Pity about BEG loosing the A340-300 service but nice to see Iran Air will be flying the A300 this winter.

Shame about Mahan, they were such a fantastic addition to BEG. As US domination dwindles hopefully we will see them back in the future. Nice to see so many widebodies in BEG this winter.

Seriously doubt that BEG will reach this year 6 million passenger mark.

This may give Air Serbia an opportunity to launch flights to IKA. Although some have cut flights, Alitalia is increasing capacity to the A330 for example.

If there is demand, Air Serbia could step in with the A330 as soon as JFK goes quiet

World police in action ... again

Why not? Four weekly widebodies will operate into BEG that we didn't have last year.

No one said that. The airport said up-to 6 million and hopefully over 5.8

BA, LH and many others are suspending flights completely to Iran.
But lets follow AZ's example, an airline to look up to.
SMFH!

TBH, I also think it was going from zero service to IKA to 6 weekly was a bit too much.
Serbia should've allowed first 2 weekly service to see how it goes and then gradually increase.
There was much much more supply vs demand.

International airlines will soon be under a huge pressure to stop flights to Iran, so Air Serbia even thinking about these flights is not the best idea. British and French already announced complete withdrawal from Iran ... the rest will follow.

You got your information wrong. LH is not suspending Iran service.

Of course BEG won't reach 6 mil this year with or without Mahan Air. But next year...

First of all it is not up to the directorate to regulate demand. Second, the route was not cut because of a lack of demand.

You do understand the flights were cancelled because of the United States pressure and not because there was a lack of demand?

6 weeklly isn't and wasn't too much. Mahan Air does not stop flying to BEG because their planes were empty. Please read the article.

Not only is LH sticking with Iran but so are Austrian, Alitalia, Aegean and many others. LO is also planning on launching IKA.

You do realize Mahan is cutting flights because of US and not because their flights were empty? Also, why should the government limit the number of flights? Let airlines battle for the market.

Unlike on Qeshm Air you could buy tickets on Mahan Air from Serbia as well. Now you can buy tickets online for Iran Air although they are quite pricey from BEG.

I notice they usually park Iran Air A300 at the remote C stands.

The Mahan Air A340-300 cabin looked great!

http://www.samchuiphotos.com/W5062/21.JPG

http://www.samchuiphotos.com/W5062/22.JPG

http://www.samchuiphotos.com/W5062/12.JPG

http://www.samchuiphotos.com/W5062/13.JPG

http://www.samchuiphotos.com/W5062/14.JPG

http://www.samchuiphotos.com/W5062/9.JPG

Well, BA and AF said that it was also lack of demand. Still, for a small market like Serbia 6 weekly was way too much, leave alone a 299 seater a/c.

Any numbers about LF on those flights?

I would say, it is political decision, like it was same about introducing those flights in BEG.

Nice! Who would have thought.

Nice, yep. Sam Chui is one of the most famous aviation bloggers in the world. He has lots and lots of very cool videos on YouTube.
I hope he covers JU one day too.

So why do you think all three operating airlines upgraded their flights from narrow to widebodies within months of starting flights. Because of a lack of demand?

Nebojsa is right, if no other carrier withdraws BEG, then yes 6 million will be easy reachable. However, lets wait until Vinci take over this autumn and see what they have to tell us.
Will SOF reach 7 million this year?

Maybe BA and AF were not honest...If LF was not good why would Mahan Air fly A343 to BEG and not A310?

Demand is, but it is politics at first place. Or you think it is spontaneously that 3 different airline started to fly in almost same time on the same route.

Yes, Anon 09:23h. I mean if 2 big giants like BA and AF cite: "reduced commercial viability of the route" then what do you think?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-24/air-france-klm-british-airways-exit-iran-amid-u-s-sanctions

I want to see some LF numbers, but it is hard to see it when we talk about BEG routes. It is just rumors and rumors all the time.

They started flying at almost the same time because visas were lifted at that very same time generating demand.

