Air Serbia has confirmed it is planning to introduce flights to Yerevan following the recent introduction of services to Tbilisi and Baku. Speaking at the Slovenian Aviation and Tourism Summit last week, the carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, “It’s just a matter of time and it is definitely coming. We are not focused solely on the summer and winter seasons. We launch new destinations whenever the timing is right and we have the aircraft capacity available to support them. Yerevan is planned as a year-round destination, so its launch is not tied to a specific season and can take place whenever we are ready to introduce the service. It is coming”.
Mr Marek said frequencies on existing routes to Tbilisi and Baku will be increased. “We already serve all of Europe’s primary destinations, as well as a large number of secondary cities, which means our core network is already well established. At this stage, growth is increasingly focused on adding frequencies and strengthening connectivity. Destinations such as Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan are unlikely to be sustainable purely on point-to-point demand between Serbia and those markets. Their success depends on having a strong network that can provide connecting traffic. Since we already have that network in place, these destinations are essentially plug-and-play additions and have performed very well”.
He added, “Baku is set to be increased very soon. We already boosted operations in September to cater for demand during the Formula 1 event. Following the launch of the route on May 3, we recorded an average load factor of 95% during its first month of operation. We have also already increased Tbilisi from three to four weekly flights, and we hope to further expand both destinations going forward”.
Commenting on operations further afield, such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia, the CEO noted they are part of the airline’s five-to-ten-year plans. "The challenge with these destinations is that they occupy an aircraft for a very long period because of the flight time involved. When you operate routes of that length, you effectively lose the aircraft for the entire day. At the same time, we still see significant opportunities to increase frequencies on shorter routes, where the same aircraft can perform two or even three rotations per day. That is why our current focus remains on maximising the utilisation of our fleet and developing markets where additional frequencies can generate the greatest returns. These destinations will come in time, but at this stage I cannot say exactly when”.
95 LF for Baku in first month is fantastic
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAir Serbia's expansion eastwards has been one of the more successful aspects of its recent network strategy.
DeleteAerologic was right years ago.
DeleteYears ago JU did not have so wide network as now so it would not have been successful at that time.
DeleteNow it is a totally different story.
How are Alicante and Nizny Novgorod loads so far?
DeleteNizny Novgorod is mostly full. Don't know about Alicante.
DeleteIs it a reason why they cancelled it 2 days ago?
DeleteIt was cancelled 2 days ago because there was a drone attack and the airport was closed.
Delete^ Don't worry about him. He had to write something to look smart and funny.
Delete^ who is he?
DeleteFamous Palermo guy, pink sheriff and stale sandwich. It's always him
DeleteYesterdays GOJ (Nizhny) was almost 100% full
DeleteGreat news. Yerevan is the logical next step.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thing is that they're sending A319 (sometimes even A320) to both TBS and GYD and not E95.
DeleteThere is a sizeable Armenian diaspora across Europe, and Belgrade could capture some of that traffic. I expect the route to perform very well, especially if schedules are coordinated with Air Serbia's Western European banks.
ReplyDeleteGood point.
DeleteGood point.
DeleteIt sounds like destinations such as Almaty, Astana and Tashkent are definitely on the radar down the line.
ReplyDeleteUzbekistan has become a major tourist destination, even P2P would work with seasonal flights
DeleteRussians are covering demand mostly. Central Asia would be smart move now, not in 5 years. Even with wet leased capacity
DeleteNot saying that they can't work, but don't lose sight of the length of the rotation. Belgrade to Almaty is more than twice as far as Belgrade to Yerevan. JU is rather sensitive to the rotation length - recall this was the primary reason they dropped Abu Dhabi as a destination (which at the time was pretty big for them since this is how they captured a lot of the Asia and Australia market)
DeleteWell, Tromso is not so close, yet we will fly there. Now is the chance to start those medium haul routes and establish them fuelled by huge Russian diaspora all around. Until Aeroflot starts again, JU should mature those routes already.
DeleteAlot has changed at JU since then and we are seeing more longer flights with JU (KZN, GOJ, AGP, LIS, OPO, GYD, TBS, MAD, soon TOS and TFS) although not quite the 12 hour rotation previously with AUH. Also for the past couple of years they have been scheduling flights outside of the usual waves which is encouraging to see. I wouldn't be surprised in a year or if 2 they start routes ~5 hours from BEG (not including TFS this year).
DeleteI remember the stupid Hogan time when they were reluctant to launch anything outside of 2-3 hours from BEG 🤦.
DeleteYerevan is a no brainer. The indirect traffic from Russia alone is huge.
