Air Serbia’s new China flights sell out amid strong demand


Air Serbia has seen strong demand for its new service between Belgrade and Tianjin which will launch on December 9. The carrier no longer has any tickets available for purchase for the first five weeks of operations, with the first seats available on January 13 of next year, however, these are likely to sell out quickly as well, with the Global Distribution System indicating available seats only in business class. There is greater availability on the return flights. The Serbian carrier will commence its Tianjin service in the lead-up to New Year on January 1, as well as the Lunar New Year public holiday in China which will run from January 21 until January 27. Passengers arriving in Tianjin will be required to undergo quarantine as part of China’s strict zero-Covid policy.

Air Serbia is limited to operating a one weekly service to China’s fourth largest city due to coronavirus prevention measures. The airline has previously said that it plans to commence services to both Beijing and Shanghai once the country eases its pandemic-related policies and would, in that case, review the future of its Tianjin flights based on their performance. Tianjin is located close to Beijing and is linked with a thirty-minute bullet train service to the Chinese capital. Apart from strong passenger demand, the new Tianjin service is also expected to carry significant amounts of cargo based on the volume of trade between the two countries.

Apart from Air Serbia, Hainan Airlines, which maintains a one weekly rotation between Beijing and Belgrade that operate via Dalian on the inbound due to Covid measures, has also seen strong demand since its service launch in July. China has begun slowly easing its Covid-19 protocols for incoming international travellers. It is believed the country could lift many of its restrictions next spring with airlines forecasting unprecedented demand for flights to China. Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, recently said, “In the long haul sector, China is one of the three most important markets. And it is forecast to grow much faster than already mature markets such as North America. In addition, there is great demand there for both passenger and freight. Another reason [for selecting the Chinese market] is that Chinese travellers do not need a visa to visit Serbia, and Serbian citizens do not need a visa to enter China. This is very rare in Europe. So, China was the logical choice for Air Serbia”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:00

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Hope people realize now why they started China before Canada.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:58

      That was not an issue. It was why Chicago before Toronto?

      Delete
    3. Because if you want to fly to Toronto you need to have 3 aircraft of the same type?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:54

      It's simply too expensive to fly to YYZ at the moment and especially out of season.

      Delete
    5. JATBEGMEL13:38

      Marek mentioned a couple months back that the problem with YYZ was that it was more seasonal in traffic. That doesn't mean they won't fly there at a later stage, its just that ORD for now works better for them.

      In previous years (2006) Jat Airways wanted the first 2 long haul routes to be JFK and YYZ, followed by ORD and YUL with a second B762. That was the best strategy for them at the time. Before that, in 2002, they wanted the first relaunched long haul route to be YYZ with the DC10, probably as they were unable to get the rights to fly to the US.

      I think YYZ will come sooner rather than later. And I think YYZ will be bulked together with some interesting news (regional jet additions). There is only so much expansion an airline the size of JU can do at once, and this year has been more than impressive.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:52

      Because China has more favorable Covid policies than Canada? Cause I was reading here Canada is hell.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:42

      @9.02
      Canada will be for the new premium carrier Pragusa.one

      Delete
    8. Anonymous18:23

      I am Anon 09:58. My responses:

      to Mixer: no, you can fly to Toronto with just one A330 like they did with JFK. Now with 2 they could have picked JFK, TSN and YYZ but didn't.

      to Anon 11:54 Already answered. Toronto is not expensive for more than 50 million passengers per year (2019) so that's not an excuse. YYZ should not be mentioned in any other Air Serbia context but ONLY as summer seasonal to start.

      to Anon 14:52 Good one - those within Air Serbia opposed to Toronto service used that excuse until couple of months ago, but now that Toronto is open unlike draconian China measures those people are nowhere to be found :)

      To JATBEGMEL - thank you, great insight as always. I just extended my patience for another 6 months :)

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:49

      Thank you for extending your patience for another 6 months. The CEO of JU wanted to personally thank you for your great tolerance.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous22:50

      Do you understand the meaning of :) at the end of the comment? :)))))))))

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    I wonder if Chinese companies are buying up seats for their employees in Serbia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      I assume it's not just from Serbia but from many nearby countries as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:54

      Definitely.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    Good for JU ! I have no doubt that ORD will see a similar demand.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Excellent to hear. I wish them good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:05

    And it should be noted that tickets were/are EXPENSIVE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Naturally. Demand is much bigger than supply.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:55

      What are the return fares like at the moment?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:56

