Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport will have three new long haul routes established this year, with Beijing having launched in July, Tianjin to come in October and Havana set to commence by the end of the year. Services to Chicago have been confirmed for April of 2023 and more far-away destinations are expected to come next year. The development of the airport’s long haul network is in line with its strategy to offer more far-away destinations as its infrastructure expansion nears completion. “We are convinced that the significant development of the airport will support the growth of passenger traffic, especially transfer traffic. The expansion will allow us to transform the airport into a new regional hub and will provide new opportunities for launching long haul routes”, the airport recently said.
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| Current and announced long haul routes from Belgrade |
Among Belgrade Airport’s busiest unserved destinations are those on far-away markets. Air Serbia, which will play a key role in developing Belgrade’s long haul network, has said it sees more opportunities in Asia and North America, with Shanghai, Beijing and Toronto all of interest to the Serbian carrier. According to pre-pandemic data, these three were the busiest unserved routes from the Serbian capital at the time. Other top destinations included Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Guangzhou and cities in Australia. “The geographical position of Belgrade opens new opportunities and route alternatives to Asia. Air Serbia is ready to explore them”, Air Serbia’s CEO said earlier this month. Airlines launching new long haul flights to and from Belgrade are subject to fee reductions over a three-year period for each individual route based on the airport's incentive scheme.
Belgrade Airport's busiest unserved long haul destinations
Belgrade Airport sees Air Serbia as a key partner for its long haul network development. “Finding new markets and improving existing ones is of utmost importance if we want Belgrade Airport to become a point of reference in our region. We need to provide Air Serbia with the tools to offer new routes - especially long and medium haul routes - as part of its hub strategy. Air Serbia's excellent regional network, which connects Belgrade with all the countries in the region, is the foundation that allows us to build further growth”, the airport recently said. It added, “Our expansion program will increase airport capacity, with an additional 3.5-kilometre runway, a new pier, fifteen new gates, new aircraft parking positions, as well as the modernisation of 26.000 square metres of space and the expansion of the passenger terminal by an additional 47.000 square metres. All this will enable more flights during peak hours. We have no doubt this will contribute to Belgrade's success as a transfer hub”.
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Cuba? Wow.
ReplyDeleteCuba ola!
DeleteExciting times for BEG. Can't wait.
ReplyDeleteFrom all the top unserved routes they pick HAV, which isn’t even there… very smart
ReplyDeleteIt's a seasonal winter route that will be successful in current changed circumstances.
DeleteAnd mostly for Russians as there is actually not so big demand from Serbia.
DeleteBut demand can be created and once it starts it could be well developed.
Well if they want to build a hub then they have to look beyond local demand.
DeleteThere were around 5000 passengers between BEG-HAV flying on single ticket. That is not so little for a seasonal flight.
DeleteAnon 09:07 it actually is too small.
DeleteNot really. Like I say, these are flying on a single ticket. Most people that had packages with tour operator (and that is the majority) went on two tickets because they flew with leisure airlines that offer no connections to BEG.
DeleteAlso I'm sure Air Serbia knows a bit better and has better insight into numbers and traffic flow than you so they made a decision based on that.
DeleteHopefully, JU has already signed a contracts with tour operators, both local as well as regional... If yes, that is something completely different...
DeleteHAV not even making the top 15 busiest unserved routes from BEG means that is a bad choice.
DeleteI would expect that Air Serbia got a really good deal at Havana Airport.
DeleteYou don't understand how things in aviation work so...
Deleteso....?
DeleteOK, you won... They choose bad, planes will be emthy and you are the smartest person ever on this forum.
DeleteI still think that it would be great if JU would be able to make 2 flights a week to Cuba, one to Havana, another to Varadero. This way, they would be able to test the market at first. As I said before, most tourists go to Cuba on all-inclusive bases, that most of the tourist destinations there are, except for Havana, which is a different tourist market, where hotels offer only breakfast included, while the city eating does not offer a rich variety of options, and is not typically for family vacations. Another worry is the current situation with national power/energy shortages and blackouts due to the recent incident that destroyed the national gas depot, that is unlikely to be resolved soon. JU and Serbian tour operators should perhaps take a look at how Canadians deal with flights and tourist packages, as about a million of Canadians visits Cuba every year and they are the most frequent visitors there. Either way, very glad that JU will start flying to Cuba.
