Air Serbia completes hybrid transition


Air Serbia will mark the completion to its hybrid transition this week as it unveils a new fare structure and announces the introduction of a buy on board scheme. The airline is set to publish three different fare types for economy class passengers (white, blue and red), the lowest of which will offer only carry-on luggage, while all other services, including meals, seat selection, checked-in bags and mileage accumulation will be available for a fee. The highest of the three economy fare types provide all of the standard features available to passengers under its existing pricing, including free meals, airport check-in and checked baggage free of charge. Complimentary services offered to business class travellers remain unchanged. The so-called unbundling of fares will reduce ticket prices for those seeking only the basic of services and marks the airline's departure from its full-fare legacy business model.

The Serbian carrier has previously said that the changes are necessary in order for it to remain competitive. "Traditional commercial approaches are no longer sufficient in making an airline competitive enough to ensure its long term profitability. Passenger numbers are booming, competition has intensified, and low cost carriers have made the aviation industry even more dynamic and tougher than ever before. But most importantly, with flights more affordable than ever, travellers are paying more attention to factors outside of price that differentiate airlines", the company said. Legacy airlines are increasingly indistinguishable from their low cost rivals in terms of the fares they charge and the service they offer with the cost gap between traditional and budget airlines falling considerably over the years, partly because legacy airlines have abandoned old differentiators like free baggage and in-flight catering on short haul flights.

Air Serbia has previously noted that the abovementioned transformation, will not result in it becoming a low cost airline. "Air Serbia is not transforming into a low cost company. Air Serbia serves and continues to serve primary global airports, such as JFK in New York, Heathrow in London, Charles de Gaulle in Paris and others. Low cost companies mostly use smaller alternative airports. Air Serbia also boasts a state-of-the-art Premium Lounge at Belgrade Airport, the best in the Balkans, which is not the case with low cost airlines. Air Serbia has its own frequent flyer programme - Air Serbia Etihad Guest - which now counts over 110.000 members. Low cost companies fly from A to B (point-to-point), while Air Serbia offers tickets to 42 destinations via its hub in Belgrade, as well as hundreds of other cities through its codeshare partners. Therefore, Air Serbia cannot in any way transform into a low cost company", the airline noted.

UPDATE: Air Serbia rolls out new fare structure

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    If this really results in low cost prices for the basic fare than I will be happy. Who on earth needs food (and usually checked in bag) to fly to Skopje, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Zagreb, and all around the region... and it is to these cities that tickets are most expensive. Last year I paid 200 euros to Podgorica out of season o.O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      True but it depends for example to Zagreb or Podgorica how many of these types of tickets will be put on sale per flight. Especially because the majority would choose it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:50

      TGD-BEG, ZAG-BEG su linije koje ja nazivam "tramvajasicama"......tu ni kabinsko osoblje nije potrebno.
      Isto kao ni na linijama ZAG-SPU/ZAD/DBV/SJJ/OMO/MUC/VIE

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:03

      Sedi ti na tramvaj, pa do PG. Tu ti ni pilot ne treba.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:47

      Или још боље, шетај до Подгорице. То ти је најјефтиније.

      Delete
    5. Luka12:26

      Branded fares sales will start from 24th January, 2018, for travels from 01st March, 2018.
      White brand (fares without luggage) will not be available for P2P traffic between BEG and TIV/TGD, and on all trips to/from SVO/LED/BEY/TLV/JFK

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:46

      @anonymous 9:50
      Reading this comment makes me wonder have you ever been on an aircraft. Do you even know what’s the purpose of the cabin crew ?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:06

      So basically lowest fare won't be available on routes where Air Serbia don't have and can't have competition from LC because for those routes open sky agreement do not apply.

      Delete
    8. Aэrologic15:03

      This airline just doesn't seem to be able to do anything right. They seem to be going from one (fatal) mistake to another. The only thing that's constant is that they're doing everything half-way after what everything crumbles. You get the expenses but without the result. House without roof. Each time and again. Also there seem to be some sort of denigration towards lower-fare passengers - why are those fares not available on other medium-haul routes? Like it's under their dignity. That's plain stupid. They could be available in lesser amoumt but still you need to clearly define who you are and what product you offer across your network. You can't be LCC on one route, hybrid on another, legacy on the third (New York aside). That only leads to more organizational fragmentation and bad PR. Hospitality business is also about making people happy. It's about someone telling to dozens of friends about how he was able to fly for a weekend to Moscow for 50 Euros. That's the best possible marketing. Winning the heart of your customers. So they won't hate you when the next time they pay 200 Eur. to LCA. But Air Serbia seems to be ages behind by trying to make direct profit on every single ticket they sell. The only thing that's clear here - is that they're totally lost.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous15:13

      @Aэrologic
      Great post!

