Air Serbia has officially announced the launch date for its new seasonal Belgrade - Toronto service. Flights between the two cities will commence on May 23, 2026 with tickets going on sale on Thursday, October 16. “This route represents one of the most significant milestones in the recent development of Air Serbia and is of exceptional importance for passengers, tourism and businesses”, the company said in a statement. Air Serbia’s predecessor, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, operated its final flights between Belgrade and Toronto on May 23, 1992. As a result, Air Serbia’s new service will come exactly 34 years to the day operations were discontinued.
Commenting on the new service, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “After establishing nonstop flights to New York and Chicago, Toronto is Air Serbia’s third destination in North America. JAT operated its last flight to Toronto in May 1992. Now, after more than 30 years, we are proud to announce the reintroduction of a direct service between Belgrade and Toronto. This strategic step marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of our company and represents a continuation of Serbia’s economic, commercial and cultural development”. He added, "Toronto is known as one of the world’s most important destinations with a large Serbian diaspora, so the significance of this direct service goes beyond economic and commercial considerations. For years, the Serbian diaspora has been advocating for the establishment of a direct air link between Belgrade and Toronto, and I am extremely pleased that we have been able to align our strategic plans with the needs of the market”.
The CEO noted that the new service aligns with the airline’s goal of positioning Belgrade as a transfer hub in the Balkans. “Establishing a strong presence in the North American market is accomplishing our vision for Belgrade to become a transit hub, linking Europe and North America. We will strive to continue developing our network of destinations and intercontinental presence in the future, so that we remain at the forefront of companies in the region in terms of air transport, making Serbia a desirable and more accessible destination for further investment and business opportunities”, Mr Marek said.
Air Serbia's new Toronto service will be timed to connect onto services to and from Athens, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Heraklion, Istanbul, Ljubljana, Bucharest, Prague, Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, Skopje, Sofia, Split, Podgorica, Tirana, Tivat, Vienna, Zagreb and Zurich. Operations to the Canadian city will be maintained until late September, with the Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
According to booking data between August 2024 and July 2025, 49.000 round-trip passengers flew between Belgrade and Toronto on a single ticket. LOT Polish Airlines carried the most of these travellers via its Warsaw hub. Notable unserved markets from Toronto, which could be carried by Air Serbia, include Tirana (30.000 passengers), Bucharest (28.000), Moscow (16.000), Skopje (14.000) and Sofia (12.000).
Starting ticket sales on time! Good
ReplyDelete+1
Delete8 months ahead. Good timing
Delete*7
DeleteI work as a travel agent in Toronto, and we are very excited to start the ticket sale for this route. For us TA , the only downside about JU airfares, they do not offer NET rate and that is struggle for us. Regardless we are even happy to sale the publish rate as we are expecting huge demand. I am believing in Belgrade-Toronto service to be all year round.
DeletePlease give example, what is net rate? What do you mean?
DeleteGreat news I can't wait to fly there next year. I already got my Canadian visa. Also what happened with Miami launch they announced few months back?
ReplyDeleteThey never announced a Miami launch. They said the route is under consideration.
DeleteSame. Visa issued in 2018 and I was waiting for this to come. Yaay!
DeleteWhy did you wait since 2018? So many good options to fly to Canada!
Deleteits seasonal flight, runs 4 months, why so much happiness?
Delete^ because it makes you angry
Delete+100
DeleteGood luck! And hope to see you grow to year round route!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt could definitely support this route twice a week year round.
DeleteA lot more than Chicago.
"According to booking data for August 2024 to July 2025, 49.000 round-trip passengers flew between Belgrade and Toronto on a single ticket. LOT Polish Airlines carried the most of these passengers via its Warsaw hub."
ReplyDeleteIt will be very interesting to see what happens with LOT's Belgrade route.
Indeed. Toronto transfers in summer is a huge chunk of their passengers on the Belgrade route.