DeleteDo not understand what this means;
Delete"while the city eating does not offer a rich variety of options."
Havana is very interesting city to visit. Culturally, historically, architecturally, etc. Lots to do, people are great, very friendly. Sure problem exists, especially economic, but does not really affect tourists.
If BEG expects more long-haul destinations next year then I suppose we might see a Canadian airline launch YYZ? I don't think JU has the needed capacity to add more long-haul flights unless they leave them for winter 2023/24?
ReplyDeleteWhat made me especially happy is that BEG overtook SOF by quite a bit in July and I expect the same to happen in August. It's been a while since BEG was ahead and it's time for it to retake its valuable position.
No way either AC or TS will be launching BEG next year.
DeleteAC and TS have almost no presence in the region. Anywhere in the region they fly to is seasonal and these are predominately tourist heavy routes like Zagreb and Budapest.
DeleteSorry to rain on your parade but Air Canada expressed interest in launching BEG and the only reason why they didn't do it is because they wanted 3 weekly in stead of 2 they got. They feel that if they launch 2 weekly they won't have the upper hand if JU launches it.
DeleteAnd you thing @anonymous 09:33 this protectionism to JU is a good thing? Not only for the airport but for the economy in general .
Delete@09,33
DeletePerhaps the Canadians shouldn't be so uptight with allowing more frequencies. Quite a number of carriers have issues with the Canadians over bilaterals.
So basically Canada prevented their own airline from getting more slots? If they want more, they can push their own govt to renegotiate the bilateral they themselves signed.
DeleteThey just renegotiated it two years ago.
DeleteMy relatives from Serbia wont even come to visit Canada. The visa process is super tedious, plus it doesn't accept the Sputnik vaccine. Not to mention the relatives who didn't want to vaccinate their kids who can't come at all.
DeleteOh please stop the drama! Unvaccinated are denied entry to both US and Canada, as seen in Novak's case, yet Air Serbia has no issues flying to New York and launching Chicago. Those relatives can get Pfizer or Moderna jab now and will be able to qualify.
DeleteVaccination requirements are NOT a reason Air Serbia does not want to launch Toronto.
Anon 9:27
DeleteAC and TS did have presence in the wider region before 2020. Venice, Budapest, Zagreb, Bucharest, Athens, now Vienna. Belgrade is missing from this picture.
Zagreb was largely VFR for both CRO and parts of B&H. Diaspora visiting families but also spending time at the coast should not count just as tourists.
A YYZ launch would be a godsend. I would finally be able to stop flying LOT, LUFTHANSA and Austrian who dont like serbian clients anyway. Cant wait!
DeleteI hope they try to attract others as well. There is only so much JU can do.
ReplyDeleteHope so too.
DeleteShanghai and Toronto would be ideal.
ReplyDeleteI think we will have both routes by the end of 2023.
DeleteNot so sure about Toronto. Unless a Canadian airline launches it I doubt JU will that soon.
DeleteGood luck BEG!
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that for the time being no foreighn airline is interested to start long-haul routes to Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteAnd how do you know who they are talking to?
DeleteHainan Airlines launched flights less than 2 months ago. Last time I checked they are a foreign airline.
DeleteHainan once per week.....okay !
DeleteYes it is Hainan Airlines. Is that a problem? You know very well why it is once per week. All Chinese airlines are flying once per week on international routes. The fact that they chose Belgrade as one of the first international destinations to resume speaks for itself.
DeleteAnon 09:51
Delete"All Chinese airlines are flying once per week on international routes"
Why write such blatant lies? LOL!
It's not a blatant lie at all. All European destinations are currently served once per week.
DeleteLet him be. First he claimed that no foreign airline flies long haul to Belgrade. Then when he was told that they do, it doesn't suit him so he wants for it not to count.
