Brač Airport has said it has resumed talks with Air Serbia over the introduction of flights from Belgrade. In a statement, the airport said, "Quality contacts have been made with the new Air Serbia management, with the aim of re-examining options for flights between Belgrade and Brač at a recent meeting". Earlier, the General Manager of Brač Airport, Tonči Peović, noted, "We have been in talks with Air Serbia for a number of years. They are interested in flying to Brač. They are considering linking the flights with Zadar. Introducing services from Belgrade is a high priority for them with an ATR 72-500 aircraft".
Serbian tour operators have requested for Air Serbia to introduce services to the Croatian island in 2019. A letter of intent by agencies was submitted to the Serbian carrier earlier this year in which agencies committed themselves to purchasing seventy seats per flight. News of a possible service between Belgrade and Brač first surfaced in 2015 when Croatian media reported that Air Serbia would begin a one weekly seasonal flight from the Serbian capital to the island in May of that year. However, the carrier rebuffed such claims at the time, noting it had no immediate plans to fly to Brač. Air Serbia currently maintains year-long flights to Zagreb and seasonal services to Dubrovnik, Split and Pula.
Brač Airport noted it had also entered talks with several other carriers including Titan Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines, ASL Airlines France, Eurowings, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Jet2.com, Flybe and Blue Air. "We hope that at least some of these companies will make a decision to start flights to Brač as early as the 2019 summer season", the airport said in a statement. During the January - August period, Brač handled 22.199 passengers, representing an increase of 34.8%, despite the number of aircraft movements declining 4.6% to 1.870. Brač Airport has already overtaken in 2017 end-of-year result which amounted to 21.596 travellers. The growth was generated following the completion of the first phase of the airport's runway extension project last year, allowing airlines to deploy larger aircraft to the island.
If they do start these flights I think linking them up with Zadar is the smart thing to do.
ReplyDeleteOnly if they are granted right to sell tickets between two Croatian airports. Or all are brought by tour operators to both cities. But that would effectively be a charter flight.
DeleteI don't think they mean to sell ZAD-BWK tickets. They would sell BEG-ZAD and BEG-BWK and just link the two flights so they could have one full plane.
DeleteThey can sell if they are granted that freedom.
DeleteThey would never get fifth freedom from Croatian CAA.
DeleteThey are involved in a court case against each other. JU has been trying to add Zadar for 2 yrs now.
DeleteAren't both Serbia and Croatia part of the Open Skies agreement? Why would Serbia need CAA approval for ZAD-BWK?
DeleteSerbia is not part of EU and AS can't fly intra-EU flights.
DeleteLATAM flies MAD-FRA. JU could fly it if they got CAA approval.
DeleteWell they don't have it and the life goes on.
DeleteI'm surprised they haven't kept Dubrovnik or Split year round.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good but only if it does not lead to selling Moscow - Dubrovnik or London - Split tickets for 150eur just to try to fill the planes.
DeleteExactly, it is the point. If there are healthy loads JU should be flying to DBV and SPU, but let's not forget that for example SPU has only 30.000 pax in February.
DeleteIn that time of the year nobody thinks going to Adriatic coast so therefore I am sure JU has its logic why DBV, SPU and PUY are not year round destinations.
No one would go from Serbia to Dubrovnik in winter while transfers are taken care of by Turkish Airlines which flies to much more cities than JU. They can't compete against that. That's why they don't fly to Dubrovnik in winter.
DeleteIt wouldn't make much sense to choose TK over JU if you're flying to Scandinavia or Russia. So I disagree that TK is the transfer panacea.
Delete@Anonymous14 September 2018 at 11:36
Delete"No one would go from Serbia to Dubrovnik in winter..." I used to spend weeks in Dubrovnik during winter when I was a child. Belgrade is so polluted and awful during winter so escape to the coast is a great thing.
Well that's why there are winter flights to Egypt and Tunis and not to Dubrovnik.
