Air Serbia “cautiously optimistic” over traffic recovery


Air Serbia has said it is cautiously optimistic over the recovery of traffic in the coming months but warned that many uncertainties still remain. The airline has been performing above the European average throughout the first quarter. Speaking at the Southeast Europe Aviation Summit yesterday, Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, said, “In the last three weeks we have been cautiously optimistic. It is natural that around Orthodox Easter [early May] there was a spike in demand. What is a positive sign is that the demand did not stop after Orthodox Easter and we see an upside. Despite the travel restrictions, which are still heavily in place, and the fact that Serbian citizens are still not allowed to enter the majority of EU countries, I must say that through 2020, and even now in 2021, we are performing better, mainly thanks to our fast and flexible reaction on the market. We are currently operating around 40% on 2019 levels, whereas the rest of the European average is around 35%. We are achieving load factors of over 55%, while in Q1 the majority of the airline groups published a load factor of close to 40%. We are carefully optimistic, but we are not there yet”.

Mr Marek noted there are still numerous uncertainties when it comes to the upcoming peak summer travel months. “The big question mark for everyone is summer, because obviously travel restrictions are still in place. The charter demand is there but the main issue you see now is that all of the bookings, including the charters, are very last minute. So, it’s more forecast demand and we don’t know whether it will happen or not. You also have adhoc events, like for example the complete flight ban between Russia and Turkey. You have the big question if all these hotel groups will open or not, because the majority of the demand has disappeared over night”, Mr Marek said.

Commenting on its long haul operations, the executive said the airline was looking to develop this segment of the business in the future, “We are the only airline in the region offering a direct year-round connection to the United States and it is not only important for Serbia but for the whole region because predominately the wider Balkans, or ex-Yugoslav countries, are using these flights through seamless connectivity, mostly Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia. We would like to expand this in the future to Bulgaria and Romania, which was also part of our announced pre-Covid expansion strategy, which you can serve with multiple frequencies. In such a way you satisfy point to point demand, demand to your European network and demand to the US. For us it is working pretty well, and we would like to develop that more in the future”.

Mr Marek pointed out that quick and flexible reaction to changes on the market have ensured the airline a better position in the region. “We would like to position ourselves and we are positioning ourselves as a regional leader in the wider Balkan region, or let’s say the majority of ex-Yugoslavia. We have multiple scenarios which we are constantly developing and finetuning to be ready for the market opportunities to enter the niches and secure our strong position in the region. That is why we quickly reacted to the Adria Airways collapse. We did so a few days before the bankruptcy while other airlines took weeks. Even during Covid, we were the first airline to return to Ljubljana while others came some weeks later. Same was for Montenegro Airlines in December. Basically, we are always trying to strengthen our position and position Belgrade as a regional hub where we want to offer seamless connectivity to the region and beyond. We are constantly looking at opportunities and will take whatever pops up”, Mr Marek said.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    Good to hear. Hopefully things get better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    So it seems they are seriously considering expanding long haul after reading this and taking into account what the CEO said a few weeks ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Maybe next year

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    The right approach

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:06

    Great to see them being this proactive.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    JU is slowly rebuilding its network. Of course frequencies are not the same but they reflect reality.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:07

    Over the last few weeks they have been increasing frequencies for summer. Athens is 7 weekly, Larnaca 6, Paris 11 weekly, regional destinations also increasing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      Have they resumed Thessaloniki yet?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      Isn't Thessaloniki cancelled completely for this summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:23

      Nope

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:24

      https://www.airserbia.com//informacije/letovi/red-letenja

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:08

    JU has been relatively well managed during these bad times. They managed to open a couple of new routes, replace long haul planes, replace short haul planes, introduce IATA travel pass...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Compared to some other national airlines in the region, definitely doing ok.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:09

      I agree. I think they have been rather flexible through this whole crisis and quick to respond to some potential market opportunities by launching new routes and replacing older aircraft.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:12

      While there have been some opportunities they responded well too, I also think they missed several, like better positioning in Montenegro when YM went bust and using current market conditions to launch more long haul flights.