DeleteI'm surprised about Hong Kong being on the list.
ReplyDeleteHong Kong is huge transfer point especially for China - Shenzen, Guangzhou region. From Hong Kong you can reach that region with train, ferry, bus, taxi...
DeleteAnd thousands of IT & CE companies have facilities there, it is home of some huge "all-in-one" fairs where you can find literally anything produced in the China.
Biggest surprise for me too.
DeleteInteresting @anon.9.32. Thanks for the explanation.
DeleteGood luck BEG. I think the most realistic new long haul route that will come next will be Toronto but who knows.
ReplyDeleteShanghai before Toronto.
DeleteBEG has good predispositions for more long hauls with a lot of regional links.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of potential for growth.
DeleteThis is great news and it will definitely help Belgrade grow even more. I'm glad they are oriented towards this kind of growth.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteTime to spread to North America and Asia.
ReplyDeleteThat is what JU is doing.
DeleteDa bi Beogradski aerodrom postao isti♥️🛫nski Hub, kao sto ce i biti, Er Srbija ce siriti svoja krila na intercontinentanim destinacijama. Za pocetak u prvoj fazi do pet, sest destinacija. Ostale ce biti u drugoj i trecoj fazi.
ReplyDeleteSkromno receno, Srbiji predstoji razvoj interkontinentalnog saobracaja. Uz razvoj aerodromske mreze u sastavu Aerodroma Srbije, pocece i domaci i intra linije prema sekundarnim i tercijalnim aerodromima u predelu Jugoistocne Evrope. Mir i komercijalno vazduhoplovstvo nemaju alternativu za zivot ljudi.
😀🛫🌐✈🇷🇸✈
Roki, ima alternativa za komercijalno vazduhoplovstvo, a to je da ga nema. Nije to neophodno za život. Naravno da za putovanja, pogotovo velike da daljine, ćine lakše, ali ponavljam, nije neophodno za život.
DeleteStabilnost produkcija hrana, krov nad glavom, solidan posao, porodična ljubav, a da ne govorim o duhovnoj hrani.
Roki, očekivao sam više od vas.
Nema šta više da se očekuje. Nije da je potpuno pogrešio. Jeste da nam aviosaobraćaj nije NEOPHODAN, ali jeste privilegija da se putuje, i za to jednostavno trebaju avioni, aerodromi…Zamislite samo koliko bi teže bilo da ih nema, ne samo u Srbiji, nego na mnogim drugim mestima.
DeleteIskreno sam da drzave i narod koji zivi u njima stvaraju zivot mogucnosti i izbora. Bez ta dva prilaza
Deleteljudi su prisiljeni da im se namece od onih koji su jaci i onih koji su demagozi. Zavera i demagogija je manipulacija stvarnosti i "obecanje svetle buducnosti."
Cuveni sloser vodja ovog naroda od 45-e do 80-e je pocastvovan Dedinjskom smonicom u miru. Posle njega mir i pristojni zivot nije se ostvario.Naprotiv...
Kako god se okrene izbor i mogucnost su osnov slobode. Komercijalna avijacija je jedan segment u komunikaciji. Zajedno sa autoputevima i ostalim sto zivot cini.
Moje ime nije "roki." Nego u Srbiji Radovan. Kada sam van Srbije, kome poznaje zove me rodni.
Tako je evo u zadnjih pedeset i treca godina je.
Svako dobro svima.
Rodney Marinkovic and Aviation Enthusiast Associate Group. 😀🛫🌐✈😀
What's the next long haul route we can expect?
ReplyDeleteShanghai when Covid restrictions permit.
DeleteI believe that medium haul flights are also important to develop. BEG needs Caucasus flights and more African destinations.
ReplyDeleteDoes it have any African destinations at all at the moment?
DeleteHRG year round with Air Cairo.
DeletePlus extra seasonal flights to HRG, SSH, DJE, MIR. There were several charter flights to Algeria as well this summer.
JU will restart CAI soon.
