Air France will suspend services between Paris and Belgrade over the coming winter season, with plans to restore operations in March of next year. The French carrier launched flights to the Serbian capital in 2019 and has maintained daily services over the summer, as well as four weekly operations in winter up until the coronavirus pandemic. The last rotation of the year is scheduled for October 23, while flights will be resumed on March 28, 2021. Air France is currently maintaining four weekly services to the Serbian capital until late October. Furthermore, the French carrier codeshares on Air Serbia’s flights between Belgrade and Paris.
Serbian citizens are currently banned from entering the majority of European Union member states in most cases, although this will be up for review later today. Deamand for transatlantic travel, which Air France relied on, has also been severely impacted by the ongoing pandemic, with entry into the United States denied to all foreign nationals who have been in the European Schengen Area within the previous fourteen days. This measure also affects all transfer passengers. Last year, the French carrier noted that point to point travellers made up 60% of its loads on the Belgrade service, 25% were long haul transfers, particularly to North America, and the rest were European transfers.
Belgrade - Charles de Gaulle vv. passenger numbers
| Year | PAX |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 158.046 |
| 2017 | 157.596 |
| 2018 | 160.790 |
| 2019 | 223.698 |
Air Serbia continues to maintain services to Paris. It currently runs daily flights to the French capital, which will increase to twelve weekly over the winter months. Furthermore, low cost carrier Wizz Air currently runs three weekly rotations between Belgrade and Beauvais Airport, which will increase to four weekly over the coming winter season. Last year, 286.299 passengers flew between Belgrade, Charles de Gaulle Airport and Beauvais Airport.
Belgrade - Beauvais vv. passenger numbers
| Year | PAX |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 44.912 |
| 2017 | 47.323 |
| 2018 | 62.979 |
| 2019 | 62.606 |
LX is the biggest winner as they handle transfers to and from the US.
ReplyDeleteWhy so? Switzerland is also part of Schengen, so any US restrictions would apply the same way to both France and Switzerland.
Delete@Anon 09:05
DeleteTrue dat!
Anonymus 9:05, Switzerland is NOT part of the Schengen Agreement.
DeleteAre you for real? Yes, Switzerland is part of the Schengen Zone.
Deletehttps://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/
DeleteAlthough not members of the EU, countries like: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are also part of the Schengen zone.
I don't think that transfers are a subject of restrictions for entering USA. My wife transferred through Zurich without entering Switzerland and nobody asked her anything when entering USA, she just said that she is coming from Serbia and that was enough.
DeleteTransfers are subject to restrictions unless your wife has US citizenship or residency.
DeleteSerbian passport holders are allowed to enter the US, unlike EU ones.
DeleteThey are but they are not allowed to enter the US from a Schengen country, even through transferring.
DeleteSo, JU makes good job with BEG-JFK
DeleteYes, most flights are sold out. This Saturday's flight is sold out in both classes for example.
Delete"Since resuming operations on May 21, Zurich has been one of Air Serbia’s best performing routes, along with New York"
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/08/air-serbia-to-boost-zurich-after.html
Great news. JFK finally brings money back.
DeleteThey were having even pax from Barcelona to New York.
DeleteUnfortunate :(
ReplyDeleteThat sucks but it is good there will be 12 flights on JU and 3 on Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense if 40% of your passengers are transfers. That means those 40% have completely disappeared. The rest is P2P but there is a restriction on entering France and like everywhere regardless of travel restrictions, demand has fallen.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteNobody sais that when topic was LJU or LH in ZAG. Interesting.
Delete^ Maybe because Slovenians are free to travel everywhere in Europe, same as Croatians.
DeleteAnd to top things off, they are all part of the EU.
DeleteNo mater they are free to travel they don't do it.
DeleteIt is the point. Demand, not EU membership.
EU does have an impact. More business travel, more people can simply move to the other country, more travel for educational purposes etc.
DeleteEU membership has benefit of more travel for educational purposes in the time of Corona? LOL!!! LOOOOL!!!
DeleteYes even during the time of corona. Check how many students are travelling to return to their studies this month.
