TRIP REPORT: Euro trip, Air Serbia and Air Montenegro

TRIP REPORT

Written by jsg

I was right, I missed my 17:05 flight to Tivat. Following the check-in agent’s instructions at Palermo Airport, I made my way to the transfer desk for further assistance. Before heading there, I quickly checked if there were any later flights to Tivat. I found one, but it was operated by Air Montenegro instead of Air Serbia. I wondered if they could rebook me on that service. At the transfer desk, I briefly explained the situation and asked if I could be rebooked on the next flight to Tivat. “No, that’s not possible, as we don’t have a codeshare agreement with them”, the agent replied. “So, what should I do now?” I asked. She advised me to collect my bag and proceed to the Air Serbia ticket office in Terminal 1 to rebook my flight. Then, she escorted me to the door leading to passport control.

The baggage reclaim area is located on the ground floor. Belt 1 has been assigned for luggage from the Palermo flight. Several passengers are already gathered around the carousel. I wait for a few minutes, but my bag doesn’t appear. Eventually, the carousel comes to a stop, but there is still no sign of my luggage.

I cross the baggage reclaim area and report the issue at the handling desk. Showing the stub of my boarding pass, I explain the situation. “Your luggage is still in Tivat”, the handling agent replies. “But how? I’m already here”, I respond, puzzled. After a quick check on his screen, he informs me, “Your bag will be delivered at belt 5”. I take a seat next to carousel 5 and wait. Thirty minutes pass, still no sign of my bag. Another fifteen go by, and it’s the same story. I return to the desk and am simply told to wait. With no success, I begin checking the other carousels from time to time, just in case. Still nothing. Frustrated, I head back to the desk and express my dissatisfaction with the delay. The agent makes a phone call and, after a brief wait, tells me that my bag should arrive within five minutes. And finally, bingo, my bag appears on carousel 5. But I can’t help but wonder: why did it take nearly an hour and a half to locate a bag that was already at the airport?

Finally, I make my way to the Air Serbia office to rebook my flight. There’s no queue, so I’m assisted immediately. I briefly explain my situation. “There’s one last seat available on tomorrow’s 17:05 flight to Tivat”, the agent tells me. “But if you prefer, I can also check availability on flights to Podgorica”. I consider the option, maybe I could fly to Podgorica and take a bus to Tivat. “What time is the earliest flight to Podgorica?” I ask. After a brief check, she replies, “All flights to Podgorica are fully booked until Sunday”. “In that case, I’ll take the last seat on tomorrow’s flight”, I respond. “You’re very lucky”, she says. “An hour ago, there were no seats at all. Someone must have cancelled or changed their booking”. Moments later, she hands me a printed confirmation with the details of my new flight and instructs me to report to the Menzies desk further down the terminal.

At the Menzies desk, I’m handed a hotel voucher and asked whether I’d prefer to make my own way to the hotel or use their arranged transfer. However, they caution that the taxi might take up to 30 minutes to arrive. I opt for the transfer and take a seat in Terminal 1. With time to spare, I look around. The terminal feels like a time capsule, in the best possible way. Its vintage architecture, with sharply curved roofing supported by slender pylons, and a thoughtfully designed interior, evokes an era when air travel was something special, an experience reserved for the few. There’s even an old-fashioned analogue scale, still preserved, once used to weigh passengers’ bags. “The taxi is waiting outside for you, sir,” says the Menzies representative, snapping me out of my time-capsule daydream. I grab my wheeled bag and step out of the terminal. Moments later, the taxi driver whisks me away to the Radisson Collection Hotel, elegantly situated along the Sava embankment.

Belgrade. This stop wasn’t part of the original plan, but fate had other ideas, so I decided to make the most of it and explore the Serbian capital. Alright, I’m in. I’ve visited Belgrade many times, and with each return, I notice subtle changes in the city’s landscape, except for the Belgrade Fortress, which still stands proudly at the confluence of two great rivers. Every visit, I make it a point to climb to the fortress and watch as the Sava lazily merges with the Danube. Walking through Kalemegdan Park, the ancient parade ground of the fortress, I pass a line of blossoming linden trees. The long, warm days of July and the delicate scent of their blooms stir memories of summer school holidays. Though it’s only June, Belgrade’s southerly location means the vegetation blooms nearly a month earlier than in Warsaw. In Polish tradition, July is closely tied to the flowering of linden trees, the month’s name, lipiec, in fact, comes from lipa, the Polish word for linden.

