Air Serbia reveals third set of new routes

 


Air Serbia has announced the third set of new destinations it will be launching late in the 2022/23 winter season, as well as the coming summer with the carrier to add fifteen weekly rotations to Budapest, four weekly flights to Ankara and two weekly services to Izmir. The airline maintained operations from Belgrade to Budapest between in 2014 and 2015. It also briefly operated between Niš and the Hungarian capital in 2019. On services to Ankara, the airline will jointly maintain flights with Turkish Airlines’ subsidiary Anadolujet. Operations to Izmir will be maintained on a scheduled basis for the first time, with services previously running as summer charters. Air Serbia's codeshare partneer Turkish Airlines is also expected to commence flights between Izmir and Belgrade next year, although flights are yet to be scheduled.

DestinationLaunch date
Budapest13.03.2023
Ankara28.03.2023
Izmir15.04.2023
Click links for flight details

Operations to Budapest will increase from fifteen to seventeen weekly later during the 2023 summer season. The new additions join the previously announced new services from Belgrade to Chicago, Catania, Cologne, Florence, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Marseille, Naples and Palermo, which will commence in 2023. The carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said last week, “Every three days we will announce a new batch of routes so that by mid-December we will have them all on sale for next summer. These new routes are driven mostly by connectivity and leisure, and they are mostly in Europe”. Additional new destinations are expected to be in announced in the coming days.


Commenting on the latest additions to the network, Air Serbia's Head of Route Network Planning, Bojan Arandjelović, said, "“Not a lot of time has passed since we announced the commencement of new services between Belgrade and Istanbul. We are now pleased to announce that starting March 28, our company will start flying to Ankara, and as April 15, to Izmir as well. Another new destination in our offer is Budapest, to which we are re-establishing operations after a hiatus of several years. Ahead of us is a summer season during which we will start operating flights to four new destinations in Italy, two in Germany, one in France and Sweden each, and we will also surprise our passengers with new summer holiday destinations. We believe that 2023 will be the year in which we will push our limits further, offering direct flights to almost 100 cities around the world”.

Comments

  1. Anonymous10:27

    From 0 to 15 rotations is a bols move to say the least...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They obviously go for a mix of P2P and transfer on long-haul.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee10:36

      They have no other choice since this is a route with zero O&D demand. High number of frequencies means they are going to be competitive in the transfer market out of and into BUD. It's a sign they are maturing and I hope this extra wisdom has lead them to the realization that such moves need to be accompanied by a strong marketing activity.

      It also helps that LO terminated BUD-JFK and that there are no plans to restore BUD-ORD which performed quite catastrophically.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:45

      Probably they calculated that flying to BUD with ATR does not have big operational costs, but at the same time could bring a lot of transfer passengers.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee10:47

      Indeed, plus let's not forget that BUD is not having a good year. On top of mediocre results (-22% compared to 2019) they are going to experience major cuts by FR.

      I am sure the airport sweetened the deal for JU. They are definitely an airline Budapest can profit from.

      Air Serbia is going to be quite competitive over there especially compared to OS which, like JU, has virtually no O&D demand.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:48

      They need a couple of ATR-42 for select regional routes as feeders

      Delete
    6. Nemjee10:52

      Naah their economics are not good enough. If they can't fill 70 seats with a growing hub in BEG then they deserve to go bankrupt.

      With so many feeding routes being announced (ESB, BUD, ADB...) they might risk clogging their core European network. Unless they boost capacity on busy routes they might do their competition a favor.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:52

      Why?
      ATR42 has the same operational costs as ATR72, but at the same time that plane carries less passengers.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:53

      Atr can pretty much break even with 25 pax so i think it's ok

      Delete
    9. Nemjee11:01

      Because ATR72 is cheap to operate so it can generate more money when summer comes due to a higher seat count. Also, don't forget that in November JU had a LF of 80% so obviously the capacity they have now is more than adequate.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:40

      O&D demand is certainly going up from 0, with 15 flights per week.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:44

      @10:36
      BUD is route with zero O&D demand?? Do you even hear yourself, Budapest is the top tourist metropole of the whole region. Besides that there‘re Serbs and Hungarians from Serbia who live in Budapest.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:59

      Unbelievable how some people here especially Nemjee are deluded that BUD is underperforming. Has anyone visited their new low-cost terminal with USB slots almost everywhere and a very basic and modern design to begin with? It is connected to almost every European capital.
      BUD is PACKED with people. Literally packed. Asians are obsessed with it and most likely will the Arabs now following the Saudi expansion.

      Delete
    13. Nemjee12:06

      Anon 11.44

      O&D is an aviation terms which stands for origin and destination. It represents a market of people who are traveling exclusively between two cities and who are not transfers. Given the proximity of the two cities (360km), a good highway, cheap minibus options and soon a high speed train, I doubt many will be flying with JU. Looking at their website, seems like the cheapest return flight with no luggage comes out to be €90. What happens when they sell the first three seats on the flight? Well, the price goes up. Once it crosses €120 very few will be stimulated to fly.

      Anon 11.59
      I am referring to BUD statistics and they say that compared to 2019, the airport is down by 22%. Budapest might be packed with tourists but that's not showing in official BUD numbers.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous12:45

      Not so sure about that Nemjee, rail is coming in 2026 (our part for sure, hungarian most probably), gas prices are exploding and borders are congested most of the times. I am sure there will be O&D demand...

