Eastern Airlines to launch Chicago - Sarajevo service


US carrier Eastern Airlines will launch a one weekly seasonal summer service between Chicago O'Hare and Sarajevo, marking the introduction of nonstop transatlantic flights from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital. The airline will operate the route each Friday from Chicago starting May 28 until September 3, while the return service will run on Sundays. All flights will be performed by the Boeing 767-200ER aircraft which has the capacity to seat 238 passengers, of which eighteen are in the premium cabin and the remaining 220 in economy. The premium cabin boasts a 2-2-2 seat layout, while the economy section features a 2-3-2 seat configuration.

Tickets for the flights have already been put on sale through the airline's website. Chicago was the second busiest unserved route from Sarajevo in the United States after New York. In 2019, a total of 5.995 passengers flew indirectly between the two cities. Overall, it was the sixteenth busiest unserved route from Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital. It jumped to eleventh position in 2020, although passenger volumes were significantly down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina are permitted to enter the United States with a valid visa and a negative coronavirus test, while US citizens may also enter Bosnia and Herzegovina with a negative PCR test.

Eastern Airlines offers passengers three different fare types, all of which include one checked-in bag, while its premium cabin passengers may bring with them a second bag free of charge. Its aircraft feature an on board entertainment system with a selection of movies, shows and music which can be streamed onto the passengers personal device. "We want our passengers to have a good experience while traveling with Eastern. Instead of spending on frills, go with our low fare, no-frills ticket and save your money. All Eastern Airlines flights are always direct and nonstop. This means significant time savings and no wasted time changing planes or reaching through the airport to catch your connection. More importantly, your health and safety is more valuable than ever. Nonstop flights equal less time spent in airports, less touchpoints, and a safer adventure", the company said.

Further flight details for the new service can be found here.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:58

    WOW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:33

      If the Chickago works well in 2021, is there any plans to expand in 2022 to other US Cities (Boston, NYC, St Louis, Atlanta, DC, Philadelphia, Phoenix and so on)?

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:00

    What?!?!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59

      Why no one wants to fly slovenia routes with demand :(

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:04

      Skobir, watch and learn from SJJ :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:04

      I keep asking myself the same question! Why is everyone avoiding us so much?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:07

      Why? For us is no problem to drive till Milano,Munich... 🤦😕

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:13

      I don't want to drive🤪 and just yesterday the minister of transport visited LJU airport...what for...two daily flights?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:00

      How about the 'nobody likes us' crew from LJU takes a break today.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:36

      What about other US locations (Boston, NYC, DC, Atlanta and so on) in 2022 or after...?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:05

      All for SJJ right ...

      Delete
  3. Anonymous10:04

    Is the Bosnian diaspora mostly concentrated in Chicago in the US?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      Nope, St Louis is the biggest "Bosnian" US city.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:41

      Thanks. But I guess their is a big ex-yugo diaspora in Chicago. They might attract a lot of passengers from the region.

      Delete
    3. Vlad14:42

      Why would someone from "the region" fly to SJJ that has God-awful connections with the rest of ex-YU (both road- and air-wise) if they can just transfer somewhere and get to their destination directly?

      This can only be successful if Bosnian VFR travel can support it, which I'm frankly skeptical about.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:55

      @Vlad
      Well, the airline is American. With the level of American geographical education and also the American way of thinking in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought that, to serve the whole Ex-Yu region, their best bet is to fly to the geographical and also kinda ethnical centre of it.

      I doubt that it'll work well, but I can see the potential of it. The only reasonable direct alternatives are LO from BUD, AA from ATH and TK from IST. So the Balkan is basically unserved from Chicago. Eastern Airline is an intereseting airline with a weird strategy anyways, so they probably have thought about it.

      Delete
    5. Sarajevo has brilliant connections with Croatia and decent with Serbia, only issue is north Montenegro.

