Slow recovery for EX-YU long haul operations


Serbia and Croatia will be the only two markets in the former Yugoslavia to boast long haul flights this summer, with just three routes to be served at this point, compared to six in the pre-pandemic 2019. Record-high fuel prices as a result of the Russia - Ukraine conflict and subsequent restrictions, sanctions and counter measures are further expected to slow the recovery and development of long haul flights from the region. Currently, Air Serbia plans to maintain services between Belgrade and New York, Air Transat from Toronto to Zagreb, and United Airlines from Newark to Dubrovnik, the latter two both operating for a limited period during the summer months.

Air Serbia plans to run up to six weekly flights between its hub and the Big Apple this summer, up from five weekly last year. The carrier will initially increase frequencies from two to three weekly at the end of the month, followed by a fourth weekly service from May 16, fifth weekly from June 13 and a sixth weekly rotation starting June 20. The carrier has seen success on the route over the pandemic years. Last month, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, noted Air Serbia would lease a second Airbus A330 aircraft and launch at least two new long haul destinations, one in North America and another in Asia. “After almost five years of hard work, the service to New York is finally profitable. Now we want to increase frequencies on that route and introduce another destination in North America, either Toronto or Chicago, as well as one in China, either Beijing or Shanghai. Due diligence is being carried out and a business plan is being drafted, so we can gauge interest”, Mr Vučić said. The carrier itself has not commented on the matter.

This summer will see the resumption of Air Transat’s seasonal service between Toronto and Zagreb after over two years. Flights will be restored on May 7 with one weekly service, before increasing to two weekly on June 7. The flights will operate with the A330-200 jet until the end of the summer season in late October. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline planned to introduce a third weekly departure between the two cities. Its rival, Air Canada, will not be returning to the Croatian capital this summer despite initially scheduling flights. Korean Air has also ruled out a return to Zagreb this summer. The General Manager of Zagreb Airport, Huseyin Bahadir Bedir, previously said he believes it will take up to 2025 for the airport’s long haul operations to be fully restored. “It is no secret the resumption of medium and long haul flights primarily depend on travel restriction imposed by different countries. Zagreb Airport had a notable number of passengers from the Far East, Australia and North America. The return of these flights will depend on boarder restrictions. We expect the gradual resumption of these services between 2022 and 2025”, Mr Bedir noted.

United Airlines has confirmed the resumption of flights between New York’s Newark Airport and Dubrovnik this year. The carrier will restore operations on May 27 with four weekly rotations planned. Furthermore, the US carrier has extended its flight program to Dubrovnik with services to be run until the end of the 2022 summer season, on October 26. All flights will be maintained by the Boeing 767-300 aircraft. On the other hand, Delta will not resume services to the Croatian coastal city this summer, following the launch of its flights from New York’s JFK Airport last year. Similarly, American Airlines, which introduced seasonal flights from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik in 2019, and was to return in 2020 with additional services and capacity, will not be coming back. The coronavirus pandemic has seen the airline indefinitely delay the route. Brian Znotins, American Airlines’ Vice President for Network and Schedule Planning, said the company will “take a holistic evaluation” of its Dubrovnik route in the coming years to determine whether to potentially restore flights depending on how demand and competition has changed in the market by that time. “There's nothing to say that we won't necessarily restart flights again”, Mr Znotins said, adding that Philadelphia is “the natural draw” for utilising new aircraft as they come in to ramp up service to Europe.



Comments

  1. Anonymous07:41

    Due to the current situation, I somehow doubt that second Air Serbia long haul route will happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:50

      I actually think it is the perfect time, especially with Aeroflot out of the picture for China transfers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:07

      Agree with above anon.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:15

      I also think this is a big opportunity for Air Serbia, especially since they will be able to overfly Russian airspace unlike all other European airlines. A major competative (and financial) advantage.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:40

      Unfortunately, I don't think we will see much long haul development this year. But in 2023 I think it will be plausible.

