Air Serbia plans to further expand its network this summer, beyond the routes it has already announced. The carrier's CEO, Jiri Marek, confirmed this morning that the airline intends to launch two weekly services to the Croatian island of Brač this summer, with ticket sales expected to begin shortly. Brač, which will be a leisure-driven route, will become its seventh destination in Croatia. As a result, the carrier will have up to 38 weekly flights to the country this summer, including thirteen weekly to Zagreb, daily to Dubrovnik, six weekly to Split, five weekly to Pula, three weekly to Zadar and two weekly to Rijeka.
The development comes as airlines attending the European Regions Association Airlines Conference in Belgrade this week warned that the passenger booking window has shortened again, prompting carriers to continue adjusting their plans for the upcoming 2026 summer season, which begins in just over two weeks. Due to the Middle East airspace closures, Air Serbia is continuing to see an impact across its network, with an uptick in bookings on flights to and from China, as well as on services across Europe. However, these increases remain short-term, as Gulf carriers, which account for a significant portion of transfer traffic between Europe, Asia and Australasia, continue to cancel their upcoming flights only within two-week timeframes.
Mr Marek noted, “People who previously travelled to the Middle East for their holidays may now begin looking for destinations such as Spain, Italy, the Adriatic coast or Greece instead. However, it is still far too early to make any firm assessments. Even in this situation, Air Serbia has once again demonstrated its ability to respond very quickly and with agility to crisis situations. What we are seeing for now as the first immediate effect is a rise in fuel prices”. This increase is expected to be passed onto passengers shortly.
Why not Romania?
ReplyDeleteWho says it's not Romania? "In the wider region" seems to imply exactly that - outside of ex-YU but still close.
DeleteCluj it is
DeleteFinally
DeleteOmg, finally, if it is true...
DeleteOr maybe Trieste...
DeleteNew summer routes in the wider region probably means Greece and Italy.
DeleteI don't think they would get many tourists for Romania.
It’s a kind of late for summer leisure destinations
DeleteAnyone notice first two sentences were updated?
Delete"Air Serbia plans to further expand its network this summer, beyond the routes it has already announced. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, the airline will launch a new destination in the region, with ticket sales expected to begin today."
People tend to forget that JU is not a charter leisure airline, its business model is hub&spoke, so they need transfer routes in region as well.
DeleteI could see them going for either Kos or Vlora.
DeleteVlora wont be ready for the summer
DeleteMaybe Brac then?
DeleteBut that would be an ATR destination while less flying in the Middle East means jet aircraft capacity would be available.
Ok the text has been updated :D
Deletewow they now just have to start flights to Osijek and they fly to all Croatian airports!
DeleteThe crazy thing is that Croatia Airlines has 0 routes to Serbia while Air Serbia now has 7 to Croatia.
DeleteThere is a whole lot more demand for travel from Serbia to Croatia for holidays than the other way around. 🤷♂️
Delete^ and you think people in Serbia will only fly with Air Serbia?
DeleteOsojek would have more pax than Brac
Delete@ anon 10:02
DeleteThere is also a significant transfer traffic from Croatia via BEG and vv, beside the leisure one.
@Anonymous10:08
DeleteWho else would fly from BEG to the coast?
I don't see FR or U2 getting ATRs any time soon to launch short flights with 70 pax.
@10:14 exactly, it is transfers via BEG to somewhere else. Not O&D traffic from Croatia to Serbia. What traffic exists is served either by JU or by car.
DeleteAnd even JU is reducing frequencies to ZAG.
^ 38 weekly flights from BEG to Croatia is a lot. They may have reduced ZAG by 3 flights so they can introduce Brac. They also recently successfully turned Split into year round.
Delete^ The Adriatic coast is very popular!
DeleteI wonder could it be Russia
ReplyDeleteUnlikely, as capacity to Russia is limited
DeleteWho would reschedule their summer vacation from the middle East to Russia?
Delete^ Not even Russians.
DeleteActually it is Russia as well. Flights to Nizhny Novgorod are launching on May 19th!
Delete"However, these increases remain short-term, as Gulf carriers, which account for a significant portion of transfer traffic between Europe, Asia and Australasia, continue to cancel their upcoming flights only within two-week timeframes." I think Australasia needs to be Australia.
