Emirates currently has no plans to launch flights to either Zagreb or Belgrade, the carrier’s Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Adnan Kazim, told EX-YU Aviation News at the IATA Annual General Meeting & World Air Transport Summit in New Delhi. Commenting on Zagreb, which the carrier served on a seasonal summer basis with its Boeing 777 fleet until the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Kazim noted, “To ensure a more beneficial network spread between Emirates and flydubai, we have identified routes like Zagreb, which are better suited for flydubai and target specific customer demographics and requirements. flydubai operating to and from Zagreb ensures that capacity is deployed to best serve customer demand, and we have been able to jointly fine tune our on-ground experience to allow seamless connections for passengers flying Emirates who want to continue to Zagreb on flydubai”.
The CCO said there are currently no plans to serve Belgrade either, with flydubai maintaining operations to the Serbian capital twice per day on a year-round basis. “At the moment, we have no firm plans to fly to Belgrade. This is a route that has been served by our partner flydubai for close to fifteen years, and during that time they have deepened their presence in Belgrade with two daily flights to meet increasing demand from the GCC and beyond. Nevertheless, we constantly evaluate new route possibilities, taking into account demand, market dynamics, available aircraft, along with several other factors when considering where to fly”, Mr Kazim said.
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| Emirates Europe network as of June 2025 |
Last year, flydubai handled 83.475 passengers on its Zagreb service representing a year-on-year increase of 33%. However, this is still below both 2018 and 2019 levels, when the route was served by Emirates. Back then there were 147.157 and 130.937 passengers respectively. On the other hand, flydubai welcomed 182.499 passengers on its Belgrade service last year representing an increase of 9.9% year-on-year and its strongest performance at Nikola Tesla Airport to date. Compared to the pre-pandemic 2019, flydubai has increased its passenger figures between the two cities by 148% or an additional 109.000 travellers per year.
Pity :(
ReplyDeleteI think if we could get creative we could get EK to fly a DXB-BEG-ZAG route like they do with LCA-MLA.
DeleteWe could offer them 5th freedom rights between BEG and ZAG and thus both cities would get connected to the Emirates network.
Both Cyprus and Malta have much smaller population and yet they make it work.
What do you guys think?
Yet, they have more tourists together, then us
Delete* than us.
DeleteLooking at their map, whole of Balkans is missing.
ReplyDeleteLow yields = Flydubai territory.
DeleteThey do fly to IST and ATH which are technically in the Balkans.
DeleteThose two are a different league.
DeleteAnd I think they fly twice a day to ATH with Boeing 777-300 ER from 1st june to 30th of september .
DeleteATH and IST can support the premium heavy cabin of EK aircraft,. BEG, SOF, ZAG, OTP can only support the economy class.
DeleteIt is as simple as that.
So they have twice as many pax to BEG. vs ZAG, interesting.
DeleteYeah, because they fly twice as much often to BEG vs ZAG, interesting...
DeleteYup, they are flying twice as much because there is twice as much need for BEG than for ZAG.
DeleteBecause the Serbian population is double and flydubai serves Dubrovnik in the summer too
DeleteDemand for unsubsidized travel is also missing
DeleteRegarding ZAG, is he saying that passenger structure is better suited to FZ than EK?
ReplyDeleteYes, means low yield passenger market due to poorly developed economy
DeleteWeren't people here writing that they were full in first and business?
DeleteThey went from year round to seasonal after one season, which is indicative. Especially for an airline that has almost no seasonal routes.
DeleteBut ZAG ist not primarily an outbound market. With it being strongly inbound, the yield should be not such a problem.
DeleteThe thing is, why would anyone inbound fly to ZAG if they can fly directly to the coastal airports?
DeleteBecause tourist from the Far East who make majority of passengers between ZAG and DXB are not that much interested in coast but inland as well, and often even not only several coastal and inland destinations in one country but in two, three or more nearby countries
Delete09.17
DeleteYes, in summer season, premium class(es) were full between ZAG and DXB. And also there were significant amounts of cargo. And the flight was not loss making. And last time when EK started ZAG, there was similar announcement from EK saying they don't consider starting ZAG or BEG. And one more and, considering Korean switching with T'way, Qatar having fleet issues and Far East traffic coming back to pre-covid levels, I am sure EK is coming back to ZAG, and soon, no matter of current plans announcements
Delussion.