      Delete
    15. Anonymous13:06

      Exactly, three hours with high speed train plus three more hours stuck on Horgos-Röske border. I still think that demand for air traffic will stay.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous13:27

      Let's not forget that there are still mini buses that drive to BUD airport so these flights could be competitive to mini buses of course if the price is acceptable.

      If LCC price from BUD to CDG or MAN is 50 EUR and JU price 100 EUR BEG-BUD-BEG it is still cheaper than 300 EUR from BEG for example.

      Of course the risk of buying 2 separate tickets would be carried by passenger, but therefore JU will have up to 3 daily flights to BUD.

      Delete
    17. Kraj kombi terora i cekanja na horgosu

      Delete
    18. Anonymous15:05

      Most people that go to Hungary also use other integrated border crossings that take about 20 minutes to cross if the traffic is normal. Furthermore, international trains between Belgrade and Budapest will probably have passport control and customs at the train stations which will make those trains non stop. However, demand for traveling between the 2 countries is high enough to justify that many flights a week knowing that they are also expecting a lot of transfer passengers. AS is well connected with major holiday destinations that Hungarians visit often, like Greece, Croatia or Italy. I expect that it will be a success.

      Delete
    19. Пасошка и царинска контрола је вршена у возу. Са наше стране уђу у Суботици изврше контролу, и то траје десетак минута, а са Мађарске стране то исто ураде на последњој станици у Мађарској за исто време.

      Delete
    20. Nemjee21:13

      Depends how the pricing will go and how fast fares increase with loads. People are going to pay €100 to €130 but anything beyond that... they'll go back to minibuses.

      Delete
    21. Anonymous21:41

      The fares should be more attractive if someone transfers in BEG though

      Delete
    22. Anonymous22:04

      I never understood how/why there could be no O&D demand from BEG-BUD. What is your alternative? 5-6 hours in a crammed shuttle with a bunch of strangers? 9 hours on an unreliable train? *Surely* there must be enough people on this extremely popular route who can shell out 150 Euro to get out of that misery. Sure, it's not for high schoolers going on a drinking trip, and there's a product for that. Or for people who must save the last Euro. But if you can pay 200 Euro to fly to Tivat, you can also pay 200 Euro to fly to Budapest. And there are *so many* of the former.

      Delete
    23. Anonymous03:15

      I will take the plane I have no car in Belgrad.. I would love to spend a weekend in Budapest .. train is uncomfortable and takes to long..

      Delete
    24. Nemjee06:16

      Road to Tivat is far more exhausting as it takes much longer to drive and there is no highway all the way there. Plus, it's a holiday destination with a healthy amount of ethnic traffic which is willing to pay €200 to go and visit friends and family.

      On the other hand, many Serbs who visit Hungary usually take the minivan because it drives you from 'door to door' as they call it, as in there is no need to catch local public transport or a taxi from the airport or a bus/train stop.

      If BEG-BUD is ever to truly work in terms of O&D then we need the same setup as with BEG-BNX where taxes were slashed so JU is able to offer €50 return flights.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:29

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nemjee10:33

    I am especially happy about BUD and ESB, these two could prove to be a major source of transfer passengers. Air Serbia's network is slowly becoming impressive and I hope they will invest in marketing to speed up their consolidation process in all of these markets.

    Now it's obvious that JU has serious ambitions and if they keep up this pace they could have 30+ planes by summer 2024. By becoming more and more aggressive they will redirect passenger flows from neighboring airports (ATH, WAW, VIE, OTP...) to BEG. I can't imagine A3, LO and OS are happy about all this.

    Best of luck to JU. Hopefully they don't disappoint with LCA next summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:44

      +100

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:38

      BEG the new hub of Europe! :D :D :D

      Delete
    3. I hope so, but already can see lot of problems when full charter season begin

      Delete
    4. Nemjee21:14

      I think the biggest problem will be staff at BEG, they constantly struggle with finding people who are desperate enough to work there.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous21:29

      people have finally started to refuse to work for peanuts...

      Same as JU`s Cabin Crews, thats why they didnt manage to hire more than 30 people in the last open call... While those 30 people were getting trained, more than 30 existing staff quitted their jobs.

      No wonder with 400 EUR base salary

      Delete
  4. Anonymous10:37

    Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:38

    They are going crazy next summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BEG gate agent20:24

      @Sam don't forget that BEG has staff shortage on a massive scale. The morale is low, salary pathetic and 1 person per gate ( which is less than ideal ).
      I know cause I work as a gate agent.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:26

      I could tell by your name

      Delete
    3. Nemjee21:16

      I am sorry but I have no sympathies for BEG gate agents. You are some of the rudest and most unpleasant group of people ever. No smiles, very impolite and impatient with the passengers. In all of my years of flying out of BEG I have yet to meet a pleasant gate agent.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:03

      Why should gate agents smile and pretend to serve you flowers and champagne? Their job is to detect irregularities and prevent any potential threats. I mean come on, today we all became such an "offended" society. Their job is not to make you laugh or smile but to protect you!!

