Winter 2013/14
Air Serbia, B&H and Montenegro

Winter changes for Air Serbia, B&H Airlines and Montenegro Airlines

The 2013/14 Northern Hemisphere winter season begins tomorrow, October 27, and will last until March 30, 2014. Continuing last week’s reporting on Adria Airways’ and Croatia Airlines’ winter season network changes, Air Serbia, B&H Airlines and Montenegro Airlines will also make adjustments to their network.

Air Serbia will be boosting frequencies on nearly all destinations in its network compared to its predecessor. Podgorica will be the only city which will see a reduction of six flights, however larger aircraft are planned to operate the route. Many of the frequency changes come into effect from January 1, as is highlighted in the table on the provided link below. The airline will launch new flights to Abu Dhabi, Banja Luka, Bucharest, Ljubljana and Prague. EX-YU Aviation News can exclusively reveal that from November 15, Air Serbia will be shifting flight times on its Abu Dhabi service to a midnight departure from Belgrade, allowing improved connectivity on to other flights. Etihad itself will also adjust its flight times to Belgrade come November 15. You can see the new schedule for the airline’s Abu Dhabi service here.

B&H Airlines won’t be making significant changes to its network when compared to last winter. As was previously reported, the airline will inaugurate four weekly flights to Belgrade from December 2. At this point, all other frequencies remain the same. However, compared to last winter, B&H has an extra aircraft on its hands since one of its ATRs experienced problems throughout last winter. The added aircraft gives B&H more room to operate additional flights, making changes to its network possible later on in the winter months.


Finally, Montenegro Airlines won’t be making major changes compared to last winter either. It will maintain double daily flights to its most important market Belgrade. The airline will suspend five weekly flights from Podgorica to Niš as city authorities are no longer able to subsidise the loss making service. Flights to its western European destinations, as well as its Tivat operations, remain mostly unchanged in comparison to the 2012/13 winter season.

You can review the winter season changes all the national carriers of the former Yugoslavia will be making by clicking on the links below:

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:45

    There are couple of small mistakes in Air Serbia timetable, namely for OTP, SVO, ZRH and TXL. Please correct !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's wrong with OTP, SVO and TXL?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:09

      OTP-starting date 10thDEC, SVO and TXL - less flights till 31stDEC.

      Delete
  2. Stratospheric09:56

    Ex-Yu, so what'll be Etihad's timetable change on BEG-AUH?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AUH-BEG 2.50 - 5.55 ( day 1246)
      AUH-BEG 08.20 - 11.25 (day 357)

      BEG-AUH 12.20 - 20.35 (day 1234567)

      Delete
    2. JU520 BEGLAX10:25

      They leave their aircraft on 4 days of the week for more than 6 hours parked in BEG? What about crew duty time?

      Delete
    3. Crew stays in BEG for the day even with the schedule which has been used so far

      Delete
    4. JU520 BEGLAX10:33

      Ok interesting. Tx for yr quick reply

      Delete
    5. Stratospheric10:47

      Great schedule.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:50

      The change takes effect from NOV 15?

      Delete
    7. Will they keep their A319 on the route for the winter season? Hopefully thanks to Air Serbia's growing network they could upgauge the route soon.

      By the way, Etihad crew stay at Hotel Metropol.

      Delete
    8. It will be a mix of A319/A320

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:59

    Okay,so Air Serbia is gradually increasing its frequencies from tomorrow...
    Good to see now the final schedule!

    Yesterday,when i saw the images of the new economy class i was a bit sceptic to be honest.
    But when i look at todays picture it is a whole different impression.
    It actually looks very nice!
    The blue colour is not too light and the combi with grey is
    a good match.
    I wish Air Serbia the best!


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's because those pictures yesterday were taken with a strong flash which made them even brighter. I had the same feeling but when I saw some others without it I got to like them.

