Air Serbia plans to expand its long-haul network further, although no additional intercontinental routes are expected to be launched in 2026. Speaking at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Toronto at an event marking the carrier’s entry into the Canadian market, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “As far as long-haul destinations are concerned, with the current high fuel prices caused by the geopolitical situation, I think this is about it for this year. We will see what happens in the future once the situation stabilises. We definitely have a long-term plan over the next five to ten years to continue expanding our long-haul network, but for this year, Toronto was the chosen destination”.
He said that with the reintroduction of flights to Toronto after 34 years, the airline noticed that some passengers did not believe the service would actually launch and therefore waited before purchasing tickets. “As soon as we arrived in Toronto, already by Monday and Tuesday we saw a very strong surge in bookings. That is why I would like to tell passengers that regardless of whatever crisis they may see, airlines are prepared and resilient. So do not wait until the last moment to buy your tickets - purchase them in advance and we will make sure you reach your destination”, Mr Marek said.
Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupić, said the carrier has not abandoned plans to launch flights to Miami and that the airline’s future expansion in the United States will be focused on the city. “Indicators for this year were more in favour of launching the new Toronto service, particularly because of the World Cup and the strong demand from our diaspora. This is nevertheless our first destination in Canada. In the United States we already operate flights to New York and Chicago, where we have large communities, so we have certainly not given up on Miami and any further expansion in the US market will be in that direction”, Mr Rupić said.
Commenting on the new Toronto service, the General Manager noted, “In a way, the launch of our Toronto service coincides with the start of the FIFA World Cup, so we are already seeing strong demand. Flights are filling up quite well, meaning that this year we have a combination of increased demand related to the tournament, alongside the diaspora demand that has existed for many years. Members of the diaspora had approached us on numerous occasions with questions and requests about when the first flight would finally happen. We recognised this year as the right opportunity to launch operations on the route because it brought together all of these factors”. The CEO added, “Every new destination is always an exciting development, especially a new long-haul destination, and even more so when it is being restored after 34 years. It was also highly symbolic because we resumed the service on the exact same day it was discontinued 34 years ago. Nonstop flights improve connectivity between cultures, countries and businesses. There is always what we call a stimulation effect, which typically amounts to around 40%”.
MIA has been on the radar for what now, almost a decade?
ReplyDeleteJFK was launched a decade ago, definitely MIA was not on the radar at the time.
DeleteWe are getting a bit spoiled. Despite all the issues we can rightly criticize JU (state of Pupin being #1) we should look back and congratulate on all the accomplishments in the past decade.
No, it was first mentioned in 2022.
DeletePeople here often like to make things up.
DeleteJFK had been in the radar since ASL was formed. I also thing MIA was talked about since before COVID.
DeleteYou can "thing" as much as you like but it does not make it true.
DeleteActually he is right. MIA has been talked about for ages.
DeleteThe airline first made mention of Miami as a possible new destination in December 2022 along with Shanghai and Toronto.
DeleteThe airline deserves credit for gradually building long haul operations instead of chasing headlines with multiple route launches at once.
Delete@09:37
Delete+1
I already noticed that there are always same reactions (often as the first one in the morning) of one or more bitter persons who manage to see negativity in each of JU positive news and comment it on that way.
DeleteI personally do not know if it makes their day great.
Strong possibility to lose money on Miami route at this moment, air traffic to USA is going down on almost all destination....
DeleteEXPO would have been a great opportunity to launch more longhaul flights. NRT, HKG, DEL.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOh give it a rest
Delete@09:29 dude calm down.
DeleteThis is a discussion, why are you getting angry at people?
Delhi mentioned :)
DeleteYou need to know next to nothing about aviation to oppose possibility of connecting with any 80+ million annual passenger traffic airport. And unfortunately, it seems you are not the only one here
DeleteAnd you don't get how aviation markets actually work.
DeleteIndia is a highly polluted country. I would not go back.
Delete> India is a highly polluted country. I would not go back.
DeleteSo you came here from India? I think this is indication that flights from India are needed.
🤣🤣🤣
DeleteWith jet fuel prices being what they are maybe a more fuel efficient widebody plane would allow the airline to expand easier.
