Miami Dade Aviation Department's Director for Marketing and Air Service Development, Emir Pineda, held another round of discussions with Air Serbia in Belgrade last week over the carrier’s planned introduction of flights to the US city. Speaking to broadcaster "RTS" following the talks, Mr Pineda said an agreement between the two sides is within reach. “We have been working on this effort for two years now. These discussions have been progressing very well. We are very close to starting cooperation with Air Serbia and, hopefully, by the end of the year or early next year, we will be able to announce flights between Belgrade and Miami”.
According to Mr Pineda, the Serbian carrier would initially launch two to three weekly flights. “The discussions we have had concern two to three flights per week. Initially, we expect two weekly flights to be launched, which would grow over time to three and then perhaps even five or seven. Through Miami, Air Serbia can provide connectivity to over 200 destinations with American Airlines”. He added, “There is also strong business interest from both sides. This includes interest for Belgrade, Serbia and the Balkan region on one hand, and Miami, Florida and the southeast of the United States on the other. We feel that this air service will open up opportunities for tourism, business and investment. I know that the government of Serbia is working towards establishing a Consulate in Miami, which will more easily facilitate traffic between our two regions”.
Miami Airport’s Director for Marketing and Air Service Development noted that Belgrade would also be used as a transfer point for the rest of the region. “On our side in Miami, there is a lot of interest to accessing the Balkans and Belgrade can be the gateway to this region. With Air Serbia, we can reach 35 destinations in this part of Europe, which are not so accessible from Miami. On the other hand, for Air Serbia and Serbian passengers, this service opens up not just Florida but also the Caribbean and Latin America. The interesting thing is that travel habits are changing, and everyone is seeking new adventures. This part of the world would be a new experience for US travellers and these flights would enable them to come here and visit a beautiful country and its surroundings, like Croatia which is very popular”, Mr Pineda said.
The new service between Belgrade and Miami is also expected to generate cargo demand. “We also think freight is very important on this route and we believe Belgrade can serve as a distribution centre for products such as flowers, fruits and vegetables which are exported from Miami across the world. It is very difficult to export these fresh products to the Balkans at the moment. You can get fresh flowers, fish and vegetables coming in from Guatemala or Colombia which are connected to Miami and then get them sent to Belgrade and the rest of the region. There are also pharmaceuticals, aeronautical products and all sorts of opportunities that will result from this service”.
The timeeline of the route announcement would indicate flights will start in summer 2026.
ReplyDeleteIt has to start this winter. So November seems right moment
DeleteThat would be horrible timeline. Season is from Sep/Okt till March/April.
Deleteit for us tourist coming to europe
Delete^ Exactly. And diaspora from Florida coming to Europe.
Delete9:07
DeleteIt would be very stupid to miss whole main season. Hopefully they won't do that. They have to announce during the summer and start in autumn
The big majority of transatlantic passengers are north Americans visiting Europe.
DeleteThe proportion of Europeans going to Florida for a vacation is much smaller and it is concentrated in northern European countries. I doubt many in our region can afford a trip to Disneyworld.
Yes, but Americans are not traveling to Serbia. Mainly they go to Paris, Rome, Venice, London. This route is mostly predicted for Exyu and Russian diaspora
DeleteAmericans do visit Croatia, Greece, Hungary and Czechia. Also visit Israel a lot. JU could do a lot of transfer business with a MIA flight.
DeleteIt needs to time the connections correctly though.
They should now work on a codeshare with American Airlines.
ReplyDeleteAA wasn't interested on a codeshare for the JFK and ORD flights.
DeleteHopefully they change their mind for MIA.
Is it likely to have two US codeshare partners?
DeleteJU and AA already have an interline. You can buy tickets for AA operated flights in the US on Air Serbia's website.
DeleteInterline agreements are very much different than codeshares.
DeleteAlso the prices of AA flights in Air Serbia's website are always for the most expensive fare classes.
They should do code share with some Latin American airline, like Avianca or LATAM.
DeleteThey are not expensive and I use it a lot from Tennessee taking AA to ORD and then JU to BEG. Very afordable and perfect connection times.
DeleteWow this is really happening.
ReplyDeleteBravo JU 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
DeleteCouple of years ago, I would never have had Miami on the cards for their third destination in the US :D
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMiami on BEG's departure board will be a nice sight :)
DeleteHow long will BEG-MIA take?