      Delete
  4. JU520 BEGLAX10:31

    How many planes does JA has in their fleet? 1 A319 and 2 ATR?
    They have 21 return flts a week. Thats 1 per day and per aircraft? Can that be?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:11

    Does anyone have any info if AirSerbia plans to offer some competitive fares out of LJU to SE & S Asia + Australia? Many Slovenians fly to these destinations from VCE and even MUC or BUD. Alas, QR does not have many good fares from ZAG.
    In my opinion, competitive fares would attract many to fly from LJU, despite having to change planes twice. Not just Slovenians, but also people from Eastern Italy, Southern Austria and NW Croatia would opt to fly from LJU. AFAIK, the only competitor so far is Turkish and to a limited extend QR from ZAG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:18

      It's a shame passengers from Ljubljana can't connect to Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi. The most eastern destinations are Istanbul and Larnaca.

      What's wrong with Qatar's service from Zagreb? Are they expensive?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:38

      I think JU should adjust times from LJU accordingly so that passengers would be able to connect to AUH service.

      Qatar most of the time offers much better fares from VCE than from ZAG. Therefore, many Slovenians choose to fly from VCE with EK or QR.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:40

      I guess it has to do with competition levels in Venice but I would also suppose it has more premium demand than Zagreb and Budapest put together.

      Delete
    4. Stratospheric12:55

      I suggest you e-mail them and explain the issue. I'm sure it'll be looked forward into.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:15

      I haven't even noticed before... Not very clever from JU to offer flights from LJU at 2-4-6 when flights to AUH depart on 1-3-5-7.
      Anyone has any idea why this is so? I think they would attract many connecting passengers for a route LJU-BEG-AUH-elsewhere.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:17

      They could learn from Adria who relies only on O&D traffic on route LJU-BEG which is not proving very successful...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:19

      God, please visit www.jat.com and then chose Ljubljana as your departing destination. Then, open the list 'to' and you will see all the cities to which they offer connections from Slovenia.

      Plus, didn't ex-YU mention that during the sale Ljubljana did well?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:59

      Ljubljana-Belgrade-Athens for only €300. Not bad at all especially since you can make the whole trip in 4 to 5 hours.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:51

      LJU-ATH via MUC/FRA Adria+Aegan flights 281.91/285.52 EUR (Adria FLYSAVE fare) 4.40-5.00 hours. Not to mention possibility to add domestic flight and still tiket is just around 300,00.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous18:24

      What do you mean the possibility to add domestic flight?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous18:29

      The only interesting destinations from LJU via BEG are OTP, LCA and SKG. I do not know what is the demand for this destinations from LJU. Adria+Staralliance flights from LJU (even LIS or HEL) are under 300 EUR, so the prices of Air Serbia aren't that competative at all.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous18:34

      Yea but the real question is how many of those less than €300 tickets are there. It's like saying, Air Serbia is not competitive to western Europe because Lufthansa offers €170 flights. You have to look what's the average fare offered.

      Also, do you really think they are making money by selling €282 tickets? Of course not.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous19:01

      So the average price of Air Serbia is 300? No, just the cheapest one. On the other hand the cheapest Star alliance is 282. And for just over 300 you still can fly to LJU-MUC-ATH and than Corfu, Heraklion etc. when there is Adria+Aeagn operated flights.
      And yes, it would be interesting if you will come with the information abut the average ticket prices since it is not the information that is easy to get. Thanks in advance.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous19:07

      And how many passengers actually fly from Ljubljana to other Greek airports? Those that do go on charter flights so it is completely irrelevant to this discussion.
      Anyway, ex-YU mentioned that flights from Ljubljana sold really well especially to destinations in Greece and Russia so...

      Delete
  6. Air Serbia's inaugural flights to Abu Dhabi has been moved from 17.10 to 16.20. Anyone know why?

