Air Serbia plans to further densify its network during the upcoming summer season. In addition to launching five new routes as part of the summer 2026 schedule, which begins on March 29, the carrier will also increase frequencies on a further 21 routes from Belgrade. Furthermore, it plans to restore seasonal operations to several destinations earlier than last year. In May, Air Serbia has scheduled 46 additional weekly flights compared to last year, 34 more in June and 30 more in July. During September, the airline will operate an extra 47 weekly flights. Overall, Air Serbia is set to add between 2.700 and 4.200 additional seats per week to the market over the summer months.
Athens and Vienna will see the largest frequency increases, with peak operations to the Greek capital rising from fourteen to eighteen weekly, while Vienna will grow from seventeen to 21 weekly. Brussels will be boosted from three to five weekly, Ohrid will be doubled from two to four weekly, and Milan will increase from nine to eleven weekly. Several destinations will also gain an additional weekly rotation, including Heraklion (four weekly), Ankara (four weekly), Florence (three weekly), Istanbul (fourteen weekly), Lisbon (four weekly), Madrid (six weekly), Malta (four weekly), Nice (three weekly), Oslo (daily), Bucharest (twelve weekly), Prague (ten weekly), Pula (five weekly), Thessaloniki (ten weekly), Tbilisi (four weekly), Stuttgart (five weekly), Varna (four weekly) and Split (six weekly).
The resumption of several seasonal routes has been brought forward this year. Palermo, where Air Serbia will face competition from Wizz Air for the first time, is set to resume on April 15, compared to June 7 last year. Catania returns on March 30 instead of April 14, while Chania and Corfu will restart on June 1 rather than June 9. Mykonos is also scheduled to resume on June 1, ahead of last year’s June 6 start date. Services to Pula will recommence on May 3, compared to May 29 in 2025, while Zadar is due to return on May 13 instead of June 3. In addition, Split was upgraded to year-round operations over the winter, meaning flights will be maintained throughout the entire summer season, unlike last year when the route resumed on May 8. Compared to last year, the airline will not operate one route, to Lyon, which was discontinued in late 2025.
Good to see. This was needed
ReplyDeleteAdmin, could you please make a table with JU flights calendar by destination and period?
DeleteTruly amazing!
ReplyDelete@anon,
Didn't JU have 6 weekly to SPU last summer as well?
Not throughout entire summer
DeleteI believe it will come to a daily at the end
DeleteI don't think they plan the same frequency in May and in August. It can go to 7 pw in the peak months for sure.
DeleteIt can't because SPU is very slot restricted.
DeleteSurely JU may have advantage as a year round user
DeleteEarly morning and evening rotations shouldn't be too much of a problem for JU.
DeleteBig summer coming. 21 routes getting extra frequencies is no joke. Hope they can keep reliability solid.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that September is growing even more than July. Means more routes operating in shoulder months.
ReplyDeleteIt could be about fleet or staff, July and August are already quite intensive, definitelly more room for growth before and after the peak.
DeleteOr simply reducing seasonality, and people travelling more in those shoulder months
DeleteOr that BEG doesn't have adequate gate space to accommodate JU meaningfully increasing operations during 3 of their main waves.
DeleteCompetition is making JU better :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough still sad CDG is not getting much needed upgrade in frequencies. If it is a slot problem, ORY is either way more convenient for O&D pax to Paris
Palermo starting mid-April is ambitious, especially with Wizz entering. Let’s see if JU can hold fares without dumping capacity.
ReplyDeleteProbably it is their reaction on W6 starting Palermo so early.
DeleteThey are operating with E195 so it shouldn't be issue.
DeleteBrussels up to 5 weekly is long overdue.
ReplyDeleteNot sure. W6 failed there already
DeleteJU has been flying to Brussels for decades. I don't see what Wizz Air's flights to Charleroi have to do with it.
DeleteBecause there is no demand for such a big aircraft. JU operates with E190.
