The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is hopeful Air Serbia will commence flights to the country, which would serve the wider Balkan region. Bogdan Gligor, TAT’s marketing representative for Romania and the Balkans, told the “Bangkok Post”, “With no nonstop flights from the region, most tourists connect via routes from the Middle East or Turkey. The office is working with more airlines in the region to seek opportunities for new direct flights, including Air Serbia, for which China is its only long-haul destination in Asia. Even if the airfare is expensive for tourists in this region, they remain eager to visit Thailand because of its tourism products and hospitality. We have 50% repeat guests, setting Thailand as an unbeatable market”.
Air Serbia had previously said it was considering long-haul leisure flights over the winter period, but emphasised Bangkok as well served by Gulf competitors. In 2023, the carrier noted, “We are definitely looking into the leisure winter destinations but rather at some niche because everybody is putting capacity into Bangkok Suvarnabhumi”. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News that same year, the airline’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “For us, leisure destinations will be more opportunistic, and by that, I mean niche destinations, not the strategic ones. For example, there is high demand for Bangkok during winter, however due to overcapacity on the market, we might achieve full flights but not profitable ones due to low yield, as there is strong competition from Middle East carriers. In the past, we were looking at Mombasa or Zanzibar and some other options, but this will always be in synergy between us and the tour operators”.
Based on data from global travel provider OAG, cities that could be considered as leisure destinations with strong demand from Belgrade include Bangkok, Pattaya, Denpasar (Bali), Male (Maldives), Havana, Colombo, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mauritius, Cancun and Varadero in Cuba. Following the launch of flights from the Serbian capital to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai over the past few years, Bangkok is now the top unserved Asian destination from Belgrade Airport based on indirect passenger flow, followed by the likes of Tokyo, Seoul, Delhi and Singapore. Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Flydubai/Emirates handle the bulk of passengers between Belgrade and Thailand. Air Serbia's predecessor, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, maintained flights between Belgrade and Bangkok until Yugoslavia's collapse.
I'm not surprised by this. The demand for Thailand is huge. Can't they just get around to launching charters with tour operators?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteTour operators in Serbia do very little to stimulate new markets. They were are content with Greece, Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey for 35 years. Their biggest development was Spain and Italy which appeared on the market in the last few years. Meanwhile 40 years ago Air Lift was selling packages to the US, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India....
DeleteToday I read in article of Bangkok Post that Thai governmant has a plan to offer free inrernal flights, round trips, during months of September, October and November, to international visitors who book international flight from their country to Thailand during these 3 months..6 thai based air carriers are included in this offer..And this is all due to slaggish season this year so far, and expensive fares for flights from Europe/America to Thailand..So, I'm not so sure that Air Serbia would have full planes but low yield , because fares for Bangkok ate high, way higher than to the rest of neighboring countries...
DeleteAnd please stop talking nonsense about charters to BKK..That's story from 20th century, 3/4 of pax even from Serbia doesn't use agencies to travel to Thailand..Thats probably the most touristy country in the world, even kid can figure out how to be tourist in Thailand without an agency
Isn't it kind of early for the company to decide what to do with its 4 A330s?
ReplyDeleteSure BKK in winter with good connections to the rest of Europe might work great but why take eve the slightest risk?
Better to have half the long haul fleet parked.
Actually, it’s too late for this winter
DeleteI don't know if 9:03 is being sarcastic or not :)
DeleteHaving half the fleet parked costs a LOT of money. It's already parked a lot in summer, in winter it's almost grounded.
4-5 months we have time for planing charters for example.
DeleteWhy do that when we can just send people over to IST and be done with it.
DeleteMeanwhile BKK being the biggest unserved route in Asia now is surprising to me. I would have thought Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Delhi as having higher demand.
It sure seems like a great addition, initially during winter season that would also bring a lot of connecting traffic. And it would be competitive because all other European airlines have to make a big detour to avoid Russian airpsace on their way to Thailand
@Anonymous 09:07
DeleteIt is always late or too early to actually do something.
That's why MIA is being studied and planed and examined and looked in to for a decade now.
They launched Chaciago, Shanghai and Guanagzhou in the last year and a half. So I guess they did something.
DeleteWell, Chaciago will be only once per week this winter.
DeleteThe demand is definitely there and it would save travelers from unnecessary connections through Istanbul or Doha.
ReplyDelete+1
DeletePlus all the connections it could get such a flight. BEG is perfectly located geographically to connect the rest of Northern and Western Europe to Southeast Asia with minimal detour.
Delete"BEG is perfectly located geographically to connect the rest of Northern and Western Europe to Southeast Asia with minimal detour."