    At least it will depart from the renovated A2 gate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:25

      http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/story/124/Друштво/1428471/Први+лет+%22Ер+Србијe%22+за+Абу+Даби.html

      another change.. :/

      Delete
    2. Maybe since it's a VIP flight they don't want to arrive in the middle of the night there. I think if they depart around 15.00 they should be there at around 23.00/00.00.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous11:40

    So tomorrow, which will be the first day of Air Serbia's new timetable, the A319 arrives from Abu Dhabi at 05.55 and will be sitting in Belgrade until 17.10 when it departs for Abu Dhabi. Couldn't they dispatch it somewhere?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They have. It will operate as JU320 to Dusseldorf.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:24

      Ah cool! I missed that one! Thanks! I thought their first one will be Moscow.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous11:58

    I was expecting something much more competitive from Montenegro Airlines. Not sure if they realise what kind of competition they are facing. But I’m sure Daliborka has it all planned out. Perhaps she will charter one of E195n to Barcelona to have Sunday brunch?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:46

      YM is in full retard mode. They'll just chill out and rob the state budget until they can.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:02

      I know but still. I’m from Montenegro and I was hoping this would wake them up a bit. Next summer will be a disaster. Yes, you have Air Serbia but you also have Ryanair which will start a lot of flights. So those with lower income, point to point passengers will all flock to them while all others that can afford a bit more, transit passengers and those that want to fly with a superior product compared to a sardine F100 will go to Air Serbia. This is why I thought they would try something different this winter and test the water to prepare themselves for an inevitable disaster next summer. But no, their highlight was serving sandwiches with prsuta this winter.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:11

      And what do you all suggest YM to do?
      Any better idea?

      Delete
  9. Anonymous13:17

    One thing is for sure, the person who is in charge of Air Serbia's official Facebook page is doing a great job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:19

      +1

      They should delete the other one with 17.000+ likes. Only the official one should stay:
      https://www.facebook.com/pages/Air-Serbia/1406571032890329?directed_target_id=0

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:26

      I don't know if they should delete it but they should force them to rename it as a fan page. The person running it is pretending to be the official one- which is clearly not the case.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:57

      It says "Official Fan Facebook Page" :)

      Delete
  10. Anonymous13:17

    EX-YU, do you know something about the stream yesterday (that didn't work)? Is there a possibility to see it in the next few days?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The feed was truly promised, which is why I posted the link. The link was made specifically so Jat employees could watch the conference but they were unable to do so either. I don’t know whether they will post a recording. However, you didn’t miss much. A short video of Jus history was first shown (which is available to view on Air Serbia’s official Facebook page). It was followed by a 3 minute speech by the CEO, 5 minute speech by the Deputy PM and a 5 minute q&a session for the media (there were not a lot of questions). Then the curtain came down and the press could tour the plane.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:29

      Thanks for the quick answer. You do a great job, man. Well done!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:30

      +1

      Delete
  11. JU520 BEGLAX13:41

    He s the best. No one informs like him, we sometimes know things quicker than the regular airline employs not to speak about the media. Yday I checked some serbian pages, disappointing their coverage of the JU event.

    he replies us all day long 365 days a year. Sometimes i hve the feeling he lives only for us. Nothing makes me more being online than ex YU aviation.
    whereever and whoever u are, u re doing a fantastic job. Thank u 1000 x. U re are our YU hero

    btw even JU ZRH uses your source. Check www.jat.ch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:47

      Wow that's something! I wonder if maybe the time has come for you to expand and maybe build a site with a forum and so on. Have you considered that?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:07

      If he would let us speak freely against Aviokarta and allow some humour on the forum then he would be perfect.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:14

      And add ":" in the Contact field i.e

      Contact:
      exyuavi...

      Delete
    4. Stratospheric14:38

      Ex-Yu, maybe it would be a good idea to place W13/14 and W12/13 vice-versa in the timetable? Cause it doesn't seem very logic that way:

      NEW | OLD | RESULT

      It should be better:

      OLD | NEW | RESULT

      Thanks for taking this (and what the guy said aboveabout the Contact form) into consideration.

