Air Serbia is planning to further grow its long-haul network, with the possibility of operating up to eight wide-body aircraft as part of its long-term plans. Speaking to the Czech "Hospodarske Noviny" daily, Air Serbia's CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, "In the future, our goal is to operate up to eight wide-body aircraft, although this will depend on a number of factors. Our immediate plans include increasing frequencies to China and launching flights to Beijing. In North America, we are targeting new routes to Miami and Toronto. Toronto has a significant diaspora from our region, while Miami benefits from year-round demand. It is a key winter destination for affluent travellers, a segment that is also growing in the Balkans. Moreover, Miami serves as a major transfer hub, not only for the United States but also for South America and is home to many ocean-going ships with crew members from our region”.
Mr Marek noted that following further expansion in China and the US, the airline will look to Far East Asia, “Looking further ahead, we aim to launch services to South Korea and Japan, though these are part of a longer-term strategy spanning the next five years and beyond”, Mr Marek noted. In its recent annual report, the carrier identified one of its key priorities as exploring partnerships with other airlines to launch new nonstop long-haul routes, which it sees as essential for expanding its regional network and “reinforcing Air Serbia’s position as a regional leader”.
Air Serbia’s CEO noted that Belgrade Airport’s size could eventually become a bottleneck. “Belgrade Airport has undergone significant modernisation since 2019. While the main expansion has been completed, interior work is still ongoing. Once fully finished, the airport is expected to handle up to fifteen million passengers annually. However, passenger growth is already outpacing projections. With Expo 2027 approaching, the airport may soon become a bottleneck for further development. That said, such capacity challenges are common across Europe”, Mr Marek noted. He added, “For Air Serbia, Expo 2027 presents a major opportunity, as it is expected to attract a large number of visitors. Coincidentally, June 17, 2027, will mark Air Serbia’s 100th anniversary. We are exploring ways to leverage this milestone and align it with our presence at the Expo for maximum impact”.
So it seems Beijing is very much in play.
ReplyDeleteToronto too.
DeleteFinally some real mention of Toronto and to me it seems more and more that they will start it. At least seasonally.
DeleteBravo JU 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
DeleteWhat about LA?
ReplyDeleteNot going to happen.
DeleteMontreal should be a higher priority. But the airline needs to restore BEY, CAI, TLV and probably AMM too first.
DeleteIndia would also be a very smart move and would provide plenty of connecting traffic both to north America and Europe.
+100
DeleteLAX is a must. It’s the second biggest unserved long haul BEG destination. Miami is fourth
DeleteNo, it no longer is fourth
Delete"Based on 2024 data, Miami has emrged as the busiest unserved route in the United States from Belgrade"
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/07/air-serbia-expected-to-start-miami.html
How long does a BEG-LAX flight lasts on an A330? I presume a single crew would be enough, right?
DeleteOk, Miami is already done deal surely. Serbia will open consulate there. Probably they are waiting for both direct flight and consulate to promote at the same time.
DeleteBut LA dispora is growing rapidly. People are moving there at daily basis
BEG LAX should be about 11hrs30min
DeleteRestricted payload with an A332, unfortunately. But I believe with the right aircraft, LAX is a no brainer.
DeleteSo JU needs either an A330neo or a 787 to fly to LAX with a full load of passengers and some cargo.
DeleteNo, A332 may fly 13.500 km with optimal payload. LAX is 10500 km away. It's more than enough
DeleteNo, A332 may fly 13.500 km with optimal payload. LAX is 10500 km away. It's more than enough
DeleteNo, An A330 can not fly 13.500 km with any meaningful payload.
DeleteStrange they don't consider Africa in general. They should cooperate with Ethiopian.
ReplyDeleteIn its recent annual report, the carrier identified one of its key priorities as exploring partnerships with other airlines to launch new nonstop long-haul routes, which it sees as essential for expanding its regional network and “reinforcing Air Serbia’s position as a regional leader”.
DeleteThey obviously want to see some airlines start long haul to BEG and feed their short haul network.
Ethiopian should be number 1. priority.
DeleteEthiopian is a Star Alliance carrier.
DeleteSo what?
DeleteJU already said they are willing to cooperate with Ethiopian Airlines, But they can't make the airline launch flights to BEG if they don't want to.
Delete“Ethiopian Airlines is quite known that they utilise some European cities as a stopover for fifth freedom rights towards the US because of the distance. So, if they would consider Belgrade, we would be very open for cooperation”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said.
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/02/ethiopian-airlines-eyes-balkan-region.html
Vinci needs to up its game a lot!
ReplyDeleteThey need to expand the airport! Starting.....now!
DeleteThey needed a whole new terminal from the start...and not that stupid 'inserted' runway.
