Air Serbia has begun loading its network modifications into the Global Distribution System for the 2024 summer season, which begins on March 31, with several routes seeing a notable increase in weekly frequencies. The Serbian carrier will boost operations between Belgrade and Barcelona from its existing nine weekly flights to twelve weekly rotations. In addition to Wizz Air’s daily service, the two cities will be linked with a record nineteen weekly flights, with three daily rotations on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The carrier will also grow its seasonal operations to Corfu, which were launched this year, with an additional two weekly flights for a total of four. Seasonal operations to Palma de Mallorca are also set to receive a boost with an extra weekly rotation for a total of four.
Air Serbia has previously emphasised that densifying its network with additional frequencies will be a priority during the upcoming summer season, following significant frequency growth during the ongoing 2023/24 winter season. However, the airline also plans to add new destinations to its network, primarily those that rely on transfer passengers, “Since we have reached the critical mass of our network, further growth potential is in the transfer segment. It is very important for long-haul development, which will rely on that transfer segment. During this summer, we reached over 40% transfer passengers”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said.
The airline plans to promote Belgrade Airport as a non-congested alternative to transfer passengers once construction work at its hub is completed. “Despite the growth we are achieving, the airport is still going through infrastructure upgrades. Hence, at the moment, we are not strongly promoting the seamless hub option as a kind of niche in contrast to the congested hubs. However, once the infrastructure upgrade is finished, we believe that we can achieve a nice symbiosis with the airport where it can be a convenient alternative to the congested hubs, especially for north-south and west-east flows”, Mr Marek noted.
It is amazing how the Barcelona route has developed
ReplyDeleteAnd the Spanish market in general
DeleteTrue, they only added their first scheduled route to Spain 4 years ago (then came corona). So really nice growth. I hope that next year they might consider one more Spanish destination.
DeleteThey definitely benefit from the poor connectivity to Spain from neighboring countries (Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia). There is a reason all three want flights to Barcelona as we have read in articles here, since there is obviously demand.
DeleteI have flown several times this year to BCN (with Wizz) and am surprised by the amount of Spaniards using this route. Talked to a Spanish couple on my last flight in September (thankfully I know some Spanish) and they said they were going on a 3 day city break. Said they had never been to the region and the hotels were cheap. Gave them some tips for the city :)
DeleteRealistically, what could be their next destination in Spain?
DeleteIn Summer i think next destinations will between Alicante, Sevilla or Bilbao. Tenerife i see for winter season perhaps Ibiza in Summer is other option
DeleteOnly goes to show how useless Vueling was. Happy both JU and W6 chased them away.
DeleteExactly! And their stupid flights that arrive in Bcn at 2h in the morning...
DeleteTheir return to BCN was even worse at around 05
DeleteAll those increases are geared by Russians. Certain analitičar told you so.
DeleteYes, it's all about Russians (mind you there are fewer passengers on the Moscow-Belgrade route than 4 years ago), migrants, asylum seekers, political routes (Barcelona is a big political route). Looking forward to finding out the next reason.
DeleteAccordng to him the passengers are surely not Serbians as that nation has University professors that are hungry.
DeleteI am sure there must be some conspiracy from Belgrade, it simply can't be that Serbs can fly so much!
How dare they?
Alicante, 5th Spanish airport is a must. It has more porpulation than Sevilla or Bilbao, it’s more touristic and and is a big airport.
Delete8:34 there are on average 395 Spanish tourists weekly( not everyone comes by plane) there are atleast 23 frequencies weekly to Spanish people are around 8%. Till August Serbia had 13400 Spanish tourist Bosnia 9500 Macedonia 6600.
Delete@anon 10:44
DeleteChinese workers, too...
08:27 I think still mostly Serbians fly but you are definitely right that BEG profites from poor connectivity from neighboring countries and if we include Croatia and Romania that about 15-25% from the demand to Spain is coming from the neighbouring countries.
DeleteWhat I noticed at lcc’s in the balkans that they want atleast 35000 people start a new route. Its not the case that from Sarajevo, Skopje and Podgorica the demand is 5000 people but I would say around 29000 on average. The only 6000 passengers per year shortage on average means that lcc’s are not gonna start that route unfortunately. But if we look at Macedonia and Bosnia I think Serbians are a bit richer and also want more to explore and ofc more inhabitants.