      Great job otherwise, congratulations.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:49

      +1 for making a portal. Considering the amount of stuff published and user engagement, I think that would be awesome.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous17:42

    What about B&H flights between Mostar and Stuttgart? Does anyone know anything?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous17:44

    Tonight at 21.00 the last take off from Belgrade will be made by the old Jat Airways. It will be the flight JU 1324 to Sochi, scheduled to come back tomorrow at 02.40. End of an era. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous18:40

    Ex-YU I see that you were at the airport today. Do you know how the load was for their inaugural flight?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous19:08

    Norwegian is also selling tickets from ex-YU to north America!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous23:05

    Does any one know who was the Captain on the inaugural flight? Serbian or expat? ...after the training in Germany are ex JAT pilots in command already of the A319?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous08:24

    A good start for Air Serbia, today, on the first day of operations and winter schedule, all flights are delayed :)

    JU 650 MOSCOW 06:45 07:05 C2 Boeing 737-300 Одлетео у 07:18
    JU 540 MILAN 07:05 07:35 A10 Boeing 737-300 Одлетео у 07:40
    JU 350 BERLIN 07:10 07:10 A6 Boeing 737-300 Одлетео у 07:23
    JU 320 DUSSELDORF 07:25 07:40 C1 Boeing 737-300 Одлетео у 07:57
    JU 600 VIENNA 07:50 07:50 C4 ATR 72
    JU 810 TEL AVIV 07:55 08:30 A3 Boeing 737-300 Нова информација у 08:30
    JU 180 TIVAT 08:00 08:40 A9 ATR 72

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:24

      Yes honey, that's because there was heavy fog.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous08:34

    OMG. Talking about high quality of Air Serbia - check out this photo: http://77.46.136.69/arhiva/2013/fotografije/640x426/Tan2013-10-27_64955175_3.jpg

    See something missing? The N of Novak is already missing on the left side of the plane... Ouch

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:11

    Oh well at least it landed with landing gear, unlike another airline. The hatred here is amazing. I think some would be happiest if their plane crashed. Morons. P.S there is heavy fog in BEG this morning which is why some flights are late

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19

      Other airlines seem to be on time despite the sunny weather

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:30

    It seems that the A319 did not fly to Dusseldorf this morning, it was a B737-300 from Gate C1. Does anyone know why this happened?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous13:31

    Do we know the exact date when Air Serbia is supposed to receive its second A319?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:38

      So far we know that it'll be til the end of the week. No exact date.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:29

      Thanks. So is it true that so far we have APA and APB wearing the full livery? Will it be A or B arriving to BEG?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:34

      I think that all five jets are wearing the full livery already. The only one we didn't see in picture is YU-APD, ex F-ORAH, which is in Dublin since two weeks or so.

      I guess that APA will arrive til the end of the week. And that APB and APE will follow. But I wouldn't be surprised if APE is the one we'll see in a few days.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:01

      Thanks for that. I look forward to seeing the improved timetable in the coming weeks.

      What I wonder is what they plan on doing once the B737-300s are withdrawn from service. Does it mean they will operate with a fleet of 14 aircraft next winter?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:54

      They will operate a minimum of 15 aircrafts in their fleet (8 A319's, 2 A320's, 5 ATR's. One part of the B733's will retire and the other will do the charters and/or be wet leased to companies in third world countries like the B732 Aviogenex has.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:56

      And maybe an A332 next winter season... Who knows :)

      Delete
  22. Anonymous17:13

    Last October Belgrade airport handled 275.583 passengers which represented growth of only 1%. I really hope we see growth between 2% and 4% this year as we have more airlines and more flights. Let's hope the one week of Air Serbia manages to contribute.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous18:16

    My prediction for Belgrade:

    2012: 3,363,919
    2013: 2,498,475
    2014: 3,708,383
    2015: 3,930,885

    ReplyDelete

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