      Delete
    5. Nemjee06:21

      Where did I request champagne and flowers? All I said is that they are rude and unfriendly. Sorry, their job is not to protect passengers, their job is to be onsite administrators who are processing final paperwork before a flight departs.
      Because of this they have a lot of interaction with passengers especially when issuing new boarding passes, putting tags on luggage, adding passport info into the system... when your job is based on all this then you have to be polite and courteous to paying customers who are after all financing their salaries.

      By your logic, cabin crew can be rude because their primary job is to ensure the safety of the cabin and not to give us champagne and flowers as you say.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous10:39

    Will there be more?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:39

    15 weekly rotations okk wow, i knew there's quite big demand but that's a lot. Great job AirSerbia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      "Operations to Budapest will increase from fifteen to seventeen weekly later during the 2023 summer season."

      :O

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:49

      Anyone know when the high speed rail between Belgrade and Budapest is expected to open?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:19

      2025

      Delete
    4. Крај 2024. почетак 2025.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:39

      Never? The highest speed rail line of Hungary (Line 1 between Budapest and Vienna) is only 160 km/h in theory on short sections despite huge demand (passenger trains in every 10-15 minutes and continuous flow of cargo in between). Even the vmax 230 km/h Railjet is running only at around 140 km/h. That's nowhere near high speed and the Belgarde line won't be maintained to have more an that because of the low demand.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:38

      anon 19:39 belgrade - subotica will operate at 200kmh 80% of the distance

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10:39

    Yes

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:40

    We are finishing 1st quarter of the month not first half, so my guess is about 9 more routes

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:41

    Wish good luck to the crew. If they thought this summer was exhausting....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:46

      Time of sitting at home and getting paid belongs to the past.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:34

      Oh you’re so nasty, who’s been rocking you cage this morning?

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL12:40

      They recently opened applications for cabin crew positions, flight deck and Chinese speaking crew ambasadors for the TSN flights. Additional cabin crew from this recruitment should be ready by sometime in March 2023 to start flying. I think another recruitment round will happen early next year, with the new crew ready to fly from the beginning of June 2023.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:42

    Hope they have more success to BUD this time around, although they do have a much stronger network.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:42

    BUD increase is significant a bit too aggressive in my opinion. They are going after the 2023 for new records. DjafteKurafte blog did speculate some time ago about BUD frequency but was skeptical. They proved me wrong. Ank/Izm were somewhat expected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:46

      In 2024 or early 2025 high speed rail will replace the need for BUD flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:50

      High speed rail is for P2P passengers and these 17 frequencies are for transfer passengers.

      Delete
    3. Prepelica12:40

      @anon 10:42 DJAFTEKURAFTE blog....ahahahahahahhahahaha

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:48

      Perfect name for that blog.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:28

      And you said that good that its just your opinion based on…well I guess, nothing. Pretty sure the airline’s marketing and sales team professionals have a differrent opinion based on market research, financial data and so on.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:45

    I would like to see TRD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:51

      Well, it is a bit too much...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:30

      The way they are going, I wouldn't be surprised we see it in the network next year :D

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:46

    Next summer:
    1. TSN
    2. AGP
    3. MLA
    4. CTA
    5. PMO
    6. FLR
    7. NAP
    8. GOT
    9. HAM
    10. MRS
    11. CGN
    12. BUD
    13. ESB
    14. ADB

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:47

    Plus 15. ORD!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nemjee10:47

    Plus TSN starts tomorrow. <3

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:49

    Next announce will be last? I think I think Monday

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:57

      I think two more announcements are about to come but let’s wait and see

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:50

    Where is EVN? :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:51

      In Armenia.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee10:52

      hahaha

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:32

      LOL

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:33

      The Caucasus destination will most likely be Baku. If you are following the news in Serbia you will know why.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:25

      EVN might be still risky for them even though Armenia has a huge diaspora across Western Europe. Besides that the rotations won't fit in the transfer waves. BEG - EVN would be at least 3:30h.

      Delete
    6. JATBEGMEL19:19

      @17,25

      KZN is further. ROV was another route that was further. TLV also didn't fit the waves. CAI could barely fit as well. EVN would probably be a route that'll be operated with a split schedule. Besides, alot of new flights have began being scheduled outside of the regular waves (ie LCA, ZRH, FCO, CTA, NAP, PMO, VIE, IST, MAD, BUD)

      A schedule such as:

      BEG EVN 0040 0640
      EVN BEG 0730 0800

      could work. Departure gets all the European flights. Arrival in time for the aircraft to continue on the 10 am wave, with a tonne of connections within 4 hours of arrival. Something similar could be pulled off in the 10am wave, having the aircraft back around 4:30 pm just in time for the full late afternoon/early evening European wave.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:01

    Izmir and Ankara are those destinations outside Europe.

    Going 17 weekly to Budapest is shocking. Route will be all transfers. Would be interesting to see what kind of advertising will Air Serbia have in Budapest

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:37

      Izmir is located western than a lot of Greek islands. And culturally, it's the most ''european'' city in Turkey.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:19

      More than IST?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:22

      It is shocking, but ATR is just perfect plane for that mission, if they fill 20 seats they can break even. Double to triple daily to BUD also bring new prospective, they can capture business travel, be able to return same day without overnight.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:31

      Exactly, with only 20-25 pax they can break even, considering their LF in November which is a the lowest season was over 80%, what do you think it will be in the summer, especially with addition of ORD plus JFK increase which will
      fill up connections of the entire region…Im not worried at all, Im pretty sure they did their homework in the marketing and sales department already.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous11:03

    "and we will also surprise our passengers with new summer holiday destinations."