I think ADD and TUN would be good routes to explore.
AMM will be again in their network.
DeleteTUN was served by Tunis Air year round until the pandemic. However, it does not seem they are coming back.
DeleteI would love to see a list of most popular African destinations from Belgrade.
DeleteCaucasus flights are coming soon.
DeleteWould love to see Caucasus routes. Georgia is hot.
DeleteSo the US city with the biggest demand after Chicago is Miami? I didn't know that a lot of Serbs lived there.
ReplyDeleteIt’s Los Angeles, which has a decently sized community.
DeleteThere are many, and in Florida too. One of the most popular restaurants in Miami Beach is called the Rakija Lounge :D
DeleteBoston is a bit odd no? I haven't heard of many Serbs in that area.
DeleteTrue. Been to Boston and the Serb community is relatively small. Not sure about the other Balkan diaspora.
DeleteLos Angeles has high demand because it catches all of southern california, including san diego. We have two churches here in fact, and a very sizeable diaspora because a lot of electrical engineers came to work for qualcomm. everyone travels to serbia every summer.
DeleteJU should really be getting along with purring Tianjin on sale. Flights begin in 2 months. They got the permit so now they can start sales.
ReplyDeleteI hope they have a good GSA in China. It will be key to their success on this route.
DeleteThere is a lot of potential for growth.
ReplyDeleteI assume that the number of transfer passengers increased a lot when JFK launched.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the percentage of transfer passengers vs. O&D at BEG? Anyone have any idea?
DeleteBecoming some sort of a transfer hub depends a lot on your home airline ie Air Serbia in this case. Any future ambition by the airport will be linked to them.
ReplyDeleteBased on what the airport said, I think they realize that fully.
DeleteIs there any potential to fly to South America ? I heard there was some Serbian diaspora in both Argentina and Brazil and since Spanish routes are going very well from BEG, AirSERBIA can use this opportunity and offer cheaper seats than what could for example Iberia, LATAM or AirEuropa offer on a non-stop flight.
ReplyDeleteWhen I checked their prices few months ago to EZE and GRU they were so expensive
No chance for South America flights.
DeleteIs AirSerbia planing with a second Widebody Aircraft? Has anybody more information about that?
ReplyDeleteSecond wide body plane arrives in October.
DeleteNext A330 (YU-ARC) is ZS-SXW, former South African Airways ac, 11 years old.
DeleteAnd they are considering a third too.
Delete@JATBEGMEL
DeleteIs that confirmed info? Because that aircraft is apparently still parked at MZJ. Considering its coming from South Africa and it was parked for last 2 years, it requires a good bit of maintenance.
@ Mehanicar
DeleteIt isn't confirmed, the info came from another forum from a very reliable source that has been correct with every other JU ac so far.
That map looks quite good.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Air Serbia will resume VAR one day. According to the official stats, more than 72k Serbians visited Bulgaria in July 2022 one of the highest groups after Romanians, Turks, Poles and Ukrainians (page 7)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Tourism2022-07_RIQW8OI.pdf
In Sofia, you see Beograd cars and Serbian cuisine and restaurants present. More Bulgarians visit Serbia as well even if the stupid highway is still under construction but more needs to be done for air connections, imo.
JU really needs a proper partner in the USA. Hoping for AA as OneWorld has very little presence in the region. Other local airlines that had joined Star or SkyTeam did not fare that well. But AA could give JU lots of feed in the USA and would have no incentive to take European pax away from JU. At the same time they'd get a reasonable partner in an area where they have essentially no presence. And JU could also then try work out a 1-stop connection to Australia with Qantas, say via Hong Kong or Guangzhou.
Delete@16,06
DeleteJU and jetBlue will be announcing a code share agreement soon. Jet Blue will code share on the JU flights between BEG and the US, while JU will code share on select jetBlue flights in the US.
There are several key advantages to spreading to secondary cities in China. The first one would be that there is no competition. AirSerbia still has the overflight rights over Russia. All those secondary cities are megalopolises on their own with huge production facilities. So even if the passenger demand is seasonal, the cargo should offset the passenger fluctuation. With Finnair and similar out of the picture, AirSerbia can position themselves rather nicely. Or even Seoul, wherever there is a demand for cargo transport.