DeleteJU's seasonal service is not enough to take most of the LOT's pax. Sure they will be hit, just like LH Group, but they will survive the competition.
DeleteOver 80% of LOT's Toronto-Belgrade passengers fly in the summer. It's highlight seasonal travel. Of course, I'm not saying they will take over all of LOT's Serbian passengers but it will definitely be a big hit.
DeleteAnother attack on LO. After their own suicide decision to replace Ejets with bright and shiny A220
DeleteI flew to Warsaw recently. Indeed, it seemed that half of passangers were transferring to Canada and US.
DeleteHope LOT introduces more competititve rates for P2P passangers. Such a potential to develop tourist flow between the two capitals now that transfers will be reduced.
DeleteI guess potential cooperation between JU and LOT that was discussed will never materialise after this.
Delete@10:56
DeleteI'm 100% sure that had OU selected the Embraer E2 you will be hating on that aircraft instead of the A220...
Western Balkans in 2025...
It's not about my hate, it is about you ignorance. Ejets and A220 are nowhere near same class of airplane. A220 is carrying 40-100% more passengers than E170/75/90/95, thus it's not appropriate for feeding routes. OU doesn't have proper hub, doesn't need feeding and it's not part of this story or article
Delete^ Every single sentence in the post above us factually wrong!
DeleteDude how did you manage that?
Once again it is proven that the most uninformed commenters about aviation are the most sure about their postings! 😁
It's a pure knowledge. Since you have any idea about aviation, this is very useful for you. No need to be angry, it's for your benefit.
DeleteThis doesn't include flights via YUL to BEG. For the last 4 years most of my AC flights have gone through Montreal and I noticed a lot of transfers following me on my connecting flights to/from BEG (either in CDG or FRA). If they factor YUL, it is much more than 49,000.
DeleteSabre Market Intelligence data shows two-way origin and destination traffic between Canada and Serbia totaled about 92,800 passengers in 2024
Delete@Anonymous 17:08
Deleteit is pure ignorance to state that Embraer E2s and A220s have a 40-100% capacity difference!
Keep them coming!
Also there are no E170-175 E2s, just 190-195s.
DeleteYou need basic aviation knowledge to participate discussion here. LOT doesn't have E2, but ageing E170/75/90/95, as I wrote. And they have 76/88/106/118 seats, for which already ordered A220 with 150 seats is 40-100% larger, as I wrote.
DeleteI friendly asked you to stop spreading your ignorance, it is not funny any more. It is pathetic.
Can't believe it's actually happening.
ReplyDeleteThis will end up being a year round route.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you need to create the demand.
Have a feeling it will be year round in the end as well.
DeleteMaybe not the first year. But I do see them flying YYZ from 15 December to 15 January in 26/27.
DeleteFinally! Thank you AirSERBIA!!! 😁
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI love how JU uses symbolic dates for these launches. They did the same with Chicago.
ReplyDeleteAnd they used the same flight number for New York.
Delete+1
DeleteAnyone know what flight number JAT used for Toronto?
DeleteJU560 and JU562. Not sure if they used any other flight numbers.
Delete^ Thank you. Are those flight numbers currently used?
DeleteAnon 10:52 Flight number JU560 is not in use; JU562 has been assigned to LIS.
DeleteSo could it be JU560 and JU561 for Toronto and back?
DeleteLooks like they left those on purpose :D
DeleteThink in 1980 flying charter was 530/531 year round when they became sked in 1985 was 534/535after that they used 536/537 554/557 556/557 in the end was 560/561
DeleteThe range of regional connections to these flights is outstanding!
ReplyDeleteConsidering how underutilised their long-haul fleet is, I'm sure they had plenty of options when it comes to scheduling
DeleteNewsflash! A lot of diaspora living in Canada do not live in the GTA and will transfer onward via AC/WJ - so there will be a lot of people signing up for this just to avoid the EU transfer hassles (additional security checks, visa controls).
DeleteGTA?
