Air Serbia schedules 35 routes for upcoming winter


Air Serbia is in the process of finalising its 2021/2022 winter season operations, which begin on October 31 and run until March 26, 2022, with the airline currently scheduling 35 routes, 7.732 flights and 869.588 seats for the five-month period. These do not include charter services. However, additional modifications to the schedule are expected in the coming weeks. The figures indicate the airline will up its operations by 83%, while capacity will increase 80.4% compared to the previous winter season, which was heavily impacted by travel bans and lockdowns across the continent. Based on its existing schedule, which is subject to change in the coming weeks, the airline will serve 34 cities from Belgrade, one from Niš, while no flights have been filed out of Kraljevo, which saw seasonal operations to Thessaloniki over the summer.

Air Serbia will downgrade its year-round service between Belgrade and Geneva to seasonal operations. The route was launched over the winter, competing directly against easyJet. The airline is currently studying whether to run its new service to Rostov-on-Don over the winter as well and upgrade its seasonal operations to St Petersburg to year-round flights, in response to strong demand on the Russian market. It has so far scheduled services to Moscow and Krasnodar. At this point, the carrier will have no scheduled flights to the Middle East and North Africa, as it is yet to set a date for the resumption of flights to Cairo and Tel Aviv.

The airline’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, recently said, “We are aware that the situation with the coronavirus pandemic is deteriorating in certain countries, as well as that travel restrictions are being reimposed more frequently. For that reason, we will make plans for the coming period with a dose of caution, focusing on carefully observing the developing situation, and reacting quickly in accordance with the existing measures and demand on the market”. Serbia was recently placed on the European Union’s red list, recommending member states to bar non-essential travel from the country. However, those that have done so, have imposed such rules only on individuals who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus with jabs recognised by the European Medicines Agency or, in some cases, the World Health Organisation.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:05

    So it seems easyjet was victorious on the Geneva route. I’m guessing JU kept it over winter last year since they got incentives from Geneva airport to fly the first full year. Now that it is no longer there it becomes summer seasonal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      U2 is very strong in GVA.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:33

      They started GVA short notice when they thought easyjet would not come back.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:59

      JU does not deal well with the competition

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:12

      They are doing well on Oslo route, despite all the competition.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:28

      Probably because W6 flies from a village 120 km south of Oslo and DY is in no shape to dump prices.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    How does this schedule compare with the 2019-2020 winter season?
    That was the last "normal" year in aviation, it is a much better comparison than last season when we were banned from travelling to most of Europe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:40

      But this year isn't normal either, as Serbian citizens are still banned from a lot of countries and/or complicated entry requirements make traveling too much of a hassle or outright impossible.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:07

    I don’t know why they don’t resume more routes from Nis. These are mostly for gastos who have all been vaccinated in the countries they live so they won’t have a problem with returning back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Belgrade Airlines, that's why.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      Demand is just not there for an A319 to be flying so many routes from INI.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:08

      How come there is demand for FR and W6.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:15

      Does JU still get subsidies for INI flights?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:21

      ^ that would be crazy

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:33

      JU never got any funds upfront for INI. They got them based on operated flights, that is why it was easy for them to suspend destinations like BUD without suffering any penalties.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:16

      Ok, that is reasonable.

      Delete
    8. JU should be making more flights out of INI. Given that the airport is owned by the Serbian government while BEG profits go to Vinci.

      Delete
    9. JATBEGMEL15:38

      JU could of made more flights out of INI if the government didn't pull off a rigged tender with a horrible list of destinations. Would be great to see INI connected with CDG, AMS, SVO where JU has partners and not routes such as FKB and HAJ where they have nothing.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:40

      The only route they are still flying from INI in winter is Hahn and the only reason they are flying it is because Ryanair wanted to start the route but were then blocked by the government.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:10

    Disappointing treatment of INI and KVO... after so many announcements...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:13

      There will be new routes from KVO. Probably next summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:39

      Come on. No announcements came from JU. Whoever did it instead, it is not relevant.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:11

    Why don’t they resume Madrid if they will be flying to Barcelona?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:56

      Barcelona is a much larger market.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:57

      Larger market than Madrid???