DeleteFascination with Toronto is really strange. First of all, Toronto is very well connected with the region by StarAlliance airlines, secondly the bilateral is prohibitive, and lastly, Canada is pain the arse to get into, to get the visa etc. Plus high seasonality. Like an airline suicide.
Why JetBlue? Why not AA? JetBlue doesn’t have many flights to/from ORD, so
DeleteI'm going to guess and say that the US3 all have partners in Europe and don't find any reason/benefit to code share with JU.
DeleteEight, trying to downplay Toronto route is really, really strange. First of all, Toronto was already very well connected to Zagreb by StarAlliance yet it didn't prevent both Air Transat and Air Canada Rouge from starting nonstop service. Secondly, someone made Canada-Serbia bilateral prohibitive: it isn't Canada, so ask Serbia why they made it 2 per week only? Lastly, US requires visa for Serbian visitors just like Canada requires visa. That doesn't matter much as most passengers have immigrant status in Canada or citizenship, or can provide invitation letter to help with the visitor visa for relatives. High seasonality didn't stop Transat and Air Canada from having seasonal service to ZAG and many other Europe destinations so it doesn't stop in case of Belgrade. Havana is also going to be seasonal route for JU, complementing what could have been done with Toronto.
DeleteAs long as this myth of "Air Serbia wanted to fly to YYZ, but it's an airline suicide!" is being repeated, those facts will pop up to to deny this myth. Air Serbia, to put it bluntly, made a mistake by launching Chicago instead of Toronto.
How do you know Canada did not make the bilateral prohibitive? Canada is one of the most protectionist countries in the Western world when it comes to aviation, preventing many airlines ftom flying there to protect Air Canada.
DeleteI wander how do you know it is not Canada who asked only 2 PW, but it was Serbia?! Knowing how Canada is restrictive in general, I am closer to believe it's actually their idea.
DeleteSerbia has open air or more liberal agreements (even with Turkey it allows growth), so i really wander what would be the reason to make one like this with Canada. On the other hand, Canada has this praxis, so...
And a comment about Toronto, personally I don't intend to fly neither to Canada nor China snoon, but I would rather see them grow in Asia and China especially, as this is the market of the future with half of world population living there, instead of some Canada with less then 40.000.000. so what is the potential there? Statistical error comparing to China and Asia as a whole.
If I would choose based on my personal preferences, I would like to see them in Ethiopia and West Africa, but that's just me dreaming loudly.
Simple deduction, Serbian side imposed that limitation if Canadian side didn't. It would make no sense for Canada to impose frequency limitation of 2 flights per week without consulting with major carrier Air Canada. That limitation prevented Air Canada from launching Belgrade service:
Delete"Air Canada has considered launching operations to Belgrade, however, a restrictive Air Service Agreement, limiting carriers to two weekly flights, is considered a deterrent."
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/01/belgrade-airport-seeks-to-develop-long.html
Serbia has quite a number of open skies agreements in place, a term Canada is unfamiliar with, unless its with countries such as Jamaica and Honduras. The Canadian government has for decades held back anything that is remotely competition to AC. Serbia at least has an open skies agreement with the EU, which is pretty much the entire market of JU's competition.
DeleteRegardless of air agreements in place or not, it was Canadian Skyservice that was given rights to operate to Serbia, the same could not be said about Jat Airways back in 2006 I believe it was.
If obstacles to launch flights from EuroMed to Canada are almost insurmountable as JATBEGMEL is saying, how come Egyptair, Royal Air Maroc, TAP, LOT, Aer Lingus, Icelandair, Swiss, Austrian, KLM, Condor, SAS, BA, AF, LH, El Al, Azores, Tunisair etc are all managing to fly?
DeleteDon't forget this fact: Air Serbia is free to start Toronto almost right away if Air Serbia wants to.