    So more new routes coming!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous11:11

    Will there be enough demand for 15-17 weekly BUD flights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:17

      Transfer passengers will create it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:23

      They will have to really invest in this route in terms of marketing and pricing to make it a success. Budapest has many airlines with transfer options and many P2P routes.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:26

      Agree.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:01

      If little Zagreb can create 14 then BUD surely can 17.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:18

    Looks like the agreement with TK was one of the greatest things JU has ever done.

    3 years ago they had no flights to anywhere in Turkey at all.

    It's the 4th most visited country in the world.

    But now JU have accomplished so far! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:22

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:37

      Turkey is visited because of the weak lira after all. It has became affordable to travel even for Macedonians or Moldovans.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:40

      It has been in the top 10 most visited countries for decades........

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:35

      @11:37 despite the weak Lira Turkey is not cheap at all! I spent there 10 days in October (Antalya and Belek) and when comparing nothing is cheap there.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:14

      Go to more Russian places in Antalya and u will see if Turkey is cheap or not :D Also touristic places are not that cheap when they see foreigners

      I'm living for years in Turkey and this 2 years its became more cheap then any other country in the world.
      Starting from paying bills or buying apartments.

      Delete
    6. Turkey can be very cheap, but ofc it can get expensive if you look for it.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous11:19

    They will reach that target of 100 destinations much earlier than 2027.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:22

      Yes, but they must do a lot of work to sustain all the destinations.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:22

    Are they preparing for Wizz Air bankruptcy? lol

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:31

    Today's announcement was grouped by Air Serbia as Vucic BFF community - flights to Hungary and Turkey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:32

      For sure Orban and Vucic on the inaugural to Budapest on 13.3 holding hands on the ATR.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:38

    Ok seriously how many planes will they have next summer???

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous11:40

    Where is Portoroz?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:42

      More new routes will be announced next week. And who knows if Portoroz will be included. The airport said they were in talks with Air Serbia. That doesn't mean they reached an actual agreement.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous11:43

    How many weekly flights was LOT planning to introduce between Budapest and Belgrade in 2020 before the pandemic started?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:46

      I managed to find it. Daily with E195!

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/lot-polish-airlines-budapest-belgrade.html

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:48

      Thank you! That means that LOT was planning roughly the same capacity on this route as Air Serbia will have with 17 weekly on the ATR72.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:50

      Well at least we know LOT won't be getting the same idea again.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous11:48

    One thing is certain, they have carte blanche from the government and Marek is not afraid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OU has carte blanche from the government as well to continue serving as pathetic feeder to the Cartel with the most expensive feeder aircraft on the market

      Delete
  30. Anonymous11:50

    And let's not forget all the frequency growth on existing routes.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:23

    Yeah they'll need more atrs and a320s

    30 plane fleet by summer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL13:36

      They currently have 21 ac in the fleet:

      2 x A330
      2 x A320
      10 x A319
      4 X ATR72-600 (YU-ALW/X/Y/Z)
      2 x ATR72-200 (YU-ALO/P)
      1 X ATR72-500 (YU-ALU)

      YU-ALO seems to have been pulled out of the fleet, being replaced by YU-ALZ. 2 more ATR's should follow soon replacing YU-ALO and ALU. JU has never used all 6 ATR's in the same departure bank, so I think the new fleet of ATR's will finally allow this, plus a 7th for the expansion next summer.

      JU was down 4 narrowbodies this summer. 1 A320 (YU-APO) has entered the fleet in the meantime. I think at least another 3 A320's will join the fleet, if not 4. I think the new A320's will add the capacity needed for the summer months and that come mid September or October we will see a couple of the older A319's leave the fleet.

      So next summer I think the fleet will be roughly:

      2 x A330
      5-6 x A320
      10 x A319
      7 x ATR72

      So 24 or 25 aircraft in the fleet next summer and perhaps 1-2 wet leases from mid/late June to mid September.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:56

      They are currently still leasing 1x a319 and 1x 320 so the shortage is evident even in winter schedule

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:51

      They are missing YU-APB.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous01:12

      And APM.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous12:40

    Beyond my expectations. Hopefully they will perform well🤞🏼

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous12:43

    I am not trying to be negative but rather cautious, i.e. with all this increased traffic plan did they already coordinate the handling of flights with Belgrade airport in terms of staff required (check in, luggage sorting / transfer, dispatch)? Did they hire 20% more crew staff? Did they negotiate AC leases? ... Spares? Many steps are required and time is very short as in 3 months they will have to run in 6th gear already. Or will it be a "lako cemo" disaster?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:46

      Yes, they hired new crew just a month ago and have another crew hiring process currently ongoing. Yes, of course they coordinated their expansion with Belgrade Airport which coincides with the opening of Belgrade's terminal expansion and new runway. Yes, Belgrade Airport is in the process of hiring new staff for handling, operations and retail. As for plane leases, that I don't know.

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL13:10

      @12,43

      YU-ARC is covering 2 of the new routes and is likely to be used on European sectors as well.

      YU-ALZ recently arrived so ATR fleet renewal is almost complete, just waiting on YU-ASA. I think another 2 will join the fleet for a total of 7 next summer.

