Flydubai is set to introduce a third daily flight on select days on its Belgrade service from September 4 for a total of seventeen weekly rotations. The development comes on the heels of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s closure, which has resulted in the discontinuation of its four to five weekly flights between the Emirati and Serbian capitals. Flydubai will add a third daily service on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, departing from its hub at 04:10 and arriving in Belgrade at 08:00. The return service will leave the Serbian capital at 09:00, touching back down in Dubai at 16:20 (all times local).
The new flights will allow for additional connections through Dubai. The hybrid carrier utilises Emirates’ Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport for its Belgrade service, enabling a smoother transfer experience between the two airlines. All of Flydubai’s Belgrade operations will be maintained with the 165-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, featuring ten seats in business class and the remaining 155 in economy.
Flydubai has significantly expanded its operations to Belgrade since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. In the summer of 2019, the airline maintained six weekly flights between Dubai and the Serbian capital. It was among the first foreign carriers to resume scheduled services to Belgrade, restarting operations in June 2020 with three weekly rotations. By the summer of 2021, frequencies increased to nine weekly flights, eventually reaching two daily services in 2022, a level Flydubai has maintained ever since.
The airline handled 182.499 passengers on its Belgrade flights last year, making it the busiest of the three Gulf carriers serving the city, alongside Qatar Airways and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. Flydubai’s 2024 figures represent a 9.9% increase on the previous year, while numbers have grown by 148% on 2019. Based on last year’s data, August was the airline’s busiest month on the Belgrade route, handling 18.064 travellers. It was followed by July and October.
Flydubai Belgrade route performance by year
Bravo BEG 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteBravo BEG
DeleteThe return service is great for anyone staying in Dubai and the Dubai - Belgrade for anyone connecting through Dubai
ReplyDeleteWhat
DeleteThere is huge potential for Emirates to enter the route with daily flights once they get enough A350s.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBetter 3x daily Flydubai than 1x daily (or even less) Emirates. You can pick more convenient connection time at least.
DeleteEK A350s have a premium heavy seat configuration, they keep them for destinations that have demand for it.
DeleteIt was published here just last month that EK said they have no plans for BEG in near future.
DeleteStill a way to go before EK comes to BEG.
DeleteThey are getting a lot of new planes this year. Two even this month. BEG has huge demand looking at the numbers. So a safe bet to increase first.
DeleteLet FZ first grow to 21 weekly flights and then we can discuss about EK potentially launching flights. At the moment, Belgrade profits much more from having so many FZ frequencies.
DeleteStill no planes available for Skopje...
ReplyDeleteWhich makes me think they won't launch it in the end at all.
DeleteSoon Etihad!
ReplyDeleteHope ticket prices don’t go up now that Wizz is out. Flydubai offers a great product, but they’re not exactly low cost.
ReplyDeleteFares have already gone up.
DeleteWhen there is demand prices go up.
DeleteThere is nothing more ridiculous than FZ's business class fares. Over 3000 euros return throughout the year.
DeleteI've noticed that. I really wonder who is purchasing business class with those fares. QR is 1300 return BRG-DXB.
DeleteMy guess is that they are charging so much because demand is there. If you are booking a connecting flight in business (either FZ+FZ or FZ+EK) then fares are much lower.
Delete3,000 euros for business class on a six hour flight is not expensive. It all comes down to income. What is expensive to you is not expensive to others. And some people on business are actually flying for business. Their company insists that they fly in business and foots the bill
DeleteIt's not about me. It is an extremely expensive fare from Belgrade. For 3000 euros, you can fly business class from Belgrade to southeast Asia including Singapore, one of the world's most premium heavy destinations, as well as the west coast of the US and South America. That is why FZ's business class is filled with people who bid for an upgrade for 400 euros and they always accept it. I have bought the lowest base fare on FZ in economy three times now and bid for an upgrade and always got accepted.
Delete3000 Euro is not necessarily a proof of P2P demand - it could indicate that the airline does not really want to sell that seat to a P2P passenger. They might rationally want to keep that seat for the connection business class passenger, so that they can sell the entire itinerary. This is very common for example even in Economy for hub feeding flights, at least in the USA; the prices are very high for P2P (e.g., $600 for a hop that would be a 3-hour drive) because they really need that seat to feed their hub instead.
