Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, has said the airline plans to add new regional and European routes in 2024, launch new destinations in China and put an emphasis on improving its service. “Air Serbia’s plans for 2024 are oriented towards improving our offer and upgrading our services. We have plans to launch new routes between Belgrade and China and we are working diligently on this. Apart from China, we will also try to add some new cities in Europe and the region to the network and increase the frequency of daily and weekly flights to our most popular existing destinations. This is why we are trying to further expand our fleet and will focus on new aircraft for long-haul destinations”, Mr Marek siad.
Mr Marek noted the change of its ground handler in Belgrade next month should improve its operations. “According to an agreement signed recently, Menzies Aviation will perform ground handling and ramp services for our company at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, starting in February. We hope this will significantly improve the guest experience for all our passengers flying from or arriving at Belgrade Airport”. The CEO added, “If we had to single out the keywords I would suggest future, quality, and improvement. These are the areas Air Serbia will focus on in 2024”.
The Serbian carrier yesterday revealed the first of its new routes in Europe for 2024, with the airline confirming the launch of a three-weekly service between Belgrade and Mostar. Commenting on the development, the company’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupić, said, "At the end of 2023, Air Serbia responded to Mostar Airport’s public call for the launch of scheduled flights for 2024, with a proposed nonstop service between Belgrade and Mostar. In the first days of January, the decision was made to approve our bid. Once the technical details and contract signing are finalised, fares will be published, presumably in the coming weeks. By introducing a nonstop service between Belgrade and Mostar, Air Serbia is expanding its presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as strengthening economic, business, and all other ties. The flights will link the two cities, but also enable a good connection between Mostar, via Belgrade, and numerous points in Western and Northern Europe, as well as the United States”.
Portoroz would be nice.
ReplyDeleteYear-round Maribor as well, considering Graz has no Belgrade server yet
DeleteI think there is more chance of them starting Graz, although I would be happy if they launch either
DeleteOf course there are more chances for GRZ.
DeleteWill Brac be next?
DeleteAlso Lesce-Bled
DeleteMaribor or Portoroz should be next. Maribor because there is enough demand and Portoroz bcs owner is Serbian
ReplyDeleteServing all comnercial airports in Slovenia? I highly doubt it.
DeleteOr not and, realistically just lju and one of two
DeleteCan they get subsidies from the state for Maribor or Portoroz, like companies get for flying to LJU?
DeleteI think MBX is not willing to provide any subsidies. Otherwise FR would have flown there.
DeleteThere is no commercial sense to operate Portorož. ATR72 operations come with heavy limitations regarding maximum weight due to the short runway. Maximum take-off capacity would be around 50pax, which is LF of less than 70%.
DeleteThe same subsidies are available for Ljubljana, Maribor and Portorož. The tender is open for all.
DeleteI think they said that they will continue Trieste when enough airplanes acquired. So no chance for Portoroz.
Delete10:35 Didn't JU terminate Trieste?
DeleteYes, they did. They just had too many airports in such a small area.
DeleteI think for the region, Marek recently mentioned possibility of another destination in Romania and Poland too.
ReplyDeleteWell they will have extra 3 ATRs. With planned frequency increases I guess it gives them the chance to launch 3 regional routes.
DeleteWIth OMO in their network they have now more chances for new POlish destinations - maybe WRO.
DeleteYes, the CEO even said Wroclaw is in their plans
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/08/air-serbia-eyes-second-destination-in.html
👍
DeleteI can see Chisnau route with ATR also. Lot of transit passengers. Should be within the range
DeleteChisinau got many new airlines from 2023. Aegean, Azerbaijan, Wizz and in 2024 Air Baltic, Eurowings and Georgian Wings. JU can definitely fly there!
DeleteMaybe it's too late, look at all that competition.
DeleteAdvantage with JU over A3 in KIV is shorter flying times to most destinations in Europe plus having an earlier departure bank from BEG. A3 currently operates the route 2 pw so it wouldn't be too hard for JU to jump in. Another advantage for JU now is fleet flexibility as it has both ATR and Embraer.
