Air Serbia considering Niš service


Air Serbia is in talks with the government over the introduction of flights between Belgrade and Niš, which would make it its first domestic service. The Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, noted, "I expect Air Serbia to launch services to Niš in the coming period. We are currently negotiating these flights. Just yesterday I held talks with the CEO of Air Serbia, following a number of meetings regarding this matter, and the route will most likely be introduced this year. It goes to show we really want to develop Niš Airport".

In 2015, Air Serbia ruled out operations from Niš, noting that it was not in line with its hub-and-spoke business model. However, the company's strategy has since changed. Last year, Niš Airport's General Manager, Vladica Djurdjanović, said, "Since Air Serbia is building a hub in Belgrade, I do not think it is commercially viable for them to fly to Niš. We have never insisted on it, because we would have to subsidise the losses. Air Serbia would never achieve profitability on this route. As a result, Niš does not fit into their plans, but could be suitable to airlines which cooperate with Air Serbia".

Niš has seen days of protests after local authorities decided last week for Contantine the Great Airport to be managed on a state level, rather than a city level, for the first time since 2010. A final decision on the matter will go down to a vote in the local assembly next Tuesday. Those opposed to the motion believe the change in management is linked to the recent takeover of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport by France's VINCI and that Niš's passenger growth will be capped as a result. However, the government has denied such claims, insisting that it plans to continue to grow the airport's operations, maintain its three euro fee for handling, landing and passenger services, as well as invest in the expansion of the terminal building and new control tower. "This is being done simply because the city does not have the means to finance the planned expansion of Niš Airport. There are no limitations to the airport's growth, which will be visible once the Belgrade concession agreement between the Serbian government and VINCI is published following the financial close of the deal", Ms Mihajlović said. She added, "If we want Niš Airport to develop and compete effectively against Sofia, Skopje and Pristina, it needs further investment in a very short time-frame".

Niš Airport, which has seen triple digit passenger growth in 2017 for a second consecutive year after securing flights from Wizz Air, Ryanair and Swiss International Air Lines, recently began a six-month trial of its new instrument landing system (ILS), which provides guidance to aircraft approaching and landing in bad weather. Its usage will result in Niš being classified as a Category I airport by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. This will be followed up with the construction of a new 27-metre control tower, with work on the ten million euro project to commence once matters relating to property rights are resolved. The final two projects the airport has set out to complete is the installation of approach lights, as well as a 3.5 million euro expansion of the terminal building, which will begin later this year and is scheduled for completion in 2019. In February, the Serbian government allocated 7.5 million euros for the development of Constantine the Great Airport this year. Niš Airport handled 84.894 passengers during the first quarter of 2018, up 28.2% on the same period last year. It anticipates welcoming 450.000 travellers in 2018 and has projected strong growth over the coming period, with up to 650.000 passengers expected in 2021.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    This route will obviously be subsidized by the government.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      So? How are PSO flights in the rest of Europe funded?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:02

      The difference is that PSO routes are usually where other travel ways take significantly longer (islands, mountain area,... ) and there is a public tender so all airlines can apply.

      A closed deal between government and Air Serbia to operate a route, which can be done in 2,5 hour of relaxed driving on a highway is FAR from PSO.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    Vucic said in an interjue that nis could reach as best is 750.000 by 2027.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      I think will grow much faster than that. I mean this year alone they could reach 500.000 which isn't bad.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      I doubt it. It will be difficult that they will reach their target of 450,000 this year, in my opinion.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:25

      It is realistic that INI will continue to grow on the rate of 20-30% per year next 3-4 years and then to slow down to 10-20% per year. So that number is probably lowest estimation for 2027. I'll say on 2027 it will be between 750 000 and one million.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:25

      I doubt that they'll go further than 420k. and that's it. after that, they'll grow at normal rate of approx. 5-10 y-y

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:26

      Well they did grow some 30% in Q1.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:28

      That was Q1 because there were more flights than last year. During the summer there will be the same number of flights as last year.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:34

      Well there is going to be one flight more with Wizz Air's Vienna and with LX adding flights. Also there might be some more changes coming.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:39

      there was no official target of 450k or?

