Air Serbia has scheduled the launch of flights between Belgrade and Porto, its second destination in Portugal. The new service will commence on November 10 and operate twice per week, each Monday and Friday. As exclusively revealed by EX-YU Aviation News back in June, the carrier had applied for slots at Portugal’s second busiest airport, which were later granted. Porto will be maintained alongside Lisbon, which was launched this April and has quickly become one of the airline’s most successful new routes introduced this summer season. The carrier will increase frequencies to the Portuguese capital this winter from two weekly maintained during the summer months to three weekly rotations starting October 29.
Belgrade and Porto have never been linked with a scheduled nonstop air service. Porto Airport, which like its counterpart in Belgrade is managed by VINCI, is considered the country’s leisure gateway. As the Spanish region of Galicia is nearby, just 120 kilometres by car, 10% of passengers travelling through Porto Airport are estimated to be of Galician origin. Porto will become Air Serbia’s 23rd new route launched this year. Furthermore, it becomes the carrier’s seventh destination on the Iberian peninsula following Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia. Prior to the summer of 2019, the Serbian carrier did not serve a single destination in the region on a scheduled basis.
Commenting on the development of the carrier’s network, Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupić, said, "Our destination network was expanded this year with over twenty new cities, including Lisbon. Flights between Belgrade and Portugal’s capital have been quite popular since the beginning, as evidenced by the continuously high load factor. However, in Europe’s westernmost country, there are other charming cities that always attract visitors, and one of them is Porto. You will be able to go on tourist or business trips to that city starting from November 10 via Air Serbia’s nonstop service”. The introduction of flights to Porto is one of several novelties the carrier will be revealing in the lead-up to its tenth anniversary on October 26.
Further flight details for the new Porto service can be found here. Tickets are now available for purchase through the airline's website.
Tenerife?
ReplyDeleteThat’s exotic!
DeleteThere is definitely demand in 2019. I was there (without a tour operator) and met groups of Serbs, some with a tour guide. It was in November so I think it will work, definitely not as cheap as Montenegro or Halkidiki but worth it.
DeleteIf it works from Zagreb, it will also work from BEG. An example is OTP where there are almost every day (Wizz Air, Hi Sky).
Delete+10000
DeleteIt's a 5 hour flight from BEG. If your take into consideration the fleet shortage I don'y think they will start Tenerife. But it's defenitly an interesting destination for the future.
DeleteThey have leased fleet;)
DeleteIt's Porto :) they updated the article
Delete😁😁😁😁
DeleteCan a single crew fly this route both ways or is it timed out?
DeleteOne crew ok
DeleteYes it can
DeleteOnly one?
ReplyDeleteThey launched 22 new routes this year. How many do you expect? Another 22?
DeleteIt would be nice to have more.
DeleteThe disconnect some people have with reality...
DeleteWhat reality? They beat their chests that there would be several new destinations.
Delete"What reality? They beat their chests that there would be several new destinations."
DeleteWhere exactly? Please stop making things up.
There is no way to satisfy the haters.
DeleteHalf of them cry because they say that Air Serbia is growing too fast.
The other half cry because they say Air Serbia isn't growing fast enough.
I think MUC and WAW should be higher priorities than POR or TNF.
DeleteAnaliticar your wishes MUC WAW are the worst. Always wishing the opposute of what is good for Air Serbia..
Delete@10:28
Delete+100
LIS had great results and obviously they follow the logic that OPO will have it too.
DeleteThere is no comeptition on OPO route while in MUC and WAW you have LH and LO that fly 12-13 weekly.
It is much easier to start OPO.
When someone does not have any knowledge and no working expirience in aviation - he becomes "analiticar". Usually critisizing, plaing role of "smart guy"...
DeleteI love reading the comments that the analiticar comments. Gives for a good laugh at the end of my day (Australia). But yes far too many experts here who know better than the highly educated management team.
DeleteCongratulations Air Serbia!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Will they announce it during the day?
ReplyDeleteMaybe on their anniversary 🤔
DeleteAnnounced! Porto!
DeleteMSN19000204 also will join the fleet, idk on what AOC will be stationed. Ex. Great Dane Airlines.
ReplyDeleteMaybe something from INI/KVO?
ReplyDeleteHighly doubt it
DeleteI can't understand their simplicity about restrictions in Nis. Why should Niš not develop? That is why JU is not expanding there.
DeleteThey added Zurich and the route failed.
DeleteIni - lju will also fail now that W6 started flights from Skopje.
DeleteINI-LJU is PSO, it can't fail. Of course, if the public interest is evaluated correctly.
Deleteah okay then.