DeleteSo are Istanbul, Dubai and Doha
Yes, they are already using their advantages. Now BEG could start using its own
DeleteI don't think JU can be competative against any Gulf carrier. They obviously realize it, but it's a shame they don't want to do anything to change that.
DeletePlus a good part of the Balkans can connect via BEG.
Delete11:50 No, it can not be competitive, but it can take its portion from Balkans at least.
DeleteNow with Wizz Abu Dhabi gone, it opens a window for potential Male charters serving Balkan region.
DeleteAt least they could do Male charters, now when Wizz closed Abu Dhabi.
DeleteI took the time to look at the leisure flights to Belgrade shortly before this article was published. If we compare BEG with OTP and SOF, we have roughly 20 flights per day, so a significant number of flights from Serbia to sunny destinations, while Otopeni has 20 (a much larger market than Serbia) and SOF under 10. Maybe this can be explained by the fact that we don’t have a sea?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good indicator that there may be regular flights from Belgrade to Bangkok or Phuket.
DeleteAn interesting fact is that the Spanish destinations from SOF and OTP are diaspora, while those from Belgrade are mostly touristic. Even PMI has a diaspora.
Delete@Anonymous 09:08
DeleteWe also have a lot more Russians living here who can afford holidays to exotic places.
That's why MIA is a must as well.
It might be explained by that, but also there are two seas that we often drive to. The reality is that Belgrade is a wealthy city and that`s basically it.
Delete@Anonymous 09:11
DeleteTrue dat, not many Bulgarians emigrated to Scandinavia or Germany but a LOT went to Spain!
Why don't Romanians go to their sea? In the past there were charters to Constanta with AirBerlin, TUI, Germania......
Delete09:13
DeleteIt's the same with Romanians.
@09:14 if now as a Romanian you can afford a holiday to Dalmatia or the Aegean sea why would you go to Constanta?
DeleteI can't deny it, many go to Bulgaria or Greece, but what has changed that foreigners stopped going to the Romanian sea?
DeleteIt was always a poor man's seaside holiday. Same as Varna. You can call something Black Sea Riviera but it doesn't really make it so.
DeleteCheck the internet about the sewer system and you will get an answer.
DeleteWith all the Russians that moved into Serbia, demand for BKK is probably greater than ever.
ReplyDelete🙈
DeleteThe problem is not the demand, but profitability. Filling planes is easy. Making money on a route with heavy competition from Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines is the real challenge.
DeleteNow I think Marek is overthinking it, although I am a fan of his. If it`s the top unserved route in Asia, then do launch flights to it, as the overall numbers will then increase, too.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't even want to fly to TLV, BKK is out of the question completely.
DeleteOk Marek launch Zanzibar.
DeleteI can understand not wanting to go back to TLV.
DeleteEveryone else did, what is so special about JU aircraft that would put them in more danger than anyone else?
DeleteThis is the third time you have started the same discussion about TLV in the last 10 days. Do you need the flight so badly?
DeleteWizz could very well launch TLV - BEG. Then they would probably go after them.
DeleteI'm not sure why some people find it problematic to understand that Wizz Air can not operate flights between Belgrade and non-EU countries with exception to Norway.
DeleteAnd UAE, right?
DeleteIt could fly to the UAE because it was operate by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi with a UAE air operator's certificate. Same way it flies from the UK through Wizz Air UK with a UK AOC.
DeleteThailand would be amazing, cheap and ultra popular destination
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteHonestly, I don’t see this happening any time soon. The Gulf carriers dominate the market and offer much better connectivity and prices. Air Serbia would struggle to make such a route profitable.
ReplyDeleteInstead of Bangkok Air Serbia should maybe look at destinations like the Maldives, Zanzibar or Cuba. Those would be more niche and less competitive than Thailand.
Delete+1
Delete@9:34 I don’t think so. They need to split expenses to long transfer flights and they use more expensive planes than JU. If demand here is strong, JU should be profitable easily
Deletecuba might be a good opportunity, not that well connected
DeleteCuba libre!
DeleteCubanos would love more turista from Balkanicos
I’m sorry but why?
ReplyDeleteYou could read the article.
DeleteBecause there is obvious demand and because it is the only airline with the number of connections and destinations in ex-Yu that could capture the region.
DeleteI would say that key word here is yield rather than demand
ReplyDeleteExactly. Let’s not forget that Qatar, Emirates and Turkish have daily flights with huge networks beyond Bangkok. Air Serbia can’t compete on frequency and connections.
DeleteSo, you think that despite the low yields, they all still fly daily flights to Bangkok? What is the secret then?
