Air Serbia removes eleven routes from upcoming summer


Air Serbia has removed an additional eleven routes from its network for the upcoming summer season, which begins on March 28, in comparison to the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. The latest revision of its timetable indicates that services from Belgrade to Barcelona, Beirut, Cairo, Kiev, Krasnodar, Madrid, Malta, Nice, Pula, Venice and Zadar will not be going ahead this summer. Their suspension has now been extended until the start of the 2021/2022 winter season, which begins on October 31, while seasonal routes such as Nice, Pula, Malta and Zadar are not expected to return until 2022.

Unlike the summer of 2019, the airline will be serving two new destinations - Oslo and Geneva. Out of the suspended routes, Barcelona, Kiev and Malta will be covered by other airlines flying from Belgrade. The Serbian carrier had previously indicated that flights to Helsinki and Rijeka, which were run two years ago, have been terminated. Based on the existing schedule, which is subject to change as markets reopen and close due to the coronavirus pandemic, Air Serbia plans to operate 10.770 scheduled flights out of Belgrade this summer (both directions included, without charters). Out of those, services to Podgorica will be most frequent, followed closely by Tivat, Zurich, Vienna, Paris and Tirana.

At this point, Air Serbia has a total of 1.245.208 seats up for sale to and from its main hub for the upcoming summer season. Following changes to its fleet structure with the recent retirement of the Boeing 737-300 jets, the Serbian carrier will utilise the Airbus A320-familly aircraft on 60.5% of its flights. It is followed by the ATR72 which will be deployed on 37.3% of its Belgrade services and the A330-200 on 2.2% of all flights. From Niš, the carrier plans to maintain operations to Hahn, Nuremberg, Hanover, Salzburg and Tivat this summer, while operations from Kraljevo to Vienna are scheduled to resume on June 11.

Due to the evolving global health situation and Air Serbia’s quick response to changing market conditions, modifications to the upcoming summer schedule are certain to occur.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Expected

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Shame. Hopefully the situation improves and some of those routes will be reinstated earlier than planned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      I guess for all BEG flights it is just a temporary suspension of one year, whereas everywhere else it is an indefinite cancellation like for example EK to ZAG. Weired.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:19

      Well, facts are facts.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:20

      JU will do everything to restore their network.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:56

      What do you mean by everything? They are not going to resort to any mischievous methods.

      When the market returns they will then analyse the situation and make a decision.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    I'm surprised they plan to resume Kraljevo after all

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      I am not, loads to Vienna were really good in the past.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:32

      And the INI low cost experiment continues.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:36

      Why experiment?

      These are PSO routes.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:08

      Niš and Kraljevo are subsidised, so they shouldn't be allowed to be cancelled

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:26

      In that case they shouldn’t receive the full amount of subsidies, but I’m sure they do.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:05

      The same like OU should not have received PSO money for flights they did not operate in spring last year

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    Тhat is a lot of routes to be axed in summer. I hope they will survive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      They will be just fine.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      Taking in consideration that Serbian citizens can't enter EU this is more than acceptable.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:35

      Cairo, Krasnodar are not necessarily in the EU.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:37

      Like you've been told, Krasnodar is closed for all non-CIS flights. No one knows when it will reopen for non-CIS flights. When it reopens they will schedule the flights.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:44

      At the moment no airline is allowed to operate any route between Russia and Serbia other than Moscow.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:28

      At the moment but the article is on the summer schedule.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:31

      There is no change planned for the summer at this point so that'w why they moved it to winter. If it reopens, they will reopen flights.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:03

    Why am I not surprised about Kiev. I mean it is being operated by Widrose and soon SkyUp (with 737-800)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Yep, didn't see them surviving against Windrose and SkyUp.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:04

    Actually KRR is suspended for now because the airport is closed for non-CIS destinations. Once it opens it will be resumed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:24

      Hope so but Russia has been very slow to reopen for foreign airlines.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:04

    I'm surprised about Cairo. Egypt is open to Serbian citizens

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      It's a long route. By that I mean aircraft is deployed for a long time on the route. They probably realised it would make too much financial losses.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:05

      Most Serbian citizens don't go to Cairo, they go to the coast.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:16

      I know but it's a shame :( with just a negative PCR test needed for Serbs, and Egypt lifting all airport fees, why don't they give it a try? Tour operators could make packages there. If they could shift and start making packages to Pakistan why not Cairo.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:18

      Airport fees are suspended only for tourist airports, not CAI.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:19

      Airport fees are lifted only for coastal airports, not for Cairo.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:35

      Ok, my bad. I thought it included Cairo too.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    Pity Beirut didn't work out. It though it would be good for transfers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:10

