Air Serbia plans to introduce a new long-haul service in 2027, with the carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, confirming that another intercontinental route is in the pipeline. “What I can reveal is that there will be a new long-haul route, but I will not yet reveal which one”, Mr Marek said in an interview with the Serbian public broadcaster RTS. The comment came after Mr Marek was asked about the possibility of further expansion in China, where Air Serbia currently serves both Guangzhou and Shanghai. However, he did not indicate whether the new route would be in China or another market. The airline is expected to disclose its new destinations for 2027 by the end of the month, alongside planned frequency increases on parts of its existing network. A new long-haul service in 2027 would result in a sixth consecutive year of long-haul expansion for the airline.
The airline has previously been in negotiations or expressed interest to serve Miami, Beijing and, most recently, an undisclosed seasonal long-haul route as well. Air Serbia is also tipped for flights between Belgrade and Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The route is expected to be among the topics discussed during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Serbia today, with transport identified as one of the priority areas of talks between the two countries. Mr Marek noted that Air Serbia maintains both five- and ten-year development plans, which are continuously updated. “When a destination becomes profitable, we certainly open it”, he said. The CEO added that the airline also reacts to opportunities created by changes in the market, citing its decision to introduce flights from Niš to Vienna and Malta after Ryanair withdrew from the two routes.
Commenting on the upcoming year, the CEO said, “We have a lot of news for next year. Of course, the biggest opportunity for us is Expo. Expo represents a huge opportunity to promote Belgrade, Serbia and Air Serbia. We will also celebrate our centenary next year, and there are some other anniversaries as well, but more on those later. There will also, of course, be new destinations, which we will announce towards the end of September, as well as increased frequencies across the network. We have a lot of news, but I wouldn’t reveal everything just yet. For now, I think Expo, the centenary and the new destinations are certainly the main things”.
Miami, no doubt
ReplyDeleteMost likely. Question is if it will be seasonal or year round
DeleteIt would also be quite dependent whether the code share with American would include their Miami base and destinations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Then it could generate a lot of transfer market as well
DeleteTrue👍
DeleteNo it won’t. You need US visa to use transit flights
Delete@09:12 although more likely the transit is on the European end. For Russians holding US visas to get in. Western Europe is very well connected to Miami via Heathrow and Madrid etc, so i can see Miami being a very logical route for JU. Not sure its gonna be a cash cow, but certainly i seems logical.
Delete*it seems logical.
DeleteSmell like Beijing. Journalists asked him about Chinese tourists and China
DeleteMiami would be my bet. It has been mentioned too many times over the years for there not to be something behind it.
ReplyDeleteIf the new route is seasonal, Miami is probably the strongest candidate. If it is year-round, I would say Beijing.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would rather see Bangkok than Beijing.
DeleteIt has already been said that yields are low for Bangkok
DeleteBut it’s not anymore. Actually not last few years. And ME3 are not an option now.
DeleteI deffiently think an opporutnity has opened with the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Delete^ doesnt stop it being a low end destination in terms of return.
DeleteIt is already proved it’s not smart to compete Chinese airlines on their turf. Bejing should be skipped
Delete@09:49
DeleteBangkok was mentioned as being low yield long before the problems in the Gulf. In aviation things can change overnight.
@Anon 09:49. While BKK is a low yield market, most EU carriers tend to fly at odd times and depart BKK in the middle of the day. JU can codeshare with PG or TG and capture islands/regional market, plus do an evening service that would capture the morning onward connections to other Europe and US transfer passengers. Low yield + high LF is better than high yield + low LF. Plus with the BKK transfer there’s TG to connect the single stop itinerary from Australia and NZ. BKK also has a population of almost 6 million, and Thailand as a whole over 70 million.
DeleteI hope they surprise everyone with something completely unexpected :D
ReplyDeleteAddis Ababa.
Deleteor Lagos :D
DeleteJohannesburg via Lagos and Addis Ababa 🙂
DeleteI guess Ethiopian will start BEG in the near future.
DeleteWanna bet?
DeleteActually Addis-Ababa makes prefect sense and a cooperation with Ethiopian (both passenger & cargo) is one of the best strategic moves JU could make.
DeleteDidn't you suggest flights to Australia too?
DeleteWe don't even have CAI, TUN and TIP (MJI) yet we have suggestions for ADD, LOS and JNB.
DeleteAdd to that LFW!
DeleteSounds like 2027 could be one of Air Serbia’s biggest expansion years yet.
ReplyDeleteThey need at least 20 new destinations and 7-8 new planes
DeleteLOL. indeed.
DeleteWe’ll know soon
ReplyDeleteMy guess is the reason they are announcing the new routes so early (by their standards) is precisely because of this new long haul route.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBetter announce in September, then you have much time for marketing and some adjustments if necessary.
DeleteIt was the same case last year which resulted in the YYZ announcement. The new long haul route will likely be for H1 2027.
DeleteNew short haul routes for the past few years have had earlier launches. Santorini started in late April this year, Lisbon is also another example. If I were to guess, 2-3 of the new routes will have an April 2027 launch giving a ~6 months advance for ticket sales.
Miami would be the logical next step, especially if they are looking at something seasonal.
ReplyDeleteBut Miami, if its going to be seasonal, has to be winter seasonal.
DeleteYeah, winter 2027
DeleteWay too early to announce it right now then.