DeleteIf Zagreb wants Emirates back, they’ll need to prove the market can support premium cabins and sustained year round demand. Right now, it's not there. It obviously was not there before either. That's why they first cut frequnecies in ZAG, then they cut it to seasonal and then ended flights.
DeleteIf you say so 🙂
DeleteHow about Skopje?
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteGreat news for QR.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteWish they actually used the opportunity.
DeleteI'm hoping they wills tart using B787.
Delete* will
DeleteThey do not even fly to OTP.
ReplyDeleteBiggest regioal aviation news in history remains in history
ReplyDeleteYes, even bigger than establishing Air Serbia.
DeleteIndeed
DeleteSo no immediate plans for the 5th freedom DXB-SKP-JFK route. 😔
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you are serious or joking.
DeleteIt has been discussed for years that SKP could get transatlantic flights only if an airline would launch a 5th freedom route.
DeleteLike EK already does with ATH and MXP to EWR and JFK respectively.
It would party be a political decision but it is doable.
So you think Emirates would fly empty to Skopje just to operate a highly seasonal low yielding route to New York? No. The only fifth freedom routes between Europe and the US Emirates is operating are high yielding ones with a lot of demand.
DeleteFlydubai failed in Skopje and even after getting subsidies they are not coming back. They just announced new routes for winter and Skopje is not among them.
I don't think Emirates would do that for a market such as SKP.
DeleteNo immediate, no long term, not ever
DeleteOuch
ReplyDeleteThose are great numbers for FZ in the BEG and ZAG.
ReplyDeleteBoth airports should target Etihad.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey just started Warsaw and Prague this week.
DeleteEY definitely has the best fleet to serve this region.
DeleteEY needs a lot more A321s to join its fleet before resuming flights to our region.
DeleteRight now they have gaps in their network in far more important markets than the exyu countries.
Ok so Sarajevo is not excluded :D
ReplyDeleteIf ZAG passenger structure is more suited for FZ as the CCO says, then I doubt it's different for SJJ.
DeleteZagreb doesnt get as nearly Gulf tourists as Sarajevo does
DeleteBut it is lower yielding highly seasonal tourists. That's the issue. If QR can not make it year round with an A320 then there is even less of a chance for Emirates with its B777. Emirates currently has 0 seasonal routes.
DeleteAnd to add QR operates for 2 anda half months, not even full season.
DeleteEven WizzAir is flying half empty from AUH to SJJ, TIA, SOF and VAR.
DeleteThank you for sharing this kind of interviews with us admin. Even if the information is not that positive it's still good to know where we are.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThis official EK statement could trigger JU to think of Dubai. Having in mind QR's modest presence and both Etihad and Emirates has no plans to start BEG flights in the near future. Of course there is W6 to AUH to deal with.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately don't think JU is interested in Gulf region.
DeleteNot that they're not interested but there's no resources and adequate equipment for them to expand that far, that would be an operational nightmare
DeleteWhy would spend resources to 12+ hours route with competition, when they can start more unserved shorter routes?
DeleteWith this news in hand airports should approach QR with incentives to upgrade service to widebody.
ReplyDeleteIf our airports were proactive, they would have done it a long time ago. But better late than never.
DeleteNot too late. Now that EK confirmed they are not interested, QR would face no potential risk of EK competing using widebody for the same market. That menas Qatar would rule the market in a couple of years. For example in BEG, QR would become the king of ME conections with widebody service, leaving Wizz and FlyDubai to pick up the pieces.
DeleteWhen you get news like this you realise how unimportant our markets are in the grand scheme of things.
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised that there wasn’t interest following the ratification of the CEPA between Serbia and the UAE. Heavy on cargo and business passengers.