@ Anonymous28 August 2018 at 09:29

A good indication of load factors is that all three, now two, airlines operate wide bodies on this route, that Iran Air said they were sold out on these flights till late June, that Iran Air has upgraded winter flights to wide bodies, that another Iranian airline wants to start flights (Kish Air) etc. But of course it's probably all politics when it comes to Belgrade. Every airline that has ever started flying to Belgrade and not to another city in the region has done so because of politics. We know the drill.

Maybe the outbound flights had a generally higher LF but definitely not the inbound ones. Iran might be a super nice country with intelligent people, but definitely not a popular destination for Serbs, even if the visas were lifted. For Iranians, to visit BEG and Serbia might be another story.

Serbian politicians and politics must be very powerful. All these airlines starting flights because of the power of Serbian politics. I mean we were already told Hainan Airlines started flying because of politics, now three airlines from Iran started flying because of politics. Nothing to do with demand, they were just engrossed by Alekansdar Vucic's eyes and decided to start flights.

Not really, A300-600 is always parked at A1, both IR and Qeshm.

Ohhh what a big capacity on Hainan route to BEG.

About Iran, when flights are established then is enough demand, but when flights are cancelled then is politics. Sure..

AF, KLM and BA relied mostly on people travelling for business, which are definitely affected by the US sanctions. The market between Iran and Serbia is mostly made up of Iranian tourists visiting Belgrade so it's a whole different story.

So you think an airline that upgraded flights to one of their biggest planes on this route suddenly ends flights because of a lack of demand and ends it imminently. Have you even read the article? No use arguing. I know where you are coming from.

Amazing that demand to Iran is now higher than to Dubai or Abu Dhabi :) Serbia and Iran rule!

Im so glad that you know where I am coming from. I am sure you know all LF numbers on the Iranian routes, so there is no need to write more about it.

SOF won't reach the 7 mln. this year. May be next year.

I can use common sense, unlike you who are mostly blinded by bitterness.

Just don't see why are you even arguing with him. Let him have his day.

And a few days ago someone wrote in the comments how no airline from Iran will be flying to BEG this winter. And now we see that already 2 have scheduled flights and at least one with wide body.

How many Middle East/Gulf airlines now fly to BEG?

Having so many airlines fly on this route is not a surprise. Same happened with Israel. Now there are Arkia, Israir and Air Serbia all flying between BEG and TLV. Where there is demand there is a need for several airlines to fly the same route.

Makes sense, SOF will have a lot of cuts this winter. Have they published their May and June numbers?

BA, KL and AF weren't even daily to IKA. AF used Joon so they were weak from the start. Politics and sanctions is just a convenient way to make their failure.

- Etihad
- Flyubai
- Iran Air
- Qeshm Air
- Arkia
- Israair

Don't forget that Mahan increased BEG to three weekly and they got permits for winter two weeks ago. Yes, makes sense for them to cut because of low demand.

Not that many really, SJJ is still the champion.

Not yet. This is the first time this ever happens. Lots of cuts from Wizz Air but new easyJet & Ryanair routes also QR + FZ expansion.

Qatar?

Oops sorry I completely forgot Qatar Airways. So:

- Etihad
- Flyubai
- Iran Air
- Qeshm Air
- Arkia
- Israair
- Qatar Airways

@ Anonymous28 August 2018 at 10:01

During summer, frequency wise-yes. But the choice of airlines isn't that great:

- Flydubai
- Wayaniya Airways
- Air Arabia
- Qatar Airways

We have "political" route to Moscow because Air Serbia, Aeroflot and Red Wings are flying there
We have "political" route to Teheran because Mahan Air, Iran and Qeshm air are/were flying there
We have "political" route to Tel Aviv because Air Serbia, Arkia and Israir are flying there
We have "political" route to Istanbul because Turkish Airlines, Atlasglobal and Pegasus are flying there
We have "political" route to Stockholm because Air Serbia, Norwegian and Wizz air are flying there

It is terryfying how Serbian politicians are powerful

They also have a first class on the A343 but I think it's just on a couple of them. The product seems quite good.