DeleteAzerbaijan isn't competition for European flights. BT requires alot of backtracking to most destinations in Europe. Georgian wings isn't worth commenting.
Btw, JU had KIV planned for 2020.
https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/air-serbia-belgrade-chisinau.html?m=1
Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteThere are bound to be some more leisure routes - Spain or Greece
ReplyDeleteI think so too. Turkey is also a possibility but I'm doubtful JU is ready to share the charter cashcow that is Antalya.
DeletePlease one destination to Spain?
ReplyDeleteAS flies to 5 destinations in Spain already.
DeleteI talk about new route
DeleteIsn't the "region" in Europe?
ReplyDeleteThey refer to "region" as EX-YU, "wider region" as Balkans
DeleteDublin please
ReplyDeleteIs it realistic?
Deleteor Manchester
DeleteMAN via LJU, please.
Delete11:01 Not really sure that's happening.
DeleteThey will start Wroclaw for sure
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/08/air-serbia-eyes-second-destination-in.html
Is there any chance of Geneva being reinstated?
ReplyDeleteDon't think so. Easyjet beat them on that route.
DeleteBeat them in what way? Have you flown on EasyJet aircraft?
DeleteAfter Norwegian they are the best LCC.
DeleteGVA doesn't seem to be a route that can support more than 1 airline. JU have tried twice and both times have pulled out.
DeleteIn my opinion their current network is more than OK. What they should work on now is increasing frequencies.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what they say they will do.
DeleteI'm no expert but I would say that increasing number of destinations and frequencies goes hand in hand. Every new destination brings new transfer passengers, which speeds up increasing frequencies on existing network.
DeleteRoughly 40 routes this winter alone had frequency increases. So it is something already done, with more to come. It was already mentioned that frequency increases will be more of a focus this summer rather than destinations.
DeleteCaucuses would be a good region for Air Serbia to get transfers.
ReplyDeleteI wonder which destination they will choose in Caucuses. Out of the three - Yerevan, Baku or Tbilisi I'm guessing they will only go for one.
DeleteA destination in the area would be great!
DeleteProbably Tbilisi first. Lotsa Ruski there.
DeleteMostar, Wroclaw, Baku, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Alicante, Manchester or Dublin, maybe Tenerife or other greek or spanish destination. This year and next. 100%
ReplyDeleteIn my opinión Tenerife will be for Winter but no for Summer.For Spain perhaps Alicante or Seville
DeleteMykonos, Santorini, Kos, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Kalamata are all possible from Greek destinations!
DeleteAlicante is like 150 km from Valencia...Why would AS open that route? It would be the same like if they opened Bergamo with existing Malpensa, or Beauvais in addition to Charles de Gaulle
DeleteSame reason they got BLQ and FLR. Other airlines like Aegean, British and SAS serve BLQ, FLR and PSA at the same time.
DeleteAlicante serves 3,5 M people, and is much more touristic than Valencia, is a of the bisggest airports in Spain. Besides, more serbian are buying houses in Alicante. If Valencia works, Alicante will
DeleteWonder if they have considered Bergen, at least seasonally. There is quite a bit of leisure demand for the Balkans.
ReplyDeleteThe top unserved route in Spain now is Bilbao as far as I can remember from some previous articles. Potential new route in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHey Marek don't speak about growth when you butchered winter timetable!! I want to see his statement why his policies did not fill seats from November to late February!
ReplyDeleteYou realize winter timetable is 30% bigger than last winter, 80% bigger than 2019?
DeleteThen why did they expect more passengers than what they scheduled? Also 30% number was before they made new cuts!
DeleteAlso Mr Marek why did you put Ankara,Geteburg... whole winter and then cut it? Why passengers you expected never showed up?!