ReplyDeleteWell guys who are complaining about them not flying to your country, start buying first class seats and they might. No one is seriously expecting to sell C32W21 (A359) or C38 (772) on daily basis from Zagreb or Belgrade...
ReplyDeleteHadn't they said few months before opening Zagreb that they had no interest flying to ex YU?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/06/emirates-rules-out-ex-yu-expansion.html
It means that in 6 months we can actually expect EK in BEG and ZAG 😊
Sure, the airline's Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer has no clue what he is talking about.
DeleteIt already happened once. Why not again?
DeletePerfect, LJU coming. :)
ReplyDeleteLju have a flights and potential as a RJK
DeleteWell, both LJU and RJK had New York flights. LJU regular, RJK charter. And then, the darkness stopped as someone switched the lights on 🙂🙂🙂
DeleteWhile I’d love to see the Emirates 777 in Belgrade, I understand the logic. Flydubai has built a strong presence and the connections via DXB are smooth. No need to fix what’s not broken.
ReplyDeleteNo point. BEG and ZAG pax are mostly transfers to overseas Asia and Australia or Dubai tourists, not p2p business class high yield passengers. FlyDubai is perfect fit, until economy here grows to some middle developer EU country (like Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Hungary...)
DeleteTo be honest disappointing news for Zagreb. Emirates really elevated the airport’s profile when they were flying here. Flydubai is fine, but it’s not the same level of comfort or prestige.
ReplyDeleteYou have Ryanair for prestige :)
DeleteExactly! At the airport where LCC is the strongest, you are expecting premium class legacy carrier to jump in. For what??
DeleteToo bad for Zagreb, but I doubt Emirates will return unless there's a big shift in demand or airport incentives. Until then, Flydubai it is.
Delete11.15
DeleteZAG has 4 LCC and 15 legacies. If.you don't understand that, it's your problem
You don't understand that large majority of passengers are using LCC on Zagreb airport. Don't know how else to explain?? That is low yield market, not of interest for high class legacy company. Everything else is pure delusion
DeleteSame demand as all Balkan; OTP, SOF, SJJ, BEG, SKP, TGD, TIA...
DeleteZAG is not any exception
Even long haul at ZAG is LCC... Some people here...
Delete18.20, 20.05 and 22.18
DeleteRough numbers, one third of passengers in ZAG are Ryanair/Lauda, one third is Croatia Airlines and one third other carriers, which are 90 percent legacy. So two thirds of passengers use legacy carriers and one third use LCC. So, majority of passengers in ZAG are not LCC passengers, ZAG is exception to other Balkan capital airports, I've just explained that I do understand the matter, and some people here...,are here just with firm intention to belittle ZAG
Exception? Really? In Belgrade 80% of passengers are handled on leghacy airlines. All long haul options are on legacy carriers as well.
DeleteI am 08.47, and you are correct. Both BEG and ZAG are exceptions vs. OTP, SOF, TIA, SJJ, SKP, PRN, which make most of Balkan capital airports. And LJU is exception as well. I referred to ZAG only answering posters whose clear intention was to belittle ZAG spreading lies about majority of LCC pax there
DeleteEmirates and flydubai are clearly segmenting their network for efficiency. Flydubai handles thinner routes while Emirates focuses on high-yield trunk markets. Where there is significant demand and different passenger types, both can fly.
ReplyDeleteBingo. This is a textbook example of airline rationalisation. Emirates focuses on yield, Fly Dubai handles coverage. Smart.
DeleteThis is a missed opportunity for Emirates . With growing demand at least seasonal widebodies could work in summer.
ReplyDeleteThey do not do seasonal destinations. They want destinations where they can send widebodies every single week of the year. If you do not fulfill this requirement, there is flydubai. Their policy is clear and very logical. People should figure it out already.
DeleteOh well, at least now people who keep saying Emirates should or would start flights to the region will be silent ... for 3 to 6 months.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteThey will not. They know better than some guy from Emirates
Delete^ actually there is one person that already claims that ZAG will be launched and that the airline's vice president who is also chief commercial officer just does not know it yet :D
DeleteThat vice president guy should be fired immediately
DeleteI don't know which part of the text "it already happened" you don't understand?