      Delete
    5. For the first time they can introduce only China with second A330 and use it to Moscow, if one daily still exists

      Delete
  2. Anonymous07:43

    I'm surprised Air Canada isn't coming back to Zagreb. They are returning to all European destinations including Budapest. I'm wondering if the ZAG route is completely terminated or they will come back next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:52

      Hoping they will come back eventually.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:55

      Yes in Europe almost their entire network is back.

      From Toronto
      Mar. 2 – Toronto-Amsterdam, three-weekly
      Mar. 2 – Toronto-Paris CDG, three-weekly
      Mar. 26 – Toronto-Lisbon, three-weekly
      Mar. 26 – Toronto-Vienna, four-weekly
      Mar. 27 – Toronto-Athens, twice-weekly
      Mar. 27 – Toronto-Rome, three-weekly
      Apr. 15 – Toronto-Venice, once-weekly
      May. 2 – Toronto-Copenhagen, three-weekly
      May. 4 – Toronto-Budapest, three-weekly
      May. 4 – Toronto-Barcelona, five-weekly
      May. 19 – Toronto-Madrid, three-weekly
      May. 30 – Toronto-Edinburgh, once-daily
      May. 30 – Toronto-Manchester, four-weekly
      Jun. 1 – Toronto-Keflavik, four-weekly in the first week

      From Montréal
      Mar. 26 – Montréal-Rome, twice-weekly
      Mar. 27 – Montréal-Lisbon, twice-weekly
      Mar. 28 – Montréal-Athens, twice-weekly
      Apr. 16 -Montréal-Venice, once-weekly
      May. 6 – Montréal-Barcelona, three-weekly
      May. 12 – Montréal-Nice, three-weekly
      May. 21 – Montréal-Milan Malpensa, three-weekly
      Jun. 2 – Montréal-Dublin, three-weekly
      Jun. 2 – Montréal-Keflavik, three-weekly

      From Vancouver
      May. 1 – Vancouver-Frankfurt, five-weekly
      Jun. 1 – Vancouver-Dublin, four-weekly in the first week
      Jun. 17 – Vancouver-Zurich, four-weekly

      From Halifax
      Apr. 30 -Halifax-London Heathrow, five-weekly

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:39

      So no Bucharest, Warsaw, Prague and Zagreb. I supppse they will recover these destinations next.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:39

      I'm quite surprised by the number of routes they serve in Europe.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous07:50

    What harppened with all those recent announcements from Sarajevo Airport how they would have long haul flights to the US and China?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:56

      Did you really think that would happen?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:25

      Long haul from Sarajevo is not going to happen. At least not for a decade.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous08:00

    Nice to see JFK back to 6 weekly from Air Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:04


      That is one tight schedule with one A330.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:07


      Could it indicate a second A330 will come in mid June?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      The same schedule was before pandemic.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous08:02

    So it seems there will be fewer long haul flights to ex-Yu than even last year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:07

      Sadly yes

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:13

      And Air Astana does not seem to be coming back to Montenegro.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      Wow :(

      Delete
  6. Anonymous08:02

    When will Zagreb FINALLY get flights to US? Conditions are good for the US flights, especially with the US visas being abolished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:05

      The only chance of these US flights happening is for Croatia Airlines to lease a widebody and start it themselves. Otherwise no one else is interested.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:09

      The US-Zagreb flight legend. Next year will be the 15 year anniversary since they announced that they started talks for these flights

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:17

      ZAG is already the largest Star Alliance hub not to have US bound flights. Time to get those services.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:27

      If Pristina gets flights to the US first (and it already had US flights in the past), then Zagreb management really have a good hard look.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous08:46

      it can only be charters from one of the dubious "familia-run" travel agencies...

      on the other hand ZAG has a better chance of getting a serious US airline.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:04

      New York flights are long overdue

      Delete
    7. When talking about ZAG to North America flights, almost all people here tend to "forget" that ZAG had scheduled flights to New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Montreal and Toronto operated by 6 diferrent airline companies. Today the market between the two is bigger than it used to be before. I used to say before here Ryanair would come to ZAG and it happened. The same, I used to say more North American destinations will be introduced from ZAG soon, and it will happen. Just wait and see