DeleteFinaly BRU has decent frequencies. E jets makes the difference. Now, some experts shouldn't worry why JU flies to a NATO and EU hub only 2 pw.
DeleteYou mean so called "experts"?
DeleteBrussels and Madrid were underestimated for some time, it's getting much better.
DeleteNo, self proclaimed experts
DeleteEveryone's an expert here!
DeleteAnd nothing wrong with that!
DeleteWe are having a contest on who's expertige is bigger!
DeleteTypical male angst..
DeleteSomeone claiming that five times a week to Brussels is better than two times is now a self proclaimed expert.
DeleteI would just call it common sense.
Strong schedule update overall.
ReplyDeleteExtra flights in September is the best part of this update. Summer shouldn’t end in August.
DeleteIt is going to be a big summer at BEG.
ReplyDeleteGood to see JU copying the market leader.
ReplyDeleteJU copying itself?
Delete😂
DeleteWonderful pic, which airport is that?
ReplyDeleteCorfu perhaps
DeleteThank you!
DeleteIt is Skiathos Airport
DeletePic from Amaretto Cafe Snack Bar at Skiathos :)
Delete@09:35
DeleteThank you very much!
Really nice and, I think, smart - this spring and summer will be more hectic at the borders. It will not be nice even at the airports but it will be superior experience compared to road traffic... This Vienna addition is cool, I just wonder will 2 daily trains affect the air traffic (similar doubt for Budapest although I believe the air pax here are mainly transfers)?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't worry for VIE, train carries mostly p2p passengers and there is a border to deal with. On top of that Austrian is in a fleet reconfiguration at the moment while JU uses more adequate ATRs.
DeleteI believe JU carry mostly p2p. No codeshare here and Austrian has decent regional network and partners although struggling at the moment. For younger folks train will be best option, specially with no LCC in sight at this route.
DeleteThe train (if it actually goes ahead in 2026) will unlikely be much cheaper than flying. Getting people back onto trains in the region after years of driving/flying habit will not be an overnight process even once connections restart.
DeleteSix and a half hour train journeys do not affect air travel: it will have impact on bus/minivan/car travel.
DeleteBudapest case is, on the other hand, quite different: O&D pax might become next to extinct.
I remember years ago that the train was significantly cheaper to VIE compared to flying. However back then the JU/OS duopoly on the route was horrendous which isn't really the case today.
DeleteThe renewed train link will definitely be competitive compared to flying but I don't see much change happening in terms of a drop in frequencies. It could also stimulate demand as we might see an increase in travel between the 2 cities as they become more accessible.
It will for sure stumulate demand, yes.
DeleteStudents and groups might take the train but people traveling for business will continue flying.
DeleteI think I read Budapest train will go 6-8 times daily which is a lot new options to get your flight from BEG or BUD. So the airports could see some benefits too, especially from the people living in northern Serbia and southern Hungary. The key for success will be border procedure time.
DeleteWell, Budapest airport will benefit from that primarilly, as its offer is bigger.
DeleteBUD has more destination than BEG to China or UK, but less to Ex Yu region, Russia and North America for example.
DeleteOhrid vec ima 4 nedeljno nekoliko godina unazad.
ReplyDeleteNema od pocetka sezone. Sada ima od pocetka sezone.
DeleteLast two years in June and September there were 2-3 flights. Now it's 4.
DeleteAir Serbia is quietly building a serious European network now. A few years ago you wouldn’t see this scale of frequency additions.
ReplyDeleteMore flights to Vienna and Athens = more competition and hopefully lower fares. Passengers win.
ReplyDeleteVIE was expected with OS reducing frequencies. JU has a more competitive mix in their fleet compared to OS.
DeleteATH increase is a pleasant surprise. I think this time it'll have more success as the route now better connects to JU's long haul and regional network. Hopefully this encourages JU to go further and replicate it with OTP.
SOF too.
DeleteWith all due respect, none of these have appeal of Athens, for leisure, business, transfers (both ways)...