      EIN ended March

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:43

      @ 9.34 that is true and don't get me wrong I hope they have huge growth but I'm not sure because Eindhoven ended, there is no more Germania and the future of Wizz Air's Dortmund flights is uncertain.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous09:53

      INI-DTM is being normally sold on the airline's website. Why is it uncertain?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous09:55

      Flights are not on sale after summer. All other destinations are.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:01

      We are still in April.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:05

      dont forget that FR is going for the same passengers with their Weeze flights

      Delete
    14. Anonymous10:08

      The projections by the city of Nis for the airport (from last year) confirm what Vucic said.

      https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I7pXj7Z4nyw/WaBeiY5vMlI/AAAAAAAAfgk/pL8AjSHzA2ILdDy9bxirpddhX2u_siobACLcBGAs/s1600/initred.png

      Delete
    15. Anonymous09:44

      Very nice graphic and very professional. Thanks for sharing!!!

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:11

    If they price the flights like Banja Luka (50 euros) it can work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      35 euros maximum.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:31

      Who in Serbia is realistically going to pay 50 euros to travel between Nis and Belgrade when you can do it for a fraction of the price by road, and probably for the same time when you factor in security, waiting at the gate etc...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      Well than people shouldn't moan why they are not flying to Nis. Airlines are not charities so every person can sit on a plane.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:37

      I don't think anyone is moaning... that's the point.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:12

      If there are more frequences during the day it would e very beneficial for people doing business in the South.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:31

      During my visits over a month I would go to BEG maybe twice... last trip I left Komren at 3.55pm and arrived into Belgrade at 9.10pm... buses breakdown. Planes less frequently so. Even Nis Ekspres and Lasta are not much better with their trip which would be about 4 hours door to door. 1 hour for check in and boarding, 30 minute flight and 30-45 minutes max to get out and be in Belgrade city... I’d take that any day! My time and sanity is worth the extra €30-40 over a bus ride.

      But also remember that this is probably going to be feeder for their NYC and AUH flights. Competing with LX on those routes.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:14

    Would be better than taking the bus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      How long would the flight take, approximately?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:42

      40 minutes according to flighttime-calculator.com

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:48

      Btw SJJ is close to BEG than INI in terms of air distance.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:02

      The flight itself would take around 20-30 min but it would actually take more time to get to the airport, take the plane get off the plane and drive to Belgrade, than to travel directly from any point in Nis to Belgrade by car.
      So, it would cost more money and no time saved.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:14

      And what about the traffic at Bubanj Potok? It takes at least 3 hours by car to reach Belgrade from Nis and that's without traffic jams at the entry to the city.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:27

      Nis Surcin 2 sata.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:13

      It would be mostly for transfer passengers anyway.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:25

      Niš Surčin za dva sata nema šanse. Možda Nis Surcin može, ne bih znao.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:50

      During the night when highway is empty and you do not adhere to speed limit, it is doable in two hours. Otherwise not.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:31

      Not everyone has a car, folks.

      And if one travels by bus, it also needs some time to get to the bus station (the one in Belgrade being in preparation, as we speak, to move across the river). The train is slow.

      And, of course, this option is primarily for transfer passengers. Tell me, if someone travels from Leskovac to Paris, would it be beneficial for him to enter the plane in Ni[, rather than Belgrade? Of course it would.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:04

      Well if you can't afford a car in Serbia, I doubt you can afford a plane ticket. No offense.

      And public transport system in Serbia is not developed enough one could love without a car anyway.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:55

      Oh, that is a very strange logic over there! One can certainly survive without a car, moreover, if people were economically reasonable, they would not even consider buying a car if they do not cover a mileage that would justify for that.

      There`s rent-a-car as an option for the occasional travel, and also taxi, which is seriously cheap outside of Belgrade.

      then again, there are people who simply don`t drive. Etc.

      There`s no reason any of these people should not fly...

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:06

      @ anon 3:04
      I can afford to fly legacies and I do not have a car. I just do not like to drive. Not my thing. Plus my taxi expenses are under 200 eur a month so it makes sense for me.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:15

    Good news. These could launch in October at the start of the winter season.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:16

    Do the EUR 3 fees apply to all airline or just low cost?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Yes it's 3 euros for all airlines.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:17

    Feeding Belgrade from Nis is actually a very good idea, it would benefit both airports and most importantly Air Serbia. Lets hope flights indeed start this year and that this is not just to calm down angry Nis people :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:17

    Actually I think what the Nis Airport CEO said last year is completely correct and this route is not viable for Air Serbia (but it will probably be covered by the government like in Banja Luka).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      The airport CEO will be singing a different tune once these flights are scheduled.