DeleteThe stats say it all. Zagreb’s numbers dropped since Emirates left. Flydubai is simply not capturing the same level of demand or premium market share.
ReplyDeleteOff course they dropped - sending FlyDubai with B727 with 165 pax capacity or Emirates with B777 with 360 pax capacity. Double difference, go figure.
DeleteSo, you think that this "premium" passengers are traveling by car, because FlyDubai doesn't meet their standards? Or they just do not exist anymore, demand is lower class and lower capacity
DeleteNo. They travel on Turkish which introduced third daily and announcing fourth daily on selected days. And they fly Qatar. And they fly on Singapore and Cathay Pacific codeshares. And on some european airlines with decent premium product.
DeleteAs long as I can connect easily from Dubai to the Balkans, I don’t care which airline operates the leg.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a shame Belgrade never got a taste of the Emirates service, but at this point, flydubai has established itself as the de facto Gulf link for Serbia.
DeleteMaybe if you are deep on the Balkans. I, for example, avoid FZ section from ZAG and choose VCE instead. Almost the same distance from RJK where I live. I made mistake once flying FZ from ZAG. Never again.
DeleteI don't know when you travelled with this combination last time, but they have improved the transfer experience significantly.
DeleteI am not talking transfer experience but enormous diferrence in in-flight service and typical LCC cabin crew on FZ which make me feeling unpleasant on 5 hours flight
DeleteHopefully they will reinstate ZAG flights for you again.
DeleteZAG or VCE, makes no diferrence for me. I am in between. I already wrote it. And your comment of EK reintroducing service for me is stupid and not funny at all. And unfortunately for you, there are plenty of people who share my opinion.
DeletePeople forget that Emirates needs high-yield business traffic to justify sending a 777.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet they are daily sending planes (both A380 & B777) to destinations (aka Kuwait, Bahrain, Jeddah, Muscat etc) with barely 50 paxs on board with zero cargo,and those cities are served more than one rotation a day.
DeleteHow is that profitable is beyond me, as they are doing this for years now.
Exception for EID holidays and ramadan when they are full, but that’s it.
Not to mention dozens of daily India and Pakistan flights carrying guest workers almost only in cheapest economy
Delete@15:42
DeleteThis is very, very far from reality. DXB-JED is one of worlds busiest international routes. Routes such as DXB-JED/KWI/MCT/BAH are full of high yield pax.
@16:18
EK is the largest carrier in India and always looking for more capacity. The low yield pax typically fly the local carriers and FZ. Pakistan is "lower yielding", sure, the market is typically served with 2 class configured aircraft (without first class) but not low yield. Pakistans proximity to DXB allows operating flights without the need for crew layovers, something EU carriers cannot due to safety and security concerns. EK's first route was Karachi so they have a long history in serving Pakistan. Even the code "EK" comes from Emirates through Karachi.
I am croatian but live in Riyadh, all middle eastern routes are full of high yielding clients while business when I fly to India or Pakistan is usually rich locals or foreign business zravelers
DeleteEmirates is becoming a premium-only airline in Europe. Only the strongest O&D and connection markets survive. Zagreb and Belgrade just don’t meet that bar… yet.
ReplyDeleteClearly enough pax to fill in a widebody atleast five days in a week year round, but possily not enough business class pax to justify it over 14pw narrowbody. On routes below 6000 km widebodies only fly where they can fill in at least half of the large business cabin.
ReplyDeleteWe need Air Serbia to fly to Dubai ♥️
ReplyDeleteEK and FZ work in tandem. Simple supply and demand vs aircraft availability and profitability. Adding capacity via FZ is a way cheaper and less risky option. FZ can easily adapt by adding an additional 3,4,5 or double daily rotation and no one would care when demand isn’t there and they pull it back again. But when EK does that…not a good look. EK knows FZ’s data as they work closely together. If it isn’t there for them then it isn’t there. In a few years FZ can upscale to a 787 IF need be. But until then…
ReplyDeleteGood. Less competition.
ReplyDelete