A special ATA was made between Canada and the EU back in November 2008, which most of those airlines fall under.
DeleteUK has open skies with Canada since Brexit.
As for the rest, I dont know what kind of air agreement they have with Canada. Airlines such as EK, QR, TK have all want extra frequencies into Canada. For example, it took EK a decade to get an extra 2 frequencies pw for a total of 5 pw into YYZ.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all up for JU launching YYZ. I don't see any Canadian airline wanting to launch BEG, regardless of what AC says. In the past (during the days of Yugoslavia), AC flew to ZAG and not BEG. Very little tourism exists between Canada and Serbia, while the traffic is almost exclusively VFR. Our market isn't high yielding to attract US and Canadian carriers as much as some here want to think/believe. We have an open skies agreement with the US and JU operating flights to JFK for 6 years while the US carriers are not even codesharing onto JU flights let alone wanting to fly to BEG.
Volume and transfer opportunities do exist for Toronto market, more than for Chicago. Yield is a challenge but will be similar with ORD. As for JFK it seems Jetblue could be that first US carrier to have codeshare with Air Serbia.
DeleteI'm sure YYZ will make a great destination for JU. I also think that JU got a better deal with ORD, with better flexibility with frequencies, something that didn't come with YYZ. JU is rumored to be quickly bringing a 3rd A330 (perhaps in a year?) and I doubt Canada will allow frequencies to be uped that quickly.
DeleteJetblue will be the US codeshare partner, finally after 6 years and a half years of operations to the United States.
These wishes for expansion to China under their zero covid strategy and mandatory quarantine is just not going to be popular. China needs to open up before
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThere will be so much growth in air traffic from Belgrade as soon as monopoly Air Serbia goes under. Hopefully soon!
ReplyDeleteLJU is doing absolutely fantastic since JP collapsed. Slovenia is flooded with cheaper air fares and tonnes of airlines to choose from. Since JP collapsed, Slovenia has shown how they have broken records in Europe and are the model which all should follow.
DeleteBUD was bringing in tonnes of money after MA collapsed. Super profitable actually once MA declared bankruptcy.
North Macedonia is another example of how amazing it is without a national carrier, competing with BiH in the list of European countries with the worst connectivity on the continent.
Oh, let's not forget 2020 and the pandemic and how JU was soo selfish to repatriate 15.000 stranded Serbian citizens free of charge. And those cargo flights that brought tonnes of desperately needed medical equipment for our amazingly equipped world class hospitals. Yes, let's hope they go bankrupt. The EU will selflessly help us when needed.
Air Cairo and Pegasus are going to bring Serbia amazing connectivity to the world that it needs. Oh, and Redwings too with their megahub in DME, especially now.
Actually LJU has the worst air connectivity in Europe.
Delete@18,37
DeleteLets not slander the incredible success of LJU. A true benchmark to follow.
Bravo Fraport! Bravo Slovenia!
DeleteJATBEGMEL Well said!!!
DeleteAnon 17.49, if you said this stupidity just to provoke reactions, bravo, you did it well.
DeleteIf you said this for any other reason, then you are really stupid and know nothing about business, economy, politics and finally aviation.
Anyway, AirSerbia will long live and after 95 years they have, the, will live another 95 for sure. I wish you live as long as they do.
Hoping to see Tokyo in the next few years
ReplyDeleteWhen you consider that Hongkong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are in the same catchment area (Pearl River Delta) then flights to there should be workable.
ReplyDeleteEither with Air Serbia, Cathay Pacific or China Southern Airlines .
The global demand for travel makes the planet get smaller as more people are willing to travel to areas that were basically restricted for years which is great. AirSerbia could become a major player in Eastern Europe and the Balkans with a well planned growth that could make them very attractive to any of the Alliances, especially ONEWORLD. AirSerbia would also be a good partner for AA as they focus on the US Markets and AA has the means to offer lift in the US market. AA has served several Eastern markets and obviously has interest in Eastern Europe as Prague,Budapest, Dubrovnik were added and they had intentions of adding Krakow prior to covid.
ReplyDelete