      Delete
    10. Aэrologic15:26

      LH* has 500 planes. Are you trying to tell us where you copied from?

      *group

      Delete
    11. Aэrologic15:28

      It was written here times and again that they need to focus on the Eastern and African markets where there is no LCC competition and where the customers are ready to pay a premium for a better service. That would have on its turn created a base of transfer passengers giving them pricing flexibility and higher frequencies on the European routes vs. the low-costs. Instead they choose to go head-on with them. This is the result.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:38

      Higher frequencies in BEY, TLV, LCA was a must.
      Also NOT abandoning IST and IEV,
      And of course having launched CAI, AMM, IKA, KWI and Saudi Arabia. Huge potential and demand for flights in our region.
      Look at how successful PRN and BiH have been with this region.
      Instead they were obsessed with things like WiFly, metal cutlery and premium services and concept in a home market where the GDP per head is still under 10.000$ a year...

      Delete
    13. Anonymous00:01

      home market where the GDP per head is still under 10.000$ a year...

      odavno su odustali od butika. a jedno 100x puta je objasnjeno da vecina kupaca zivi van srbije. ili su dijaspora, ili su dijaspora koja placa karte domacima da ih posete u inostranstvu, ili su stranci (turizam, poslovni ljudi) ili su stranci u transferu... dokle bre vise taj propali gdp argument?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous01:24

      GDP argument govori o tome da su trebali da traze potencijalne kupce daleko vise od Evrope i stare Juge.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous02:08

      Sta, nije ti dovoljan gdp po Evropi, recimo u Svajcarskoj? Avioni do Ciriha krcati. Guse se od para koje prave do Londona. Gde treba da idu, u Sudan?

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Do these also apply to New York flights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Doubt it. I don't know who would fly to New York only with checked in bag.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      The new fare structure applies across all flights but they just won't offer the lowest fare type, the one that doesn't include anything, on the New York flight.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      The LCC model won't be offered on a few destinations among which are Moscow, Tel Aviv, New York and Montenegro.

      Delete
    4. Montenegro? lovely!

      monopolist keep on monopolizing

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:29

      Haha crazy that they won't have it to Montenegro.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:44

      Petar, it's called duopoly, not monopoly.

      As for MNE, it will be offered for connecting passengers. They can't do it for p2p because then YM will offer a considerably better service.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    Well at least you will get more than on Adria where you can't choose different types and services. You have two fare types, one with luggage and one without. No food included on any of them. They did bring back a free cup of water for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      The problem at Adria isn't so much that there is no food but that the prices are still very expensive. Let's see if the same happens at Air Serbia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      Difference is on Adria there is simply no need for food when 90% of their scheduled flights have an actual flying time of an hour or so or often even less.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:10

      ADRIA serves a sandwich only on its LJU-SVO route.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    How the mighty have fallen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      Unfortunately Dane stayed for way too long in the airline. Let's hope things start looking up from now on.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:32

      JU is and will always be clueless as to what a strategy for them is. They should have immediately transformed JAT into something like Blue Air of Romania, a low cost airline suited toi the market. Instead they got EY on board which is so far away from reality and did something the whole aviation industry laughed at. WIZZ AIR too, and they took their chances with the right model in that market. The rest is (young) history and the path is clear.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:33

      Anon 9.18
      +1

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:40

      Anon 9.18
      +1

      Delete
    5. I beg to differ. Dane did nothing wrong and he couldn’t have ruined something that wasn’t created to start with. How about we give you €1000 and you build a house with that that is liveable and gives you income? Where’s the difference with how JU has operated so far? The hybrid model was discussed and prepared during Dane’s time, why? because there is a need for lower cost fares as the existing home market is unable to afford (or refuses to pay for) anything they don’t want, or need.

      Having a hybrid model like this is now no different from LH, LX, OS, BA, AF, KL, A3, etc. if they can succeed then why shouldn’t JU try the same model. Less luggage checked in means less fuel and lower cost to transport, meals that are paid for means they can better accommodate what they offer in the form of snacks and have one type of offering across their network which will allow a better calculation of weight onboard. Just to name a few scenarios.

