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”.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    Excellent news. Wish them good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Is there really that much business travel between the two countries?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      I think they will rely on transfers to Scandinavia and former CIS countries. I don't think there is a huge P2P market between BEG and RIX

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      This is not about traffic between Riga & Belgrade only, key is in connection network from both cities as the CEO says.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee09:37

      Well I don't know how much demand they will have from BEG to the CIS given that they can't overfly Russia and Belarus. I guess they will rely on the Baltics and the Nordic countries. I suppose they will somewhat compete for this market with LO.

      I had a look at their website and seems like flights are selling well given how fast lowest classes were sold.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:38

      It’s mostly about transfers- Helsinki, Vilnius, Tallinn etc.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:51

      Indeed

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:44

      Indeed, if you look just at BEG & RIX P2P, there probably isn't that much of a demand, but if you are looking at connecting Baltic cities and Balkans there's potential. Good luck to them. Great to see BEG connected with one more city&region.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous00:54

      With this addition, it is pretty much connected to all regions in Europe.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:06

    Interesting facts. We are yet to see how this route develops. Interesting to see which route will perform well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:07

    The A220 is the perfect plane for this route

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:12

    Fantastic development. This is a very decent airline

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:14

    Riga is a beautiful city! Worth a visit during the summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:04

      Agree, very nice. Not so well known in Serbia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous00:54

      Hopefully it attracts some people from the Baltics to visit Serbia.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:15

    What are their fares like now to BEG?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:44

      They are not bad but flights seem to selling out quite nicely. Cheapest one way from BEG to RIX is €103.
      In their first month of operations they have those fares available on just two flights, the rest are higher. On 30.05 it goes as high €172 one way so flight should be pretty full.
      June is even better for them. Lowest fare is available only on the 10th.
      On the 17th and 24th it's €151 and €172 on the 20th.

      BT has a very good reputation in the north of Europe so I am sure many are confident when booking their flights with them to BEG.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:35

    Without the codeshare, this route wouldn’t be that much profitable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:53

      So true especially since Air Serbia is known for its affordable and competitive code-share agreements.
      I tried to book BEG-RIX on JU's website and it just says sold out for months. Either they haven't finalized the codeshare or they haven't loaded the fares.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:06

      They haven't made a codeshare on BEG-RIX flights yet. They have codehare on VIE-RIX I believe.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee11:27

      Those ones are not on sale either. If I am not wrong they also had it via AMS and CPH in the past.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:28

      Well you know how JU is with codeshares. They load it for the season in the last minute.

      Delete
    5. Nemjee12:05

      Yes and their fares are like they have been selling them for months and that almost all flights have been sold out.
      RO is a good example of where there is so much potential yet very little is done to make the most of it. When JU sends the ATR to OTP it misses a lot of connections in both directions.
      RO has a later flight (after two from what I remember) so JU could be filling them with their own connections. However loads were so bad that they ended up cutting the route for a while.
      If they improved their sales then RO could have easily upgraded this route to a bigger plane or at least added weekend flights. Like this their first flight to BEG after the break arrived with 1 business and 28 economy class passengers. Tarom only once upgraded their flight to a B73W and that is when they had 102 passengers from BEG, 56 in the other direction.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:37

      Thanks for the info Nemjee.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:59

    Which routes do Air Serbia and air baltic codeshare on?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:05

      I think JU has its code on Air Baltic's flights between Vienna and Riga and Air Baltic has on a few routes from Belgrade.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:43

      BEG-ZRH as well

      Delete
  10. Anonymous11:02

    Their fares to BEG are rather good

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:21

      Not any more. The lowest fares are mostly sold out.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous11:06

    That's a very nice cabin on the A220!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:22

      Yes, looks great. They have a very young fleet.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous11:07

    Their A220 has been a common visitor this winter in BEG, operating on behalf of Swiss :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:22

      Was it also Air Baltic crew?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:28

      Yes, it is a wet lease

      Delete
  13. Anonymous12:03

    Hope this route works out and is back next summer too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:46

      Fingers crossed

      Delete
  14. Anonymous12:03

    Interesting that BEG is the first and only capital city in ex-Yu they are serving.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:27

      Well he explains in the article why that is the case.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:51

      Well it is the biggest city among exyu capital so it makes sense.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous13:25

    Read again: 70% of passengers to Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan are transfers.

    It gives a good hint to Air Serbia why should they start those routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:39

      Transfers to RUSSIA.
      JU already flies to Moscow but if the pressure from Europe/NATO continues and the airline stops flying it would be a good alternative to start flights to south Caucasus.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:43

      They can fly to both Russia and the south Caucasus.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:09

      +100!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:24

      Not transfers to Russia - airBaltic doesn't serve Russian market anymore. I think, they rely on people from Western Europe travelling to EVN/GYD/TBS

      Delete
  16. Anonymous16:47

    Air Baltic will provide quite good connections to Helsinki. Unfortunate JU has never returned that route.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:49

      They didn't return because there was not enough demand for nonstop flights but you are right that Air Baltic will probably be a popular choice for those travelling between BEG and HEL.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous20:03

    There are actually quite a few Baltic companies operating in Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:47

      Wasn't aware of this. Any examples?

      Delete
  18. Anonymous20:05

    They should do some marketing campaign in Serbia or at least online. I don't think a lot of people know about these flights.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous22:47

    Great airline

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous17:56

    Can russians enter latvia by bus or car?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.