Air Serbia handled over 560.000 passengers in August, marking its busiest month on record. The figure represents a 1% increase compared to last year, following a 0.9% year-on-year decline in July. CEO Jiri Marek attributed the modest growth, as well as the dip in the previous month, to a slowdown in charter traffic, noting that increased demand on scheduled services managed to offset weaker leisure flows. Speaking to public broadcaster RTS, Mr Marek confirmed that the airline is on track to surpass its predecessor JAT Yugoslav Airlines’ 1987 record of 4.5 million passengers, with Air Serbia aiming to handle 4.7 million travellers this year.
Commenting on the upcoming winter season, which runs from October 26 until March 28, Mr Marek confirmed that the airline will upgrade its seasonal services to Split, Florence, Bari and Naples into year-round operations. He added, “We are constantly monitoring the market for new opportunities. We may potentially introduce new destinations, but everything is still in preparation and will be announced in due course. For next summer, we are aiming to add up to five or six new routes. However, aviation is a very dynamic industry, so everything depends on how the situation develops”.
Pressed on which new destinations could be added to the network, Mr Marek highlighted the Caucasus region, following the successful launch of flights to Tbilisi in June. “We will see if we add Baku or Yerevan, or maybe both. These are the destinations we are very much focused on at the moment. Looking ahead, we expect further additions in the leisure and VFR [Visiting Friends and Relatives] segments, as well as routes that will help feed our network”, the CEO noted. Mr Marek also confirmed fleet developments, with two Embraer E195s and three Airbus A320s set to join the airline, alongside the retirement of three of the oldest A319s, resulting in a net gain of two aircraft in the coming months.
Anyone care to guess what the 5-6 new routes could be? Besides Yerevan/Baku?
ReplyDeleteIbiza, Tel Aviv
DeleteThey certainly need to return to the Middle East or North Africa.
DeleteThere are still some options in the region: Vlore (it will open till summer 26), Kavala, Brač. They could try Faro since both Lisbon and Porto works nice...
DeleteMiami/Toronto.
DeleteThey already fly to Kavala as charters.
DeleteHopefully Seville or less real Tenerife.
DeleteIasi in Romania. It is its 2nd largest city.
Gdansk seasonal.
Bordeaux or some similar city in France.
Mybe Hannover again.
Marek is specialist in talking a lot but not saying anything
DeleteHannover is actual. Maybe Bremen or Leipzig in Germany. Helsinki and Marseille for sure with E190
DeleteBrac will be great
DeleteSurprised how big the Italy market is for Serbia, good for them
ReplyDeleteI think it's 10 destinations. Quite a lot
DeleteThey need to greatly densify the schedule though so that more people than leisure travelers would choose them.
DeleteYeah, why are they so obsessed with it? I don't know any Serbs going to Bari or Alghero or Florence or any of the other 10 destinations they fly to. I mean I'm sure they exist (and fill planes) but like who are these people
DeleteLike... people wishing to visit to Italy? Quite a large group globally, I`d say.
DeleteJesus, man, did you really write "I know noone going to Florence"?!
OMG that's enough internet for today
Deleteanon 9:59 I know many who went to Algero and Bari. Maybe because you dont know people who are normal and successful. Lol
DeleteGee anon 09:59 we are talking about Italy a prime tourist destination that is an hour and something away from Serbia, not some remote Pacific island.
Delete09:59 had to be sarcastic. No chance it was serious 😂😂😂😂
DeleteI'm guessing the extra new route for winter would also be one in the Caucasus?
ReplyDeleteor Beijing
DeleteThey now have permits for PEK so they can launch it if they want to.
DeleteCairo is a possibility with E195. Serbia-Egypt free trade agreement just came into force yesterday. I'm assuming there will be a lot more business travel in the next months.
DeleteCairo was full with A319. Probably they could fill A320 later in time. But I think long turnaround was a problem
DeleteAdmin, any news on that loyalty program/ branded cards they planned to introduce?
ReplyDeleteI heard from people working on it externally that November 1st should be the launch
DeleteLooking forward to it.
DeleteI'm assuming all existing Etihad Guest members will be offered a status match. I sincerely hope they don't just say it's a clean slate for everyone.
DeleteInteresting that they could potentially operate Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan! Does it make sense considering Tbilisi and Yerevan are so close?
ReplyDeleteThey aren't.
DeleteThey're close geographically but the road through high mountains takes 8-12 hours so there are regular flights.
I'm surprised that TBS works well. In principle, both (even Baku) are very well connected to Europe. Wizz has a base in Yerevan and Kutaisi. Separately, there is FlyOne, easyJet, Transavia, LH Group, TK, Aegean, SKY Express, Pegasus..... The battle would be big, these capitals already have many p2p routes.
DeleteYerevan is base for Wizz Air and FlyOne. They no potential. Tbilisi have big number of airlines. Kutaisi with Wizz is also here....
DeleteWhat about Baku? We saw how you did from Otopeni. TK is very strong there. Baku is one of the strongest transfer destinations of Turkish Airlines along with Islamabad, Moscow, Delhi, Tbilisi.... In addition, there is also Azerbaijan Airlines and Pegasus/LH/LOT.