Delete@ Anon at 15:12 I so know what you mean. I don't intend to travel to Dubrovnik during Summer anymore. Did it twice now and it's just way too touristy for me. The old town is a madhouse, the prices are insane and I live in Scandinavia...not exactly a cheap place. In my opinion, to really experience the surreal beauty of Dubrovnik in all its glory, it's best to visit it in the off season. Late autumn or early spring preferably. You can rent airbnb even in the old town for a reasonable price instead of staying in the hills and really soak up the true local Mediterranean spirit. You can get lost in the city and just explore without feeling like you're in a metro during rush hour.
DeleteThis is what I advise to all my colleagues and friends as well.
What's the point of a single weekly flight? They should offer at least two flights.
ReplyDelete7 days long tourist packages. BWK depends on hotels and works in the coordination with them.
DeleteI hope they do fly the route more than once per week. Anyway it would be a nice addition to the network if it starts.
DeleteThere were roumors saying that Croatia pulls all the strings possible JU not to fly to ZAD although it has no right to stop them.
DeleteWas there any update regarding to the trial where JU was accussed to transport passengers from Croatia via BEG to the third countries without rights to do it although it has been done by many other air carriers (TK for example)?
Of course JU has the right to do it.
DeleteIt's fascinating how hostile the government is towards JU
DeleteNationalism, so sad. And they have been destroyed in the coast by LCCs and LH group.
DeleteWhy would Croatian govt. need to be friendly to JU?
DeleteThey don't need to be friendly, but they shouldn't be hostile either. There's no need to distort the market or apply double standards.
DeleteYou don't have all info as much as I don't. The govt. has their own reasons in regulating access to the market.
DeleteFR flies to ZAD and they are afraid of JU
DeleteThat's a valid argument. FR is more important for ZAD than JU is so why cause problems to a business partner?
DeleteBecause that's protectionism. And besides, FR and JU are after completely different markets.
DeleteWell said
DeleteSo what? The state can chose their business partners and others should go looking for other opportunities.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteHow come Belgrade-Brac could be more profitable for them then Belgrade-Nis??
ReplyDelete"...in which agencies committed themselves to purchasing seventy seats per flight."
DeleteThey said they will consider INI but nothing happened yet. INI seems to be a bit asleep at the moment. The only new addition will be VIE.
DeleteThe main issue is that they don't have enough ATRs available to launch any new regional routes.
DeleteI don't see how they could compete with FR and W6 out of Nis to western Europe.
DeleteIt is not that hard to get new planes if you have routes to fly
Delete@anon 9.31
DeleteThey can compete. FR and W6 are not cheap close to the date of flight, nowhere in Europe. Plus JU could offer daily frequences.
They don't have the aircraft to operate daily flights from Nis, especially in summer.
DeleteLets not forget that JU flies (or has codeshares) to many destinations where LCC cannot due to bilateral or where there is not enough demand for LLC to fly (TLV, BEY, SVO, IST, LED, OTP, SJJ, TGD, TIV etc.)
DeleteI wonder when Turkish will launch daily flights to INI. It might as well happen, Serbia is becoming so popular with Turkish tourists plus they could get transfer passengers from the South.
DeleteBilateral should be checked. I could not find it online, but maybe it says there something like "one air carrier is allowed to fly to only one destination in each of the countries using no bigger than A321 or B738 airplane". I would not be surprised something like this really to exist.
DeleteLets not forget that in bilateral between Canada and Serbia it is written that only AC and JU are allowed to fly between these two countries.
There are rumours DCV forbade TK to fly ESB-BEG. Why would they allow them to fly IST-INI?
Are you sure Air Transat is not allowed to fly to Belgrade? Is that bilateral available online?
DeleteSkyservice flew from Toronto to Beograd as well
Deleteyes, I am sure, Serbia recently signed new bilateral to Canada and it allows only JU and AC to fly between these 2 countries
DeleteGreat news for Zadar/Brac, I'm sure these flights will be packed during summer.
ReplyDeleteHow long would Zadar-Brac approximately take?
ReplyDeleteAround half an hour.
DeleteI think it was Skywork that flew the triangle route Berne - Zadar- Brac- Berne
DeleteYep that's how that's how they operated this year.
