The Authority noted that future flights could be used by connecting passengers in the region as well. “Presently, travellers from Serbia and the wider Balkan area rely on indirect routing through connecting hubs in Europe and the Middle East to reach Thailand, as well as seasonal charter flights. This is in the case of Romania, where there are two charter flight operations during the winter season November/December - March/ April”, the Authority said. It added, “While the evaluation of commercial viability, fleet allocation and route planning remains entirely at the discretion of individual airlines like Air Serbia, TAT is always keen to monitor the region's expanding aviation landscape. Should any carrier decide to evaluate or pursue direct operations to Thailand in the future, our authority stands fully prepared to explore potential destination marketing collaborations to support sustainable route development”.
Air Serbia had previously ruled out launching services to Thailand, arguing that Bangkok is already well served by Gulf carriers, making it difficult to achieve sustainable yields. However, market conditions have shifted in recent months, with travellers opting to avoid transiting through the Gulf due to the ongoing conflict in the region. At the same time, jet fuel prices have increased significantly, making any long-haul ventures more expensive. Last month, the Serbian carrier said it was evaluating a new seasonal long-haul service for the winter, without revealing the destination. Previously, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, “For us, leisure destinations will be more opportunistic, and by that, I mean niche destinations, not the strategic ones. For example, there is high demand for Bangkok during winter, however due to overcapacity on the market, we might achieve full flights but not profitable ones due to low yield, as there is strong competition from Middle East carriers. In the past, we were looking at Mombasa or Zanzibar and some other options, but this will always be in synergy between us and the tour operators”.
Based on data from global travel provider OAG, cities that could be considered as leisure destinations with strong demand from Belgrade include Bangkok, Pattaya, Denpasar (Bali), Male (Maldives), Havana, Colombo, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mauritius, Cancun and Varadero in Cuba. Following the launch of flights from the Serbian capital to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai over the past few years, Bangkok is now the top unserved Asian destination from Belgrade Airport based on indirect passenger flow, followed by the likes of Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. Air Serbia's predecessor, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, maintained flights between Belgrade and Bangkok until Yugoslavia's collapse, while its tour operator, Airlift, offered package holidays to the country.
There are rumours that Air Serbia recently contacted tour agencies and tour operators in Serbia over flights to Bangkok.
ReplyDeleteDoubt anyone will take the bait.
DeleteAir Serbia should cooperate with tour operators from day one. Charter style blocks of seats would reduce the commercial risk.
DeleteI think they should operate Belgrade-Bangkok-Da Nang or Ho Chi Minch.
DeleteSounds a plan to loose money.
DeleteConsidering the situation in the Middle East, could be something they could revisit. 1x weekly winter seasonal if they can make money out of it.
ReplyDeleteOne weekly makes no sense because of connections.
Delete+1 especially when its late back because of a weather delay and half the flight miss their onwards connection. Also with great respect connect to what? Podgorica and Skopje? Even they are connected to Thailand nice and fast via Istanbul or Vienna. I think Bangkok has to work primarily with point to point traffic to really take off. Which is possible with the right cooperation.
DeleteWell TGD and SKP have connections to JFK and ORD but that didn't prevent JU from having transfers? Heck last weekend there were 21 transfers from ORD to SKP via BEG.
DeleteAlso JU's network is larger than that. In winter time they could offer connections from BUD, LJU, SJJ, TGD, TIV, TIA, SKP, SOF, OTP, SKG, ATH.
Not bad, not bad at all my Anonymous friend.
Connections to all those places are wonderful my anonymous friend. But hardly a recipe for high yielding business class heavy traffic. While its theoretically possible, doesnt mean its financially wise. My friend.
DeleteLuckily JU doesn't have a large business class cabin.
DeleteHow do you know specific number of transfer pax? Is there any public available data for that?
Delete13500 people warrants 2x weekly during the winter months and peak Thai season (November-February)
DeleteLeisure routes are never high yielding. That’s not business class passengers. Anyway, more transfer routes are needed in the region, like Cluj, Iasi, Debrecen, Plovdiv or similar. Long overdue
DeleteAlthough instantly the competition will lower prices. It doesnt mean all those passengers would use a direct flight. So its still very risky proposition.
Delete@10:17 Debrecen is a new one for the Cluj fan core.
DeleteWhy do you always insult and mock people who proposed new destinations they think would work? What's up with that
DeleteHe tried ‘em all, so he knows what will work and what won’t. But actually, his worst nightmare is every new JU route. That’s obvious in his hysterical comments
DeleteIts not mocking to note that certain lists of airports are repeated ad nauseum without any basis in economics nor practicality.
