Hong Kong Airlines has secured regulatory approval to operate scheduled flights from Hong Kong to Belgrade and Zagreb as part of a wider application to amend its operating licence. The carrier recently received approval from Hong Kong's Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA), permitting it to operate passenger, cargo and mail services to both cities at unrestricted frequencies. The amended licence is valid until March 24, 2028. Belgrade and Zagreb are among numerous destinations included in the airline's extensive list of authorised routes, covering cities across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia. Within the region, the airline has also been issued permits for Bucharest and Budapest flights.
The inclusion of Belgrade and Zagreb does not necessarily indicate that Hong Kong Airlines intends to introduce flights to either city. Airlines frequently secure traffic rights for a wide range of destinations to provide greater operational flexibility and accommodate potential future network expansion. Hong Kong Airlines is a full-service carrier established in 2006 and based at Hong Kong International Airport. Formerly owned by Hainan Airlines’ parent company, the HNA Group, the carrier operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising of A320, A321 and widebody A330 aircraft.
Hong Kong was one of Belgrade’s busiest unserved destinations in Asia prior to the launch of flights to Guangzhou in 2024, which is located just 120 kilometres northwest of the city. On the other hand, the Croatian Embassy in China recently held discussions with Cathay Pacific regarding the carrier’s potential launch of seasonal flights to Croatia. In a statement, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said, “Seasonal flights from Hong Kong could represent a logical first step. Before the pandemic, Croatia welcomed around 40.000 visitors from Hong Kong each year, compared to approximately 10.000 today”. It should be noted that Cathay Pacific also holds valid permits to launch flights to both Belgrade and Zagreb if it wishes to do so.
Interesting
ReplyDeleteGreat comment.
DeleteHave you had a chance to read the article since writing it?
12:48 needs some D
DeleteThat guy only reads the headline. He's too busy to read the entire article.
DeleteI wonder if anything will actually come out of this.
ReplyDeletePeople should manage their expectations.
DeleteBig big time.
DeleteAt least it shows that Belgrade and Zagreb are on the radar of more Asian carriers. Whether anything comes of it remains to be seen, but it is encouraging that these markets are being considered.
DeleteBudapest is also included. I imagine Hong Kong Airlines would find it a more attractive market than either Belgrade or Zagreb given its tourism demand and larger international profile.
DeleteI remember when even the idea of a direct flight from Belgrade and Zagreb to China sounded unrealistic. Things can change rather quickly in aviation, so I wouldn't dismiss this completely.
DeleteI remember when even the idea of a direct flight from Belgrade and Zagreb to China sounded unrealistic. Things can change rather quickly in aviation, so I wouldn't dismiss this completely.
DeleteThe idea of a direct flight from Ljubljana to New York sounded unrealistic just a couple of months ago and here we are.
DeleteWould Hong Kong flights make sense for Belgrade considering Guangzhou is served as well? And how close the two cities are?
ReplyDeleteThere are actually indications that Hong Kong-Belgrade will start very soon ;) but not with Hong Kong Airlines
DeleteGuangzhou and Hong Kong might be close geographically but they are very different markets. Hong Kong is a major international hub with excellent connections to Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia. Also people from Chinese mainland need permit to enter Hong Kong, so it's unlikely you will see significant overlap.
Delete@9.04 who?
DeleteCathay Pacific to Zagreb would make much more sense than Hong Kong Airlines in my opinion. CX has a massive connecting network across Asia and Australia and could potentially fill a seasonal service with tourists.
ReplyDeleteI think Zagreb has a realistic chance of securing seasonal flights from Hong Kong, particularly if the Croatian tourism authorities are willing to support the route.
DeleteBelgrade already has flights to Guangzhou which is practically next door to Hong Kong. Not sure there is enough demand for another airline from the same region.
ReplyDeleteStill don't get that the Chinese are trying to monopolize the China-Serbia market and drive JU out if it?
DeleteThey are doing this to all foreign airlines they possibly can. 🤷♂️
European airlines in general do not do very well to China.
DeleteBecause
Delete1) Chinese airlines offer very low prices and don't care about profits
2) Chinese nationals prefer flying with Chinese carriers
3) Chinese tour operators prefer to work with Chinese carriers
And Chinese carriers can fly over Russia unlike European ones.
DeleteI wish JU would start HKG.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion would make more sense instead of Guangzhou. Leave China Southern there and launch Hong Kong. Try to make a good codeshare with Cathay and offer excellent connections to Australia.
DeleteMaybe to switch from Guangzhou to Hong Kong
DeleteIt is probably too early.
DeleteBetter study the market for years and years until a Chinese carrier actually launches it.
Then say it is no longer viable to fly it.
The process can be repeated indefinitely and everywhere.
They have expanded long haul operations every year since 2022 and plan to expand it next year again. So I don't know what you are on about. They have direct competition on just 1 long haul route.
DeleteThey discontinued one and are only flying twice a week at best on the others.
DeleteWhile the A330 fleet can be much better utilized.
