Royal Jordanian Airlines will introduce a new year-round service between Amman and Belgrade in April 2026, with flights to be scheduled shortly. As reported by EX-YU Aviation News back in June, the Oneworld member will return to the Serbian capital following a 35-year hiatus. The carrier initially plans to run two weekly flights between the two cities, increasing to four weekly over the 2026/27 winter season, which begins in late October next year. The carrier plans to initially deploy its 122-seat Embraer E195 E2 aircraft on the route. As EX-YU Aviation News has learned, Royal Jordanian and Air Serbia have been in contact over potential cooperation on the route.
Royal Jordanian Airlines maintained flights to Belgrade until Yugoslavia’s collapse. In its final year of service, it maintained a weekly rotation, competing against JAT Yugoslav Airlines, with a morning departure from Amman and a mid-afternoon service back to its hub from Belgrade. Over the years, it used a range of aircraft on the route, including the Lockheed L1011 Tristar and the Airbus A310, although the last equipment utilised between the two cities prior to the termination of flights was the Boeing 727. Royal Wings, a former subsidiary of Jordan’s national carrier, operated charter flights to Belgrade in 2008. At the same time, Jat Airways maintained summer charters to Aqaba.
Royal Jordanian has launched a number of new European destinations over the past two years in line with its commercial strategy to expand its route network and attract more inbound tourism to Jordan, as well as make Amman a transfer hub for the Levant region. It plans to expand its network to sixty destinations and increase its fleet to close to forty aircraft as part of its ongoing five-year growth plan. Although Serbian passport holders require a visa to enter Jordan, they can be obtained on arrival and do not require additional paperwork. Royal Jordanian will become the second Oneworld member carrier to serve Belgrade, joining Qatar Airways.
Great news
ReplyDeleteThis route has potential for both tourism and transfer traffic via Amman.
ReplyDeleteThis could attract a mix of traffic. Tourists, business travellers and connecting passengers from Asia and Africa.
DeleteCould even attract long haul transfers to places like Bangkok.
DeleteRoyal Jordanian has been expanding nicely across Europe. Belgrade fits perfectly into their network strategy. Smart move.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they’ll schedule flights to connect well with Air Serbia’s regional network. That would make it even more viable.
DeleteIf the cooperation with Air Serbia materialises it could feed traffic from the Balkans to Amman and beyond.
DeleteCan you please tell us more about RJ's network strategy?
DeleteWas waiting for this for years! (In case someone wonders would there be interest) It'll still be difficult to compete with LCC available from BUD as RJ is best known for premium service.
DeleteInteresting to see the E195-E2 being used. That’s a great aircraft for mid-sized routes like this.
ReplyDeleteIt's opposite from great for routes like this. E2 is still a regiojet with regiojet performances. Therefore, it doesn't perform good economically on longer routes..
DeleteOf course. How dare Royal Jordanian not consult the anonymous expert here first.
Delete^ That only applies for foreign airlines. If it's JU than it is a Missed Opportunity™ not using Embraers to fly throughout the Middle East. Of course in general anything related to BEG is bad for some here.
DeleteWell, Royal Jordanian is constantly losing money. They don't need to consult anyone when they know the best.
DeleteNo no, they should have called you.
DeletePlease don't discuss aviation if you know nothing about it.
Delete13.28
DeleteRoyal Jordan had 11 mil USD net profit last year. Yes, they had minuses and losses in recent past, but their growth strategy already brought first results
Anon 12.18 only difference is that RJ uses E2 to fly to Europe which is much more economical than the older generations which are used by JU.
DeleteEven on the photo in this article you can see RJ using the E2 to Zurich.
DeleteRegarding their profitability, they were actually profitable last year and the current management is doing a great job of turning them around. Keep in mind they are surrounded by an active warzone and this year they had to suspend flights several times as Jordan had to close its airspace.
DeleteThat said, thankfully it seems the situation will calm down now.
DeleteI remember Royal Jordanian flying to Belgrade in the 1980s. Nice to see history repeating itself!
ReplyDeleteA 35 year gap is quite something!
DeleteIIRC, they even briefly leased the L1011 to JAT.
DeleteYes they did
DeleteAir Serbia and RJ cooperation could make this route even stronger. Amman offers good links to the Middle East and North Africa.
ReplyDelete+1
Deletegood opportunity for Abu Dhabi passengers after Wizz Air
DeleteHopefully fares will be competitive. This could open up new leisure opportunities for travellers from both countries.
ReplyDeleteI remember that during the 2000s Aqaba was being sold prominently by tour operators in Belgrade. Don't know what happened afterwards since I haven't seen it being sold in a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI remember that too and I think the reason was that the packages to Aqaba were quite expensive. Especially at the time, I don't think there was a big enough market.
Delete^Yes, it's possible
DeleteYes but that was some two decades ago. The Serbian market has developed since then.