DeleteIt can’t fail but many people from that region will be going to Skopje to fly to Ljubljana, as it’s WizzAir and it’s cheaper than Air Serbia
Delete^ Hope dies last for you I guess. On an article about Air Serbia launching its 23rd new route of the year, you are praying for the the failure of Nis-Ljubljana.
DeleteIt all depends on who are the pax on the INI-LJU route. Fares on INI-LJU aren't expensive being a PSO route. And how much cheaper, if at all, is Wizz when you factor in travel expenses to get to SKP. Not to mention that on days where there isn't a direct flight there is always the possibility of flying via BEG.
DeleteI hope it's not Wroclaw. We are hoping for something sunny like Gran Canaria, Porto, Morocco, Zanzibar (although it will need to be recharged).
ReplyDeleteYou should really consider as far away as Zanzibar or Mombasa.
DeleteI have a feeling it will be Alicante, that's the only destination I see as strong in Spain.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Alicante is a great option.
DeleteLet's hope for the best - Canaries 🏝
ReplyDeleteI think MUC and WAW should be higher priorities than POR or TNF.
DeleteShorter flights too as opposed to Portugal and the Canaries.
Both MUC and WAW are well served from.BEG and they should not be any priority over those destinations that have no service from Serbia. People on here have 0 knowledge about aviation industry.
DeleteIt is not a point if destinations are served from BEG or not, but if JU can make the profit from destinations. Does it fit well in JUs network is question. You mix logic of airport and air line.
DeleteSome peoples like you have no idea about aviation.
MUC and WAW? I see LOT and LX running moslty with E-Jets. From other side LIS is served with A320 (JU) and A321 (WIZZ) with significant load factor and even increasing frequencies!
DeleteHelsinki?
ReplyDeleteTuzla?
DeleteThe new route maybe will be Beijing or Guanzhou
ReplyDeleteRead the first 10 words of the article
Delete"Air Serbia is set to add a new European destination"
Operated by AirPink;)))
ReplyDeleteChina routes would make sense
ReplyDelete+1,,
DeletePeople should really read the article before commenting. Or at least the headline.
DeleteI wasn't saying that they will open it, China isn't in Europe, all I'm saying is that additional China flights would make sense
DeleteWroclaw or Cluj-Napoca
ReplyDeleteBoth have potencial.
DeleteCLJ have W6, RO, H4.
DeleteWRO have FR, W6.
OPO have easyJet, TAP, Ryanair, KLM, Lufthansa, Transavia, AirEuropa, Iberia, Luxair, Volotea, Swiss, Vueling, Air France, Norwegian, Turkish, Azores Airlines, United, Brussels, Air Transat, Eurowings… so what?
DeleteIn CLJ and WRO we have only transfers, p2p is 0%.
DeleteI am glad to see more and more people recognize that WRO at this moment is not so good idea.
DeleteThere are much better solutions - OPO for example 😃
Baku, Beirut, Amman
DeleteI think both CLJ and WRO will come with next years expansion. KRK has done really well this year, while JU seems to be doing really well in OTP. 3 more ATR's are set to join the fleet by next summer.
DeleteAgree with last two anonymous.
Delete🎅
ReplyDeleteLapland?
DeleteLapland would be awesome, but for our people too expensive for winter holidays. Nobody fly there from this part of Europe
DeleteYou have LH Muc-Oulu 2x week this winter
DeleteWell I was thinking from Balkan region + Oulu isn't real Lapland in that winter holiday sense...
DeletePorto?
ReplyDeleteIt's possible
DeleteProbably Porto
ReplyDeleteI would be happy if it really is Spain or Portugal.
DeletePlease give me the remote 😩 😭 😫
ReplyDeleteNice morning with good news for one coffee
ReplyDeleteNice addition!
ReplyDeleteSo it will be Porto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteInterstingly Porto will start in the winter season like Malaga last year. Is there any information when A330S and A321s could enter the fleet?
DeleteI love the way you piggybacked the question about A330s & A321 into your comment.
Deletehahahahh
DeleteThis is wild
ReplyDelete" it becomes the carrier’s seventh destination on the Iberian peninsula following Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia. Prior to the summer of 2019, the Serbian carrier did not serve a single destination in the region on a scheduled basis."
It's weird how everyone was late to launch these destinations and the writings were on the wall for couple of years (dozens of vans transferring people daily to Timisoara, Budapest, Sofia for exactly these and similar destinations).
DeleteTruth be told it's their 6th destination since Palma is an island but nonetheless it's still impressive.
