Hainan Airlines and Serbian officials have opened discussions on deepening cooperation as travel between the two countries continues to grow and Belgrade prepares to host EXPO 2027, potentially paving the way for a broader role for the Chinese carrier in the Serbian market. The Serbian Ambassador to China, Maja Stefanović, has held talks with Hainan Airlines’ CEO, Yu Chaojie, at the Serbian Embassy in Beijing to discuss the expansion of the company’s presence in the Serbian market. The two sides assessed cooperation between Serbia and Hainan Airlines as highly successful and agreed that there is considerable scope for further strengthening the partnership. The talks also covered the possibility of Hainan Airlines participating in the EXPO 2027 specialised exhibition, which will be held in Belgrade from May 15 until August 15 next year.
Hainan Airlines maintains two weekly flights between Beijing and Belgrade with its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Records from the Civil Aviation Administration of China show that in 2024 Hainan Airlines applied for and received rights to increase frequencies on the route from two to four weekly, however, this never materialised in practice.
The meeting follows a tourism promotion event in Haikou this April, organised as part of efforts to deepen cooperation between Serbia and China's Hainan Province. Hainan Airlines was among the companies participating in the event and presented tourism and aviation products tailored to the Serbian market. Discussions between Serbian and Chinese representatives covered tourism product development, marketing, market expansion and greater cooperation between companies, with both sides signalling an intention to establish more regular cooperation. Serbia also used the event to promote EXPO 2027 and encourage additional travel from China. Hainan Province has itself stepped up its presence in Serbia, having established a tourism promotion office in Belgrade last year as part of efforts to develop the European market.
Hainan Airlines has played an important role in developing air connectivity between the two countries. It initially launched flights to Belgrade in September 2017, operating from Beijing via Prague with fifth freedom rights between the Czech and Serbian capitals. The service was discontinued in late 2018. Hainan returned to Belgrade in July 2022 with nonstop flights from Beijing, initially operating once per week before increasing to two. Connectivity between Serbia and China has expanded considerably since Hainan's return. Air Serbia now maintains nonstop flights from Belgrade to both Shanghai and Guangzhou, while China Southern Airlines operates from Guangzhou to Belgrade. Earlier this year, China Eastern Airlines noted that it is evaluating the potential for launching flights to Belgrade.
It’s finally time for them to do something. Either increase flights or introduce a new route.
ReplyDeleteThe obvious next step is increasing Beijing. There is no need for another Chinese destination until the existing routes mature.
DeleteChina Eastern entering Belgrade would be overkill in my opinion. Better for Hainan, China Southern and Air Serbia to increase their existing services first.
DeletePEK is very useful for connections throughout China. Hainan has a very extensive domestic network from Beijing.
DeleteMore frequency is much more important than another Chinese airline entering the market. Two weekly is simply not competitive enough.
DeleteThe more airlines to China the better. Adds to diversity.
Delete@09:17 agreed. Two weekly is a footnote in global aviation tbh.
DeleteThird weekly is desperately needed
DeleteNot good to be dependent on only few of the airlines to China.
Delete^ What are you talking about? There are 3 airlines flying between China and Serbia. How many would you want? 10?
DeletePersonally I would like to see JU enter the Beijing market.
DeleteThe last thing we need is JU in PEK. We need Hainan to at least add a 3rd weekly flight.
DeleteJU has PVG and CAN and they should focus on not cutting CAN before launching a new destination.
Does anyone know what is the status of the Serbia-China bilateral. I mean how many flights each side is allowed? 3 years ago a MoU was signed for an open sky agreement (which is rare for China) but this MoU never actually became a reality. I’m wondering whether Hainan was blocked from increasing flights even through they received approval from the Chinese side?
ReplyDeleteWondering this too. Can't find it online
DeleteMaybe the four weekly approval was obtained simply to keep options open. Airlines often apply for rights they do not immediately use.
DeleteHainan was not blocked from increasing frequencies, it even got slots from BEG for third weekly. However, at that time Hainan had fleet issues with their widebodies, and obviously they will deploy it to more premium destinations.
DeleteDidn't the parent company also have massive financial issues at the time?
DeleteThey still do.
DeleteThat might be a good indication why they are not growing. I notice that from China they have very little growth while China Southern, Eastern and Air China are expanding like crazy.
DeleteHainan is a privately owned airline while the three airlines you mentioned are all state owned and the scale of their expansion since 2023 is very questionable in terms of profitability. But they don't have to care about that.
DeleteThe fact that Hainan applied for four weekly back in 2024 tells you they were already considering expansion. Maybe simply aircraft availability or market conditions stopped them at the time.
ReplyDeleteThey did change from A330 to B787
DeleteIt's same capacity.
Delete@09:01: Or maybe because China bureaucracy takes way too long to approve something.
^ true
DeleteNot for Chinese carriers.
DeleteBureaucracy is an issue in China regardless from where you are from.