DeleteI remember those flights would arrive very early in the morning, around 05.00.
Serbian tour operators are well known for doing absolutely nothing. They are happy with selling Egypt, Greece and Turkey till the end of time because anything else would require them to lift a finger. I can imagine how much they must have complained about Spain becoming a popular destination.
DeleteI agree with this. Our company used to work with a local tour operator which handled our corporate travel needs. Mind you, it was one of the bigger Serbian companies.
DeleteThey were just bad and they put zero effort into doing a good job. Eventually we dropped them and now we handle these matters internally.
@anon 09:46
DeleteCorrect. That's why I use booking apps + Air Serbia promo days fares to book vacation. Spain this year, combo Barca + Costa Brava 9 days cost me half of Agency's price. And for a family in total, that's an additional vacation earned.
Booking is also great replacement.
DeleteJordan could become a niche but appealing destination for Serbian tourists. It’s 'exotic' but close.
Delete@10:14 Nothing beats an Air Serbia holiday
DeleteJordan is one of my favourite countries and Aqaba one of my favourite cities with such a good vibe. Unfortunately, it's almost deserted right now because of situation and wars and conflicts all around Jordan. Let's hope will get back to normal soon. Insallah!
DeleteSad to here. Hope they bounce back.
DeleteThis will be a very nice addition to BEG.
ReplyDeleteIf timed correctly (which I hope they will), BEG-AMM could be an alternative to IST/SAW on flights to MENA. I am sure their flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi could be popular from Belgrade.
Nice nice nice. Amman, Astana, Toronto, even that Grenoble, completely out of usual and expected. This is new phase in BEG development.
ReplyDeleteA lot of new routes/airlines recently
DeleteWizz Air - Madrid, Grenoble
Air Serbia - Toronto (not counting all the new routes this summer)
airBaltic - Riga
Royal Jordanian - Amman
SCAT Airlines - Astana
easyJet - Paris
Impressive
DeleteI just hope BEG management will work on encouraging airlines to add more frequencies on existing routes.
DeleteWith Qatar Airways stagnating in BEG, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi terminating BEG flights, Pegasus blocked from further expanding... getting Royal Jordanian is quite a win for BEG and its customers.
After JU launching flights to TBS, FZ boosting DXB and now this, I can't imagine TK managers for Serbia are too happy.
JU should launch AUH pronto!
DeleteAn exotic airline for this region. Good to see.
ReplyDeleteMissed opportunity for JU.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey planned Amman and put tickets on sale. Then they discontinued sales. Obviously did not give them the expected results.
DeleteE-jets are perfect for the route!
Delete@09:21 they didn't have Embraers back then.
Delete@9.21 This was still in the midst of covid. You should revisited later.
Delete* THEY should revisited later, not you, sorry :D
DeleteI disagree and I am glad that JU is not launching this. We need more foreign carriers and sometimes the risk of being on the "other side". JU can benefit from a codeshare agreement in the future
DeleteJU isn't very successful in the Middle East. They terminated AUH, TLV, BEY and CAI, they struggle in ESB and so on.
DeleteMiddle East to Serbia should be left to experts.
Do any of you get tired of complaining all the time?
DeleteDon't you get tired of defending JU at all time no matter what?
DeleteToday's discussion is on BEG-Middle East and they are merely talking about JU failing to capture this market.
No, today's discussion is about Royal Jordanian Airlines. Air Serbia has launched 50 routes in 4 years. You are constantly complaining about something. If they launch Toronto you complain why they haven't started something else. You forget their fleet size, but fully expect them to fly everywhere.
Delete^ If they started Amman they would complain why more foreign airlines are not flying to BEG. Trust me in a few weeks someone will complain that Belgrade has not done enough to attract new airlines, never mind the number of new routes (and new airlines) being launched from BEG.
DeleteI disagree, today's topic is on an airline that is launching flights to AMM, a destination JU considered, started selling tickets to and then abandoned it. It's more than fair and logical to look at JU's performance in this wider region.
DeleteYou bringing Toronto to this discussion makes no sense. Please stick to the topic.
If they removed it from sale it obviously didn't work for them. But you would have preferred them to fly and make losses on the route for god knows what reason. For you an airline with 20 something planes must fly to every country in the world.
DeleteAnon 09.44
DeleteYour comment makes no sense, starting with the number of planes you used related to JU's fleet.
Let me remind you that JU is flying extremely successfully into TBS which serves a smaller and poorer market than AMM does.
I remember when JU launched CAI, I immediately said that they will be butchered by the MS-A3-TK trio. This applies to the rest of the Middle East.
It's not about the size of their fleet but it has to do with how ready they are to commit to a certain market and to consolidate their position in it.
MENA will become an increasingly important market for airlines. Aegean realized this early on so they made the most of it. They are doing the same with India.