ReplyDeleteAustralasia is wider region of South-East Asia (Thailand , Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia) and Australia
DeleteAustralasia = Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and a cluster of smaller islands.
DeleteI hope they will increase Ljubljana to 3 times a day all week.
ReplyDeleteProbably even less charters this year to Egypt, possibly to Turkey too.
ReplyDeleteGood to see they acting promptly to market fluctuations. I guess many will turn their vacation interest from ME and Cyprus to Iberia, Malta or Greece this summer.
ReplyDeleteCluj in Romania or Košice in Slovakia are my two guesses. ExYu is not wider region, so it can be Bulgaria (don't think it's Plovdiv), Hungary can't think of any, or maybe some summer Greek destination.
ReplyDeleteHardly anyone would call Italy a wider region
Kosice is so irrelevant airport for JU, very little traffic there. Similar to INI or BNX
DeleteJU please dont forget Portugal with beautiful Madeira and Azores :) (Faro would be also nice addition as summer seasonal flight)
ReplyDelete+1
Delete+2
DeleteVlora or Brač could be seaside unserved destination for S26...
ReplyDeleteI think so too. I also think the sentence about Croatian destinations wad a clue maybe 😀
DeleteProbably Burgas
ReplyDeleteIf this destination is Spain perhaps Ibiza?
ReplyDeleteText says destination is in the region so I don't think that includes Spain.
DeleteOk
DeleteFinally Brac!
ReplyDeleteKeeping my fingers crossed that they will announce Cluj.
ReplyDeleteIt is Brac. They refreshed the article
DeleteEveryone wants to visit beautiful Dalmatia!
ReplyDeleteBrac it is
ReplyDeleteMakes sense to be Brac, short distance and there is availability in the Atr fleet.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteRomania's better destination and it is only connected with OTP... They should do IAS or CLJ.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeletehahahahhaha
DeleteWhy some Bulgaria planes were painted in white? Maybe ju will take them?
ReplyDeleteAir Bulgaria is going fully A220 for its own network and the rest of its fleet (A320 CEOs and E-jets) are going to be used for wet leases.
DeleteAir Serbia are really doing a good job in terms of improving connectivity of the EX-YU region. I could see them launch Maribor flights in the future as well.
ReplyDeleteVlora is of far higher priority!
DeleteFrom what I heard Vlore has some approach constraints and that pilots would have to go to special simulators for Vlore alone which adds cost too much and is limiting their operations
DeleteYou're confusing it with Kukës
DeleteWhich is even more of a white elephant that Vlorë will be. Literally gathering dust in a very sparcely populated region connected by good roads to Pristina and Tirana.
DeleteYeah whatever. I'm just saying Vlora doesn't require any special training
DeleteThe Albanian Riviera is crazy popular and in a couple of years Vlora airport will be bustling with activity.
DeleteUnbelievable that Serbia's biggest neighbouring country with almost 20 mil people is only linked with Bucharest. LOT realised the potential and launched some routes to secondary cities, even to Oradea.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how JU intends to increase its transfer traffic when most of new routes are P2P leisure.
For JU to get a bigger share of transfer traffic in the Balkans it first needs to increase frequencies. The way the situation is currently JU can not do that while LO can.
DeleteIf I was a Romanian passenger, JU would have to offer a very good price for me to go through the hassle of passport control twice when flying between Romania and other EU countries.
Delete^ True dat.
DeleteNonsense, JU can send ATR, while LO can’t. That’s huge advantage, but JU doesn’t use it
Delete@10:30 i always find it really weird one cant travel by Bus to Timisoara with any ease. Not to mention the train having stopped many many years ago. The point to point traffic is handled by car and organised mini vans (which i find really uncomfortable).
Delete@11:29
DeleteHow does the aircraft used for a flight change the fact that a Romanian passenger has to go through the hassle of passport control twice when flying between Romania and other EU countries via BEG? Or did I misunderstood your comment completely?
I think they are confused. I personally cant see what JU would bring to Cluj, I think a degree of point to point traffic is needed for a route to be successful. Same with other cities in Romania. The economic connections between the two countries should be strengthened, and that could start with fixing the blimming train to Timisoara.