      Delete
    2. ...if he stays. Vladica and Niš SNS crew are not part of Mijalović's inner circle and to achieve this results they played the ministry several times.

      it is interesting that Vladica didn't speak a word on the official meetings about ownership transfer.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:18

    Like everyone I know agealivingd between 20-50 and living ininaround and around Nis is flying W6, FR and LX. And if they need more choice they gladly fly out of SOF and SKP. If you offer them JU they are like no thanks :-P avoiding ASL like plague. I must say there is very negative view on ASL below 44°N

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Very smart of them... It's always better to enrich your neighbors.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      You would be surprised how many people would fly to US/Russia/UK/the rest of Europe via Belgrade.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:32

      Oh yes, the people must be very stupid to buy a ticket for 10 euro instead of paying 200 euros for flying to the same destination... LOL

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:40

      There are some people in this country who don't want to fly to Weeze and Memmingen.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:13

      Not everyone in this county wants to fly with Low cost airlines and not everyone is poor, no offence Anon 9.32

      But I fully understand gastos who would rather fly with Wizz to some airport 80km from the city ...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:58

      Ryan Air and Wizz Air are flying to the major airports in Europe. For example from SOF you can fly with Wizz to Frankfurt (main airport), Madrid Barajas, Barcelona El Prat, Rome Fiumicino, Athens, Lisbon etc. Same goes with Ryan to Dublin, Hamburg, Glasgow, Madrid Barajas, Barcelona El Prat

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:44

      Smaller cities like INI are linked to smaller cities in Western Europe. This is getting very popular. Example: TZL-FDH, INI-NRN, OHD-BSL, DEB-MMX, etc, etc

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:24

    Well Mostar Airport is also talking with Air Serbia. So I guess they are looking to employ an ATR somewhere. Between Nis and Mostar they will probably choose Nis because their losses are covered.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:51

      I hope JU is planning to get (lease) an additional ATR. It would be benefitial, no doubt. On these very short routes such as OMO, SJJ (extra daily rotation), INI 2xdaily and maybe few additional flights a week to SPU (year round), TGD or SKP etc. they can easily do 5 rotations with one ATR from BEG per day with at least 3 out of the 5 fitting in the waves.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:08

      If they want to be hub they need to have more frequences to the region.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:25

    Detecting a lot of arrogance and some fear from the Serbian government here with statements like "It goes to show we really want to develop Niš Airport" - Nis has been developing for years thanks to regular A320 and B737 services from Europe's leading LCCs, a crummy ATR service to Belgrade is hardly going to spike the numbers.

    Of course they want it to be controlled at state level, Nis is becoming too big a success for Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:28

      The government has to act like that to justify their decision to takeover the airport. They need the public to think they are the responsible ones for all this success.

      My opinion is that they will give up on the idea. INI will most likely stay in the hands of the city.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      Who secured those lading LCCs? Who purchased the ILS? Who funded the expansion of the terminal? Whose idea was it to lower taxes? You think the city's? I'm sorry to say you are wrong.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:35

      The city subsidized YM. The city decided to lower the tax to €3. The government was only mentioned because they gave their approval.

      So what if the government bought ILS? How much money did they give to foreign investors?! Are you saying they deserve more money than INI?!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:44

      It is not "so what if they bought ILS". Without ILS Nis would be limited to any future growth. They also expanded the airport and yes they approved the tax decrease, they didn't have to if they hated Nis like some people here think because they enjoy feeling eternally victimized.

      If you are referring to subsidizing Montenegro Airlines as some major success, think again. They lost millions through this with no real benefit.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:45

      Also if this is all so what and unimportant why didn't any government for 10 years buy ILS, approve tax cuts, expand the terminal? Instead they subsidized Montenegro's flight to Podgorica.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:50

      Because it took a new person in Nis to actually change the strategy. It was not SNS or any other political party in Belgrade that did it.

      INI's success story is thanks to the people in Nis.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:51

      And which party is that person from?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:52

      That person has changed a few parties. ;)

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:54

      But it seems only one government listened to him. That same government in Belgrade.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:01

      Actually his tactics only changed after SKP's boom and when they all realized in the south what the key to success is.

      SNS just put its stamp of approval, that's all. I am sure all other government would do the same just like DS opened KVO.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:03

      No they didn't just put a stamp on it. They then allocated funds in the millions of euros each year. Which other government did that? And what did they open in KVO? An empty shell which can't function because they didn't think to fix the runway.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:13

      Well maybe if DS stayed longer in power the airport would have been completed. Why didn't your precious SNS finish the job?

      Also previous governments pushed Jat to fly to VIE and ZRH from INI after they fixed the runway after the NATO bombing.

      It's not like SNS is the first government to do anything about aviation.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous10:14

      DS opened KVO

      L O L !!!

