Air Serbia has announced it is restoring another destination within its network last operated prior to the coronavirus pandemic with two weekly flights to Zadar to commence on June 14. It joins Madrid, Venice and Nice, which will all be reinstated in the coming months, as well as the fourteen new routes set to launch this summer, complementing the four new services introduced in January. As a result, the Serbian carrier will maintain flights to six points in Croatia. In addition to the year-long service to Zagreb, it will also run three weekly flights to Split from May 26, two weekly to Dubrovnik from May 26, two weekly to Rijeka from June 15 and two weekly to Pula from June 16.
Commenting on developments at the airline, its new CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, “Becoming the head of a company that is the absolute leader in the region represents a great responsibility, but also brings new energy and excitement. Air Serbia is recovering rapidly and striving to reach its pre-pandemic levels by 2023, while continuing to record stable and continuous growth. In line with that, we are starting to expand our network to include numerous new destinations and are keen to offer even more choice, particularly ahead of the summer holiday season”.
The airline is continuing to consider services to Yekaterinburg in Russia following talks with the airport in September last year. The airport’s General Manager, Alexander Pastukhov, confirmed this week that both Air Serbia and Wizz Air are prepared to launch operations to the city from Belgrade and Budapest respectively, once Covid-19 restrictions and entry bans for Russian citizens are lifted across Europe. However, such limitations have not stopped Air Serbia from growing elsewhere in Russia, with the airline set to inaugurate flights between Belgrade and Sochi this June.
Meanwhile, in line with its digitalisation strategy, Air Serbia has launched a new version of its mobile application, enabling new users to book tickets in less than six minutes. The new app will be easier to use due to a histogram which simplifies the search process for lower fares, the inclusion of a passport scanning option in order to upload travel documents with greater ease, and a fully customised seat map, for a better view when selecting seats. “The new improvements in the application represent an important step in the digitalisation of our operations, having in mind that over 60% of users access the Air Serbia website via mobile devices. The needs of the passengers and the feedback we get from them have been the focus of this project. One of the results of that is our personalised booking engine that we have developed ourselves, which is not something many airlines can say. We want to encourage our passengers to try out the new application and share with us their impressions about features that are important to them. Our team will respond as quickly as possible, and the feedback will be of vital importance to us for further improving the application”, the carrier’s Head of e-Commerce, Srdjan Prokić, said.
I wonder if CAI and TLV will return as well
ReplyDeleteI think they won't be coming back, but let's see.
DeleteI don't think they will have the necessary aircraft.
DeleteThey don't have enough aircraft for the currently planned routes so they will be leasing aircraft for sure, or wet leasing.
DeleteSix destinations in Croatia is not bad at all. Although frequencies are a bit on the light side.
ReplyDeleteI think they will increase them if there is sufficient demand. That is what they do every summer.
DeleteAnd how many frequencies will there be to Zagreb?
DeleteDaily during summer
DeleteBefore corona hit, they planned double daily to Zagreb for summer 2020, Dubrovnik daily, Split 6 weekly, Pula and Zadar 3 weekly. Rijeka was not scheduled for summer 2020.
DeleteIt goes the long way the airline industry still needs to recover from Covid. Destinations are slowly being reintroduced but frequencies are still far from Covid-19 levels in most cases.
DeleteGiven the transfer options from BEG these should be year around.
DeleteSo 4 routes being reintroduced + 14 new being launched + 4 started in January = 22 routes. Not bad.
ReplyDeleteImpressive
DeleteOne route not coming back compared to last year - Geneva.
DeleteAgain, net addition of 21 routes is great.
DeleteAnd will be interesting to see how many charters they perform.
DeleteWill they be increasing frequencies on existing routes?
DeleteI hope for them to restore their charters to Palermo, Catania and Lamezia Terme.
DeleteThe charters are organized by travel agencies. If JU has a competitive offer, and there is demand, the travel agencies will make an agreement with JU. JU is only flying the planes, on behalf of the travel agencies.
DeleteI don't use their application, only their website, and I must say that the webiste and the emails they send afterwards looks like something out of the early 2000's. Very poor UX and graphic design.
ReplyDeleteThem not flying to Yekaterinburg because of supposedly Covid doesn't really stand. Seems like the airport executive is just trying to find excuses why flights were not launched.
ReplyDeleteEspecially since they are starting Sochi.
DeleteI'm skeptical about how successful Sochi will be.
DeleteAll of the Russia routes will benefit from it being another year without nonstop flights between Russia and Montenegro.
DeleteGreat. But I really don't understand why JU constantly avoiding Greece and do not introduce scheduled flights to various destinations to Greece.
ReplyDeleteShame they don't consider Brač.
ReplyDeleteThere were some initiatives a couple of yeara ago but they never materialized.
