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| Air Serbia launches Zagreb flights |
Click on the small images in the article to enlarge
More photos from the inaugural flight on the EX-YU Aviation Instagram page
For a full photo album, visit here
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Air Serbia this morning inaugurated flights from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport to Zagreb, marking the first commercial service between the two largest cities of the former Yugoslavia since August 6, 1991. The carrier will run two daily flights between the Serbian and Croatian capitals with its 66-seat ATR72 aircraft. However, the inaugural flight this morning was operated with an Airbus A319, with captain Davor Mišeljić and co-pilot Biljana Savić at the controls. A total of 337 passengers are booked to travel on flights between the two cities today. Among paying customers, passengers on the first service also included members of the Serbian government, the head of the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate, the Air Serbia management team, as well as representatives from the Belgrade Tourism Association.
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Following a water cannon salute at Zagreb Airport, a press conference was held, attended, among others, by the CEOs of Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Pula and Brač airports. The CEO of Air Serbia, Dane Kondić, said, Zagreb is an important addition to Air Serbia’s regional network. After 23 years, the air bridge between the two capitals is once again reestablished. We are proud to be able to help bring closer the people and economies of the two countries. We are confident that the flights will enhance travel options and will further contribute to the development of bilateral trade and tourism". He added, "Zagreb is Air Serbia’s fourth destination in Croatia, after Dubrovnik, Split and Pula which have thus far operated as seasonal routes. Just this past summer, we were pleased to have carried close to 50.000 guests to these attractive summer destinations. With the introduction of Zagreb, our intention is to further develop year round inbound tourism, by offering our guests all of these destinations in Croatia, especially through our equity partner Etihad Airways". The CEO of Zagreb Airport, Bruno Mazurkiewicz, said, "The arrival of a new airline is always a reason for satisfaction as it enriches the offer and service of the Zagreb Intarnational Airport and enables wider choice for our passengers. Air Serbia is introducing year round double daily flights today, which will introduce an additional transport connection between Croatia and Serbia. We are pleased to welcome the airline to Zagreb International Airport and we look forward to a successful cooperation".
Resuming flights between Belgrade and Zagreb after a 23-year hiatus hasn’t been without its problems. Local media have been awash with reports that Croatian authorities have not issued Air Serbia rights to sell tickets from Zagreb to points beyond Belgrade. However, it was confirmed today that passengers from Zagreb transiting through Belgrade will have their luggage checked through to their final destination, although travellers will have to report to the transfer desk at Belgrade Airport to receive their onward boarding card. Last week, Croatia Airlines ruled out cooperation with Air Serbia stating, “At a time of increased competition on our home market, we are certainly considering possibilities and interest to establish appropriate forms of cooperation, but in this particular case we see no clear opportunities to establish any kind of commercial cooperation”.
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| Zagreb Airport CEO (center) and Air Serbia CEO (right) |
Resuming flights between Belgrade and Zagreb after a 23-year hiatus hasn’t been without its problems. Local media have been awash with reports that Croatian authorities have not issued Air Serbia rights to sell tickets from Zagreb to points beyond Belgrade. However, it was confirmed today that passengers from Zagreb transiting through Belgrade will have their luggage checked through to their final destination, although travellers will have to report to the transfer desk at Belgrade Airport to receive their onward boarding card. Last week, Croatia Airlines ruled out cooperation with Air Serbia stating, “At a time of increased competition on our home market, we are certainly considering possibilities and interest to establish appropriate forms of cooperation, but in this particular case we see no clear opportunities to establish any kind of commercial cooperation”.
HISTORY
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The first commercial flight between Belgrade and Zagreb was launched by Aeroput on February 15, 1928. Journalists and photographers from Belgrade landed at the old Borongaj Airport in Zagreb in a Potez 29 aircraft at noon. That same afternoon, the return service was operated with Zagreb-based journalists on board from publications such as “Riječi”, “Novosti”, “Jutarnji list”, “Morgenblatt” and “Hrvat”. The aircraft was piloted by Aeroput Founder and General Manager Tadija Sondermajer. The Belgrade - Zagreb route was extended to Graz and Vienna from March 31, 1930. With the outbreak of the Second World War, flights between the two cities were suspended.