      Delete
    14. Anonymous10:16

      Did SNS also open KVO? lol

      Delete
    15. Anonymous10:18

      There you go, let me refresh your memory:

      http://www.exyuaviation.com/2011/10/kraljevo-welcomes-first-flight.html

      Delete
    16. Anonymous10:22

      First of all I'm not from SNS or their voter so don't label me as such. Nis Airport was fixed by the Norwegian government, not the Serbian one. Nis Airport was more or less deserted until 2014. Are you telling be forcing an already bankrupt Jat to fly from Nis where everyone was spitting on them for being expensive was a smart move? No. Are you saying what you had then was better than what you have now?

      As for Kraljevo it was a ludicrous political stunt to build a terminal building while you have a deserted Nis Airport sitting 100km away.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous10:23

      KVO was "opened" ... but it does not work, so I do not even count that the airport was opened. I count it as a waste of money and facilities slowly going into ruins due to not being used. Hopefully someone turns it around and revive that amazing airport.

      Delete
    18. what government officials are really saying is "those southern guys didn't make this on their own, but only thanks to us"

      political f*ckery

      Delete
    19. Anonymous09:43

      Petar, well do you think southern govt was able to build this on their own? The region is not wealthy enough to sustain itself on its own.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:31

    I think with this move (GoS taking control over the airport) they want to find a job for some people that are going to be fired.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:36

      Fired where exactly? If you think the government can't just transfer people from one company to another even if it is operated by the city instead of the state then you are not aware who holds all the power in this country.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:34

    Political move. JU doesn't have the necessary aircraft.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:39

    what is the latest status of DTM flights?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:48

    Linija BEG INI je potpuno besmislena osim ako je ne plate 40 miliona evra.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:59

    I don't think Air Serbia's potential flights are the news here.
    What is the news is that the state wants to take over the airport from the city and limit it's growth in passenger numbers, for the sake of higher earnings for BEG. If you read between the lines, they will take over the airport, increase the fees, LCCs will reduce operations as a result, then they will launch AS to BEG, increasing pax at BEG while claiming that they finally found a profitable model for INI (we all know how capable they are of depicting things as profitable).
    The winners - Vinci and the government. The losers - passengers and hospitality businesses in South Serbia.
    But hey, there will be enough big political topics to feed the masses with so they don't complain about this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:01

      And you know they will do all that? Even if they said they will do everything the opposite you said. You have a crystal ball?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:17

      Scenario makes perfect sense. Unfortunately.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:33

      That sounds very possible to me. Very bad news for INI and south Serbia.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:02

    Is there a domestic terminal facility at BEG? Or would these passengers need to go through passport control?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:04

      Not anymore for obvious reasons. But I guess you would just go through passport control without showing your passport and just your boarding car instead. Same as you can do now when travelling to Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:19

      It would be no problem to improvise/arrange a ground level departure gate for domestic flights and then bus people to the plane. Especially if there are going to be more flights during the day.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:54

      It should be double daily on ATR.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:41

      +1000 anon 1:54pm

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:03

    For me the biggest question is why is the government trying to take the airport now after all those years? That is now when the Vinci agreement is signed and when parts of it will not be shown to the public.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Because the city budget has shrunk (like budgets in all cities) and the city (Nis) can't pay anymore annual maintenance and up keeping fees and salaries for employees. It is more than obvious that the airport has not turned a profit and no one expected it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:12

      So why doesn't the government take over all other loss making companies in other cities? There are many public companies that are controlled and run by local authorities like INI.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:15

      Because the airport is of much greater national importance than the local water and sewerage operator.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:20

      It's not just about water and sewage operators. I am talking about other companies in the country that have failed. Then again, SNS did manage to destroy PKB so ...

      Finally, the government could have invested in the airport if it wanted to. Nothing is preventing them from doing so. There must be another reason why they are insisting all of a sudden.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:33

      Izvini PKB je razorio Djilas. Sada opet gledaju ko ce da api zemljiste. Kada budu odredili da je vlasnistvo na opstinama ali da nema vise dolaska drzave u spasavanje propaliteta onda cemo da vidimo ko je dovoljno pametan na lokalu da vodi opstine.