      Delete
  7. Anonymous08:04

    What a shame :(

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous08:10

    What other long haul markets could work from ex-Yu other than US and Canada?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:13

      China, South Korea and Japan.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:28

      Japan, South Korea, China and the US are perspective long haul markets.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:55

      Singapore once travel restrictions are lifted.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:05

      Pre-corona there were plans for Air Asia X to operate charters from Bangkok to Zagreb during 2020. They even scheduled the dates. So I think Thailand is a possible market.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous08:12

    JU should really add BKK to their route map, at first should be 1pw winter seasonal October through April. Demand for Thailand holidays among the people in our region is high.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vlad11:39

      Yields to BKK are trash though. Unless they can keep the business cabin consistently full, it's highly unlikely these flights would be profitable.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous08:29

    And the obsession with long haul flights in Ex-Yu countries continue :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:30

      Completely normal that all these airports want to have long haul flights. Don't see the issue.

      Delete
    2. Expecting to have something you already had 50 years ago is not obsession. But some people would never understand it

      Delete
  11. Anonymous08:29

    What about Split? Any chance we might see some seasonal long hauls from there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:32

      Split Airport CEO said they are not interested in long hauls.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:45

      Probably because they have nowhere to park those planes. They woyld earn much more from narrowbody flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:56

      I believe in 2019 Transat schedule Split from Toronto but then cancelled after a few months of sales. Don't know why.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:33

      I think they needed A321XLR for those but they didn't have them yet. The 330 was not an option for air Transat also

      Delete
  12. Anonymous08:47

    Would be nice to have Malaysia Airlines back in Zagreb like in the 90s :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:50

      Malaysia Airlines was a real treat at ZAG :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Would be nice for them to come back one day.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:06

      Malaysia Airlines has become a pretty irrelevant airline these days. Singapore's subsidiary Scoot would be perfect for seasonal flights to Zagreb and transfers from Australia.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:20

      Does Scoot even fly to Europe?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:22

      Yes, to Athens and Berlin.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous08:48

    Fuel prices will be a big issue.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous08:54

    Hope Korean comes back to Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:56

      no doubt Korea flights will resume. T'way will also start flights to Zagreb.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous08:57

    Opportunity for OU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      The ship for OU to go long haul has sailed a long time ago.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:07

    I think Zagreb airport management has to work on these lomg hauls to boost revenue after the discounts they gave to FR. They have to compensate somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:21

    Could West Jet eventually start flights to ex-Yu?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Do they even have aircraft that can reach the region?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      Yes they have Dreamliners

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      Before Covid they flew to London, Paris, Dublin and Barcelona.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:55

      I doubt the Balkans are on their radar.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:47

      West Jet could come to the Balkans they had plans for Athens for 2022 but maybe they will start ATH in 2023 , with that they can start BEG or ZAG .

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:41

    Shanghai, Chicago and Toronto would be ideal for Air Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:42

      I think having New York and Shanghai would be a good start. Maybe eventually add Toronto and possibly Chicago and that is more than respectable for a Balkan airline

      Delete
  19. When Belgrade become a tourist destination then you can expect some American airline to come. Until then Mr Vucic can rely on the Serbian tax payers to take care on the Air Serbia loses for any long haul route.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:43

      Zagreb is a toruist destination but has neither American or local airline flying.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:44

      Just Bel Cielo with another nasty Serbia comment :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      I don't get your comment. No one even mentioned US airline flying to BEG. And Air Serbia is profitable on its New York flights.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:23

      I don't get Bel Cielo's issue with Vucic and the loss making comment. A lot of airlines get subsidies from their governments; be it forgivable loans, tax breaks or some other mechanism. Airlines are not a traditional business where profit is the ONLY objective, there are national interests involved as well - including direct flights to key long-haul destinations to establish trade, diplomacy and tourism. The failure to recognize this is mind boggling.