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| Inaugural flight from Belgrade arrives at Zagreb Airport |
Services between Belgrade and Zagreb resumed on April 15, 1946 and were operated via Zadar. Flights ran each Monday, Wednesday and Friday and passengers were permitted only fifteen kilograms of baggage each. They were seated on wooden panels along the fuselage of military planes which initially operated on the route. Nonstop flights between the two largest cities of the former Yugoslavia were launched on May 6 that same year.
On April 1, 1947, the first aircraft bearing the JAT Yugoslav Airlines logo flew between Belgrade and Zagreb. Services ran every day, with the daily “Politika” reporting from Zagreb, “The first plane of the season arrived from Belgrade on schedule at 09.45. Four passengers, members of the Ministry for Industry, were on board. At exactly 10.30 the plane left for Belgrade with a greater number of passengers”. Flights were operated with the DC-3.
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As the years passed, JAT began developing Zagreb Airport into its own hub, with the launch of several international routes. On June 15, 1975, the airline introduced flights from Belgrade to New York via Zagreb.
After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the first multi-party elections in Yugoslavia in 1990, the first signs of a serious crisis appeared. The onset of events would shake the foundations of the common state and bring about its breakup, war and destruction. The political and economic situation in Yugoslavia was becoming alarming. In late January and early February 1991, Zagreb Airport refused to service JAT aircraft. The Yugoslav carrier operated its last flight from Zadar to Belgrade on August 3, from Krk Airport near Rijeka on August 5 and from Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split on August 6. The last flight from Pula was operated on September 13. Since then, there have been no commercial services between Belgrade and Zagreb … until today.
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The inaugural flight from Belgrade to Zagreb had 119 passengers on board the 128-seat jet, with a further 126 passengers on the return flight. The evening service will operate with the ATR72. According to its preliminary 2015 summer season schedule, Air Serbia will maintain double daily flights to Zagreb next year with the Boeing 737-300 to operate on select days. This is subject to change at this early stage. With Air Serbia targeting transit passengers on its flights to and from Zagreb, a sizable amount of travellers on today’s service will be continuing to points beyond Belgrade, with the majority heading to Bucharest today. The carrier’s CEO recently said, “The new service will offer business travellers excellent connections through Air Serbia’s Belgrade hub at Nikola Tesla International Airport to popular destinations across the airline’s network. It will also provide two-way connections over Belgrade between Croatia, mainland Europe and key global destinations”.
Bravo to both Air Serbia, for reaching this important milestone, and to ExYuAviation ,for such an interesting article.
ReplyDeleteSo do they have all the necesary permits for transiting pasangers? It stayed unclear... Will people need to go out of the transit zone and check in again at BEG?
ReplyDeleteThis is what the article says
Delete"It was confirmed today that passengers from Zagreb transiting through Belgrade will have their luggage checked through to their final destination, although travellers will have to report to the transfer desk at Belgrade Airport to receive their onward boarding card."
Such a shame Zagreb airport no longer has the camera.
ReplyDeleteevo kamere: http://www.zagreb-airport.hr/g71.aspx
DeleteHvala!
DeleteHvala Ed!
Delete++
DeleteSto je prvi zapoceo rodoacelnik Srpskog putnickog vazduhoplovstva Gospodin Tadija Sodenmajer sa Aero Put-em, davnih dvadesetih godina dvadesetog veka, to sada ponovo posle blizu cetvrt veka Er Srbija zapocinje ponovo put davno Aero Put-em zapocet za glavni grad Hrvatske. Za ljude dobre volje i biznisa ovo je dobar dan, dobra nada ljudi zeljnih poslovanja i putovanja. Sledi Pristina, Petrograd, Kairo... Ocigledno za putnike predstoje dobra vremen za letove. Za Er Srbiju dosta novih gostiju... Ko moze radovace se. Pridruzimo se. Zdravo je radostan biti. Uvek!.
ReplyDeleteRodney Son & good wishing people. Kraljevo /// Sydney.
I love you enthusiastic style of writing Rodney
DeleteThankyou my dear Anon at 10:39 PM.