Delete@09:21
DeleteNeither of these two can launch BEG because of the bilateral.
But JU definitely can.
@9.21 Air Serbia is quite successful on Tbilisi route despite existence of of these airlines.
DeleteYerevan flights could attract a sizable number of transfers to the US.
DeleteAnd transfers to Russia via Yerevan. Although many fly directly from Belgrade, I can see any new option to get from/to Russia being successful especially if it's cheaper than 1k eur and it should be...
Delete@travel agencies. Well, while you're looking to Greece or Turkey, start charters to other destinations like Oman, for example, or Kenya...
ReplyDeleteIt's not possible. People in the Balkans are obsessed with Greece. Even though for some, Croatia or Montenegro are just a two-hour drive away....
DeletePeople in this region also like to go where they are used to. You have people that pick one spot and go there for the next 30 years.
Delete09:06
DeleteGood idea for Oman! Salalah or Muscat will work as charter.
+1
DeleteYes, I'm sure I'll have a better time with my girlfriend in Oman this time of the year instead of Greece. 🙄
Delete50°C are lovely! 😄
Delete@Anon 9:07. Not true. People from Serbia love to travel. That's why we have so many routes to Italy and Spain, and so many frequencies to Larnaca. Not to mention Egypt, Tunisia, etc. Those that go every year to Paralia are not able to afford Kenya anyway.
DeleteI can watch elephants on YouTube from a Greek beach, eating better food than Kenya and probably better beer too.
Delete10:02
DeleteEgypt, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta... Well, that's exactly what you said! There are over 20 available flights per day from Belgrade. That means there is potential for charters to Zanzibar or Mombasa.
Other than maybe Brač, what else is missing in Croatia?
DeleteOsijek
DeleteDon’t underestimate those who travel to Northern Greece. I love visiting that same place and have been doing so for past 30 years in the summer. That doesn’t stop me from going to Japan, South Africa or anywhere else. For me, that particular trip is just a great opportunity to relax and unwind.
DeleteGlad to see Florence, Bari, Split and Naples becoming year round. Finally some consistency on leisure routes instead of just seasonal options.
ReplyDeleteAre all of these ATR destinations? If so, seems like their ATR fleet utilization will improve a lot this winter.
DeleteHopefully a 2nd flight to SJJ.
Delete@9.11 no. Naples, Florence and Bari will be operated by a mix of ATR and Bulgaria Air E190s. Split is pure ATR route in winter.
DeletePlease.. Just not the Bulgaria Air E190.. worst plane in the fleet. Everybody hate this plane. Horrible condition!
Delete@anon 15:57
DeleteEven wors than GetJet A320?
Maybe Brac?
ReplyDeleteWill be good
DeleteThey have been talking about Brac potentially for 10 years. Hope it finally happens.
DeleteWhat did he say about winter network cuts?
ReplyDeleteIn the midst of the summer tourist season, I remember the summers in the modern era when I was in Dubrovnik on vacation. There were flights to all over the world. How the hell was that possible, and now not? There was also a flight to Detroit from Belgrade and to Sydney/Milburn even to Perth if I'm not mistaken.....
ReplyDeleteFor many things from the past we could ask how the hell was that possible... Heck, the country organized Olympics, something impossible even for bigger and welthier nations today. Many things were "sign of times", I believe...
DeleteThere was a market of more than twenty million in Yugoslavia.
DeleteWhich never was a market. A curse and bliss.
DeleteMaybe to consider Baltics as feeding destination? Or Helsinki again?
ReplyDeleteRiga is suspended with AirBaltic and you are waiting for JU? RIX is not hub for JU. It's BEG.
DeleteWell....
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/09/airbaltic-resuming-belgrade-service.html
They overtook JU unfortunately. But many Russian transfer is possible there. Why not Vilnus or Thalin?
DeleteAir Serbia has had many "we will" lately with not much of it materializing. There are gaping holes in its network, mainly in the broader region (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, southern Poland, Moldova) plus the entire MENA. They keep talking about densifying the network, but little is done and only when some competitor males the first move, just like with CDG.
ReplyDeleteAlso, with all wet leases they are a company of about 40 planes now. Not sure that bringing extra two embraers is a point of much bragging. What they did with the ATR fleet, by bringing in 10 600s was very much commendable, after that they slowed down their expansion significantly.
Global geopolitics created unique opportunities for JU which I do not see them taking advantage.
In 10 years, the JU, LO, BT model will not be effective because low-cost airlines will be in every capital. At least that's what I think.
DeleteJU will not go bankrupt or be smaller than it is now. On the contrary. Serbs will travel more and more. Leisure destinations will replace transfer ones. There will be over 50 such flights per day. The diaspora will also decrease because young Serbs abroad will all return to their homeland less often. This does not only apply to BEG, but also to ZAG, OTP.
DeleteAa you point out they need to densify their European network, return to the Middle East instead of being a feeder to TK and then they will be much more successful both in North America and China.