DeleteCant wait to see the takeoff time from Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteI hope its a afternoon takeoff like JFK and ORD.
Like around 14h from BEG.
Landing back in BEG around 12h.
It has to be split schedule, I assume one day morning departure and other midday departure.
DeleteWhy does it have to be a split schedule? Mid-day departure from Europe and evening departures from Canada are perfect if there are slots available.
DeleteThe split schedule does make sense, as you say.
DeleteEsp for all of those connection "to and from".
Lets say Sarajevo for example. Or Mostar, Or Dubrovnik.
Because there is afternoon flight from BEG to SJJ, OMO AND DBV.
How can someone that starts their jorney from those cities, jump on a flight to YYZ, unless the flight is later afternoon like LOT has.
LOT's afternoon flight to Toronto is at 17h.
We will see soon enough.
Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNow we just have to wait and see when they start Miami. And I wouldn't be surprised if they announce another US city prior to Expo.
ReplyDeleteI am expecting LAX to be next. It's on the top5 unserved long haul destinations
Delete^ not going to happen. Too far away. And they said in the past only two more destinations in North America make sense - YYZ and MIA.
Delete^ It's not for A330/200
DeleteJU needs to look for aircraft with grater range.
DeleteA330-900 seems ideal.
A330-200 has the range though.
DeleteOf course it does. A330-200 have longer distance range than A330-900
Delete^ No it does not.
DeleteThe A330-200 can make LAX with capacity restrictions. i.e. it will have to not be full of pax and/or cargo.
The A330-900 (it is a NEO) has far grater range despite being larger.
Range is still enough with completely full payload. Although, plane is never full with all pax and cargo.
DeleteAmazing news, congratulations! Hopefully timing of this flight will fit good in the regional network for transfer passengers
ReplyDelete"Air Serbia's new Toronto service will be timed to connect onto services to and from Athens, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Heraklion, Istanbul, Ljubljana, Bucharest, Prague, Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, Skopje, Sofia, Split, Podgorica, Tirana, Tivat, Vienna, Zagreb and Zurich. Operations to the Canadian city will be maintained until late September, with the Airbus A330-200 aircraft."
DeleteLet's hope the schedule will be convenient for people travelling between Belgrade and Toronto. :)
DeleteHow about Tbilisi?
Delete@MM curious to know what you think would be a convenient time for people travelling between Beograd and Toronto?
DeleteI hope JU believes in this route, because the earlier communication wasn't that convincing. However, this looks like a very safe start. It's FIFA World Cup next year during this time in Canada (+US, Mexico) too, most probably not for us but there will be some extra demand from region and Europe...
ReplyDeleteIs there any cargo demand on this route?
ReplyDeleteThere’s big potential there too
DeleteExcellent question. Canada desperately needs new export/import markets given the current tensions between US/India/China/Russia and the list goes on and on.
DeleteI seriously doubt Russia was ever a large trading partner of Canada.
DeleteThe main exports of Russia are oil and gas of which Canada has more than enough.
Curious what the schedule will be like. Guess we will find out on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteWhy not today?
DeleteWell it says tickets will be put on sale on Thursday.
DeleteOh my bad
DeleteFinally! We've been waiting decades for this. Amazing to see Belgrade–Toronto coming back exactly 34 years after JAT’s last flight. Big congratulations to Air Serbia!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see history come full circle.
DeleteMontreal should be second Canada destination one day, like in the past
DeleteDid JAT really fly to Montreal?
DeleteYes they did
DeleteFor a time it was; BEG-ZAG-YUL-YYZ.
Delete49,000 passengers per year is a solid base. If load factors hold, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it extended year-round eventually.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Montreal demand?
DeleteAbout time! The Serbian community here has been pushing for this since forever. I just hope prices stay reasonable and the schedule is convenient for onward travel in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested to see if they will find any partner in Canada to codeshare with.