DeleteInteresting that the meeting was with the CEO himself and specifically mentioned expansion in Serbia. Sounds like more than the usual diplomatic meeting.
ReplyDeleteGreat development if it happens, but until flights are loaded into the reservation system this is just another meeting. We've seen plenty of aviation announcements after diplomatic meetings that went nowhere.
DeleteIt's good to see Serbia actively engaging with airlines instead of just waiting for them to come. Regardless of whether frequencies increase, these meetings matter.
DeleteHmm....I wonder why? 🙄
DeleteRemember when Hainan flew Beijing-Prague-Belgrade? Amazing how much things have changed since then.
ReplyDeleteIndeed
DeleteIdemo dalje.
ReplyDeleteIt would if JU finally launched PEK.
DeletePosle samo 4 minuta?
DeleteCould we potentially see Haikou-Belgrade one day? Probably too niche, but with all this Hainan Province promotion it makes you wonder.
ReplyDeleteHaikou would make little sense. Beijing needs more frequencies first. Maybe Shenzhen at some point would be more realistic.
DeleteShenzhen?!? You do realise it’s next to Guangzhou. And when I say next to, there is a train running constantly from Guangzhou to Shenzhen with a travel time of 30 minutes.
DeleteWhat is the next city with most demand from China to Belgrade?
DeleteHong Kong?
DeleteHong Kong is a 40 minute train ride from Guangzhou. It makes no sense to have a direct flight to there as well.
Delete@9.11 according to an earlier report from this site it is Hangzhou and Chengdu
DeleteThanks! That's interesting. Chengdu I can get but Hangzhou is a bit odd
DeleteActually Hangzhou makes perfect sense. Hangzhou is the main aviation gateway for Zhejiang province, and a very large proportion of Serbia's long established Chinese community originates from Zhejiang.
DeleteA Zhejiang government report published this May says that more than 10,000 people from Zhejiang are currently living in Serbia, describing Serbia as one of the larger concentrations of Zhejiang expatriates in Europe. It specifically mentions families who routinely travel between Serbia and Zhejiang for business.
Wow fantastic insight. Had no idea
DeleteEvery 10+ million city in China makes sense. Because every 10+ million city have gravitating province around it with another 20+ million population. Touristic wise, Chongqing makes perfect sense for next destination
DeleteCould Hainan perhaps cooperate more closely with Air Serbia? Feed from the Balkans would make four weekly much easier to sustain.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAir Serbia already has a strong regional network, so a proper codeshare with Hainan would probably be more valuable than simply adding frequencies.
Long haul carriers don't seem to want to have proper codeshare partnerships with JU.
DeleteMaybe their alliances prefer to serve our market through their hubs.
^ That I believe is the reason that non of the major US3 carriers did not agreed on a code-share with JU.
DeleteTheir alliance partners in Europe don't want to lose the traffic flow.
Yes, alliances play a big part
Delete09:29 -Hainan is no part of any alliance.
DeleteI'd much rather see ASL start PEK twice a week.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey can't compete against Hainan just like they can't compete against China Southern.
DeleteYes, and that's because most travellers are Chinese and they prefer Chinese airlines because of WeChat payment, Chinese language, etc...
DeleteThen JU shouldn't have launched China flights. 🤷♂️
DeleteIt is not just about that. Chinese companies (such as Zijin) which heavily use these routes for their staff choose Chinese carriers as a matter of principle. They bring a lot of passengers and to a certain extent a number of corporate, business passengers. Keep in mind Zijin bought a whole hotel in Belgrade recently just so it could primarily house its staff when visiting Belgrade and Serbia. Zijin alone has around 10,000 staff members in Serbia and even for Serbian staff if/when they travel to China they are booked on Chinese carriers, which I understand. Now considering how many Chinese companies operate in Serbia, from Power China, Linglong, HBIS it generate a lot of movement.
DeleteJU has 2 pathetic frequencies to PVG. Before addng a new destination they should focus on expanding in Shanghai, it's a gigantic and brilliant market.
Delete@Anonymous 11:56
Delete+1000
@ 11.56 and 12.01 I believe there are restrictions to frequencies as per bilateral
DeleteJU can double frequencies and will still be within the bilateral framework.
DeleteJU should concentrate to Chinese destinations without Chinese competition. That race could not win a lot bigger European companies than JU. So, they should drop Guangzhou, not start Bejing, but other two destinations in China. And rise frequencies towards PVG, if possible
DeleteJU will focus only on what's decided by Chinese authorities. Contrary to US or EU where JU can cherry pick destinations, China is led by slow communist administration. That doesn't mean JU shouldn't fly there, au contraire - there's a market for these flights, just bear in mind it's not all up to them in China.
DeleteChina is far more flexible than perhaps you give it credit for.
DeleteIf Hainan really wants to grow in Serbia then a codeshare with Air Serbia should be the priority. Belgrade has plenty of regional feed available.
