Anyone know how the new routes are performing?

I wonder how many new passengers they will add compared to last year. Could they finally reach 3 million passengers?

Hell No

Not difficult to top European growth when you are getting money for 12 of your new routes.

Their fleet can't sustain that.

Of course, makes sense.

It can if the entire fleet is operational. Like today.

Only RJK and ZAD are getting money.

All of them are performing nicely these days... I gues MAD and BCN lead the way, with HEL and KRR performing nicely as well.

Let's wait and see how October, November and December perform. That will be the real indicator

I was referring to the Nis routes, which are subsidized.

Let's see how many can they sustain next year.

and Nis

I don't know who and when made up the Rijeka and Zadar subsidy argument and presented it as fact in the comments here.

But it is not a commonplace. Planes are old and overexploited so they break more often. Especially the turboprop section.

You are already boring with all these stories...

OU is getting money for all domestic routes (PSO)
Wizz air is getting money for destinations like SJJ or TGD from BUD
The way how Slovenian Government protects JP despite all the debts is scandalous.
The Government of Montenegro pays the debts of YM
N.Macedonian Government pays W6 to fly from N.Macedonia

And Air Serbia is a problem because they get money from Serbian Government to open so many new destinations and not from BEG but from secondary airport like INI.

Yeah, right.

Especiallly if 2xB733 returns to fleet

It' s nice change considering the story for the past two years was mostly of routes being suspended. This is a nice contrast. Congratulations.

Well done. And it seems the route selection turned to be very smart.

I have heard CAI is performing well too.

Of course that traffic in November for example can't be compared with July. From the other side I expect they will make some promotions for connecting flights (for example special price for HEL-BEG-CAI) and on that way try to fill the planes during low season

They said a few weeks ago that this expansion is being strategically done for future route expansion. Do they mean long haul?

Agree about turboprops.

+1

What does "performing nicely" mean?

In my opinion they should focus in the future on increasing frequencies on these new routes.

I'm pretty sure all will be kept in next year's network.

They will probably add Kraljevo soon as well.

Opposite from "performing badly"

This summer the route network growth has really been above expectations. Not surprised they were first in Europe in that respect.

Zna li ko,kako su prošle nove rute u prvom mesecu,kakav je LF?

I am really feeling this major expansion, but I am worried they will turn into Adria, cancellation wise, unless they get an additional airplane ... their schedule is soooo tight.

3 million is possible. They are operating over 1,000 charters this summer, plus all the new routes.

*among national carriers. LCCs add over 20 new routes each summer ;)

Winter will also be busy. From the 21 routes they launched 18 are year-round. We will see if they keep Larnaca in winter since Wizz Air will be flying there this winter too.

Madrid the best, Rijeka the worst.

Oooh... Come on give me a break. Any airline can say I have a destination growth if they fly to them once or twice a week!!

^ Something tells me you just made that up off the top of your head.

Which route does Air Serbia fly once per week?

Also could you tell me how many weekly frequencies does Croatia Airlines new routes over the past 3 years have?

JU does not have any scheduled route operating once per week.

It's always easier when a project is backed financially by a rich, Arab state or a government helping the establishment.
Luckily for Serbia it is still not an EU member. Otherwise, back to the classic 737 era...

I love how some are triggered by this.

Didn't we listen until yesterday from people like yourself that Etihad will pull out of Air Serbia, that Etihad is a disaster, that Etihad is leaching off Air Serbia etc... Make up your mind.

Well, ASL is going to kick off from INI in under two weeks. Did they organize their presencr at INI? What is the status on that?

Anonymous5 July 2019 at 09:32

Official data. Barcelona and Zadar are also performing well, Helsinki, Kiev and Nice so and so, Cairo and Krasnodar rather weakly. Kiev (most) and Helsinki (half) are operated by CR9.

Long haul growth is next.

Yes, they have hired ground staff in Nis, catering truck moved there, plane will be there in two weeks.

09:34 Snapped

@ Anon 9:32 - exactly!!! Those "performing nicely" and/or "well" are formulations that you can comfortably "okaciti macku za rep". Of course, the same goes for the people that have heard these things from someone... Who? Baba Vanga? What a load of ...

09:34 Troll alert

Didn't Nemjee say that CAI is also performing well?

That is when complete collapse of timetable will happen when they pull one plane to Ini. The situation is already critical with their old fleet.

@ Anon 9:40
With what equipment and where? Regional airline should stay exactly what it is, a regional airline. Otherwise, by chasing megalomanic projects, that all know how will end, it could end very poorly for the entire company and have a severe impact on business overall... Give it a rest already because AS will never be old JAT, nor will BEG or ZAG be BEG or ZAG from the 1980s

They would obviously lease equipment. Same way they leased 3 planes to add so many new routes this summer.

