easyJet and Air Cairo soon in Belgrade
The low cost airline, easyJet, will be granted a license to launch flights from Milan Malpensa Airport to Belgrade this summer. The decision comes after the Serbian Ministry for Transport originally said it would decline to issue a permit to the no frills airline as the flights would clash with Jat Airways’ service between the two cities. However, the ministry has now issued a nonbinding advisory for easyJet to change the flight times instead, the “Aviokarta” portal reports. easyJet will launch the service between Milan and Belgrade on April 19 and will operate three weekly flights. Further details can be found here. Tickets have been on sale for some time now.
Jat Airways will now face tough competition on the route. The new arrival is expected to see Jat reduce its ticket prices. The airline will find comfort in the fact that it managed to stave off competition on the route in the past. Late last year low cost Air One launched flights between the two cities but cancelled the service this January. Alitalia codeshares on Jat’s flights between the two cities. With this new addition, easyJet will strengthen its position in the EX-YU region. It already operates flights to Ljubljana, Zagreb and Priština as well as across the Croatian coast in the summer.
Meanwhile, another low cost airline, Air Cairo, has also been granted a license to launch scheduled flights between the resort town of Hurghada in Egypt and the Serbian capital. Air Cairo, a subsidiary of the national carrier Egypt Air, will operate three weekly flights between Hurghada and Belgrade (every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday) starting March 28. Services will operate with an Airbus A320.
B&H AIRLINES UPDATE
B&H Airlines has once again cancelled all of its flights today, after operating a flight to Zurich yesterday. The airline is dealing with debt and unpaid loans.
Jat R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteAnd where disappeared sentence "From now on we will not allow LCC to compete with Jat?" by vice minister of parody, clowns and transportation? It seems that easyJet is little stronger than Serbian government... well they will find what reality is sooner or later.
The reality is that by flying the same days when Jat flies, easyJet will most likely follow the path of AirOne if they want to compete on the O&D route. I certainly don't see JU and AZ quitting BEG-MXP cause of easyJet, seriously. easyJet will most likely steal LH and LX pax bound for Spain and other destinations in Europe not covered by Jat.
DeleteI don't remember a day on this blog with more stupid and childish comments than today.
So, it is up to Government to decide that Jat has priority in choosing days? Where in the World is that rule on?
DeleteAnd huge system like easyJet with several thousands daily flights, hundreds of planes, frequencies that make logic (it is not logic to have 1---45-- flights) etc. will have to take care about Jat with 12 planes and less flights per week than easyJet has in an hour? Congratulations!
If that is main principle why Government does not insist on it in Jat too? How comes that for example Jat and Olympic fly on same days and there is no flights on Saturday? How comes than there are 3 flights to IST on Monday, and just one on Friday (TK and JU)? Why Jat has flights on same day as Germanwings (-2-4-6-), but non on 1-3-5-7?
So Turkey doesn't issues rights to QR on ESB-BEG where TK doesn't even flies and everybody is just perfectly fine with that.
DeleteOn the other hand Serbia hesitates to issue a license to easyJet on a route and exact days when JU already flies there - everybody on the forum gets hysteric talking of it as if it was the end of the world AND Serbia, cause of one low-cost airline(?!).
Ok, i respect your opinion but where is your lashing out at Turkey and Canada for stringently restricting foreign carriers?
If one wants his opinion to be taken seriously, at least he should put more efforts into showing himself objective and non-biased.
So Turkey doesn't issues rights to QR on ESB-BEG where TK doesn't even flies and everybody is just perfectly fine with that.
DeleteOn the other hand Serbia hesitates to issue a license to easyJet on a route and exact days when JU already flies there - everybody on the forum gets hysteric talking of it as if it was the end of the world AND Serbia, cause of one low-cost airline(?!).
Ok, i respect your opinion but where is your lashing out at Turkey and Canada for stringently restricting foreign carriers?
If one wants his opinion to be taken seriously, at least he should put more efforts into showing himself objective and non-biased.
So Turkey doesn't issues rights to QR on ESB-BEG where TK doesn't even flies and everybody is just perfectly fine with that.
DeleteOn the other hand Serbia hesitates to issue a license to easyJet on a route and exact days when JU already flies there - everybody on the forum gets hysteric talking of it as if it was the end of the world AND Serbia(?!).