    Wishing those planned destinations for 2020 would be launched :( would be nice to have flights to places like Amman or even Chisinau. Would be interesting to visit for a weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:14

    A lot regarding next summer will depend on travel restrictions.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:16

    It's going to be a second very tough summer. I fear more financial aid will be needed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:20

    I guess now we know why foreign airlines are rushing to launch BEG, they smell blood. Reminds me of how airlines rushed to launch LJU just before JP.......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      Your comment is nonsense two fold. Primarily because absolutely no one rushed to Ljubljana before JP went bankrupt, literally no one. And don't worry, although you might want to wish for Air Serbia to go bankrupt it won't. They have removed routes which make no sense for them, primarily since Serbian citizens still can't enter the EU. Were that to change, so will the route network. Like the article says, they have been quick to respond to changing market conditions. After all, they are the only airline in ex-Yu to have actually introduced new routes during this crisis. Thankfully, their route network is quite large so they will still have over 50 routes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:13

      @9.20 what would you say about Lufthansa? They removed 20 routes from Munich for this summer and that's only short haul routes.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:29

      Do you know what routes they cut from MUC?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:24

      Munich – Biarritz
      Munich – Edinburgh
      Munich – Genoa
      Munich – Katowice
      Munich – Ljubljana
      Munich – Lviv
      Munich – Moscow Domodedovo
      Munich – Nantes
      Munich – Newcastle
      Munich – Nuremberg
      Munich – Paris Orly
      Munich – Rostock
      Munich – Rimini
      Munich – Rzeszow
      Munich – St. Petersburg
      Munich – Sarajevo
      Munich – Tallinn
      Munich – Trieste
      Munich – Zagreb

      Delete
    5. Anonymous23:52

      Wow! Were those daily flights?

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:23

    Air Serbia acts with agility and flexibility to quickly adapt to changing conditions. That agility is made possible thanks to streamlined narrowbody fleet of 12 Airbus jets and 5 ATRs. On the other hand, having a single A330 robs Air Serbia from ability to pivot in longhaul space with the same agility as in the narrowbody network. Now is the time to use low lease rates to expand widebody fleet and announce second long haul destination.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:31

    Wow! I didn't see this coming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      Really?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:41

      I really wonder how you didn't see this coming? We are in a middle of global pandemic where absolutely all airlines have slashed their route networks.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:31

    So TLV once again is the only Middle Eastern destination left.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:38

    They should consider Ohrid again for the summer season since many countries will still remain closed I think for the upcoming summer season

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:21

      you are right. maybe they will

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:26

      all these bus tours there should be enough people to fill an ATR

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL13:55

      I would add OMO to that as well. Alot of Serbian tourists went to Neum last year.

      Delete
    4. You still have to get from Mostar to Neum, which is at least a two hour autobus ride.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:49

    As last year brought what it brought it is logical that a number of routes will be cut. Barcelona route was highly dependent on tourists going to the Spanish coast. That is not going to be an option this year.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:49

    Had they kept all route people here would be writing how they are loosing monet and flying for prestige.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:09

      HEL and CAI were never profitable destinations. The network is likely to stagnate until 2022. This year will be quite tough for aviation.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:01

    Is the fleet smaller than it was in 2019?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02

      Yes, it's smaller by 4 aircraft compared to summer 2019 - 3 B737s and 1 CRJ900 that was wetleased. The 1 ATR and 1 A320 that were removed from the fleet last year have been replaced by 2 A319s that arrived in 2020.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:08

    Anyone care to guess what are JU's most profitable routes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:14

      Heathrow was one of their most profitable routes. Don't know the situation now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:17

      Zurich?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:04

      Vienna?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:05

      I would actually assume short routes with high passenger numbers and relatively expensive tickets would be most profitable. So routes like Podgorica and Tivat.

      Delete
    5. JATBEGMEL15:33

      Regional (Balkan) fares ex BEG are outrageously expensive. It wouldnt surprise me for them being amongst the more profitable.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:21

      Especially for TIA.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:26

      But the regional routes are expensive because the taxes in these countries are way off. I mean the actual ticket between TGD-BEG is like 50 euros. The rest are taxes which makes it over 100 euros.

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL02:08

      Kind of. Understandable for airports such as SJJ and ZAG, not so much for SKP, TIA and LJU for example with decent LCC presence.

      Delete
    9. sLOVEnija05:51

      Since when does LJU have a decent LCC presence?