DeleteJasmineeeeeee!!! Dje si? Dobro jutro! Kaka' je kahva? Sa' kazu novine? Kad ce vise ta pemzija....
ReplyDeleteWork on more frequencies to FRA.
DeleteVrankvurt, Minken Minken Vrankvurt...
DeleteHahaha
DeleteFantastic. Good schedule for weekend break too.
ReplyDeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteWho can you carry on 2x weekly service? Usually that's cheap traffic: tourists, VFRs. Passengers travelling on business will show up very rarely. Similar transfer passengers as there might transfer opportunity just 1-2 per week. So not many opportunities to catch passangers. Its not about how many new routes an airline will open. Its about quality of the offer and how many passengers can get interested and willing to use the services to be stay within the network. Its better to open 5 new routes with a double daily frequency instead of 30 new routes and fly just 2x weekly.
ReplyDeleteIs there a VFR market between Porto and Serbia?
DeleteNo only tourists as LIS
Delete"Passengers travelling on business will show up very rarely."
DeleteBusiness passengers between BEG and OPO, the things one can read on this blog...
Anon 10.12, you should explain this to the people running business globally cause I think noone knows it.
DeleteAlthough in theory you are right, in practice you are absolutely wrong because you should be able to fill in those 5 double daily routes. By time they may mature and frequencies will grow, but routes any airline can launch as double daily from day one are very no so common.
The argument level: It's better to be rich than to be poor...
DeleteYes, it's better to open 5 routes with double daily frequency, so which 5 would you propose for JU to launch? Only MUC comes to my mind but without codeshare it would be destined to fail or to cut to 4-5 pw for hardcore Serbian diaspora.
Hahah bussines passenger between Belgrade and Porto Re huge lol. Like honestly I can not with people on here.
DeleteBe patient mi amigo.
DeleteEven the largest of airlines don't always go for double daily. TK started BEG with 3 pw. LOT started WAW-BEG at 4 pw. FZ 3 pw. QR 4 pw via ESB. BA is relaunching BEG at 3 pw. Why would JU be any different? Unless frequency is needed due to proximity (ZAG and BUD for example) 2-3 pw is quite ok for a start while they build frequencies from there (BCN, OSL).
DeleteLooks like it avoids destinations already served by other airlines.
ReplyDeleteYes: GOT, HAM, MLA, TLV, RHO…
DeleteWeather is not good during winter,to much rain
ReplyDelete14-15 degree highs in January, while most of Europe hovers around 0. Sounds pretty good to me.
Delete@admin it seems that it’s inauguration is 30.10, can you please confirm/ update? They are selling tickets for then.
ReplyDeleteAs per the airline's own press release, flights commence November 10.
DeleteGlitch in system. Flights begin 10.11.23
DeleteAir Serbia should launch some vacation routes and not just gasto routes.
ReplyDeleteAre you seriously implying Porto is a gasto route. LOL.
DeleteThe asylum is out in full force today, judging by the comments.
DeleteUn volo da Milan Bergamo ?
ReplyDeleteThere is Wizz Air - https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/09/wizz-air-completes-belgrade-expansion.html
DeleteAir Serbia flies to Malpensa.
Fun fact Vinci operates the Porto airport, I wonder how much impact that had if any in the matter
ReplyDeleteLisbon too. I was surprised to see the state of that airport, not good at all.
DeleteI've been to LIS, I can say it's great. In Porto a long time ago, but I only met friends there. I can tell you that it is certainly way above BEG.
DeleteSo you were in Porto and you only met friends there. Well thanks for sharing that.
DeleteI would have thought that OPO is more of a Wizz destination in terms that it is only for tourists, both directors.
ReplyDeleteDoes schedule allow for transfer pax from Balkans?
Yes it does. Both flights connect onto their waves (both arrival and departure)
DeleteGreat 👍
Delete* directions (damn auto correct)
DeletePrices for OPO tickets are discounted until 10.10.2023.
ReplyDeleteStarting return ticket price - 116 EUR! 👌
LCA-BEG-OPO for €180. Very good times and very good promo fare. Hopefully they promote it over there.
ReplyDeleteLCA-BEG 03.40-05.30
BEG-OPO 07.50-10.35
OPO-BEG 17.35-22.00
BEG-LCA 23.50-03.15
More than decent connecting times. Very good choice of destination by JU, congrats to their network department. I am sure it will be an instant success.
There's no direct flight LCA-OPO? It looks like JU's feeding destinations lack this destination, good for JU.
DeleteLCA doesn’t have that good connections in Europe year-round. In the Iberian peninsula they only have BCN and only seasonal with Vueling so JU really helps with that.