Air Serbia will have to find a way to break into this market. They need it for future growth.
If Royal Jordanian proves successful then it's realistic to expect MS to consider BEG.
For the love of god stop comparing Greek and Serbian market. They have 0 things in common. Greece is a big market, it is one of the most visited countries in world, it is home to a big community from the Middle East and North Africa, Stop constantly comparing something that can't be compared.
DeleteI don't think you understand how aviation works so let me explain a few things to you.
DeleteThe Greek market might be ten times the size of the Serbian one but equally so it has incomparably more competition. Just because you are based in a lucrative market doesn't mean you are going to be successful. Take Olympic Airways as a fine example of how irrelevant market size is when you don't know how to use it.
Then you have others like Icelandair which created something out of nothing. How many have tried to copy their model and failed.
When comparing airlines businesses, you don't merely look at their home market, you look at the quality of their vision and how successful they are at implementing it. After all, how developed was Dubai when EK was starting out back in 1985?
That is why you can compare airlines such as Aegean and Air Serbia. Especially since Aegean had zero government support when they started out.
In the first 9 months of this year there were under 7,000 visitors from India to Serbia. In Greece, in January alone there were over 35,000 visitors from India.
DeleteIf you were in Greece, I wonder if you would complain why Aegean isn't flying to the US and how it is a "missed opportunity for A3" and how "other airlines are taking their cake" (all the favourite catchphrases here).
DeleteYes and they all flew into Athens which is served by Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Turkish Airlines... and soon by IndiGo.
DeleteSo Aegean has to fight against all those for their own share of the market. Especially against EK which has a very strong brand in India.
Anon 10.04
DeleteYour comment is pointless and it is based on a personal attack instead of focusing on writing valid arguments to counter what I wrote.
@Nemjee
DeleteIt is okay to be wrong sometimes, you do not have to defend yourself endlessly.
He's not wrong
Delete@13:54
DeleteIt is you who needs to listen more and argue less when posters much more knowledgeable than you comment.
Will you all STFU! No wonder why the Balkans is so unstable, y’all are crazy.
DeleteThis is an aviation forum, what else are we supposed to do than debate? I think you need to get off of your high horse Anon 03.45
DeleteIt’s called being civil and engaging in civil discourse. And you’re getting nowhere with your debate.
DeleteLockheed L1011 Tristar
ReplyDeleteWonder how that must have been...
Lawish, big and strong.
DeleteWould have loved to make that flying experience:
DeleteSofar I've had: Tu-154 (Avioimpex); Fokker 70/100 (OS); AvroRj100 (LX); Dash 8-Q400 (OS/OU/TC); E-175 (UA), and the Airbus and Boeing families: 220 (LX/BT); 319 (OS/LH); 320 (most carriers, even QR) A321 (mostly LH/OS); as well and Boeing 737-800 (TK, KLM) and Max (TK). I am pretty sure I also flew on the 737-300 on JU
Great catches. Talking off-topic, some of my best personal collection, all by JU back in the day: SA Caravelle, DC-9, B-707 and the best of all, B727. Once it was on the Government's one with the Yugo trobojka flag on the tail :-).
DeleteBravo!
ReplyDeleteThis is great news for BEG!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see them on Belgrade's tarmac. Very nice addition to already added new destinations.
2026 looks like a very promising year!
ReplyDeleteFinally some new Middle East connectivity.,
ReplyDelete+1 we need more connections between exyu and middle east
DeleteGreat to see Royal Jordanian back after all these years. Jordan is really worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteI live there, and i love Jordan two much
DeleteThe E195-E2 is an excellent choice. Perfect for a new route like this.
ReplyDeleteI flew on Royal Jordanian years ago. Great service and very professional. Looking forward to seeing them at BEG.
DeleteGood to see smaller aircraft being used. Starting cautiously is the right approach for such a niche market.
Delete^ it's the way to secure the route lasts longer.
DeleteGood to see another Oneworld option. We need more of them.
ReplyDeleteYes finally. Shame we don't have more. BA, AY and IB would be nice.
DeleteThe route might not be huge in numbers, but it adds valuable diversity to BEG’s network.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAmazing news!
ReplyDeleteSo, it is right time to restart CAI..by Egyptair ...if not by ASL
ReplyDeleteWould be great to see Egypt Air in Belgrade. And would be good for business class passengers too since they have proper business class seats.
Delete...or Ethiopian.
DeleteBEG should do everything they can to attract them and establish JV with JU.
from the Tristar and 727 era to the new E2 generation :)
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me of the ad in newspapers for Ikarus bus factory, back in 1980's: Od aviona nekada, do autobusa danas! Top ad, you must admit it! 🤣
DeleteYeah, it's more like a downsize.
Delete^ yes it's a downsize they are resuming flights after 35 years. The idiots that comment here...
DeleteEncouraging that they plan year round flights.
ReplyDelete