It would also be interesting to see which routes from Nis will perform best.

Cairo is performing fantastically with a lot of transfers from Milan. HEL is doing really well where many flights that were supposed to be on the CRJ were increased to A319... yesterday's flight being a good example.

Anonymous, Aegean does the same. Most routes they launch have two or three weekly frequencies. They are then increased as the market matures. After all that's what they did in Belgrade. Some years ago it was three weekly on the Q400.

So far all the growth has been through Belgrade airport. Combined with other carriers it makes for a crowded experience at BEG. Vinci had enough time to prepare. Tomorrow marks 18 months since concession was awarded to them and 2019 marks five years since they signed MoU. No excuse for being unprepared

Leasing planes for long haul operations that for sure won't be competitive.... Hmmm... Excellent business plan. P.s. not trying to be a troll but just wanting to be realistic.

Nicely, well, fantastically? Haha... You guys crack me up...

Who would have thought we would be here this time last year.

Congratuatlions JU.

@ Anon 9:32 - exactly!!! Those "performing nicely" and/or "well" are formulations that you can comfortably "okaciti macku za rep". Of course, the same goes for the people that have heard these things from someone... Who? Baba Vanga? What a load of ...

"Well" means that CLF is higher than 85%, "bad" that CLF is well below 50%. And yes, there are many transfer passengers from MXP via BEG to CAI, this direction so far only.

Cairo is not performing fantastically at all.

Who exactly is unprepared, I do not understand your post. Air Serbia or VINCI? And what makes you think Air Serbia or VINCI are unprepared?

True. Back then, most people were moaning that the airline was shrinking.

^ Anonymouses claiming which route performs well and which not. You have any proof to your claim. No, didn't think so.

Had no doubt people would spin to find a negative in this. We have more choice and more destinations then ever before which is something we should be satisfied with.

Hmm, I have some feeling that all the news would be perfectly ok and trustworthy if they were saying that Air Serbia is performing terribly on all the routes.

But saying that the result is positive is not easily forgiven in Serbia or accepted in the neghbourhood

I hope Nis base will grow with more destinations in the future.

Don't you know how many ex Jat Airways employees here can't stand any success of Air Serbia?

At the time when they were employed in Serbian national carrier passengers were flying with Bulgarian B733's in sardine configuration with holes in the tanks, but anyhow they keep convincing us that Air Serbia is bad, very bad.

There were even predictions that OU will have this year more passengers than JU :-)

Air Serbia has been successful in Beirut so why is anyone surprised about Cairo? It's a massive market and there is room for pretty much everyone. Reality is one thing, wishful thinking another. Any further discussion on this matter is pointless.

Based on multiple delays, extensive critics and poor ratings on al all avio forums they will have trouble attracting new passengers. They are constantly late I personally don' t want ro fly them for that reason.

Sure, it's all plot against Air Serbia and not the fact that it's quite hard to get a grip on the fact that CAI is performing fantastically, especially through MXP transfers when there are direct flights on that route for under 300 eur (baggage included).

^ There are also numerous nonstop flights from Beirut to Paris yet Air Serbia's morning Paris flight is full with Lebanese people transferring from Beirut. Just because there is a nonstop option from one city does not mean people won't use transfer options. There are nonstop flights from Belgrade to New York with very affordable prices yet you will find many people flying with Lufthansa, Austrian and Turkish.

So lock the topic since Nemjee has made his ruling that no further discussion is needed.

Pola industrije lizuje dugolinijske avione

No keep it open so you can spit venom and trash JU.

huh, july-august is always hell at any airport

for me, true measure of how good the airport is towards customers, would be delays of more than 15 mins caused by airport.

You mean, apart from staff being arrogant, dismissive and incompetent, why wouldn't you want to fly with them. Don't be a hater.

$$$$$$$ is not equal to $.

On the contrary, they will most likely have a record number of passengers this year (3 million). Your comment is so out of the context, spiced up with typical Balkan chauvinism. Doubt you ever flew with them, btw.

JU is not a regional airline. Other ex-YU carriers, on the other hand, can be categorised as such.

I doubt they will rush into KVO. They will wait for the market to stabilise like in Nis, and then add, but I guess far fewer routes (4-6), as compared to Nis.

And close just as many down :)

The difference with JU is that should anything go awry, two A319's are parked in Abu Dhabi to jump to assistance.

Once or twice a week? Hehe. Zavist je cudna stvar. It blurs facts with fiction.