ReplyDeleteAbout 11 hours from Beg and 10 hours from Mia.
DeleteThanks! Similar to ORD
DeleteJust confirmation of what ASL has been saying for the past two years. And I for one can't wait for it to happen.
ReplyDeleteSome calls it Jatovanje. But, they remain very disappointed at the end
DeleteMiami will be a very nice addition.
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to the launch
DeleteWorld no 1 cruise ship hub. North America's no 1 airport hub for central and south America. Most visited state in US after New York State and Miami itself has 25 million visitors per year
DeleteCurrent annual two-way traffic BEG-MIA is less than 0.01% of that Miami visitor number.
DeleteExcellent news
ReplyDeleteThere is potential on this route.
ReplyDeleteMiami has huge potential. You have diaspora, tourism, business and cargo.
DeleteVery big Russian diaspora too in south Florida.
DeleteI've the movies
DeleteGood luck JU.
ReplyDeleteGood connectivity beyond Miami is crucial for making this route successful.
ReplyDeleteI hope Air Serbia ensures a solid partnership with American Airlines.
DeleteA partnership with AA would make sense because it is highly unlikely that AA would choose to serve BELGRADE on their own metal and ONEWORLD really would benefit with an Eastern feed from the Balkans. The US and Serbia are not on the most solid diplomatic footing but things could change over time. Many of the transit traffic would probably be Russian passengers due to having no direct access to the US with the current Ukrainian situation. AA serves more destinations in the Caribbean and I would think this would appeal to AirSerbia and its citizens that travel and have disposable income.
DeleteFlorida is a big winter destination, but hopefully, demand is strong enough to keep this running all year.
ReplyDeleteNow we just need direct flights to Los Angeles 😀
ReplyDeleteWashington D.C. or Boston could also work well.
DeleteLAX is biggest unserved BEG route after MIA
DeleteBiggest in the US or in the world?
DeleteUSA
DeleteWe’d probably have to wait for a350 for lax flights.
DeleteNo need. A332 may do it perfectly
DeleteI don't think a fully loaded A330-200 with passenger and cargo can make it nonstop between Belgrade and Los Angeles.
DeleteOf course it can. A332 range is about 13.000 km. Distance between BEG and LAX is about 10.000km
DeleteSo even Miami head of commercial sees potential in cargo @BEG but Vinci and the government of Serbia do not 🤔.
ReplyDeleteGood news for the Balkan ! As a Greek I know that 90.000 Greek-Americans live in the state of Florida . Let's hope they will choose Air Serbia . Of course an advertising has to be done from Air Serbia there , when the flights are certain.
ReplyDeleteThat will largely depend on the timing of connecting flights from BEG to Greece.
DeleteExciting times
ReplyDeleteThis is long overdue! Miami has a growing Serbian and Balkan community, plus so many tourists
ReplyDeleteWould be interesting to see the pricing. If Air Serbia can offer competitive fares, this could become a very popular route with transfer pax.
ReplyDeleteI assume similar fares as for JFK and ORD. Ie not very expensive, especially for transfers.
DeleteSerbia opening a consulate in Miami? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat proves that diaspora is growing in Florida
DeleteIt is. Lot's of Serbs from other parts of the US and Canada have moved to Florida in the last few years.
DeleteHopefully, the route launches in time for next winter season.
ReplyDeleteThat would be ideal.
DeleteIt’s nice to see Air Serbia growing beyond traditional diaspora routes.
ReplyDeleteGuangzhou and Shanghai are not traditional diaspora routes either. Miami is more diaspora than those two.
DeleteGreat news. Also nice to see YU-ARE operate its first longhaul flight over the weekend, to PVG.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a nice change from Pupin.
DeletePupin is not in service for the next month. I think it is going for scheduled maintenance.
DeleteCan anyone guess how the flights could be scheduled? I mean what the departure and arrival times would be?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same because the block time would be about 24 hours, which means it can’t fit in certain waves.
DeleteI’d say departure from BEG at 14:00 and return to BEG next day at 15:00
Makes sense. It is the second most visited city in the US
ReplyDeleteI think in the end they will launch both Miami and Toronto in the end.
ReplyDeleteYYZ might operate seasonally. We will see.
DeleteBoth will probably operate year round.
