Serbia and Turkey have agreed to revise the number of destinations, frequencies and capacities between the two countries, in a departure from the restrictive bilateral Air Service Agreement in force between the two states. The Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate, the Turkish Directorate General of Aviation, Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines met in Istanbul to finalise the deal. "The meeting resulted in an agreement on destinations, frequencies, and capacities that will be in force on scheduled flights between the two countries", the Serbian regulator said. Although details are yet to be released, Air Serbia is expected to boost operations to Istanbul this winter, complementing its Turkish counterpart’s triple daily service. In addition, the Turkish carrier is expected to launch scheduled flights between Antalya and Belgrade in cooperation with Air Serbia next year.
The new agreement will aid the drafting of a Joint Venture between Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines. A Joint Venture is an agreement between airlines to share revenues on a route. It also involves coordinating route planning and scheduling. These are typically large undertakings, that involve significant negotiations. They also often require government approval due to the potential removal of competition. The two said the Joint Venture “will enable the two companies to offer more competitive and more affordable flights between Turkey and Serbia, improve the quality of service currently offered, as well as expand their offer and benefits for all passengers”. Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines are negotiating increasing existing cooperation in terms of codeshare, cargo and Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) while developing cooperation alternatives on passenger lounges in their networks. Turkish Airlines already utilises Air Serbia’s dedicated Premium Lounge at Belgrade Airport.
This year has seen Turkish Airlines add a third daily flight to Belgrade, which will be maintained throughout the winter as well, while Air Serbia has introduced a two weekly service from both Niš and Kraljevo to Istanbul, which are performing well. Furthermore, the two airlines have expanded their codeshare partnership on several occasions. Serbia and Turkey recently signed a protocol enabling passport-free travel. The restrictive Air Service Agreement between Serbia and Turkey, signed in October 2015, entered into force in December 2021. Under the agreement, each airline must take into consideration how their operations will affect their competitors, while regulators are able to determine if any increase in capacity or frequencies is justified and in line with market conditions.
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This is extremely good for JU.
ReplyDeleteThis is not good for zhe passangers. Less competition means higher prices. So simple.
DeleteFFP?
ReplyDeleteOhhhh. A sign pf the times to come?
For 2 years, after every agreement there is a statement about "increasing existing cooperation in FFP" :)
DeleteI don't say it will not happen, just even if it comes it might be a long way....
They first mentioned FFP cooperation just 2 months ago and said it would be part of the potential JV.
DeleteIt's not like JU have any other big player to lean upon.
DeleteTK are the obvious choice and these are the first steps towards "something".
If TK really enables crediting of JU flights to their FFP (with status miles), I will switch to Miles & Smiles immediately, and a lot of my business to JU. The main reason I avoid JU for intra-European connections is that I can't credit the flights to any useful FFP, so I stick with LH Group mostly as I get the alliance-wide benefits there.
DeleteYou are kidding? OU hardly survive their LH connections.
DeleteTo me it looks more and more like we are moving towards TK getting a stake in JU.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Etihad?
DeleteThey still have 16%. I assume they would be more than happy to offload it to TK.
DeleteI don't think so. I think ownership structure will not change especially since JU managed to stabilize their finances and to keep losses at a manageable level.
DeleteThis is what JU needed from the start. A partnership with a mega carriers and to gain access to its global network. Similar to what LG, OU, A3, SK... have with LH.
You are kidding? OU hardly survive their LH connections.
DeleteI am not kidding, I am talking about a business concept. Some make it work and some others don't. OU failed to negotiate a good enough deal with LH. On the other hand, I highly doubt Aegean or SAS are losing money on their flights to LH hubs. Equally so, both are trying to build a strong hub at their respective main airports. Heck, even Luxair is being more adventurous and courageous than OU.
DeleteJust because OU is like that doesn't mean the business concept/idea is flawed.
Do You really expect that TK will work differently than in BiH and Albania?