Delete@09:08
DeleteFully agree. Their original plans proved to be short sighted.
Belgrade Airport already feels tight during peak hours. If growth continues like this, I can see major issues by 2027
DeleteHopefully we see newer generation long haul aircraft
ReplyDeleteRegarding terminal facilities being too small for JU's growth BEG can keep expanding C-pier.
ReplyDeleteEventually it could go around the whole airport. Or expand towards the south reaching eventually TGD!
As they expand it, would it make sense to introduce a secondary entrance/security check point, to cut the walk shorter? Maybe somewhere around Ruma?
Delete@SkiP I was thinking of Cacak!
DeleteBEG limits AS growing and plans. AS had to frame plans in slow airport grow. I am sayimg thant concesion plan is very bad for Serbian air traffic
DeleteIt sure seems that it is.
Deleteif it wasn't for Covid we would have realized this much earlier.
It is a real shame because I thought it was a great decision to go with Vinci. But the terminal expansion is disappointing both capacity wise and design wise.
The airport is almost empty between 18:30 and 06:30.
DeleteJU and all other airlines could easily expand flying by a lot during that time with no need for building extra terminal space. Which by the way costs a lot and this cost will become extra airport taxes on our tickets.
"almost empty," ok man.
DeleteEvening is empty (literally I was at 1900 and it was empty) but it gets a bit busier later and especially in the morning. Airport can get hectic as early as 04.30h and at 0600 it's a full house. I would say 1800-2300 gives most slots at the moment.
Delete@11:52 Hell, no, that is exactly what they cannot do, as they do business under hub&spoke model. Only low cost airlines can "strech" their schedule like that - that`s why they can fly to cheaper (less infrastructure/worforce demanding) airports. Is it possible that one comments here and does know the basics of the industy?
DeleteI didn't say those slots are for JU, there are many who can use them and possibly leave some space for JU during their peak hours... But BEG is dominantly the outbound market so I guess everyone prefers morning/noon/early afternoon flights...
DeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia is positioning itself to return all passengers Austrian took after the break up of Yugoslavia. They would even have the same number of long haul carriers if this vision pans out
ReplyDelete@09:26 +1000 - excellent point.
DeleteEight wide-body aircraft? That’s ambitious! I remember when they struggled to keep one A330 in service. Hope the infrastructure at BEG keeps up.
ReplyDeleteAs someone from the Serbian diaspora in Canada, I fully support the Toronto route! The market is there. It's long overdue.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteWhat they need now is strong partners and serious investment.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see flights to Japan!
ReplyDeleteMiami can be a goldmine if marketed properly year-round.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that he mentioned crew based in Miami. Smart niche play. Not many carriers tailor routes with seafarers in mind.
DeleteAt Doha Airport, they have an airport lounge dedicated to seafarers :D
DeleteMIA could do a lot of business with Russians.
DeleteSerbia, Montenegro, Croatia, they all have sizable number of seafarers and those are all markets where JU plays well...
DeleteIf Miami is a key winter destination for affluent travellers, why not serve it as a winter seasonal?
DeleteIt's definitely not a destination to be served only during North Hemisphere summer. Year-round I would say.
DeleteMiami demand is not high in the summer. The weather sucks and it’s hurricane season.
DeleteWhat are you talking about that MIA is not busy in summer time? All diaspora is traveling back at that time and plains are filled to the last seat when comes to Europian flights.
DeleteThat's a great stream to have: inbound during summer, outbound during winter. The only question is how many of these people there are... I admit I have no idea.
DeleteMIA demand is lower than YYZ and other unserved destinations. The expectation that Russians will fill the planes are… optimistic and naive.
DeleteIt is only lower on p2P single ticket. You have to take into consideration trasnfer traffic and yields, most things armchair ceos here don't take into acount.
DeleteRead the news article, Air Serbia in the interview says that Miami is a key WINTER destination.
DeleteIf they plan 8 wide bodies, they better start training crews and planning maintenance now. That kind of expansion isn’t done overnight.
ReplyDeleteFrom these statements, they definitely don't plan to do it over night.
Delete"In the future, our goal is to operate up to eight wide-body aircraft, although this will depend on a number of factors."
Crews are not a problem. Every A32x captain may be ready for A330 within one week of extra training
DeleteLet’s see if they can deliver.
ReplyDeleteHave they identified a replacement for YU-ARB?
ReplyDeleteIt wont be YU-ARB getting replaced, it will be YU-ARC
DeleteYes, YU-ARC sorry. Miswrote
DeleteI dont think they have found a replacement for it yet. I might be wrong but they should be getting one soon if they know YI-ARC will for sure be leaving the fleet
DeleteThey did mention that there are good condition and younger A330s coming onto the market.