ReplyDeleteJU could really benefit from getting a lot of connections to the rest of Europe from Armenia.
+1
DeleteGood to see management focusing on frequency increases rather than simply chasing new destinations. A daily flight to Tbilisi is probably more valuable than launching another route with only two weekly frequencies.
ReplyDelete'chasing new destinations'
DeleteCandidate for comment of the day.
That opinion is knowledge from the ZaMa Academy
DeleteIf Air Serbia really wants to dominate the Caucasus market, it should also consider Kutaisi. Wizz Air has built significant traffic there and there could be opportunities for connections through Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteKutaisi wouldn't make sense. It works purely because of the wizzair base and most passengers don't actually originate there. Batumi would make more sense, it is the second largest city, a sizeable resort and is dominated by Turkish. The only EU connections are seasonal Riga on airbaltic and occasionally Warsaw on LOT.
DeleteBetter Batumi or Trabzon than Kutaisi in the middle of nowhere.
DeleteBatumi would be a better choice by far.
DeleteIn recent time, Batumi is rising as new market for people who invest in apartments. Few commercials rose to me on Instagram, even though I was never interested or ever spoke of such possibility. I couldn't believe apartmants start from 20k USD o.O
Delete^ yeah its grown alot in the past decade. It is, however, quite a weird weird place. Fun, but bizarre.
DeleteBatumi is like Disneyland for Russians but ex Yugos wouldn’t like it, my mom didn’t even wanted to enter into the sea there, beach standards are non existent.
DeleteI went in 2017 and it ranks among the strangest holiday destinations i've seen. Some of the most strange post-soviet design too. I cant imagine many ExYugos would find much fun in that grey water.
DeleteOnce more Embraers arrive, we may see a wave of additional destinations and frequency increases.
ReplyDeleteWhen will more E1 arrive?
DeleteAs per current statements, no new Embraers are expected. They have 8 (4 wet lease, 4 dry lease). They are still waiting for two A320s to arrive
DeleteTwo E95 are planned next year
DeleteDo you have any supporting link for that claime?
DeleteHis source is: trust me bro!
DeleteI wouldnt be surprised if more Embraers do end up coming. They seem to be doing wonders, why wouldnt they get more of them. They are deployed regionally, for thinner European routes, Caucuses. They seem to be everywhere :)
DeleteOf course they are very welcome. But still there aren't enough crews for rapid expansion. Only recently, since some crews finished new type rating, JU Ejets are fully utilised.
Delete2 Embraers are planned for 2027.
DeleteYerevan, Baku and Tbilisi are exactly the sort of underserved markets where Air Serbia can differentiate itself from larger European network carriers. Few airlines in the region are willing to serve these destinations directly.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, they are much better connected than some airports in our region. There are already plenty of low-cost airlines. Georgia is a better connected to Europe than Slovenia...
DeleteGeorgia is well served by both low cost and legacy carriers. The issue there is that Tbilisi airport (Groupe ADP) has insane fees, resulting in limited low cost presence (Easyjet, Transavia, Norwegian). Wizz is strong from Kutaisi, but it isn't ideal for people living elsewhere. Air Serbia with daily flights fromTbilisi could definitely be a more appealing option than a 3 hour train to kutaisi airport for many Tbilisians.
DeleteAlso oriented to Turkey (TA
DeleteTAV*
DeleteThe fact that Yerevan is planned as a year round destination is encouraging.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see whether Yerevan launches with three or four weekly flights. Given the performance of Baku and Tbilisi, I wouldn't be surprised if it starts with four weekly services from day one.
DeleteYerevan have FlyOne and Wizz Air with over 60 routes and other low-costers like Transavia, Eurowings, Pegasus and a lot of traditional aircompanies to hubs LH, A3, TK, LO, OS, SN, GQ.
DeleteFlyOne Armenia is based in Moscow not Yerevan. Most of the passengers are Russians, so unofficially there are flights from Moscow to Larnaca, Tivat, Milan, Chisinau, Amsterdam, Paris. Georgian Airways has a similar scheme from Tbilisi. That is why JU is on the right track
DeleteWizz is not with transfers it's p2p from Armenia
Delete@9.32 Tbilisi has much bigger presence from European carriers but seems to be doing rather well for JU.
DeleteTbilisi is a bit larger and wealthier market than Yerevan.
DeleteNot exactly. It is more touristy, but mostly low-yield.
DeleteNow when I checked, it seams like Yerevan has a narrow margin better purchasing power. Who would though.
Delete*thought.