Serbians do fly. But the number of non serbians and non Yugo Slavic/balkan flying with JU and Wizz out of BEG is increasing.
DeleteHad a few flights this year on JU flight to and from BEG that mainly had Chinese and British people on board. At the end of the day it's a good thing. Doesn't matter who flies with JU as long as they are flying with JU.
Hopefully they long haul grows and they can increase frequency on Europe network and start a few more africa/west Asia routes.
Is true than in Spain Alicante is more turist than Bilbao or Sevilla and is the fity.airport in Spain but is strange that the non service flight between Belgrade and Spain is Bilbao
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/10/manchester-dublin-now-belgrades-top.html?m=1
There are definitely Russians, but I'm sure JU and SU and even some more Russian airlines, have almost the same number of frequencies to BEG before the war. I would say SVO is 80% p2p. Transfers are not just for Barcelona.....
DeleteAs before the war*
Delete^ are you even aware that SU and no other Russian airline flies to Belgrade? Air Serbia has fewer flights to Russia then it did before the war. Passwnger numbers from Russia are more than half of what they used to be.
DeleteAir Serbia should consider flights to Alicante, Sevilla and Tenerife. That would be than completed
DeleteI'm glad they are putting more focus on increasing frequencies.
ReplyDeleteMy guess for new routes next year is 2 new long haul route - Shanghai and Beijing and 4-5 short haul routes plus frequency growth.
ReplyDeleteSounds sensible. When could we expect them to announce new routes for next year?
DeleteProbably December
DeleteHope so. I'm really interested to see what they add... and I'm not even from Serbia :D hope for some interesting routes.
DeleteShanghai and Guangzhou will be the next 2 Chinese routes. They received permission for both cities. Beijing wasn't mentioned by JU.
DeleteI don't think 4-5 routes will be announced, it'll be more around 10 considering the amount of aircraft coming into the fleet and the rumoured new routes for next year. JU typically announces new routes around mid January so we will have to wait and see.
Sorry my mistake, I meant Shanghai and Guangzhou. Accidently wrote Beijing.
DeleteWhile I understand they are getting a lot of aircraft, I think that focus will be more on new frequencies. We will see.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhen they will start to buy aircrafts?
DeleteThey said when they reach a fleet of up to 40 aircraft, as they said.
DeleteLoving that shiny Embraer :)
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLooks nice. I wish they standardised the winglet scheme though. On the Embraers and A320 with sharklets it is all blue with logo, while on the A330s it is red and blue with logo (like the standard tail design)
DeleteWhy would they? Variety is always better and less boring . If that is your biggest issue just do not fly with JU.
DeleteWhat a silly comment last Anon.
DeleteLooks like Corfu worked really well for them this year
ReplyDeleteDid Aegean fly from Corfu to BEG this summer? Or did I mix it up with another island destination?
DeleteNo, you mixed it up with Rhodes and Heraklion
DeleteSeems like Aegean is retreating from this market as they couldn't compete with JU and W6. They are not going to resume those two cities, same with Luxair which is not coming back next year.
DeleteI would wait. It is way too early to make conclusions about summer. And Aegean stopped one of those two a year ago.
DeleteThey are increasing BEG to daily, right? I really wonder if anyone like Wizz Air or Sky Express is considering BEG-ATH. There is definitely room for the third player.
DeleteAegean summer schedule is not fully published so we don’t know if those RHO,HER-BEG flights will resume or not
DeleteAnon 10:03 I know sky express is looking for some new planes that means they are expanding their network too. Let’s hope they will fly to BEG!
DeleteNice that they finally realized they can't load their schedule for the following season a month before it starts.
ReplyDeleteThey just started loading the schedule.
DeleteBut at least they started.
DeleteHope they have sorted out their fleet plans for next summer and they planned much better for next year. Marek's statement from last week that they will basically get the fourth A330 initially as back up for the three others in summer shows that they have learnt their lesson.