DeleteLast year in January, I flew from Belgrade to Dubai with them. From Belgrade to Dubai, there were five people in business class, and on the way back, it was full. I was one of them and I paid only about 1000 EUR for both flights. The thing is that I originally booked flights in economy class, which was around 500 EUR for a return ticket. When they opened check-in, I upgraded to business class by paying an additional 250 EUR per direction. I even had access to the lounge. Qatar, for example, is more expensive to upgrade to business, and even then, you still don't have access to the lounge. So, you don't need to pay 3,000 EUR for business class if you wait a little bit and are lucky enough to find a seat still available.
DeleteWould have been better to get Emirates metal
ReplyDeleteGlad to see more capacity, but an 04.10 departure from Dubai is brutal. I wish they’d offer better timing
ReplyDeleteIt works with connections. Long haul travel can be brutal. But if BG i ls a final destination one can be tucked up in bed by late morning. Quite a good arrival time actually.
DeleteIt's only brutal if you are starting your trip in Dubai. If you are connecting then you have been in the plane for hours. That departure connects to pretty much anything and everything. EK flights start to arrive after 22.00 with most of them between 23.00 and 02.00. That's where feed will come from.
DeleteThe demand between two cities is absolutely crazy, cities like SOF have nowhere near capacity as BEG does. Once they reach 21 weekly frequencies, I think that would be a potential to introduce Emirates on the route, but still keep FZ with less frequencies.
ReplyDeleteThe demand in SJJ is even bigger, Belgrade has a lot to do to catch up
DeleteIn winter Sarajevo has 4 weekly flights to Dubai.
DeleteGuy tried to praise SJJ somehow and failed 😂
DeleteInteresting to see how Belgrade has become such a key market for Flydubai. I wonder if they’ll eventually deploy a widebody on the route when they get Dreamliners
ReplyDeleteWould be nice. Although I think dreamilenrs to places like Bangkok will be a priority.
DeleteWhen are they supposed to take delivery of the Dreamliners?
DeleteOnce they reach 21 weekly then I am certain the B787 will become the next logical step. They don't have to schedule it daily but 2-3 weekly flights could do wonders.
Delete17 weekly flights from DXB is a lot for a mid-size market like Belgrade.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWell done
DeleteI hope this increased capacity helps lower fares a bit. Flights to Dubai have been expensive lately, especially in the winter.
ReplyDeleteWell, Wizz has departed, the capacity is still down, not up.
DeleteActually some added flights are somehow the most expensive, starting at 800 EUR, the regular price is about 275 EUR?
Delete^ since they just loaded the flights in the system, they likely haven't opened the lower subclasses for sale yet. Should happen in a day or two if not earlier
Delete^ since they just loaded the flights in the system, they likely haven't opened the lower subclasses for sale yet. Should happen in a day or two if not earlier
DeleteGreat to see Flydubai stepping in after Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's exit
ReplyDeleteVery quick reaction.
DeleteShows just how strong Belgrade–Dubai traffic is, both for O&D and transfers.
ReplyDeleteThis is why consistent service matters. Flydubai stuck with Belgrade for over 10 years, including during COVID and is now reaping the rewards.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Wizz just abandons routes whenever they feel like it.
DeleteWizz does what is best for its bottom line.
DeleteWasn't FZ among the first to resume flights to BEG? I think they had a one weekly flight during the height of the pandemic.
DeleteNow it would be great to see QR reaspond to FZ. 😃
ReplyDeleteThey don't have aircraft to respond.
DeleteDidn't expect that to be honest.
ReplyDeleteIs there still a chance that someone may introduce AUH-BEG?
ReplyDeleteHope so. Would love to see Etihad back.
DeleteThere is a bigger chance Air Arabia might happen.
DeleteEither would be great.
DeleteI still think one of those will come.
DeleteSame. Most likely Air Arabia.
DeleteEtihad for sure.
DeleteNice but still does not entirely replace Wizz Air capacity.
ReplyDeleteFinding a replacement for even half the capacoty this quickly is a good sign.
DeleteFor BEG this is even better than Wizz Air's flight to AUH.
DeleteThree additional flights to one of the world's most important hubs is a step in the right direction.
I wonder what are their trop transfer markets on this route.
ReplyDeleteIt was published a few years ago. Maldives and Sri Lanka back then. Also some Middle East routes.
DeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteFares are too expensive to replace Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
ReplyDeleteWithout doubt.
DeleteMaybe low fares were what led Wizz Air to terminate their AUH project? After all, you can't realistically expect to pay €200 to fly 5.5 hours.