      Delete
    10. JATBEGMEL11:30

      @05,51

      Point I was putting forward that there is some presence of LCC. Therefore airport taxes shouldnt be that bad.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:09

    Networks for many airlines will be set back by years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:10

      Look at LH in Munich. Network has been decimated.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:26

      They culled a lot of routes out of Frankfurt too, not just Munich.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:51

      'Culled' hahahah .... i love the lingo.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:10

    almost every airline in the world is shrinking their networks.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:15

    Bad news for JU

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:16

      Actually it ensures that they survive.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:49

      The only things that ensures ASL survives is the continuous subsidies from the Government.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:04

      I guess the same case is with Lufthansa which got billions.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:24

      Lufthansa didn't need continuous life support from the government prior the Covid crisis.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:34

      You are right. It only needed billions when corona hit.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:06

      But we know some airlines in EU surronding that could not have survived even before pandemic without Goverment's help.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:07

      Lufthansa has a lot of protectionism. That's why airlines like EK or QR are restricted.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous19:12

      Restricted in what way?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:41

      In the amount of flights they can offer to Germany.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous21:23

      True, but they operate a lot more services to Germany than Lufthansa does to Qatar and UAE, so the balance is still very much in their favour.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:23

    this is actually good news. It means they are proactive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:22

      if it was other airports the comments would be : real market situation. demand is deminishing

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:18

      In this case, the article is not about an airport (I guess you are referring to BEG), but regarding an airline. No one is saying JU not conducting flights is good for BEG. After all, BEG earns fixed fees just by having aircraft departing, irregardless of pax numbers. So they would definitely like JU to conduct flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:38

      Better for an airline to cut routes in order to survive tough times, than to be spread to thin, with very low LF and yields.

      BTW, 'Irregardless' means the same thing as “regardless.” Yes, it's a word. But major dictionaries label it nonstandard.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous12:58

    I do not understand all this pessimism within the above comments. With vaccination speeding-up & many countries going for no restrictions at all for passengers holding a so-called vaccine passport, I very quite sure summer 2021 will be much better than last year. Truly global players such as Turkish Airlines and Emirates (to name a few) do have a much bigger network at this stage when compared to last year. Clearly, people are willing to travel and getting extremely tired of all these (very arguable) restrictions: https://www.ft.com/content/055ba761-3610-4d61-97a3-4a3719af066d.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous13:05

    Well didn't Air Serbia's CCO say they plan to operate around 45% of pre pandemic traffic this summer. These suspensions make sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:04

      It was info for Q2, not for whole summer

      Delete
  27. Anonymous13:56

    Today’s handful of bitter pills for fans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:03

      If you would only know what means being realistic...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:27

      Haters can't tell what's good and what's bad for Air Serbia. See, bitter pill for fans of LCCs for example is when major LCCs had a period when number of passengers dropped by 70-80%. That's a bitter pill.

      On the other hand, Air Serbia network of about 50 official destinations has dropped by only 11 destinations. Do the math if you are able (seriously doubt it) and compare to other airlines during Covid and you'll see it's actually good news for Air Serbia. They also added two new destinations during the crisis.

      They lowered the costs, reduced workforce, retired old jets, getting soon a cheaper, newer A330 with 17% more business class seats... it's a very bitter pill for Air Serbia haters indeed.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:16

      So during Covid they; droped only 11 destinations, which is good.
      And they also added two new destinations, which is good.
      So all good at AS.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:17

      Now compare how much money JU got from GoS in 2020 and how much did the LCCs operating in Serbia, and you will see why some airlines can afford to operate with a huge loss and others can't.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:52

      If LCC like Wizz can't afford to operate with a huge loss, no one is preventing them from moving out to the next largest airport in the exyu.

      As LCCs are not registered in Serbia, not headquartered in Serbia, not having pilot training centers in Serbia, never asking Government what next destination from BEG they should serve, why would they expect to get a single cent in subsidy from that Government?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:20

      Ideally it should be a free market without any state aid.

      Would be interesting to see how the balance would look then.

      "never asking Government what next destination from BEG they should serve"

      This was a joke, right?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous21:41

      Oh you want government subsidy money with no strings attached, so you can even use them to fund flights directly competing with government majority-owned airline? That's really funny, what a talent!

      LCCs do not fly/exist in the free market without subsidies, discounts, passengers fees close to zero, tenders crafted for them etc. See SKP & TZL as example. See ZAG for the other extreme of that same example.

      Anyway today's news is about Air Serbia, not LCCs.

      Delete
    8. Capitalism is great until it runs into trouble, then it asks Socialism for help.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous22:31

      How much is Germany paying FR at FRA? Or UK to EZY at LGW?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous23:49

      Have no idea. If you know please share.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous00:58

      Anon at 22:31

      Topic is Air Serbia. How disturbed do you have to be to continue pressing on with W6, FR & U2 agenda?

      Delete
  28. I would have liked them to have kept most of these routes but with lower frequency, so they at least maintain a presence at these airports. But no one asked me. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:10

      Some of those destinations just aren't doable now or even this year.

      Delete

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