      Flights are starting alot earlier that in previous years when JU would launch 10+ routes in the first week of June. The route launches are spread out between March and June. March and April are months when JU has spare capacity. By late May is when new aircraft should be in BEG. This should be more than sufficient time to plan aircraft and crew, which wasn't the case this summer. Still, JU did fairly well in arranging last minute aircraft and crew.

      As mentioned by @12,46, the new runway will be operational as well as the new taxiways, which will ease congestion. Renovation works should be completed, or at least close to completion. It was also mentioned that JU will have dedicated facilities in the new areas as well. BEG has recently had a recruitment drive in Delhi to bring in additional workers as our people won't work for their salaries and conditions.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:17

      Let's hope for the best as this summer they already had many delays and issues. They also need to greatly improve their customer service since they are getting a lot of negative feedback with regards to that sector.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:22

      Their delays were well below avarage of most European airlines this year. Are you forgetting the chaos at European airports this summer?

      Delete
  34. Anonymous13:31

    Bravo 👏 Finally a link to Budapest, this not only will benefit Air Serbia with transfer passengers but benefit business and tourism. A long overdue route.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Petar13:47

    Interestingly enough, no one mentioned the number of Chinese businesses in Hungary and the upcoming flights to China.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous13:59

    Disappointed to see no new scheduled flights to Greece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:02

      Read the second last sentence of the article.

      Delete
  37. Anonymous14:58

    Why would I fly to Budapest when I can drive? The same goes for Thessaloniki. And if I fly I have to rent a car. I don't consider a vacation a true vacation if I am pinned down in a resort and have limited opportunity to see anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:20

      Ok

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL15:23

      SKG has been a route they have operated for decades. It was actually JU's 2nd international destination, opening in 1930. In fact, it has gone from an ATR route operated 3-4 times a week by Jat Airways to double daily A319 by Air Serbia. SKG is also almost double the distance compared to BUD, while driving to Greece involves 4 border crossings in each direction.

      BUD is 4+ hours, depending on how long you spend at the border. The schedule seems to be intended to catch the business O&D demand between the 2 cities, while also great for transfers on the Belgrade end. ZAG, which has a similar distance to BUD, was also launched as 14 x weekly when launched and has remained fairly well for them, considering it's roughly a 4 hour drive to Zagreb. Flights between BUD and BEG have been there for decades, starting back in the 1930's.

      While personally you don't find any use for the flights, someone else will.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:25

      It has been partially explained.

      There are people who catch transfer flights and they will use these BUD flights together with people who go to visit someone in BUD and who do not need a car there.

      There are aslo people who would like to fly on 2 tickets BEG-BUD and after it with LCC further if they find cheap alternative from there.

      There are as well businessmen who prefer to fly more than to drive and to wait endlessly on the border during summer months.

      So, I understand it is for you essential to be with your car in Budapest, but there are also other types of passengers who would have a lot of benefits from this route.

      Delete
    4. why would you need a car in Budapest if you go for a weekend city break?

      Delete
    5. Да ли постоји и сегмент BUD - BEG? Да ли ће неко из Будимпеште користити трансферне летове из Београда?

      Delete
    6. Летове.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:26

      That is exactly you would do for business trip, fly and rent a car and you are back home on same day. Much better than driving 8 hrs back and forth.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:54

      Which airline flies ZAG-BUD?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous18:18

      No airline

      Delete
    10. JATBEGMEL18:37

      @16,54

      Malev flew BUD-ZAG 18 x per week until they went bankrupt in 2012. QR also flew DOH-BUD-ZAG before operating both separately. LOT was also contemplating launching BUD-ZAG in 2020.

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/07/lot-tipped-for-budapest-zagreb-service.html?m=1

      Delete
    11. Anonymous19:28

      16:54, I confirm JATBEGMEL about Málev BUD-ZAG.
      I flew with them in 2008 or 2009 I think it was and they operated an Embraer 120 on the route. Very exotic experience. 1 flight attendant, very narrow ceiling and claustrophobic toilet on the very back of the plane, Jesus Christ!
      ZAG back then had the old building, which was stuck back in time and looked like a big, bus station. Incredible how HR invested in its airports now.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous19:37

      Why not fly and rent a car? It still saves so much time then getting stuck at the border. 30 min flight vs. 4-5 hrs in the car…hmmm. Plus as a lot of comments said most of pax will be transfers from long hauls and regional routes. Its not all about you.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous20:17

      @JATBEGMEL

      do not quite understand what you meant;

      "ZAG, which has a similar distance to BUD, was also launched as 14 x weekly when launched and has remained fairly well for them"

      for whom is it remaing fairly well?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous20:25

      He clearly means BEG-ZAG.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous20:40

      Thanks.

      Delete
    16. JATBEGMEL21:59

      @20,17

      I meant that Belgrade - Zagreb is of similar distance as Belgrade - Budapest, roughly 20kms difference. JU's BEG-ZAG route is doing fairly well despite the short distance.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous22:08

      Thanks. Good point.