      Delete
    4. Vlad10:06

      I still think they responded to the YM situation in the best possible way. Saturate the market so that the new YM can't compete and watch the project go bust within a year.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    Good luck. Hope there is more good news soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:12

    Good thing that JU is looking beyond ex-YU. The market is small, relatively poor and extremely seasonal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      True. Aren't they brining back some night departure to Sofia?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:25

      Yes Mondays at 00.40

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:13

    Definitely doing better than some

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:17

    Interesting points. Let's see how summer develops

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:18

    Anyone know how many passengers they had last year? Or during the first quarter of this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:05

      When can we expect Air Serbia to publish their results for 2020?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:13

      In the summer when they are obligated by law.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:17

      They usually publish it in July or August.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:19

      Too little, too late.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:21

      Well that's what the law requires of them. It's the same for all companies in Serbia.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:50

      Did they published revenues for 2019?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:33

      Yes

      Delete
    8. Anonymous21:01

      How much was the revenue? There was information in media about profit, but not about revenue.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous22:43

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/08/air-serbia-registers-95-million-profit.html

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:54

      That link shows information about profit, but not about revenue. Additionally, here is info for charter flights revenue, but there is no total amount.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:18

    Considering the situation, it's good JU is still standing and even opening some new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Especially considering the fact that Serbian passport holders can't enter most of EU.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:18

    JU will soon announce a couple of new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Really?? Which ones?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      Where will they get the aircraft? There fleet is smaller than it used to be.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:24

      @9.20 Maybe some of those that they planned for 2020. Amman, Lviv, Chisinau?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      I heard it's Amman.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:26

      That they could do in term of fleet since most of their Airbus planes sleep over night.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:30

      Fingers crossed.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:39

      They should have brought Cairo back! No entry restrictions for Serbian citizens, good for transferring passengers...

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:24

      Russian airlines cancelled all flights to Turkey in June. Good opportunity for JU to improve IST.

      Delete
    9. Why dont they start some regular flights to some greek islands and not just charter flights? Wizz has flights to Crete and Santorini. They could do domething similar

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:16

      Anon 9.23, they have less planes, but significantly less frequencies as well, it's said in the article around 40% of what they used to. If I am not wrong, their fleet is not 50% smaller, no?!

      Delete
    11. Anonymous12:39

      Non Ex-yu regional routes.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous14:44

      Budapest?

      Delete
    13. Anonymous15:59

      Should be, especially if there are flights to 4 Russian cities, plus functioning JFK connection. Additionaly, Cluj, Iasi... Debrecen (why not). Varna or Burgas should be tried again. Plovdiv is really a big city, but its to close to Sofia.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:31

    Anyone know if KVO flights are going to resume?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      Doubt it in this climate. Maybe towards the end of summer if things and travel restrictions ease.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:06

      I really wonder what's going to happen with their Nis and Kraljevo flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:12

      Nis is operating. Kraljevo is supposed to come back in June.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:31

    Good for Air Serbia

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:39

    It's a shame there are no plans to resume Spain flights until winter 2021/2022!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:39

    Good to see the situation improving.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:39

    They should have brought Cairo back! No entry restrictions for Serbian citizens, good for transferring passengers...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      Does anyone know why was Cairo not reintroduced?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:46

      They probably calculated that the yields would be too low.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:48

      At least they have the 5 flights a day to Egypt - yes charters - but good start all the same.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:49

      It's also a very long rotation. And they need the aircraft.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:50

      I fly at least 5 times a year to YYZ from BEG but never use JU because I collect points on the AC star alliance. When JU flies direct to YYZ I will be happy to leave the star alliance and collect points on Air Serbia.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:01

      Doesn't Air Canada now allow you to collect Aeroplan points flying with Air Serbia?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:30

      They do.

      Delete
    8. I am somewhat positive that JU would be already in YYZ if Canada was not one of the worse countries when comes to extreme covid restrictions. Their gouvermant in many ways remind me on North Korea. JU would have a high load factor on BEG-YYZ as long as travel restrictions change in Canada and their gouvermant allow them to travell. 2 flights a week to start and then move to 4.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:42

      What is "gouvermant"?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:01

      He made a spelling mistake...

      But what he said is 100% true. Canadian government has over reacted to this pandemic, and guess what? The covid results havе not improved much...



      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:16

      "We are constantly looking at opportunities and will take whatever pops up”, Mr Marek said.