DeleteA3 has been on and off with a couple of regional routes which suggests inadequate capacity for the demand (SJJ for example). Quite a few other regional routes from ATH are not daily (on A3). BEG-ATH has decent O&D demand while connections on both ends just adds to the viability of the extra frequencies. Throw in the JU/A3 codeshare... it'll be interesting to see how the extra frequencies work out.
DeletePalermo earlier start is smart, but Wizz competition will pressure prices immediately.
ReplyDeleteLyon being dropped is disappointing. Another route that could have worked with the right schedule.
ReplyDeleteNo need for Lyon as GVA is served by JU and U2.
DeleteLyon had very good schedule, Monday and Friday flights. There is no demand as GVA has 8 weekly flights now which gives much more flexibility.
DeleteYes, we see that there's no demand with Grenoble launch.
DeleteDoubt it. Lyon is second largest EXYU diaspora center in the France and large city. It could still sustain 2pw with an Embraer
DeleteGrenoble is only seasonal (during the winter, so no summer flights) and it is only 1 weekly.
DeleteSo, no real comparison here.
Obviously it could not have sustained as JU tried it first year-round and after it seasonally with the best plane for such a destination...and nothing.
They put too much capacity to GVA to fight with FZ. Very bad move
DeleteTo fight with Flydubai?
DeletePardon me, EZ
DeleteVarna 4 weekly makes sense for summer leisure, but I wonder why Burgas isn’t also in the mix.
ReplyDeletethat airpprt has almost zero network carriers
DeleteVAR has been 4 pw for years and has had no growth in frequencies. I'm surprised it's not daily by now.
DeleteNope. It has not been 4 weekly from start of season like it is this yrar.
DeleteJU started VAR as daily in 2014. In 2015 it dropped to a maximum of 4 pw and has remained maxed at that since despite major growth since then. An extra frequency a week, 2, 3 earlier is nice but more could and should be done.
DeleteReally? https://www.airserbia.com/page~4342
DeleteBut we must be fair and admit Bulgarian seaside was more popular here earlier. With 0 flights to Spain you could have more frequencies to Varna :)
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2014/03/summer-2014-air-serbia.html?m=1
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2015/02/summer-2015-air-serbia.html?m=1
JU seems to have initially planned 7 pw, announced 3 pw and operated 4 pw. Still doesn't negate the fact that VAR hasn't really had growth despite being in the network so long.
Bring forward Toronto launch and also extend the season to October.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThis is what people have been asking for. Good to see they listened.
ReplyDeleteSJJ still remains seven weekly, SOF reduced to seven weekly as well, what is happening there?
ReplyDeleteJU is increasing frequencies and adding new destinations.
DeleteSJJ rejected JU for night flights.
Delete@10:17
DeleteWhy?
SOF never really managed to gain traction as much as OTP or SKG did
DeleteSOF is too close for a road trip from most parts of Serbia, highway all the way so that mathematics can not be beaten.
DeleteIt is as far from BEG as BUD or ZAG.
DeleteAnd from some parts of Vojvodina BUD is also too close. However we still have 12 weekly flights there.
Night flights to SJJ isn't really necessary. Decent O&D, short flight time and a more than decent network shouldn't be a problem for JU to make a split morning/evening schedule to boost SJJ.
DeleteSOF frequencies are ok. Not sure where you saw 7 pw, it's actually 10 pw with 1am departures on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
lol since when are night flight necessary? every DECENT airport has early morning departures to hubs
DeleteSJJ is closed during the night and they are not going to reopen it for JU. They tried 24 hour ops and the costs were too big.
Delete@13:24 a 6am departure from Sarajevo doesnt offer much onward connectivity in Belgrade. That is why night operations were sort
DeleteModest growth, but still growth
ReplyDeleteDon't you call it stagnation? 🤣
DeleteMadrid going to 6 pw, very good news, now we´ll have much more options; also, it will help YU to beat Wizz on this route (although I do not wish to have Wizz drop this route at all, more flights/seats is always welcome for any destination)
ReplyDeleteYU doesn't fly to BEG.