Delete@12:10
DeleteYou do realise that people still use BEG as transfer point for intra EU destinations? Just take a look at ATH or SKG, you'll see how many EU citizens are willing to transfer via BEG and continue to EU.
The flights to Romanian cities would be most likely during midnight wave, so what "hassle" of passport control do you have then?
Where would Cluj flights connect to? Just asking what routes you think its gonna be useful for?
DeleteLiterally to everything westwards of Serbia, especially to countries with large Romanian diaspora such as Italy, Spain, France etc.
DeleteI think you over estimate that considering their ability to fly non-stop to many of those places. Certainly you cant believe there is significant p2p demand? Cos there isnt.
DeleteMarek told you there's no demand or what?
DeleteThere is China and North America after all, as well as the rest of Balkans.
DeleteI've always thought Brač to be an unworkable route. However it's great to see them go for it.
ReplyDeleteVery smart! Bravo
ReplyDeleteFunny how that one week after Serbian ministry declares Croatia as unsafe, Air Serbia adds 7th destination to Croatia. Great news nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteLucky that Air Serbia recognises that not only is Croatia very safe, its a very place to take a holiday!
DeleteWell it is Đuric so I wouldn't worry too much about this warning. Or at all.
Delete+1 definatly
DeleteI remember in the Ex-YU there were a lot of internal flights to small towns that have airports today but are hardly/never used anymore - like Bor.
DeleteCroatia is dangerous for Serbs - MFA tells us!?
ReplyDeleteI'm SMFH with this warning as well.
DeleteFrom what date do the flights to Brac depart and on which type of plane?
ReplyDeleteATR of course
DeletePupin 330 of course
DeleteIf flights are operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays, it would be logical that on Wednesdays it would be Atra and on Saturdays it would be E 190.
DeleteLet them start first with ATR76.
Deleteflights to Brac are a hit, since this season Brac is connected 8 times a day with a catamaran to Split, and that in just 20 minutes...
ReplyDeleteI believe that many will use this line and offers...
How are flight a hit if they have only just be announced? You mean it 'will be a hit?'. I doubt they'll ever sell out a single rotation, but i hope it proves popular. Its a damn fine airport to land at!
DeleteLooks like airfares are going up and the demand to leisure European destinations will also be going up. This is not just a case of Turkey, Thailand or Maldives-bound holidaymakers now looking for Greece or Spain tickets, it is about overall demand and cost of 2026 summer vacation going up.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that during the first two months of the year traffic in Europe is way up vs 2025.
DeleteHow likely would be them launching BEG - Maribor flights? Given their strong performance in Ljubljana, it might be a good try.
ReplyDeleteNope.
DeleteIt makes sense that they try. They don't fly to Graz from BEG either, and they seem to favour EX-YU airports. So in that case, Maribor looks more likely than Graz.
DeleteJU, please, please, please start MBX flights. Many people here, including myself are craving for this route.
DeleteYeah that's what I thought too - MXB should be able to have enough traffic for 3x p. w. with an ATR.
DeleteThat would be a fun route, but the airport might not be ripe for it anymore. Let's hope that Maribor airport gets back into it's prime.
DeleteI am sure JU would open it if they offered some subsidizing as OMO does.
DeleteBut JU alone to take a risk and start it - I don't think so.
If i was i Mareks position, i would open a weekly flight to Osijek, too, just for the fun of it (we all know it wouldnt work), so he can say that JU is flying to every airport in croatia. Or Losinj, it it can handle the atr.
ReplyDeleteBusiness doesn’t work that way
DeleteNo s**t sherlock. I know that, all i say it would be funny. And trust me, some 25flights back and forth half a year are relatively low price to pay considering the marketing value of the flight.
DeleteLet's do that and lose more money and transfer to Fokker 50s.
DeleteThey should do Romania! Romania is poorly connected to Serbia, with during its peak, only 2 daily flights, and all to Bucharest using the ATR-72 aircraft. Cluj, Iași and maybe Timișoara are all options. Brac doesn't even have any flights during the winter! They should also focus on Australian, American, English and some German markets. There is no way this flight will work out.
ReplyDeleteBucharest is half-ATR, half-E190.
Delete
Deleteif the flights offer good connections via Belgrade, they will certainly be successful