DeleteArmenians need Schengen visas, Georgians don't. That's a big factor there.
Delete@Anon 09:44
DeleteNone of what you wrote is true dude!
?
DeleteFlyOne is based in Moldova. All the FllyOne Armenia flights are to/from Yerevan.
DeleteOn paper and by document yes. Check passengers to Tivat or Larnaca 😁
DeleteLove it
ReplyDeleteSo when could it start?
ReplyDeleteEither this winter or next summer is my guess.
DeleteHopefully in the winter. There will be extra capacity during winter
DeleteThe route could attract not only transfer passengers but also growing tourism . Armenia has become increasingly popular among European travellers. Plus Russians.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Yerevan could also generate religious tourism traffic too.
Delete^ true
DeleteReligious tourism could work both directions Serbia-Georgia/Armenia.
DeleteBaku's strong performance proves there is demand for destinations beyond the traditional Western European network. Hopefully this encourages the airline to continue exploring similar opportunities.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things Wizz is missing for not getting Serbian AOC.
DeleteI wonder if they would get Serbian AOC if they applied....
Delete@ anon 12:18
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if they apply and get at the end, who knows.
Yes I'm sure W6 would be allowed by the ministry to fly from BEG to Georgia, Armenia, the Middle East, Montenegro and Albania just because they got a Serbian AOC! 🤣
DeleteAir Serbia seems to be following a "connect first, advertise later" strategy. Many people still don't realise how extensive the airline's network has become.
ReplyDeleteThey do a lot of advertising online and they currently have a major ad campaign on billboards in Serbia.
DeleteObviously they don’t need it.
DeleteBut it's simply not true that they don't do it.
DeleteWhat about becoming a sponsor for ABA League?
DeleteSimilar to Turkish Euro League.
Yeah right, not sure how our neighbors would react for playing in the Air Serbia ABA League
DeleteI think it's a policy not to sponsor any local sporting teams.
DeleteTo add to that I know it is a policy. This was introduced in 2013 because Jat was forced to sponsor many clubs and made a huge loss from it, apprently.
DeleteABA league is regional league. If Air Serbia sponsors it, all teams should be required to travel with Air Serbia.
Delete^ SMFH
DeleteWell, they should add Cluj and Dubai to cover full league, both long overdue. Maybe Bratislava next season, as I have heard.
DeleteHi Cluj!
DeleteI would like to know how much of the traffic to Tbilisi and Baku originates in Serbia and how much is connecting.
ReplyDeletemajority is connecting
DeleteI flew Belgrade - Baku maybe 10 days ago, LF was around 90%, most of the passengers were either Azeri or Russians.. really few Serbs were on my flifht
DeleteBaku really isnt going to register as a place many 'ordinary' Serbs want to go in any great number. But great to see that its doing so well!
DeleteThe biggest challenge will be maintaining competitive fares. Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and several Gulf carriers already have strong positions in these markets.
ReplyDeleteDaily Tbilisi service would attract more transfer traffic. 3-4 weekly is very limiting.
ReplyDeleteWell, they said it.
DeleteThey already increased it once.
Delete'3-4 weekly is very limiting'.
DeleteSecond candidate for comment of the day award.
The good thing about these Caucuses routes is that they can also be served by Embraers
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we are now talking about Central Asia shows how much the airline has grown.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteYerevan was to be expected.
ReplyDeleteHappy to see that Baku is performing well. There were some sceptics here.
ReplyDeleteReally!? Never happened before.
Delete🤣🤣🤣
DeleteIdemo dalje....
ReplyDeleteGreat destination to complete Caucasus triplet. Air Serbia is approaching the snowball effect, where adding almost any large destination airport will successfully feed into the rest of the network.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
Delete'True dat, being a deep and meaningful observation nowadays hihi?
DeleteWhen they finish Caucasus, maybe they should start Baltics? Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Helsinki for sure...
DeleteWrite to them and suggest it
DeleteTalin would be great as it can an another (cheaper, and longer) option to travel to Russia
DeleteI wrote some years ago that they need to get up to 25-30 aircrafts for things to make sense/to gain a critical mass and guess that's where they're now.
DeleteAfter Caucasus (and Mineralnye Vody and perhaps Batumi seasonal) i would eye a return to the Gulf/Middle East and of utter importance - cooperation with an African airline such as Ethiopian or Kenyan, Royal Air Morocco.
Would you now? Because flights between Ethiopia, Kenya and Morocco have proven so in demand thus far? crazy suggestions.