DeleteBasic economics says that Cluj is the second largest city in Romania with 800K metro population and Debrecen is second largest city in Hungary with 600K population area. We heard several times that JU is planning to expand in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. So please, you as an expert, tell as what they actually planned? Adding frequencies to BUD and OTP?
DeleteIt's seems that only you are the one that doesn't see basic economics flying there.
@15:07 you have just listed populations (rather enlarged also) as the basis for a route launch. Its not good enough evidence. Drebrecen is not a destination for JU irrespective of fantasy airline planner's wishes. It seems you believe just because airports and locations exist in the region they could be a viable route. Move on.
Delete13,500 passengers last year is not insignificant.
ReplyDeleteAnd add to that potential transfer traffic.
DeleteWell that's just 37 passengers per day. It's a seasonal destination so I guess we are looking at 60 per day during the high season. There has to be a lot of transfers to make this work.
DeleteI don't think loads are an issue. The issue is if they can make money on the route.
Delete@9.06
DeletePassengers are not divided by equal amounts per day and we are obviously talking here about a potential winter seasonal service.
That's why I wrote that there aren't more than 60 passengers per day during the high season. JU will have to work really hard to attract passengers from other regions.
DeleteMajority of people is trying to fly leisure routes during weekends, to add free days to their short holiday. That’s simple
DeleteIf the 13,500 passengers are spread over 5 months, with 2 flights per week, then:
Delete5 months ≈ 21.7 weeks (using an average of 4.345 weeks per month).
Total flights = 21.7 × 2 ≈ 43.5 flights.
Passengers per flight = 13,500 ÷ 43.5 ≈ 310 passengers per flight.
So with transfers they could make it work, its the yields that are important. The situation from few years ago probaby changed with the war in the Middle East, so it is possible that the flights could work now.
Well Lufthansa announced the resumption of KUL after 25 years. If they can make money in Malaysia then I don't see a problem why JU couldn't in Thailand. The market is massive so there is room.
DeleteThe competition is huge and the vields as low as it comes, so..if they can work worh that great.
DeleteThe statistic refers to how many Serbian citizens entered Thailand last year. I could see a number of Russian nationals living in Serbia using this service.
DeleteMissing from the conversation above is that Sydney and Melbourne are missing from the calculation, both of which are also top unserved destinations from BEG. Obviously JU isn't going to relaunch flights to Australia but Australian cities are well connected to Thailand (BKK).
Delete@09:52
I don't think this is the case currently. The biggest issue would be operating costs due to the increase of fuel.
How would a once or twice weekly flight to Bangkok bring anything much to the game of liking Belgrade and OZ.
Delete2-3 weekly would be ok for any connections. It wouldn't be anything different from other long haul destinations in their network.
DeleteIndeed. But doesnt bring much to the table. Australia is not on JU's radar in anyform. Bangkok needs to be a strong standalone route. Which as people have noted has potential.
DeleteA few weekly flights with connections from the region could work. There is much less competition than in Western Europe. Gulf carriers are being avoided like the plague so JU could have an opening.
ReplyDeleteTrue but also fuel prices are high so long haul flights are much more expensive to operate.
DeleteYes but with people avoiding Gulf carriers like the plague, fares will no doubt go up. Lufthansa has already returned to several Asian destinations. Swiss is thriving in DEL since the war started.
DeleteMaybe it's time for JU to move away from China and focus on other markets like Vietnam, Thailand, India...
I heard that FZ from BEG is flying with like 60, 70 passengers. People are afraid, with good reason, to fly via the Persian Gulf hubs.
I don't know who you think is "avoiding Gulf carriers like the plague" but EY, EK and QR flights from CDG & LHR are absolutely packed.
DeleteAre you seriously going to argue that people are rushing to fly with EY, EK and QR? Not to mention that all three airlines have reduced frequencies across their network, including to CDG.
DeletePotential BKK flights would likely be connected with the Western European waves as is the case with PVG and CAN.
DeleteIf Air Serbia does launch it, it should definitely be seasonal, from November to March. That's when demand is strongest.
ReplyDeleteThe Gulf situation has definitely changed passenger behaviour. Many people are looking for alternatives to transiting through the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteDepends on what 'type' of passenger. Cost is what matters to most.
DeleteBangkok would also provide excellent onward connections across Southeast Asia if Air Serbia could arrange codeshare/interline partnerships.
ReplyDeleteJU isn't really known for being competent when it comes to code-share agreements.