      Madrid was performing better than Barcelona prior to the pandemic.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:14

    I still think Dubai could work, despite competition from Flydubai.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      How can they be competative against FZ?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:22

      DXB will start with charters and then they will see about it for S22

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      JU is not competitive, look at GVA. I guess it's all part of Marek's strategic planning. lol

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:27

      That's a stupid decision. High season in Dubai is winter season.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:40

      Dubai is in demand now more than ever because of travel restrictions while Dubai is open to everyone.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:34

      UAE including Abu Dhabi opened up to everyone who is vaccinated, Wizz Air also increased these flights to 3 per week from winter. Serious airlines are responding to maket dynamics, they are not missing out on any opportunity.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:29

      How do you people think that Air Serbia could ever compete with double daily flights by Flydubai?
      That would be financial suicide.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:14

      Everyone is starting Dubai. Finnair just announced flights to DXB too.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:26

    I think more routes will be scheduled.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:40

    Not bad considering the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:41

    I'm sure Rostov will be extended during winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:52

      It would be great if they upgrade LED too?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:55

      Did they fly LED year round in the past?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:04

      Just the first year.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:15

      It probably depends if they get permission from the Russians.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:42

    Not flying to Cairo makes no sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:28

      Entry is permitted and look at the traffic to Hurghada.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:36

      Hurghada and Cairo can't be compared.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:58

      I don't think Air Serbia will be returning to Cairo at all. Air Cairo plans to start that route next summer.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:00

      Cairo is popular with tourists and they could get transfer passengers too. Plus Egypt is open to the entire world.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:25

      It has been discussed before. It's a long rotation and many Egyptians can't enter anywhere in Europe so it makes transfers less likely.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:26

      CAI was on sale for Winter 2021 for some time but they suspended sales a month ago.

      Delete
    7. JATBEGMEL15:42

      A solution to the issues they had with the long rotation could be by doing what they did in ROV.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:23

      see
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/07/air-cairo-to-launch-new-belgrade-routes.html

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:57

    JU shoud try to find new routes where are no so strict requirements to enter and stimulate demand. Instead of that we have Mr. Marek copy-paste statements, far beyond reality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:09

      And what new routes do you expect?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:49

      That's a bit impossible with current restrictions.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:29

      They already tried BUD, HEL, HAM, MUC, MLA and it did not work in much better times than these.

      UK has heavy restrictions and visa regime is very strict.

      My opinion is that they should try Salzburg, Munich, Florence.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:30

      Oops by mistake I wrote MUC ...they shoud surely try to fly there.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:07

      Madrid, Valencia, Caucasian threesome (Tbilisi, Baku, Yerevan) and return of Nice, Florence and Amman are more than enough for near-future "European" expansion.
      Plus Beijing/Shanghai/Toronto oncr when they grow proper cohones...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:17

      JU should have used this crisis to hit Lufti and launch Munich

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:00

      Mogu sa ATR-om 2x nedeljno da rade Dubrobnik i Split. Mogu da otvore Ankaru, Izmir i mozda jos Antaliju ka Turskoj 2x nedeljno A319, a onda u letnjoj sezoni da povecavaju. Mogu jos neka mesta u Grckoj da rade. Mogu da traze jos opcija za Rusiju, Ukrajinu, pa cak Jermenija, Azerbejdan i slicno. Dobili su ogromne subvencije, sto legalno sto nelegalno. Tako da se u krizi razvija, ne spava se, ne prosipaju se PR izjave, nego se pokusava da se opstane i da se zaposle kapaciteti sto vise.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:08

    What about Beijing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12

      JFK schedule change from December would indicate they plan to do something with A330.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:27

      China is expected to open right after the Olympics in Beijing at the end of February so it would make sense.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:28

    Wondering if we will see Geneva next summer either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      Me too. Might be lost to easyjet.