Ok, i respect your opinion but where is your lashing out at Turkey and Canada for stringently restricting foreign carriers?
If one wants his opinion to be taken seriously, at least he should put more efforts into showing himself objective and non-biased.
Personally, i would have much preferred to have a direct flight to Ankara on QR than to pay a few Euros less to fly a low-cost to a place that can be reached for cheap money already anyway. I am not at all against easyJet but i fail to see the rationale behind all this drama.
DeleteYou cry about few dozen spare Euros? Then please don't fly, travel is not for you.
Ok, let's look at things as they really are:
DeleteBEG-MXP round-trip, departure 24.04.13 return 26.05.2013 (flexible).
PRICES
easyJet: 74 Euros.
Jat/Alitalia: 137 Euros.
FACTS
While JU allows a generous checked-in luggage, if you're unlucky enough and happen to want to travel with something more than bare-foot, you'll have to pay 29 Euros for 1 bag on easyJet at the moment of ticket booking, bringing the lowest available price to 103 Euros.
However, if you're really unhappy and happen to show at check-in with a bag that they'll not accept in the cabin or a suitcase that you forgot to pay for, then your fare will increase by the staggering 50 Euros for just one bag, bringing your lowest possible price (that you supposedly paid for, easy* charges 50, 90 and 100 Euros one-way per segment on some days) to 124 Euros so far.
Catering aside, this is how real price comparison looks, if you happen to travel with a luggage:
easyJet (paid online): 102 Euros.
easyJet (paid at the airport): 124 Euros.
Jat/Alitalia: 137 Euros.
So, are you ready to "lower your tail" to the low-cost service for a sake of saving few dozen Euros and without all the other benefits that come from flying legacy carriers (and earning AZ Milemiglia, on this route in particular)?
If someone will definitely have to "lower its tail to easyJet" and be "grounded" then it's you and nobody else.
But if to judge by the feedbacks on this forum, i guess we're gonna have lots of Croats and Bosniaks flying to MXP from Belgrade now, which is good for BEG airport.
Ultimately, easy will end up flying you with fares almost the same as Jat/Alitalia (even higher on some days), doing some damage to JU on one hand while bringing some extra tourists to Serbia on the other which quite compensates itself. At least they should have proven themselves useful by flying on the days when JU doesn't flies there (sorry for those who don't get it, it is the newcomer who has to adapt to the established one), giving passengers more choice and flexibility, but they've taken the road that might take them to their own demise on this particular line.
Anyhow, the numbers speak for themselves; seems like easyJet is not bringing the revolution in air travel to Serbia, much to your dismay, oh my dear drama-queens.
Ok, let's look at things as they really are:
DeleteBEG-MXP round-trip, departure 24.04.13 return 26.05.2013 (flexible).
PRICES
easyJet: 74 Euros.
Jat/Alitalia: 137 Euros.
FACTS
While JU allows a generous checked-in luggage, if you're unlucky enough and happen to want to travel with something more than bare-foot, you'll have to pay 29 Euros for 1 bag on easyJet at the moment of ticket booking, bringing the lowest available price to 103 Euros.
However, if you're really unhappy and happen to show at check-in with a bag that they'll not accept in the cabin or a suitcase that you forgot to pay for, then your fare will increase by the staggering 50 Euros for just one bag, bringing your lowest possible price (that you supposedly paid for, easy* charges 50, 90 and 100 Euros one-way per segment on some days) to 124 Euros so far.
Catering aside, this is how real price comparison looks, if you happen to travel with a luggage:
easyJet (paid online): 102 Euros.
easyJet (paid at the airport): 124 Euros.
Jat/Alitalia: 137 Euros.
So, are you ready to "lower your tail" to the low-cost service for a sake of saving few dozen Euros and without all the other benefits that come from flying legacy carriers (and earning AZ Milemiglia, on this route in particular)?
If someone will definitely have to "lower its tail to easyJet" and be "grounded" then it's you and nobody else.
But if to judge by the feedbacks on this forum, i guess we're gonna have lots of Croats and Bosniaks flying to MXP from Belgrade now, which is good for BEG airport.
