Air Serbia schedules Chicago launch


Air Serbia has scheduled the launch of its Belgrade - Chicago O'Hare service for May 17, 2023. The carrier will maintain three weekly flights between the two cities with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft. Services will run each Wednesday and Saturday until June 11, after which they will increase to three weekly from June 12 with a Monday departure. Air Serbia has now commenced ticket sales on the route. Further flight details can be found here. It will mark the resumption of flights between the two cities 31 years to the day when they were last maintained by JAT Yugoslav Airlines and 43 years since operations between the two cities commenced on April 10, 1980. The last scheduled flight between Belgrade and Chicago was carried out on May 17, 1992. The United States introduced an embargo on air traffic from Yugoslavia four days later, on May 21.

Commenting on the new route launch, Air Serbia’s Vice President for Americas, George Petković, said “After over three decades, the JU 506/507 flight will mark the return of the national airline to Chicago. This is an extremely important city, and we are certain that nonstop flights between Belgrade and Chicago will mean a lot, not just to the Serbian diaspora, but also to the wider Balkan region. By introducing flights between those two cities, the region will be better connected to Chicago, and passengers will have more choice. With the good connections that Air Serbia offers, we expect great interest for these nonstop flights, for those who want to continue their travel to other destinations”.

Figures provided by Sabre Market Intelligence show that the Serbia-US market attracted 239.000 two-way origin and destination passengers during the pre-pandemic 2019 - almost 85% of whom travelled indirectly. Belgrade - New York was the largest city pair, with Air Serbia alone handling 61.700 two-way passengers on its nonstop service, while Belgrade - Chicago was the second biggest market with 38.000 two-way passengers.

Air Serbia’s regional network, which is expected to be strengthened in the lead-up to its new transatlantic service, will play a key role in the route’s success. Among the former Yugoslav capitals, excluding Belgrade, data indicates that Zagreb has the most traffic to the Windy City. Lufthansa is the main carrier of choice for flights between the Croatian capital and Chicago, handling 20% of the market, followed by LOT Polish Airlines with 14% and British Airways with a 12% market share. Skopje followed Zagreb with the most travellers headed to Chicago, then Sarajevo, Podgorica and Ljubljana. The Windy City was the second busiest destination for travel in the United States from all former Yugoslav capitals after New York, with exception to Ljubljana, where it was third, behind both the Big Apple and San Francisco. Although Air Serbia does not serve Pristina, it had more travellers to Chicago than Podgorica.



Comments

  1. Anonymous10:14

    Nice! And it even goes to 3 weekly. More than they initially announced.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:15

    They kept the same flight numbers as JAT :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      There is a lot of symbolism. You noticed that they start on 17 May which is exactly 31 years since they were discontinued.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:23

      You are right. Thank you for pointing it out.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:48

      They were banned from flying, not just discontinued.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:08

      +100

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:35

      And now they return on the very same day!
      So proud!

      Delete
    6. FkpCascais16:49

      They were not "banned", what a silly idea, they were discontinued due to the economic sanctions imposed on FR Yugoslavia.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous10:15

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:20

    Fantastic news!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:20

    Fares start at 640 EUR round trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:18

      I doubt those promo fares will last for long. For China they increased in 2-3 hours.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous10:21

    Schedule is quite interesting. On each day of arrival to Belgrade they are targeting a different wave of departures to the region and beyond.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      Smart. They will get the widest variety of passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01:32

      They have great netwrok team, so they planned it well!

      Delete
  7. Anonymous10:23

    Good work

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous10:26

    Ok, so 3 weekly ORD, daily JFK and most likely China will be increased... Seems like third A330 is in the works.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:27

    I'm liking the evening departure from Belgrade to Chicago. Gives you the whole day in BEG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:36

      Agree. Perfect schedule. And you arrive in Chicago in the early evening.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous10:27

    At least some airlines have ambitious plans in the region.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:28

    This is great. Now waiting for the announcement on their US codeshare partner.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:30

    Finally :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:30

    9x weekly to USA (6x weekly to jfk, 3x to ord), 1x weekly to china (with likelyhood of that being increased), that surely means the 3rd airbus will arrive soon?

    Kudos to AirSerbia!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:31

      They announced that they will have 7 weekly to New York. We will see.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:31

      +1

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:33

      If the 3rd A330 comes I'm sure we'll get more china flights, and maybe even that T route that everyone is talking about :D

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:02

      T...route...you mean Tampa? 🤣 No, I don't think so ...

      Delete
    5. Prepelica16:48

      No, he meant - TLagos :)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:54

      I see, okay, keep on teasing us from the Big Smoke. Let's see if AV's iron fist has any say in selection of the next destination or if it was just a mirage...