DeleteThey planned the same for next year with more frequencies. Unfortunately they went bankrupt.
DeleteWasn't the airline's owner or CEO half Croatian?
Delete@13:25
DeleteFormer ceo was Croatian or had Croatian roots. It’s a few years ago, when he left Skywork
Great news. Hope it happens.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia needs more regional aircraft and they need them fast.
ReplyDeleteJU has no cash for new planes unfortunately
DeleteConsulate General of Serbia in Rijeka, biggest Serbian ethnic minority group in Croatia in and around Rijeka, touristic potential as well with Opatija Riviera and Kvarner Islands are frequently visited by guests from Belgrade and Vojvodina, significant exports and imports If goods for Serbia via Rijeka Port and some other business ties as well, yet nobody even mentions RJK and both the airport and Air Serbia do nothing (Croatia Airlines omitted deliberately as their attitude to Rijeka is shameful). Strange in my opinion. A
DeleteBut isn't it problematic that it's just too close to Zagreb?
DeleteOf course they do. Plus they have government.
Delete@An. 9.25
DeleteUsing its own car, it makes sense for what you say, as it's only about an hour and a half from practically any point in and around Rijeka to Zagreb airport.. But if one has to rely on public transport, it might be 5 hours of more to reach Opatija, Krk, Crikvenica, and that in regular days not to mention peak summer season when highways and roads are jammed and travel times double, so passenger practically loses one day of work or holidays on travel in each direction. In my opinion the best solution would be for Air Serbia to do something similar to what JAT had before, during ex-yu times : triangle BEG-PUY-RJK-BEG in the morning, and BEG-RJK-PUY-BEG in the evening, of course not daily for the beginning, but 3 weekly, on the same days, the best Mo We Fr. And ATR-72 is ideal for the service, which could be operated year-round, reduced to 2 days in winter, and with additional 1 weekly PUY only in summer on Sa or Su. Of course, if JU had spare capacity for it which it does not, at least at the moment.
That sounds good actually. Seems like they had smart scheduling planning back ib the day.
DeleteYes, and not only planning and scheduling, the whole JAT was very good company, especially period 1985-1990, no matter what some kids poisoned by their olders think and speak of it here. I have worked in 6 companies after, and I guarantee JAT was the best one, of course taking into consideration the time frame. And I am proud I was part of it. And btw : these RJK/PUY flights were double daily from BEG, operated by DC-9 /737-300 /727, depending on pax numbers and with LF around 90%.All domestic and Middle East flights were scheduled to connect to European and long-haul network, and just one curiosity for the end:at the time JAT had 35 planes, Emirates had 8, 3x727 and 5x310
DeleteJAT was a state run not for profit commie company so it would have been good to work for. The real world is a lot different.
DeleteI can nothing but feel sorry for brainwashed kids poisoned by their elders. That's all I am going to say about "state run not for profit commie company" and about my whole life, which I have been living in Parallel Universe, not real world
DeleteQatar Airways is a state run company. So is the Emirates if I'm not mistaken. Only the two best airlines in the world. Things aren't as black and white, reality is far more complicated. I'm totally anti-communism, but some people have a very skewed perspective of the kind of country Yugoslavia was, especially in the latter half of its existence. It actually had way more mixed economy than you'd think and it certainly wasn't a communist country. It was socialist with its own brand of socialism.
DeleteThat's not to say that it didn't have many problems, but JAT was a solid, globally recognized company at the level that none of the ex-Yugoslav flag carriers will achieve any time soon, if ever.
If they start these flights they will be flying to pretty much every commercial airport in Croatia. Only Rijeka and Osijek left.
ReplyDeleteOsijek is way too close to have flights to BEG. Although Air Serbia wanted to fly Osijek charters this summer but didn't get approval.
Delete:/
DeleteWill the Croatian CAA allow them? They blocked them to start flights to Zadar a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteI think 2 p/w would be enough to start off this. They should consider Dubrovnik year-round.
ReplyDeleteNo rather SPU year round. It is larger and has more Business passengers plus DBV can also be served via Tivat.