      I’ve said it before and will be like a broken record, if you think that you can do the job then put your hand up otherwise you’re just empty (and angry/jealous) words.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:53

      Your post is flawed because LX, OS, AF, KL and A3, so basically all with the exception of BA, only charge you for luggage. They all offer free selection of seating at checkin, free checkin at the airport, free meals, mileage with the cheapest fare, free drinks...

      JU won't offer any of this. They are going after Wizz Air while matching other legacy carriers' fares. That's why it won't work.

      This is all Dane's fault because he came up with this concept and he made it happen. He was the one who changed four concepts in four years.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous23:53

      They all offer free selection of seating at checkin, free checkin at the airport, free meals, mileage with the cheapest fare, free drinks...

      They will have to change that (except for free kiosk checkin at the airport). If they were smart to look at other continents, they would notice other legacies have moved away or are moving away from it. Air Serbia is ahead of the curve on this one.

      Delete
    8. Anon 7.53pm here's a few examples for you...
      KLM https://www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/plan_and_book/ticket_information/ticket_options_europe/Ticket_Options_Europe.htm

      Air France https://www.airfrance.fr/FR/en/common/guideeconomy/classeetconfort/economy_europe.htm

      Swiss
      https://www.swiss.com/br/en/book/offers/new-fares-europe

      Aegean
      https://en.aegeanair.com/travel-information/fares-classes/economy-class/

      In your comment you're mentioning seating at check in... this article doesn't state anything about check in only when purchasing a fare as do the other airlines I've mentioned. Neither are they discussing check in facilities.

      A buy on board service doesn't mean you get nothing free. As I've flown most of these airlines they do all offer limited free services. Snacks/ meals are small - usually consisting of half a wrap or muffin or similar, drinks are limited and only certain types are free.

      Mileage is changing for many of these carriers and JU will still be a leader here. LH group moves to fare based mileage and when your average fare is more than 60% tax you won't earn very much. This applies to all fare types. Not really that easy to earn status or free flights.

      Like I said. It's worked for the rest so it will work in Serbia as well.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous07:45

      Once again, I will repeat myself in a last attempt to educate you.

      Air Serbia will have NOTHING for free. They force you to pay for your seat otherwise the system automatically assigns you a middle one.
      No drinks (water, coffee, juice...) will be offered free of charge.

      Airport check-in will not be free as is the case today.

      Cheapest fare group won't get the miles which is pretty stupid.


      The airlines you mentioned, especially LX, A3 and KL offer a decent product where the onboard product is free of charge. Not to mention that they all allow you to choose you seat for free, get miles with the lowest fare and you can check-in at the airport.

      To me JU will end up like BT. An airline that desperately tried to match W6 and FR and only ended up suffering financially.

      In the end, JU can no longer be compared to KL, AF, A3, LH, LX... because they did the same thing BA did, they left the legacy world by downgrading themselves to the LCC level.

      Delete
    10. Ti si covece poludeo skroz. Ne moras ti mene nista da ucis. I’ve been working in travel and aviation for almost 20 years. Your ‘stories’ and ‘wild conspiracy’ can go down in history with all those other stories you all spread. If you check in online you MUST BE assigned a seat! What happens if there are no middle seats left? Is JU going to charge you extra? Your statement has no logic.

      Once again there is ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE THAT STATES NOTHING IS FREE!

      You should educate yourself, and read an article before commenting - then educate others.

      You are making a claim on the basis of no information and therefore have become irrelevant in this discussion.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous09:02

      Dude, chill... I work for JU and I told you that the product offered will match Wizz Air. Everything will have a price tag. You don't believe me? Ok. Wait for Wednesday and you will see.

      I tried to educate you but I guess ignorance is bliss.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:08

    Boutique airline! Lol! They only way they can compete with LCC is prices, and if they keep them up in the sky, there is no way this hybrid will help them at all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      It is quite a transformation isn't it. They did start of as some sort of a boutique airline that obviously failed miserably financially.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      It could increase passenger numbers if the fares are competitive.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:23

      .. and further deepen their losses.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:21

      Resenje je smanjivanje broja konekcija za pojedine gradove. Koncept huba moze da radi samo za linije prema bliskom istoku i atini prema evropi druge linije nemaju dobru vezu u sistemu talasa.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:13

    So two fare categories in economy will still include food. What a waste of money. Just put buy on board across economy and outsource catering by offering pre-packaged snacks from companies you can find in stores.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:13

    "Air Serbia is not transforming into a low cost company. Air Serbia serves and continues to serve primary global airports, such as JFK in New York, Heathrow in London, Charles de Gaulle in Paris and others"

    EasyJet serves AMS; CDG, BCN, FCO, ATH
    Wizz serves FRA, ATH, FCO, BUD, PRG

    So if that is the definition of a Low-Cost airline how JU understands it - then good luck Air Serbia for the future!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      The only thing that is not low cost with Air Serbia is the price.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:47

      Have you actually flown with them anon 9.44?