ReplyDeleteThere's lots of 2nd hand 787s hitting the market. 787-8s are also leased at very affordable rates.
DeleteBut I don't think Marek wants to switch to it.
Who is removing 787-8s?
DeleteIt would be absurd to switch from A330 to B787 now when you have your crew trained, your maintenance agreements set and existing contracts for A330 leases which run for a certain period of time. Comeon people, think.
DeleteAnon 09:17
DeleteLot's of the airlines who got it first.
Not to mention they have also spare parts acquired for A330s.
DeleteAnd not to mention as well there must be a reason behind airlines are getting rid of Dreamliner 8 in favour of 9 and 10. I do like Dreamliner but 8 economy haven't proven that much as bigger series
DeleteThey have launched a new long haul route each year since 2022. So I have no issue if the next one comes in 2027.
ReplyDeleteNobody has an issue with it except complex persons.
DeleteNot a word about eventual prolonging YYZ to year around?
ReplyDeleteThey have already mentiomed that they may extend the season next year. This was published 2 months ago.
DeleteThat's correct.
DeleteI sincerely hope they extend it until Orthodox Christmas.
Opearting for 2 weeks around Christman/New Year could work.
DeleteThat’s good for a start
DeleteThey are definitely hoping to push it to year round - I think it would have worked out better than Chicago imo.
DeleteHighly likely. At least one weekly in a winter, like ORD, could work
DeleteDo they have any codeshare on Toronto service?
DeleteNo codeshare.
DeleteI read something very interesting recently from Finnair. They have just launched a seasonal route from Helsinki to Toronto which will be in operation until 29 August (about the same time period as Air Serbia’s Toronto flights since they launched on 4 May). Here is a statement from Finnair’s North America General Manager. “We never think about making a profitable route in the first year – in fact, we build this into our business plan. This is why I can confirm that this Toronto flight is coming back from April next year. We need time to invest in this route, do a lot of things with agencies that can’t be done in only one season. Even if the Toronto route gets off to a slower start, it’s nothing to be concerned about.” If someone from JU made this statement, I think the experts here would be enraged.
ReplyDeleteIdiots might be enraged. But thats exactly how long haul thin routes have to work. JU have been selective and done things incrementally which has paid off clearly. They will never been a big player in trans-atlantic aviation so they know the importance of making their operation financially sound before moving on.
DeleteMiami sounds attractive, but I wonder if Air Serbia should first focus on increasing frequencies to existing long-haul destinations before adding another one.
ReplyDeleteToronto, New York, Chicago, Guangzhou and Shanghai already make for a respectable long-haul network. Consolidating these routes before further growth makes sense.
DeleteConsolidate how exactly? Add frequencies and fly half empty? Or add new route instead of keeping planes idle? Market needs to mature, in order to add frequencies. It just need time, as JFK took
DeleteI think that is what @09:36 means. Consolidate means to help routes mature. JU specifically don't want to fly empty aircraft around which is why their progress has been steady.
DeleteAir Serbia's long-haul expansion over the past few years has been impressive. Not many airlines of its size have managed to add new long haul route every year for several years.
ReplyDeleteTbh there arent many airlines of JU's size in Europe. It sits in a rather unique space. Airlines such as LOT and Finnair have massively larger operations and of course its closest airline in terms of passenger numbers is Icelandair which utilises its location for medium to longhaul operations. This underscores JU's rather unique situation in Europe.
DeleteWhat about Tarom and airBaltic? IcelandAir?
DeleteIcelandair is mentioned. Neither air baltic nor Tarom operate widebodies. JU is in a catagory of European airline on its own.
DeleteDo you know which the first next bigger airline operating long haul above JU and Icelandair?
DeleteVirgin Atlantic is the next biggest long haul operator in Europe after JU and FI.
DeleteThanks!
Delete@15:12 you mean JU comes after Virgin Atlantic which is quite a bit larger. As they dont have a short haul fleet they are not a good comparison. Only Icelandair really comes close to being in the same box as JU. Which isnt bad company to be in. Two fine airlines.
DeleteI'm glad management is being realistic.
ReplyDeleteIf Toronto performs well, perhaps Montreal could eventually become another option in Canada, although that is probably a discussion for much later.
ReplyDeleteHighly unlikely.
