Qatar Airways will reduce frequencies on its Belgrade and Zagreb services for a second consecutive summer, according to provisional schedule updates made over the past week. However, further adjustments remain possible in the coming period.
The carrier will reduce frequencies on its Doha - Belgrade service from seven to five weekly for the entire summer season, with no flights operating on Thursdays and Saturdays. Qatar Airways will continue to deploy its Airbus A320 aircraft on the route. In Zagreb, services will also be cut from seven to five weekly from the start of the summer timetable in late March until June 10, after which daily operations will be restored for the remainder of the season. During the affected period, there will be no departures on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Both routes are being affected by Qatar Airways’ ongoing shortage of narrow-body aircraft. The issue stems from the well-publicised dispute with Airbus, which resulted in the cancellation of the airline’s single-aisle jet deliveries. Although the matter has since been resolved and the order reinstated, aircraft arrivals have been pushed back. Qatar Airways has only recently started taking delivery of new A321neo aircraft, which are set to replace the current A320 fleet. However, the first units were originally produced for AirAsia and feature a high-density all-economy layout, limiting their deployment to select routes.
During the first ten months of the year, Qatar Airways maintained strong performance across its operations in the region. The Doha - Belgrade - Doha service recorded an average cabin load factor of 92%, while flights on the Doha - Zagreb - Doha route averaged 88% over the same period. Qatar Airways has removed around 100 European services from its schedules for April and May next year when compared to its initially filed scedhule. In addition to Belgrade and Zagreb, the adjustments affect a wide range of markets, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Paris, Vienna, Oslo, Istanbul, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Warsaw, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Budapest, Sofia and Ankara.
Pity with those load factors
ReplyDeleteThe load is direct result of flying less.
DeleteThe airline's loads have constantly hovered at around 90% on both routes for a number of years.
DeleteI believe that the decrease during Spring period is related to runway closure in Doha and the effect is global, on vast majority of QR routes. That said, pitty to see BEG being reduced steucturally to 5 weekly. At least ZAG survived. Narrow body and overall aircraft shortage is a killer for QR at the moment.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time they used to have double daily flights to Zagreb.
DeleteQR once had 14 weekly to ZAG :(
ReplyDeleteThey are getting more and more competition in BEG. Royal Jordanian is coming, Flydubai has increased flights, China Southern is on the market....
ReplyDeleteEtihad too, when/if returns to BEG.
DeleteYou’ll not have to wait long for that 👀
DeleteAnd who knows, maybe JU will take a bold step eventually
DeleteTheir former CEO screwed them over by getting into a petty fight with Airbus. They lost their delivery slot for new narrow body Airbus planes and now don’t have enough of them.
ReplyDeleteThe one that replaced him didn't do a great job either. He has now also been replaced.
DeleteWhat’s stopping them to lease used airplanes? Or arrange wet lease?
DeleteIt hurts the brand. They don't do that.
DeleteI just can't see QR leasing capacity from Bulgaria Air or Get Jet.
DeleteMeanwhile, Etihad is leasing GetJet planes (the same ones JU had) this winter.
DeleteTouché
DeleteYeah, Etihad also wet leases those Wamos A330s but they are terrible.
DeleteBrand is hurt far more with cutting frequencies and loosing passengers. They may dry lease planes, paint them and fly them as Air Serbia do. But the problem is on other side apparently
DeletePerfect time to launch flights to Skopje!
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteThats the reason why they still dont launch Skopje flights, they dont have available airctafts...
DeleteNo it's not
DeleteIf they so desperately need more narrow bodies, why did they get rid of B787MAXs? In long term, they would not need them, but why not keep them until things stabilise?
ReplyDeleteCorrection, meant B737s
DeleteThese aircraft were only used on regional routes. They did not have the proper QR business class cabin or proper economy class cabin.
DeleteThey only got them as pressure tactic on Airbus.
DeleteThey failed and now they have long term fleet issues.
QR just this morning appointed a new CEO.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. He wasn't in that position for long.
