Air Serbia in talks with Etihad and other partners over Belgrade service

Air Serbia is looking to attract more carriers to launch flights to Belgrade that could feed its network. The airline has confirmed it is in discussions with Etihad Airways to return to the Serbian capital, while there is also interest from Central Asian carriers following the recent introduction of SCAT Airlines’ service from Astana. “These discussions usually take time, as you need to convince them and clearly explain the benefits of flying to Belgrade and of using a secondary, niche hub”, Air Serbia CEO, Jiri Marek, told EX-YU Aviation News.

Royal Jordanian Airlines recently announced it will launch services to Belgrade in April, while Kazakhstan’s SCAT plans to introduce flights from the Serbian capital to Morocco, following the launch of its Astana service. “Discussions with Royal Jordanian took quite a long time, and I’m pleased they ultimately decided to proceed because they recognised the positive demand. The same applies to SCAT. With them, we also want to be a bit creative, as there are certain markets beyond Belgrade that sit at a level where it’s worth trying. Morocco is a good example. If they want to operate the route, we will fully support it, especially since granting fifth-freedom rights is not something that is common”, Mr Marek said.

He noted that Etihad, which flew to Belgrade from 2013 until 2020, is a prime candidate. “Logically, the next one is Etihad, with whom we are already in discussions. They are facing some capacity constraints, but there is clear interest on both sides. With SCAT’s move, you can now see airlines in Central Asia beginning to view Belgrade differently and recognising its potential. For us, any carrier from that region that wants to fly to Belgrade will have our support and full access to our network. These are routes where capacity is already fully utilised on a single daily rotation due to long block times. We have many other markets we would like to open but lack the capacity, so we would prefer someone else to operate them. These markets are predominantly connecting rather than strong point-to-point”, Mr Marek said.

Etihad last served Belgrade in October 2020. In 2019, it carried 114.256 passengers on the Abu Dhabi - Belgrade route, achieving an average annual load factor of 87.2%. The strong performance was partly driven by its partnership with Air Serbia, which fed a significant number of Europe-bound passengers through Belgrade. Although Etihad discontinued the service during the pandemic, the two airlines have since reinstated their comprehensive codeshare agreement. In the post-Covid period, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi launched flights between the UAE and Serbian capitals, but the service was discontinued this summer following the closure of the budget carrier’s Emirati unit. Wizz Air is unable to operate flights between the two countries using its European Air Operator’s Certificate.