      Delete
    5. @ANONYMOUS 10:23, unfortunately for you all North American airlines are private owned. So their only interest is profit. They don't care about national interest. So as I said before only if Belgrade become a tourist destination then you can expect some airline from there.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:15

      You are the only person talking about North American airlines flying to Belgrade. No one even mentioned it.

      Delete
    7. Prepelica13:04

      @Bel Cielo 11:07 They are indeed privately owned, but still welcome with open hands all sorts of government subsidies, lobying with domestic and foreign regulators and similar. Not to mention Turkish Airlines, all Middle East carriers and even some EU carriers with all whom Air Serbia competes.

      Delete
    8. @prepelica, I'm waiting to show me when North Americans airlines took subsidies from their country! I'm not talking about Air Serbia, this has become a habit!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:17

      You have an unhealthy obsession with Serbia and Air Serbia. You should rather count Croatia Airlines' subsidies.

      Delete
    10. @ANONYMOUS 13:17, yes of course! Croatia airlines is not an exception!

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:50

      Bel Ciao,

      I think your little "when Belgrade becomes a tourist destination" comment is condescending, vindictive, and superiority complexed to say the least. For regional standards, Belgrade is a respectable tourist destination. Just like Croatia is. Although you should put everything in local perspective, especially when taking into consideration that one city like Vienna has got more or less the same number of tourists per annum like the entire Croatia. Vucic is doing a great job in general and will get rewarded for that at the next elections, whether you like it or not. Don't stress and generalise about Serbian people's taxes, worry about your own ones on a personal level. That tax story is tired and has been used and abused like a broken gramophone here. I am happy where my taxes are going. If you are not, the road is wide and long...

      Delete
    12. @ANONYMOUS 14:50 I know that the truth hurts but that is the reality! Never a North American airline will come to Belgrade as long as it will be a respectable tourist destination. Until then you and the other Serbian people will pay for Mr Vucic ambitions!

      Delete
    13. Anonymous14:18

      I like people with ambition. I would worry if there was someone in power that was ambitionless. The costs of that are far greater, of which, I'm sure, you can vouch from your own specific surrounds.

      Delete
    14. Ambitions that you are paying!!!! Good for you!!!

      Delete
    15. Anonymous15:18

      Totally. That's how taxation works. I'm 100% behind ambitious projects.

      Delete
    16. @ANONYMOUS 15:18 Economics : - 10!

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:45

    For flights to China to begin, it first needs to reopen. Covid is currently raging across China. They are even looking at banning all international flights to Shanghai.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:52

      It's not going to be much better in Europe in a month. Case numbers are already exploding in Austria and Germany and with 2 million untested refugees coming in, it won't be much better elsewhere either.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:50

    They always said long haul wpuld be the last to recover.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous09:54

    Less talk from everyone and more action please.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous09:59

    Why isn't Delta returning to Dubrovnik? They were performing well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02

      Maybe they couldn't compete with United? Or they might have a fleet shortage.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:45

      Delta is focusing more in Greece and left Croatia to United.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:00

    BEG has good predispositions for more long hauls with a lot of regional links.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      There is a lot of potential for growth.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous10:07

    United would be prefect for US flights to/from Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:20

      They always made the most sense since OU is in Star Alliance.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:32

      OU nowadays only flies to Sarajevo and Skopje in the region. UA would not have much to gain from them

      Delete
  26. Anonymous10:25

    With Russian carriers not getting new planes, this should be a perfect opportunity for ASL to get some planes out of undelivered ones. Let's see what happenes

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:32

    I honestly think that many more airlines should look towards EX-YU, especially Croatia and Serbia. During the last years Croatia has become a hotspot for young travellers during the summer. I believe that there should for sure be Year round flights from Zagreb to NY, Toronto, Shanghai. On the other hand seasonal routes should be installed from Split and Dubrovnik, maybe NY, Chicago, Toronto and many more destination from China and Japan. For Serbia, same thing should happen as I already mentioned with Zagreb. Flights to China, 2 US destinations and Toronto. Belgrade has recently become a hotspot for young people who like to party and i believe that many people from around the world would enjoy and should come and visit. Its just a shame that both of the national carriers are poor, especially Croatia Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:32

