In July this year, I had the chance to fly on Air Serbia’s ATR 72-600 from Belgrade to Vienna. Since the flight was at 7:40 in the morning, we arrived at the airport at 5:30 by bus 600.
Check-in took a little longer than expected because of the morning rush hour, so we waited about 30 minutes to get our boarding passes. Passport control, on the other hand, was quick and smooth. At the end of 2024, new e-gates were introduced at Belgrade for faster passport checks, though they can only be used by passengers aged 18 and above. Security was also very quick, and unlike in Vienna, I didn’t need to take my camera out of my bag.
Our gate was announced about an hour before departure. ATR flights use gates at the far end of Terminal 2, which is quite a walk from the duty-free shops. Boarding started roughly 40 minutes before departure. As ATRs are small aircraft, they are parked on remote stands at Belgrade Airport. We boarded a bus that drove us to the aircraft in about five minutes. However, getting onto the plane itself was a bit chaotic. We had to wait outside, and we were among the last to board.
The cabin felt small, but the seats were comfortable and offered plenty of legroom, which I really appreciated as I’m 185 cm tall (6 ft). We took off quickly and climbed to 18,000 feet (about 5,500 meters). Cabin service began around 20 minutes into the flight, with the crew offering the well-known Serbian Plazma biscuit and a branded bottle of water, just enough for this short hop to Austria.
The total flight time was about 1 hour and 15 minutes, but it felt much shorter, more like 30 minutes. After reaching top of descent, we spent about 40 minutes in the air before landing. Touchdown in Vienna was smooth, followed by a slightly longer taxi, which I expected given that Vienna is a much larger airport than Belgrade.
I asked for a flight deck visit after landing, but unfortunately, my request was declined. Overall, it was a smooth and enjoyable flight, arguably even better than some of Air Serbia’s Airbus flights.
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Thanks Marko, nice trip report. I also find ATR's seats a little bit more comfortable than Airbus despite the cabin size difference. Regarding short flight deck visit after landing, I really hope JU will allow it again. What was the load factor on this flight?
ReplyDeleteHow was the crew?
ReplyDeletePitty people have to wake up at 3:00am, leave house at 4:30am, to be in the airport at 05:30am, and in best case scenario be in City Centar in Vienna at 10:00! If there would be a night train to fall asleep in Belgrade at 21:00 and wake up in Vienna at 07:00! So much more convenient!
ReplyDeleteWell there are another 4 or so more flights per day from Belgrade to Vienna which may be at a more convenient time.
DeleteThe train is coming next march, but wouldn't say 6 hours is enough for a nite train:)
DeleteYeah because sleeping in a train is amazing
DeleteAlso there is no chance I'm waking up at 3 am for a 7:40 flight lol
DeleteThere will be two daily trains for Vienna starting next year, ride will be 6 hours.
DeleteThat`s what it takes by car.
DeleteI switched to Austrian Airlines on BEG-VIE. Much better schedule and more comfy planes.
ReplyDeleteThey use wet leased ATR72s.
DeleteI flew on YU-ASB in June, on my flight back from Zagreb. Such a nice bird :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes they offer probiotics... Wondering if there is some symbolism behind that... 😬🤣
ReplyDelete