TRIP REPORT: Air Serbia, Larnaca - Ljubljana via Belgrade

TRIP REPORT

Written by Nik Olaj

In September, I had the opportunity to test how Air Serbia performs on intra-European flights when I travelled from Larnaca to Ljubljana via Belgrade. Since my flight was scheduled to depart for Belgrade at 4:00 AM, I didn't reserve a hotel for the night. Larnaca Airport has excellent public transport connections to the city center. I took a bus to the airport around midnight, which cost me only €4. Upon arriving at the airport, it was quiet as expected, although the security check was open due to some night departures. I made myself comfortable in some chairs with power outlets and waited until about 1:40 AM. When I proceeded to the check-in counters, I was surprised to see that it was quite busy, and I had to wait for my turn for about 20 minutes.

While I was waiting, I noticed an African couple checking in with two cabin bags and one checked bag. The check-in staff informed them that they would need to pay extra for the large bag. The man refused to pay, leading them to call a supervisor, who was extremely rude. From what I gathered, the couple had booked through Air France and arrived in Larnaca on an Air France flight, but their return flight was with Air Serbia via Belgrade. The issue was that airlines have differing baggage rules. I don't know how the situation ended, but I am pretty sure he had to pay in the end, because later I saw him on board.

When it was finally my turn to check in, the staff member informed me that I could check my bag for free since the flight was busy. She also assigned me my preferred seat on both flights, which made for a very positive experience. After checking in, I headed to security, which I cleared in under three minutes, giving me plenty of time to check out the duty-free shop at Larnaca Airport. It was standard and nothing remarkable.

Boarding began on time, but I waited until most passengers had boarded. Once on the aircraft, I immediately noticed that the cabin crew was very pleasant. I settled into my seat and watched the safety demonstration. Our flight was operated by a twenty-year-old Airbus A319, registered YU-APD. We left Larnaca 10 minutes behind schedule.

About 15 minutes after take-off, the crew began in-flight service, which consisted of a cold sandwich and a bottle of water. The sandwich looked unappealing but turned out to be fairly good, despite being four days old when we received it. From what I saw, the tray table probably hasn’t been cleaned for months.

After 22 minutes of flying, we reached our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet. The crew also offered a buy-on-board service, but no passengers purchased anything, likely due to the early hour. I looked at the selection of drinks and snacks, which was decent with reasonable prices.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. I found the seats extremely uncomfortable, there was almost zero padding, no adjustable headrest, but at least there were individual reading lights and air vents. The load factor was 98% (only three seats were unoccupied). The passengers were mainly Serbs returning from vacation, and there were many transfer passengers as well. We landed 15 minutes ahead of schedule, giving me enough time to make my connection to Ljubljana.

Since my next flight was boarding in less than an hour, I quickly made my way through security control. It had been a long time since my last visit to Belgrade Airport, and I was impressed by its development. The duty-free area looked stunning and offered a good selection of products. I then headed to my gate, located at the far end of the terminal, as our flight was being operated by an ATR-72 aircraft (YU-ALZ). It was quite a walk to the gate, and when I arrived, the flight was already boarding via a bus gate. Interestingly, the ATRs are parked at the other part of the airport, so we had a short bus ride to reach them.

Boarding the ATR took only three minutes, and we departed on time. It took us 20 minutes to climb to our cruising altitude of 18,000 feet. In-flight service began shortly after, and we were provided with a pack of Plazma cookies and a bottle of water.

Our flight lasted one hour and twelve minutes, and we landed about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The load factor for this flight was just around 65%, which, in my opinion, is rather bad, considering that ATR's capacity is only 72 passengers. Interestingly, I found the seats on the ATR to be a lot more comfortable than on the A319. You can see the difference in the photos below, where the ATRs have a lot more legroom. I also found the seat padding to be better than on the A319.

In conclusion, my experience with Air Serbia was good, though Turkish Airlines, which I flew with on the outbound leg, was noticeably better. On Turkish Airlines, you get a full meal and in-flight entertainment included. I paid for that flight with 17,000 Miles&Smiles points plus €50 in taxes - a great deal, considering the cash price would have been around €230. In comparison, Air Serbia’s one-way ticket cost me €140, which isn’t too bad value. It was also nice to hear cabin crew speak a familiar language for the first time since Adria Airways went bankrupt in 2019!

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