DeleteEntuzijazam i ljubav za svaki posao koji
covek radi su neizostavni.Za ljude u medicini i vazduhoplovstvu je nezamislivo bez iskrenog truda i zelje da daje celog sebe u ovim uzvisenim delatnostima . Ko se ne trudi da je takav, zalutao je. Iskreno pripadajuci pola veka u putnickoj avijaciji a od toga polovinu radeci u avio kompaniji . Iz Otadzbine sam poneo pripadnost, ljubav i zelju a u novoj Domovini ispod Juznog Krsta i leteci sa vise od 150 aerodrome sveta dodavao mojem shvatanju iskustva ljudi sa kojima sam radio, ucio, sretao. QANTAS je moja kolevka a Australia je Domovina moje porodice i putnicke avijacije. AIR SERBIA jeste deo te ljubavi nad kojom na svoj nacin nedostojan bdim... Mnogo, mnogo postujuci sve ljude dobre volje, sve avio kompanije i aerodrome od Severnjace do Juznog Kresta. Ziveci penzionerske dane u Kraljevu pored aerodroma MORAVA koji sesprema za letove i Sidneja u kome se priprema gradnja novog medjunarodnog aerodrome u Badzeri Kriku. Ovu dugu zahvalnost Vama nepoznati, koristim da unapred svima koji lete, koji ispracaju ili docekuju, koji rade, vole i doprinose mirnom letu, uzvisenoj sluzbi... zazelim Srecnu Novu 2015 godinu.
Sa postovanjem, Rodney, Aircraft's & Airport's. Kraljevo /// Sydney.
Montenegro Airlines' E-190, 4O-AOD, has been circling around Belgrade airport for quite a while. Does anyone know why?
ReplyDeleteOther aircraft are landing and taking off normally.
Turkish Airlines B738 also made a few circles, maybe there is reduced visibility?
DeleteFog at BEG
DeleteVisibility at BEG less than 50m
DeleteTurkish just landed while Tarom diverted to Sarajevo.
DeleteHopefully the fog clears by the time JU flights start to return.
Does anyone have the loads for the two LJU flights today?
ReplyDeleteSavrseno!!!! Za nekoga ko je rodjen posle 1991 godine, ovo je velika stvar jer nisam nikad doziveo vazduhoplovni spoj izmedju Zagreba i Beograda! Nadam se da ce Er Srbija imati veliki uspeh na ovoj linija, i takodje da ce preko Beograda dovoditi mnogo novih putnika u Zagreb iz drugih zemalja, i ako to nije glavni cilj. Mozemo samo da se radujemo i da budemo ponosni jedni na drugog. Ovo je dokaz da Srbi i Hrvati mogu, cak i trebaju, da rade zajedno. Pozdrav svima iz Kalifornije.
ReplyDeleteNS|SAN
Blago tebi, jel suncano tamo..?? :(
DeleteJeste normalno, ali trenutno nas je drmnulo neko strasno nevreme ovde u Berkliju. Inace je fenomenalno, narocito dole u San Dijegu gde sam ja odrastao. Zimi (ako se uopste moze i tako nazvati) je obicno 22 stepeni, suncano bez oblaka, i ljudi idu na plazu i stalno su u bermudama i majcama s kratkim rukavima :) :)
DeleteNS|SAN
A treba vidjet gdje. Sjever, jug, obala, unutrasnjost. SF je po ljeti ocajan, tako da nije sve blistavo kao u filmu ;-) San Diego je druga prica. :-)
Delete09.01 YU-APC lands in Zagreb after a flight of 33 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAt the height of this route, BEG-ZAG, how many daily frequencies were there?
ReplyDelete-- Charlie
About five per day with both the DC-9 and B727.
DeleteThanks, I would have thought there would have been more.
DeleteI remember seeing an old JAT timetable from 1981 and all flights were operated like that. I think the last one of the day was around 18.30 or so.
DeleteIt did not include flights operated by the DC-10 so I wonder if you could have flown on it just between Belgrade and Zagreb.
There were purely domestic flights (flight numbers from JU600 up) and international flights with no local traffic. Most flights to the West operated from BEG via ZAG, but the BEG-ZAG leg was "shared", i.e. two or three flight numbers were on board the same plane.
DeleteWhere were the most frequencies: BEG-ZAG, ZAG-SPU, or BEG-DBV?
Delete-- Charlie
If I remember well, the largest market was BEG-DBV, followed by ZAG-DBV, BEG-LJU and BEG-SPU.
DeleteBEG-LJU was also popular
Charlie, you can check winter timetable for winter 1985/1986 at the link below. All JAT short haul flights listed there. I was not far off.
Deletehttp://airlineroute.net/2011/03/01/w85-ju-eu/
Argh, typo at my post at 10:11. The last sentence should have been deleted. Sorry guys.
