Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, has ruled out the carrier joining one of the global airline alliances in the short term, stating that the current alliance framework would require significant restructuring to ensure a more balanced and mutually beneficial partnership. Speaking at the recent ERA conference in Belgrade, Mr Marek noted, “As things stand today, the alliance environment would require significant restructuring, particularly in terms of how smaller carriers are treated and valued. As long as an airline is contributing more than it is receiving in return, there is little justification for joining”. Air Serbia has previously noted that due to its size, membership within an alliance would hinder its independence.
Mr Marek believes that Air Serbia would bring benefits to some of the global alliances. “In our case, we bring clear strategic value, with strong leverage and access to the Balkan region. This summer, we will serve seventeen destinations across the former Yugoslavia, which is a meaningful contribution to any network”, the CEO said. He added, “However, many alliances operate with a tiered structure - an inner circle, often linked to joint ventures, and outer layers of smaller airlines that primarily feed traffic without receiving proportional benefits. For Air Serbia, participation would only make sense if the relationship is balanced and delivers tangible value to all parties involved”.
The three global airline alliance - Star, SkyTeam, oneworld - have mixed presence in Belgrade. Star Alliance is by far the largest. During the 2026 summer season, the six Star Alliance members serving Belgrade Airport account for just over one million seats. This represents a 14.4% share of total capacity this summer. It is followed by two SkyTeam members - KLM and TAROM - with just over 125.000 seats or a 1.7% share. Finally, onewrold is the least represented of the three alliances at Belgrade Airport. Its only member serving the city, Qatar Airways, has temporarily suspended operations to the Serbian capital due to the conflict in the Middle East but is due to return from June 16. It will be joined by a another oneworld member, Royal Jordanian Airlines, in late September.
I would think JU is already big enough that it would not be a used as a feeder.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia is too small to have leverage in alliances. They would likely end up in that “outer circle” Marek is talking about.
DeleteI would not want to join an alliance either if I look at the region
DeleteCroatia Airlines (Star) - near bankrupt Lufthansa feeder
Adria (Star) - bankrupt Lufthansa feeder
TAROM (Skyteam) - near bankrupt
Malev (oneworld) - bankrupt
The fact these companies went or are near bankruptcy is not necessarily due to their alliance membership
DeleteAlliances are pointless in times of highly consolidated industry, they have served their function of bankrupting smaller airlines and consolidating them or their markets. If there wasn't Asian government owned airlines that are still big in home turf, they wouldn't exist by now. In highly consolidated markets, alliances have more negative effects then positives on smaller airlines. Look at Croatia Airlines, perfect example of predatory alliance destruction.
DeleteAnother example is LOT and their relationship with other Star Alliance members.
DeleteTodays economy is designed to advantage and privilege the big and powerwful, airline alliances are no exception to this. JU's goal therefore should be: To strengthen the hub ib BEG, to improve the product, to add long haul flights and destinations, cause airports such as BEG are becoming increasingly important. More and more passengers are tired to connect via large or even mega hubs and look for midsized hubs such as ZRH CPH VIE FCO or smaller hubs such as BEG.
DeleteWith a decent product demand will rise and a good demand will enable further profits.
That's why Oneworld would be the best. None of the big members are close by.
ReplyDeleteWhat would exactly be the benefit of joining OneWorld if no presence or low presence in Europe?
DeleteWhat do you mean "no presence in Europe"? British Airways and Iberia are some of the biggest European carriers. Air Serbia would help them fill a crucial gap in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. However, JU obviously feels like they would bring more benefits to their larger counterparts than vice versa.
DeleteMadrid and London are really at the edges of the continent.
DeleteJU would fill a large gap for the alliance but connectivity between the hubs leaves alot to be desired. MAD isn't served daily so connections are limited. JU has issues with LHR where they were rejected additional slots, and then there are restrictions for Serbian nationals transiting the UK which further complicates further cooperation. HEL isn't served by any airline.
DeleteJU's largest partners in the alliance are QR and AA. Even before the war, QR reduced capacity to BEG despite their codeshare with JU. AA has a decent interline agreement with JU but it's B6 where JU has the bigger cooperation.
Connectivity with the hubs would obviously be vastly improved if they were to actually join. I'm sure MAD would immediately go to double daily, either operated by JU or on a mix of JU & IB.
DeleteBTW there are no restrictions for Serbian nationals transiting the UK as long as they have a valid US/CAN/AUS/NZ Visa, which 95% of travellers transiting at LHR do.