I agree would be great to see Sam Chui review for example JU to JFK :)

What about AirCairo and Almasria?

Well those are from North Africa. If you include those then there is also FlyEgypt and Tunis Air.

Yes, you are right, but it was close to Middle East :-)

These Iranian flights are just migrant transfers due to the visa free regime on the side of Serbian officials. Nonesense!

Belgrade is full of Iranian tourists. I notice them in the city all the time. By the way they dress and look I would say these are mostly middle or upper class people. I usually see older couples or families with children.

They will grow this year, but not with more than 4-5%. As for the numbers for June and July they are still not published, but the growth is around 7-8%

Unfortunate about Mahan but we will probably see IR or someone else add flights to make up for their absence.

In the end, did Montenegro Airlines operate charters to Iran this summer like they announced?

Me too. You can see a lot of them in shopping centres (like Israelis) especially Rajiceva and Usce.

yes, yes, we heard that... change the record.

They did :)

+1

Well one day we will have flights even to the Pristina.

Ryanair cut some flights from SOF but they are only adding a seasonal flight to Jordan so nothing major there. Wizz Air cuts are serious though.

Ryanair aren't cutting this winter. They have transformed already some of the flights to seasonal, so compared to last winter they are adding flights.

Quite impressive that Iran Air is already sending widebodies.

If Air Serbia launches these flights it will make Iran more affordable and accessible. While it is great having these Iranian carriers fly, they are extremely expensive out of Belgrade. Return tickets are between 500-1000 euros.

They are expensive because flights are full.

We can add Pegasus here

Sarejvo in summer:
Flydubai
Wayaniya
Air Arabia
Qatar
Nesma

But will Arkia or Israir fly to Belgrade during winter?

Why would Serbia be involved with US then if it more a Russian ally? Why didn't Аерофлот stop services to Teheran? Why didn't Lufti do it? Come on people, there was so few demand from Belgrade.

Yes, Arkia and Israir have been flying to Belgrade year round for 2 years now.

Belgrade might be full of Iranian tourists but is Teheran full of Serbian tourists? Don't think so, amigo mío. Serbians have always preferred Greece, Egipat and the safer places.

You can fly BEG-IKA-BEG in October for 350 EUR via IST or DOH

Have you even read the article?? Airlines aren't banned from flying to Iran. It is MAHAN AIR that has been blacklisted by the US treasury and the US has issued a warning to all governments and companies not to cooperate with Mahan air, Germany included. And as you say "so few demand from Belgrade", there are two airlines flying year round with widebodies on this route. So in future before making stupid comments, read the article. Thanks.

Do you think that for example Vueling flies to BEG because there are a lot of people from Barcelona who visit Belgrade?
No, they are just bringing Serbian tourists to Barcelona and fly them back.
It is the same with Iranians to Belgrade, amigo mío.

When did Air Serbia launch a new route the last time?

01.06.2017 Venice

JU could attract many transfer pax on IKA flights.

Thanks. Time for something new.

I'm surprised by all the demand from the Gulf/Middle East to Belgrade.

Iran Air wants Air Serbia to cooperate but what is Air Serbia doing? Doesn't seem they are interested.

ZASTO SE PRAVITE BLESAVI? UAE nema bas dobre odnose sa Teheranom. Etihad tamo ne leti od januara. Pa ce da trce da prave liniju iz Beograda?

So, if there is political reason for cancelation of Mahan air flights to Belgrade, why they still fly to:

Paris, France
Dusseldorf, Germany
Munich, Gemany
Athens, Greece
Barcelona, Spain
Birmingham, United Kingdom?

And how many extra weekly frequencies are those. ;)

Air Serbia should look after its own interest same way Alitalia is flying there.

Why are you surprised? Belgrade is the biggest city in ex-YU and it has the most to offer to tourists who are not going to the beach.