      Delete
    3. Anon 9.47 i doubt either of them ever has

      Delete
    4. Anonymous01:50

      Wizz also use LED, CPH, MXP, MAD, BCN, SXF, WAW, TLV, LIS, GLA, HAM, PRG, VIE, GVA, BSL, SOF, BGO, KEF, OTP, KIV, GYD, VKO, BRS, BFS, BHX etc. Hardly small secondary airports.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous02:01

      All those airports are small percentage of all airports served by Wizz. Large majority of airports Wizz fly to are still, and will be for a very long time, small or secondary airports like Tuzla or HHN. Unlike Air Serbia where primary and large airports dominate and secondary or small airports like Banja Luka are minority. Sta ti vise nije jasno?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous03:03

      You can add CGN, LYS, BOD, TRD, RIX, CTA, MLA, LCA, VLC, ALC, AGP, GOT, TRN, PMI, IBZ, GDN, LGW, TFS and NCE to the list. That's 50 airports Wizz is using bigger than the hub of Air Serbia (all with 5+ millions of pax/year). More airports than JU serves altogether.
      Plus some you consider small secondary airports (like HHN you mentioned) would be the biggest ones in ex-YU (HHN would be 4th by number of passengers after Split). Even the real "secondary airports" are huge compared to BEG (like CRL 7 millon pax, LTN 14 million pax, BGY 11 million pax). The "secondary airport" thingy JU say is pure BS.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous04:18

      Typical Wizz retard. You don't compare size of secondary airport to BEG, you compare secondary airpot to primary airport in that city/market. CRL, LTN, BGY are still secondary to respective primary airports BRU, LHR and MXP.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous05:49

      However you slice it JU just want to avoid losing face with silly excuses. With these changes they just confirmed that the business model is not working, they'd better admit it.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous05:59

      They must obey you and they better admit it now LOL!

      You lost the argument on primary/secondary airports and you are now trying to shift the topic.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous06:18

      The LCCs JU is afraid of are using much more primary airports than JU whatever you say. Period.
      The only thing that saves them is that they have their very own frequent flyer programme neatly named "Air France Emirates Serbia Iberia Guest". Bravo.

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

      Delete
    12. Those same LCC are not flying to those ‘major’ airports from BeG are they? Why don’t they fly to AMS instead of Eindhoven from BEG? How about CDG or ORY instead of Beauvais? Malpensa or Linate instead of BGY? Memmingen instead of MUC? STO instead of Skavsta? LHR/LGW/STN instead of Luton? Because they can’t afford a better option to major airports like JU can. Mentioning Malta is funny... there’s only 1 anyway!

      No point in naming where they go when they don’t serve those airports from BEG simple as that.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:03

      Bang on! Quite simple why: because the majority of the passengers to/from BEG do not need it. This is why JU had to start transforming its unsuccessful model too. Further changes will follow if Etihad leave them alone, see the news announced at Air Seychelles today...

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:14

    Propast. Mnogo ce ustedeti sa jednim sendvicem

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12

      Tend to agree. Charging passengers for meals is absolute nonsense in my opinion. It only tarnishes your image and produces little savings.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:32

      It will be interesting to see if JU will allow those passengers with the lowest fare to pay for food on board with cash only like Adria did for a long time or if they will allow you to pay electronically.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:39

      It will all probably be done online. They will offer you for example to add on a meal when you are booking your ticket.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:22

      Well, this sandwich, as it is, only irritates pax and does cost company at least something. Nobody likes it, as it's vile, and yet they give it to everyone. Bad word of mouth right there.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:42

      The sandwich provided on the morning flights was delicious. The one on the evening flights was disgusting.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:16

    I actually like this a lot and I have a feeling their load factor will go up thanks to this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Higher load factor doesn't equal higher revenue.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:25