Lol yeah they are all losing sleep over not having JU in their alliances.
ReplyDeleteI don't see where that was said.
DeletePoint is that alliances are not rushing to get JU so no point in pretending like JU has choice
Deleteanonymous 09:02
DeleteThat was my thoughts exactly!
He makes it sound like the global alliances are eager to have Air Serbia joining them. 😆
^ and you know who is rushing and who not.
Delete^ Yes, the three alliances are rushing to convince JU to join them! 🙄
DeleteThey gave you a call so you know. At the zama academy?
DeleteNot even Zama academy would say that the three alliances are rushing to convince JU to join them!
DeleteYou are the only who mentioned rushing. Just you in your head.
DeleteLikewise, JU isn’t rushing either to become a feeder like some unfortunate cases in the region.
DeleteNo but they are most likely going to cut their network even more soon so they won't be appealing to alliances.
Delete^ yes they are only adding 9 new routes this year. What shame. 103 destinations in total. Cry.
Delete17:26
DeleteYou are keep repeating same song for years now and JU is keep expanding for the same time. You do your job, JU will do their job. All happy, only you sad.
Air Serbia is right to stay independent.
ReplyDeleteNot joining an alliance might make sense strategically but passengers lose out on benefits like easier connections and loyalty perk.
Delete^ Passengers don’t care about alliance politics, they care about price and convenience. If Air Serbia delivers that alliances are irrelevant.
DeleteIndependence is great until you hit limits in network growth. And JU has reached that point.
DeleteJU is far from reaching that point.
Delete3% pax growth in 2025 is kinda proof that they are reaching their limits.
DeleteJU is too late to the alliance party.
DeleteThanks god JU hasn't joined any alliance, would be bankrupt by now.
Delete@09:35 we will see this year expert, lol... and @09:35 it is never late. @09:12 sky is the limit.. But when YU grow and be much larger airline, alliance will be logical step
DeleteKeep your alliance “expertise” to yourself. JU doesn’t need big muti to think on its behalf.
DeleteThe perks that some of these alliances offer for free really steal customers from JU. Once JU has their own credit card and FF program they could potentially win over a lot more clients - IF they roll it out right.
DeleteOU is the perfect example what happens to small airlines in the wrong alliance.
ReplyDeleteThey are probably the biggest anti commercial to join an alliance.
DeleteThe issue of OU has been a perpetual incompetence of its management (inlcuding the one who initially agreed to the conditions under which OU would participate in the Star Alliance).
DeleteFurthermore, a small carrier cannot have the same say in an alliance as the giants which dominate it, sorry.
I think Ryanair should send thank you letter to Star Alliance for basically giving away ZAG market to them and destroying OU.
DeleteStar Alliance didn't destroy OU. OU destroyed OU.
DeleteThis sounds like a missed opportunity. Being part of an alliance would boost visibility and connectivity, especially long haul.
ReplyDeleteAlliance membership could help JU with the US in particular.
Delete..."would boost visibility..."
DeleteI hear words like these almost daily in teams meetings and see them on powerpoint slides. Nobody could explain sofar what this even means, let alone put some metrics behind it
One World would be the only option to them.
DeleteSkyTeam would be just as convenient. And they have a much more established relationship with AF/KL than with BA or IB.
DeleteBiggest problem.with and Allince, you hand over your frequent flyers. This s OUs biggest problem, they have no control over those who fly with and spend the most money with them.
DeleteAirserbia will for sure be a SKYTEAM member.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Genuinely interested
DeleteWhen SAS joined the SkyTeam alliance and entered a transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM, they significantly expanded connectivity between Scandinavia and North America. I doubt Star alliance will let AirSerbia in when they rejected SAS to join it.
DeleteStar is fully covered in the region, JU offers no benefit to them that LHG, ITA, TK and A3 don't give them already. 🤷♂️
DeleteStar should be the last alliance any airline joins in Europe nowadays.
DeleteWhich European legacy airlines are not already members of a global alliance? Bulgaria Air? Air Montenegro?
DeleteAir Baltic isn't either.
DeleteAir Baltic is party owned by LH.
DeleteIt is becoming a new Air Dolomiti for them.
Million seats in summer by Start Alliance is not negligable actuality.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteA smart move. Alliances are becoming less important as airlines focus more on joint ventures and partnerships.