A зашто се ти правиш блесав? Јел ЈУ лети за Тел Авив зато што УАЕ има добре односе са Израелом?

Because the EU has put in place a policy to safeguard its businesses if they break US sanctions with Iran, something Serbia does not have a luxury of. Also you are comparing countries like Serbia with Germany. Why did Slovenia and Serbia stop refuelling Iran Air aircraft in 2010 at US request but Germany didn't. But keep hoping for the worst. If you used just a bit of common sense you would see how banal your argument is.

If there is anything that was too much in the region that was 5 weekly services on a wide-body to an airport serving less than 3 million pax per year. However that has now been corrected.

Because Belgrade Airport stoped providing services to Mahan Air at request of a certain embassy. But I suppose you think it's because of low demand. I guess that is why they upgraded equipment on this route from A320 to A340, why they upgraded frequencoes from 2 to 3 per week and why they put tickets on sale for winter a week before they suspended flights.

@anon 11:24

What makes you think that Egypt or Greece are safer place for serbian tourists than Tehran? Haven"t heard of any caffe gang fight or terrorist attack on tourists in Iran recently, unlike Greece or Egypt, Tounisia...

Size of a city and offer of things to do and see are not always in a linear relation

:-))))

Thankfully both the size and offer of things to do and see is linear in this case.

It is not!. It is poor Iranians wanting to visit sth foreign they don´t need a visa for (Serbia only in Europe), the huge Serbian and Iranian diasporas and last but not least the huge economic ties between the two countries which puts Germany, UK or France in the shadow which justifies an almost daily flight with widebodies between Serbia and Iran.

FR

CDT 2
PSA 2
NYO 2
PFO 3 = TOTAL: 9 weekly

New AQJ + 2 weekly
New BRS - 1 weekly

So basically only 6 weekly are being "lost".

STN becomes 15 weekly

U2 new EDI, SEN & BRS = all 2 weekly (total 6)
QR will send A321 daily + 4 weekly evening A320 = 11 weekly
FZ - 5 weekly
LO - 2 daily winter compared to 12 weekly last year

Basically some cuts will be compensated by other additions but the SOF growth will definitely not be 35% unless of course Lauda don't decide to arrive :)

I think 6,8 million is achievable.

Since when did Teheran have that much demand? In socialist YU, yes but now....I was sure that it won't last that long. I understand if we were talking about London, having 4 carriers, ok but THR??

Since it is one of the rare countries in the world where Iranians don't need visas to visit and it is affordable and since Iranian tour agencies put Belgrade in their offer. Same happened with Israel. There were 2 weekly flights from Belgrade to Tel Aviv (via Larnaca) until Israeli tour operators put Belgrade in their offer and Israel negotiated a new air agreement with Serbia. Now there are over 7 weekly flights between Belgrade and Tel Aviv and three airlines flying the route.

Belgrade has so big demand by Iranians, not Tehran by Serbians

@Anonymous28 August 2018 at 11:24

...and how in the world does that concern you?

There are Serbian tourists going to Barcelona, obviously. There's also some to Tehran and there were before those flights even began. I am one of them. There are agencies selling tours now that weren't before.

I think you'd rather try to check how many Croats there are holidaying in Korea vs. Koreans in HR and i think the ratio is far less favourable.

CDT 2
PSA 2
NYO 2
PFO 3 = TOTAL: 9 weekly

these were not around last winter and were already seasonal and thus not "lost" compared to last winter.
I see Memmingen & Treviso will continue (last winter cut due to pilot shortage) + increases across their network compared to last winter (eg Berlin), overall FR is increasing this winter.

Wizz is sending more a321, will cut (VAR daily will hurt much) some but will increase others (eg TLV to 6x, ALC to 2x, new LIS)

Overall no doom and gloom, I expect a slight growth of 5% tbh

You can't compare Israel with Iran.
Israel has beaches, bars and common spiritual values with Serbia but not Iran.
Also Belgrade has a synagogue which is what brings so many tourists from Israel. I am sure that Wizzair will soon launch Ovda.

