No go for Pegasus’ Belgrade flights
The Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has rejected an application made by the low cost Pegasus Airlines to launch flights from Istanbul to Belgrade next month, citing terms of a bilateral air agreement between the two countries from 1953, the “Aviokarta.net” portal reports. Sources close to the issue have told EX-YU aviation news that both Jat Airways and Turkish Airlines have been strongly lobbying against Pegasus which posed a threat to their duopoly on the route. Pegasus is said to be planning to apply for a license again.Pegasus Airlines anticipated launching scheduled flights from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport to Belgrade from October 2. Four weekly flights were planned to be operated with the Boeing 737-800. Pegasus has been running summer charters to Serbia over the past few years. Within the former Yugoslavia it maintains scheduled flights to both Skopje and Priština. During the 2012/2013 winter season, Jat Airways will operate four weekly flights to Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport while its rival Turkish Airlines will carry out a total of ten weekly flights.
Serbia and Turkey have had a troubled relationship when it comes to aviation. Over the past few years there have been difficulties over issuing licenses to charter airlines (including this year as well). Two years ago, Turkey threatened it would revoke Jat’s rights to fly to Istanbul if licenses to Turkish charter airlines were not issued by Serbian authorities. In 1992, a Jat Boeing 737-300 (registered YU-ANJ) was grounded in Istanbul by Turkish authorities, under the pretext of international sanctions. After sitting in Istanbul inactive for eight years, the jet was returned to Belgrade on May 9, 2000.
it is shame that the duopoly will stay. No benefit to pax at all. JAT and THY can charge any price they like.No real competition.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable!!
ReplyDeleteGod I am sick of reading such comments on this blog.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all it is Jat and not JAT and second of all, there are no negative side effects to the Jat-Turkish duopoly on the market.
For those who consider Turkish Airlines as expensive are more than welcome to fly on board Jat Airways since they charge only €140 for a return flight.
Operating flights is not cheap for airlines so can we be realistic when commenting. Especially when we have an expensive airport like Istanbul Ataturk in mind (in relation to JU-TK fares. If you want to go cheaply to Istanbul you are more than welcome to take the bus!
And ex-yu, the least you could have done is to put the current livery of Pegausus.
I guess you work for JAT.
DeleteWhy is more competition bad for the consumer?
No, I do not- JAT no longer exists. I also do not work for Jat.
DeleteI have nothing against new airlines at BEG, the more the better. My comment was directed towards those who complain that the fares are expensive. The fares are like that because of the oil price, not because of the duopoly.
The worst thing that could happen for the consumer is Jat going bust.
DeletePeople don't understand that LCCs fly only to extremely profitable destinations. When you give away ECAA, "Open Skies" and other treaties you basically introduce competition to Jat on profitable destinations while effectively compelling and expecting them to fly also to the unprofitable ones, effectively forcing them into impossible situation (even if they were far more efficient company).
Pure market approach only leads to loosing less profitable direct connections.
That is for sure something that serious countries do not do. For example Germany did not ratify ECAA treaty (yet, to my knowledge).
Germany is actually a very good example when it comes to the protection of the market. Emirates has been asking for more destinations within Germany for years now but they are constantly turned down by the German authorities. Same thing with Canada and the Middle Eastern carriers.
DeleteMarket based approach (libertarianism) simply doesn't work in practice. It might be a good idea in theory but that is all.
I wish more people in Serbia would have your understanding of aviation and the importance of Jat for the Serbian traveller.
Doesn't make sense.
DeleteYou're saying Jat flies some unprofitable routes that are subsidized by the profitable ones?
Surely with as few planes as it has Jat can find only and enough profitable routes.
Please re-read what he wrote, it is quite clear.
DeleteJat shouldn't be flying to any unprofitable destination and, as a consumer, I don't want to be subsidizing other people's trips.
DeleteOnce again you have failed to understand what MD was trying to say. He never said that Jat was flying to unprofitable destinations but rather that lowcosts only operate to extremely profitable destinations. In case Jat would go belly up a lot of 'not-so-profitable-destinations' would be cancelled, or rather not taken over by Wizz Air or any other lowcost airline.
DeleteCome on, 140E is totally cheap, and you probably want to land at Ataturk anyways, it's the one airport which is connected to the city. It takes you 2 hours easily by bus to get to the city from Sabiha Gokcen. As for connecting flights, you probably want THY anyways, if only for the great food and the new planes. And as previous anon said: if you want cheap take the bus, it's only ~20h
ReplyDeleteOT, since comments are closed on the BEG topic from yesteday: the day BEG gets tram or train connection to the city we can think about calling it modern airport, regional hub, best in southeastern Europe, ready for widebodies...
I think the problem with the rail connection to Belgrade is that the airport doesn't handle that much traffic as it is. What might be a good solution is to do what the Dutch did. Make all trains that go to Belgrade or depart from Belgrade pass through BEG.
DeleteI must say that the current links are not bad either. There is the public transport line 72 which runs every half an hour from the airport to the city center. The line is surprisingly punctual.
For those who want to depart from Slavija there is taht private bus company. I think it is nice that there are two links to the city from different places in Belgrade.
Let's also not forget that there is a direct bus line from Belgrade to Novi Sad.
Great food?
DeleteYou really have low criteria concerning food.
THY offers food in economy class that only Turks could eat.
Also, line 72 costs 150 dinars which is about €1.25, while the line that goes from Slavija is, if I am not mistaken, 300 dinars or roughly €2.70
DeleteAerobus (A1) from Slavija to Airport cost 250 RSD
DeleteThere we go, that is even cheaper.