DeleteFrom what I remember Vueling terminated LCA flights and they offer it with Aegean via ATH, same as with BEG.
DeleteI think LCA does really well for JU. Just bought a ticket for the end of October (return) for 28.000 RSD. Night flights are cheaper but daytime ones seem to be selling like hot cakes.
Who knows... maybe LCA goes triple daily with JU next summer, demand is definitely there. JU is very, very popular from those flying between Scandinavia and LCA.
LCA and Cypriots are using Aegean and ATH mostly for their transits and not JU.
DeleteGroundbreaking
DeleteLCA is only serbian tour operators( + individual travellers )+ small percent VFR, gasterbaiters.
DeleteAegean is not that competitive for transfers from LCA because of massive O&D demand which fills almost all flights.
DeleteAir Serbia carries a lot of tourists but also a massive number of transfers. There are barely 1.000 Serbs left in Cyprus which is not enough to fill all those seats.
Austrian Airlines and LOT are also extremely popular as well as British Airways for flights to North America. Air Serbia has managed to position itself as an important player for transfer passengers heading in and out of the island.
Sorry not LOT, meant to write Lufthansa.
DeleteIt is nice to see growth of AirSerbia with new routs. But I would be happier that this rout was launched by someone else like TAP (either Porto o Lisbon). From my perspective travelers from Belgrade are missing choice what leads to monopoly of AirSerbia and Wizzair
ReplyDeleteYour statement is contradictory. If you have Air Serbia and Wizz Air it can't be a monopoly. TAP flew to Belgrade and failed.
DeleteIt's a duopoly ad it uses monopolistic pricing.
DeleteMost prices from BEG to most destinations are rather affordable.
DeleteI doubt TAP would offer 120-140 EUR fares for the return trip, as JU is offering now. Lisbon is served both by JU and W6 and prices are really competitive.
DeleteLet's be realistic, JU is not going to be offering such low fares for much longer. I doubt there are more than 10 seats on the plane at those fares, just look at how much they are charging for LIS.
DeleteThat said it's a long flight so costs are everything but low. Airlines need to make money so they have to charge more. Flying to Portugal from Serbia is not a right and traveling abroad to such a destination constitutes a privilege.
Have you ever travelled from Timisoara? I was in shock to see like "regular" people flying in mass numbers to destinations like this. Flying abroad is nowadays privilege only for poor countries.
DeleteMass numbers from TSR? If there were mass numbers over there then the airport would have handled more than 1.595.000 in 2019 or 1.193.000 last year.
DeleteI just checked some Wizz fares from TSR and they are not that low for an cheap airport like TSR. There must be a reason why FR left that market.
Everything over one million is A LOT !
DeleteStop belittleing your competitors ..
Would much rather have the terrible duopolistic Air Serbia / Wizz situation than the wonderful market-driven situation in Ljubljana and Sarajevo. Of course, competition is great, but connectivity is also important, and flights being cheap only matters if you have flights to begin with
DeleteAs I've seen regular round trip flights from JFK to Porto (connection in Paris) being around $450 this might become the cheapest route to Belgrade from the US for someone that doesn't mind the wait.
ReplyDeleteFINALLY! We waited so long for the 1st Balkan Route and JU gave us it! It has everything to be huge! Most of companies and industry of Portugal are in the north region of Portugal. Bravo Air Serbia, welcome to my Porto!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteObrigado from Belgrado!
Delete<3 from Serbia to Portugal
DeleteBalkan route is also year round ATH with Aegean already served from OPO so JU comes 2nd
DeleteI would not consider ATH as Balkan … 🤣 we had Blue Air to OTP …
DeleteLOL!!! If one country could be considered totally but totally Balkan, with geography, history, mentality, habits, way of life, that would be Greece. And as far as I know, ATH is not in Malawi
DeleteEven literally, we are Balkans peninsula *because* of Greece. Without it, there is no peninsula.
DeleteS 24 will very interesting with a lot of new routes from Belgrad
ReplyDeletenew aircraft are required for that my friend!
DeleteSo excited about this route. Will make it so much easier. I was excited about Belgrade to Lisbon direct flight, but this is even better!
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteTop, top decision. Just keep fair prices...
ReplyDeleteNever been in Porto, but flew over on route from Milan to Tenerife.I've been in Lisbon 10 times, Ponta Delgada Azores 1x, Funchal Madeira 1x, Fuerteventura 7x, Tenerife 2x, Gran Canaria 1x, Barcelona too many times, Sevilla 1x, Madrid 2x, Mallorca 1x, Ibiza 1x, Faro 1x.
ReplyDelete