DeleteTrue but they obviously think it can't work over winter.
DeleteI wonder how many passengers Air Serbia handled between SRB-HR in 2017
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Dubrovnik, Pula and Split but they handled 52,785 passengers between Belgrade and Zagreb in 2017.
DeleteI think we might get more info on Air Serbia's network plans next month when they mark 5 years of their cooperation with Etihad. This is when we will possibly find out about any long haul plans they might have.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they will have none. They should return that A330 asap and stop wasting money.
DeleteThey increased New York frequency for 2018 and this site wrote about starting Toronto next year, meaning second A330 is around the corner. Your hope will shuffle off this mortal coil soon.
DeleteOh wow, so there is need for BWK in the end. I see this as a direct competition vs JP.
ReplyDeleteБраво
if tour operators are already willing to take over the seat sales then JU doesn't even have any risk for BWK charters.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Very much in contrast to ZAD.
DeleteBut it would be a shame if the public couldn't purchase tickets directly. Tour operators would make flight-only tickets very expensive so that everyone rather buys their packages.
Agree, but lets not forget that for any Aviolet destination no tickets can be purchased directly
DeleteNice to see Brac airport taking the initiative and talking to many airlines.
ReplyDeleteShame Eurowings cancelled their plans for Brac this year but they are an absolute mess at the moment.
DeleteEurowings is the mess I mean.
DeleteI actually think this would be an excellent summer route with triangle routing BEG-ZAD-BWK-BEG.
ReplyDeleteI think these flights could perform well on their own, without the Zadar stop.
DeleteGood seasonal summer route.
ReplyDeleteThey could also look into Maribor and Portorož.
ReplyDeleteWho would fly there?
DeleteJAT in 2010 used to fly to Portoroz in , even got fifth freedom for POW-FCO flights but this freedom was never used by them.
DeleteAlso Maribor was regular destination from Belgrade before the war
ATR72 would have payload restrictions at Portorož.
DeleteJAT used to have so many interesting initiatives and creative solutions. So sad successive governments did not want to recover the company.
DeleteGuys, once again : 2010 it was not JAT any more. JAT, Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, was flag carrier of Yugoslavia. And it was very good and big carrier for those times, bigger than for example Austrian or Turkish. When country disintegrated, the company failed as well. Everything after 1992, even if with the same name, was not the same company but leftovers of the leftovers. And 2010 it was not even the same name and abbreviation any more - it was Jat Airways
DeleteYou are right, it should have been written Jat Airways but it is more than obvious from the text that in 2010 JAT could not have flown to POW.
DeleteJAT become Jat in 2003
Formally in 2003 , actually, really and factically in 1992
DeleteWell whatever they do, I hope they start at least one new rpute next year. It's been a while.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the year it was reported they were looking into Brac, Mostar and Nis.
DeleteThe positive is that they are increasing frequencies on a few routes this winter so I expect to see more growth in 2019.
DeleteWell we are entering the last few months of Etihad management at Air Serbia. From January JU will have a new CEO. We will see what happens in terms of their network growth and strategy.
Delete@10.23 all of those are low yielding routes in my opinion.
DeleteI wouldn't hold my breath anon 10.27
DeleteBrac is not low yielding. TOs are willing to guarantee even for the whole plane once a week - it is still a short and on an ATR a very economical/not expensive route to fly.
DeleteBrac is developing nicely. Considering where they were a few years ago, this is great.
ReplyDeleteIs the demand for this route so high?
ReplyDeleteProbably high enough to fill an ATR during peak summer period.
DeleteHow come JU can fly to ZAG, SPU and DBV , but not to ZAD ?
ReplyDeleteIf they start BWK and ZAD that would mean they would have 6 destinations to Croatia in summer.
ReplyDeleteThere should be some sort of a bilateral between Serbia and Croatia. Quite possibly it might say that you cannot serve more than 4 airports. Anyone has insights?