DeleteBus is fine for now, but it doesn't come even close to direct train (metro!) connection which is signature European airport experience. Ideally, long distance fast trains would pass through BEG, but even BG:Voz extension will do for the next 10 years (with departures every 15 mins).
DeleteI think BG Voz would be the best solution because they could extend the lint to Surcin. Also I fear that if one day we get a metro it might be too expensive compared to what the prices are now.
DeleteBG Voz is dirt cheap and extremely punctual.
to say BEG can't succeed without a train is ludacris. IAD doesn't have a train (until next year) and is known for being fairly far away and isolated from d.c.
DeleteBEG's time for widebodies will come, and it will not wait for some choo-choo train to come first.
Let's not mention the train like to IAD, it was delayed so many times because of stupid politics; but the airport still managed to survive. If I recall correctly IAD doesn't even had a bus link to downtown Washington. That means you are only left with the option of taking a taxi. By the way IAD is some 120 kms away from downtown DC.
DeleteTK is offering salmon fume, cheese, desert with high quality red wine in economy class . It was really great for me. I dont think that this is the food only Turkish can eat as I aet. Let s be honest, they are really good in terms of product...
ReplyDeleteTo the guy with high "criteria concerning food" that replied to you:
DeleteSure, they serve food only Turks could eat. That's why for several years running they win the "Best Airline in Europe Award."
http://www.worldairlineawards.com/awards_2011/europe.htm
Seriously, some people are so ignorant it's unreal. You cannot compare airline food with Michelin star restaurants. You must compare apples with apples.
Did he recently look himself in the mirror? Serbs are very close to Turks, perhaps moreso than to any other nation, except other South Slavs. Our cuisines are quite similar, and spices used are more or less the same, eventhough Turkish cuisine has more Middle Eastern influences. Dishes we consider to be "national dishes" are actually Turkish, or are at least shared with the Turks.
DeleteAnyway, "only Turks could eat" is such a stupid thing to say from Serbia, as we are not at all different. If you were Asian, that would be a different story. But here, it's about good or bad food, and I recall their short-haul meals to be very good, by airline standard of course.
"Only Turks could eat" is ridiculous. Food in Istanbul is fantastic and not all that different from Serbian. Serbian cuisine is basically Turkish cuisine.
DeleteI've never eaten better than when in Istanbul. What Belgrade promises, Istanbul delivers is my experience.
Well you argument might be valid if you were not always around this blog trolling and spreading hate about Belgrade.
DeleteThe statements I make about food in Istanbul are untrue because you don't like what I say about Belgrade?
DeleteThat's not a very logical argument.
Actually it is very logical because you are always negatively commenting on the Serbia and Belgrade. Since I can remember you have not posted anything positive on one of those two things. Your comments are biased.
DeleteWell, the food I've had in Istanbul is great. Sorry if you think that me thinking that Belgrade is a pretty rotten place somehow makes that untrue.
DeleteSilly balkanites.
I was in Istanbul countless times as it is not far from where I live and the food is not good anywhere you go. The same applies for Belgrade. There are some places with good food and some with bad.
DeleteIt has nothing to do with being from the Balkans, it has to do with common sense.
Just saying that my experience is that Istanbul exceeds Belgrade in all the points that Belgraders are (often without cause) proud of - Food, nightlife, hospitality, friendliness, general vibrancy.
DeleteYou seem to think I can't make this point because I've said bad things about Belgrade. This seems like a silly position to take. Essentially you're saying I can't say that I find one place better than the other because I've found the other place bad in the past. I guess only those who think Belgrade is made of awesome are authorized to make a comment or comparison about Belgrade.
Silly.
Zelimo Pegasus u Beogradu. Slobodna konkurencija!
ReplyDeleteJat i Turkish Airlines ne smeju drzati monopol. Posebno Jat sa raspalim avionima. Sramota!
We want Pegasus in Belgrade!!!
Ps. Molim Vas uklonite ove ogavne komentare nacionalista i prostka iz susednih zemalja. Kakvo je to sirenje mrznje i vredjanje Srba?
Fully agree with you and name this site finally to what it really is i.e. Serbian Aviation News
DeleteThis aviation blog publishes news about Serbia the most because it is the market with most things going on. It is not their problem you can't live with it. You are more than welcome to create your own and report only on things from your country.
DeleteSure there is not more news from Serbia than Croatia which has 9 airports (comparing to Serbian 2), at lest 100 more companies to fly into and 120% more passangers per year than Serbia.
DeleteIt is not problem that most news are for Serbia, and of course someone can create his own blog with news from that country, but than if it is Serbian it is wrong to call it exYU Aviation News.
I will never say that this blog is just Serbian one, but disparity is evident.
Disparity is evident, and author is evidently BEG-based. But, he/she tries to cover all the exYU markets, even though it might be difficult. That is why people all around exYU are more than welcome to contribute to the blog! You can help remedy the disparity, so don't hesitate to do so.
DeleteWhoever the author is I think him/she/they are doing a great job
DeleteThis blog is good,maybe even too good for some of the issues aviation in the former Yugoslavia has.
DeleteSerbian politics could make a open-skies treaty
ReplyDeleteto the top priority of their diplomatic relations with Turkey !
Instead they sit on treaties still made with the Ottoman Empire ...
Serbian politicians are busy with a lot of things...
really doing politics seems to be not priority.
ummm... I'm quite sure I saw Friday, Sept 14th Pegasus craft flying toward BEG airport (I live in Belgrade by the way so it was descending and clearly visible).
ReplyDeleteYes they fly charters to BEG during the summer. They wanted to start scheduled all year round flights but were rejected by the directorate as the article says.
Delete