I hope they do not touch the other Iranian carriers in BEG! The malls are full with shopping tourists from Iran! This is pure cash for the state

JAT je leteo za Izrael dok je Teheran novo mesto. Ljudi ovde su mesecima pre predlagali Teheran kao novu rutu i vidis da je uspesna dok je direktor AS bio ladan cak i kad su ukidali Abu Dabi.

+100

No big drama, although I am quite sure they will need birds for Vienna otherwise, they will lose the battle with Lauda, Vueling and the rest of the hungry sharks.

At least a bit of aviation knowledge is expected from the participants.
W6 can't launch any destination from Serbia to Israel (as long as it does not have Serbian AOC) due to bilateral agreement between these two countries.
Belgrade has also the mosque, for your information.

How many Serbs visited Iran for business and leisure? 5000? 20000? Is the route popular for business or turizam? Do you have Iranian students come to Serbia?
What about trade?

Bring us real numbers (not estimated or crystal ball ones), then we can speak and debate all day long.

Yes, Israelis are flying three hours to Belgrade to pray in the synagogue. -,-

How about you start by presenting us with your numbers before asking others to do it? Or are your arguments valid without numbers just because they are yours?

This talk can last forever. My general conclusion is that all the Teheran euphoria and excitement will soon come to an end.
Serbia needs Canada, India - countries with money and power and IT people. Open routes to Delhi, Bangalore, Singapore where the IT is, bring specialists and make Belgrade an IT hub.

It's all about historic ties between Serbia and Israel that date for centuries now.
Okay it's also good to have Teheran but only 2 weekly is more than enough and should be transferred immediately to JU. 6 is just way too much, I am sorry.

You are so wrong....They are actually all poor migrants! At least our neighbours say so...

Okay, so now you act like you are angry. I am just asking for numbers, nothing else. I don't have any numbers that's why I am asking. Simple as 1,2,3.

Ne znam sta podrazumevas pod "novo mesto" Jat je takodje leteo za Teheran 1991.
Inace, ne zaboravi da se avio saobracaj izmedju Beograda i Teherana dobro razvio, jer su vize ukinute izmedju Srbije i Irana. Sa druge strane u vreme kad je to predlagano Danetu vizni rezim je jos uvek bio na snazi.
Ne kazem da ta linija ne bi bila uspesna da ju je JU otvorio vec da broj putnika ne bi bio ovoliki koliki je danas

Did Jat Airways 3 dots (not JAT) operate to IKA?

Why do people think that every one is recording everything about anything... People to people exchange with every single country in the world and especially the ones they are interested in! Why would be there someone counting number of Iranian students or what ever in Serbia or wise versa... It is expensive and useless and someone would have to pay for it if he wants that data...
And for witch period do you need data? Which numbers do you need? Do you also need numbers for Rwanda or Gabon?
The think that is counting is number of tourists from Iran in Serbia in 2018.
January - 653 tourists - 2308 nights
February - 637 tourists - 2267 nights
March - 2098 tourists - 8503 nights
April - 1072 tourists - 4287 nights
May - 1597 tourists - 4500 nights
June - 2499 tourists - 9853 nights
On stat.gov.rs they don't even have a number to compare to 2017. so it just says for % of growth like -. They do not know the growth cause they didn't count for last year!! Imagine that no hard numbers 3,2,1.
The fact is that 3 carriers are flying and increasing capacity to on the rout and that one of them is pushed out by politics and you can find something abut that on the internet if you are interested which you are not...
http://www.thetower.org/6441-treasury-sanctions-sales-agency-that-works-with-irans-mahan-air-for-terror-support/
In the link you can see that they specifically sad that airports serving this airline will be put on sanctions...

Why too much? As long as there is demand it can't be too much.
EK to ZAG 5 pw is not too much?

