Turkish leisure carrier Corendon Airlines has filed a preliminary schedule for the introduction of Istanbul and Antalya flights to and from Belgrade this coming winter season. The carrier initially plans a one-off service from Turkey’s busiest airport to the Serbian capital on October 8, after which it intends to fly a weekly flight from Istanbul starting November 10 throughout the winter season. The carrier also plans to run weekly Antalya operations starting November 12 throughout the entire winter season. Both services, to be maintained by the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, have been loaded in the Global Distribution System but have been zeroed out, meaning tickets are still not available for purchase.
The filed schedule and flight numbers would indicate the aircraft would fly from Istanbul to Belgrade on Mondays, remain in the Serbian capital on Tuesdays, and operate from Belgrade to Antalya on Wednesdays. This same schedule is valid until late March 2026. Filing a schedule is a common industry practice used to coordinate with airports and plan operations, but it does not guarantee that the route will be launched as initially proposed. EX-YU Aviation News has reached out to Corendon Airlines for comment.
It is unclear how Corendon Airlines intends to obtain permits for the aforementioned flights. Serbia and Turkey have a restrictive bilateral air service agreement in place, which took six years to pass through the Turkish parliament. The revised deal, adopted in 2021, heavily favours and safeguards the two flag carriers, outlining that each airline must take into consideration how their operations will affect their competitors, while regulators are able to determine if any increase in capacity or frequencies is justified and in line with market conditions.
Istanbul is Belgrade’s busiest route. There were 472.280 passengers on flights between the Serbian capital and Istanbul’s main airport last year, as well as a further 154.131 travellers on the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcan service, for a total of 626.411 passengers between the two cities. On the other hand, Antalya is operated solely by Air Serbia as a charter service. Last year, it handled 119.202 travellers on charter flights to the coastal city. In January 2025, Serbia and Turkey inked a Memorandum of Understanding in Air Transport. The agreement paves the way for more flights, the introduction of new destinations and increased capacity, although these are again believed to favour the country’s two flag carriers.
Interesting one. Let's see what happens
ReplyDeleteCouldn't they think of some other Turkish city than Istanbul?? How about Mersin/Adana/Gaziantep, Bursa, Konya or Trabzon? I agree with Antalya, but only during winter timetable. In the summer, Antalya and Bodrum are JU's backyard
ReplyDeleteWell, if Corendon successfully develops BEG-AYT in winter then it's only fair to grant them the rights to operate flights in summer. Why should they do all the hard work without being rewarded?
DeleteIf they are considering these flights then it can only mean the market is there. The real question is why isn't JU after it?
Because of the summer monopoly. If JU starts regular flights, TK would do the same. And there goes JU's cashcow
DeleteYes but these winter flights would be for Turks who want to come to Serbia and spend their money.
DeleteFor Serbia, this market is far more valuable than JU's charters to AYT.
The complete takeover of the SRB-TUR market by Turkish carriers continues at a fast pace.
DeleteAnd JU is doing nothing to stop it.
DeleteActually winter flights to AYT would not be for Turks but for Serbs who want to escape from winter and enjoy on 18C in December or January.
DeleteNeedless to say, the prices are very low in Antalya at that time of the year.
Sure it’s for Turkish tourists that want to visit Serbia, so it is right to travel with Turkish Airline. Antalya region is rich
DeleteThere are no Serbians who want to go Anyalya in winter, otherwise JU would organize winter charters as well.
Winter flights exist from Sarajevo and many Serbians fly there to take advantage of cheaper prices year-round. Instead of paying 250-300 euros from Belgrade you can pay 50-70 from Sarajevo
DeleteA few years ago the Serbian Tourist Organisation hosted a series of events to promote Serbia in Turkey. They also visited Antalya so it seems like TOS is also trying to attract Turks to come in winter when they are relaxing from the summer season.
Delete@10.11. Turkish takeover?
DeleteMay I remind you that this week in 2019 JU had, wait for it, 0 flights to Turkey. yes 0!
It now has 22 flights to Turkey this week. How is that a takeover by Turkish carriers? For you it was better that airlines from Turkey have 0 competition and carry all traffic between Turkey and Serbia?
This "takeover" some zama academy graduates have made up in their heads is completely baseless.
And how many flights did Turks have in 2019 and how many do they have today?
DeleteTurkish and its AJet subsiduary have 31 weekly flights. In 2019 Turkish and Atlasjet had 21 weekly flights and 0 competition. They have added a net of 10 weekly flights, while Air Serbia has added a net of 22 weekly flights. Complete takeover, sure.
DeleteHow come Turkish Airlines and Anadoloujet added 10 weekly compared to 2019?
DeleteIf I remember well TK added 7 from IST and then Anadoloujet added 4 from SAW, 2 from ESB and 2 from ADB. That comes out to additional 15 weekly flights.