Delete09:28What's wrong here? This is a gold mine for JU.
Delete@09:22 That was a really strange statement from Marek and I wouldn't take it seriously. Like, where should JU even expand in Bulgaria, Hungary or Slovakia, for real?
DeleteJU has covered pretty much the entire region and all important airports except for RMO, which launch is probably postponed due to politics.
They don't serve Slovakia at all, of course there's room to expand when you have 0 flights to the friendly and close-to-Vienna market.
DeleteMany carriers don't serve Slovakia at all, there's nothing they can do about it.
DeletePoland is not in 'the border region' of Serbia.
DeleteWell many carriers don't serve Skopje or Ljubljana, yet Air Serbia do. That's their mojo, actually...
DeleteJU could serve Kosice in Slovakia.
DeletePeople shouldn't take Marek and his statements too seriously. They are always vague and are mostly PR fluff pieces. One should watch what is happening in reality and how successful they are in retaining talent. Without good talent sticking around they have no future.
For Spain perhaps Ibiza or Sevilla?
ReplyDeleteYes, they wanted to launch Ibiza this year and have said they will try next.
Delete"The figure represents a 1% increase compared to last year"
ReplyDeleteIdemo dalje...
Yes, идемо даље 1% по 1%.
Delete1% is still bigger than 0% 🤷♂️
DeleteOr -1%
DeleteAdding Embraer E195s is a smart move. Perfect aircraft size for medium-demand routes.
ReplyDeleteWell Miami and Cairo are almost certain to be announced.
ReplyDeleteItaly was amazing in first half with strong growth across the destinations. Well played by the management. Focus could be on Yerevan and Baku, 70% they will go for it with at least one.
ReplyDeleteSo can someone tell me how many passengers they carried during the january-August period ? Thanks a lot !
ReplyDelete3.1 million passengers.
DeleteExcellent news
ReplyDeleteThey will have a net gain of 2 aircraft with their own fleet but they will actually have an extra two E190s as well. Last winter there were 2 Bulgaria Air E190s, this winter there will be 4. So net gain of four aircraft if wet leases are included.
ReplyDeleteDid they have 4 GetJet planes last winter too?
DeleteNo, two GetJet’s aircraft were present during last winter season.
DeleteInteresting. So +6 aircraft this winter.
DeleteI wonder by how much passenger numbers on charter flights fell.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion in the middle of winter comes Miami and Beijing, while in summer Baku, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Toronto and maybe Yerevan or Cluj
ReplyDeleteI think Abu Dhabi is a missed opportunity for this winter.
DeleteAgrre. AS was more agile in the past
DeleteAgile in the past? They launched Geneva this year when they saw easyjet was struggling and have increased Paris just a month ago when easy jet announced this route. They have successfully pushed out Wizz Air from Lisbon and Copenhagen this year. You expect them to launch every leftover by airlines that failed? Abu Dhabi is not a 2 hour flight nor are its costs the same.
DeleteAbu Dhabi is not leftover, it should be more profitable than both Lisbon and Copenhagen combined, but I agree with you that JU can't be catch-all airline. If Abu Dhabi doesn't fit the strategy, it doesn't fit and that's it.
DeleteIf they are still considering a new route for winter, when exactly do they plane to announce it? It's already September.
ReplyDeleteHe said they are potentially introducing a new route. Winter season lasts until end of March. They could launch it in January (like Shanghai this year). And do you know when they started ticket sales for Shanghai? 8 October.
DeleteThere are lots of options:
ReplyDeleteCluj, Iasi, Chisinau, Patras, Brač, Debrecen, Gdansk, Ibiza, Sevilla, Bilbao, Faro, Tenerife, Marseille, Manchester, Yerevan, Baku, Luxemburg, Kosice, Brno etc
Out of all destinations given the relationship between two countries, Chisinau will definitely not happen. Serbian passport holders are basically not even allowed in Moldova. People are being returned from the borders left and right.
DeleteThere were some security issues with Moldova, but it wasn't random. Given the proximity of war zone, I can only specualte what it was about. But nevertheless it's such low yield market that JU doesn't have to pursue it. Let it mature a bit...
DeleteMoldova is not necessarily about the Moldovans flying. Indeed most of them are not flying at all.
DeleteThe proximity of war makes the country a destination for war-related businesses.
On the other hand, US gov officials will not be choosing JU anyway...
I would add Bratislava, Helsinki, Plovdiv, Wroclaw, Bremen, Bergen. Constanta, Burgas seasonally
DeleteDo you guys think Vlorë will be one of those destinations?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteYes, I think Air Serbia should be launch carrier (with some nice incentives).
DeleteI would like JU to have more frequencies on existing routes before adding new destinations.
ReplyDeleteTheir network is already impressive.
I assume Air Serbia has consolidated its position and ability to remain operating at its current state, just like a good tradesman, making a good living by doing two jobs a week. And any further route expansion, which may be riskier and less profitable, would not upset the apple cart.
ReplyDelete