      They are saying one thing but doing the opposite. They are trying their best to avoid getting another A330 at low prices and expanding long haul to ORD or YYZ. If their regional feed is fine for JFK, it will also be fine for those two destinations. More travel restrictions are expected to be dropped this summer. Timing is perfect to announce new services and start them in a couple of months.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:44

    Hopefully they will focus on their fleet soon which has shrunk compared to pre-covid times. If demand starts returning in bigger numbers, they will be unable to serve charter and scheduled traffic with current fleet. The fleet was starched in pre covid times as it was.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:46

      It's easy to quickly lease aircraft if they need it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:21

      They oporate 40% of 2019 trafic, fleet is smaller for 20-25% (aviolet planes included), so I don't see big problem to perform the flights.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:51

    Does anyone know if the renovation of Belgrade Airport would include offering some attractive amenities for regular transfer passengers? if they thought of that, then even longer layovers would not be a disaster, more connecting opportunities would be available.
    I did not manage to catch up with that.

    BR, E.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vlad10:22

      At least the Business Club has reopened and Air Serbia now accepts Lounge Key / Priority Pass holders into their Premium Lounge. Vast improvements compared to just two months ago.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:22

    Things will start getting better from Q3 2021.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:27

      Let's hope

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      Not according to IATA.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:45

      Emirates thinks there will be more meaningful return to 2019 levels in Q4.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:41

    Amsterdam 5
    Atina 7
    Banja Luka 1
    Beč 6
    Berlin 3
    Brisel 2
    Bukurešt 5
    Cirih 10
    Diseldorf 3
    Dubrovnik 2
    Frankfurt 5
    Istanbul7
    Kopenhagen 2
    Krasnodar 2
    Larnaka 6
    Ljubljana 5
    London 3
    Malta 2
    Milano 3
    Moskva 7
    Nica 2
    Njujork 5
    Oslo 3
    Pariz 11
    Podgorica 21
    Prag (PRG) 2
    Rim (FCO) 3
    Rostov na Donu 2
    Sankt Peterburg 3
    Sarajevo4
    Skoplje 7
    Sofija 3
    Solun 5
    Split 3
    Stokholm 3
    Štutgart2
    Tel Aviv 2
    Tirana 10
    Tivat 24
    Zadar 2
    Zagreb 5
    Ženeva 2
    Ovo je trenutni red letenja za špic sezone. Očekujem da neke rute budu pojačane kada se ukuine obavezan karantin za građane Srbije.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:45

      Nice and Zadar are coming back?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:04

      Yeah I though those two were axed for 2021..?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:59

      Is Rijeka canceled?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:01

      It was written a long time ago here that Rijeka is terminated for good.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:43

      I am not sure they have in ZAG so many passengers that they need to fly 5x weekly (same as FRA just with smaller plane)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:50

      They don't fly frequencies for the fun of it. So they obviously do have a reason they fly 5 times per week.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:43

      LF on ZAG flights is one of the lowest.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:59

      I'm sure they send you load factors in their weekly newsletter.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous21:23

      Heheh, is that the best you can?

      Pathetic really.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous21:57

      Well I'm just wondering how you have an insight into their Zagreb load factor

      Delete
    11. Anonymous22:04

















      Švajcarska skinula Srbiju sa crvene liste i više nije obavezan 10-dnevni karantin prilikom ulaska u zemlju. Očekujem da Cirih bude pojačan u narednim danima a možda i Ženeva,ko zna? EU je danas saopštila da će biti dozvoljen ulazak svim vakcinisanim građanima bez ograničenja,očekujem najavu pojačanja ruta u narednim danima.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous23:13

      Air Serbia already boosted ZRH to 14 and the announcement for Serbia is on the Swiss government's website.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous18:02

    Good for Air Serbia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:48

      Air Serbia operates better as an independent carrier than it did under Etihad management.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:57

      It is still under EY management. CEO and CCO are both Etihad appointed.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:13

      CCO came after EY.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous18:03

    I don't understand why they don't renew their fleet now even if it is a pandemia going on?
    The government of Serbia will support them.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous18:04

    Sizable diaspora will be eager to visit Serbia this summer after skipping it this year. Together with pent up demand for outbound tourism, better economic outlook in the country and better connectivity than most competitors, Air Serbia will be quicker than others to come out the slump.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:16

      Agreed on all points. They could also be aggressive and try ti seize new markets fast.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous22:40

    JU can rest assured that the government will keep pumping money.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous22:47

    I think under the circumstances they are doing relatively well. They are serving around 30 destinations from BEG with decent frequencies.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous22:48

    They have been pretty proactive and "flexible" as they say with adding flights and frequencies if there is demand which is good.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous22:58

    Fingers crossed for the best outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  31. The industry is really going back to normal. But I think there is going to be some major changes and bring us to a "new normal".

    ReplyDelete

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