      Delete
    2. On the first place it was never understandable for me why JU attacked U2 in GVA.

      They had to go very low with prices in order to try to be competitive (30-40 EUR one way) and at the same time they could have sent that plane to some destination where better price could have been charged.

      Maybe JU could replace GVA with MUC.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:07

      I think they went after GVA because it seemed like Easyjet would not resume the route. Remember 2 years who when it took forever for easy to schedule continuation of GVA-BEG flight, JU put tickets on sale, thinking it would suspend. The second easy put tickets on sale, JU suspended its own.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:08

      Not sure they can compete against LH to MUC.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:57

      They have been competing with LH in FRA for years just fine.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:28

    Madrid and Tel Aviv are a must.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      But I think entry into Israel is heavily restricted, as well as travel from Israel for Israelis.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:14

      Agree about MAD. I would have thought it to be more in demand than Barcelona.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:26

      Madrid is a big must but Iberia would still be in a better position because it offers connections .
      JU unfortunately has partnered with Air Europe which is basically worthless .

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:43

      That is your opinion.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous11:13

    Will they fly charters in winter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:20

      Yes, they always do

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:21

      Especially around New Year/Christmas.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:31

      And especially to places like Egypt where even in winter is fantastic weather.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:58

      Air Cairo flies to Hurghada year round. And I'm sure this winter, like the summer, there will be even more demand for Hurghada so I could see Air Serbia continuing their charters there.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous23:29

      They will start Cairo next April.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:29

      ^ By "they" I mean Aie Cairo.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:57

    Until when do they have the Smartwings 737?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:01

      It was written here until the end of September.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous12:00

    So Kraljevo-Vienna will not come back in winter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:40

      Really disappointing.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous12:36

    They could try Lyon instead of Geneva.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:40

      Didn't Wizz fly Belgrade-Lyon and fail?

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL15:17

      Someone mentioned here in the comments some time back that JU would swap out GVA for LYS.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:28

      I doubr it but I don't see what they would gain from that.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous15:47

    ROV je već ulistan u zimski red letenja,2X nedeljno.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:49

      Ne mogu da se kupe karte od 31.10.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:53

      Interesantno je da uvode kasnije polaske za Pariz od uobičajenih,a jedan čak i preko Zagreba i Kroacije.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:16

      Code-share sa OU?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:53

      Ponedeljkom večernji let za Podgoricu kreće u 22,50h i vraća se ujutru u 6. Po prvi put će avion JU noćiti van matičnog aerodroma.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:58

      Ne verujem da je u pitanju code-share. Nude oni dosta letova sa presedanjem bez kod- šera ali mi je ovo bilo interesantno. Preko leta nude dosta letova za Split i Dubrovnik preko Zagreba.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:28

      They have always offered these on their website via OU. It's not a codeshare.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous20:24

    Amsterdam 6
    Atina 5
    Banja Luka 2
    Barselona 2
    Beč 9
    Berlin 4
    Brisel 2
    Bukurešt 7
    Cirih 15
    Diseldorf 3
    Frankfurt 5
    Istanbul 7
    Kopenhagen 3
    Krasnodar 3
    Larnaka 3
    Ljubljana 7
    London 4
    Milano 3
    Moskva 7
    Njujork 2
    Oslo 2
    Pariz 12
    Podgorica 14
    Prag 5
    Rim 4
    Rostov na Donu 2
    Sankt Peterburg 1
    Sarajevo 5
    Skoplje 7
    Sofija 4
    Solun 3
    Stokholm 3
    Štutgart 3
    Tirana 10
    Tivat 12
    Zagreb 7

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:26

      They still haven't pit tickets on sale for Rostov or St Petersburg.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:27

      Frequencies are very modest. Reminds me of Jat Airways times, granted there was no pandemic then.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous02:36

    Petition - Air Serbia needs to start Chicago-Belgrade nonstop flights. Please share!

    https://change.org/p/air-serbia-air-serbia-needs-to-start-chicago-belgrade-nonstop-flights

    ReplyDelete

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