS, LED and Beirut never return on time, ATH??
DeleteDoes Zagreb Airport have a patrol police working on here? Whenever a single issue at the airport is god forbid mentioned they release the hounds.
DeleteAnon 06.05
DeleteBeirut is never on time in BEG because the handling agent down there is useless and can't rotate an A320 in time.
BEY is always over 90% full and 100% are connections to CDG and AMS which are usually the first destinations to leave in the morning. Unlike ZAG and OU, JU has a hub system which is much more difficult to maintain.
Anon 06:05 it's not really an excuse you can change the handler or flight planning department can simply add 15-20 min into the schedule so that flights arrives on time.
DeleteAnd what's the excuse for all the delays in Zagreb?
DeleteAli kad analitičar krene da beleži kašnjenja od 6,7,8min! Vrh!
DeleteAlso, don't forget that BEG handles twice the number of pax/planes than ZAG does.
DeleteO boze. Poanta je da su bas svi avioni osim jednog kasnili danas, a dobar dio je ozbiljno kasnio.
DeleteI still think there is room for winter charters out of BEG to destinations such as Canary Islands where the 737 can easily take. Also Egypt, south Israel, Tanzania. The only challenge is that the classic 737 does not have a medium range.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteCanary Islands, Israel, Egypt, range-wise, OK, but Tanzania, have you looked at the map before posting, I mean range-wise, not to mention how "easy" would it be to fill full plane of tourists for Tanzania, and even more considering operation costs, traffic rights.....
DeleteMaybe you are right. Then, Morocco should work out being cheaper and I am sure most Serbs can afford it.
DeleteIt would great if they use the JAT name instead of Aviolet for charters.
ReplyDeleteWhy? I find the name quite cool and modern. JAT sounds like too old fashioned now and is now history
DeleteJAT was a name and brand people in the former Yugoslavia and Europe respected. Surely they could modernise it and use the brand effectively across this part of the Balkans.
DeleteQuote Dane Kondic: "“Aviolet was created as a brand to take advantage of the old aircraft in terms of how we gave them separation to the mainline fleet". Hello ? On certain days the B733 operates a dozen flights for ASL! So where is the separation and distinction of the fleet? They even send them to Frankfurt and other destinations with high number of business and foreign passengers with a disastrous follow-up for the reputation of the airline.....
ReplyDeleteI have just booked a on-way flight for end of July BEG-FRA via CDG on AF flights (codeshare ASL aircraft) for 150€. Cheapest ASL tickets 271€. Lots of offers from codeshare partners like AB for dumping fares on ASL metal. Even flights sold thorugh Bulgaria Air via SOF to FRA for 170€. So where is the logic to punish own customers and allowing c/share partners to dump fare on OWN flights???? I simply don't get it.
No one takes Kondic seriously anymore, especially now when he started to fire people. Shame that every1 is leaving but him.
DeleteEvery1, wow, never seen it spelt like that, gotta love the millennials.
Delete1 stop is usually cheaper than direct...unless you are LCC.
Deletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12125404/Man-saves-money-on-train-fare-by-flying-from-Sheffield-to-Stansted-via-Berlin.html
Does someone know if it is likely for JU to lease a couple of 737-800 to replace the current Авиалеть ones?
ReplyDeleteOT
ReplyDeleteBEG handled 506.795 passengers in June, so far this year 2.311.921, up from 2.111.342 last year.
If I am not mistaken, that's 9% growth so far.
I am so happy that 5.5 million is becoming a reality.
Oh wow! Thanks for sharing! Yes, BEG with no doubt 5.5 mln. Btw, W6 have announced massive expansions in 2018 for BUD, SOF and OTP so maybe BEG might receive its 3rd plane next year and FINALLY get connected to Spain!!!
DeleteI sure hope so. There is also room for European expansion like MMX and EIN going to daily!
DeleteYes, but they will need at least 2 more machines to do daily rotations I think. EIN/DTM/MMX/ should def go daily.
DeleteI am sure BCN twice per week could work. Plus increase EIN, MMX and DTM to daily and you got yourself a third aircraft.
DeleteIf I were Wizz, I would introduce BEG-PRG flights.
New daily maximum as well on last day of June, 21.231.
DeleteI remember some years ago when the daily record was around 14.500 :)
DeleteAnon 4:43pm: of course! BCN is connected to so many cities in winter excluding BEG. I still dont understand it. Even tiny Skopie and Katowice are. I am going to to send them a letter asking about both BEG and INI. They are not taking the country seriously!!!
DeleteWell, let's hope Vueling pulls its act together and maybe then they will consider making BEG a year-round destination. So far their results have been rather impressive.
Delete^
DeleteIn addition, Barcelona Airport, which has a seasonal link to Belgrade operated by Vueling, is seeking year-round flights to the city. In 2015, 14.719 passengers travelled with Vueling between the two cities, while a further 19.570 travellers flew indirectly between Belgrade and Barcelona. A total of 104.936 online ticket searches were made.
http://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/05/wizz-air-begins-belgrade-expnasion.html
Or if JU had an extra plane, they could have launched 4 weekly flights.
Delete2x
06.40-09.10
09.55-12.35
2x
17.00-19.30
20.15-22.55
Anon 4.57
DeleteThanks for the link and the numbers. That goes to show that the market is there but airlines are ignoring it. I mean BCN is even closer than CDG or AMS.
Plus, I dislike Vueling. They are expensive and always late.
If only someone else would step in.
VY are always late because of the lack of fleet. BEG deserves both BCN and MAD! MAD is perfectly connected to the rest of Spain and Latin America.
DeleteI think BEG prefers to stick to Germany instead, which is not a bad thing of course.
Well, that's because both JU and W6 are after the same market, gastosi.
DeleteGood old proven B737 is keeping air serbia alive and functioning somehow, without those work horses they would not make it through the summer season. Notice that Aviolet charter is much more on time than regular schedule!
ReplyDeleteIt's easy for them to get fucked now, when the government destroyed Aviogenex and relieved them of competition.
ReplyDeletewhen the government destroyed Aviogenex and relieved them of competition.
ReplyDeleteIsti vlasnik da pravi sam sebi konkurenciju? Fantastistično!
DeleteWhen they heard that there were 4 interested companies buying Aviogenex, they were frozen. And they hacked to the door of the government ... and the result is known, Aviogenex had to die that AS would have invaded.
ReplyDeleteInvaded?
Delete