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:45

      Jako popularno trziste jeste slazem e sa vama ali ocigledno neko iz vrha star alliance to blokira na neki nacin, meni isto nije jasno da CTN zapostavlja veliku britaniju, nemacku i da nema vise sopstvenih letova. A drugi je deo sto EU ne dozvoljava velika ulaganja drzave.
      INN-NS

      Delete
  28. Anonymous11:55

    Trenutno su jako povoljni uslovi za jos jedan lizing A332 koji ce se desiti, uz PEK ce verovatno ici ORD malo pre nego YYZ. Ali ne treba zaboraviti ni zimske sezonske letove za BKK,MLE i CUN. Ne bilo lose ni razmatranje ulaska u neku alijansu.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  29. The above discussions are really a waste of time. Air Serbia will be flying to Toronto, Chicago, Shanghai and Beijing by the end of next year. Within five years you can add Sydney, Melbourne, Delhi and Capetown. And this is only the five year plan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vlad12:56

      So not even the strongest European long-haul airlines are flying direct to SYD & MEL, but JU should do it. Got it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:34

      Big lol

      Delete
    3. Another big lol for SYD, MEL and CPT. DEL is not very likely to happen but not entirely impossible


      Delete
  30. JU520 BEGLAX12:46

    I hope JU will soon add more widebodies to their fleet and operate and connect ex YU like in the 1970/80s with the world. Besides JFK, I think we could have ORD YYZ PVG BKK and even NRT and ICN. BEG airport has now the capacity to handle more passengers and JU has a good hub system in BEG with connections to most of the ex YU cities. In WITT when there are less flights to the US and NRT ICN, they could increase flights to BKK and add DXB as well as Charter flights to warm long haul destinations. Lets keep the revenues of air travel in the region, for the benefit of the region, rather than giving the revenues to foreign carriers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JU520 BEGLAX13:17

      JU could even employ Slovenian and Macedonian speaking flight attendants and promote in their inflight magazin the entire region, in cooperation with the respective tourist boards and offer dishes from all YU. Also service quality should be kept high, so JU becomes a good alternative for people originating or travelling to destinations such as ZAG LJU SKP DBV SPU SJJ PRN or TIV. It could even go further and include Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Albania. Only together we have a chance to compete with the rest and ensure that as much as possible of the air travel revenues stay in the region.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:43

      Yeah, thatll only happen if drug Tito was to rise up zombified, send all the political elites to some newly opened Goli Otok and reset the backward minds of all ex Yu people. Until then we will continue to hate one another and profit will be reserved for the ruling elites.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous16:20

    There is no room for optimism regarding EX YU long haul in 2022. Expecting recovery in 2023 with any reasonable confidence is nearly impossible due to unpredictable conditions.

    In hindsight, it is now becoming apparent Air Serbia had a window to expand long haul back in 2017-2018 timeframe but was instead focused on other priorities. Launch window is almost closed now and may stay shut for a while.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL23:44

      JU's financial report in 2016 was soo fantastic, they were forced into reconsolidation, transforming from a 'boutique' airline into a hybrid carrier. This consolidation took 2 years (2017 & 2018) to bring their losses (in 2016 estimated around 50 million EUR) to a more manageable level (~9 million EUR in 2019). JU was in no state to expand long haul when they were struggling to maintain short and medium haul routes and frequencies. 2017 saw IST, WAW, KBP and VAR removed from their network with a reduction of frequencies to most destinations, 2018 AUH and OHD were discontinued with a lighter reduction of frequencies in their network. Business class service even went from a proper hot meal set up to cold food in a cardboard box. This consolidation allowed the large expansion in 2019, which was to be followed by a second in 2020. JU was in no financial state to venture into another long haul adventure as YU-ARA at the time was barely flying in the winter months. Pre Covid, an attempt was made to send it on charters to Sicily (PMO), but didn't go well. It was only during Covid utilisation picked up. Now (within the next 12-14 months) is the time to pick up a second frame. Launch window is far from closed as long haul will be the last to recover.

      Delete

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