DeleteHopefully they can pick them up. Would hate to see JU lose out on those planes if they are being picky
DeleteNot being picky was the reason they ended up with Pupin in the first place...
DeleteThe options were limited when they took Pupin but yes, it wasn't the best pick... Hope it was dirty cheap, at least.
Delete@10:34 I meant picky as in the pricing and not only seek cheap deals
DeleteExpo 2027 + 100th anniversary = perfect opportunity for a brand refresh. Maybe a retro livery too.
ReplyDeleteRetro livery would be beautiful
DeleteI don't think there is anything wronf with their current brand.
Delete^wrong
DeleteI would also love a retro livery but considering they are Jat/JAT liveries, I doubt they will implement it.
DeleteThe old JAT livery fm the 1980s would be fantastic
Delete@Anon 09:54
DeleteBritish Airways had a retro livery with BOAC titles, I don't see a problem.
So by the end of the year we could expect launch of Beijing + extra frequnecies to either Guangzhouu and Shanghai (or both).
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteThis is impressive, neither BUD nor ATH have that many flights to China, only IST is an exception.
DeleteBUD has several daily flights to China...
DeleteBUD has 20 weekly flights to 6 chinese cities
DeleteLong haul charters to Punta Cana, Male, Phuket, Sanya?
ReplyDeleteNo charters, Air Serbia figured it out well..Regular seasonal lines not directly linked to tour operators are much better option...Proven on all JU tourist destinations...People nowdays organize their trips alone, without help of an agency..its 21st century, booking, airbnb, agoda, skyscanner etc...easy
DeleteIt's not proven in Egypt or Turkey. It's not proven on any non-Open Skies market actually.
Delete@Treshnja
Delete+1
@12:29 that's ot true..Serbia and Montenegro are non open skys market, and is there any charters there?
DeleteAir Serbia has a real shot at building a serious long haul hub in Belgrade if they play their cards right. Connectivity is improving, now they need scale.
ReplyDeleteInstead of Tokyo, maybe they should look at Bangkok or Delhi first? Both have strong tourist flows and/or growing business ties.
ReplyDeleteThailand is popular for serbians.
DeleteIt's popular but yields are low because of Gulf airlines selling cheap tickets.
Delete@10:14 who says they are selling cheap tickets? Maybe before Corona..Did you fly to Bangkok, or at least checked the prices recently for BKK, in the last 3 years? You cannot find a ticket below 800 euros, even on promotion..And BEG is very well connected with BKK through various carriers, prices should be less
DeleteExactly, it's not cheap anymore. 396 EUR was my return Tokyo ticket with Qatar back in 2019. It was a special promo, Bangkok was 350. That's unbeatable. But for the past two or three years it's absolutely not possible to find cheap tickets at any time of the year. The prices may be OK, but it is not cheap.
DeleteI'm secretly hoping for Accra flights, with rapidly growing Ghanaian expat community in Serbia those flight should be definitely number 1 priority in future.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThree airlines connect Accra to Lagos.
DeleteMuch more serious airlines like SAS, that come from larger and richer markets, can barely keep 12 widebodys operational and JU thinks it can nicely utilise 8? As is regionally said, in my opinion Marek is selling us fog...
ReplyDeleteUnless they plan on doing the 80s JAT era approach that is - 1/2pw to everywhere, and with 24h crew layovers. Yay!!!
Marek should be frank and say that beyond YYZ, MIA, PEK, and maybe Montreal and a few exotic winter charters, there isnt potential for much else. Though people will still believe the Seoul and Tokyo fairytales...
It's funny you believe in Montreal that was mentioned nowhere, so you are in fact making things up.
DeleteJU is already halfway there fleet wise.
Sorry that JU success bothers you! Will only keep growing from here!
DeleteAnd three years ago you would have written that Shanghai and Guangzhoiu are fairytales and will never happen.
Delete"Much more serious airlines like SAS"
DeleteDidn't SAS just come out of bakruptcy?
For real? Man, if JU could launch flights to Montreal+Vancouver+Toronto TODAY, all three at the same time, they would manage! You do understand that they are growing slowly and steadily? Their market is spreading with introduction of more feeding routes (Tbilisi the latest) so no worries
DeleteHaters gonna hate
DeleteThere are so many routes that JU could launch to feed their A330s that their only constrain right now is BEG and cautious growth.
ReplyDeleteIasi, Cinisau, Baku, Yerevan, Amman, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Craiova, Brno, all russian airports and many more.
However, no point adding transfer routes if no space in A330s
They have 4 A330s that are underutilized even in high season.
DeleteI agree with all the destinations you listed, they would bring a lot of connections and not only on the long haul network.