      Google it.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:06

    Good. I wonder if strong ticket sales (with high ticket prices) and cargo can be enough to make this route profitable quickly taking into account the amount of time the aircraft will sit in Tianjin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      That's a standard in long-haul flying.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      No, it's not standard for the plane to be on the ground for over 30 hours. The reason it is in Tianjin so long is because the same cabin crew will fly the plane back because of Covid measures. Even Marek said this wasn't ideal for the airline.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:07

    Unexpected

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:11

    Crazy! Could they add capacity?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      They got a permit just for 1 weekly flight.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:11

    I'm not that surprised, especially ahead of lunar new year. People need to go through quarantine before they are free to move around so they need to get to China early.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:12

    Any idea why yesterday's flight to Ljubljana was canceled? Seems like they have some problems with atrs...


    Anyways, absolutely amazing start for YU

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL13:48

      YU-ALX went AOG on ground in SKP yesterday afternoon so they were an ATR down last night. It arrived back to BEG this morning and is heading to TIV shortly. A319 was sent for the midnight SKP flight instead of an ATR. A319 was also used for this mornings LJU rotation instead of an ATR.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:12

    They should have leased A330-300 instead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      -300 has lower range than the -200.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:18

      They don't need that range for either Chicago, Toronto or Shanghai.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      Perhaps they will need it for some future destinations

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:00

      I'm pretty sure they have their reasons why the opted for the =200 series.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:01

      What is the capacity difference between -200 and -300 series?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:05

      Aren't -200 cheaper?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:05

      It's quite huge.

      About 40-50 seats on average.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:07

      Cheaper they may or may not be.

      They also produce less money.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:09

      Even 70 seats on some airlines.

      Second A330 should have been -300.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:12

      Would be nice if one day they got the A330neo. We can only dream.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:26

      Other than the engines, is there any difference between the A330neo and ceo versions?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:42

      Not really.

      Delete
    13. JATBEGMEL14:00

      JU doesn't need the added capacity of the A333, especially during winter months when that added capacity would make an ok performing route (JFK) worse.

      Maintaining consistent capacity over multiple aircraft makes logistics alot simpler for JU.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous14:29

      If they need extra capacity A350-900 would be perfect plus they can consider LAX, maybe Australia.

      Delete
    15. Do they have plans for LAX?

      Delete
  13. Jos dva A330 ce povecati flotu Er Srbije na cetiri dugolinijskog aviona. Nova era pocinje na Aerodromu Nikola Tesla. Red je i vremeje. 🛫🌐✈🇷🇸✈😀🛫

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:29

    Impressive

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:29

    Hopefully they will be allowed to start PEK and PVG soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      And keep TSN.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      I hope they will also consider Guangzhou down the line.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:53

      ...or Hong Kong.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:56

      Yes, one of the two should be considered in the future.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:37

      Or Shenzhen:)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:59

      Or Lagos 😂

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:30

    YU-ARC looking good!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:31

    Fantastic news. Honestly, I wasn't expecting such strong demand but I realized things were going in the right direction when they sold out one of their Tianjin flights less than 24 hours after sales began.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:32

    Not surprising they rushed to start these flights. Seems to have been a good call.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:39

    Good work

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous09:41

    Portret Mileve Marić u izradi po brzom postupku.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:43

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:48

      Milanković.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:56

      From what I head, the next one will be Maric-Einstein.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:40

      Well, that would be insane, because she was no world class scientist. When asked, they`d need to explain that she was Einstein`s wife, and people would make mockery out of that - and for good reason, too.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:09

      I think it is just the "politically correct" approach to find a woman. It would be ridiculous to put someone just because she was lucky to find a famous husband...

      I would rather go with Desanka Maksimović, Milena Pavlović or Isidora Sekulić than Mileva Marić, that would have been a joke.

      My first choice would be Ivo Andrić

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:11

      Oh yes, and let us all disregsrd the mythomania saying she actually did all the work and Einstein being the facade

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:40

      Actually the sooner they abandon this stupid 'legends' thing the better.

      Can't wait for a A330 normal tail.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:00

      Hard disagree, this approach is great.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous15:16

      Just check spotters photos and you'll see that vast majority of ARB photos is its Tesla tail. For smaller airlines this is really nice way to advertise.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:28

      Marina Abramovic 💪🏻

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:08

      Mirjana Markovic anybody? Or Dafina, srpska majka…if you ask me, Nada Topcagic as she has cult status in Serbia and my house, too!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous17:57

      Milka Forcan

      Delete
    13. Boris17:59

      Anonymous12:40
      "Well, that would be insane, because she was no world class scientist."