Delete200? I've paid a lot less with them
Delete@Nemjee why not? You pay 500 round trip from BEG to India with one of the best legacy carriers, if not the best, like TK, so why wouldn't you pay 400 to UAE with LCC??
DeleteHow many €500 fares to India are there with TK? I can't imagine there are many since their support for Pakistan has limited their access to India.
DeleteThose fares might be few but they are no longer the norm. I regularly check fares to Asia with TK and they are not the cheapest.
No, they are not the cheapest, on the contrary, but for India flights are around 500...Fly Dubai is still between LCC and legacy airline company
DeleteHow is flydubai between a legacy and an LCC? The only thing that sets them apart from an LCC is the business class section. In economy, where most passengers are, there is no difference compared to Wizz Air.
DeleteOk, so that was even my point..Fly Dubai being LCC shouldn't have tickets as pricy as legacy carrier, on of the best legacy carriers..
DeleteLet's see if they surpass 200,000 passengers this year on this route.
ReplyDeleteI think they definitely will.
DeleteCan anyone give a comment on flyDubai? Have not flown with them ever so would appreciate opinions/experience.
ReplyDeleteIf you are connecting onto EK then you get a snack and a small cup of water. Everything else you pay for with the exception of the moving map.
DeleteSeats in economy are cramped while the legroom isn't great.
Crew is ok and while the cabin is nice with the sky interior. You have several trip reports on here.
I think most of us expected this move. It's nice to see it come true. I think the 04.10 departure to BEG will be especially successful as it will improve their connectivity quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteWith 17 weekly flights, they are coming close to matching what TK offers in IST. This is making FZ/EK very, very competitive when compared to TK.
That said, with this news, Qatar Airways is becoming increasingly irrelevant in Belgrade. At this point I think they will offer less seats than Pegasus. Remains to be seen what they do and if they will finally make BEG a higher priority. After all, they have a code-share with JU which didn't produce any positive results.
If JU had an agile alliances department, now would be the time to lobby QR for them to launch a late night flight to DOH. This route could be easily operated by their A319s.
flydubai really made their competition's life much more difficult. Will be interesting to see how and if they respond.
QR does not have A319s anymore
DeleteQR could could also add 2-3 pw for a start but finding spare capacity is difficult. Although their planes to BEG are full I'm sure there are markets with better yield.
DeleteAnon 12.28
DeleteI meant JU launching flights to Doha using their A319. Average flight time for BEG-DOH is 04 hours and 29 minutes. Should not be a problem for them. That's 45 minutes longer than their flight to Kazan.
its 4 hours to Lisbon as well...
DeleteYou expect Air Serbia to compete against Qatar Airways? Or even if they cooperate you expect anyone will choose Air Serbia over Qatar Airways?
DeleteI would choose Air Serbia over Qatar...
DeleteGreat but you would be a minority. Just like no one chose Air Serbia over Etihad on the Abu Dhabi route.
DeleteBy the end, JU's flights to AUH were full. They cut the route because EY was struggling and because JU was going through a really difficult period.
DeletePeople would fly on JU because their codeshare would be sold via Qatar's website. Either way this is the last option JU has to get some access to the Middle East. Even their cooperation with TK got them nowhere.
@17:01 I seriously doubt that..I was flying with Etihad a lot during those years, and since 2014- beginning of 2015. their service level started to rapidly downgrade..2017. they were already, sorry for my wording, but big shit..I flew with Air Serbia to UAE during those years as well , on transfer flights off course, and found Air Serbia much better from during last years of service..I'm sure frequent flyers notice those things str8 away..
DeleteAwesome news for Belgrade!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOn days with 3 flights, FZ will have 495 seats available (30J 460M). That's more than highest density Emirates Boeing 777-300ER (73J) two class with just 421 seats available (35J 386M). Belgrade is literally on a demand path for daily EK777.
ReplyDeleteBEG could get the A380 if the airport could handle it.
DeleteI am kidding but still.
Connectivity wise it's better to have 2 or 3 daily FZ than once daily EK and no FZ.
DeleteEmirates 777 takeoff from Belgrade couple of days ago:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/1IxUNdUl4b4
^ nice one. This was for the Sheikh's visit?
DeleteNow it would be nice to see QR increase flights.
ReplyDelete^and/or Etihad starting flights !!
DeleteThe most impressive thing about this is that they almost have the same number of flights as Turkish Airlines to Belgrade!
ReplyDeleteI think FZ will eventually have 21 weekly.
Delete