As per original plan, 8 A330 and 2 A350
ReplyDeleteCan we at least remeber that it is 20 year anniversary of efforts to establish nonstop Belgrade-Toronto flights? No other potential long-haul destination had nearly that level of activity over the past two decades.
ReplyDeleteLOL, so true!
DeleteBlowing hot and cold, mostly cold, over so many years. Regardless of airline branding, management or government owner. And it's not Sydney/Melbourne where A330 can't deliver nonstop service.
DeleteBlast from the past: Air Serbia’s predecessor, Jat Airways, conducted a study in late 2005 based on which it estimated it could carry up to 83.000 passengers to Toronto on an annual basis. The airline anticipated an average cabin load factor of 74% on a Boeing 767 and believed the flights would appeal primarily to diaspora travellers, as well as transfer passengers
DeleteChina Southern and Hainan fly to Belgrade. US carriers and Air Canada doesn't seem to be interested. What other airlines can you really expect to offer long haul to BEG?
ReplyDeleteUS carriers seem to be focused on western and southern Europe only. They have mostly abandoned eastern European flying to their joint venture and alliance carriers based in this region.
DeleteAnd even as they receive more widebody aircraft I fully expect to deploy them to destinations in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece rather than give a try to say Poland, the Baltics, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria or our region.
Just my2cents.
I think united will launch a new Dubrovnik route next summer while Zagreb might come in the following years. Croatia has more business and political connections to the USA than Serbia
DeleteYes we have been listening about new Zagreb flights ftom US for the past 20 years. And still nothing.
DeleteThey have some presence here, thanks to Croatian coast and Dubrovnik. But I don't see them in the region out of that scope because they will always (or, at least, for some time) have some closer destination with higher yields to launch or boost instead of launching low frequency & lowish yield destination in our region...
DeleteRegardless CRO is super seasonal and makes no sense to even consider ZAG from USA. Even TS from Toronto has reduced capacity and still flying every flight with empty seats to ZAG. Let's be serious here.
DeleteYes, let's be serious but only after you claim that commercial airline runs commercial flights to the other continent all while having "empty seats"... Obviously we can't be serious.
Delete+1 Anon 13:59
DeleteAlso Dubrovnik is a high yield route and I believe that will launch another route
"Our immediate plans include increasing frequencies to China and launching flights to Beijing" - winter 2025/26
ReplyDelete"In North America, we are targeting new routes to Miami and Toronto" - summer 2026
What about getting a codeshare going with Sciut to better cover Central Asia?
DeleteIdemo dalje...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSounds great until you realize you are running in circles...
DeleteI get that everyone is rooting for Toronto, but I'm not sure it's the right move - at least not yet. What happens when JU launches with just two weekly flights and expats excited about a direct option realize they can get much cheaper fares with other carriers? The enthusiasm might fade fast. Even Swiss only operates Toronto seasonally, and they have a strong network and wealthy home base market.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the LH/AC or AF/KL combos offer multiple daily connections through their hubs, making it tough to compete with such frequency and flexibility. JU needs to be strategic, not just symbolic, with its transatlantic plans.
I mean what you said applies to Miami as well. More carriers serve it seasonally
Delete@14:53. YYZ is not the right move, at least not yet? Tell that to other Euro airlines that started or will start Toronto soon, such as Swiss, ITA and Finnair. Seasonal it should be for JU.
DeleteWhat happens when JU launches with just two weekly flights? Take a look at past winter JU longhaul frequencies: PVG, CAN, JFK: 2pw; ORD: 1pw. Even at this peak of the summer season moment, PVG and CAN are 2pw, ORD just one more.
YUL or YWG would be smarter, much smaller fees and a lot of transfer passengers. YWG has no flights to Europe and has 100,000 Ukrainians + 40,000 Polish diaspora.
DeleteYUL is an over served market saturated by AC and YWG is a provincial market with no transatlantic service. Why in the hell would JU serve them?
DeleteJAT did in the States, Cleveland, Detroit, LAX, Chicago, Pittsburgh, NYC and in Canada Montreal and Toronto. They had plans to fly to Vancouver and Johannesburg. JAT did stops and these flight weren’t direct. Someone maybe knows better, like Toronto and Detroit are close, so if you fly to Toronto, you can fly to Detroit Metro Airport or Montreal, Cleveland is close to, nobody flies to Ohio and they have bad connection with NYC or Chicago and everywhere else. Rural Areas, can be very interesting in the States, like Ohio-Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteJAT had 3 scheduled routes in the USA - New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. LA was introduced seasonally in 1987, then went year round in 1988. Cleveland and Detroit were charters.
DeletePittsburgh, Cleveland and specially Detroit are dead cities. Chicago is also getting worse. People from there are moving towards California, New York and Florida, last places with decent safety and other living conditions in USA. From Canada as well
Delete