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteLol?? Surely it is better connection to ZAG, than waiting 3 hrs at OTP
Delete@9.42 I'm really wondering what is "LOL". You don't think Belgrade has plenty of regional feed considering it flies to Ljubljana, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Mostar, Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, Zadar, Rijeka, Brac, Podgorica, Tivat, Skopje, Ohrid, Tirana, Bucharest, Varna, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Budapest...
DeleteActually no airport in the region, not even the likes of Budapest have such large regional networks.
DeleteBUD has 20 million pax.
Delete@11:33
DeleteBoth CAN and PVG connect to the Western European network and not the regional network.
@11:57 correct, but it does not have any airline providing regional feed. Only Belgrade, Istanbul and Athens in the wider region have that to any large degree.
DeleteIf China Eastern also launches Belgrade then Serbia would have four airlines flying nonstop between the two countries. That would be extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteThe Serbia - China market will really come into its own once daily flights to either Beijing or Shanghai work. We see in Budapest the importance of daily connections to providing consistent service. A daily Hainan operated service between Beijing and Belgrade with strong JU cooperation would be ideal.
ReplyDeleteHow will HSR affect this traffic? Meanings BUD is in direct competition with China flights to this region.
DeleteBUD, Budapest and Hungary in general are on different level of cooperation with China. Serbia is nowhere near. However, we are not bad at all.
DeleteYet there are reductions and cuts in BUD from China this winter. Just last week Chengdu flights were affected.
DeleteAnd BUD is a massively larger market that Serbia. But still Belgrade should aim for daily connections.
DeleteBelgrade airport currently has three airlines operating non-stop passenger flights to China. Only a handful of Euro airports can claim they have more passenger airlines operating to China.
Delete@14:59 that is a creative way of spinning it, but not completely incorrect.
DeleteHeathrow, Gatwick, Milan, Rome, Paris, Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam have more carriers offering flights to China than Belgrade.
Belgrade as the same number as Brussels, Vienna, Barcelona, Athens and more than Zurich, Manchester and Stockholm.
Although number of airlines is by no means indicative of overall connectivity. But given Belgrade's overall size its a valuable situation to have and should be encouraged.
It's a fact, only a handful airports have more. Belgrade is punching above it's weight.
DeleteIs it 8 weekly flights yep.
DeleteMore than double any other ExYu airport has, sorry, will have to China. Not too bad. Three destinations by three airlines with two aircraft types (A330 and B787) with four services:
DeleteCAN-BEG China Southern
BEG-PVG Air Serbia
PKG-BEG Hainan
BEG-CAN Air Serbia
Indeed, but why the obession to compare? Its weird
DeleteDidn't you notice comments @10:19 and @12:41 started with comparisons?
DeleteWith places out side the exyu space. Which is fair enough. Looking forward to more connections indeed.
DeleteNow that we clarified who started with comparisons, let's not forget this blog is about Ex Yu space.
DeleteAnd this news is about Belgrade. Glad we clarified that for the more small-minded among us.
DeleteWe are all analyst geniuses.
DeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great week talking about long haul destinations all around ex Yu. What a pleasure to read about it. Go forward ex Yu. Hope to see all proposed destinations and frequency increases.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI suspect Air Serbia may suspend Guangzhou so they can start their long awaited route to Miami. Then China Southern will probably increase flights to 3 weekly (and maybe even 4 in NS 2027).
ReplyDeleteNot happening. They just applied to extend Guangzhou permit with the Chinese.
DeleteAlso they can start any long haul route without dropping another.
DeleteThey did? But aren’t they dropping it down to one weekly in Winter?
DeleteNo, they are flying two weekly throughout winter. You mixed something up.
Delete@10:46 I hope not. Because I have a return flight to Guangzhou with them in December. 😅
DeleteThey are adveritisng Guangzhou sales as we speak for winter. Stop spreading nonsense.
DeleteOk, settle down hotheads. I misremembered the article on their service reduction which is for September.
DeleteYou could have simply checked
DeleteIt was down to 1 flight per a week until the end of September, but Guangzhou season starts at that time so they should bring it back.
DeleteArticle announcing the downgrade: https://www.exyuaviation.com/2026/08/air-serbia-extends-guangzhou-reduction.html?m=1
Could Air Serbia eventually launch Beijing itself?
ReplyDeleteThey have been interested in it for a while. They applied to get a license and got it but never launched it.
DeleteBetter to cooperate rather than duplicate routes unnecessarily.
DeleteAbsolutely. There are so many other potential undeserved destinations in China
Delete*unserved
DeleteHainan Airlines operates from several major hubs, including Beijing–Capital, Chongqing, Haikou, Shenzhen, and Xi'an, plus focus cities like Changsha, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Sanya, Shanghai–Pudong, Taiyuan, and Ürümqi. Looking at this list, I think Haikou, Xi'an, and Chongqing could work well as new routes. Starting with two flights a week should be enough.
ReplyDelete