New York is operated daily in summer. So I'm not sure how it is twice a week at best. Or you think they should fly daily everywhere from a market such as Serbia? Again, going back to your original rant, I'm not sure where they are waiting for others to launch considering they have competition on just 1 long haul route. Meaning they took the first step on all the others.
DeleteNobody talked about NY as you know but about the claim of "expanded long haul operations every year since 2022" which is false.
DeleteWhat is right is that the A330 fleet is underutilized and that they keep studying and contemplating new routes for years and years.
What is true is that they have expanded long haul every year since 2022, that routes are not operating 2 weekly "at best" as you have written or that they have allowed competing airlines to open the same routes instead, as they only have competition on 1 route. So pretty much your entire comment is false. If you wish to bankrupt a relatively small airline, yes they should open 20 new long haul routes to please you and give you a chance to spit venom when those routes fail because they can't be sustained from a market such as Serbia.
DeleteWhat JU should with its extra capacity is 1) launch PEK and 2) increase frequencies on the existing routes.
DeleteJust my2cents
^ they don't actually have that much extra capacity
Delete^ Actually they do. Only 10 departures a week from BEG for 4 aircraft.
DeleteAnd now calculate how long the block flight times are and how long the aircraft layover is in each city and then check when each aircraft has its maintenance slot. You will see it's not as simple as you think.
DeleteThere is no need for the aircrafts to spend a whole day on the destination airport.
DeleteThey should either pay up for crews 2-3 day hotel stays or increase frequencies.
In 2026 very few airlines are left who park their aircraft on a long haul destination so that the same crew flies the return leg.
Hong Kong would be an excellent option for transfers to/from Australia and avoidance of Gulf hubs.
ReplyDeleteIndeed
DeleteInteresting how Asian airlines are increasingly looking at secondary European markets.
ReplyDeleteSecondary is being polite..
Delete^ Nothing like a selth loathing Balkanite.
DeleteRealistic tho
DeleteWell it's true. How are Zagreb and Belgrade secondary? If Heathrow, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Madrid are primary then surely secondary is Stockholm, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Athens.
DeleteBoth BEG and ZAG are secondary European airports.
DeletePutting ZAG and BEG in the same group is not serious.
DeleteWell Croatia remains an overall larger economy and larger aviation market so it despite Belgrade being the regions hub Croatia has ite role too.
DeleteCroatian economy is only 10% bigger so it makes no significant difference.
DeleteThe point is that we are talking here about Zagreb and not about Croatia.
Croatian economy being bigger while having half the population is wild.
DeleteIs it though? A member of EU for quite some time now.
DeleteBulgaria is also an EU member but it's economy is similar to ours.
DeleteSerbian aviation market is bigger than Croatian. Presumptions by the end of the year, Serbian economy will also be bigger than Croatian this year already.
Delete@18:56 you are wrong on the aviation market. Croatia is the largest overall market in ExYu.
Delete@18:25 the Bulgarian economy is significantly larger, so not 'close'. But that is not relevent. Serbia and Balelgrade has a more diverse and wide-ranging connectivity than its neighbours which is healthy indeed.
DeleteHong Kong is one of the destinations I would genuinely like to see from Belgrade. It would open up some excellent travel possibilities
ReplyDeletetriangular routing Hong Kong-Belgrade-Zagreb-Hong Kong would be great :D
ReplyDeleteAt losing money..
DeleteI tried booking a ticket to Guangzhou with Air Serbia when they had the recent promotion. However, there was no option to book CAN past the 2026/2027 winter season, like they have removed it from the system starting April 2027. Shanghai was still there.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't removed it, they haven't put it on sale yet. Just like Baku was not on sale until last week or Toronto until 10 days ago. They are still loading their summer network. Also, your comment really has nothing to do with today's article.
DeleteIf all other flights are available for sale, and CAN is the only one that is not, something is strange. Furthermore, it's quite related - both airports serve the Greater Bay area so traffic to/from one may affect the other.
DeleteIt is not strange. They have not fully loaded the schedule for next summer including quite a few new routes.
DeleteHe wants you to say that it is cancelled so he can be happy.
DeleteSorry, but why would he be happy if the route would be canceled? He tried to book a flight with JU during the promotion to save some money. It didn't work, so he is asking logically why. He received explanation of possible cause and that's it.
Delete@09:24 assuming some hate, calm down. Aint cool.
DeleteHe seems very unhappy with the explanation which is rather logical and saying how it is strange and makes no sense.
DeleteThere were people writing just 2 weeks ago how Toronto is cancelled because it wasn't on sale. Then they went quiet when it was put on sale.
DeleteThere were people writing here recently flights from Zagreb to China would never happen. Then they went quiet when the flights started. And what? What are you trying to say? I don't understand. What seasonal Toronto has to do with year-round Guangzhou?
DeleteWell, technically they did NOT. There is a HUGE stop in Bucharest, out of all places.