      Delete
  38. This is all nice and great news. However, for the airline of their size, this is a bit aggressive and risky expansion. With so many new routes added (not to mention the increase in frequencies for existing routes) this could present a lot of challenges this summer (staff shortages, not enough aircraft, technical issues, etc.). Expansion of this magnitude can be challenging even for larger airlines. Don't misunderstand me....I am not against JU. Actually, I am very happy to see them expanding. I am just concerned that with such tempo they might have lots of issues this summer.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous15:58

    Air Serbia has to increase almost all regional routes to 2-4 daily for next season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:37

      They really need to do this to feed all these new flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:21

      In that case they need at least 7 turboprops in the fleet by May. Maybe they will keep two old ATRs alongside with five new ATRs.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:41

      At least.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous17:19

    BEG will def have next year a record number of passengers, more than 7 mil for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:06

      I would first be a bit more conservative with growth always watching the bigger boys. Ryanair is expanding very conservatively and so is easyJet. They know that a new possible financial crisis is awaiting Europe. Inflation in some countries is now around 22% such as Hungary and Baltics. I cannot think of another airline with such an ambitious and agressive growth in Europe like JU. I wish them all the best, but this plan is way too ambitious. Let's see. Wizzair maybe a bit a bit chaotic lately but not a stupid airline. They have shoved many routes in 2023 not only in ex-Yu but in many other European countries.
      Even huge airports such as Frankfurt barely have more than 15 new routes and mostly seasonal, even Warsaw has barely 7 new announced routes. And Polish economy is nowhere close to the Serbian one.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:18

      You have Air Baltic launching 20 new routes next summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:22

      Those BT routes were announced in summer, dear giving them a lot of time. BT have 38 aircraft. No need to compare apples with pears.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:31

      You wrote a whole comment saying there is no airline in Europe launching so many new routes, I pointed out that yoi are wrong. Also last time I checked Air Serbia is launching these new routes in summer not winter.

      Also, be polite enough and don't belittle me with "dear". You don't know me and it would be appreciated if you have the basic level of decency.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:48

      Thing is that JU cannot be compared with BT, please understand this. Different product, different level, different strategy and by the way most of BT's new routes are seasonal which is also a wise decision. Most of the new routes in Frankfurt are also seasonal for some reason. You have lots and lots of information online. Welcome to 2022.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:57

      I simply pointed out that airlines are adding new routes, you wrote no one is aggressively expanding -- simply wrong.

      If you followed any of the news here, Air Serbia's CEO said multiple times that majority of the new routes are leisure and he explained why. But I guess you think Catania will run in winter.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:08

      Catania has become a year-round destination and connected to many European capitals. Again, you need to do your checks before commenting...

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:19

      I have to do checks and you claimed no airline in Europe is aggressively expanding. When you were given an example of one then you said it does not count.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous00:08

      So now you are trying to compare JU and BT?
      Now that is ridiculous!

      Delete
    10. Anonymous00:11

      You can play dumb but I wrote clearly. You wrote NO airline is exapnding aggressively next summer and compared Air Serbia to Ryanair saying how Ryanair is careful compared to Air Serbia. I meerly wrote you are incorrect and that some airlines are indeed expanding aggressively and gave you an example. Realising that you wrote misinformation you proceeded to play dumb. Good night.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous01:24

      Growing 3 months in advance with zero OFFICIAL aircraft orders is just suspicious. Not much playing dumb here. Please do not compare JU with BT ever again. Thank you.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous01:41

      You are playing dumb. The other person was pointing out that there are other airline aggressively expanding and you were claiming no one is. SAS has also announced 20 new routes for next summer. So you clearly wrote rubbish.

      Delete
    13. Nemjee06:28

      Why shouldn't we compare JU and BT ever again? What's wrong with that?
      Based on their geographical location, Air Serbia has far more potential due to its base being in a more populous region of Europe. This is extremely important when evaluating long-term potential of a certain airline. Just look at how important Turkey has become for JU and how well they are doing in IST.
      If we look at their fleets, BT has 38 aircraft right now while JU has 18+2 so 20 in total. Looking at their expansion for next year they are definitely going to have more than 25 planes further reducing the difference. Furthermore, unlike BT, JU doesn't have the need to lease out its fleet as it is fully employed at its home base.

      Delete
  41. I still don't give up on their return to Geneva.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous03:36

      i agree they should

      Delete
  42. Most of us really do not know what is happening behind closed doors in AirSerbia. Perhaps, they have negotiated additional aircraft in silence. Hush hush approach worked well for Russian destinations and Siberian overflight rights. Here, the one thing which makes it more believable is the fact that CEO announces destinations, not certain politician, and that the moment destinations are announced, flights are available for purchase. This is business.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:19

      Good point. Do you remember how Blue Air were announcing so many new routes not only in Otopeni but other Romanian cities as well? People bought many tickets and they ended up cancelling almost all of them. Same with Wizzair. They announce many "new" routes but then cancel many others.
      I was checking in depth about ANY source regarding new JU aircraft orders and could not find anything. No aircraft orders, nothing. On this blog they usually publish new job offerings in Belgrade or related and there is nothing.
      They say the terminal will be completed but nothing is mentioned about the most important factor, which are the people. What about the handling staff? What about their training? If the new runway will be ready, have they undergone any tests?
      Really, it is amazing to have a good, functioning airline in the region but more facts need to be revealed. Customer service is going really down as well. There are so many negative comments online.
      The other day, some guy shared with us a report about the JU "business class" experience. If they pretend to enter Western European markets, where the clients are very picky, then it will be a fiasco.
      BEG is no ATH, IST or VIE hub level yet. An airport still lacking basic and extremely vital services such as airport hotel or rail and underground services.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:28

      The fact that you haven't found anything is your problem. It takes less than a minute to find:

      Air Serbia job openings
      https://www.airserbia.com/en/footer_menu/corporate/careers/working-at-air-serbia/available-job-posts

      Recent job openings for pilots and cabin crew just closed.