DeleteTheir long term CEO Akbar Al Baker really screwed them over in his personal dispute with Airbus.
DeleteIts not a personal dispute, Qatar had long term issues with Airbus ever since underperforming a340-600HGW
DeleteDoes any airline plan any new routes or increases to ZAG next year except the earlier route resumptions by OU reported a few says ago?
ReplyDeleteYep:
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/11/air-france-to-grow-croatia-operations.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/10/neos-plans-reykjavik-zagreb-service.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/10/iberia-expands-ljubljana-and-zagreb.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/09/ryanair-to-grow-zagreb-operations-in.html
^
DeleteYou just ruined his morning, why did you do that?
No, actually not, I'm feeling great. Happy that ZAG is getting some love, just haven't been following the news lately.
Delete@anon 10:29 LMAO
DeleteAir Serbia should start this
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAbu Dhabi too before EY gets into it.
If it's going to be served by a narrow body from Air Serbia , I certainly prefer Qatar's product .
DeleteJU could offer onward connections from BEG to the rest of its regional and European network.
DeletePlus it could be flights leaving BEG at 22:00 or 23:00 and arrive back early in the morning to catch the vast majority of early departures.
That would work with both DOH and AUH.
+1000
Delete@Anonymous 10:51
Delete+1
@10.51. Leaving at 22.00 or 23.00 means you miss the entire JU arrival wave.
DeleteNot only do you miss the entire wave it is also highly unlikely you have aircraft available at that time as most are either deployed on European routes and are yet to arrive or have just arrived or are are headed to Russia.
Delete@11:34 no you don't, a round trip to DOH will take 8.5 hours including ground time there.
DeleteIt will be back on time in BEG to catch the big majority of morning departures.
^ Read what I wrote again. Departing at 22.00 means you miss the majority of Air Serbia flights arriving from Europe between 22.00 and 00.00.
DeleteJU should find a new codeshare partner from this region, these guys are useless. The best solution was EY and JU operating together on BEG-AUH route and offering connections on both ends.
DeleteAlso, before and if ever JU resumes any mid haul route, it must define a new product for such routes first, one hot meal, blankets, pillows, wi-fi onboard etc.
FZ will destroy QR in Belgrade. It doesn't help that there are so many flights to IST with JU and TK.
ReplyDeleteBye bye QR.
QR's load factor over 10 months is 91%. That's phenomenal.
DeleteThey should use this downgrade to switch to a wide-body 5 per week in BEG.
DeleteWhat about Sarajevo?
ReplyDeleteQR C prices from BEG are through the roof
ReplyDeleteQatar has one of the best (of not THE best) service in the world. In a couple of years they will have more aircraft but so will ME competitors. To prevent flydubai, Emirates and possibly Etihad from stealing their thunder at Belgrade, Qatar could elevate their A game by being first airline from ME to introduce widebody service to Belgrade. Wouldn't that be just great?
ReplyDeleteYeah, actually that's what they should do, alongside with this reduction.
Delete^That would actually make sense.
DeleteFive a week with the 788 dreamliner?
They would need to pull it from elsewhere, which is a no go in the current QR situation (deficit is not only on narrow body), not just for Belgrade, but for basically most if not all of the region. This region is in many ways screwed at least until some major number of new 321s are delivered to QR. I would write off 2026 and likely 2027 as well in terms of some or any growth.
DeleteAs for FZ or EY or TK are killing QR here....QR flies with 90% load factor and obviously would increase if they can. Meanwhile what seats they allocate in these markets obviously sell more than well.
Qatar is not what it used to be. I wouldn't describe its service as excellent. It has deteriorated massively and it is no longer worth paying a high price to fly via Doha. Turkish has the best value for money, emirates has the best comfort, and Lufthansa group plus KLM/AF offer the best transfer options for North America.
DeleteAs a frequent QR flyer, could not disagree with you more. Especially putting AF/KL in the same league in any way.
Delete17:50
DeleteJU have more than enough wide body capacity to hop in to this lucrative market. It take some courage though
@Anonymous21:51
Delete+1