I bet you are not aware of the fact that many of the delays (especially for flying to or over Germany) are caused by Eurocontrol that does not allow planes to take off on time due to occupied European air space.
It has nothing to do with air carrier and it happened to me on almost every fllight I took in last 6 months.
But, hey, why wouldn't we blame Air Serbia? It feel sooo good...

Actually, good for us that the rich Arabs came to the rescue. That's why we have the strongest ex-YU carrier by far. I sincerely hope one day you will find your own sponsor for your failing regional airline. Good luck! ;)

No it wont. ;) But you could copy and save this message, so you don't have to rewrite and repost similar ones every time. Copying and pasting the same one is easier. ;)

The number of passenger JU carries is not even close to be equal with any other ex-Yu carrier.

Besides a bit of crowding at the passport area, the airport is very much functional. Nije realno ocekivati kule i gradove od nekoga ko je usao u kompaniju pre samo 6 meseci. Give them a chance, please.

JU indeed is a regional carrier, a good one but still regional. One route doesnt make it a global player.

Other exyu carriers are not even worth a mention.

Bravo Serbia!

Anonymous at 10:44
Selling transfer tickets well below cost does not mean that a route is doing good let alone fantastic. But exactly the opposite.
JU is just subsidizing the travel needs of people who neither originate or are destined for Serbia.

Just to put an end to this meaningless discussion, here are some number for today`s routes which were added in June

KRR-BEG 116-3
BEG-ZAD 60
BEG-RJK 34
ZAD-BEG 51
RJK-BEG 35
BEG-CAI 132

Overall, flights are pretty full throughout the day with BEY,ZRH,ARN,CPH,ATH and SVO going above 160 pax :) On the other hand, my today`s favourite is 10 business class pax on LHR-BEG route :)

Anon 12.07

Either give proof that JU is dumping prices for transfers or stop spreading fake news on here. Transfer business can be successful if done right and since JU didn't cut those routes (like BUD, WAW, VAR...) it must mean it does well.

pure gold: "We intend to make an important regional hub there where roads lead from the centre of the Balkans to all four sides of the world"

or is google translate to blame?

And how about 6 years ago?
From a dying airline to one of the best in the region and with Etihad as a back up?
Just crazy...
Nis airport needs to be refurbished from inside. I do not understand why the GoS is not doing it? Its interior is embarrassing.

No, it doesn't mean that a route is doing well if it continues to be flown.
For normal carriers it is of course but for state owned national projects profitability is irrelevant.
As long as the state covers the loses they can fly wherever with little regard for profitability.

Just my2cents

Why did they cancel then WAW, IST, VAR, BUD, OHD?

Me, being Croatian from Eastern Slavonia, really hope that all new routes Air Serbia launches will be successful, because OU simply has forgot us here in OSI and surrounding, even with the couple of ZAG flights they introduced. Tickets are mostly cheaper, BEG way easier to reach and the network gets wider and wider, perfect for Slavonia. So I really ask all of the commentators here (from both sides of the border) to simply stop this bashing of AS and OU and hope that both of them perform well and finally bring back our region on the flight maps of Europe. Thanks.

Anons 11:20, 11:26 and 11:38 I like JU to the contrary of what you may think and their product is ok but they are always delayed and I personally don't like wasting time and waiting at airports. Last 20 days have been terrible! Eurocontrol must have some very special treatment of JU over most other carriers denying them to take off on time!?! I would say one of the problem is that FRA flight out of Belgrade almost never leaves on time from Belgrade then of course loses slots etc. Anon 11:26 a special reply for you ... I have flown them and many others probably more times than you were even able to see a real plane; FYI sorry to disapoint you but I happen to have a Gold Sky Team (Sky Priority) status for 9 consecutive years in a raw!))

I think this season needs to be the last for the B733. A post from skyscraper forum shows that:

*YU-AND hasnt flown since 16.09.2018
* YU-ANK hasnt flown since 12.03.2019

Im guessing its becoming harder and more expensive to keep them flying. Replace the 3 with A319's would be ideal, cheaper maintenance and better fuel efficiency combined with streamlining the fleet. Shouldnt be too hard finding some decent ac as carriers move to the A320neo.

JU needs to do something with their A330. 1 route and 1 aircraft isnt efficient for them.

Another 2 aircraft and 3 destinations I believe is ideal.

With 9W out of the picture, Indian tourist numbers increasing, DEL or BOM would be ideal for JU. Indigo has previously approached JU offering to assist in filling tourists to Serbia. Combined with transfers especially to North America, this could help boost numbers JU needs to up their frequencies.

YYZ has been talked alot. Again, same argument above.