DeleteThere are no bilateral between Serbia and EU members. Only open sky
DeleteHopefully this isn't the only new route they are thinking of for 2019. Also they should really work at launching year round flights. That said I'm surprised their Venice flights survived as a year long destination.
ReplyDeleteTo the best of my knowledge they were entitled to subsidies for the first winter of operation. In summer season it is not that hard to fill 4 times weekly ATR. The biggest problem with that route is timing, there are two morning and two evening flights making it very hard to connect to vast train network from Venezia Mestre station.
DeleteThis is the second winter they are flying to Venice so it's no longer subsidised.
DeleteThey have developed the route. It is very convenient for many in North East part of Italy, but I repeat the schedule is not the best. If better scheduled it could even be performed with A319.
DeletePerspective regional destination in my opinion - Nis, Zadar, Maribor, Budapest and Ankara.
ReplyDeleteThere were rumours that DCV did not issue permit to TK to fly ESB-BEG so I am not sure Turks would allow JU to fly to ESB knowing their behaviour in the past towards JU.
DeleteHopefully they can secure approval for these flights. That is the main issue. This summer they wanted to fly charters from Osijek for some tour agency but were not issued a permit.
ReplyDeleteI don't think ot would be too big of a problem since it wouldn't affect OU.
DeleteWill BWK reach 100,000 soon?
ReplyDeleteLast year the total number of passengers was 21,596 and the growth was + 74%!!!!!!!!!! CRAZY!
Mr. Tihomir Marinković has to be a proud mayor ;)
Gubljenje vremena za AS. Cak i da kupe agencije sva mesta.
ReplyDeleteZbog čega?
DeleteSta ti mislis koliko ce im agencije platiti? Dok imaju potrebu da razviju mnogu bolju lokalnu mrezu jedan mali aerodrom im nista ne znacu. Spram Liona i Krakova je cisto gubljenje vremena.
DeleteIsto gubljenje vremena kao i letenje za Prevezu ili Lamezia Terme! Ako agencije plate carter ili kvazi carter (redovna sa svim otkupljenim kartama) zasto bi to bio problem za kompaniju.
DeleteLinija za BWK bi sigurno bila isplativija tokom leta nego ZAG tokom zime.
DeleteU charterima je zivi cash
B733 will operate BEG-DBV tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteBack to basics. lol
It is nothing new. YU-AND has flown today to FRA
DeleteTomorrow again. This is such a bad situation, things are definitely no looking up for JU.
DeleteWhat are you talking about? Pilots for 733s have contracts and now that there are less charters, they have to make it up with regular flights.
DeleteAnd what are Airbus pilots doing since they didn't add flights in general?!?! Also today is the last flight to Malta. :( RIP JU to MLA.
DeleteMalta is a seasonal route. That's been the case for years.
DeleteAerodrom Brac je veoma problematican za sletjanje i poljetanje kaj je vjetar promjenljiv,potrebna je velika paznja,za ATR 72 sa velikim propelerima za ovaj aerodrom maksimum sa 44 putnika ako je zaista ljepo vreme, ostalo je rizik i za zrakoplov i za putnike.
ReplyDeleteKakve su to gluposti?csa sa atrom 72 obavlja sve chartere za turoparatera gruber cijelu ljetno sezonu 3 leta subotom bez ikakvih problema i bez ikakvih ogranicennja..kakva opasnost?
DeletePa cak je 737 800 poljetao sa 170 putnika i svom prtljagom na letu..
Zasto bio onda bio problem za atr?
Ima par dana da je jedan Anonymous tu u postu o novim letovima TUI a za RJK dijelio savjete pilotima da ne slijecu po losem vremenu na Krk jer je to jako opasan aerodrom LOL
DeleteIn 2011 a LearJET 55 corporate jet, sustained substantial damage beyond repair in a runway excursion accident on landing at Brac Airport (BWK), Croatia.
DeleteThe airplane overran the runway end after landing on runway 04, crashed through a perimeter fence and ended up on a rocky surface five metres below runway level.The causes of this crash is strong bad winds from the sea and clouds and too heavy load in aircraft,all of us in municipality of Brac remember this bad situation.