You can't win with people here. Had the bilateral not been revised and JU still had 0 flights like they had when seemingly no one was concerned that there were only Turkish carriers flying between Turkey and Serbia you would read comments
Delete"Complete annihilation of Air Serbia"
"They must have struck a deal for TK to take over the entire market"
"Embarrassing that Air Serbia can't fly to Turkey"
"Even OU now flies to Turkey"
etc.
While on the topic. Flew with JU from Istanbul this Monday (afternoon flight). Business 6/8, economy full to the last seat. The morning flight that same day was sold out.
@Nemjee
DeleteKK had 7 weekly flights between IST and BEG.
As the anon that wrote at 11.15, I noticed some subtle but nice changes on JU in business class on this flight. Meal was great, they have now introduced a bread basket where crew offer different types of warm breads and all the passengers in the cabin also got an orasnica cookie after the meal
DeletePeople here seems that doesn’t understand, so I will repeat 10th time. Most traffic have direction from Turkey towards Serbia, so it’s quite normal that Turkish companies have more flights. It’s that simple. Serbia is small country with 7 million people while Turkey have 12 times more. Serbia have one airline, while Turkey have 12 times more. Actually, giving the proportion of traffic direction, JU have significant advantage
DeleteAnon 11.17
DeleteThank you, I forgot about them.
Anon 11.15
Matter of fact is that Marek signed a wide-ranging agreement with the Turks where both sides launched a whole bunch of new routes. Fast forward to today we see that JU barely has double daily to IST while their ADB and ESB routes struggle... ADB more so outside the summer months.
So why did JU under Marek push for these revisions if they didn't expect to profit from them? In the end Turks triumphed while JU lost. It's very simple and there is no way to spin it.
Anon 14.29
If that is so then why did JU and Marek push for all these deals that provided TK and Anadoloujet with greater access to BEG? Didn't he know better?
In reality Marek bet on this deal and we see today that he lost.
In my opinion JU retreating from these markets is a strategic failure. They need to bring back those morning/evening IST flights and pour a lot of money into promotion in Ankara. It's a large and wealthy area with a lot of potential for transfer passengers. They should also consider adding some daytime flights so that they are appealing to the O&D passengers. A few weeks ago I was at BEG and the Anadoloujet flight from ESB arrived with 168 passengers! The market is obviously there.
They went from 0 weekly flights to 22 weekly flights and that's a failure for you? It is obvious from this comment and many others you have written on this forum that you have some personal issue with the CEO.
DeleteNemjee, Marek doesn't sign agreements, governments do. I do support more flights towards IST, especially now with respectable Ejet fleet. When two more E195 comes, it will be a lot easier. Again, I am against retiring A319's while we still have permanently wet leased planes.
DeleteYes, I think Marek isn't the best CEO and that JU deserves much better. It's no secret.
DeleteJU went down to zero only because they were mismanaged at that time. It was only a brief period of time when they didn't fly to Istanbul. You make it seem as if the period last for a decade.
Anon 16.58
When it comes to aviation, governments listen to airlines. That's why TK was blocked until the right leadership for them came at JU.
They did not fly to Istanbul for 5 years. I would not call that brief. Especially since it seems to be a very lucrative market for them.
DeleteYes, it's a lucrative market for them because the new Istanbul airport opened and they got the slots they wanted. The old IST airport was congested and many airlines, not just JU, struggled to get the slots they needed.
DeleteHowever, IST is not such a problem for them, it's Ankara and Izmir that are. These two destinations were what was key. Unfortunately both can only operate for a brief period of time during the year. Turkey, along with Italy, should be two key markets for JU when it comes to future growth. Both are wealthy enough, they are large and can provide Air Serbia with a massive source of O&D and transfer passengers.
In addition to these two we have the MRO with TK, the JV with TK, JU joining TK's FF program... Marek announced so many things and so far none of them have come true. So what went wrong? Air Serbia's Turkey strategy goes beyond their flights to Istanbul.
Turkey can not be lucrative market, because Turkey economy is not very healthy. And JU can not expect too many transfers fromy Turkey, when they already have strongest national carrier. Actually most of the transfers are going in opposite direction, unfortunately.
Delete^ your comments about transfers is completely incorrect. The story is very different. And for the many experts on here, one more time, just because a country has links to many cities does not mean people will fly only nonstop. There was an article here that last year Istanbul was the third moat popular transfer destination for Air Serbia's New York flights. Imagine that with over 20 weekly Istanbul-New York flights.
Delete626.411 passengers between Belgrade and Istanbul. Wow!
ReplyDeleteDoubt they will get a permit.
ReplyDeleteLogical thinking.
DeleteCorendon is originally Dutch company. Turkish division came later. And the latest is european division with Maltese AOC. Don't know about the details of EU-Turkey agreements but maybe Corendon's european part can operate flights without additional permits. Doubt they are so incompetent to even think about services for which they can't obtain permits
DeleteCorendon is registered in the Netherlands but is owned by Turks.
DeleteJust like Chair Airlines is registered in Switzerland but is owned by Albanians.
Anyway though, Corendon Netherlands being an EU company is irrelevant. They can't operate flights between two non EU members without their permission.