DeleteGood point. TK doesn't know how to run business abroad.
DeleteTK isn't doing bad in Albania. 2 more A320s are already painted and will join the fleet soon with new destinations to follow.
DeleteI think TK failed in SJJ because the market isn't that big. It's incomparably larger in Albania so there is more room for growth.
DeleteShame Pegasus is being excluded.
ReplyDeleteThey should be allowed at least to have 7x weekly frequency.....
DeleteI wonder if this will mean that TK widebodies will become a regular sight at BEG from IST?
ReplyDeleteThey were supposed to this summer but TK has a fleet shortage.
DeleteTurkish 787 dreamliners or A350s in Belgrade soon???
ReplyDeleteyes buddy, also a380 double daily
DeleteTurkish's B787 has just 10 more seats than the A330 which was supposed to operate this summer to Belgrade (and has operated in the past) but they did not have any spare capacity. No need to belittle and spit.
DeleteAnon 09.11, unfortunately TK doesn't have the A380 and BEG doesn't have adequate gates so for the time being that's out of question.
DeleteDo they send the B787 or any European routes?
DeleteIn our region they send the Dreamliner to ATH though often they dispatch the B77W due to high demand. To Bucharest they send the A330. BUD is on the A321.
DeleteThat said, if JU boost IST then BEG might become Balkan's number one destination from IST in terms of weekly frequencies.
Yes,they do.
Delete@anon 09:40
DeleteTurkish 787s fly to London, Amsterdam, Paris, Athens, Vienna.
Turkish A330's fly almost every city in Europe that has a population than 1-1.5 million.
I don't see any reason BEG shouldn't be included in this list.
If Turkish starts Antalya, Air Serbia should launch Izmir flights.
ReplyDeleteI assume it was part of the talks.
DeleteI wonder how many additional passengers the passport free travel will generate
ReplyDeleteHas passport free travel between Serbia and Turkey entered into force ?
DeleteIs that really some tangible incentive that could drive no. of passangers up?
DeleteVisa free travel is one thing, but I don't really see that passport free travel changes much.
One of the factors driving up demand between IST and BEG is the arrival of migrants from Burundi. A popular combination is ET and TK, with arrival into BEG on the midday TK1079 flight (the new 3rd daily flight).
DeleteI think the passport free travel will impact more on the Serbian tourists into Turkey rather than the other way around. Tourist arrivals from Turkey seem more to be returning to 2019 levels, with small growth. As of 01.09.2022 the RZS published 76.473 arrivals of Turkish citizens so far for this year compared to 74.635 for the same period in 2019. In 2019, a total of 107.659 Turkish citizens visited Serbia growing 39.6%.
Great news
ReplyDeleteWell done JU!
ReplyDeleteIt will surely help me them to grow even bigger.
help them*
DeleteWow, Turkish is really flexing its muscle in BEG. First they introduce Ankara flights, then third daily Belgrade and now they want scheduled year round Antalya flights.
ReplyDeleteIn summer they could use A330 from Antalya to Belgrade without a problem.
DeleteYou could use an A380 without a problem even. During the summer there are 9 flights per day on certain days between Belgrae and Antalya.
DeleteYou would be able to fill an A380 but it wouldn't be profitable. Load factor and yields are two different things :)
DeleteLet Turkish launch Antalya while Air Serbia should get another route in Turkey. Like someone mentioned, Izmir would be a good option. it is Turkey's third largest city after Istnabul and Ankara.
ReplyDeletecesme is new hurgada!
DeleteThis duopoly shouldn’t be allowed by the Competition Agency. They shouldn’t be able to fix prices and agree on this market. They should rather compete and we should get some reasonable rates. We are already paying some of the highest rates in Europe.
ReplyDeleteYou need to read the bilateral air agreement. Countries are very much allowed to make such agreements and many countries, including those in the west, have them with other countries. There isn't a duopoly since there is a third airline flying between Istanbul and Belgrade but flag carriers have a privileged status which is part of many bilateral agreements.