DeleteI think ORD have to stabilise first. JFK took few years for that
DeleteIt is hard for the ORD route to stabilize and gain a steady customer base when it is only 1w.
DeleteDon't listen unfulfilled analyst. 1pw is only month and a half in a whole year. Problem with ORD is lack of short haul feeding destinations.
DeleteAnd after that period it will increase to a whooping 2pw!
DeleteMeanwhile AA or UA do not want a codeshare and LHG and AFKL offer daily connections to ORD.
Actually it increases to 3. Keep crying.
DeleteGood to see that the long haul expansion will continue.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMiami is actually a good choice. There is a large Balkan diaspora not just in Miami but in Florida in general and it is also a popular holiday destination and good transfer point to South America.
ReplyDeleteNot too many people travel from BEG to South America
DeleteIt will, when there's a connection. Now they use other airlines.
DeleteThere is already a connection, and not just one. Other than still unknown price/schedule, what would make more people travel BEG-MIA-GRU than already existing conections via CDG, IST, AMS, FCO, ZRH etc?
DeleteThat's what I am writing about. Now they are using other companies through CDG, IST, AMS, FCO, ZRH. Once the MIA route is established, they will hopefully prefer BEG-MIA-GRU route.
DeleteBut you failed to explain why, other than still unknown price/schedule
DeletePrice and schedule is the main thing people look for. Don't understand why you are so triggered by this news.
DeleteAnon 11:35 implied more people will travel from BEG to South America when there's a connection via MIA without providing any support for that statement. Route was is not yet launched, price and schedule is still unknown, so unless Anon somehow knows JU & partner airline will undercut competitors and offer perfect transfer timing, this whole claim is just laughable.
Delete^ one thing is for sure though and that is how upset you are that they will launch Miami.
DeleteThere is EXYU diaspora and Russian diaspora. Serbia is opening consulate, because THERE IS diaspora. Those are facts. Economic links are not strong, but they will tighten when there are frequencies. Cargo is being sent to other European countries also, not only Serbia. Same with transfer passengers. Actually, Russians are getting USA visas just in Belgrade. Go in front of the US embassy and see it for yourself. Tourists will also grow when route starts. Fort Lauderdale is starting point for many cruisers to Caribbean and many European tourists will use the route. Also, many cruiser employees from Balkan will travel to Florida and back. When you count all of this, you will see that there is a demand. That's why Air Serbia is opening this route. Since Mr. Pineda is in Belgrade, we can guess that deal is already concluded. Now we will have to wait and see when they will announce further US expansion. Since new A332s arrived, we can expect very soon. No matter you like it or not
Delete^ Mr Pineda said they will announce it at the end of the year or early next year.
DeleteThank you 20:19 for detailed explanation. Time will tell if there is a demand to grow to 5 weekly or possibly daily service as mentioned in the interview.
DeleteMr. Pineda stated his opinion, but it's not his job to announce Air Serbia flights. Since there is unused long haul capacity, I expect announcement very soon. Probably during summer.
DeleteHope so :)
DeleteIn general, the Europeans do not like to transfer to South America in the US (except for Atlanta when you can transfer hassle-free) due to the need of going through the US immigration check. Everone who has ever done it, will choose going through any European airport offering direct flights to Rio or wherever...
DeleteWith new administration, we can also expect USA visa free regime for Serbian citizens
DeletePeople who need U.S. visas are unlikely to connect through Miami for flights to South America. While the U.S. visa price has increased slightly, it's still not a significant barrier. However, connections through Europe remain much more affordable and convenient, making Miami connections less appealing.
DeleteThose mentioning connections to the Caribbean and South America, most Balkan nationalities need a US transit visa. It's much easier to connect in Madrid or Paris.
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteIf you are travelling anywhere else but the US it is best to avoid US airports.
+100000
DeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteIf they need to open long haul, Phuket or Bangkok is not served in region, no visa issues, and plenty of pax
ReplyDeleteThey already said that the yields are extremely low for Bangkok because Middle East carriers sell these flights at very cheap prices considering the amount of flights they have. So it would not be profotable for them.
DeleteThey used to sell BKK on low prices, but not any more thpugh..Prices to BKK are quite high these days..Things change quickly
DeleteVideo of the intreview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcJdQEKfV-M
ReplyDeleteIdemo dalje...
ReplyDelete+1
Delete