      Delete
    6. Vlad11:02

      Brilliant? Decent? It takes 4 hours by car to Split, 5 hours to Zagreb and 5 hours to Belgrade. No one from outside Bosnia will use these flights.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:17

      When Eastern Airlines goes after Croatian or Serbian pax, they will fly one weekly to ZAG, DBV or BEG respectively and they will get those pax. No need to channel all ex-Yu pax through one airport. For now they do just a couple of flights for pax from Bosnia.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous10:07

    Well that was unexpected

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:16

    Well done Sarajevo!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:29

    Can this work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      Naravno.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:20

      I doubt it but hey, lets try it first !

      Delete
  7. Anonymous10:29

    Why does their plane sit the entire day in SJJ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flight is around 12h or more. Also Crew needs to rest before return flight.

      Delete
    2. @Mehanicar it's not gonna be the same crew taking the airplane back 12 hours later my man, it's gonna be the crew that arrived on the previous flight. Highly doubt they'd be legal to operate a flight with 10 hours of rest in the hotel.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:59

      Departure time from ORD is 19:05 (Friday), which would be 2:05 (Saturday) SJJ time. With landing at 11:05 (Saturday), that's 9h flight time.

      Departure from SJJ is 08:00 (Sunday), giving crew nearly 23h rest in SJJ between flights, not counting for any post- and pre-flight duties.

      Complete non-event from crew hours standpoint. It would be insanely inefficient to have a crew sitting in the hotel for a week just to operate one flight.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10:30

    Sarajevo is on fire this year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      Yes. New Wizz Air base, more and more new European airlines starting flights and now this! Crazy.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:39

      And these US flights launch just a few days after Wizz Air opens its Sarajevo base

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:02

      Don't forger FlyBosnia relaunching too.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:30

    LMAO, Sarajevo is having one of its best years during the biggest pandemic ever, whereas the rest of the world is flopping big time. I cant xD

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:35

    238 seats once per week for a few months could work. Good luck :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:35

    So Sarajevo will be the only ex-Yu city with flights to Chicago :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:36

    What an exciting year for Sarajevo. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:40

    Love their livery

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:40

    Anyone flown with them before?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:42

    Sarajevo Airport better hurry up with its expansion. It will need the extra capacity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:52

      They should never have stalled the construction.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:43

    What are the fares like?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:49

      Return economy ticket in June is $1,826.45 USD

      Delete
    2. Insane amount of money that not a lot could afford 😅

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:46

    It's fantastic to see so many new positive developments at Sarajevo. Is this related to their new management or just the market taking care of itself?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:48

      I think it has more to do with Covid and the government realizing it can't milk the airport for ever. They finally got rid of those stupid taxes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:54

      The airport must be doing something right. I doubt Eastern Airlines was waiting for the Bosnian air development tax to be removed to start flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:57

      We only needed a deadly global virus for the management to wake up :)

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:49

    Is TODA of 2600m long runway in LQSA safe enough for 7772 to take off?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:50

      Aircraft type is 767 not 777.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:01

      B767 has landed without issue in Sarajevo in the past. A few years ago there were flights from Kuwait with the B767.

      Delete
    3. Landing is not the issue. Take off is. Fuel for the flight of 5 hours and 11 hours make BIG difference. Btw. congratulations to ZAG, after BEG and DBV now SJJ as well will have link with the US and the airport which logically should have been southeastern Europe gateway to North America still in deep sleep, led by "flag carrier"

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:01

      KWI is a bit closer than ORD.

      I'm pretty sure any decent commercial department will have looked into available payloads before announcing routes.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:42

      Na međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo par puta je sletio i avion B777 Pakistanske aviokompanije, a također i B747, tako da je moguće slijetanje velikih aviona

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:46

      Na Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo mogu sletjeti B777 i B747, samo ne može AN225

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:45

      @Anon 12:01,
      Let's hope they are decent.

      When a middle eastern airline wanted to start their B767 SJJ route around 10 years ago, they contacted a BiH virtual aviation community for advices.