DeleteYou should check the Open sky agreement - nothing similar exists in EU. Otherwise, we would see JU signing those with AF/France. KLM/Netherland, BA/UK and so on.
DeleteGreat news for BEG!
ReplyDeleteJU needs to increase IST. Flights are full from Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteEspecially the midnight flight. The prices are dirty cheap. There's also an option to transfer via INI according to their website.
DeleteI actually know some people who drove from Belgrade to Nis this summer to catch the Nis-Istanbul flight because it was cheaper. Bizarre to say the least.
DeletePeople acting rational is not bizzare. If the cost of the travel to Nis (money, time, comfort) is for someone significantly under the cost of Belgrade flight, it is absolutely rational behavior to consider this option. Homo economicus my friend.
DeleteI assume the current situation with Russia has also boosted numbers on this route.
ReplyDeleteRussian transfer passengers are huge.
DeleteFares between BEG and IST have become really expensive this year despite the increased flights. What's going on?
ReplyDeleteThere is increased demand. Don't forget that Turkey and Serbia are countries where many Russians are moving to and can travel to freely.
DeleteThis is pretty much the JV in action, even if they haven't formerly signed a joint venture.
ReplyDeleteStill no ID visit policy applied. Turkey is simply looking after its interests as usual. No blame though
ReplyDeleteNice to hear. I believe scheduled flights to tourist destinations are needed because charters are not enough
ReplyDeleteOver 230.000 Serbian tourists visited Turkey last year Not surprised.
ReplyDeleteThat is a significant number of tourists from Serbia to Turkey. No wonder they want to launch more routes and flights.
DeleteThe other day there was news that VINCI said that passenger numbers between Turkey and Belgrade increased over 40% so far this year.
DeleteThe more flights the merrier.
ReplyDeletePity charters are not being regulated.
ReplyDeleteGreat news. Scheduled flights are needed on Belgrade-Antalya route.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice too see Anadolujet using the new B737 MAX plane on its Belgrade flights frequently until October.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI expect we may seen JU's A330 flying to IST more often.
ReplyDelete*see
DeleteAs far as I remember they used it often on IST route until New York was increased to five weekly during the middle of summer.
DeleteCorrect
Delete@10,19
DeleteA330 was scheduled regularly only for BCN until JFK was increased. JU did operate 1 flight to IST with the A330 during the Final Four tournament, which was being held in Belgrade. BCN also saw an additional A330 rotation during that period. ZRH was another route that also saw 1 flight with the A330 this summer.
And one flight to CDG.
DeleteIt was two actually to CDG :)
DeleteI'm not sure JU is allowed to use A330 for scheduled flights according to (ex) bilateral.
DeleteMuch needed!
ReplyDeleteIf TK start Antalya flights and deploy wide body jet that will be the end of JU charters
ReplyDeleteNumber of TK flights will be probably limited
DeleteOr they will operate them together. It says the flights will be in cooperation with Air Serbia.
DeleteThat could mean either Air Serbia metal on several flights per week or all TK metal with Air Serbia codeshare.
DeleteDoubt Air Serbia will give them so much freedom to simply have a codesare on TK flights. Antalya is a cash cow during summer. There are 9 flights per day. So it will probably be operated by both.
DeleteHaha what a nonsense. AirSerbia has 6-8 charter flights per day to Antalya, how would daily file from anyone endanger that?! Unless, that someone launch same frequency.
DeleteYes, true. After all both airlines are heavily backed by their governments especially JU having received good portions lately. Fleet renewal etc.
ReplyDeleteEspecially JU? In comparison to TK? LMAO.
ReplyDeleteJu definitely got a goos portion for fleet renewal. Still, wish that they could get just a fraction more of what companies like OU get. I mean, a continuous loss maker buying 6 new planes. Now that's what I call good portioning.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know on which routes TK and JU codeshare?