ReplyDeleteAmen
DeleteI don't think the 4th A330 will be fully a back up aircraft but more perhaps one that isn't as busy. Rumoured new routes and additional frequencies doesn't suggest 1 A330 continuously on ground.
DeleteTrue. When he mentioned the fourth A330 he mentioned in the context of adding frequencies to JFK and being back up.
DeleteHaving 1 out of tiny 4 A330 fleet as a dedicated backup aircraft is not sensible unless they get to use it as metered by the hour lease. For typical dry lease it makes more sense to fly the aircraft than keep it on the ground.
DeleteRemember when idea of potential seasonal 2 weekly flights to Toronto was not embraced as it would mean aircraft would have to sit 2 days on the ground in Belgrade during winter?
Air Serbia, just like other airlines do, would need larger fleet to have a dedicated backup plane.
They decided to launch a new Chicago service this year instead of using same aircraft for increasing JFK frequency to nine or ten weekly.
DeleteNext year they want to increase JFK frequency instead of launching new destination in the USA or Canada. Insert clown emoji here.
🤡
DeleteMy guess is CDG will be increased to triple daily. I also expect them to increase regional routes since they will have 10 ATRs, although it is possible they also add a few new regional routes. Mostar is keen for them to start flights and Cluj is in talks with them.
ReplyDeleteSarajevo will probably go double daily.
DeleteThey should fly to OMO only if they get the same conditions OU has there.
DeleteI'd rather JU launch Cluj than Mostar, there is much more money to be made in Romania than Bosnia.
DeleteFully agree with you.
DeleteWith 3 new ATRs coming the would need to employ a fleet of 10 regional planes. My take is the introduction of two Romanians routes (CLJ + Iasi or Suceava), OMO and KIV. That would be in line with a growing focus on transfer passengers, as there are limuted O&D pay there, except to OMO.
DeleteDo not forget that many cities will see frequency increasing - ZAG, VIE, LJU etc and the ATR planes will be needed for them too.
DeleteSo I do not think OMO is on their list and it should not be at least until they offer the same conditions they do offer to OU.
I think they will open with ATR new destinations like CLJ and GRZ.
Good news. Happy Palma is working out for them. Cofu too.
ReplyDeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteSo how many aircraft will they have next summer?
ReplyDeleteProbably around 40.
DeleteWho will fly those planes? Where did so many pilots come from?
DeletePilots are not an issue if they pay well. There are enough of local pilots even, but whole world is basically an open market.
DeleteIn any case, they will have a lot of wet leased plans as well.
Bigger problem than pilots are all the rest: flight attendants, ground handling staff, maintenance, cathering... Those are the problem to find and hire.
I hope they open for international cabin crew, at least the one from the region: BA, ME, MK, AL and why not BG, HU and RO.
* catering
DeleteGood idea about international cabin crew. They can seem to fill the need using only Serbian citizens.
DeleteThey have a huge pool of people applying for JU cabbin crew jobs, it is definitely not an issue like some are trying to post on here . Also since they increased sallary for ground handling jobs that seems to be ok as well.
DeleteWaiting for Wizz Air's response to this upcoming growth.
ReplyDelete5th based aircraft maybe? There are some indications in their schedule it might be the case.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised but what kind of schedule changes?
DeleteOn some days it looks there are more than five flights departing around the same time. That is fine as they may operate some route with an aircraft from another base but I don't think 2 flights with an out of base plane. We will see. Could be completely wrong.
DeleteHow many planes does Wizz have currently in SKP?
Delete6 as of Dec 23'
DeleteThanks.
DeleteLike what can wizz respond with 5 aircrafts compare to almost 40 next summer by JU? Let's be realistic on here. I flown Wizz ones and if I can fly JU for the similar price I would fly JU 110%. You can not compare it.
DeleteWhat are you on about?
DeleteAnd I hope their delays in summer 2024 will be at least up to 1 hour !
ReplyDeleteThere are very few delays now. But ok, your main concern was to be nasty and bitchy
Delete@anon 09:11 ‘inat’ is an evil curse… hopefully you can be allowed out from your cave soon to experience how the world around considers your rant insignificant.