^ The airline in this article is Corendon Airlines registered in Turkey, not the Netherlands. Corendon Airlines Europe is registered in the Netherlands and is not operating these flights.
Delete^ I was answering PIR assertion that:
Delete"Don't know about the details of EU-Turkey agreements but maybe Corendon's european part can operate flights without additional permits."
Clearly only an airline registered in Turkey or in Serbia can apply for flight permits between the two countries.
Блокирај!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. This is the second or third time a Turkish carrier is trying to break into the BEG-AYT market. I already wrote this will happen sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteTurks won't allow JU to have all this market to themselves. Eventually JU will have to give in and my bet is on Anadoloujet. They seem to be doing well from secondary airports in Turkey such as SAW, ADB and ESB. AYT is the next logical addition.
Unfortunately Air Serbia has failed to position itself on the Turkish market and this winter they will retreat to Istanbul. He-who-shall-not-be-named has bet big on the Turkish market and lost.
Given JU's utter failure in Turkey outside of Istanbul, it's unrealistic to expect them to even consider expanding their presence in AYT beyond what they offer now. I just checked and at the time when Corendon is planning on launching BEG, JU won't even have double daily flights to IST. Instead they will have 12 with some of the flights operated with the E90.
JU needs to fight back by bringing back those morning and evening departures to IST. The local market is huge and they should focus on stealing some of those from TK et al.
That's not right. Turks may start AYT BEG charters, like JU is doing. Nobody stops them.
DeleteWhen?
DeleteThen Corendon will simply launch these flights as charters and sell seats on them. If what you are writing is true. Somehow I doubt the charter market is that liberal, I don't think JU would have agreed to that.
DeleteAir Serbia should focus on anything else not turkey. Except for people to waste time and resources of the country. Develop holidays to new and better places. Georgia, Armenia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco.
DeleteAnd they can't do both? Why should JU ignore Turkey if there is demand?
Delete@10.25
DeleteYou might have missed that Istanbul is the busiest route from Belgrade, and you suggest they should focus elsewhere.
@10:50
DeleteThe way things are going JU soon will have no other choice than to look elsewhere.
"Way things are going" based on what exactly? A one weekly one way flight from Istanbul and one weekly one way flight from Antalya by Corendon which won't even happen?
DeleteHe is referring to JU's constant reduction of operations in Turkey. As already mentioned, this year they ended flights to Ankara earlier than they did last year.
DeleteSeems like the new Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Serbia and Turkey that started in 2021 was very shortsighted. On our part, on the Turkish carriers part it has proven to be amazing.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteHow? Considering JU was barely able to fly to Istanbul prior to this bilateral and was sending ATRs there. They are now flying 2 daily from Belgrade and flying from Nis and Kraljevo as well. They are now flying to Izmir and Ankara. They also have cash cow charters like Bodrum and Antalya.
DeleteThis thing with Corendon is not serious.
Anon 10.49
DeleteYou mean like being pushed out of ADB and ESB in winter and not even offering double daily flights to IST on a year-round basis? Don't forget that JU planned 21 weekly flights to IST but were beaten by TK - their supposed bff.
JU sending the ATR to IST had nothing to do with the bilateral. It had to do with their fleet falling apart back then. FYI JU does send the ATR even now to IST, usually on the night flight outside the busy summer months.
JU under current leadership planned 21 weekly to IST as well as year-round flights to Ankara and Izmir on top of summer charters. Fast forward to today in winter they don't even offer double daily flights to all of Turkey. They have just 11-12 weekly to IST.
@10.49 In 2019 JU was not flying scheduled flights to Turkey at all.
Delete...just to add, they announced that Ankara will be terminated earlier than planned. I guess Anadoloujet will be sending them a gift basket.
DeleteNemjee it's Anadolu not Anadolou
DeleteThanks.
DeleteNo, Its Ajet actually
DeleteIndeed, you are right, I forgot about their rebranding.
DeleteNice to see them finaly in BEG
ReplyDeleteIt is far from certain as the article suggests.
DeleteJust another cheap LCC 😥
ReplyDeleteAnd you only fly Emirates, Qatar and Starlux?
DeleteI also fly SQ.
DeleteI fly with Avioimpex
DeleteAir Adriatic is better. I am their regular 🙂
DeleteNot allow them permits. Turks not allows permit to AS. Turkish companies have much more flights to Serbia. They didnt allow all year flights for AS to Bodrum, Antalya or Dalaman. Just charters. That is not the same. Serbia should reject permits to them!!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI dont see the problem.
ReplyDeleteThere should be reprocity or how that word is written..
If a Turkish airline gets a frequency then the Serbian should get the same.
If Corendon flies once a week JU should get an extra weekly frequency to where they want.
For that you need pragmatism.
DeletePeople nowadays are much too stubborn unfortunately.
Hell no, Serbia should push 1 to 1 flight and thats it. Antalya is reserved for Air Serbia so gurl bye
ReplyDelete^ ?-?-?
Delete