But Belgrade also has a more modern face. High-rise buildings are springing up all over the capital, and these new developments are changing the city skyline. One such building shines in the warm June evening, giving off that urban vibe I truly adore. I wonder how much a studio apartment in this club-shaped building costs? I bet it’s quite a lot...

Heading back to the hotel, I suddenly had the idea to visit the location where the JAT flagship office used to be. I vaguely remembered seeing a short video on EX-YU Aviation's social media showing the former JAT main sales centre, once located on Marshal Tito Street. Alright, let’s go find the spot. On my way, I passed Hotel Moskva and continued along the wide Terazije Street until I finally arrived. But the former glory of this place is long gone. The street has since been renamed Kralja Milana, and the once-busy sales office has been replaced by a generic shoe and handbag store, uninspiring, to say the least. The disappearance of physical ticket offices like this one is a visible sign of the democratization of air travel. Flying has become more accessible to the broader public, and these days, most tickets are sold online. Physical offices are slowly becoming relics of the past.

JU684 Belgrade - Tivat

The next day, I still have some time before my taxi pick-up, scheduled for 14:00. I decide to explore the vicinity of the hotel and come across a charming café on Savska Street. I order a coffee and a bottle of Cocta Free (685 RSD). Cocta (along with Griotte cherry chocolate) brings back memories of my holiday in Makarska in the 1980s. These days, it has become something of a tradition for me: whenever I visit a country of the former Yugoslavia, I enjoy this nostalgic soft drink, which remains largely unknown outside the region. I even like to take a bottle or two home with me.

Later, I return to the hotel and wait for the bus transfer. A few minutes past 14:00, there’s still no sign of a bus or taxi. I check with the reception, and they inform me that the transfer should arrive around 14:15. Sure enough, it arrives on time to pick me up, along with three other Russian-speaking passengers, presumably their flights were also affected by delays or cancellations.

Check-in at the airport is open, and the whole process is quick and efficient. With my boarding pass in hand, I proceed through passport control and security, both are smooth and take no more than 12 minutes. At the departure lounge, I find a quiet corner and begin writing my trip report. I still have more than an hour before boarding for my flight begins.

As the boarding time indicated on my boarding card approaches, I head to the assigned gate 10C. It takes a good five minutes to reach the bus gates 10A–E, located on the ground floor.

Boarding starts soon, and all passengers booked on flight JU684 are asked to board. After my boarding pass and passport are verified, I enter the bus that will take us to the aircraft. It takes approximately ten minutes for all passengers to be checked in, as some arrive late from connecting flights. Then, we’re finally ready to leave the gate and drive to a remote parking stand, which I like to call “far-far land”.

The flight to Tivat is operated by an ATR 72-600, registered as YU-ASA, which has a passenger door at the rear of the aircraft. Inside, I am greeted by a male flight attendant, while his female colleague stands at the front of the cabin. I quickly take my assigned seat of 12C and wait for boarding to be completed. As expected, the flight is 100% full. I assume there must be heavy traffic between the Serbian capital and Montenegrin airports, as many flights to both Tivat and Podgorica are fully booked.

The boarding process is complete, the engines are turned on, and we begin taxiing. Meanwhile, the cabin crew performs the safety demonstration in both Serbian and English. At 17:29, we finally take off.

After reaching cruising altitude, the cabin crew distributes a 20-gram pack of mini-Plazma biscuits, a bottle of water, and discount coupons, sized like a standard boarding pass, offering deals on cable car rides and SIM cards. A buy-on-board service is offered afterward, but no one makes a purchase.

The interior of the 11.6-year-old aircraft is pleasant and clean. The leg room, by my hight, is fine. The flight is short. After departing Belgrade Airport, we make a left turn and head southeast, passing the town of Zlatibor. We enter Montenegrin airspace around the village of Dobrakovo. Upon reaching the coastal town of Petrovac, we make a U-turn and descend, landing at Tivat Airport at 18:21. I’m happy to finally arrive in Montenegro, even if it's a day later than originally planned.

We disembark the aircraft via stairs, and it’s only a short walk to the terminal building. Inside, passport control is a breeze. Soon, I find myself at the baggage claim area, waiting for my luggage. In the meantime, an Air Montenegro flight 4O 153 from Belgrade arrives. This route must be quite popular, I think, observing passengers disembarking from the recently arrived flight.