      Delete
    6. actually, expenses and incomes of INI whould have been equal from q1.
      it would be interesting to see these results. that would kill one of the arguments for the takeover

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:29

      Možda će država da api to zemljište kao što pokušava da krvnički otme aerodrom Nišlijama koji su tek sada krenuli da se razvijaju.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:10

    just stupid. Swiss and Wizz have healthy margins on their routes and we serbs go for a domestic INI - BEG connection, which the ordinary people in serbia cannot afford. Remembers me on the Jat days, even they didn't understand the potential and tried this with INI - BEG connections, and failed.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:15

    I am surprised that exyuaviation did not cover the story that airport has been stolen from the local and transferred to the central government. Personally, I don´t think they have good intentions as usual. Nothing has prevented them from further investing to the airport even is ruled by the city government.
    Air Serbia at INI is not good for the rest of the airlines operating from Nis and protectionism will be obvious as it was in BEG so far. After that I am not even sure the LCA would ever get permission for starting the new routes from the city. Belgrade-Nis is a totally political route. It will be like: We have tried to further develop INI introducing the new flights but unfortunately it didn’t work. The price of the flight would be not competitive for sure, taking in count that you can fly to Vienna, Munich or Stockholm from 10eur with FR or W6. I hope to be wrong!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      "Stolen". How can you "steal" something that the state built and gave it to the city to operate just a few years ago? Also you obviously haven't read the article since there is more about the protests than about Air Serbia being interested in flying there.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:18

      "protectionism will be obvious as it was in BEG so far". Dude foreign airlines have a 50% share in BEG. 5 foreign airlines started flights to Belgrade in the last year. What protectionism are you talking about?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:26

      Aerodrom je pripadao Srbiji, a ne Nisu. Pa su dosli Norvezani i platili popravku od NATO bomnbardovanja i trazili da vise ne bude vojni sto ne znaci da je postao vlasnistvo Nisa.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:39

      I agree with anon10:15
      The terminal building as well as the ancillary support facilities were buit and opened to service in 86 by the city of Nis with the huge support of the local giant at the time such EI, Duvanska etc.
      Government gave up on INI the day they said we do not need the airport in Nis and we have no money to rebuild it, so this is why the norwegians came and repair it!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:50

      What day was that when the government said they do not need the airport in Niš?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:55

      The day they said they have no money to repare it, so the city should look for another solutions I guess!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:05

      But the federal gov has always in one way or another spent some funds on INI.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:11

      "In February, the Serbian government allocated 7.5 million euros for the development of Constantine the Great Airport this year."

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:25

    So that's why they created Airports of Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous10:36

    BEG - INI will be subsidized and may work out. What is yet to be seen is how this route will affect other routes from INI. Partially because AS will probably have an ATR spend the night in INI and have a very early departure for BEG. Most people flying to BEG will be tranfer pax, i would assume, so some of these transfer pax will continue on to ZUR, VIE, etc, and this will negatively affect INI - ZUR flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:49

      FR and Wizz routes will not be affected at all. Its a totally different demographics using low cost and "normal" carriers. Only LX would be under pressure

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:56

      What about transfers to Germany & Scandinavia, Paris?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:58

      I think JU is no longer ¨normal¨carrier and is not cost competitive at all. I think the only ¨normal¨carrier operating from INI would be SWISS :)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:06

      Well for now AS is still considered a legacy carrier, as well as Swiss of course.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:22

      I do not see LX affected. People are using this flight for transfers through waste LX network. Hope they go daily soon if they are allowed.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:25

      Of course they are allowed. The only airline that was not "allowed" was Turkish Airlines to increase capacity in Belgrade because it is in breach of the bilateral air agreement between Turkey and Serbia. Has anyone stopped Wizz or easyjet introducing new routes in Belgrade even though they are eating into Air Serbia's share? No.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:33

      LX network is far from waste.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:36

      But pax will also use AS flights to transfer, which could effect LX flights which are also used for transfers.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:10

      right, two weekly for transfers? if you open somewhere two weekly its mainly for O&D

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:47

      There are multiple ways to prevent something happening. It will be harder to stop LX expansion as their economics is different from LCCs.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous07:23

      Zasto se toliko uzdate u LX dva puta su banrotirali i nedavno napustili ostatak exYu trzista?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:46

    If nis airport goes over 1million, the anual revenue the state will get from vinci will be lower, vucic said the state will get 5-15m euro per year depending on the vincis profits, but it will get lower if nis has more than 1m passengers. So is it worth to lower the revenues for nis to get more passengers? I cant see nis habdling more than a million anyway not anytime soon, maybe in 10 years. And i cant see nis airport getting the state profits of minimum 5m euro a year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:37

      You never know. Things change fast. If LCCs get in fight with either Pristina/Skopje/Sofia, INI could explode!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:46

      Wishful thinking ;)

      Delete
  24. I love how 70% of these comments miss the fact that the point of this flight is not to compete with Niš Ekspres or car traveling, but to feed routes from Belgrade.