DeleteThere is something for everyone in their network this summer :D
ReplyDeleteAwesome additions, however, I am slightly confused with the lack of balance between the eastern and western destinstions. It seems to me that they will not sufficiently exploit transfer options... Hopefully I am wrong 😊
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteI expected more routes to Romania, Bulgaria and Poland.
Ukraine would be logical too, but the political situation is not very stabile.
Most people try to avoid transefers these days if possible, since you have to consider the entry rules of yet another country on your way.
DeleteI would say that they go for what they can get. Natural demand from Serbia is higher towards west which explains disbalance on that side.
DeleteBy time, eastern destinations, especially the ones where transfer trafic has been targeted should mature and grow by time.
I believe more balance we'll see by time, but western NW will always remain "bigger".
Agree with above anon. They are focusing on rich popular western markets that can be fed both by locals and the east network they currently have.
DeleteGood improvements.
ReplyDeleteThe new app is a big improvement on the previous one.
DeleteLooks as if it will be a good year for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope Covid does not wreck their ambitious plans.
DeleteShould be better than 2021.
DeleteNew routes, new aircraft, better customer service... We really don't have much to complain about them this year.
DeleteAgreed. They are basically a perfect airline.
DeleteWill they again wet lease B737-700 like last summer?
ReplyDeleteMost likely
DeleteCrazy. Can't they find a better solution.
DeleteHonestly it's nice to see an ex-Yu airline expanding, adding new routes and growing its fleet. There is too much stagnation in the region.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWhen does the next ATR72-600 arrive?
ReplyDeleteAnd when will the one they got last week enter service?
DeleteThe biggest disappointment from them this year is no long haul expansion.
ReplyDeleteIt is only February. There is a possibility long haul will grow during the winter season when more restrictions around the world are lifted.
DeleteThey should first develop fully European network.
DeleteNext year long haul might come, but honestly saying leasing prices might go up.
They will probably wait. I think they will first renew the regional fleet, and probably airbuses, and than acquire new a330.
DeleteI doubt we will see long haul expansion until 2023 or even 2024.
DeleteNew CEO wants to expand in Europe and that's fine. But if he doesn't want to expand long haul why doesn't he allow Air Canada service to Belgrade with 3 or 4 flights per week? Serbia should allow raising the limit from 2 per week to let others fly.
DeleteCanada does not want to allow the limit to be raised, not Serbia. Canada is the most regulated and protected air market in the western world.
DeleteIs that a fact? Air Canada was mentioned in the news as interested in starting Belgrade but 2 flights per week limit is considered a deterrent. It is Serbian side that should allow raising the limit since Air Serbia is not going to be focused on long haul expansion.
DeleteBilateral is not fixed at 2pw and allows increase if both sides agree. Air Canada obviously needs more than 2. Air Serbia should indicate to Serbian CAD they are not expanding longhaul and allow other side to increase the limit. Vinci promised bringing new long haul destinations and this would allow them to deliver. C'mon Air Serbia stop blocking others.
DeleteIt's the Canadians that limited the frequencies not Serbia. EK, QR and TK are examples of airlines that want more frequencies into Canada but have not gotten them. In fact, the UAE protested to the Canadian government on this issue. Massive diplomatic spat. After 10 years of operations in Canada, EK finally got allowed 2 additional flights per week bringing a total of 5 pw. Back in 2006, JU was ready to lease a B767 and to restart both JFK and YYZ. Tickets were put on sale. Both the US and Canada did not approve JU, yet Canadian airline Skyservice was allowed to fly to Serbia and was regularly operating YYZ-BEG until they went bankrupt.
DeleteSerbia has an open skies agreement signed with the US so there is no issue for an American airline to start flights to Serbia if they want to.
JATBEGMEL your logic is flawed. Stop brining up EK, old issues with UAE have nothing to do with this. If you look at this case you will notice Air Canada expressed interest but found 2 weekly limit as discouraging. That means Canadian side didn't limit the frequencies.
Delete@14,51
DeleteIt's not flawed, it's reality. The example of EK is not an old issue, it's a current issue. And it's not just EK, but as I mentioned above, a problem other carriers experience, with 2 additional examples provided. Canada is notorious for their limited bilaterals when it comes to air transportation. JU has expressed interested in expanding long haul and I am sure they would not persuade the Serbian Government to sign agreements to restrict their expansion.
What alot here forget is that Serbia is no financial hub nor a mass tourism destination where there is a line up of foreign carriers waiting to enter our market. AC expressing interest means very little. All airlines express interest in different markets, it doesn't necessarily mean they will actually operate them.
JATBEGMEL explain why would Canada hurt their own airline by imposing restrictions: Air Canada has considered launching operations to Belgrade, however, a restrictive Air Service Agreement, limiting carriers to two weekly flights, is considered a deterrent.
DeleteIf thats the case, why does Canada have Open Skies agreements with only 23 countries and not more?