Ultimately, easy will end up flying you with fares almost the same as Jat/Alitalia (even higher on some days), doing some damage to JU on one hand while bringing some extra tourists to Serbia on the other which quite compensates itself. At least they should have proven themselves useful by flying on the days when JU doesn't flies there (sorry for those who don't get it, it is the newcomer who has to adapt to the established one), giving passengers more choice and flexibility, but they've taken the road that might take them to their own demise on this particular line.
CONCLUSIONS
The numbers speak for themselves; seems like easyJet is not bringing the revolution in air travel to Serbia, much to your dismay, oh my dear drama-queens.
one thing these low costs do offer is reasonable one-way fares.
DeleteSo, ya, I do like flying one-way with no bags to Milan and returning one way from Rome, for example.
I'll be flying this to Milan one way and probably flying back via Basel wizzair
QR921
DeleteLot of Croats will fly to Milan from Belgrade by Easyjet? Where are you from dude? Do you know anything about geography and real life in ex-yu? 90% of population of Croatia (except 10% in poorest Slavonia) lives between 5 and 9 hours DRIVE from Belgrade. Do you really think somebody from Zagreb,Zadar,Pula or Rijeka will drive 5-7 hours by car to Belgrade to take Easyjet to Milan? You need the same hours, and the same costs to drive to Milan itself. But I expected nothing less from you, knowing you had compared QR and SU to JU and OU some days ago!
"But I expected nothing less from you, knowing you had compared QR and SU to JU and OU some days ago!"
DeleteSorry i don't remember that.
Well what i was saying is based on the reactions coming from people from Croatia and Bosnia seen here, who seemed to be the most frustrated and enraged at the possibility of Serbia denying the license to easyJet, so i guess it's because they're eager to use the flights for themselves, why getting so overemotional otherwise?
They just embarrassed themselves by showing the teeth and than have to lower the tail! Like little kitten. It would not be so embarrassed if they give them license in first place. Now it looks so shameful and miserable!!!
ReplyDeleteI think you are all getting it in the very wrong way, like as if you were watching box a dog fight(?!). I don't remember anyone saying that they will not get the license. The problem were the days of the week when they're flying. So ultimately they were welcomed, since it is in the general interest, yet advised they should change their schedule. That seems reasonable to me.
DeleteSure... it is reasonable, but not in same time for Olympic, Turkish, Germanwings...
DeleteAnd in same time there was viceminister statement "That in future there will be no more easy LCC entrance in 'strategic' routes where Jat has monopoly".
So, we can expect them to set up a base here in about a year, year and a half
ReplyDelete2 bases
DeleteNo, no 3: one in Morava! hahahaha
DeleteAnd what happened on BEG-LON route after W6 arrived?
ReplyDeleteW6 departs BEG at stupid o'clock and JAT carries on...
I think there is a big chance of easyJet starting BEG-BCN or MAD.
DeleteThere is absolutely zero chance of that. Zero. No base base in either BCN or MAD, and certainly not enough demand
DeleteI would like to remind you that Spanair was flying full A321 4 times a week from BEG. How come now there is no demand, would you be kind enough to elaborate? easyJet is not only there to catch the O&D pax anyway, they'll also rely on MXP transfers to Spain amongst others.
DeleteKoja sramota!
ReplyDeleteDi češ na stinu bez dinamita?
Tup se s rogatim nemere bosti!
A je im easyJet pokazao kako je to kad se igraju sa jačim od sebe! Spustilo malo na zemlju, ha?
A hoces li nam pokazati kako "im je to easyJet pokazao" i u cemu je veza izmedju "snage" jedne low-cost kompanije i jedne drzave?! Ne cini mi se da su jedno drugom konkurent. A ako je neko nekome ikada pokazao, to je Ryanair Madjarskoj. U svakom slucaju, u interesu svih strana je bilo da oni zapocnu te letove, pa i vlade Srbije i drzave u celini. Bilo je ocigledno od pocetka da ce dobiti dozvolu, zato su i prodavali karte, iako je ne protiv Jata nego zdravog razuma zasto bi oni leteli tih istih dana kad i Jat leti, time samo sebi pripremaju sudbinu sa kojom se susreo AirOne, nista vise.
