The three remaining flag carriers of the former Yugoslavia - Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines and Air Montenegro - handled a combined total of 3.064.765 passengers during the first half of 2025, up 5.7% on 2024. Air Serbia remains the largest of the three, accounting for just over 64% of total traffic by welcoming 2.005.121 customers on board its aircraft. Its passenger numbers rose 7% on the previous year, while the number of operated flights increased by a similar margin. While the average passenger load factor hasn’t been disclosed, it is estimated to be between 78% and 80%, based on available seat capacity during the first half of the year. In 2023, Air Serbia had already surpassed its pre-Covid passenger numbers. For the current year, Air Serbia aims to increase its passenger count by 6% to 4.7 million.
Croatia Airlines handled 851.983 passengers during the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 4.6% on the same period last year. The figure is still 11.3% behind its pre-pandemic 2019 performance, when it welcomed 960.620 customers over the first six months of the year. The airline’s average cabin load factor stood at 63.5%, up 1.2 points on 2024 but still down 7.6 points on 2019. Croatia Airlines welcomed 624.099 passengers on international services, 214.546 on domestic flights and the remaining 13.338 on charter services. The carrier operated the same number of flights as last year. During the first half, the airline had the most capacity on its Zagreb - Dubrovnik service, offering 162.155 seats, followed by Zagreb - Frankfurt with 152.399, and Zagreb - Split with 147.839 available seats.
Air Montenegro handled 207.661 passengers during the first half of the year, representing an increase of 8.7% compared to the same period in 2024. While the average passenger load factor hasn’t been disclosed, it is estimated to have stood at 76.9%, based on available seat capacity during the first half of the year. Over the six-month period, the carrier had the most capacity on its Podgorica - Belgrade service, offering 74.704 seats, followed by Tivat - Belgrade with 49.068, and Tivat - Istanbul with 42.224 available seats.
That's a good load factor from Air Montenegro
ReplyDeleteThey could easily be called Air Serbia-Montenegro. If to remove them from the Serbian market they'd be left with nothing.
DeleteExcellent results for Air Serbia and Air Montenegro! 💕
ReplyDeleteNew record yesterday. 155 landings at BEG!
DeleteWell done Air Serbia and Air Montenegro.on your fantastic results.
DeleteOn the other hand, Croatia Airlines has a lot of hard work ahead of them. I believe OU can do so much more to succeed but the management needs a new business plan which will significantly reduce cabin load factor by increasing number of operating flights and by opening at least five or six new routes to get transfer passengers (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya) which you'll shuffle to Western countries. I believe without the transfer passengers, it's hard to see youu succeeding or breaking even. Because Zagreb and the catchment area is quite small to fill up all your planes alone.
My passion is travelling, plane spotting and engaging in Ex-Yu aviation blog when I feel that I can bring a constructive criticism.
OU really has a bad load factor, especially since even Air MN reaches 76.9%
ReplyDelete76.9% is not bad considering the Q1 being challenging for the airlines.
To me it is more of a surprise of how far behind 2019 numbers they are
DeleteIt doesn't matter sadly to the Croatian government
DeleteThey should launch Amman.
DeleteCroatia airlines unlike Air Serbia doesn't have a regional fleet basically meaning minimum feed. There's only so much as their O&D offer can fill.
DeleteDoes not have a regional fleet? They have had Q400s for the past 17 years
DeleteYeah, 4 of them with one always on the ground. Call that a 'regional fleet' if you wish.
DeleteIt had 6 Q400s for 15 years and before that the ATRs. And even if lack of regional aircraft was to blame, who is respinsible for that. Santa Claus?
DeleteYou do realize that Air Serbia now carries roughly 50% as much passengers as LOT?
DeleteGood to see all of them growing.
ReplyDeleteAny estimates on how many passengers each could handle by the end of the year?
ReplyDeleteJU exptects 4.7 million. Not sure about the rest.
DeleteOU really has to lift its game. 11% under 2019. Come on.
ReplyDeleteLufthansa group is also still below 2019 levels.
DeleteOh all good then I guess if airline with 20 destinations and 15 planes is like an airline groupation with 150+ destinations and 400 planes.
DeleteFor some people only Lufthansa group exists and the World ends in Graz, or in the best case in Vrankvurt. Most of them are situated on the 3rd floor in Buzin
Delete3 airlines and barely 3 million passengers in 6 months.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAt least we survived, look at CSA, Malev, Balkan (Bulgaria) don't exist anymore, westeners ate them alive (LH,FR and camarades)....
DeleteIt will be interesting to see what Air Montenegro does. Their June results were below 2024 levels. Considering its is one of the peak summer months, it is not a good sign.
ReplyDeleteThe entire summer is undeperrfoming in terms of visitors so it's going to be felt by Air Montenegro too.
DeleteThye are operating fewer charter flights this summer compared to last year.
DeleteWe need new national airlines from Slovenia, Bosnia and Macedonia.
ReplyDeleteNo thanks.
DeleteNooooooo.........
DeleteNo we dont
Deletegood numbers overall
ReplyDeleteSeriously?
DeleteLoad factors tell the story here. Air Serbia around 80%, Air Montenegro at nearly 77%, and Croatia Airlines at just 63.5%. That’s a big gap and a major revenue issue for OU.
ReplyDeleteIt's not important. It's important bright and shiny, just a bit corroded, Irish owned, are coming. Following: worse LF, more operational costs, much bigger losses. Everyone who knows a bit of aviation is aware of it, and "free press" in Croatia is silent. Welcome to 1950's...
DeleteYup. If OU were merely at the 2019. level, it would have some 950k passengers in the first half of the year, and with a minimal growth with respect to 2019., over a million passengers.
DeleteWith its prices, that would be a decent yield too.
Thing is, OU simply isn't a priority in Croatia and it hasn't been for decades now...otherwise the fact that it's one of the largest companies still in the state ownership, would easily be dealt with and fixed up.
Hopefully this changes bit by bit if not faster, but the state is currently way more interested in the railways. Before that it was the highways - both mich more expensive.
Air Serbia now being two and a half times bigger than Croatia is a bit shocking to me...
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia is reaping the benefits of an aggressive network expansion and solid transfer traffic through Belgrade.
DeleteIt'll be 3-4 times bigger in the future.
DeleteDifferent policies between JU and OU.
DeleteJU is trying to establish a decent hub in BEG with coordinated waves. And seems to be quite successful at it.
OU is waiting the appropriate time...
Nevertheless it would be interesting to see JU's H1 results. LF is a nice thing but it's yield that generates the profit or the loss.
How many decades has it been waiting for the "appropriate time"?
DeleteRemaining 😂
ReplyDeleteExcellent word.
Air Serbia grew 6% in 2024, 7% in H1 of 2025. Similar growth rates could be expected for 2026. After major post-pandemic growth, Air Serbia is now steady on a growth path of 5-8%. Double digit growth is over.
ReplyDeleteDouble digit growth in 2023 is what single growth is now. The base number is much higher.
Delete
Delete2019: 2.81M
...
2022: 2.76M
2023: 4.19M
2024: 4.44M
Year 2023 was end of recovery + major expansion. Years 2024 and 2025 are organic, single digit growth that will likely continue.
I think next year may be the year with another major expansion. At least Marek announced that. Another 5-7 new planes are needed and to keep all wet leases. Then they may open 10-12 new destinations.
DeleteYerevan is on the line.
Delete