    For passengers it would actually be more comfortable to check in at a small airport, fly in a cramped and loud ATR for 20-25 minutes and then go straight to another airplane, instead of cramping in a car for 2 hrs and then wait in a long queue in rush hour at Belgrade.

    In order for this to work, I think they should consider operating this route twice a day, maybe even with a night layover in INI, like it was the case with Skopje.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:01

      I love how 70% of these comments miss the fact that is not about state taking over the airport at all, but is about centralism and the fact that mr.president said: ¨We allow them to develop¨, as well as ¨If you don´t wanna give the airport do not ask me for money afterword¨ which is totally disgusting

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:01

      So either way you'll be cramped in a ATR for some 30 minutes, or cramped in a car for some three hours or so.
      I'll take the plane.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:29

      I do not see that in 70% of comments.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:07

      I also how people miss the fact that not everyone is willing to drive to Belgrade or has someone to drive them to the airport and then drive back to Belgrade. It is much easier to board ATR in Nis and continue journey from Belgrade.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:07

      I hope that JU intends for this service (if it ever materializes) to have loads consisting of 60% transfers and 35% business o&d travellers, rest 5% is negligible.
      There are enough business people travelling daily Mon-Fri between the North and South of Serbia, more than enough to fill 2x 65 seats and they or rather their employers are not as price sensitive as leisure/private travellers. With time passing I am sure that many would take the plane which is much more comfortable than 6 hours (2x3hrs) driving on a single day. JU should be looking at signing company agreements for this purpose, something that other airlines in other countries frequently do.

      I really hope for at least 12 services a week (Mon-Fri 2x per day and Sat morning, Sun evening). Everything else would be very likely to fail. I sincerely hope ASL isn't planning something like 3x per week or noon departures.

      Delete
    6. For our people living in Canada, America, and Australia this route will be beneficial. I am not from southern Serbia, but I would much rather prefer to fly an additional 30 minutes after a 8+ hour transatlantic flight than having to ask someone to come pick me up from Belgrade and then having to ride 3 hours on the motorways when I am already tired from travelling.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:25

      I agree with yiu you Aleksandre.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous07:12

      Ja ne vidim nikog od direktora da se guzva u ATRu i da posle trazi dodatni prevoz kad moze sve to sa kolima i vozacem.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous11:33

    Well, well, well...now they want to open the route! They have ignored the sizable domestic transfer market and now when they realised that there is actually a potential there all of the sudden they are interested. However, it is obvious that it is all about small print provisions in the BEG concession contract (which we will never see) and cap to INI growth. Shame, but we should not be surprised.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:41

      Who do you mean by they? Central Government, local gov, Air Serbia?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:38

      That is more or less the same group.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:42

    So, where are those calling the people that praised INI so much "the INI trolls"? I hope you are just feeling upset on today's news.
    Many people are underestimating INI and its potential as a truly regional airport. If JU has woken up, it's because of something.
    I am, however, expecting W6 to be faster and might possibly base an aircraft anytime soon.
    In the case of JU, wonder how many daily rotations it will make.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:07

      hourly

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:43

      It should be 2-3 daily on work days and 1-2 on weekends. You must have it in order to get a good market share. And it is completely doable.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:54

      That's the point, to have both DOMESTIC and business flights. There are many companies in southern Serbia waiting to be linked to the capital.
      Yes 3 daily M-F, 1 on SAT and 2 SUN - 18 weekly flights.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:09

      with paper airplanes ...

      JU has not enough aircrafts even for a daily, unless they cut somewhere else

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:31

      I am the one who uses the term INI trolls.

      I praize the success INI has, and I do wish it much success.
      On the other hand, its nothing else than trolling when you phantasize about 2 million pax at INI in 2 years where it was repeatedly posted what the potential of INI is in near future, and furthermore if you continuously compare this secondary airport, which ist not even category I, to primary airports like SKP or PRN, which also have more than 6 times passengers than INI.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:21

      Well you troll us on how big SKP or PRN are, it's the same. If we start putting labels, we can continue forever.
      I just feel you are unhappy about INI's growth, that's it. And guess what? Today it's on the headlines and not in the "news flash" section. Thanks.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:32

      no, i only mention the real/realitic figures for SKP and or PRN, whereas you do not do that with INI, which makes it trolling.
      and as mentioned, I am happy about INI's growth