DeleteI have checked and it's LOL. With many universities going online and countries blocking entries, student travel is miserable compared to 2019.
DeleteThe jump in passengers on CDG route in 2019 vs 2018 is big.
ReplyDeleteWell AF started flights :)
DeleteThere was also ASL Airlines for a few months :D
DeleteI think that's because the AF flight offered good connections from the US, especially Chicago. Before them there was a very long layover on the flight back to Serbia. You had to wait for the evening JU flight.
DeleteIn all thess stats I've noticed 2017 always performed weaker. Why?
DeleteIt's the year Air Serbia culled its network.
DeleteAh yes, forgot about that
DeleteProjections must be really bad if AF decided that it is better to stop flying to a Vinci owned airport.
ReplyDeleteWinter is coming...
Vinci has little to do with this. It's more about collapsing demand due to travel restrictions.
DeleteVinci would have been a big reason why AF decided to come to BEG two years ago.
DeleteIf they think it is better to stop flying even with a reduced schedule it means that demand in the coming months will be minimal.
It is going to be an extremely tough season for airline companies. Even more I think will cease operations.
Air France came last year, not 2 years ago.
DeleteI think if the EU removes Serbia today demand will slowly start recovering, When it comes to tourism we saw this summer that Serbs are fearless and they traveled even if there was a threat of corona. They went where they could.
DeleteGermany and Italy are in top 5 tourist destinations for Serbs. They are mostly visited outside summer months and for weekend breaks (YUTA source). I think Italy is number 3 and Germany number 5 in terms of the amount of money spent.
Will be interesting to see what happens today.
It is not expected that Serbia will be removed from the list today. Probably after 15th of September.
DeleteWhy isn't it expected? Numbers have fallen either below EU average or around it. The 25 per 100.000 infected.
DeleteAccording to media, EU will remove countries from the list if there are 16 (not 25 anymore) per 100.000 infected. Since a second wave is happening in Europe right now, they are more restrictive.
Delete15th September seems also for me more realistic !
Because it has 24 per 100.000. So it's very close to the baseline. EU is now mostly looking to open borders with countries that have around 16-17 per 100.000.
DeleteLuckily it's just a recommendation, Bulgaria is the latest country to open its borders with Serbia.
Delete@Anonymous 09:52 the Covid situation in Bulgaria is getting worse. Maybe we shouldn't be so eager to allow unrestricted travel with them just yet.
DeleteThere are no restictions to go to Bulgaria but i havent seen a single Serbian car in Sofia (ok except from Pirot but they may have passports). Maybe people are not informed yet
DeleteIs the highway from INI to the RS-BG border open?
DeleteAs predicted the EU didn't reopen its borders.
DeleteHighway is done and open on Serbian side!
DeleteThey will be back in summer.
ReplyDeleteThis year would have been even busier on CDG route if it wasn't for corona. Air Serbia was planning 16 weekly flights
ReplyDeleteBut only for like 2 months, no?
DeleteIm sure they would of kept the extra 2 frequencies for longer if they had the aircraft to do so.
DeleteYep the two extra flights were supposed to operate until June when all those new routes were supposed to start and all planes would be fully utilised.
DeleteHow many flights did JU have last winter to Paris? If they are planning 12 weekly this year.
ReplyDelete12, it was the same last year.
DeleteThank you
Delete:(
ReplyDeleteWell AF was the one that suspended BEG when there was the global financial crisis 11 years ago. Let's see if they come back next year.
ReplyDeleteVinci would probably offer them incentives to come back.
DeleteLast time around they couldn't make money on the route and they were sending their A318. Now they cooperate with JU, have feed on both ends and they have been sending the A320 almost exclusively. I think this time around they performed much better. I remain hopeful we will see them back.
DeleteLast time AF suspended BEG (April 2013), BEG was handling 3.5 million pax. The growth since, as of 2019 figures, was close to 85% and 6.1 million pax. With a JU codeshare as well, AF will be back.
DeleteYou are right JATBEGMEL. For some reason I thought they suspended flights in 2009 but it was 2013 like you say.