DeleteOf course, you are right. Air China flight Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb does not exist, Air China A330 does not land in Zagreb and passengers between the two do not travel. In parallel Universe which exist only in some nazi heads
DeleteInstead of having another regional carrier jump into the exact same catchment area as Guangzhou, where Air Serbia already had to scale back to just one weekly flight this summer, JU should seriously consider shifting its own operations to Hong Kong. Moving to Hong Kong would allow Air Serbia to immediately escape direct competition from China Southern on the Guangzhou route. It would also unlock a massive transfer passenger potential and provide access to a far superior cargo market. Right now, high-yield air freight is crucial, yet most of it is being swept up by Hainan Airlines or routed through the Lufthansa Group. Switching to Hong Kong is the logical strategic move for Air Serbia to actually secure its footprint in the region.
ReplyDeleteI agree. But I assume that flying to Hong Kong is much more expensive for an airline than Guangzhou.
DeleteDoes anyone has any idea if JU's loads have improved since they signed the codeshare with China Southern?
DeleteThe codeahare does not start for another 3 days and do you know their loads on this route to begin with?
DeleteIt is worth noting that the number of Chinese visiting Serbia is down 30% this year.
Is Serbia doing any real promotion in China?
DeleteThey are but Serbia is becoming more expensive (hotels prinarily) and no longer offers value for money
DeleteI heard the numbers dropped in Budapest as well.
Delete10:50 Number of Chinese tourists in Serbia is growing every year, so in 2026. so far. But you can still hope and pray for drop until the end of the year.
DeleteWhy would anyone hope and pray for that? Calm down
Delete
Delete@19.03
I'm not hoping and praying for anything
According to the Serbian Statistical Office, January - August data
Arrivals from China
90,594
-27.0% year-on-year
Overnight stays
249,341
-19.4% year-on-year
But maybe the official statistical office is making numbers up to spite you.
Number of Chinese tourists is generally down across Europe. I assume the war in the Middle East had something to do with it. Also the protests in Belgrade during the first few months of the year likely didn’t help improve numbers. In Croatia it is very similar. Down 31.8%.
DeleteI would be very surprised if Hong Kong Airlines actually launched either route. Their European presence is still fairly limited and there are much larger markets they could enter first.
ReplyDeleteLarger doesn't necessarily means more profitable.
DeleteOnly BEG has a point. Big regional hub etc
DeletePublished by their Ministry 5 months ago. Well done Admin LOL
ReplyDeleteOne thing worth considering is cargo.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know how many passengers currently travel between Zagreb and Hong Kong via Doha, Dubai and Istanbul.
ReplyDeleteCroatia receiving only 10,000 visitors from Hong Kong nowadays is quite disappointing. There is clearly room for recovery but I doubt a direct flight alone would bring numbers back to pre pandemic levels.
DeletePeople are focusing too much on tourists from Hong Kong itself. The real opportunity is connecting passengers from Australia, Taiwan, Japan and Southeast Asia travelling to Europe through HKG.
DeleteThat is precisely why Cathay Pacific would be a much better fit. Its connecting network is considerably stronger than that of Hong Kong Airlines.
DeleteAir Serbia should seriously consider Hong Kong as a future long-haul destination. With its regional feeder network it could potentially make the route work, especially with onward connections.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia already has a lot on its plate with its existing long haul network. I would rather see more frequencies on established routes before another ambitious expansion.
DeleteWould be nice to have at least one Asian airline besides the Chinese carriers operating long-haul flights to Belgrade. More competition would hopefully improve fares.
ReplyDeleteAren't they Chinese also?
DeleteFor anon 09:17
ReplyDeleteWhile airport charges and operating fees at HKG might be higher than in CAN, the financial yields from the cargo market alone would more than compensate for the difference. The demand for HKG cargo in BEG is massive and already proven. Smaller shipments arrive daily on scheduled flights via ZRH, MUC, and FRA, while heavier freight is continuously distributed by 4 to 6 road feeder service trucks per week from FRA and VIE alone. This adds up to dozens of tons of cargo originally sourced from HKG every single week, not even counting what HU brings in. JU is essentially leaving millions in high-yield revenue on the table by not flying directly to the source. The premium yields from both passengers and freight make HKG a much more lucrative investment despite the higher costs.
Yes, you are right. Thanks for the explanation and welcoming your further insight 👍.
Delete@09:44
DeleteIsn't JU from CAN carrying any of that cargo flow?
Recently MyFreighter and one more airline had many flights from HKG to BEG via Almaty and Tashkent.
DeleteMy guess is that neither airline will launch these routes before 2028. They are simply keeping their options open, which is perfectly normal.
ReplyDeleteIs Ljubljana on their list?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteThat would be pushing it. lol
DeleteSo nice, Congrats BEG and ZAG, even though I’d rather see Cathay Pacific to BEG
ReplyDeleteOn what? Nothing concrete has occured at all
DeleteCongrats on being considered
DeleteDo they belong to Hainan?
ReplyDeleteThe livery is the same.
" Formerly owned by Hainan Airlines’ parent company, the HNA Group,"
DeleteThey said they will change their livery soon do dissociate from HNA
Kinezi baš navalili da lete za Jugoslavijilu..
ReplyDeleteOd Vardara pa do Triglava od Djerdapa pa do Jadrana 🙂
DeleteBetter they fly to Hong Kong than to Guangzhou, according to LF people were saying here.
ReplyDelete