Try FZ

To the anon in doubt about the IKA-BEG route,
Majority of tourists from Middle East come here for cheap nightlife, booze and shopping. On top of that, for the Iranians it is one of the few destinations they can visit visa-free.
The mosque or the synagogue are completely irrelevant for the Turks, Israelis, Iranians and Arabs visiting, as for many of them Belgrade is a sort of a liberal haven compared to their strict homeland

To put things into perspective since you're so stubborn. Iran is a booming country of 80 million people, most of them highly educated. Tehran is a metropolis of 12 million people. When you say that almost daily flights in summer to one of the rare countries where they don't need visa in the region except Turkey is mind-boggling.

There are 3 to 4 daily flights year-round to Turkey which is a country of similar population and economical status. So how in Earth 6 weekly to Iran (4 weekly in winter with wide-body) can be too much even when you substract transfer-passengers and lower outbound demand?

As a matter of facts, many routes survive with demand originating mainly on one side, some of them are the most lucrative (i.e charter flights) and one of the regional routes is one of the best examples of that.

Well, time will tell if the route will remain sustainable or yet the typical new one that gains media attention and then quickly comes to an end.
You all said lots of demand on Moscow and Red Wings still no flights for sale after 27th October. This is what I am afraid of. It happened a lot in the past with Serbia.
New airlines suddenly a flock of airlines and then 1 year later, adiós.
This is my only point.....

For yohr information, Aeroflot added another 7 weekly flights for next winter. A total of 21 just by them. So tgere obviously is demand. Or maybe it's political according to youm But thanks for caring.

So 1.597 tourists with 3 companies and some 6 flights per week those companies have. That is 59 tourists per flight?!?!?!?! Who are rest of passengers that fly on A310, A330 and A340?

Dear neighbour, the number you quoted is for May when only two airlines were flying a total of 3 times per week with A319/320. Growth in capacity and frequencies progressed month by month. You see that's nornal. In some cases it progresses like this while in others airlines go from B777 to B737. But thank you so much for your concern.

2944 Iranian tourist in June is not exactly big number. It is more like few tourists (100 per day average). For sure with 2944 tourists on June you don't have "shopping centers are full of Iranians".

In first 6 months there were 8.556 Iranians enter Serbia + some other nationals (but there is not so much foreigners in Iran to travel). In that time there was 18.720 seats in direct flights from Iran to Serbia. So LF was not that good.

Dear neighbour, I am certain these airlines are sending widebodies for the fun of it. To spite Purger and his widebody table. Thank you so much for your concern.

For sure with 2944 tourists on June you don't have "shopping centers are full of Iranians".

Dear neighbour, then maybe you should come and see yourself. If a group of 100 or more people go into a shopping centre at the same time it sure is full. But I guess you know best. Thank you so much for your concern.

Red-Wings presence is marginal. Aeroflot added 7 weekly flights. I would rather worry about reductions at home (CSA, Aegean, FlyDubai...).

He knows things he hasn't seen on the places he hasn't been.

Actually Qeshm launched flights in June, in May it was only IR with two weekly on the A320. Mahan joined the party in mid-June.

Qeshm has A320s and Mahan has A310s and BAEs, they can always decrease capacity if there is need for it. I don't think they like burning money just for fun.

Iran Air's schedule has been modified.

-2-----
IKA-BEG-IKA 08.10-09.40 // 11.10-17.40
-----6-
IKA-BEG 18.00-19.30 // 21.00-03.30

What type of a/c will be used?

A300 like it says in the text.

We are so lucky to have such thoughtful neighbors who just can't leave well enough alone. You needn't worry, not every route from BEG is political, everything is explained in the article, but thanks for the laughs from your fantasies :)

Београд is a mix of:
Transfer
O&D
Long-haul
Regional
Political
Economical
Gasto
Charter
Ad hoc
Legacy
LCC

Браво БГ

Which is why it is funny when they accuse us of being obsessed with EK in ZAG. :D

I am still waiting for Purger to update his widebody table. I do wonder why did not do it.

And the truth is, no one could care less.

AntiJU trolls are the worst kind.