Mixed messages over Swift Air flight launch
Tomorrow, Swift Air is to begin flights from Chicago to Belgrade via Zagreb. However, only yesterday the CEO of Zagreb Airport, Tonči Peović, said that the inaugural service would be cancelled until next Friday due to low interest. The announcement by Peović was denied by the Air Plus tour operator organising the flights as well as the Serbian Civil Aviation Agency which today confirmed the service to Belgrade with the Zagreb stopover. The operator has however transferred its operations from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Rockford Airport.Originally, flights to Zagreb and Belgrade were to be separate services, operated each once per week. It will be the first time Zagreb and Belgrade will see flights to Chicago in 20 years. The Swift Air flights are set to run until the end of September. Only a month ago the company claimed to be selling large amounts of tickets.
A revised timetable for the Chicago – Zagreb flight can be found here, while the revised timetable for the Chicago – Belgrade service via Zagreb can be viewed here.
@AleksNikolic
ReplyDeleteHas anybody contacted you mate? :( I think you are the one who have got the promotional ticket, right?
I just can not believe what is happening!
I cant wait for next week to see will there be any of the flight segments...
Tresla se planina, rodio se mis!!!! As always in the Balkans!
ReplyDeletecrap company I knew that.. there is even no website where u can book the flights. :)))
ReplyDeleteActually they doesn't have any proper web site! There is no campaign, no information only wishes. What a bunch of amateurs.
ReplyDeleteA long time ago I've read that if someone work any job investing his or her heart (emotions) may expect to suffer from a heart disease.
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing with Swift commencing flights to ZAG and BEG this summer has reminded me on the above sentence. I think that people involved in it have invested more of their emotions rather than knowledge and experience.
It is obvious that customers for such flights do exist on both sides on a year round basis, not within summer months only, but if the organizer failed to attract enough of them tells more about his experience and knowledge.
Where did they go wrong?
It's simple. Announcing start of operations much too late to attract enough passengers. Serious carriers announce initiation of certain routes up to a year, or at least a season in advance.
Lack of proper information to customers, poor marketing and failure to develop sales network, so as too many operational changes in short time(schedules, change of airports etc)
All the mentioned failures show nothing but a pure amateurism in an attempt to re-establish USA Serbia/Croatia flights finally. Doing job with heart (emotions) rather than with reason.
And a thing that scares me more is the fact that all these things will certainly discourage any similar attempt in future. The impact is so negative that I wouldn't be surprised if behind organization of this unsuccessful project is standing LH
Never would have thought this in a million years (lol)! Another crap carrier, with crap ethic.
ReplyDelete24th of June, same day as Hellenic is starting its flights direct to New York City with A340-300X
OT
ReplyDeleteHas anyone noticed that www.beg.aero is in cyrilic now?
I am waiting for this guy/boy/kid to come up with comment , maybe he is stuck on the airport and confused.
ReplyDeleteMent for aleksnikolic
ReplyDeleteFlyingJack told everything that should be mentioned about this topic.
ReplyDeleteDisappointing, but FlyingJack is right.
ReplyDeleteFlying Jack is absolutely right. I hope AleksNikolic got travel insurance, this is the one time it is useful. So what does Swift Air expect people to do that got vacations from work at this time. Most cannot just reschedule for next week. It seems like they not only want to fly to ex-yu they want to fly like the ex-yu airlines.
ReplyDeleteFunny, from their FB page:
ReplyDelete"AirPlus: Yes they are. 31" pitch is more than industry standard so i think passengers will be happy with service and seating.
May 8 at 8:21pm"
I thought the industry standard was 32inches... ouch for such a long flight...
@ Dreamliner
ReplyDeletehahaha fail ! i am cozily sitting in my home enjoying summer :) even though the weather is cold here now. the flight leaves ( or are supposed to) tomorrow, why would i be at the airport? i believe i got travel insurance, i just need to talk to the airline to work things out..... and its at* the airport not on...
@ JU500
no they havent buddy.... yes correct.
neka bude sta bude... i took this charter because i am not working, and i have all summer to choose when i would like to go, i am flexible yanno? no stress, dreamline u needa chill out bro.
ReplyDeletei know whats up with charter airlines, they change 24/7 everything and my grandpa tells me this ALL the time... i wasent even supposed to go this summer, so this still for me is perfect, thank you :)) but it is unprofessional, i just am gonna call the charter to make sure, for now their mailbox is full (no surprise) lol
dreamliner*^
ReplyDeleteAnd one BIG question, HOW is it LOW INTEREST????? The flight was completely SOLD OUT! They must be covering for something, I just need to get confirmation from the airline.
ReplyDeleteWhat I put here that it is disaster company and that it is dilettantism, most of you react as that I am stupid, that I don't have a clue, that problems are in Croatian agencies, that Belgrade flight is 90% full etc. If Belgrade flight is full they will fly to BEG and cancel just ZAG.
ReplyDeleteNow, all of you can see that it is dilettantism, that web page is dilettantism, that they start too late with selling flights etc... And web page is the same for several weeks now, they did not change it. So, how can you explain that it is dilettantism now, and it was not several weeks ago?
Actually, last week they updated the page. More accurately, just the other day they added the schedule change notice. But before that, they had a schedule.
ReplyDeleteAnd ok so then what about the 100's of people who booked tickets to Zagreb? They still have to service them.
nemoj da lazete ljude
ReplyDeletesacekajmo do sutra pa onda pljujte...
On June 14th there was message that web page will start to work on June 9th. Come one!!!!