      Belgrade Airport job openings
      https://beg.aero/lat/pridruzite_nam_se

      Air Serbia's CEO has already announced that new leased ATR and Airbus aircraft are coming next year.

      Air Serbia launched 20 new routes in 2022 and none were cancelled before they launched.

      The review of Air Serbia's business class (don't get the inverted commas) showed a business class product which is above avarage for inter-European standards and the same or better than 98% of European airlines.

      Don't understand what you are complaining about.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:43

      The job offerings are related to BEG airport itself and not so much as far as I can see in relation to the number of announced routes.
      What about the PILOTS and AIRCRAFTS? Without them, all this is just words.

      "Air Serbia's CEO has already announced that new leased ATR and Airbus aircraft are coming next year." - where? give me a source and change my mind.

      Yes inverted comma for business class, because if you really have flown European basic business class, at least would expect a private wide seat and not a 3 rowed upfront one with zero privacy to begin with. Just trying to say, that European airlines generally almost all of them have a huge decline in business class in short to medium-sized flights. What the report showed the other day is nothing but an upgrade of a low-cost airline being in the first rows.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:45

      Well said Anon 19:28
      I cant get over how some people just throw their baseless opinions when research is a click away. Also regional airports in the area also dont have a rail link such as BUD, ZAG and for BEG is actually not really an issue since it takes 15-20 min to reach Novi Beograd easily with the car, yes it would be nice to have but keep in mind that BEG is just now starting to develop which will take time. If you also do some research Vinci did state that part of the conecession contract is an airpor hotel so it will come at one point.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:49

      I flew multiple EU carriers business class such as KLM LH, Air Europa, TAP to name a few and they all just block a seat in the middle or literally have same seats as economy with a little bit more legroom and serve more food and drinks.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:50

      Can you please show us which exactly legacy EU airline has private wide seat busines class?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:51

      You failed to read almost everything I wrote. The job opening for pilots and cabin crew expired on 24th of November so it no longer appears in the job OPENINGS section.

      Yes I have flown inter European business class, can you name me one European airline other than Turkish Airlines and Aeroflot with private wide seat on flights inside Europe? Euro business is in response to market conditions. If it personally does not suit you get a private jet.

      As for upcoming aircraft leases click on Air Serbia tag at the end of the news and you will find their CEO stating they will add another 5 ATRs and more A320s.

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL21:49

      @19,19

      Blue Air also had financial issues for years. Profit they finally made in 2019 went down the drain in 2020. Not to mention the B737MAX order which made things worse.

      JU has never pulled off what Wizz has, mass announcing of routes only to cancel the launch. The only exception being 2020 for obvious reasons. No reason to assume that now.

      JU doesn't have aircraft orders as they're not purchasing any. We didn't see an order book for the 20 aircraft they have currently in the fleet, it doesn't mean that the aircraft don't exist and never came. However Marek did mention their short term fleet plans a few months back, which included a focus on taking on more A320's.

      Regarding job openings, this site isn't a classifieds page. If the mod was to post every job opening in the region he'll be spamming the page. Quite a number of openings available, not only at BEG. Wizz just had an open day in Belgrade a couple of days ago, JU will soon have an assessment day for applicants who applied last month. JU currently has a few positions posted on their site.

      Runway tests have been ongoing for the past month. Here is a cool video of the new runway.

      https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1595129496214319105

      I guess also you haven't flown much to be making comments about their service. Business class at JU is overall average at worst, economy pretty much average. For an airline of its size, its more than fantastic.

      Rail and metro has nothing to do with BEG, but the Serbian government. Enquire with them. Many large global hubs don't have a metro or rail network serving them btw. Hotel will follow, not everything can be done all on one go. Construction at the airport is hectic enough without throwing in hotel construction into that chaos. What might be fascinating to understand is that construction doesn't start in the morning and magically by the evening appears a terminal with a capacity for 15 million. Lots of info have been posted about future plans and timelines. Perhaps you should actually be reading the articles rather than skipping them, you've missed out a fair bit considering your comment.

      Delete
  43. Anonymous19:47

    Last reveal of new routes will likely have some major surprises, hopefully Toronto. If that doesn't happen, Belgrade-bound Toronto passengers might have an opportunity to connect to Air Serbia flight at JFK if, Air Canada and Air Serbia make some kind of interline arrangement. Air Canada has announced return to JFK and on some days could offer tight connecting opportunities:
    JU500 BEG-JFK 07:50-11:50 + AC8555 JFK-YYZ 13:25-15:10
    AC8554 YYZ-JFK 11:00-12:36 + JU501 JFK-BEG 14:35-05:25

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:19

      YYZ would be just too much, complete operational nightmare with all of the new routes.
      It’s better to wait one year than to risk everything, especially in long haul sector.
      The last reveal will be the Middle Eastern routes imo.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:46

      POW and OHD should come as regional routes too.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:51

      It can't be bigger operational nightmare than with TSN flights. Willing to bet on it. Air Serbia is already risking everything by decision to fly to Chicago in the winter time LOL.