      Revenue most likely, profit not necessarily.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:17

    If you can't match the LCC prices then don't match their product.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      +1

      Delete
    2. There are differences. There is Legacy, LCC, and ULCC.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:09

      It is all blurred, I hope everyone understands by now.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:45

      It's not blurred, you just need new glasses. There would be no Eurowings, Level, Air Canada Rouge, Transavia etc if it was all blurred.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:21

    So Montenegro Airlines will be the only traditional full fare legacy airline in ex-Yu left.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      That's why they are doing so well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      What about Croatia Airlines?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:32

      They have BOB.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:39

      BOB?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:41

      Buy on board.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:44

      They do but all passengers still get a free snack on longer flights.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:46

      Montenegro Airlines will be making a new fare structure this year too. They have already announced it. Don't know if it will be similar to JU's but it's coming.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:49

      Yeah and a snack is two crackers. Drinks are welcome though.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:07

      A snack is cheese with olives and crackers with a wide selection of beverages.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:10

      You still get a sandwich, cake and free drinks (alcoholic and others) on all Air Serbia flights (bar the ones that last less than an hour). The same will continue unless you buy the lowest fare where you will only be able to bring in hand baggage.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:20

      You no longer get anything sweet on JU flights.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:24

      Oh really? Then me and the other 120 passengers must have been lucky on our flight to Amsterdam on Friday and back yesterday. I guess they served it by mistake.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:46

      Maybe they brought it back, have you thought about that? In late December on our flight to BRU we didn't get any.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:22

    Sreća pa za razliku od prošle decenije mogu da biram između Sofije, Skoplja i Niša te me ovakve fantastične vesti ne dotiču.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      Супер, хвала што си поделио овакве важне вести са заједницом овде. Сада могу мирно да спавам.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:35

      Nema na čemu slobodno mirno spavajte i Vi i menadžment ASL dok drugi aerodromi i kompanije odvlače putnike iz BEG :-D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:42

      Očigledno ne odvlače dovoljno jer BEG za godinu dana povećao broj putnika za 400000. To je više od celogodišnjeg prometa u Nišu. Ja sam jedan od tih putnika koji je prošle godine potegao iz Beograda i putovao iz Niša ali sam takođe iz Beograda putovao više nego u 2016. godini. Ima mesta za sve i biće još bolje i za nas putnike je dobro da imamo više opcija i da možemo da biramo šta nam više odgovara. Nadam se da će novi tarifni sistem ASL upravo to da omogući. Videćemo kako će to da izgleda kada se nove tarife pojave u ponudi.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:25

    I'm guessing all these changes will be understandable when they publish their 2017 financial and operational results.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:26

    Did i read this correctly? You will now need to pay extra just so u get miles on your account as a frequent flyer? Are they totally out of their mind? That is so not full fare nor hybrid like. Think I will switch more to OS and LH now, you always get miles everywhere else automatically even in the lowest fare class. Oh I can imagine many people who will turn away from them now for good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:28

      That's only if you are travelling on the lowest ticket with hand luggage included only.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      You can buy miles on Etihad too, although you still earn them on all fare types but they have decreased the amount you do earn. Economy saver is something like 50% of miles compared to the standard economy fare.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      Igra se zove "stimulirat cu te tako da te necu destimulirat"

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:51

      Unless you are CEO, Lufthansa M&M is pointless too.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:02

      anon 9:26, don't get your hopes too high with Lufthansa.
      As od March, they are switching milleage calculation based on ticket prices, not on actual miles flown.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:51

      Cutting all benefits for Silver members was a much bigger hit. Miles are basically worthless on most airlines anyway due to taxes and YQ charges.

      Delete
  15. nice work.
    this just proves the point that whatever task was set in front of JU & Dane it was executed with great quality.