Flight statistics

LF: 100 %

Distance: 297 kms (160 nm)

Departure time (scheduled/actual): 17:05/18:10

Arrival time (scheduled/actual): 17:29/18:21

Flight duration (scheduled/actual): 1h 05 min/0 h 52 min

Tivat. Tivat welcomed me with a water cut as the local pipes had been damaged by the builders upgrading the Adriatic Highway. The water came back around midnight, only to be followed by a power outage that lasted until the next morning. The following morning turned into a beach day at the Belane Beach. Not much to do there, just sunbathing and relax. After an unplanned stopover in Belgrade, I was finally soaking up the sun on the Montenegrin coast. In just few hours clouds began to gather by early afternoon, and soon it started to rain.

Luckily, the rain didn’t stick around. Once it cleared, I headed out to explore Tivat. My wandering took me to the stunning Porto Montenegro, where yachts gleamed under soft lights and cafés invited tourists for a drink or a coffee. I settled into one of the cafés, sipping my evening coffee while watching the boats lazily rock in the harbour and passersby enjoying a relaxed summer evening.

4O 342. Tivat – Brno

It is 6 a.m. - not my favourite hour to wake up. I would much rather sleep longer, if not for the morning flight to Brno. The connection between Tivat and Brno was the last piece missing from my durnolot, and for a long time, the airline hadn’t published this flight. It wasn't until mid-January 2025 that tickets finally went on sale. As soon as they did, I quickly made a booking to complete my journey. The owner of the B&B picks me up at 6:30 a.m. and drives me to the nearby airport in no time. He drops me off near the Terminal 1 building. I thank him for the favour and head toward the entrance to check in. Before I enter, I pause for a moment and look around. The building reminds me of something. I might be mistaken, but it has a resemblance to the terminal at Ohrid Airport. The height, the tall windows with aluminium frames, and the overall vintage aesthetic feel like a throwback to Yugo-times.

Check-in is already open for flight 4O 342, and a short queue has formed at both check-in desks 4 and 5. It takes about 15 minutes to complete the process. Most of the passengers are Czech tourists, returning home from their package holiday on the Montenegrin coast. After checking in, they are seen off by a representative from their tour operator, exchanging a few last words. Among the crowd, there’s a Canadian couple, presumably on a longer European trip.

As my bag disappears on the conveyor belt, I join the long queue for security control. Just before it's my turn, the line is paused to allow passengers booked on the Air Serbia flight JU1697 to Niš, departing at 07:40, to pass through first. We wait as they make their way ahead. Once all the Niš-bound passengers have cleared security, the rest of us are allowed to move forward. I pass through the security check quickly and without any issues. Then, I find myself in a much shorter queue for passport control, which also turns out to be a breeze. Inside the departure lounge, most of the seats are taken. Some passengers are awaiting the flight JU 681 to Belgrade, which departs at 08:30, while others are waiting for the flight to Brno. There is also a duty-free shop and a café in the departure hall.

Boarding begins on time, as indicated on my boarding pass, at Gate 3. After presenting my boarding pass and passport for verification, I make my way toward the nearby aircraft, an Embraer E190 STD in eurowhite livery. The aircraft, registered UR-EMA, operates for the Ukrainian airline Windrose.

As my assigned seat is 26B, I board the aircraft through the rear door. Inside, I’m greeted by a male flight attendant before making my way to my seat, located in the very last row of the cabin. The flight appears nearly full, every seat in economy class is occupied, with only one or two seats left vacant in business class. The interior of the aircraft is clean and finished in neutral tones, giving it a calm and tidy appearance. The seat pitch is offering a comfortable amount of legroom.

The Ukrainian cabin crew (two males and one female) perform the safety demonstration in English only. Shortly afterward, we’re ready for departure. Following a brief taxi, we take off at 07:51. After completing a loop, the aircraft turns northward. Once we reach cruising altitude, the cabin crew distributes a small snack pack containing a 20-gram piece of punjeni medenjak sa smokvom (a honey gingerbread filled with fig jam), along with a small bottle of water (250 ml). There is no buy-on-board service available.