Delete@Aerologic
DeleteIncreasing frequencies to KZN, AER, LED and GOJ would be better than just adding more Russian routes at 2 pw. MRV would be a good addition though.
Gulf/ME routes I don't think we will see for some time. Saudi, specifically JED and RUH might be worth exploring but then those longer flights are not easy to schedule with JU's current wave structure.
Better connectivity with the African continent should come after they reintroduce flights to North African destinations (CAI, TUN, MJI) as a second or perhaps a third round of expansion on the continent.
"Increasing frequencies to KZN, AER, LED and GOJ would be better than just adding more Russian routes at 2 pw."
DeleteI absolutely agree.
I also think that cargo (as a standalone operation) and the African contient as a long-term play are the most overlooked opportunities right now. Getting an interline or codeshare with Ethiopian and launching ADD while it might seem crazy right could present an immense opportunity.
right now*
DeleteAlso, the Tarom's imminent liquidation makes it a must for Air Serbia to prepare for it. They could launch some of their Middle-Eastern routes and finally launch Cluj or some other Romanian destinations, that is in short-term.
DeleteHi Cluj!
Delete@14:25 there needs to a be a degree of P2P traffic. And Belgrade - Ethiopia is not that. Totally bizarre dreams. Cute, but nonsense.
DeleteWell, you were telling the same about Tbilisi and look where we are today.
DeleteI wasnt. That route has legs. Ethiopia does not. total stupidity
Delete@Aerologic
DeleteI think the problem for stand alone cargo operations would be BEG and how much more cargo operations it can handle, especially in the high season during peak JU operations when every available tarmac space is used for aircraft. There's that and I don't think JU is quite at the size for stand alone cargo ops.
The idea for ADD and cooperation with ET is interesting but I don't think currently feasible. ET despite being a Star Alliance member has no European partner (excluding TK) serving ADD which says alot. JU also doesn't have an aircraft for such a route other than the A330 which would be overkill. On the African continent it would be nice to see the closest routes finally back in the JU network - CAI, TUN and MJI, and if they want to be adventurous expand into routes such as HBE and Morocco. However, JU's waves are not quite ideal, flights are longer than JU's "usual" while O&D demand is questionable. CAI for example was missing half the connections on both arrival and and departure at BEG while the other half would be tight connections where any delay created problems. JU really needs to work on 2 more waves (10-11am and 8-9pm).
As for Romania, it fascinates me that JU has done soo little. A number of options are in comfortable reach of an ATR. Perhaps adequate in base maintenance is lacking to improve fleet dispatch reliability so they are taking a more cautious approach, leaving more than usual aircraft as backup rather than for operations (further growth). If I'm not mistaken currently 8/10 operate at most during any time which isn't ideal. JU either needs more ATR's or more Ejets to free ATR capacity. If RO were to go bankrupt, the most I see JU doing is split morning/evening rotations to OTP. BEY and AMM are a bit longer than they seem to currently want in their current waves, especially CAI, plus there's the geopolitical situation in the region which isn't great. OTP to ATH and SKG is whats left to take over, however JU also has a long haul network plus other potentially fascinating routes such as DBV, SPU, TIA, JTR, JMK etc which would make a split morning/evening schedule work. Other secondary cities in Romania being launched I don't see necessarily as a reaction to a possible RO bankruptcy.
Nice breakdown of the situation. I agree. RO going bankrupt really has rather little impact on JU. I think the Ethiopia fan is also a Cluj fan (and maybe Delhi) fan and forgets that flights to places to Addis are very very hard to make work for European Airlines.
Delete01:12 - Thanks for the constructive comment.
DeleteBEG-ADD is only slightly longer than Dubai.
This is a long-term play, JU must get a foothold on the African continent and ET would be the best way to achieve that goal.
This would not work for Air Serbia even in the long run. Non starter
DeleteSo what is your proposal on how how to cater to the African demand and take some of it away from LH group and the Gulf?
DeleteWhat African demand from Belgrade is there? People have stated where the demand in Africa is, and its far closer than Addis Ababa. No European airlines except Lufthansa and Turkish fly there for a reason - its a long way, very low yielding and covered by ET. JU would not work.
DeleteSo far everything i predicted on this and other websites materialized, without exception.
DeleteLet's wait and see.
Well Aerologic. You are clearly a master at predictions and fantasy airline planning.
Delete@Aerologic
DeleteADD in theory isn't too far distance wise, however the airport has its limitations being "hot and high" that affects aircraft performance making the distance not doable on a narrowbody inbound, especially full.