DeleteMontreal is a very poor market (evident by the airlines and lack of premium seats sent to the city) - on top of that with a very small Serbian diaspora. Really, no point in even considering it.
DeleteWhat about Vancouver?
DeleteDo you realise how long a flight that is? and how thin the demand is?
DeleteI think that if JU gets approved for more frequencies to Canada it would be 1, max 2 pw. It would make sense to focus on YYZ to improve connectivity to their network.
DeleteYUL I don't see happening anytime soon. Extremely small diaspora, JU has very little transit options for the diaspora in Montreal. LOT which has a massive presence in YYZ has not launched any other Canadian route despite the open skies agreement and being a Star Alliance partner with AC. That says alot.
Miami would give Air Serbia access to a completely different market profile compared to New York, Chicago and Toronto. It could diversify traffic flows rather than relying primarily on diaspora demand.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAlso since MIA is a gateway to Latin America it would also get a lot of connecting traffic to/from that region.
DeleteAlthough connecting via Madrid is often more plesant.
DeleteIsn't transferring via the US an issue as you must have a US visa?
Deleteyup, and a big pain in the back is that you need to collect baggage and drop it off again, they dont have international transfer zones like the rest of the world
DeleteI think a transit visa is needed for Serbian passport holders. However transiting the US i horrid. Its far better to transit Madrid or Paris or just about anywhere hahah
DeleteThere seems to be a lot of focus on North America lately.
ReplyDeleteWell if by lately you mean over the last decade then yeah
DeleteThat is what they said they would do for a while. After China they said North America would be in focus again. And After that they said Seoul and Tokyo would be considered.
DeleteToronto has started and that will allow customers to gain trust in Air Serbia. Recognized my flight attendant in the picture, she is second from the right and the service provided was flawless. Seat was fully functional and comfortable, food was fine. If I had to nitpick, I think that North American passengers are used to expect slightly lower cabin temperature. Not a complaint, just different expectations. Good luck Air Serbia with YYZ service, hope it will become strong performer!
ReplyDeleteMiami would be an interesting move, but I still think Washington or Boston would offer stronger year-round demand.
ReplyDeleteMiami would be a fantastic winter destination and could attract passengers from across the Balkans, not just Serbia.
ReplyDeleteI think so too. Why not operate Toronto summer seasonal and Miami winter seasonal?
Delete@ anon 10:20
DeleteI think that's Air Serbia's thoughts too.
If Miami were to launch this winter, tickets would already be on sale by now.
DeleteI was hoping they might add seasonal winter flights to Bangkok
ReplyDeleteSometimes we act ungrateful as JU spoiled us. Guys...they launched in a span of less that two months the following - Baku, Munich, Nizhny Novgorod and Toronto.
ReplyDeleteDo we understand that? Read those four destinations again, slowly and with understanding. That is amazing work from JU
+1
Delete+1000
DeleteAmazing job this year, and we shouldn't forget there is more in fall, winter season...
Delete..
Toronto is a safer bet than Miami. The diaspora traffic is proven, while Miami would require a much broader mix of passengers to succeed.
ReplyDeleteUS is not that popular at the moment, so I think Toronto over Miami was really good decision.
DeleteEvery year there is speculation about the next destination.
ReplyDeleteNo one is speculating. It will clearly be Miami.
DeleteThe real milestone is not launching Toronto but sustaining it successfully over the next several years. That's when we will know whether the route was truly the right choice.
ReplyDeleteMiami is most probably next choice for 2027.
ReplyDeleteI’m more interested in what the next long-haul destination in the Far East will be: Beijing, Tokyo, or Seoul
... Or Bangkok or Australia.
DeleteBullshit about Australia.
DeleteTotal bullshit. But some people like to form fantasies in their heads
DeleteNo Australia for sure. And in this economy the miles/fuel are mega important, so no Tokyo either.
DeleteBangkok and/or Phuket, or combination,
ReplyDeleteVote for BKK with good codeshares to/from Phuket, Australia, NZ, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, HK
DeleteIt's a pity they are not thinking about South America yet.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not a pity really. They have many rooms to grow before thinking of South America.
DeleteDo you think any airline from
DeleteEastern europe can make any route to south america work? Because i do not.