Wouldn't it make more sense to feed traffic to the US and Canada?

So Belavia is probably ending BUD-BEG because of this,

This is a great news.

Well people can connect onto those too.

Cant you read the article? They are making MSQ BEG non stop from the winter timetable.
Mind you last winter they introduced a non stop flight on Saturdays so there is obviously a lot of demand. Especially since they tend to send E75 on Saturdays in stead of the tiny CRJ-200.

If they have this planned schedule, the connections are quite bad. Around 5 hour waiting time in BUD and no connections on the way back.

I have read it, I'm just saying that their decision might have been influenced by the launch of these flights since it has been one of the worst kept secrets.

Since JU is dragging its feet with long haul expansion, others will come to take away the cake and probably by dumping fares.

Hope prices for P2P passengers will be affordable.

So they will be arriving in BEG during the JU night wave and departing before the morning wave starts.

Ssht. Don't say this. They'll scaremonger you that Belgrade is a leading international hub and doesn't need another hub ٩(◕‿◕)۶

BEG-BUD-JFK-WAW-BEG is viable combination

LOT does not fly to Canada from Budapest. Just the US - Chicago and New York.

@9.13 yes with a 5 hour layover in Budapest.

I doubt that their decision to withdraw was influenced by this. it's simple, there is no enough demand, especially since it takes you approx the same time to get to Budapest by car and by plane

My guess is that they plan on re-scheduling their North American flights. Until now they relied on local demand so they didn't care about connections, now they do!

BEG-BUD 05.15-06.15

BUD-LCY 07.00-08.45
BUD-BRU 07.10-09.15
BUD-WAW 07.00-08.20


LCY-BUD 19.30-23.00
BRU-BUD 20.15-22.10
WAW-BUD 20.10-21.35

BUD-BEG 22.35-23.35

Either they will offer some really short connections or they will retime some of their flights. I think it makes more sense for the flight to leave BUD at 23.35 and to arrive at 00.35. It wouldn't be unheard of as more and more airlines schedule arrival to BEG after midnight. Some like Vueling schedule them around midnight but depart after sunrise. lol

Although they applied for slots, I think it's more likely for them to launch this route at the start of winter,

Anon 09.11

No one implied that BEG is a LEADING international hub but rather that it's an international hub that covers four continents thanks to JU"s growing network. No one can dispute that.

LO and B2 should have code-shared on the route!

I think BEG-MSQ matured and can survive on its own now, without the BEG tag. B2 relies on transfer passengers to a market that's largely underserved (Baltics and the CIS).

I have flown BEG-BUD and it' definitely does not take you as long as driving by car, especially in the summer when the boarder crossing between Serbia and Hungary is a nightmare.

Air Serbia should codeshare. LOT and JU are codeshare partners after all :D

LO can also sell flights to Krakow via BUD.

BEG-BUD-KRK
KRK-WAW-BEG

Like that they can offer morning arrival to southern Poland.

BEG-BUD 05.15-06.15
BUD-KRK 09.25-10.25

I think LO and JU no longer code-share. Just checked beg.aero and there is no code-share on today's WAW-BEG-WAW flight operated by LO's E95.

Along with Belgrade, LOT will also announce Prague and Sofia from Budapest.

No it will be September. That's when they will launch all the other from Budapest routes too.

It will depend on the price, but it's not as if you already don't have transfer options from BEG to the US.

Great. Good to see these flights won' end when Belavia stops the sector.

Not only that but flights will be daily too instead of current 2 weekly option.

I don't understand how they will fill these flights each day. Don't think the route will survive.

It will be a great option for London with much more affordable prices.

Healthy competition is always good for the passengers.

What will be the frequency of the Budapest-Bucharest service?

How many frequencies did JU have to Budapest?

+1

Strong start for a new route.

I suppose Prague will be departing in the morning with Brussels, London, Warsaw and Krakow.

It's a long-term investment, they probably don't expect it to work in the next two, three years until they expand their BUD operations.

Double daily, overnight flights like BEG and then an early afternoon departure.

JU also had daily flights at first.

And on top of that TAROM flies to Budapest too.

How long do flights between Belgrade and Budapest take?

This would be nice. Hope it happens.

London city is expensive to travel in. That’s why the majority of it’s passengers are business people

This route didn't really cross my mind it makes perfect sense for LOT and their ambitions at Budapest.

Around 40 minutes give or take.

Bad news for Air Serbia.

LOT will also launch Budapest-Seoul soon.

JU already has very competitive prices to JFK.

If this happens it would be the 13th route launched from BEG this year.

Another missed opportunity for JU.

Didn't someone post some numbers here some time ago that LOT is doing really poorly from Budapest?

Once they launch ICN then ZAG will become their biggest regional priority as it has the most demand to Korea.

Wizz Air did once upon a time but they were massacred by the competition.