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:56

      I think you have no clue what trolling is. Just because you don't agree with somebody doesn't make them a troll. I am also happy for SKP's 1 major LCC growth.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:57

      That's the difference between you and him. He is actually happy for Nis but is realistic. You on the other hand are just bitter which you show in this comment.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:33

      @anon 1:09
      AS has a sufficient number of aircrafts. This summer even reserve plane like in good old times

      Delete
    11. Anonymous22:46

      Which one? atr or erbus¿

      Delete
  27. Anonymous11:54

    Once the gov. gets a full grip on INI it will be capped/castrated, and the AS will be "outperforming" (with gov. support)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:59

      Did you see this in your crustal ball?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:35

      Are you one and the same person as Anon 10:01, mentioning crystal ball?


      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:39

      Are you the same person predictibg doom and gloom scenarios without any basis for it?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:26

      Nope, it wasn't me predicting doom and gloom, but now I'm certain that you are Mr. Crystal.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous12:08

    It's not commercially viable. The catchment area location has a very limited potential because of the car mentality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:41

      "Car mentality"?!
      Germans and Italians for example love their cars but still fly like crazy. :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:23

      What he probably meant is that people prefer to use the car, because they know the distance is too short and would ditch flying.

      Delete
  29. Why not spend 10 million on terminal upgrade and 3.5 million on the control tower.... wouldn’t this make more sense?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Ok, lets be honest here...

    It is obvious that all what happened in previous few days caused JU / GoS to think about opening BEG-INI-BEG for the first time after many years.

    Since 2013 new JU continiuosly repeated that they see no interest in flying to INI, that it does not match their hub model, that the costs of crew is too high comparing to the revenue etc.
    Now, when BEG goes to Vinci and when GoS obvioulsy signed that not only INI but all the other airports except BEG in Serbia cannot grow in total more than 1 million per year we have the situation that GoS found the way how to control INI. With previous constellations when city was running INI it was not possible to control them anyhow.
    Now when they can control INI it is to be seen how they will do it in order not to lose annual amount of money from Vinci they get for BEG...Will they increase fees or they will find some other way remains to be seen. Anyhow, it is obvious this is dirty political game with the people who brought INI to the position it is now.

    From the other side, despite the fact this would be clearly political move introducing BEG-INI we could say it can bring nothing but good to INI airport. People living in Nis could not call Air Serbia anymore "Belgrade airlines" who forgot about them and competition with LX can bring nothing but good (possibly lower prices). After all we saw that INI had a lot of benefits due to the "war" between FR and W6 and the same logic could be applied for JU and LX flights. Since when the introducing of new flight has become problem for INI?

    Last not the least, if JU flies daily to INI they can offer to the people from Nis region daily connections via BEG to all of those destinations ULCC's do not fly to or on the days when LX does not fly to INI.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:55

      as your neighbor its hard to believe that this is a dirty political game but on the other hand the ammount of money VINCI payed for BEG is spectacular so who knows.. I do think that the 3euro fees cannot go on like that forever regardless of BEG and VINCI

      Delete
  31. Anonymous14:22

    But guys, if JU already serves SOF then do you think INI will work out good? Both cities are close. Does JU have other examples of 2 cities relatively close to each other?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:25

      ZAG and LJU
      LJU and VCE
      BNX and ZAG
      TIV and TGD
      TGD and TIA
      SKP and OHD (in the past)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:30

      Thank you so much for the reply. So, if they already have such experience, then they probably know what they are doing. I just hope the flights materialise as soon as possible.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:36

      did you really thought someone from southern Serbia will travel to SOF to catch a AirSerbia flight?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:49

      People from Belgrade go to TSR or BUD to catch a flight so why not?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:11

      How about nearby CRA? Do people from Serbia use it?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:15

      Why would anyone go to Craiova when Timisoara offers the same flights on the same airline? There is absolutely no difference between the two.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:57

      Because it has cool destinations to main airports. For an Eastern Serbian, this is the perfect airport.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous17:31

      Craiova doesn't have any flights to main airports.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:32

      If BCN, MAD, CGN and TLV are not main airports then I am Chinese. CRA already has as much traffic as TZL.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous21:12

      Yes but TZL has more potential.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous21:19

      Why? It serves mainly German cities while CRA has a bit of diversity if you ask me.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous14:47

    Good. Nice to see Air Serbia finally finding Nis on the map. I do hope these flights start. I am very intrested to see how many frequencies they would fly. I think it will be up to 5 per week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:48