DeleteRestrictive air agreements work in their favour as well. Again using DXB as an example, the limited capacity given to UAE carriers stunned their growth in Canada regardless of the fact that numbers justified allowing them more flights. The Middle East nor India was a market AC or any Canadian airline was operating into at the time. It was only when AC started operating into DXB and India did they allow an increase in capacity for UAE carriers, where EK got rights for an additional 2 pw into Canada. TK is another example, where, if allowed, would be flying into more Canadian cities than they currently do.
Correct me if I am wrong, but Serbia has an open skies policy with the US.
Lots of great work has been done at JU in recent months.
ReplyDeleteHelsinki not returning?
ReplyDeleteNo, they announced more than a year ago that Helsinki and Kiev are being discontinued.
DeleteBring back Florence! It was scheduled before Corona hit.
ReplyDeleteThey are starting 3 new routes in Italy and bringing back another one. Plus there is Milan and Rome. I think that is enough for the Italian market for the time being.
DeleteI'm still wondering how they will fill these flights with Serbian citizens still not allowed to enter Italy without quarantine regardless of their vaccination status, and something tells me this won't change for the summer. I guess they are counting on a lot of transfers from Tirana.
DeleteHighly doubt it
DeleteFantastic. Now only Cairo and Tel Aviv left.
ReplyDeleteDo they have enough aircraft? Those continuous expansions need to be backed by both pilots and planes.
ReplyDelete" Air Serbia is recovering rapidly and striving to reach its pre-pandemic levels by 2023"
ReplyDeleteThey would have to add a million passengers this year to reach 2019 levels. Is that really realistic?
No one expected such high numbers for 2021 summer season either, so I think it will not be a problem to reach 2019 numbers.
DeleteWe will se at what financial cost.
DeleteA lot will also depend how strong the summer charter season is. Last year was phenomenal thanks in part to lots of pent up demand, as well as people having paid for their package holiday in 2020 and being moved to 2021.
DeletePeople will still want to go on holiday this year too :)
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteNow the hard work begins for the new CEO. But I am glad he is development oriented and didn't shy away from launching new routes.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised, he has a lot of valuable experience from successful companies like LO, MA, AZ...
DeleteMind you, Air Serbia was development oriented since 2013, long before he came.
Let's hope that this will be reflected in the financial results as well.
ReplyDeleteSince they are getting aircraft and expanding the network we probably won't see some stellar results because a lot of money will be invested in these things.
DeleteAll things considered pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThe only destination I really need is Geneva and it is the ONLY one that they are not considering anymore. Bad luck for me :-) Easyjet has decent schedule but with all the items one needs to buy in order to have a normal flight, it is becoming ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know how long the flight to Yekaterinburg would take? It seems like a rather long one, if one needs to avoid Ukranian airspace.
If flying over Ukraine, flight would be almost 4 hours. Not sure how much longer if bypassing Ukraine.
DeleteAir Serbia's flights to Russia do not have to avoid flying over Ukraine.
DeleteIt applies only to Russian planes flying to Serbia, Romania etc...
Good job, many airlines are in worse position than Air Serbia. Somebody is doing something right.
ReplyDeleteJU was the big pride of Yugoslavia and today again we are proud of JU who links the region with Europe via BEG . Love their network, especially to cities such as Trieste, Bologna, Valencia, Venezia, Nice, Madrid, Barcelona etc.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteNot only BEG, but Niš and Kraljevo too.
DeleteJU most definitely is a serbian star (and a relevant player) in the region. Their network in the broader region is quite impressive.
DeleteThey need to start Heraklion, Rhodes and Santorini.
ReplyDeleteWizz
DeleteLet's see how their new battles with Wizz turn out this year on Rome, Barcelona and Nice flights.
ReplyDeleteI think they will actually coexist on BCN and FCO routes. Nice is another story and I think Wizz will fly one summer and won't resume it in 2023.
DeleteAir Serbia might struggle with Rome. While there is no Alitalia anymore, they have introduced so many new routes to Italy that many who previously had to fly via Rome to other parts of Italy no longer have to do that.
DeleteI doubt Rome would struggle. It is by far the biggest market in Italy. It will also take a while for ITA (or whatever that is at the moment) takes normal shape and form. If you want to fly Wizzair with normal handluggage or checked one, you soon realize the prices are not that "low-cost".
DeleteOn the other hand, we do get normal service on AirSerbia which I find reasonable.
I'm glad regional fleet renewal is finally on the agenda but I'm wondering what they will do with Airbus fleet. This summer they did not have enough Airbuses in peak season. The Boeings are also gone. Assuming next summer is better than the last one, they will have to do something. I'm assuming wet-leasing planes during peak months isn't their long term solution.
ReplyDeleteThey need extra planes ASAP.
DeleteLet's hope it's not Smartwings wet leased equipment.
DeleteThey should lease an A321 for charters.
DeleteThey should consider some new charter destinations as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's up to tour operators not JU.
Delete