PVG would be ideal for the amount of pax travelling between the 2 as well as the increasing business, tourism and trade between Serbia and China, not to mention transfer options via BEG.

At 4 p/w each and JFK boosted to daily, it will allow for better utilisation in the slower months when freqiencies are down and ac on scheduled maintenace. With EY grounding many A330's Im sure theyll be more than happy to offload them to JU.

ASL hasnt had a JP scenario. Worst was always some delays. Its extremely rare that they combine flights, TGD TIV and ZAG LJU was the only 2 I can think of but dont remember the last time it happened.

TK is another example. They launched BEG initially with 3 pw.

Well, it seems you do not wish to hear anything except your own theory.

Yes, JU334 never leaves on time as it does not get permission to do it from Eurocontrol.In the most cases (not always) it is the only reason why JU334 is delayed.

From the other side JU335 is losing its slot at FRA and then needs to wait for new slot together with new Eurocontrol permission to depart to BEG.

The same problem has Lufthansa with their late evening (LH1410) departure to BEG - their on time performance on that flight is only 54% while Air Serbia on the flight nr. JU334 to FRA has 47% on time performance.

So everybody is affected with Eurocontrol, Mr. Gold Status

Crowding at passport control isnt as bad as what I thought it would be. My recent experience was a small line for the smart gate while a massive one for the desks and it was at the desks the line was super fast. All desks were open and now they have put the tape barriers forming 1 line so people go to the first available desk. Maybe 5 minutes waiting at passport control at most.

There is some work happening at the airport. A couple weeks back I did notice construction vehicles by the C apron. Another smoking section has opened by gate C4 and small duty free retails in the C and A concourses. Renovating the A gates and additional bus gates should give some additional capacity, as well as the plan to seperate arriving and departing pax.

The biggest challenge would be to expand the arrivals hall in my opinion.

@ Parti

I wouldnt say one of the best. EY wasted alot of JU resources on ideas that just costed ALOT of money in the end with nothing but losses to show for it. Now its cost cutting with a half glass of water and some salty fish shapped biscuits. Not even Jat had this!

You are right. Jat Airways had much worse episodes

https://www.blic.rs/vesti/tema-dana/sa-jatovog-aviona-otpadali-srafovi/nq0wk29
http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/135/hronika/204051/jatov-avion-skliznuo-sa-piste-u-istanbulu.html
http://akademediasrbija.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7322:za-boing-kreve-daemo-25-miliona-&catid=47:vesti&Itemid=71

LO launched BEG in 2007 with 3 weekly on E-145. ;)

"Prizemljeni Divac, Nole i Miki" claims M.Brkic on a front page. Not true, registrations YU-APA, APC and APH are flying multiple flights today and yesterday. Any flight tracking site will show they have also flown multiple flights every day for weeks, with APH only having a break between Jun 24 and Jul 3. Best airlines in the world have experienced unplanned weather, mechanical or other outages during peak periods. Ignoring the rest of industry and couple of heavy storms at BEG, M.B is stating that Air Serbia has "nesposobni menadžment" and "pretenciozne neznalice". Without any evidence, M.B claims: "To što se događa s avionima Er Srbije posledica je nemara, javašluka, neznanja, loše organizacije, slabog održavanja i nedostatka novca."

1. Its not what you or I would say but relevant and official rating.
2. Glass of water and biscuits is a standard among European flag carriers. “Кагњеће под сачем” can be found on “Ибарска магистрала”.
3. The company posts profit, as shown on their annual reports.
4. Even if it didnt make the profit, which is still just a accusation with no grounds among haters, all I can say that this has to be the best tax payers money spent in the last 70 years.

Does it take more than 6 months to fix this? This is gate A9, someone posted it on another forum and it looks a little bit like Chernobyl:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190626/8e52c2e1f742e9effc1dbeba3f779d20.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190626/e002877f98ba54ae2c3241373fa4f7eb.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190626/e002877f98ba54ae2c3241373fa4f7eb.jpg

Speaking of Chernobyl, Vinci was able to create new shelter and put in place above exploded reactor in only six years. That was stupendous feat of engineering on a global scale. So Vinci gets a credit for Chernobyl but not (yet) for Belgrade airport.

Ko jos njegove tekstove uzima za ozbiljno?

So much hate for (Air) Serbia on here, it's not healthy for you guys.

LH FRA flights are always horribly delayed!

@ parti

Euro standard is a full bar at least, as well with a snack. A3 and RO both offer a sandwich and a snack on top of a full bar service. TK no need to comment. Jat was at least having a full bar service and a pathetic sandwhich in its last days, on top of the other extras that ASL today charges.