DeleteAir Serbia can compete with them, because all of them ( Qatar, Turkish, Emirates) have very high prices for the trips from Europe to BKK...500 euros flights are gone story long time ago..Since end of Corona, we are talking about 900-1000 euros regular economy prices for flights from our region to BKK with all of those middle eastern carriers...if you catch some really good sales, you can find it for 800 in season between Jan to June..And Air Serbia can compete those prices for sure, they are selling CAN for 620-700 euros..High yield is very possible
DeleteThat's exactly what I am talking about. Everyone is repeating Marek's old statements, but times are changed in a meantime
DeleteI don't get it ! If the tour operators from Thailand are so interested for Serbian market , why don't they bother Thai airways international or Thai Air Asia X ???
ReplyDeleteTour operators from Thailand are not in the business of bringing inbound tourists to Thailand. Read the article again.
DeleteNonstop flights would save at least 5/6 hours of travel time compared to connecting through the Middle East. That’s a big selling point for families and tourists.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest selling point is price.
DeleteAir Serbia keeps talking about new long haul routes, but outside of China and New York, not much has materialised.
ReplyDeleteTrue unforutnately. And the funny thing is, they have more than enough aircraft to launch more new long haul routes.
DeleteDon't forget about Chaciago.
DeleteWith the right partnership with tour operators, Bangkok flights could be successful during peak winter months. Packaged holidays could help fill the planes at decent yields.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteProfitable long haul leisure routes are tricky. Just because there’s demand doesn’t mean the airline won’t end up losing money.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between leisure and, say, VFR, when it comes to long haul profitability? Do VFR pax pay more, cost less, are willing to pay the ticket more cause they have sorted accomodation or there are some other insights?
DeleteI agree! You need a plane like the 787, A330neo or the A350 to have a chance to make leisure long-haul travel work, but even then, you need above 90% load factors and airport incentives in fees to make it somewhat profitable.
DeleteIn Polish media there was a similar text about launching the flights to Thailand by LOT, from Warsaw. It seems that Thailand sees the potential in Central / Eastern Europe and tries to encourage even more traffic.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the passengers going to Thailand are price-sensetive and keen on using the Middle Eastern airlines, even if it means longer journey and changing planes.
So, I do not see it really happening anytime soon, neither for Serbia nor for Poland.
From Thailand's perspective it makes sense to push for LOT and JU flights. They want more European tourists, rather than South Asian.
DeleteMaybe their government shoud pay to JU and LOT to fly to BKK. In that case scenario is more likely to materialise.
Delete@11:52 Did you travel to Thailand recently ( after Corona) or at leadt checked the prices for BKK from Europe , with Gulf and Middle Eastern Airlines, including Rurkish? Obviously you didn't, so when you do, come back to explain your theory of inability of Air Serbia to compete with them
DeleteYeah I just flew to BKK via SHJ and returned with Etihad via AUH. Super cheap
Delete@17:52 which airlines did you use to fly via Sharjah, Air Arabia and Air Asia? So how much was that "super cheap ticket" with luggage included?
DeleteDuring Covid Gullivair’s A330s were flying charters to Thailand and the Dominican Republic. It was sold by a tour operator in Bulgaria and in Romania. The A330s were flying SOF-OTP-BKK. Why can’t Air Serbia do a similar thing? For some reason Gullivair stopped these charters during the winter, but the demand from both Bulgaria and Romania is present. I see it happening BEG-OTP-SOF-BKK. If Air Serbia thinks such move is risky for Serbians people to fill an A330, then this is a solution.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Zanzibar? There is so much interest but no flights? I really can't understand it.....
DeleteI'd choose Turkish to Asia over Air Serbia shitty service at any given time and would not mind waiting in Istanbul.
ReplyDeleteNo more shity experience from Turkish. Plane from BEG late, so I missed another Turkish plane. They offer me hotel, but my lagguage was on the airport. Tomorrow I got on the plane, but my lagguage was outside on the rain over night. Service not better than AS. Only differencenis that you have free sandwich any time lol. Not a reason to pick Turkish wver. So Air Serbia ismore serious company for me and will always pick them.
DeleteI wouldn’t. I would always choose to fly directly from my city by my home company.
DeleteThey should introduce direct flights Belgrade-Phuket. Bangkok is not considered a real tourist destination
ReplyDelete??????
DeleteBangkok is world's most visited city as of the moment (2024).
Its completely nonsense!
ReplyDeleteThai Airways could fill 20 A380 a day to Russia but still dont.
Price is king and best prices are with a stopover where ever.
I would love to see Male flights one day
ReplyDeleteNever with these sleeping tour operators.
DeleteBelgrade-Bangkok-Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, if they can’t load A330-200?
ReplyDeleteOne weekly flight.