ReplyDeleteHELLO, THE FLIGHT IS STILL SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW! I just talked to Air Plus, they said they are the ones to listen to. The 767-200 is parked at Rockford airport, the Air Plus people told me to call the airport and ask if I would like.... :))) YESSS
ReplyDeleteNice work Aleks - hope to see you wave from the window in LDZA and off to Belgrade on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope that'd you won't receive a last minute call from AirPlus that would demant all this...
Is this the Rockford-Zag-Beg route, or Rockford-Beg... ?
thnx
I will for sure Petar! I don't know whether it is better to sit on right or left side of airplane,(left / right looking when walking in)... If i have the choice to choose.
ReplyDeleteYes the flights are still via Zagreb my friend.
Wrong info. Swift WILL LAND the day after tomorrow at ZAG, but with very few passengers arriving in Croatia. Reliable info.
ReplyDeleteAleks - if the plane lands from the south side towards the north (90% of the time it lands in that direction), then it's better that you are on the left side of the plane- perhaps you'll catch a nice view of the city...at the airport that same side will be likely facing the airport building, so double win :)
ReplyDelete@anonymous - thanks to you too for this information.
Check out their FB page, they just put photos of what they claim to be the 767 at Rockford airport ready for tomorrow's flight:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/flyairplus
Which hotel are their crew using for the sleepover in Belgrade?
ReplyDeleteThis can also tell you something about the airline.
I dont know when these people will stop with this? At this point i think lawsuits are appropriate?! BTW, photos from yesterday,with crew and aircraft at RFD were sent to all of us travel agents... RFD confirmed landing at RFD, flightaware.com has records of flights, positioning flight was SWQ250, It looks like lots of people here, will be embaressed on Saturday... I never saw, this much negative talk in my life, and this much obsesive, and ridicilous comments motivated by pure "zloba" :) Purger, if the director of ZAG AP gives this kind of information two days before the aircraft needs to land, that shows you directly, what these guys are going trough, in that case would you have time for website?!
ReplyDeletePetar
ReplyDeleteI supposed so, thank you brate... and when you say left, do you mean left facing the front of the plane from the back? Becuase that is the side i always prefer:) and would be the right side when boarding, correct?
@ Dusan,
lawsuits for whom? and yes you are right, the plane is there and tomorrow ill be the inaugural flight:)
Yes, information is from Mr. Peovic, Zagreba airport CEO, old just two days.
ReplyDeleteAleks,
ReplyDeleteYes exactly - facing the front of the plane from the back or turning right upon boarding :)
Mr. Peovic, ts ts ts ts.
ReplyDeleteStill, he seems like a nice guy.
Afterall, he has shown a high level of committment towards the general idea of LDZA getting a direct flight to US, so I wouldn't think he misinformed on purpose.
Hopefully this will all get better and there'll be more flights in the future.
Je l' moguce ovo??
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the title of the article was changed from cancelled to confusion over this particular route. Suggestion is to pick a title and a story and stick by it if you are comfortable with your source. Maybe information is not clear but there is something weak about changing a title. You can always correct the story when new information from a reliable source comes online. I did not want to be critical, just helpful. I love the site and check it daily.
ReplyDelete@Aleks
ReplyDeleteYou won a $99 ticket? That is what they posted on FB.
@ Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteyes I did...! :D
What to say, Have a nice flight to all of you who will use this Flight's to/from Balkan (if they come true, what i would realy like). I know that u're used to fly (espetialy Serbians:) ) on a 30 y. old planes, so this trip will be just perfect for you. Acording to the Fb pictures and plane reg. this plane is older than me:)) it was Built on 30-09-1985 for Quantas.
ReplyDeleteI did not want to comment on speculation but it seems like someone in the area is putting out miss information on purpose. I'm not talking about anyone on this blog but persons / businesses that have an interest in seeing this charter either change or fail.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.beg.aero
ReplyDeleteDolasci
Q7 5131
CHICAGO
(via ZAGREB) 16:00 (18.06.) 16:00 (18.06.) Boeing 767-200
@Q400
ReplyDeleteThat is right. But i think the fact that pisses them off the most, is that they are not the first one to do it :) It's just good old "ZLOBA"
@ Aleks
Dude dont mind what is being said or blogged, you are in first group of 200 people that will after 20 years fly to Balkan non-stop... Also you are entering the history in some manner, as group of people, consisting of three ethnics, that could not live in one country but were able to travel together on single aircraft! That is history my friend. Lawsuit against intentional misinformation which caused material damage. When you are airline uou find yourself a good jewish lawyer and then you leave it up to him to get to the bottom of this kind of misinformation. That is how it is done in US. He finds one ticket that was refunded due to scare tactics this is all he needs, and then probably you would not see half of these anonymous here also :) They would all go back to work :)
@ Petar
It is hard to understand why Mr. Peovic did such a thing. But anyway, flights are coming.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ5131/history/20110618/0200Z/KRFD/LDZA
ReplyDeletelink is for flightaware.com
have a great flight!
@ last Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I am a big fan of flightaware.com This is so great to see. Let's hope it's just the beginning and we see many more non-stop flights from the US to ex YU
here we are waiting almost an hour after our flight was cancelled and there is nothing going on. they said they cannot get a license ... ahhahahahahah :D 235 people pretty pissed off ... :))
ReplyDeleteWhat's going on? is the flight gonna fly tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteseriously, wtf is going on...how can they say that on a night of the flight: no licence...
ReplyDeleteAleks-was the plane packed ?
NO! it got CANCELLED like forever, all flights!
ReplyDeleteYES! WE DIDNT GO IN, BUT THE LADIES TOLD ME THERE IS NOT ONE EMPTY SEAT, AND YOU CAN TELL AS THE GATE WAS PACKED...
Man it was nice, Serbs Croats and Bosnians socializing, chilling .. talking, about to fly but.. bla :PP