      Was of course forwarded to BHDCA. But could have ended with advices from a teenager...

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:51

    I'm in shock.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:06

      Zasto?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:04

      Didn't expect this. Did you?

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:52

    The sky's the limit

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:52

    Although i can imagine more suited places in Ex Yu to fly this to, it still is a good deal for Bosnia and its neighbouring countries .
    Especially as it is low frequency and in summer .

    But if Croatia Airlines or Air Serbia would open Chicago routes to their main bases then Sarajevo of course would be immediately dead .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59

      Air Serbia is the new Croatia Airlines: Is it too early for Air Serbia to start a second long haul destination to Chicago or Toronto five years after starting New York service? Air Serbia answers: It is too early for that!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:00

      Why do you think this route wouldn't work if another airline from another country started flights to Chicago. I think people, especially diaspora, would prefer nonstop flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:03

      @10.59 everyone does what they think is financially best for them.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:06

      Because the Bosnian community is smaller than the other communities in Ex Yu .
      And going to Sarajevo with car or bus is a pain in the ass .
      I for example can imagine myself to take that flight, but i know reaching Sarajevo would be an adventure by itself .

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:09

      With lease rates half of what they used to be, no one else thinks it's financially best for them. Sarajevo airport might have helped Eastern with some incentives to start this route but so could have BEG airport with Air Serbia.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:23

      Demand for Air travel in the US is on the way back to 2019 levels. Some airlines are returning all crew and aircraft to service this summer. Cruise ship bookings for 2022 are even stronger than for 2019. Many indications point to strong recovery in the US. Kudos to SJJ management for recognizing trends and showing even smaller airport could have nonstop seasonal service to the US. Air Serbia is literally asleep at the wheel, failing to recognize those trends. Canada is lagging US in terms of vaccination but they will catch up during summer and so will travel demand.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:39

      Nekim ,strucnjacima, na ovom blogu, ova vijest uopste ne odgovara:-)

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:22

      US is back to 2019 levels for domestic travel, as there are no travel restrictions in place.

      International travel to/from USA is entirely different story.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:09

      International travel restrictions are expected to be partially lifted in the coming months between countries with high vaccination rates and shrinking infection rates.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:55

    SJJ - the only winnter of covid pandemic lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:57

      Ironic isn't it

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:57

    Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:00

    Their network seems to be targeting niche markets. They are flying out of several US cities to secondary cities in Latin America. They may be spreading themselves too thin. Time will tell if they survive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:32

      They have been around for several years.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:44

      Actually they haven't. This third reincarnation of Eastern Airlines launched in early 2020.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous11:07

    According to Wikipedia this airline ceased operations in 1991 ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:09

      Because you are not looking at the correct Eastern Airlines. It used to be a major company that went bankrupt. Then a few years ago someone bought their brand and renamed their existing airline to Eastern Airlines LLC.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Airlines,_LLC

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:13

      Correct, they started new .
      Still only with 737 MAX .
      So they will probably charter the ac for this flight .

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:16

      You are still looking at the wrong company. They don't have MAX aircraft at all. They have 767s and 777s.
      https://iflyea.com/

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Airlines,_LLC

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:18

      ?

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:22

    BEG and ZAG be like :о

    ReplyDelete
  27. Nemjee11:26

    I wouldn't hold my breath over this. Eastern was extremely unpredictable in recent months. They kept on announcing routes and then suspending them. They only seem to do well in MIA and on few routes out of LAX.
    Most of their announced routes out of JFK won't be launched in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:39

    This will never work out .

    Actually its beyound stupid .