JU does need to return to the African continent but starting with the closer "basics" would be a nice start. Expanding operations from 2 other waves is definitely needed to make these kind of routes viable. For example, a 1am departure from BEG for an arrival by 9 am would allow for connections from 10 am. That way they have full connectivity from the Western European network, while on arrival they have an extensive midday network that is in need of expansion (for example a 3rd daily CDG) where O&D demand is clearly not enough to make this viable. As the midday flights arrive by 5 pm another wave at 8-9 pm would allow for arrivals by 5am and in time for the entire morning wave. If JU can pull off something like this, it'll set them up for alot more than just CAI, TUN and MJI but also for routes such as JED, RUH, when the time is right EBL, BGD, DAM, BEY etc. Anything more will have to be judged once JU reaches that stage and JU has alot to work on.
@02:07
I actually agree with the Cluj "fans" and think it's long overdue. I also think JU could of by now gone for a third route in Romania. Again, these cities are an hour or slightly more from BEG and easily doable on the ATR.
India (DEL) I also agree with. There is quite a few things in favour for JU here. Plus trade has significantly increased between the 2 in recent years with the aim for it to reach USD$1 billion in the near future (currently around €420 million). Not to mention that TK is limited in increasing capacity to India, large investments in the Indian aviation sector, tourism and now the issues in the Gulf putting pressure on operations forcing alternative ways for travel.
I disagree that india will be a JU destination ever. Nicely written. But not going to occur
Delete^ I think some people are overly optomistic about the size that JU and the Serbian aviation market will grow to. The future by no means points to that much intercontinental expansion. JU is not Lot, Serbia not Poland.
Delete@14:02
DeleteJU definitely has its limitations, however for its size it has done quite well. Their waves have set the foundations for boosting the viability of many routes and frequencies through transit traffic that would not have had enough O&D demand to sustain. Just look at their current route network, the frequencies and ask what would stay and what would not if it weren't for the possibility accomodating the transit traffic it does. Would routes such as Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Baku or Tbilisi work if it weren't for transit traffic? Is there really any need for double daily TIA or OTP without transit pax?
The last talk of JU long haul was that the intention was for up to 8 A330's. Thats quite a jump from the current 4 and even that is already an achievement for an airline the size of JU and a country such as Serbia. 7 pw to China seems will take some time for that to happen despite evident demand, PVG in particular. Canada is limited to 2 pw, perhaps that will be renegotiated for 3 pw after a couple of years at best. Realistically we could see additional frequencies to JFK and ORD and another US route in the short term. And then where? Tokyo and Seoul were mentioned, but how much more realistic is that compared to Delhi? JU is not LOT but it isn't OU or RO either.
@18:35
DeleteJU has done very well indeed. And I salute them. OU AND RO are defiantly not LOT. Whilst places like Tokyo and Seoul are mentioned, how realistic they are as workable destinations is far from sure. Passengers from these countries, especially premium ones, are unlikely to utilise JU in significant numbers given their countries' emphasis on high-end service which (with all due respect) JU on an A332 is unlikely ever to be able to replicate. This leaves transfer passengers from essentially smaller or poorer markets in south eastern Europe and places perhaps like Italy. Most places in Europe are nowadays very well covered via Chinese airlines or the Mid east block for which JU will struggle to compete with price or flexibility wise. I just can't for the life of me see JU operating into Narita and offering anything that can't be covered by far more established airlines, or those with far far deeper pockets or far greater service levels.
And there where to? well expansion is great, but guaranteed. Just because JU has expanded so well does not mean it can replicate into markets such as Japan and Korea. I think talk of places like Addis Ababa is just ridiculous, but I know there is a specific fan of such a routing but as you have stated so well its a very hard one to fit into any wave and the origin and departure traffic is non existing.
Maintaining their market share, and improving the network through increase frequencies will be a solid move. The one place I think they might have a real niche is in China. If the agreements can be made, then that really is the kind of market Belgrade can develop.
8 - A330s is ambitious, and given the size of Belgrade airport probably about as much as the airport infrastructure could manage. Whilst I'm really glad to see the airline having done so much in the past years I remained of the belief that its not that far of the ceiling for what a medium-income, non-EU country of under 7million can commanded in an airline.
But looking forward to the journey ahead.
LET'S GOOOO this flight would benefit me A LOT so I wouldn't have to go to the hellspawn Budapest airport
ReplyDeleteIts not that bad. Calm down dear.
DeleteFinally
ReplyDeleteThey are currently coming to Serbia from Yerevan via Athens. I was very happy to hear about the direct flight.
ReplyDeleteThere is not direct flight. Its just a plan
Delete