This move shows JU's total and utter incompetence. Instead of launching flights to BUD (larger market) to feed JFK and the rest of the network they'll have LO to further thin out the demand from BEG in winter (smaller market). As a bonus, instead of providing money to JU to lease one or two damn more Atr's, they'll subsidize ludicrous flights from Nis which directly contribute to Hungarian tourism. This is the sole example among regional routes from BUD that the state emitter of tourism will be sponsoring the flights and not vice-versa. As a minimum, Krakow should have been launched from INI (or BEG long-ago). Instead of, Serbia is surrendering one more market to Poles, this time their own while subsidizing Hungarian tourism.

lets wait and see how long their endeavor in BUD lasts.

Their flights to the US are not performing really well.

Perfect for a day trip to Budapest => no need for a hotel.

Exactly this is really ideal! I just hope the prices will be ok.

I'm not convinced this will work.

Yes, nine of which are by JU.

It's not a missed opportunity. They flew to BUD and it didn't work out.

Why not buddy, tell us why? What are your fears and hopes for this route?

Are trains between Belgrade and Budapest currently operational? Or have they been discontinued while they are building the fast train tracks?

I really don't understand how is this perfect for a day trip - its a 5:10 flight, so need to be at 4:15 at airport. So, if you are going from Belgrade, you need to get up at 3-3:30am depending of your location etc. And then, spend a wonderful day at Budapest, really?
I mean, you can find hotels or apartments for really small amount, why would someone torture himself like this?
And of course, you expect that you will be flying for 10eur...

Kakav "opporunity" , ako znamo da je linija postojala I avioni su leteli poluprazni. Bilo bi sulududo gurati te letove. LOT trenutno ima dosta velike gubitke iz Budimpešte pošto su američki letovi dosta loše popunjeni i ovo je jedini način da probaju poboljšati popunjenost kabine. Ja sam 16 Juna leteo iz Čikaga do Budimpešte i bilo je najmanje 70 praznih mesta. Iako LOT prima subvencije od BUD aerodroma za ove letove mislim lično da su i dalje u gubitcima. AS je uradila dosta dobrih poteza i ukinula neprofitabilne linije u zadnje 2 godine . "Network planning" team AS je više nego dobar i to se vidi po novim linijama koje su odradili ove godine; pojačali i otvorili neke nove destinacije koje su se pokazale veoma uspešno. Naprimer zašto leteti za BUD ako taj isti avion može obaviti let ka jadranu na 5 različitih destinacija i biti skoro non stop pun? Ovde su ljudi jako negativni i samo vole da kritikuju, a u mnogo puta pokazuju veliko neznanje u avioindustriji.

How many times per week did Malev fly to Belgrade back in the day?

Daily on the Q400, six weekly in winter.

Nope, Novi Sad should be launched within a year.

Agree with last anon. Especially if the prices are affordable it it much better to simply fly.

The more new routes the better :)

They will be departing during JU's morning arrival wave :D

Yes, seems like that codeshare is dead.

Does JU codeshare with anyone to Warsaw?

Yes but it is one of the most convenient airports in London.

Looks as if it will.

I don't think they will get enough transfer traffic with such a limited network, while I don't think there will be enough P2P demand for daily flights.

Aэrologic, totally agree with you. If they were unable to compete with LO on WAW flights - and that was solely due to the fact JU had no jet smaller than A319 - they had to strike back to the Poles by lounching Krakow (or Katovice) by now. And that they coul do with the ATR. As for BUD, there`s no logic the two neighbouring capitals are down to two buses per day between them. None whatsoever.

I remember once, years ago, we made it from BUD to BEG in just 22 minutes onboard MA's Q400. However that was thanks to some favorable winds pushing us ahead. All other flights were around 40 minutes.

The winter was not really good for them, ORD had terrible load factor, but cargo was doing well.
But don't forget that they still don't really have feed network on any side. OK, at BUD they have KRK, but that's not much, they are just building the network.
LOT is hiring for BUD hub, they are looking for captains and first officers for Q400, Embraers, and for 787 too.

Anonymous18 July 2019 at 11:33
I'm sorry, I checked again, they are looking for Embraer and 787 pilots for BUD, no Q400.

LO already flies to ICN. And they offer good connections from ALL Croatian cities. Launching BUD-ICN would make no sense for the Croatian market, as I personally doubt that NK Tourist care about whether they change planes in BUD or WAW.

No, it THE most convenient airport.

JU completely surrendered the high growth Polish market to LO.
Another brilliant management decision.

BA888 can not fly to BEG from LCY via BUD. lol

This INI route is a disgrace.

Please don't tell me Hungarians are going to visit Southern Serbia.

'Disgrace'

You need to calm down.

Person that made a decision for Air Serbia to start long haul operations with only one plane and only one destination is responsible for this outcome. If Air Serbia started long haul with multiple destinations beyond just JFK, LOT would have avoided this battle. They are now under attack from yet another Star Alliance airline for long haul passengers. How long does it take for majority owner to realize Air Serbia future is based on long haul expansion?

Is JU allowed by the subsidy agreement to fly INI-BEG-BUD-BEG-INI instead of non-stop? BEG stop you could be applied to other bad performing routes.

