airBaltic confident in Belgrade service success

airBaltic is expanding its operations in the former Yugoslavia this summer, with the carrier to introduce seasonal flights from Tallinn to Split and Dubrovnik on May 1, from Riga to Tivat on May 4, as well as from Riga to Belgrade on May 16. While services to the Croatian and Montenegrin coasts are being driven by tourism, the airline is hoping to attract a range of travellers on the Belgrade route. Flights between Riga and the Serbian capital will operate two times per week with the Airbus A220 aircraft and will initially run on a seasonal basis. Similar to its other destinations in the region, such as Budapest, if the service proves successful it will be upgraded to year-round in the coming year.

In an interview for EX-YU Aviation News, airBaltic’s CEO, Martin Gauss, said now is the right time to launch flights to Belgrade. “If you look at our overall network, we connect capitals and business centres in Europe. That is the key to what we do - we provide connectivity. Covid drove us to adjust, and passenger demand has increased for leisure. However, it does not mean that we would not continue expanding our network to the capitals and business centres in Europe and Belgrade is one of them. The connection to Belgrade is not daily yet but it is a route that should exist if we talk purely about connectivity. We have smaller planes so we can go faster, making a route profitable because we don’t have to fill 200-seaters like low costers. So, Belgrade is an attempt to develop connectivity from one capital in Europe to another important capital. That is the rationale behind opening Belgrade, because the traffic is not reliant on tourism. It is business and enabling businesses on both ends”, Mr Gauss said.

airBaltic A220 cabin

The CEO noted that the new flights will also attract transfer passengers on both ends, with airBaltic having a codeshare partnership with Air Serbia on several routes. “You have a network out of Belgrade. It is a hub for Air Serbia, and we have a network out of Riga, so we have Vilnius and Tallinn as a high frequency shuttle so the whole of the Baltics will be connected to Belgrade. Wherever we do this, from whatever base we do this connectivity to business centres, it immediately works. Doing it two times per week, gives the possibility of doing an overnight business visit, and that is what people want. When there is a nonstop business connection, normally people stay overnight, but, if a route develops further, you go to six times per week or daily and if it develops really well you can even go double daily. For us, Belgrade was a capital which was on the list of European cities with potential, although not high enough to serve before Covid. After Covid it didn’t come immediately but now we feel is the time to start it”, Mr Gauss said. He added, “In general, we have around 30% of transfers in Riga and it very much depends on the destination from Riga. For example, our eastern routes like Yerevan, Baku and Tbilisi are up to 70% transfers, that is people coming from somewhere in Europe and transferring to there. We will see what routes people will choose from Belgrade and what will people choose to connect from Belgrade as well, because there is a network there and today travellers are very much into finding the best connectivity for themselves. With both airports being smaller transfer hubs, it might give you the advantage of reaching your destination in a meaningful time. Of course, there will also be some tourists on both ends. I’m hoping some Serbs to come and visit Riga in the summer and the same the other way around, but the focus is not on them”.