The flight passes quickly. I read with great interest an article about Herceg Novi and its fortress, and I promise myself to return to Montenegro for a week or two to explore both the coast and the country’s interior. I even start to wonder; can you ski in Montenegro? After leaving Montenegrin airspace, we fly west of Sarajevo, over Banja Luka, and then across the Croatian city of Čakovec. We briefly cross the eastern tip of Slovenia before flying over Vienna. As we approach our destination, the aircraft makes a right turn before landing at Brno Tuřany Airport.

A short taxi brings us to the terminal, where we park outside a building with a distinctive shape. Designed by architect Petr Parolek, it stands out as a striking example of organic architecture.

The door stairs are attached, and we disembark the aircraft through both the front and rear doors. After a quick passport check, I make my way to the baggage reclaim area to collect my luggage at belt 1. It takes just a few minutes for my bag to arrive. Outside, I wait for the bus E76, which takes me to the city centre in less than 20 minutes, all for just 25 CZK.

Flight statistics

LF: 98 %

Distance: 766 kms (414 nm)

Departure time (scheduled/actual): 08:00/09:30

Arrival time (scheduled/actual): 07:51/09:19

Flight duration (scheduled/actual): 1h 30 min/1h 28min

Brno. Many tourists have heard of the Czech capital, Prague, but far fewer know about Brno, the country’s second-largest city. Nestled in South Moravia, Brno is a dynamic and often underrated destination, rich in culture and history influenced by the nearby Austria. The city seamlessly blends centuries of architectural styles: Gothic cathedrals stand proudly alongside Baroque palaces and more modern structures. Its walkability makes it perfect for exploration and I truly enjoyed exploring the labyrinth of narrow streets, hidden passages, and winding alleyways that that forms the compact Old Town.

The Old Town is full of charm and key landmarks include the Old Town Hall, the impressive Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul, and the Špilberk Fortress, perched on a hill and offering sweeping views over the city. That was for the soul, but Brno also has plenty to offer the body. Cozy cafés invite you in for a cup of coffee or tea, while restaurants tempt with both local specialties and international delicacies. And of course, the bars are always ready to serve up a glass of superb Czech beer. Add in the relaxed atmosphere, and you’ve got the perfect spot for a laid-back weekend getaway.

And yes, there’s even a dragon in Brno. Well… technically, it’s a crocodile, but the locals are calling it the Brno Dragon for centuries. It is believed, the creature was brought to Brno in the 16th or 17th century, possibly as a curiosity or a diplomatic gift from a distant land. But where there’s a dragon, there must also be a legend. Indeed, Brno’s folklore tells of a ferocious beast that once terrorized the town. It lived near the Svratka River, devouring livestock and frightening the citizens. No one knew how to defeat it, until a clever and brave butcher came up with a plan. He stuffed a cowhide with quicklime, which the creature swallowed. Later, when the beast drank water from the river, the lime reacted violently, releasing intense heat. The monster was destroyed from within. Today, the "dragon" hangs peacefully from the ceiling of the Old Town Hall, still catching the eye of every curious visitor who passes beneath it.

Return to Warsaw. There is no flight between Brno and Warsaw and for me to catch a flight I would need to go to Vienna or Prague. Instead, I decided to take a train. The first step is to get to Břeclav, a Czech town located about 59 km from Brno, near the Slovakian border. The RJ 75 train (Prague – Graz) arrives in Brno five minutes late, and its next scheduled stop is Břeclav. The ride takes around half an hour, though the train arrives seven minutes behind schedule. At the Břeclav train station, I wait a few minutes for the platform and track information to appear. Once it's announced, I head to platform 3, track 8, to catch the EIC 130 Bathory (Budapest Keleti – Warszawa Wschodnia), which is listed as running five minutes late.

Eventually, the train departs with an eight-minute delay and heads toward Warsaw. The journey is expected to take just over six hours. The EIC 130 makes multiple stops, including 8 stops in Czechia (Hodonín, Staré Město, Otrokovice, Přerov, Hranice na Moravě, Ostrava-Svinov, Ostrava Main, Bohumín) and 11 stops in Poland: Zebrzydowice, Pszczyna, Tychy, Katowice, Sosnowiec Main, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Zawiercie, Włoszczowa North, Opoczno South, Warszawa West and Warszawa Central, before its final stop at Warszawa East. Due to major infrastructure upgrade project near Czech and Polish border, the train catches 45 minutes delay.

After nine days of traveling by train and plane, with an unexpected stop in Belgrade, I finally return home. I get off at Warszawa Central and I board a bus 504. In 25 minutes, I arrive at home.

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