ReplyDeleteThe comment about “contributing more than receiving” is spot on. Many regional airlines have had that exact experience.
ReplyDeleteAlliances aren’t perfect but they still offer credibility and global reach.
ReplyDeleteMy vote goes to one world
ReplyDeleteThe Balkan “leverage” argument is a bit overstated. The region is fragmented and relatively small in global aviation terms.
ReplyDeleteYou cant expect JU to offer connections to Japan.
DeleteRegion is as it is and Ju is swimming quite well here.
JU is strong in ex-YU, not the Balkans.
Delete^ i would say that JU is strong in the Balkans. As much as any airline from the region can be practicably
DeleteStar Alliance is dominant not only in BEG but in the entire region.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising. It's just LH Group and Turkish.
DeleteAnd LOT, which is also surprisingly active in the region
DeletePlus Aegean.
DeletePlus Croatia Airlines
DeleteAegen's presence in ex-Yu area is minuscule. Croatia Airlines I won't even comment.
Delete09.49
DeleteYou forgot crying smiley at the end of your post 🙂
Being outside an alliance gives them flexibility especially in times of crisis like now with Middle East disruptions.
ReplyDeleteWhat?
DeleteThis is a safe answer from management. No commitments, no risks, just keeping doors open.
ReplyDeleteIf they ever seriously expand in North America or Asia, alliance membership will come back on the table quickly.
ReplyDeleteGlobal airline alliances require significant restructuring in order for JU to join them? 😂
ReplyDeleteYes. It's not for them. Laugh all you want.
DeleteRegional airlines have done really well with alliances
DeleteCroatia Airlines (Star) - near bankrupt Lufthansa feeder
Adria (Star) - bankrupt Lufthansa feeder
TAROM (Skyteam) - near bankrupt)
Malev (oneworld) - bankrupt
Expecting global alliances to restructure in order to accommodate ASL is truly wild. Balkan delulu at its finest!
DeleteHahaha Balkan Delulu...you should copyright that.
DeleteHe didn't say that as AirSerbia putting some conditions to the alliances, but rather explaining why AirSerbia should not and is not joining. You have a problem with basic understanding of the written text and you "read" meaning that you find convenient to trash AirSerbia which is pathetic.
DeleteThe airline may be avoiding alliance costs as much as anything else. Membership isn’t cheap.
ReplyDeleteHow much does it cost.
DeleteI didn't know you had to pay. That's interesting
DeleteOf course you have to pay, and it's a hefty fee at that.
DeleteGood decision (for now)
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, alliances matter less to passengers than schedule reliability and competitive fares. And that’s where Air Serbia should focus
ReplyDeleteTo high paying frequent flyers alliance benefits are valued very much and play a vital role when deciding to book a ticket.
DeleteThat is the type of pax that keep airlines running, not those who look for the cheapest ticket.
^ the issue is that in a market like Serbia there are very few of those. People tend to forget the passenger structure in Serbia. High flying business travellers form a very small share of traffic.
DeleteExactly. JU operates in a region dominated by point to point LCC airlines. Keeping their market through well priced, well organided connections is vital for the future. JU in 10years time is by no means guaranteed to be able to keep up this model to the same degree so cautious behivour is good buisness from them i feel.
Delete^ 10:05 more and more companies in Europe are more than happy to send staff on Ryanair or Wizzair if its cheapest or more cost efficient. Bottom line is what counts and sending business-people on expensive flights is not as easy a sell as it used to be.
DeleteNo alliance would allow Air Serbia to join transatlantic JV. Without it, there is no real benefit from joining.
ReplyDeleteThat's what CEO hinted at: many alliances operate with a tiered structure - an inner circle, often linked to joint ventures.
DeleteAir Serbia joining Oneworld would make sense if they get access to inner circle and become part of the Joint Venture. That would open up possibilities between American Airlines and Air Serbia.
And wbu benefits for us, passengers?
ReplyDeleteFor the average passenger knowledge of alliances are totally missing. The only thing almost all passengers care about is price/timings.
Delete^ For the region's leisure passengers.
DeleteWhich is the vast majority of all the passengers in a region whose whole population is very small to begin with.
DeleteAir Serbia chooses control and profit over alliance security. The 'organic growth' strategy overcomes alliance pressures. Independence is their true business plan. To improve sustainability, they should focus on building virtual interlining technology and exclusive corporate deals in the Balkans, bypassing the need for tiered alliance structures entirely..Just my 2 cents
ReplyDelete