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia codeshare operated by Turkish Airlines
DeleteAdana
Amman
Ankara
Antalya
Bodrum
Dalaman
Gaziantep
Gazipasa
Istanbul
Izmir
Kayseri
Tel Aviv
Trabzon
Turkish Airlines codeshare operated by Air Serbia
Banja Luka
Belgrade
Istanbul
Kraljevo
Niš
Tivat
Thanks
DeleteGood coverage of TK domestic routes there.
DeleteSeems as if TK benefits more than JU.
DeleteNot really since those domestic flights also help fill JU's Istnabul flight.
DeleteBut OU will halve its fleet which is far from good in my opinion. Besides the average age of their fleet will be older than JU's by the end of the year.
ReplyDeletePC is very limited in BEG, but on the other side, it could fly to LJU at least 2x/week. TK flights are full till the last seat, a lot of transfers for sure, but more than enough demand for at least 2 weekly for PC.
ReplyDeleteOnly izmir make sense
ReplyDelete*Türkiye Hava Yolları
ReplyDeleteActually, it's Türk Hava Yolları.
DeleteAnd to think that couple of years ago Air Serbia could not make it on the Istanbul route and was even sending ATRs.
ReplyDeleteLooking at IST-BEG flights tomorrow in the system:
ReplyDeleteJU 807 - SOLD OUT
TK 1081 - SOLD OUT
TK 1079 - SOLD OUT
PC 373 - SOLD OUT
JU 803 - SOLD OUT
TK 1083 - SOLD OUT
Crazy!
Oh and the equipment is
Delete1. A319
2. A321
3. A321
4. A320
5. A320
6. A321
Apologies the Pegasus flight is on the A321neo
DeleteSo in total, just tomorrow 1,098 passengers are coming from Istanbul to Belgrade.
DeleteWith new physical Natural Gas hub and trading platform approved to be built in Turkey for Russian gas there would be tremendous opportunity for increase in various trades between Turkey and Ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteBelgrade Airport and the city happened to get first result of that increased activity.
Gravity of European global trade is moving from Northwest corner to the Southeast corner of Europe.
Sure, everyone is rushing to deal with Russian gas in Turkey.
DeleteWithin a year Gas Bazar in Istanbul will bring back the exuberance of good times during Aladdin and the Magic Carpet. LOL
DeleteGlobal economic landscape are changing rapidly and it is better for markets in ExYu not to miss it this time.
Sure Boki, then why is the Balkans losing 100,000s of people every year?
DeleteGreat for JU, horrible for the people...
ReplyDeleteThe era of affordable travel to IST from BEG is over. It's over for several months now but this is the final touch.
DeleteThose are war effects for now....more competition should mean lower prices, isn't it?
DeleteYes but there's no more competition. The deal is about competitors (TK and JU) acting more and more as single player which always increase the prices.
DeleteIzmir, Dalaman and Alanya/Gazipasa.
ReplyDeleteLet them improve and figure out flights from INI to IST and truly enable
ReplyDeletebooking this option (also as a code-share as they both advertise), esp. when trying to connect further via IST to other intercontinental destinations. This is just more bureaucratic nonsense and fairytales for the public.
Nonsense regarding code-sharing and the rest mentioned in comments/announcement. Exists in advertising and theory only. Try booking via any travel site (or even directly with either airline), for example, INI to NYC (or any other transcontinental destination) via IST- you will NOT be able to. (INI being originating point which has direct flights to IST a couple of times/wk.) Some travel search engines/sites may actually confirm the booking, supposedly send you a ticket and CHARGE for it, but it will be cancelled in 24-48 hours, or some poor dude from India (or that part of the world) who works on commission, will call you incessantly at 4 AM promising that they can book the desired route from INI via IST for you- although they can’t. Even AS (JU) is incapable of making any such bookings when you contact them directly and TA NEVER answers their phones or are extremely rude. So much for that cooperation and expansion and the Serbian government making their local airports functional and useful.
ReplyDelete