    - airline created in 6 weeks
    - flights to nyc
    - creating maintenance unit
    - introduction of sabre
    - raising safety standards
    - much better service
    - very good lounge


    however, the general business approach dictated from abu dhabi was wrong:

    - boutique approach
    - flight schedule that gets trimmed every season
    - getting loans at 7% interest, not putting the money to use and then giving to banks for 2% interest (this is realy jailable)
    - pushing for traffic synergies with AUH when there were really none

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:47

    I believe that Air Serbia will make it and if they manage to implement these structural changes then they will attract quite a few passengers.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:52

    To me it makes perfect sense. With all due respect people in exYu will always prefer cost over quality. Those that want to pay extra for the quality can. So Air Serbia does not leave anybody out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:41

      90% of people in developed countries will prefer cost over quality when it comes to 2-3 hour flights. One thing ASL can charge a premium for is the fact that it flies to main airports, but that premium has to be reasonable. For example, Transavia servers Schipol and has fares around 50 euros one way, while Ryan has 20 eur to Eindhoven, resulting in lots of people choosing Transavia. But if they were charging 150 one way, Ryanair would take most of the passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:38

      Transavia is losing millions every year. Maybe they need to stop selling those €50 fares.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:54

    I would give them the benfit of the doubt, forget about the embarrassments of the last few years and wait and see what they do with this. But if they don't make a profit in the next 2-3 years (and not by means of government subsidies) that should be the nail in the coffin for them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:26

      Why? You have CA 5 years without profit selling silver to survive.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:56

    To everyone who talks about the low cost;here is nothing about the low cost!
    There's a difference between the low cost and low fair-no frills airline business model. Wish them luck but guys in ASL needs to offer scale to their product. ASL should be at 30 planes at the moment and heading up to 50.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      o_0

      Delete
    2. Why stop at 50?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:06

      How about 500?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:51

      500 won't work, there aren't enough gates at BEG to accommodate all those aircraft.

      Delete
    5. Oh, THAT'S the issue...

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:10

    Sometimes I wonder if this is aviation or low cost bus rides. People expect to fly to main airports in Europe for less than 100 euros. Go by car if it is too expensive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:37

      "Go by car if it is too expensive."

      No thanks, I will go by Ryanair as they provide the service I want for the price that I'm willing to pay. That's how the market works and companies which do not respond to the market will fail or will have to be supported by the corrupt state.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:35

      Stop talking nonsense. Ryanair does not fly to Belgrade.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:16

    LH also introduced this but it meant ticket price increase if you are traveling with luggage ...

    lets see how JU will do it

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous10:18

    "Air Serbia also boasts a state-of-the-art Premium Lounge at Belgrade Airport, the best in the Balkans" which is closed most of the time what is inexusable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19

      It works from 5AM-8PM. Who should they keep it open for afterwards?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:24

      Maybe because they have departures after 20.00?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:48

      And probably some connecting passengers waiting overnight for early morning flights? Or at least that is what they are aiming for...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:50

      Something tells me there are not a lot of business class passengers on those evening flights.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:55

      Even more troubling is the fact that virtually no one has free access anymore.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:40

      It is not just for business class passengers, it is for members of FF program or passengers without FF program, too. We may argue is how many FF silver/gold members are flying through Belgrade of course. But, if ambition is to be "hub" with connecting flights, long haul, etc. you should provide some kind of additional services for your passengers.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:20

    Nothing new really. Yet another European carrier adapting itself to the market environment. More Serbs will start flying if the prices go down. More Macedonions, for example, will prefer BEG as a transfer airport because of the lower prices, etc.
    Come on, who the hell needs a plastic sandwich on a 2h route?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:24

      I do so thank god there will be the red tariff.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:36

    LCC service with a premium pricing. They will never be able to compete with a real low cost.(Economies of scale and scope)

    Taking the value from the end customer only while their underlying operational, organizational and business structure are not efficient enough to support their intended business model.

    Furthermore, Etihad is finishing their top management restructuring and strategy is probably deeply in formulation phase and they will probably dumb the Air Serbia by the end of this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:38

      How do you know its premium pricing when they still haven't published their fares under the new pricing structure? How do you know that the one pricing category that will offer basic service won't be low cost? All other fares except for the lowest one have the same standard of service as today and no, it's not low cost.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:57

      Yes, premium pricing relative to their service. They are UNABLE to provide the low cost fares at any time and make a profit on them, because economics.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous00:14

      What economics, you don't know what the prices will be? How can you bring up "economics" when there are no numbers to substantiate your claim? Are you ok?

      Delete
  25. Anonymous10:59

    Will JU still considered to be a legacy airline after applying this new business model?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12

      Yes, the same way Aegean is considered legacy.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:38

      No. Air Serbia will be a hybrid carrier. Aegean is a legacy carrier.