Profit has been proven every year to come from some form of government subsidy and there are many posts on here showing this. However, the losses are reducing but they are still not profitable. This is why there has been a massive reduction in everything, even to the point of serving business class food in a cardboard box and items from the economy buy on board service.

I agree that money should be spent on the national carrier, but soo much resources have been wasted. For that money, JU could of bought a fleet of brand new ATR's and double that they currently have (at least!).

Full business class meals and service have been reinstated for almost a year now.

Flying BA and Alitalia, as well as Air Serbia on regular basis and all I can say is that your comment is totally untrue.
Air Serbia is one of better airlines Ive been flying in last 5 years, taking in consideration punctuality, service, legroom etc...
Yes theres airlines with better overall service, but we are talkin Turkish witch is among worlds best airlines.
Sorry, cant take your opinion as relevant since your comments are based on personal/political grounds.

And the sad truth is that it all could have been Wizz Airs success !
All these destinations - these frequencies - people at AS probably sat down and thought what would we do if we were Wizz Air ?

Also opening flights to new destinations twice a week is typical Wizz Air strategy as seen with Lyon.

A whole can of opportunities opens up for AS with destinations like Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo , Catania, Bologna .

What makes my opinion political? Because of a difference in opinion?

Just to freshen the memory, 2017 'profit' of 16 million € came after subsidies of:

-21mil€ state subsidies
-12mil€ of state aid used to lower expense
-9mil€ exchchange rate differences

https://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/07/air-serbia-posts-record-2017-profit.html?m=1

Its all facts used to make an opinion, articles published here. As I said, I am all for supporting the national airline, however ALOT has been wasted on unnecessary crap that have only inflated losses. Where are these blankets and pillows in Y, the metal cutlery and 3 course meals, onboard wifi, elevate play IFE? This was not free, while JU needs more, newer ATR's resources were wasted. Just as an example.

BA I have never flown and cannot judge. AZ I have however over 2 years ago and all I remember was them losing my luggage and their unprofessional and rude 'I dont give a shit' attitude from their staff (both onboard and on ground).

I have flown both A3 and OS in the last month and its the A3 service JU should be following.

Regarding the boxes in business, I know it has since been changed but an airline making 'profit' would not need to make this drastic change and this is my point. Cuts in catering was to allow JU to save on cost and overall it hasnt done much (I believe only 1.5 million €). Coffee, tea and a couple non alcoholic drinks are not expensive!

I like your pragmatism - do Croats from Osijek use Air Serbia flights to the Dalmatian coast ?

Wizz is not registered in Serbia so it is better for flag carrier to expand. Wizz can observe opportunities at LCC underserved capital airports in the exyu region and expand there.

Air Serbia already serves Palma de Mallorca, Palermo and Catania as charters this summer. They also serve AHO and SUF in the neighbourhood.

JATBEGMEL, your comments over time show your passion for making Air Serbia better and that is a great thing. There are things Air Serbia could improve on and constructive criticism is fantastic. Air Serbia fans want airline to be better and stronger than before and that also includes one days being self sufficient and profitable. Current growth is the right way to generate more passengers, more revenue and strenghten the network for further growth. Dedicated business class with pillows and other frills helped improve the airline image but is not in line with the industry trends and customer needs. Customers are getting used to Buy on board and other aux services, it looks like they are here to stay.

Can you post the link for that article please

I am always in support of something domestic.

Nothing wrong with buy on board, its a great source of additional revenue. I think theyve cut back too much on their onboard service which isnt good either. QF for example have their onboard service and sell alcohol. JU should bring back a limited bar service, this isnt a major expense. JU reduced 1.5 million going from full catering to practically nothing. A bar/snack service wouldnt cost much but would improve customer satisfaction.

Onboard sale could go for alcohol, preordered hot meals, snacks such as chips and chocolates etc. Onboard duty free is a great source of revenue especially since all flights are extra Schengen.

Why, do you want to sue him?

https://www.danas.rs/naslovna/naslovna-za-5-jul-2019/

Someone should to put an end to his endless bitter nonsensical articles.

They can fly to Senegal for example, because a lot of Senegalese people live in Italy.
Azores Islands, Lisabon, Capo Verde, so many destinations, that you cannot find flights with reasonable prices at the moment.
They don't need to stick only with some strange destinations in Europe.

Yeswe hatethis cinoany who are run by government moved to Nis, fly old olanes, late in destination, has arogant stuff, exspenciveand appealing to pesent pesangers with no knowaladge of foreign languages. Yes I wish this minipol comoany cilapse and ut will as never invest only taik taik taik