DeleteWhy? Better earlier for a route that might prove tricky.
DeleteNot really. In December 2025 they announced Tromso for December 2026. So why not announce Miami in October 2026 for October 2027?
Delete+1
DeleteIt will start in May because of Expo. But that first summer will be a good test if it can sustain year around ops
Delete@09:59
DeleteTromso announcement was unusual for JU. I believe that was the first route announced 12 months in advance.
Tromso tickets seem relatively cheap given the distance and location. I was tempted to book but places to stay up there are beyond silly-money.
DeleteI wonder why they're cheap
DeleteIt's going to be an interesting bunch of new destinations.
ReplyDeleteIncreasingly 'exotic' for an airline of JU's size and location.
DeleteExciting times ahead
DeleteIf they were to start Tashkent, what equipment could they use. Doubt it would be a widebody.
ReplyDeleteWell A319 or A320.
DeleteOr A220.
DeleteA220 for sure.
DeleteTashkent would be an interesting addition. There is very little connectivity between the Balkans and Central Asia.
DeleteHistorically thats for a reason. But its increasing a pace.
DeleteCan the A220 fly there?
DeleteOf course.
DeleteWhile there are Russians circulating, there is a business. Also, I think Riga or Villnus would make sense
DeleteVilnius? Have you any idea how tiny the economic links are with that region. I doubt that JU could fill an ATR even if it could make it.
DeleteTravel between the Baltics and the wider region is fairly decent, especially in the summer. 3 airlines serve VNO-TIV for example. VNO also has seasonal flights to TIA, ATH, LCA, CFU and more, all of which are JU routes. Even Wizz has year round TGD-VNO. Plus Vilnius isn't too far from Minsk, a destination previously served by Belavia. No reason JU couldn't pull it off on the Ejets.
DeleteBut travel between Belgrade and Vilnius is next to none. Having a decent(ish) demand between two points is also part of the process. Whilst Vilnius is 'near Minsk' crossing that border is not for the faint-hearted both in terms of waiting and paperwork.
DeleteSingapore?
ReplyDeleteSingapore would be amazing, although I’m not sure the market is big enough. It would create excellent connections into Southeast Asia though.
DeleteThat would be a useless route. Very limited p2p travel and a destination served heavily from Europe. Wouldn't work for JU.
DeleteOk, It’s Delhi then
DeleteLOl. Delhi boy enters the chat.
DeleteMiami has probably been studied to death by now. If it still has not launched, maybe the numbers are simply not good enough.
ReplyDeleteAnd it will be LAX at the end.
DeleteCan the A332 make it?
DeleteSure
DeleteThen it's not out of the table.
DeleteLAX westbound could make it, but with payload restrictions. Without JU taking on an aircraft with better range, it's not happening.
DeleteThe A332 is an ancient beast for that kind of flight. I cannot see it ever happening.
DeleteThey should do like they airlines in North America do where they give clues on social media for people to guess the new destinations.
ReplyDeleteWe'd have Cluj on A330s winning.
DeleteIs it true that BWK will start even earlier—some say as early as mid-May?
ReplyDeleteThe Embraer to Brač fan will be pleased.
DeleteI am not sure that the e-190 will fly to Bwk, I believe that the number of flights will increase rather than the type of aircraft.
DeleteMakes sense.ATRs are less and less utilized during summer
DeleteAfter the September announcements, could they announce anothers new routes in December?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's against the law to announce routes in December.
DeleteIf it's in North America,, it could as well be Miami.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise i see the likes of Bangkok, Beijing, Tashkent or Delhi being introduced.
I wote for all five
DeleteVote*
DeleteLucky aviation fans don't get to vote on business ideas. Cos it would be ruination.
DeleteNew Delhi made sense before introducing visas for Indian citizens.
DeleteCompetition between Western Europe (where most of Europe's people of south Asian and Indian descent live) and India is massive. I cannot see what JU would ever bring to that game, so i do not believe it was realistic even when Indians could enter visa free. Imagine the prices JU would have to charge to tempt a passenger from say Heathrow to connect via Belgrade, rock bottom without the flexibility of multiple daily fights offered by TK and Mid east cohort.
DeleteTK is having issues getting more rights to India so TK isn't really an issue. TK serves India 2 daily (1 daily DEL, 1 daily BOM). To compare, TK serves Pakistan 5 daily on 3 routes.
DeleteThe biggest competitors are the ME3 but the geopolitical issues in the Gulf has created opportunities for other carriers, where in the past few months we have seen Euro carriers increase flights and destinations to India. Even nearby Aegean has intentions on launching flights to India.
Indigo has previously expressed interest in working with JU on a hypothetical BEG-India route as Indigo is looking at expanding their European presence.
@11:44 if Indigo can't make Manchester work for them then cannot see Belgrade even with JU working. But we live to be surprised...
DeleteWell they certainly have a spare plane for that.
ReplyDeleteTokyo or Seoul? Are they off the table? Haven't heard anything anymore into that direction....
ReplyDeleteNot saying Admin is hinting at something, but… vintage EX-YU + Johannesburg? 👀
ReplyDeleteSure. Sounds very viable for JU.
DeleteThailand might be worth considering, given the Middle East uncertainty and hundreds of thousands of Russians in Serbia, lots of them would definitely use the route.
ReplyDelete