DeleteAs for JU, MAD should be a route they operate daily.
And you know they should fly there daily based on what exactly? You have insight into their passengers numbers, load factor, yields, cargo? They send that to you on request?
DeleteI think the poster at 10:21 meant JU and you know that..
Delete@12:23 Based on the demand which now sees two carriers offering destination which used to be 2-3pw for years...
Delete@12:23
DeleteJU initially planned MAD at 7 pw last summer. They pulled back to 5 pw. In the meantime Wizz jumps in with 3 pw flights. This definitely indicates a lack of demand, poor yields and loads?
It just points that you have none of that information in order to demand something.
DeleteSo Wizz is flying empty to Madrid and back is what you're saying?
DeleteI'm saying you have 0 data :)
DeleteAnd I'm saying you have 0 data.
DeleteI never demanded for them to increase anything. You, on the other hand are another analyst expert with 0 data.
DeleteThe fact that Wizz was able to jump in with 3 weekly flights while being O&D oriented shows the route was underserved by JU. Wizz certainly isn't running empty flights for the fun of it.
DeleteFYI data shows MAD had a yoy increase of over 40% in passengers served being the largest growth on the Spanish market. This doesn't suggest a lack of demand for MAD.
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2026/01/ex-yu-markets-handle-over-million.html?showComment=1769191919991&m=1
What works for Wizz does not necessarily work for JU. These two airlines have very different cost strictures and have to take different things into account to make a profit.
DeleteThats correct. However, we're not talking about Memmingem or Dortmund but rather a major European capital, a major European hub, in a country where there has been quite a large increase in demand and an airport where JU has a partner. And it's the major European hubs where JU has always had the advantage in staying competitive as it has the fleet and network to do so (think LIS).
DeleteI really don't understand what you want them to do. They will fly 6 weekly in summer. Why is that an issue? Demand grows over time. Interest in Spain is not the same today as it was two or three years ago. Wizz could have launched Madrid 10 years ago but they didn't. It seems JU has the right idea on how to develop the market and they are doing it well with Madrid. If you think them flying 20 weekly will impact Wizz Air's results or their decision to fly, not really.
DeleteIf they also start Toronto earlier, or make it up non-sasonal.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, i think now 10million is possible, if they also increase charters.
I really think.
Imagine if we dont have visa to UK, Ireland, Australia, USA and Canada and no this border control process (new) i think we would really have 500-1 million more passengers.
Dont forget that when comparing to ZAG.
If no via to Ireland, UK, we would see new direct flichts Manchester for sure, Dublin, London going much more, maybe even Glasgow, etc, Toronto going non-seasonal, incrase to NYC, etc etc.
Yes, but what if in that case we did have visas for China? We can't think about possible scenarios that simple...
DeleteImagine when Serbia joins the EU.
DeleteLets see what gonna happen till times comes..After all the did, I don't have too much trust in their plans nor words
ReplyDelete"After all the did" = 45 new routes in 3 years.
DeleteWhat they did in regards of cancelations of previously announced frequency increases..Just look at this winter
DeleteWinter operations up 6% year on year.
DeleteYea, but they announce much more, put on sale, people buy tickets, and then they cancel flights and transfer people on other days...So I don't trust anything until 1 month before, if flight is gonna be performed or not
DeleteOk good for you.
DeleteShame they not upgreated LJU service to 21 weekley.
ReplyDeleteLooks like things are heating up in BEG.
ReplyDeleteAll this announces a very attractive network for this summer.
Let's see if there is any reaction from W6, may be a price war to attract passengers as the market especially in Serbia is not infinite.
Let's see if there is any reaction from W6??? Where have you been two weeks ago when Wizz scheduled the launch of services to Palermo and Alghero, destinations currently served by Air Serbia. And the market is not infinite in Serbia just like it's not infinite anywhere.
Delete