DeleteEuropean air traffic and airport congestion will be equally bad next summer. So it is unlikely things will be completely fixed even if they had 500 aircraft.
Delete@9:11 comment is abolutely legitimate!
DeleteGood work
ReplyDeleteMarek is right, airport definitely not ready to be "transfer hub" in any way. Shops working 24 hrs, more food options and a hotel are needed. A 24 hour lounge would also be a good start.
ReplyDeleteSo then why is he pushing for such aggressive expansion? Is it just to polish his CV regardless if the airport is ready or not?
DeleteMaybe because he explained a thousand times if they don't expand others will. Which airline would not want to make money when they can? Stop being bitter about everything. If they were not expanding you would complain why not.
DeleteDude there is nothing about being bitter, go and read comments on their social media, it's full of unhappy passengers whose luggage was lost, who flights were delayed etc. So why expand before making sure airport can handle all this growth?!
Delete'Dude' go on social media of any airline on the face of the planet and you will see exactly the same comments. People go to social media to complain to the airline. No one goes to write praise. And you are acting dumbfounded knowing full well the airport said it was ready to handle the growth. And now they are saying they are raedy for next year too.
DeleteOk, you are right, all is well, there are no delays, no angry passengers, no lost luggage, it's all propaganda. Airport and JU will be ready for next summer and JU won't have to cut their network like they did this year (early summer) because they didn't have enough staff and planes.
DeleteWe are living in La La Land.
It's the beginning of November, both sides have plenty of time to prepare and avoid this year's fiasco. There's really no need to spread uncorroborated negativity under an article on network expansion.
DeleteOk you have no response to what I said and went on your rant when you were presented as to why they are growing. You certainly don't have to fly with them.
DeleteAirplanes are often late, there's lost luggage, and I'm sure there are many angry passengers. These are all part of air travel...and nobody is saying things are great.
DeleteLjubljana 3x daily?
ReplyDeleteIt is already the case now on some days.
DeleteWhy are you surprised?
who says im surprised? i hope it will be 3daily.
DeleteI think they will eventually increase to 3 daily for summer season. Right now there is 19weekly flights from BEG + 2 weekly from INI
DeleteAnd i think there is one day in a week when 4 JU planes comes to LJU so 3 from Belgrade and one from Niš which is great in my opinion
DeleteIf Barcelona can work 19 times per week from Belgrade, for sure it can work twice a week from Skopje. This summer, only Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo didnt have flights to Spain, even Moldova had. The market has changed since Wizz dicontinued the flights between Skopje and Barcelona, at that time BEG also didnt have so many flights to the city. Plus Wizz Air did that bacause the government was trying to find someone else for the subsidy tender at the time, so W6 payed them by discontinuing BCN and VXO and LTN from Ohrid. I think it is time that they bring back Barcelona at least during the summer.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteCorfu 4 weekly? Greek destinations must performed pretty well for them. It wouldn’t be surprising if they introduce Zakynthos or Mykonos or Santorini next year Kos too.
ReplyDeleteThey will probably increase the other seasonal Greek destinations
DeleteOU managnent is also vonsidering growth. Of tomatos and potatos they will offer for lunch on their interconti fligths
ReplyDelete*considering*
DeleteIf JU would switch to smaller capacity they could serve Belgrade-Corfu even daily.
ReplyDeletePerfect route for the range of the ATR.
Demand is bigger and if they can fill an A320 why would they switch to ATR?
DeleteAt this point frequency growth is more needed than new destinations.
ReplyDeletetravel agencies requested more seats for spain, greece and italy because of middle east situation. there will be less charters for turkey and egypt.
ReplyDeleteAs person familiar with it Serbia I can for sure state that Air Serbia is in no position of expansion. It is a dream. This company is 100% dependable on state finances. At this moment not even a state can guarantee founds for planes rental and crew rental, fuelling bills and court cases they are accumulated during two previous years regarding delays and cancellations. Air Serbia needs to be sold to new owner and reorganised. The Furter more new expense that came out are new unbelievable shameful and funny ugly uniforms for crew. Air Serbia can not cower its own losses and expenses.
ReplyDeleteLearn English first before dispensing your venom.
Deletehahahhaa
Delete