DeleteWould be great if they code-shared with Air Canada at YYZ for better domestic connections. That would really help fill the plane.
DeleteI think there is little chance Air Canada will be a codeshare partner. They are star alliance and codeshare on Lufthansa flights to BEG. I just don't see it.
DeleteThey found jetblue in USA and at the same time have interline with AA.
DeleteThere is a possibility JU will find local partner at least for interline (it also fills the plane, not only code-share).
Porter is definitely an option. They’ve been seeking codeshare partners as their domestic network starts rivalling Westjet.
DeletePassengers will save on airport fees that are added on during transfers (Airport Passenger Security and Noise Charge - Switzerland - International Passenger Service Tax - Germany) for each passenger.
DeleteWill be interesting to see how they perform against LOT, Lufthansa and Air France on the connecting market.
ReplyDeleteSeems like the timing will be good for regional feed.
DeleteLet’s hope they can sustain it beyond one season. Toronto is a competitive market, and summer-only routes often struggle once the initial hype fades.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to catching the inaugural flight in May 2026! Great milestone for both Air Serbia and the Serbian-Canadian community.
ReplyDeleteToronto deserves a year round connection.
ReplyDeleteThere’s definitely enough demand if managed properly.
DeleteProbably after 2-3 years seasonally and when ORD finally catch some breath during the winter, we can expect year round
DeleteWhat does ORD have to with YYZ-BEG?
DeleteNothing, but seems too much for company to struggle in two long haul destinations at the same time
DeleteYou already know what's going to struggle. Expert.
DeleteYes, almost all major companies are struggling in the winter season with long hauls and they are reporting losses in Q1. JU is not any different, unfortunately. You don't have to be expert to know this.
DeleteI’m just glad we can finally fly home directly. Hopefully the fares won’t be “hub premium” level. We’ve had enough of that from Lufthansa.
ReplyDeleteI will be on the first flight to Belgrade that’s for sure. Who rememebers the entire JU mgmt team hyping up Toronto launch after New York way back when? Pepperidge farm remembers.
ReplyDeleteThere is no Nemjee to complain about Marek today?
ReplyDelete😂😂😂
DeleteOh I am here Anon, don't worry. If it turns you on I could complain, after all, it's an easy thing to do given the way he is running Air Serbia. ;)
DeleteI will praise him when he actually manages to fly year-round to YYZ.
Good to see you.
DeleteOf course that you are not satisifed with this achievement - what else could be expected from you?
Fortunately, many people are not like you.
Idemo dalje...
ReplyDeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the demand for ZAG-YYZ? Curious as to how it compares with BEG. Toronto has a much larger Croatian diaspora.
ReplyDeleteThere are seasonal flights between ZAG-YYZ. 34,842 passengers last year
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/04/amsterdam-closes-in-on-frankfurt-as.html
Yes I’m aware of the direct Transat flights but overall wanted to understand the demand vs Belgrade’s 49,000 a year. So looks like Belgrade has more demand?
DeleteNevermind read that again. Yes not surprising ZAG-YYZ has much higher demand both from the much larger diaspora and the lack of visas.
DeleteI think more passengers fly to ZAG overall, there were 34000 pax on the Air Transat flights but many still connect
DeleteWould passengers need to go through a second security check departing at BEG?
ReplyDeleteNo, that rule only applies to flights to the USA.
DeleteTo Russia as well.
DeleteMiami, Boston, Montreal and Vancouver and we could say that JU developed respectful North American network. Kudos for Toronto. Keep new destinations coming
ReplyDeleteJust wish serbian gov was as efficient as yu is, and they actually worked towards getting the visas scrapped for serbian citizens. Its 2025 abd we still have to que in lines.
ReplyDeleteToronto year round, Miami (and maybe Boston/Montreal/YVR) seasonal...
ReplyDeleteJust pure logic
Agree completely.
DeleteWe from Macedonia will use this option for sure 👏✈️
ReplyDeleteБраво!
Delete