      She was smarter then Albert actually. Albert never saw any Lab work. Mileva was fixing his experiments. At one point Albert father in law, and Mileva's Dad said to him: " Ejj moj Alberte sve je to Relativno" LOL
      Photos on the tail are trivial. Passengers are looking for the Value when they are purchasing tickets.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous19:46

      * than Albert

      Delete
    15. Anonymous20:52

      For sure, it was all about Mileva Marić, Roman Pope, Trilateral Commission and Free Masons decided to place Albert Einstein instead as they hate the Serbs

      Delete
    16. Boris23:04

      Anonymous20:52
      Sorry buddy but nothing about the Pope & BuildBurgers LOL
      It has to do Feminine energy of Mileva that did not want to be some kind a mascot for the Science community.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:46

    China will be the hen that lays golden eggs for JU.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous09:49

    I think these might have exceeded their own expectations.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous09:58

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkC5yDXdQI

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:02

    Very happy to see they are already performing well on this upcoming route. I'm sure they will add Shanghai as soon a restrictions are lifted.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:21

    Shame they can't add more frequnecies.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:22

    We will need YU-ARD soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      A330-300 hopefully.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:40

      How yes no, A350 immediately!

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL14:02

      100 A380's for the 100th anniversary would be better.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:00

      I put na Mesec

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:30

    Am I (one of the few) who is not surprised? During the holiday time two or three flights weekly can be easily sold out on this route, without lowering the price ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:31

      I think the surprise stems from the fact at how restrictive travel to China is.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous10:31

    Will Air Serbia cover the cost of the Covid rapid test at the airport that passengers to China have to take? Hainan Airlines covers the cost for those departing Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:42

      The rapid test is like 8 euros.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:35

    And so experts commenting here were saying how this is a political route and not demand driven.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      People don't understand that Chinese citizens living overseas, most of which travel to China for Lunar New Year can enter the country without a problem. The amount of flights from Europe to China, although improving is nowhere near to fulfill the demand.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous10:42

    I have no doubt that when China opens up the amount of travel will be crazy. First, Chinese expats who couldn't visit family and friends will head there. Even many Chinese citizens living in foreign countries have not visited since Covid out of fear that they will be stuck for weeks or months due to a sudden lockdown. Even the Chinese Ambassador to Serbia was stuck in China for 3 months this year because there was a sudden lockdown and she could not leave. I'm also sure many Chinese people in China will want to travel again.

    ReplyDelete
  31. notLufthansa10:46

    With slow steps coming back to JAT routes structure. Which is excellent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:01

      Master Yoda, is that you?

      Delete
  32. Anonymous10:46

    I also like the look of the new plane. It may be nitpicking, but is it only me or are the letters on the side of the plane a bit out of line (especially the letter S in AirSerbia)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:20

      It's in the same line. You can see from the painting video.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous11:20

    Congrats

    ReplyDelete
  34. JU520 BEGLAX11:25

    Unbelievable...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous12:12

    I have to say I wasn't expecting such a strong demand to TSN at all. I thought they were rushing because of the cargo market. Now it makes sense.

    Maybe we'll see lots of transfer passengers. Is it even possible to transfer in BEG onto TSN or it has to be P2P because of Chinese regulations?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:15

      Yes, since around the middle of last year it is allowed to transfer to China via a third country.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous12:14

    This is great. But the real question is are they making money

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:42

      No, they're losing more than if the flight were empty.

      Logical, right?

      Delete
  37. JU520 BEGLAX12:31

    wondering how the pax mix looks. All o/d or lots of transfer pax from other EUR countries

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous12:54

    Very odd.

    ReplyDelete
  39. So glad to hear this news! Well done and good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous16:13

    Keep up the good work Jiri. And I'm sure (for those people in Ontario) that Toronto will be launched by next summer.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous16:25

    https://i.redd.it/5m7vxxnzqej91.jpg

    Soon we'll be seeing b787 :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:18

      Can you give more info? First time hearing of it :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:07

      Looks ugly.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:18

      It's a joke. Someone just painted an Air Serbia livery on a B787.

      Delete
  42. When covid pass, serbia must lure over million chinese tourist to country. 3x weekly flights

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:03

      To do what, go swimming in Ada Ciganlija, or steal your jobs in pekare and mini market?

      Delete
  43. Anonymous02:48

    When this route was announced I thought they are dreaming.

    I thought this will never work and that its a politically forced decision.

    I guess I was wrong. Good work on Air Serbia’s team.

    ReplyDelete

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