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:30

    Waiting for "What about Toronto" comments :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:31

      Or Lagos 🥴

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:34

      haha true

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:30

    Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:35

    I like the small nod Air Serbia gives to JAT. When they started New York they took the same flight numbers, now when they start Chicago they start exactly 31 years since the last flight.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:36

    I don't know if it was possible earlier but I see now that on JU website it is possible to purchase tickets to for example MIA or SFO by using code share with Jetblue and American Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:41

      It has been available for a long time. It is not codeshare, it is interline. I flew Belgrade-Los Angeles last month via New York. First sector with Air Serbia second with American Airlines and my baggage was checked through to LAX (although you have to recheck it as is the case in the US) and I got a boarding pass for New York - LA is Belgrade as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:47

      Thank you for your reply and clarification.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous01:35

      This is due to customs. From LA to Belgrade you do not have to touch your bags.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:45

    I wish them luck with ORD launch

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:45

    So flight is scheduled at 11 hours from BEG?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:53

      Yes, block time is 11 hours from Belgrade and 09.50 from Chicago.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:32

      Great. Thanks

      Delete
  20. Anonymous11:01

    I must say they have calculated amazing time schedule and departure/arrival times at BEG.
    They managed to offer connections onto ORD from midnight, morning and midday wave on certain days, much better than JFK schedule which is sometims useless for transfers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:31

      You can't get JFK slots at times you please. There is congestion to take into account. I think that JFK generates enough P2P traffic to have one of the flights without connecting traffic.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous11:31

    Chicago will be a huge success for connecting flights.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:32

    A couple of years ago these sort of route launches seemed unimaginable. Great work.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:33

    Congratulations to Air Serbia for expanding long haul. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:40

    Now we await to see the planned European expansion for next summer. They were teasing with around 10-12 new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:10

      When can we expect those to be announced?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:14

      Usually they announced their summer expansion in January.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:38

      True but they also announced JFK flights 3 months before the start, while they announced ORD 6 months in advance.

      If the are focusing on transfer pax, it would be beneficial to announce the summer expansipn sooner rather than later

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:46

      Yes I agree

      Delete
  25. Anonymous11:42

    A really remarkable expansion from Air Serbia in the last 6 months. I don't think anyone expected this. A lot of new European routes introduced this summer, new routes this winter including one long haul, new long haul route on sale for next summer, ATR fleet overhaul, second wide body, additional narrow body Airbus aircraft, expected announcement of new US codeshare. Overall, very good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:42

      And new routes from Nis and Kraljevo :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:55

      Well done to Jiri.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:03

      Let's just hope they can sustain all that growth.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous12:12

    Wohoo congrats JU. Clear skies :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous12:12

    Good luck ASL with the hope of YYZ flight soon. Competition in this market is fierce but hopefully they can find the way to make it work.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous12:14

    Wish u more long hauls in the future

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous12:15

    So we will have 10 weekly flights to the US during the peak next summer right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:16

      Yes. 7 to New York and 3 to Chicago

      Delete
  30. Anonymous12:15

    When is YU-ARC finally going to arrive in Belgrade?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:43

      Before 9 December

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:05

      We are also waiting for the last two ATR72-600s to arrive.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous12:20

    Can't wait to see JU506 back in Chicago after so long!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous12:43

    Good to see they started ticket sales to Chicago much earlier than they did to New York

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:45

      How much in advance did they start JFK sales?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:49

      They started ticket sales in mid February for route that launched in mid June.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous12:50

    Hope it can grow to 4 weekly in summer 2024.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:54

      How many flights did JFK route start off with?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:56

      5 weekly.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous13:08

    Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous13:08

    Hope they don't stop there and we see more long haul routes from them next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:14

      Beijing and Shanghai may be added.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:19

      Hope they also look at other destinations in Asia outside China.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:25

      Well, with 2 A330 we cannot see more routes or even frequency increases in the peak summer 2023, but for WS23/24 we might see some extra route or frequency. Oncr when China opens 3rd A330 is coming (livery of Mileva Maric is already designed) and then 4th and 5th. Thats schedule for now.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:31

      @anon 13:25
      Intresting, has a specific aircraft already been chosen? If i remember correctly, YU-ARC has a "sister ship" it was stored with, also ex SAA

      Delete
  36. Anonymous13:09

    Would it not have made more sense to start filghts in April and catch the Easter traffic?

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous14:22

    Quite a few mainstream media in Croatia also reporting on this route launch.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Great news for the Serbian diaspora and Balkans in general!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous14:58

    That third A330 is definitely coming in 2023. It will be needed for Toronto and Miami ( I doubt AS will choose Orlando or Tampa over Miami)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:29

      They said they would expand in China if it opens up and get a third A330 for that purpose. So I'm not sure they will start a third destination in the US anytime soon.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:46

      Of the US destinations, LAX is first but too far away for efficient scheduling of JU's tiny A330 fleet. Next on the demand list is Miami but Washington service is more likely to be launched than Miami. Similar number of passengers but better yield. Market for DC Embassies is better than market for Miami Airbnbs.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous15:01

    Nice to see AIr Serbia expand further west to Chicago and provide access to the Balkans/Eastern European region. Forming a partnership with American who also has service in the region would be beneficial and help them market the flight with feed from the US side. Hopefully Air Serbia avoids any type of tie up with United/Lufthansa because everyone knows Lufty will just stymie growth and take over the route themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous15:47

    They better start hiring a lot more crew. They will definitely need it. Otherwise it will become a big issue for them down the line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:01

      They launched new cabin crew recruitment this week.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:28

      Recruitment call for pilots too.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL20:41

      They're also hiring Mandarin speaking brand ambassadors. Quite a few positions are open actually.