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous12:02

    Svaka Čast. Ovo je extra vijest

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:12

      Nije ovo extra vijest, ovo je redovna vijesti.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous12:13

    What a huge surprise! SJJ is definitely on fire this year. Long-haul flights, W6 base, Fly Bosnia fleet upgrade, 4 operational airports and this during Corona times. Imagine during normal circumstances...
    Excellent job, BiH!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous13:14

    Excellent news! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous14:17

    Good news for SJJ but the ticket prices might be a deal braker.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vlad16:43

      Ticket prices are ridiculous, you can almost fly J for that kind of money.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous15:06

    Congratulations, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if nothing happens after this.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Na prvom izgleda kao lijepa vest. A ondak se sazna da jest budet karta za lijet ne daleko od $2,000 per person. Ba nece da leti za te dengi. 4 x 2 peoples is almost $8,000 por familia. Kakva katastrofa for Bosnjaci.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Masala majstore, bolji Esperanto dugo nisam procitao 😃

      Delete
    2. LH kosta 1000€ sa koferom. Onda radje 1450€ PA DIREKTNO I sletis u SVOM GRADU.

      Ko nema 1500€ za kartu nek se ODMA vrati u BiH. Sta ce Onda po Americi ginuti od 2-3 posla da prezivi?!

      Osim toga: SJJ - ORD ima preko 30.000 putnika godisnje.

      Delete
  35. Anonymous18:13

    This summer BEG and SJJ will have wide body traffic.

    Shame about ZAG.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous19:31

    This is a great development for Sarajevo.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous19:32

    Shows that anything is possible and that all ex-Yu airports should aim high.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous19:33

    I wish them good luck. I just hope this doesn't end up like those Chicago Rockford - Belgrade/Zagreb flights operated by Swift Air when people even boarded the inaugural flight and were told the flights are cancelled. I think it was in 2009 or 2010.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous19:38

    Fun fact for y'all: the B762 is an extremely rare aircraft, so take your chances to see it and to fly on it!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous19:44

    I would be cautious booking with them before the flights actually start.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:52

      You know they have already been operating certain routes for almost a year.

      Delete
  41. Is this Baltia Air Lines 2?

    ReplyDelete
  42. Is this Baltia Air Lines 2?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous22:37

    I am very skeptical about this. Not that SJJ does not have potential for USA flights. Bosnian diaspora is younger one, more attached to homeland, so there is a case to be made. Problem is that the Eastern Airlines does not have flights within the US. Price is ridiculous. I am flying to SJJ in July and paid $1200 for Premium Economy on United/Austrian. We have not heard anything about FAA and DHS approving route. I am not sure are there any info on that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally agree with you. It smells fishy to me.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:56

      They could be just testing the terrain.

      Delete
  44. Anonymous07:17

    So, they have only 12 planes and use them only for long-haul and they have a luxury to keep one of them (8% of capacity) grounded for 24 hours in Sarajevo for no reason? Yeah...really feasible...
    I checked their web site, Sarajevo is their only European route...other destinations are in Caribbean and South America.
    To me, their whole concept sounds a lot like a big money laundering or some other scheme.
    Destinations are unreasonable, timetables are disasterous, service non existant, web site confusing.
    Would be happy if this route works well, but there are so many BUTs and WHYs that I am not really sure.

    Just look at JU JFK route. What is their main advantage and WHY it has "good" LF? Transfers! And I am talking a LOT! Here? Eastern? Nothing! Very very strange

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:37

      It is just 15 flights during 2021 and a total capacity one way of 3570 seats!

      You do not need for this money losing short haul network. They very well realised that the only market in the region to ORD is VFR that is very flexible as to arrival and departure dates. Why bleed money on transfer passengers whether on the US side or on the ex-Yu side? Just fill the plane with O&D pax where the cost per seat is the lowest.

      Delete
  45. Anonymous02:53

    Are they really sending a 767-200 or was that a typo? I know they have both 767-200 767-300 in their fleet .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:03

      It's 767-200 like it says. Why would it be a typo?

      Delete
  46. Anonymous20:48

    This ORD-SJJ is no longer bookable on Eastern's website.

    ReplyDelete

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