      Anyway, comment was about potential for JU AC interline at JFK.

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL23:51

      JU is already an interline partner of AC. JU also has a partnership with AC Aeroplan FF program.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous01:08

      What? Chicago flights are starting in May 2023, not winter time.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous05:05

      JATBEGMEL: yes, I know both facts. Question is will YYZ-JFK-BEG be included?

      Anon 01:08: We all know when are they starting ORD, but the point is JU will lose money on the route by flying it in the winter season as well.

      Delete
    7. JATBEGMEL11:16

      @05,05

      You're mixing code share and interline. They're not the same. Simply put, interline is for the entire network of the airlines, not per destination. Codeshare is per destination. JU doesn't have a codeshare agreement with AC.

      Delete
  44. Anonymous20:11

    Idemo dalje.

    ReplyDelete
  45. @Sam
    That's why good management makes all the difference. That's why Croatia Airlines is not capable of doing the same thing. I'm almost sure Air Serbia will have no issues you are concerned about.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous21:45

    I wouldnt be shocked if they are waiting to rock the boat with the last two announcements.

    One will be regional and one Middle Eastern/North African. With all expected Greek islands that will be converted from charters to scheduled routes, it is also possible that the last two together would be 10 or more routes, bringing the number of total new routes to close to 30.

    Ohrid, Portorož, expected Romanian and Greek expansion would be considered as regional, I guess. Middle Eastern will include Cairo and Tel Aviv, hopefully some destination in the Caucasus, Amman, or Beirut. I was intrigued by the announced codeshare with the Middle Eastern carrier. It can be either Qatar or Emirates, through Fly Dubai. It wouldnt make sense to have a codeshare with the carrier who doesnt fly to Belgrade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:30

      I think it is Qatar, because i heard Vucic saying he needs to speak with Qatari leader about something that will be really important for JU

      Delete
    2. Anonymous03:21

      Kuwait could be one of destinations in next wave and Kuwait Airways a new codeshare partner.

      Delete
  47. Anonymous23:30

    I think many of these flights are geared to Russians transferring through BEG. Once the conflict in the Ukraine would be settled, and Russian carriers can fly normally to their previous destinations, there won't be a need for Russians or other nationalities to transfer through BEG. They will more or less be able to fly direct. Just my point of view.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:33

      Of course. If it's not Russians then it's for Indians. If it's not for Indians then its for Turks. If it's not for Turks then its for Iranians, if it's not for Iranians then its for Vucic etc. Russians are now banned from entering an increasing number of EU countries and Russians can't obtain a Schengen visa anymore. But sure, Air Serbia's entire expansion is geared towards Russians.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01:07

      Why get so up tight. I just made a comment. Was not trying to offend anyone. In business, each and every company has a target market. My opinion is that it is geared towards the Russian traveller.I don't live in Europe, and don't pay attention how much people from different countries are travelling. Just a comment I made. True typical balkan rant if someone doesn't agree.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee06:33

      There aren't enough flights to Russia to fill all these extra flights. They can help, that's for sure, but they can't be the primary source. For example, it's not uncommon for IST flights to arrive with 50 to 70 transfer passengers; on some flights there are even more of them, same with Athens.

      Delete
    4. И Ви мислите да ће, када се заврши ово у Украјини, истог момента Руси почети да добијају визе. Да ће истог тренутка Аерофлот обновити летове. Проћиће месеци, ако не и године, када ће Руси почети да добијају визе, а Аерофлот дозволе за летове.

      Delete
  48. Idea stolen from LOT where they been planing Bud-Beg 2 years ago. Well played

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:14

      WAW is much further away from the BUD then is BEG. So it is not a steeling idea.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee06:30

      If I am not wrong, JU operated BEG-BUD before LO announced their intention to operate this route. By that logic, LO stole the idea from JU and B2.

      Delete
  49. Nemjee06:37

    In other news, tomorrow (Saturday) YU-ARC/Pupin is scheduled to fly to Zurich which will become its first commercial service since it arrived to BEG on 24.11.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:58

      Što znači da YU-ARB danas leti za TSN a YU-ARC u nedelju za JFK.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:17

      To znači da avioni lete nekad tamo nekad onamo.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08:29

      Is ARB allowed to overfly Russiam air space, insurance wise?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:30

      Ne razumem "tamo onamo" logiku.

      Ako su oba aviona na raspolaganju naravno da ce pokusati oba maksimalno da iskoriste a ne samo Teslu slati na JFK a Pupina u Kinu i naravno u medjuvremenu za Cirih, Pariz ili Moskvu.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:44

      Sta znaci "tamo onamo"?

      Air Serbia ima na raspolaganju 2 sirokotrupna aviona i organizovace njihovu utilizaciju onako kako im najbolje odgovara.

      Niti ce Tesla stalno biti u Njujorku niti Pupin u Kini vec ce ih kombinovati u zavisnosti od raspolozivosti ukljucujuci i njihove letove ka evropskim destinacijama.

      Delete
  50. For good quality staff I'll keep my doubts, but still better to be aggressive then to sit and do nothing.

    ReplyDelete

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