So we could expect E195 on this route?

@ Anon 9:31 - sure it does - u need to be at airport min 1 hr ahead, can take u some 45 min to get to the airport, flight 45 min, another 45 min from BUD to the city... Do the math... +1000 for those 3 weekends over summer when there are jams at border crossings...

Where do you have to live in Belgrade and where do you have to be staying in Budapest for it to take you 45 minutes to the airport.

One of the Embraer jets.

E170 would make most sense.

No. It has to be nonstop.

"As for BUD, there`s no logic the two neighbouring capitals are down to two buses per day between them. None whatsoever."

Majority of people use the minibus service and there are several daily departures by several different companies.

LOT is basing only E195s in BUD (apart from B788). No point to invest in new pilots and cc for E170 as these are supposed to be retired relatively soon. All new pilots and cc recruited in BUD will therefore be recruited for E195.

BEG stop would be a good idea.

This is not really about long-haul. LOT wants to transfer long-haul pax from BEG via WAW, were they have the biggest choice of long-haul (JFK, EWR, ORD, LAX, MIA, YYZ, ICN, PEK, PKX, NRT, DEL).

Here it is about O&D and BEG-BUD-BRU, BEG-BUD-PRG, BEG-BUD-SOF, BEG-BUD-KRK, BEG-BUD-LCY.

Why would anyone fly from Belgrade to Sofia via Budapest?

For intra-European flights from BEG (in particular business one-day flights, i.e. departure very early, whole day for doing business and return home late night), it is more difficult to connect in WAW, as it is further to the north-east from BEG, so the idea of BUD for LOT.

For long-haul there is no such a problem whether for TATL or Asia, so LOT doesn't care about connection times from BEG for long-haul in BUD as long as connection times from BEG for long-haul in WAW are OK.

In order to be in Sofia not at 3.30pm (YU), but in the morning, do business (a business meeting etc.) and come back still the same day to BEG. And this at the expense of taking a flight at 5.10 am from BEG and arriving back at 23.35 pm.

...which certainly meets high standards of Subsaharan Africa and post-Gaddafi Lybia.

LO long haul from WAW is doing mostly okay. LO long haul from BUD needs more feed. Strange LO didn't go for ZAG-BUD instead. ZAG has no JFK service unlike BEG.

True, that is a very good option for Sofia.
And equaly people don't get it Hungarian business in Serbia is growing, with OTP buying off Serbian banks, MET Group investing hundreds of millions into a wind farms etc. Plus, LOT Is probably getting incentives both from Hungary, as well as from Vinci.

Whatch you talk'in 'bout Willis?

From a cost perspective in case a one day business trip BEG-BUD-SOF-BUD-BEG, business saves expenses for a hotel night in SOF, some dining expenses in SOF, one day work of an employee that he spends back in BEG and not staying in SOF for another day. This makes room for a higher fare being acceptable.

Flixbus will soon be launching 4 daily buses from Belgrade to Budapest, operated by Fudeks.

BEG-BUD: already failed with ATR72.
BEG-BUD-BRU: JU has direct service; 1 stop options already available. W6 to CRL alternative.
BEG-BUD-PRG: JU has direct service; 1 stop options already available.
BEG-BUD-SOF: JU has direct service; 1 stop options already available.
BEG-BUD-KRK: no direct service, 1 stop options available; low demand
BEG-BUD-LCY: JU has 16 weekly direct to LHR including full biz class on EY plane. Does one stop to LCY beat it? Relatively low demand too.

Overall LO BEG-BUD is not likely to thrive.

If NK stands for North Korea here, let me just remind you that passengers from Pyongyang don't change in BUD, WAW or anywhere else . LOL!!! And passengers from SK (a nije Savez Komunista) but South Korea, have direct nonstop Korean Air flights to ZAG plus plentiful other 1 stop options so I agree completely BUD-ICN on LO would make no sense when Croatian market is concerned

From perspective of business user traveling a lot in region I can tell that I would never, never, never took a flight in 5:10 in order fly BEG-BUD-SOF.
I agree that JU schedule is little bit inconvenient, but if I need to go to Sofia and come back in a day I would go with car.
Again, wakng up in 3am for that connection - no way.

@17:43

+1

True dat.

Guys, Sofia will have a similar schedule to BEG and OTP so there won't be convenient connections from BEG.

Well, I thought that ones promoting this have checked schedule, not just drawing connections lines on a map :)

Probably in Grocka. lol

One advantage with Belgrade is that you have the highway right through the center that passes over Gazela. That means that you can go on it from pretty much any part of the city. Even if you live in Ustanicka or Konjarnik you can be at the airport in 20 to 25 minutes.

I hadn't realised that the E-170s are being retired soon, but I suppose it makes sense since they have more fuel efficient Q400s that are the same size. What are they replacing the E-170s with? Used larger E-jets? Or more wetleased CRJs from Nordica?

I am a Hungarian and I plan to visit southern Serbia. I am pretty sure, it has many treasures. I am happy to get more inspired! :)