      I have a feeling it will be low frequency. Maybe 2-3 times per week which makes the route useless.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:44

      No, with 3 weekly flights it won´t be viable.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous15:07

    Generally I like the idea of domestic flights, even when I am a bit sceptic about this one (200km high-way => better Uzice). I just don't like the idea of a political driven decision and this is with airSerbia mostly the case. I can't wait the day when airSerbia finally disappears and with that opens doors for a healthy air-market. AirSerbia i a giant loss for serbian citizens and travelers at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:09

      Yes sure it is. Without Air Serbia you would not be able to fly to some 20 destinations from Belgrade that no one else would cover because of bilaterals. Also for every tour operator them disapeering would be a disaster.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:13

      There is space for a new company that can have serbian origin, just a privat independent company wthout the state-name in the company-name.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:18

      And who has that sort of money or capacity to set up an airline, get into IATA, buy or lease planes, pay staff, get operating and safety permits?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:46

      If there is no-one, so it has to be the serbian citizen???

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:50

      by the way most companies in the west are not owned by one alone, but by a group of people (just an idea)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:52

      That's the west. This is Serbia. Hoping for an airline to go bankrupt which would have a big impact on many other branches which depend on this airline is just crazy.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:07

      you really are convinced that the insulvency of airSerbia would have negativ influence on the serian market. I can insure you the oppisite. The legancy of airSerbia could be sold to the follower, the unserved routs will be fullfilled with an other players. Don't worry the market would solve the problem and the rest should die. The silverware shouldn't be kept by the state, especially because there would always be attemtion to influence the market.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:13

      Actually no, other players would not cover it. Who would fly charters to Spain, Italy, Turkey? You think some Spanish airline would care to dedicate metal for some 15 flights. You would have problem to cover many non EU markets where flights are regulated by bilaterals so beloved Wizz Air would not be able to cover it. 2000+ people would loose their jobs, Serbia CAD would loose any incentive to develop. They have been working more these last 5 years then for the last 20 years. So no, praying for your local airline to go bankrupt for whatever reason is not good for the country.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:20

      This person wanting Air Serbia to go bust has no idea what they are talking about. Do you realize how much cargo is sent to the rest of Europe and US through Air Serbia? I really dont think people should not waste their time arguing with someone who is completely clueless.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous16:58

      I think it's just your I don't know national pride or what ever talking trought you. You are argumenting with some Mail/Cargo/Charter flights, witch can't be replaced. Such a crap. Everything you can replace with normal airlines and if there is still some demand left, so call it public-service and not an airline.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:01

      There is no way they leave an airline with a 90 year old history behind its back to slip away just like that. JU will NEVER go bust. I hope its prospertity never comes to an end and that the BEG-INI soon becomes a reality.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous17:12

      You say it right, THEY wont let it fall

      Delete
    13. Anonymous17:16

      THEY = Annie B and EY. So, spread your hate and jealousy elsewhere, JU is here to stay.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous17:23

      It's not hate, I would love that I don't know Wizzair is a in Serbia established company with private fund
      and certainly it's not jealousy, I mean jeasousy on what? I am here to talk about aviation-projects and try to be most objectiv that include also out-of-box thinking.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous17:29

      All this negativity towards JU is intoxicating. People need to understand that aviation is dynamic and who knows how JU will be in 5 years time.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous18:10

      Most likely non existent!

      Delete
    17. Anonymous18:27

      Sorry, not gonna happen. Remember the date, son: 17th June 1927. In 2027, 100th anniversary :)

      Delete
  34. Until we see the concession agreement for BEG incl. annexes, i don’t trust the GoS in terms of INI!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:37

      Why not? Especially that now, following the recent protests, the central government has now taken full control of INI. For me, this is good news as they can maybe give it to concession when numbers reach 750,000 similar to the concession of BEG.

      Delete
    2. @anon7:37pm
      Do you honestly believe that?
      There are already allegations that GoS wants to cap INI PAX to 1 Million per year, and given the fact, that BEG concession will be for 25 years, that’s not good news at all!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:40

      Why do you think that the concession of BEG was a bad idea and that the central government took control of INI a bad one too?

      Delete
    4. @anon9:40am
      I'm neutral on BEG concession, but as long we don't see the agreement incl. annexes we can not be sure, that the government is NOT capping INI in favour of Vinci's takeover of BEG. That's all I said...

      Also I agree with other commentators here, that those proposed BEG-INI flights are only there to decept the public over the GoS's plans for INI...

      Delete

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