DeleteExactly this. And JU has a nice variety of potential partners in BKK for a variety of markets.
DeleteBangkok seems like a destination for a dedicated charter airline like World2Fly. Im not sure how that would operate for Serbia, but it seems a route more suited to a company that specialises in charters than JU.
ReplyDeleteEither way would be fun to see. Bangkok is notoriously low yielding however.
Fun fact: there’s no Thai embassy in Belgrade and vice versa. Visas abolition would certainly boost the interest for visiting magnificent Thailand. This flight could be the stop before Singapore, Bali or Sydney.
ReplyDeleteThere is a honorary consulate. I agree that visa should be abolished but it can be obtained easily online.
DeleteSerbian citizens can get 15 days visa on arrival at Thailand airports. Around 55€
DeleteTrue that. I got VoA back in January this year, nice, fast and easy it was, at least at HKT.
DeleteIf you apply online it is 35 euros. It is also very easy but usually need to wait a week for approval. it's reviewed by the Thai embassy in Athens
DeleteA similar situation for BiH, NMK and Montenegro passport holders, although they cannot get VoA i believe and need to do the e-visa. Hopefully that will change rapidly and they'll all be added to the Visa-exempt list.
DeleteThis shall work as a seasonal charter from October through April when widebody utilization is low.
ReplyDeleteHowever, they shall also think about starting Delhi.
No to delhi
DeleteI'm cautiously optimistic. A year ago I would have said no chance but the market has changed quite a bit since then.
ReplyDeletePersonally I'd choose Thailand over another Chinese destination any day. The leisure demand is much broader.
ReplyDeleteThe Tourism Authority seems more enthusiastic about this route than Air Serbia itself.
ReplyDeleteBecause the tourist board can chat whatever it likes. It doesnt have the issue of making money.
DeleteNo need for Thailand flights, JU has a strong partnership with Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. Thailand is best served through Doha and Istanbul.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt is certainly better for TK and QR who got feed from JU.
Delete^ yes JU should fly to every single destination on planet earth. That way they can avoid feeding anyone.
DeleteIs the strong partnership in the room with us?
DeleteHahaha Vlad you win the internet
DeleteWho fly from Romania to Thailand?
ReplyDeleteHiSky with a330
DeleteBratislava/Prague (+ from Brno) have TUI, Neos to Vietnam, Dominicana, Maldives, Sofia have charters to Phuket, Chisinau, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn to Sri Lanka.
DeleteWhat happened btw with OTP-ORD?
DeleteNot launched
DeleteThey have strong charters like Slovenia. No more domestic airlines.
DeleteYes Slovenia with plenty of charters to North America and South East Asia...
DeleteUnlike a few years ago, there are many Russians living in Serbia now who like to travel and who can enter Thailand.
ReplyDeleteThat is a correct observation.
DeleteI think long haul charter flights should be left to a dedicated airline. However Punta Cana is a destination that has a proven record from Slovakia, Czech and Romania. Its a relatively good value place and very popular with Russians and would be my selection in this discussion of fantasy airline routes.
ReplyDeleteWhich dedicated airline?
DeleteHi Sky or TUI for example
DeleteHow can an EU or UK carrier operate charters between Serbia and Thailand when the two countries are governed by bilaterals.
DeleteThey cant i assume. But the point is airlines set up for charter flights are probably Belgrades best bet long term.
DeleteAlways felt like it's an overhyped destination, but good for people that love to go there
ReplyDeleteIts a fun city. And gateway to a great region:
DeleteIt used to be fun city while it was real Orient. Today, unfortunately not any more. Plastic, concrete, traffic, everything is like everywhere, except for few palaces
DeleteThats like saying the Balkans were fun when people wore national dress, cars were an exoticism and animals were traded in the central square. Times change. Regions change for good/bad.
DeleteFor airlines overhyped is better than underhyped.
DeleteŠifra leta.. Sexy air Serbia YU 001
ReplyDeleteThey scrapped visas for Kosovo passport holders but require visa for Serbs. The consulate in Athens requests return tickets and what not, and visa on arrival is only for 15 days which is not enough considering how far the destination is.
ReplyDeleteSo scrap visas scompletely, do 90-180 days like EU and you can talk about boosting tourism.
Does not seem to be an issue for the almost 14,000 people who go there. Perhaps the Serbian government should sometimes do something to improve relations with other countries, not just wait for everything on a silver platter.
DeleteKosovo is removed from visa free list for Thailand
DeleteThat is what the original comment at 16:15 highlighted.
Delete