DeleteIt will be a harsh winter in Europe. Belgrad and the region will most likely focus on Egypt, UAE, Israel, Jordan, north Africa, etc charters.
ReplyDeleteGastos will need to book quite in advance to see their families in Xmas.
I also have my doubts about LO's service to BUD and let's see EW to STR. EW are masters in last-minute changes.
JU will be saved it seems but just because there are massive cancellations from other foreign carriers.
Egypt is closed for foreigners.
Delete^ Absolutely incorrect.
DeleteEveryone can enter Egypt with a PCR test. Serbian tour operators now have permission to conduct testing at their premises (obviously by health professionals) and they pay for your test.
DeleteThere are two flights from BEG to Hurghada today.
DeleteGood news for JU.
ReplyDeleteWill miss them. Hope they come back next summer.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they even fly 4 weekly at the moment considering the restrictions.
ReplyDeleteI would have thought they would stuck around because of VINCI.
ReplyDeleteIf they project the route won't make money for them this winter, the airport operator doesen't really matter.
DeleteLast year when they launched these flights they at first scheduled them as seasonal and then later decided to make them year round.
ReplyDeleteWhich means forward winter bookings were performing well for them.
DeleteThis is good news for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteI guess but remember JU also had a codeshare on Air France's flight.
DeleteJU will pick up the passengers that would have otherwise flown AF. Code-share still exists between JU/AF for flights to ORD. So no need for lowering pricing. Imagine if Serbia didn't have a national airline?
DeleteJU keeps on winning! ;)
Winter will be very tough for many airlines with these corona restrictions and huge slump in demand.
ReplyDeleteThis is the fourth time Air France has left Belgrade. They will be back in no time :D
ReplyDeleteThey come back in March.
DeleteI am not so sure about their return in March.
Delete^^^ Keep watching
DeleteAir France needs a full Business Classes with high yields and fully booked with managers. Planes filled with diaspora in July and August or ethnic travellers (Gastarbajteri) produce low yields and only peak seasonality.
ReplyDeleteNo EU based airlines has a full Business Classes for short haul flights. Because it does not make business sense.
DeleteSMFH, not sure if trolling or just a hater?
Deletevery very sad
ReplyDeleteBased on these numbers, where does Paris rank in terms of how busy it is compared to other cities from BEG?
ReplyDeleteI would guess top 5 no?
DeleteGuys, companies are fighting for survival, it is not about withdrawals/suspensions/who left/frequencies, etc...
ReplyDeleteIf the pandemics continues like this, we will all be living in our tiny insignificant countries, barricaded, with restrictions being changed on weekly basis and there will be no airlines left to fight about. Every cancelled route means less income, less jobs, less hope.
Please get real.
Regards from Novi Sad, Serbia.
Eight
Just so people realize what the state of the aviation industry is at the moment
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eg5NKrPX0AAOpPY?format=jpg&name=large
Disaster.
Deletethey have been cutting a lot of routes recently because of corona
ReplyDeletenobody from us is flying yet the anonymous brigade is crying because flights are cancelled!! Get real!
ReplyDeleteOuch
ReplyDeleteNot good.
ReplyDeleteThe breakdown in the passenger structure on AF's flight is interesting. Would be nice do see the statistics for JU's Paris flight. I'm quite curious.
ReplyDeleteI think they had a lot of transfers too. Particularly to the region, Lebanon and Israel.
DeleteGood news for Wizz too. They do good business on Beauvais route. TheIR prices are the same as JU and AF.
ReplyDelete4 weekly BVA in winter is crazy in cold Paris! It seems Gasto demand is increasing to BVA. Who would've thought this post war **itty airport will be connected to former socialist capital cities. Many Romanian villages are connected as well as BEG's competition on the route: TSR.
DeleteWhat on earth are you talking about
Deletethe TSR troll again . gosh
DeleteYes he regularly comes on here and pretends that it is competition to BEG in any way. lol
DeleteMeanwhile TSR lost a Wizz Air plane even before corona, that's how good of a performer it is.
Great news for Air Serbia.
ReplyDelete