Delete@10.09. No it is not, it is after. Literally published yesterday
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/01/air-serbia-overtakes-wizz-as-largest.html
@10.11
Maybe demand for travel has softened. In 2022/23 people were still spending money they saved during Covid. Situation has changed now, generally demand across Europe for travel has started to fall. Inflation in Serbia is high.
That information was first published before new cuts and the cuts happened and information was repeated.
DeleteThen you don't go overboard with growth and you take a more cautious approach especially in a company where employees and management dislike each other. A CEO with good experience and useful skills would know that. JU is not as lucky as LO, A3, IB etc
The data published in terms of the change in the number of flights in yesterday's article is up to date and includes all the reductions made to Air Serbia's network in recent weeks. It is not based on any old data.
DeleteWow, that guy is the hater of JU. Dude, just do not ready anything about JU in the future as you are going to get a heart attack. Tons of great development happening in AirSerbia.
DeleteAdd more routes to the Middle East
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI'm afraid it's not "Europe and the region"
DeleteI think they need to boost core European routes to support any Middle Eastern expansion as ME routes are longer and don't properly fit the current wave structure.
DeleteHow many routes in total could JU serve this summer season from BEG?
ReplyDelete85-90
DeleteCome back to Helsinki
ReplyDeleteUsing E195, I think the route could work
Delete+1
DeleteCities of the Caucasus with E195 are long overdue.
ReplyDeleteBrač is a possibility this summer.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to see SPU go double daily first, and operate a full summer season at least rather than diluting pax unnecessarily.
Delete2 or 3 weekly to Brac will be great
DeleteHow things have changed since 2022. Air Serbia will have four A330 in a couple of months but won't expand to North America this year. Back in 2022 thinking was different:
ReplyDeleteMarek explained that a third A330 could also allow the airline to launch a new route to North America. “Some of the logical choices would be Miami or Toronto,”
From:
https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/air-serbia-eyes-miami-toronto-shanghai
When long term ambitions are mentioned, Air Serbia talks about possible future expansion to Japan and Korea over the next decade but never Canada. Instead they use ambiguous term North America. Interesting.
DeleteSantorini or Mykonos please!
ReplyDeleteMykonos 😍😍😍
DeleteMykonos and Santorini need to be launched. All European airlines fly there!
DeleteMykonos++ :D
DeleteCannot drive-fly through BUD no more...
The best way to Mykonos is via Athens, then Blue Star ferry, with a cosy 5 hour cruise via Syros and Tinos.
DeleteAnd I do not think that anybody would introduce Mykonos from Belgrade. Wizz failed with Santorini. Rodos, Corfu and Crete became regular season routes, Skiathos remained charter, the other two, Samos and Kephalonia are charter flights operated via Kos and Preveza, respectively. That speak something on how much money people from Serbia have. If anything introduced in Greece it could be a charter, e. g. Karpatos, and I would like to see tourist operators doing Paros.
DeleteThe best way is to avoid the chaos in Athens. Thats why direct flights needed.
Delete* speaks
DeleteParos only has flights to Athens and its mainly a ''Greek'' destination alongside with Ios island meaning that Greeks mainly visit those islands and younger ages to party and stuff so they're not destinations for families and tourists who want peaceful vacation.
DeleteWhat about Kavala? They have Austrian, LOT, Eurowings during season... It's the best option for Thasos which is quite popular here...
DeleteKavala is kinda close to SKG, Kalamata would be a great option ( AF, Austrian, British, LH, SAS and Swiss all fly there) amazing beaches and a great big coastal city. The Peloponnese region in Greece remain undiscovered by Serbians!
Delete15:00 Paros is not a youth and party island, lot of foreigners, nice archeology and churches. Smallest airport I have ever been.