      Delete
  42. Anonymous16:00


    Krenuli su oprezno, ali ako prodaja karata krene dobro uvešće oni i četvrti let sledećeg leta. Srećno JU.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous18:54

    Was there an announcement of Air Serbia going daily to JFK from next summer? If so, what is the schedule for all 7 days?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:59

      Yes they announced it would go daily. Currently it's scheduled 6 weekly

      BEG - JFK
      07.50 - 11.50 Monday - Saturday

      So I assume the Sunday departure will be the afternoon one which they operate on some days.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:28

      Thank you. Can two planes do 7xJFK, 3xORD and 1xTSN with this schedule?

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL21:13

      @18,59

      That schedule is for Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays only. They've operated a split schedule from the very beginning.

      The summer schedule Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays it's:

      JU500 BEG JFK 1315 1715

      This winter the Thursday flights operate the following schedule:

      JU500 BEG JFK 1010 1420
      JU501 JFK BEG 1600 0640+1

      @19,28

      Those frequencies can easily be done with 2 ac.

      TSN ticket sales is closed after 26MAR2023 so likely adjustments will be made to the schedule. My guess is that it will be moved to a Thursday afternoon departure, which fits in with the ORD arrival that day.

      If YU-ARC is also going to operate JFK 1 pw then we will see the JFK schedule being altered because current schedules don't fit all 3 on 2 ac. That is unless JU is bringing a third A330.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:35

      JATBEGMEL Thank you

      Delete
    5. Anonymous21:50

      @JATBEGMEL

      The schedule I posted, Monday to Saturday is valid in July 2023. It is not split schedule, all flights are morning departure from Belgrade. Check yourself.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous00:47

      Anon 21:50 please check your sources. I checked right now on airserbia site and JATBEGMEL is right - Thu 27 July JU500 is at 13:15, not 07:50. Sundays are not available.

      Delete
    7. JATBEGMEL01:35

      @21,50

      Not sure where you got that info from but it's definitely not from JU.

      My source: airserbia.com

      Delete
  44. Anonymous19:27

    Oh when I remember how many people were saying that JFK would never launch, and then when it did how it would get cancelled within a year. So it's particularly pleasing to ses this news.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous20:44

    Next up LA or Miami

    ReplyDelete
  46. JU520 BEGLAX20:45

    JU aircraft order in 2025: 5 A350-900, 10 A220-300 and 5 A220-100 and 5 A320NEOs covering a widebody network of JFK ORD PVG PEK TSN BKK and ICN
    Lets dream a lit bit 😉

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:23

      And Lagos. Never forget about Lagos.

      Delete
    2. JU520 BEGLx01:09

      And YYZ 😜

      Delete
  47. Anonymous21:50

    Tirana is a successful transfer destination for Air Serbia JFK flights. Is TIA likely to have many passengers to ORD?

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous21:58

    Air Serbia is on right track to become even a bigger airline than JAT was

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:43

      Would be nice but unlikely any time soon. JAT had 50 flights per day just on domestic routes

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL01:26

      JU doesn't have bases in the Former Yugoslav republics like it used to. Not to elaborate on other factors and regarding JU today and it's operations from Serbia, we still have about 17-18 daily flights throughout the former Yugoslavia, which is growing. Not counting the peak summer months, we have 13 departures today from BEG. In terms of passenger carried for the entire network, it's roughly 2/3's of the way there and will likely surpass it in the next couple of years.

      Delete
  49. Anonymous23:35

    AirBaltic launches flights from Riga at the same time, it would be great to have codeshare for Chicago. Respectable Baltic diaspora over there.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anonymous01:24

    I hope regional network will be improved, right now conecting times for ord-beg-skp and return are 8-9h, and for same price LOT has only 1 hour layover, and 2 hours with Austrian... prices are about the same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:01

      They should definitely consider it, e.g. add Monday flights to SKP at 13:00. In that case layover would be approx 2 hours.

      Delete
  51. Anonymous17:15

    2nd Air Serbia A330 YU-ARC Mihajlo Pupin scheduled to depart Marana MZJ tonight 22:30 Belgrade time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:37

      In the air as ASL 4021.

      Delete
  52. Anonymous22:57

    Finally now I have a better choice when I leave the U.S. to go to the Balkan’s straight away! Good job Serbia!

    ReplyDelete

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