      Aegean still offers a decent business class product (JU won't have a business class anymore), free meals on longer snacks or a sandwich on shorter flights. They don't charge for airport check in or to select your seat...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:39

      "JU won't have a business class anymore"

      What on earth are you talking about? Yes they do have a business class and they will in the future.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:13

      No. It will become premium economy. ;)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:07

      Their "new" business class is in fact economy already! Who on earth will pay 900usd to fly BEG-SVO return in an economy seat? SU has proper business seating so I don't see anyone buying this new busienss product.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:26

      Aegean in 2015 had LESS employees than Air Serbia despite having 3 times as many aircraft and 4-5 times as many passengers!
      JU is a typical state run enterprise which the taxpayers have to subsidize.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:22

    Good. Time for things to be shaken up over there.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous14:55

    Hmm. Austrian Airlines naplacuje karte bez prtljaga na relaciji bec-beograd-bec 140 eur. Da se dokupi prtljag kosta 50 eur. (25eur u jednom smeru). Pre prelaza na nove tarife karta je kostala 120 sa prtljagom. Predosecam da nas isto ceka sa er srbijom.Cena skoro iste i bez prtljaga a sa mnogo skuplje.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apolutno isto ocekujem. Sadasnje najnize (a u ustini preskupe) tarife koje ukljucuju prtljag ce ostati najjeftinije tarife, ali bez ukljucenog prtljaga.
      I jos ce nam prodati pricu kako je to sve u interesu putnika kako bi povoljnije leteli.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:25

      Na linijama za bec i pariz verovatno.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:28

      +1000

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:46

      Kod ASL dokup prvog komada prtljaga, ako kupis kartu bez prtljaga, je septembra 2017 bilo 60 evra u jednom smeru, 120 u oba smera. Naucio sam to na "tezi" nacin.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous17:46

    This is a so called hard landing after a "boutique" startup. Like most things in Serbia anyways.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:31

      Failure rate of all startup companies after five years was over 50 percent, and over 70 percent after 10 years. Oh I forgot to mention: in the US. What's your explanation, like most things in Serbia anyways?

      Delete
  29. Flight international has a long-lasting tradition of de-mistifying the high-flying made up words by bureaucrats; its called yuckspeak....Hybrid airline=legacy prices for LLC service

    ReplyDelete
  30. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:40

      JU is hated so much because of its previous management which always told us that they were the best, that they knew what they were doing... they were arrogant while the company kept on suffering.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:26

      arrogant while the company kept on suffering.

      Perfectly describes Ryanair CEO, his arrogant statements and pilot disputes on the other hand.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous07:37

      The only difference is that FR is swimming in cash.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous20:39

    I really cannot understand why there is so negative comments on any news from Serbia or related to Serbia while on all other there are mostly positive comments. It just prove that Serbs rather see neighbourg cow dies... So sad!
    Whatever we think whether AS is good or not good company, they bring a significant added value to Serbia and Serbian economy. COuld they be better? Yes. Could they do more? I am sure they can! Let them try their luck and lets once be positive about what is ours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:35

      Because Serbs, unlike others are always ready to spit on their own.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:03

      There is no passport check required before making a negative comment. A ton of negative comments come from "outside".

      Delete
    3. That is a lie. Whichever company there's an article about, there are fanboys and hate brigades, so don't try to make it like ASL only gets the hit.

      Delete
  32. BA88820:56

    After 19 years on LON-BEG-LON route I’ve seen plenty.

    One thing for sure is that I have been avoiding JU for last couple of years due to insane pricing.

    I hope they get it sorted and approrpiate for the product offered. Otherwise LH here I come...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:17

      Ko sta radi ti 10 godina kukas na tu liniju. Pa idi wizzom ili vezanim letom. Dosadio/la si vise i Bogu i ljudima.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:50

      +1

      Indeed. If you have an issue then don't fly on Air Serbia. London Heathrow is one of their most profitable destinations meaning that there are others out there that can afford to pay the fare.

      Delete
    3. BA88823:25

      Can you read mate? Do you actually understand English?

      I really dont need to detail my travel plans but have a check what I said previously. I tried it and seen it all...including W6 and non-direct route.

      FYI one can get to NYC for the price of rtn to BEG.

      All I hope is for them to stop having a monopoly on this route and W6 is not doing much about it...

      And your obsession about JU is ever so slightly concerning...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous00:10

      There is no monopoly on Belgrade - London route.

      As for the price, LOL. Check Lufthansa prices on some business heavy routes after Air Berlin collapse! One hour domestic flight is more expensive than your LON-NYC fare! What are you going to do about it mate?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous07:36

      Why are you accusing others of being obsessed with JU when you are the one who regularly comes on here and attacks them?