Delete@15:00 Really nerrow minded comment... "Greek" destination, "not for families" etc...What does this mean- Mainly Greeks visit Paros? That should imply that no other tourists should go there or what? And especially no Serbian tourists should go there, because they don't go to "Greek" destination, they only go to "Serbian" destination in Greece? Other statement is ridiculous as well, saying that families don't go to Paros , so AS shouldn't fly there..Even if that was true, and it's not true, what this route has to do with families going there or not? You're trying to say that only families fly with AS, and if this island is, by your words, more for young and party people, then there wouldn't be demand , because couples without kids, singles, younger tourists, party people etc. don't fly?
DeleteA WILD idea; but what about Bled airport?
ReplyDeleteA lot of tourists in both winter and summer, and it was already served in JAT days
Bled airport is 30km from LJU, what's your point?
DeleteLjubljana airport is literally as close to Bled as it is to Lju city centre so I don’t know what do you mean with “Bled airport”
DeleteAmazing job done by Air Serbia in 2023 and they do not stop!
ReplyDeleteAfter opening so many new destinations last year they still plan 2 destinations in China and OMO in this year.
And the more is still coming!
To Europe after Mostrar i hope 4 or 5 new destinations
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOHRID DLY
ReplyDeleteSomething has to be done at the airport to support the growth. I could have been understanding during summer mess but winter brought different problems and it is getting a bit too much. Yesterday/today I was unfortunate to be on the evening flight to Geneva (with some other airline) which was delayed from 19:35 to 1AM and than it was diverted to Lyon at arround 3AM as Geneva was closed, all of us bussed to Geneva. It seems the deicing process in Belgrade is extremely slow with only one crew available. The same thing happened in mid December. We were delayed for two hours arriving in Geneva at ungodly hour
ReplyDeleteI guess they have to de-ice car parking lots first since that's Vinci's highest priority and, as it seems, core business.
DeleteMaribor
ReplyDeleteOU be like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5xNHW4y-IQ
ReplyDeleteLOL! :D
DeleteOnly Europe, why not Baku? They have demand and could grow faster, however aircraft and airport problems should be resolved first. Cluj and Wroclav. I expact Helsinki, Bilbao. Dublin? Leipzig has a small diaspora.
ReplyDeleteThey should definitely try Burgas if Varna apparently went well. Burgas becomes busier than Varna in summer. And make Varna year-round with similar afternoon schedule as SOF.
ReplyDeleteSlovakia would be great.
ReplyDeleteYes, BTS please
DeleteMore flights to Madrid would be nice.
ReplyDeleteIt doesnt have to be with Air Serbia though, i would also be happy for Wizz 2x a week for the beginning..
Madeira maybe? It sounds crazy, but it could be worth of it Btw marvelous airport for landing.
ReplyDeleteMadeira is super destination and Ponta Delgada (Azores) is not bad because is situated between Portugal and USA .
DeleteFlight from Belgrade to South Africa, imagine that!
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteCluj & Baku
ReplyDeleteSeasonal Tenerife Please.
ReplyDeleteI hope next winter
DeleteSome news...Tourist agency from Belgrade announced Zakynthos as Air Serbia regular season route. So no charter any more if this is correct. Morning flight. ASL will compete Wizz on this route.
ReplyDeleteWhich tourist agency?
DeleteAirSerbia plans new delays and new angry customers. Reports say that people will be more pissed off than ever this summer after Airserbia cancels 50 flights a day!
ReplyDeleteOh let's not forget their business class food scam. Worst food in da world!
Deletelets change their name to DelayAir 😂
DeleteThe most important would be Belgrade-Prishtina and Pristina Belgrade and open the space for airlines to fly over Serbia to Kosovo, it would be an important step for travelers, time, payment will drop significantly
ReplyDeleteI dont understand why they are not working towards a direct line to Toronto, there is a large Serbian population in Toronto and in Canada in general. It seems like an obvious thing to do.
ReplyDeleteCause they don't have the fleet for it yet. I'd love to see them get a B787, I think would be ideal for that kind of route. Also they are pushing China cause of Vucic's friendliness towards Chinese so yeah, more money there
Delete