DeletePo svemu što se pročitati dalo, ali i informacijama sa strane jasno je da je Vlada željela odhebati easyJet. Konačno i doministar je to izjavio u rečenici "Ubuduće nečemo više dozvoljavati LCC da tako lako dođu na Jatovo tržište".
DeleteNo, isto je tako jasno da je easyJet daleko utjecajniji od Vlade Srbije, što je više nego jasno. Očito je tu bilo pokazivanja tko ima večeg pišu, i tu je easyJet pokazao da je njegov bitno veči. Konačno večina se pokazala i u činjenici da su prodavali karte iako nisu imali dozvolu!
A odakle toliko interesovanje Hrvata i Bosnjaka za easyJet u Beogradu?!
DeleteThe poor jat pilots must be very upset!
ReplyDeleteAir Cairo is NOT a low-cost airline. It's a charter airline and flights will be sold through Serbian tour operators for holidays in Red Sea.
ReplyDeleteW6 TO become SERBIAN Airways Love
ReplyDeleteGood news for the public. Unfortunately it shows how unprofessional the government/directorate are. They shoud either grant or not grant. Intereference in schedules is ridiculous. This was maybe possible at time when bilaterals existed.
ReplyDeletewhen serbia becomes financially strong and economicaly powerful country, than srb can decdide who is welcome and who isnt. now, when we still have 250 euros average salary per month, its better to fly easyjet for 60 euros rt, than to use jat for 180 euros rt ticket to mxp. thank you easy for helping serbians to travel and thank u for giving us a choice. welcome!
ReplyDeleteWrong, for the first part : It has nothing to do with Serbia, or any other country, being rich or poor. It's only about LAWS and REGULATIONS. Germany, Norway, Sweden, UK, are the richest in Europe, but are not allowed to refuse Easyjet, or BulgariaAir or any other european airline. Simply, air traffic in Europe is supposed to be "open sky" traffic.
DeleteFor the second part, I agree completely, Easy should be welcome in Serbia for helping serbians to travel and giving a choice.
I am so happy about Easyjet.
DeleteThat does not mean that i have anything against Jat,
I dont think prices are the problem.
Problem is worn out aircraft and bad inflight service of Jat.
Jat simply is airline in very bad state.
That means it could be better under other circumstances.
Wait a minute... who said that easyjet is cheap? lol.. when i compare there prices here in NL most of the time there is not a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteThey sell the ticket for 29 euro, with all taxes en shit in the end its 80, put 13 euro more to it and i flew with KLM with no bullshit.
No more hidden taxes with easyJet. Only charge you pay for is a check-in bag or if you pay with a credit card. Wait and see how AF/KLM will follow their example very shortly. easyJet is a great airline!
Deletemaybe there in NL the difference is 15 euros OW ticket, but here in SRB the difference is 70 euros OW ticket, because the cost of servicing brand new klms airbus a320, or boeing 777 is 0 in compering with 30 years old jats boeing 733 - so expencive. and from ams to mxp or cdg or bcn u have 15 flights per day and from beg to bcn no flights, to cdg 1 per day, to ber 4 pw... blablabla...
DeleteGood choice. Serb government signed up into the ECAA Agreement, they have to stick to the letter of the law. EasyJet can fly anytime it wants.
ReplyDeleteAir Cairo's first flight will be on April,28th or may be even later.
ReplyDeleteHow you know that? I hope that will be some flights early in April.
DeleteThis whit BH airlines looks like joke man..who the hell is flying them anymore..
ReplyDeleteFinally we will get Easyjet!
ReplyDeleteThis Easyjet flights are wonderful and will boost Belgrades numbers
ReplyDeleteeven more!
Jat Airways has not to fear them.
When Emirates start nonstop flights from MXP to JFK ,Jat easily can codeshare with them or tag on!
So Jat can feed EK with transit pax and Easyjet concentrate on O&D.
End EK is just waiting for Jat!!! Without Jat colaboration they would never start MXP-JFK... Hahahaha...
ReplyDeleteReally, really excellent news for folks traveling to Belgrade. Easyjet is a top-notch airline and this will be a real treat for Serbian tourists as well as for international visitors to Serbia. Real competition is here, and other airlines will need to lower their prices as well. In other words, no more price-gouging for flights to Belgrade!
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming the Air Cairo ops will serve as seasonal operations?
ReplyDelete