      Have you checked the fares on LH for BEG-FRA? The only time when they are below €200 is in February. Good luck finding a lower fare than €300 in summer/spring.

      Delete
  33. Nije mi jasno kako niko nije odreagovao na ovu SNS retoriku u izjavi za javnost. Pola press release im je otišlo na to kako su oni bolji od LCC.

    I kome treba business lounge u jednom Beogradu, molim vas, pa da se hvalite da je najbolji?

    Nadam se da će easyJet da razmisli o "povratku" na srpsko tržište, a do tad nek Wizz i Ryan dominiraju.

    Citta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Takođe, čitajući Airliners.net forum, naleteo sam na ovu temu:
      http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1383433&sid=6deb7a30bd343bfb7981f107577c0df9

      Rumor has it da je Etihad pre dve nedelje zvanično raskinuo partnerstvo sa Air Seychelles i Air Serbia, sa "otkaznim" rokom od tri meseca? :O

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:34

      Not correct.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:20

      Slobo Ryan vec sad dominira. Mnogo su jaki u Srbiji. Dajte jos neke mudrosti.

      Delete
    4. Mislio sam više u fazonu da Ryan "uspostavi" dominaciju, a Wizz već ima nezanemariv share u BEG i INI...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:37

      what?

      Delete
    6. As you can read in the press release, around a half of it went on to explain how they are better than LCC (most presumably Wizz) and not to explain their services, the results of their business. This is basically telling me that they actually know that they are doing nothing to enhance the complete experience, but instead are shifting their focus on how Wizz & Co. are bad for passengers. Classic SNS rethorics - give no arguments about yourself, just attack others.

      And I highly doubt that the Business lounge at BEG is better than ones at ATH and IST.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous21:56

    Well I am really curious how they crew will distinguish on board who has paid what and than deicide if to serve a sandwich or not. If I am not mistanken this was tested by TUIfly (with service printed on the boarding pass) resulted in total chaos on board and endless discusssions. That practice was very quickly abandoned. Besides the fact that a small sandwich produced in Serbia is a catering mass product and costs less then a euro, if the have to sell, they have to deal with the money, the change, the petty cash, they need an accounting after each flight and at head office as well. Just a no-brainer! Either you give a free sandwich to all or you charge all. Besides that they should stop offering alcohol for free in Y! That's a cost factor!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:10

      Easy, they will just have a list with seat numbers for those that paid the lowest fare type and can buy food.

      Delete
  35. Anonymous01:15

    Between Air Serbia 200€ round trip ticket from Milan Malpensa to Belgrade, I rather choose Ryanair to Nis from Bergamo for 20-30€ round trip ticket.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous02:27

      There is 250km between two airports on one side and 90km on the other side. That's like saying "you can stay at Motel for 20eur, it's the same bed as in Hilton for 200eur" LOL.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:34

      Actually, there's 250 and 90 one way. There is also the way back. No thank you. It's just not worth it.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:55

      Both Malpensa (used by AS) and Bergamo (used by Ryan) are around 50 km from central Milan so no difference.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous01:56

    There are no legacy airlines, hibrid airlines, LCCs, ULCC and all that BS. There are profitable airlines and then there are losers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous02:17

      Sure, just ignore the reality and the fact there are very different ULCC and legacy carriers around the world. Even better, let's just divide airlines into two groups: winners that operate widebodies like Air Serbia, and losers that only operate narrowbodies like Wizz and Ryan. There, it's the only segmentation that matters now!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous03:06

      Widebodies? Why the plural form?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous04:05

      more are coming. vinci will support air serbia to expand long haul network.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous05:46

      Yes but by that time Etihad will need to sell that single aircraft as well.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous05:52

      YU-ARA is not Etihad's. Thank you for sharing your lack of knowledge.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous06:19

      Everything is Etihad's as you will notice in the near future.

      Delete
  37. Anonymous02:38

    Vinci would be smart to position pricing and incentives to throttle down Wizz to only one plane while giving Air Serbia better discounts if they manage to grow to 3 mil passengers a year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous05:05

      Kinda silly comment. So Vinci should try to loose business by throttling down / driving out one of Wizz Air's stationed planes at BEG.
      Sounds like a winning strategy for an airport concessionaire.

      Delete
  38. Anonymous09:36

    Flights BEG-INI when?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.