NEWS FLASH
Royal Jordanian Airlines will further boost capacity on its upcoming Amman - Belgrade service, set to launch next April. Following an earlier decision to upgauge select September flights from the 122-seat Embraer E195-E2 to the 189-seat Airbus A321neo, which is expected to join the fleet in the coming months, the airline has now scheduled A320neo operations on select dates in April and May. The 150-seat aircraft is configured with twelve business class seats and 138 in economy.
As recently reported, in preparation for the route launch, Royal Jordanian has signed an agreement with leading Serbian tour operators to offer holiday packages to Aqaba, utilising the new Belgrade - Amman flights. On December 10, the airline, together with its General Sales Agent for Serbia, Galileo Adriatic, will host an event in Belgrade for travel industry stakeholders to celebrate the upcoming service and unveil further details about its plans for the Serbian market.
Sales must be doing well. Good to see.
ReplyDeleteIt's good they have this flexibility. Would be impossible if they had single model fleet...
ReplyDeleteLike some.
DeleteRoyal jordanian seems to be improving by a lot
ReplyDeleteI guess thats why Middle East is on radar for JU, they might be afraid that someone will still the rest of the market.
ReplyDeleteI mean it's already happening
DeleteThey are cooperating with RJ and it certainly won't "take over the market" with 2 weekly flights.
DeleteIt's gonna be 4 weekly soon, according to an earlier article
DeleteNo, the article said that the airline is CONSIDRING 4 weekly from NOVEMBER. That is not "4 weekly soon"
DeleteAnon 14.45
DeleteAh yes, because JU code-shares are so successful. Also, since RJ is the only one operating flights from Jordan to Serbia, the market is already theirs.
JU will be sidelined.
Missed opportunity for JU.
ReplyDeleteI would argue this earlier but since they cooperate with Serbian tour agencies - I agree. And furthermore, that is route which can't be easily copied by almost anyone. Those routes should be JU's cup of tea.
DeleteGoes to show how a proactive commercial approach bears fruits for the company. It is crazy to think that RJ was more proactive in Serbia than JU is in its own country. And no, I am not Nemjee...
ReplyDeleteBut why taking any risk. We are safe with TGD, LCA, VIE, ZRH…
Delete^ likely because the likes of you would have a meltdown if they lost money on risk routes.
DeleteJU put Amman on sale in 2022 and the sales were poor. Give it a break. JU can't fly everywhere just because you want it to. It is normal to have more companies and different airlines and not a 100% monopoly on all routes.
Delete^ it is probably the same person that screams that JU is not letting in competition.
DeleteSo you are saying it is more logical for JU to do well in TBS than in AMM? Are you sure?
Delete2024
AMM: 8.798.595
TBS: 4.750.830
Amman is a large market with lots of O&D demand, both ethnic travel and tourism. This is a market that was on JU's radar for a long time. They should have flown there, Royal Jordanian is showing you why they were wrong.
@16:49
DeleteDon't pretend smart, just try to see the facts: In 2022 there were still Covid restrictions around the world and JU didn't have that large long and short haul network, nor need for transfer routes. Also, Jordan market surely developed in the meantime for a better. At the end, if RJ is starting the route, there's surely a demand. So yes, another missed opportunity for JU
You have to deal with the fact that JU can't fly everywhere with its 20 something planes. It flies to close to 100 destinations. You should be happy that you have more choice and options. Not endlessly complaining about an airline that already gives you the opportunity to fly to 100 cities. Repeating like a parrot the same thing under every RJ topic is not normal. On the other hand you neither have facts, figures or anything of the sort to make conclusions on who missed what.
Delete+100
DeleteAnon 02.03
DeleteI am sorry but I think you are guilty of what you are accusing others of. You also seem to be repeating the same thing anytime there is any criticism of JU.
As a frequent flyer myself, those 100 destinations mean little since most of them have a very low number of frequencies. How many JU destinations actually have more than daily departures on a year-round basis? I would rather have JU fly to 50 destinations but for them to be properly served with a decent amount of weekly flights. So JU is offering us limited choice and options when traveling. There is a reason why their competition is doing so well in BEG. Not everyone can adjust their schedule to fit their 2 or 3 weekly flights to various destinations around Europe... especially in winter.
Looking at overall passenger numbers (both JU and BEG), we can see that Air Serbia spent 2025 more or less stagnating. This should be ok if they used this period for consolidation. If they did then in 2026 we should see them return to growth. Their summer timetable is not out yet so we will have to wait for a bit longer to see what they present and if they will work on densifying their network (Marek's plans mentioned here).
I also disagree with you. Most people who criticise JU present more than valid arguments.
For example, many here are saying this is a missed opportunity for JU because RJ is actually working with SERBIAN tour operators. So sales are actually happening on JU's home market. How come JU ignored this market and why did they hand it over to their competition?
This is not the same as when Sky Express stepped in on RHO-BEG because JU didn't have additional capacity. RJ is a serious carrier which runs a growing hub in AMM. They could pose a long-term threat to JU and their plans to return to the MENA region (if they even have serious plans to do it).
Talking of the MENA region, how did JU respond to Wizz Air terminating AUH-BEG? Have they done anything to remain competitive or to capture a chunk of this market? Let's take one of the slowest periods of the year, the second half of January and compare their pricing:
PC: €343
TK: €369
FZ: €454
JU: €650
QR: €917 (cheaper on other dates)
So tell me, why would someone pay €650 to fly with JU when there are three cheaper alternatives on the market?
Isn't it a missed opportunity that RJ hasn't flown to Belgrade for 35 years? And how many frequencies does RJ have to Belgrade? 2? Imagine the meltdown you would have if JU announced 2 weekly flights, since it seems to be a big issue for you.
DeleteJeez, it's only 09:10 and Nemjee is on fire.
DeleteAnon 08.56
DeleteWho said it wasn't a missed opportunity for RJ? Also, in those 35 years the Serbian market has gone through several ups and downs. It took a while for it to recover so that foreign airlines such as RJ can sustain flights.
It shows that the market has obviously matured enough, especially compared to the early 2000s when they operated charter flights from Aqaba.
If you were a frequent flyer then you would know that a 2 or 3 weekly rotation means little. Those who are not flexible are also ready to pay more to fly on specific days/dates. That is why airlines try their best to attract corporate clients. Unfortunately given the state of JU's corporate program, they don't seem to be interested in attracting this group of travellers.
I recommend you read this portal more carefully because it was reported that they plan on boosting AMM-BEG from 2 to 4 weekly, including a considerably increase in available seats by deploying their A321s. I doubt this portal would report unverified information.
They are launching 2 weekly flights because they are primarily chasing Serbian holidaymakers who are very flexible. However, they are using them as a sound base to expand their flights thus becoming more competitive for transfers.
So yes, this is indeed a missed opportunity for JU but it is in line with their failure to develop a concise and sound MENA strategy. I wrote about this when they launched CAI and was proved right when they eventually terminated those flights. If we look at the wider MENA region, we notice the following:
1. failure to position themselves in Ankara, were beaten by Ajet.
2. failure to sustain year-round flights to Izmir, partially beaten by Ajet.
3. haven't returned to BEY despite this market being served by many European carriers, Tarom included.
4. TLV - still haven't resumed flights despite there being growing demand from BEG.
5. CAI - failed due to strong Star Alliance competition and a MS-A3-TK firewall.
6. UAE - haven't resumed flights to either DXB or AUH despite there being growing passenger demand from BEG.
Prime example for some airline that is thinking out of the box.
ReplyDeleteKudos to that employee at RJ that came up with the idea.