DeleteSo, 337 pax in total today.
ReplyDeleteInaugurial route will have 245 (119+126) but we should not take it into account as it will be full of company representatives and other officials.
That leaves 92 pax for the second daily rotation which will be operated by ATR and offer 132 seats in total. So LF would be 70%. Seems an OK start.
BEG and ZAG are two primary airports in ExYU and well deserve to have double daily connection - regardless of who operates it. Great news.
It's really good that they inaugurated it this morning as the load would have been catastrophic otherwise, that is on the BEG-ZAG sector. That's because there were no morning arrivals to feed the flight.
DeleteThank God there are flights around midnight tonight so the load on the return flight should do ok. Overall, the loads on the morning departures are really bad.
Good luck, nice to see Zagreb and Belgrade finally connected! Greetings from Dubrovnik!
ReplyDeleteVery nice. As Mr. Radovan and NS|SAN had said, this is a great news for travellers, aviation, business, tourism etc.
ReplyDeleteI see this as a three-way benefit. Common benefit for Croatia and Serbia is the business and O&D sector with pax finally able to fly directly.
Serbia's benefit is in that it'll be transfering pax from Zagreb via Belgrade.
Croatia's benefit is in that it'll be more easily accessible by tourist markets such as Bulgaria, Greece, Romania... via Belgrade.
So, everybody wins. Well, I wish that OU was also a bit more "active", but it's OK - as long as they do it at some point...
Good day for ExYu aviation !
Cheers from the sunny Zagreb :)
+1
DeleteI hope that Croatia Airlines will find strength to get their act together. I`m happy to see AirSerbia prosper, but I would also hate to see the demise of OU, JP, or YM. THe cooperations sounds like a much better option.
BR from NS
Actually, the biggest winner here is Zagreb because it is finally getting a route which will enable cheap and fast connections to the Balkans. Until now passengers had to connect in Vienna or Istanbul, neither one of them being very convenient.
Delete@9:59
DeleteI agree, but don't forget that all those passengers to BEG transports Air Serbia. I calculated, flights to ZAG only could bring more than 50 000 passengers to ASL! Not bad at all, so I would put ASL to share winner's place with ZAG.
Calculation of theoretical maximum of number of passengars that Zagreb could bring to AirSerbia. Under (not realistic) conditions of 100% LF, ATR aircraft all the time and also tat all the passangers are transit. One passanger on Bucharest - Belgrade - Zagreb is counted actually as 2, because he uses 2 segments.
Delete(2x66 from ZAG + 2x66 onwards from BEG + 2x66 land in BEG and 2x66 to ZAG) x 365 = 192 thousand. Almost 200 thousand passangers!
@9:07
DeleteWell, I said "more than 50 000", and, if I am not wrong, 200 000 is more than 50 000.
He-he
Picture of YU-APC being pushed-back this morning on its way to Zagreb! Ouch... the weather.
ReplyDeletehttps://scontent-b-vie.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10425528_1120302371329039_6457711162401260327_n.jpg?oh=587186e5e9b87849ddfe1c2a49b536dc&oe=550E6E00
No pic of the EgyptAir A330 the other day?
Deletehttp://www.zagreb-airport.hr/g71.aspx Passangers are boarding JU231
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the plane is just about ready to leave! I wonder if there will be some reviews or people publishing what their experience was like on the flight. Also, does anyone know where pictures from the welcome at Zagreb will be?
DeleteNS|SAN
YU-APC prior to return to BEG from ZAG as JU231 this morning.
Deletehttp://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=119831636&postcount=6182
God, it's so empty!
DeleteCongratulations to everybody in Serbia and Croatia from Ljubljana. It was about time that these two countries to come back to 21st century ... Really glad to hear the news.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAnd also congrats from Skopje
DeleteJU 231 has landed on Nikola Tela Airport, Runway 12, at 11:49
ReplyDeleteI dodn't know about you guys, but I must admit that I'm very emotional about today's inaugural flight. It's really a historic day for entire ex-YU region and specialy for BEG&ZAG. It was long waited and so indispensable connection between us.... 23 (years of absence) maybe look at the first site not that much but for our short life is tremendous, too many wasted years.
ReplyDeleteI wish great success to ASL on this line and all pax a safe travels between our wonderful capital cities...because ZAG and BEG derserve much more!!!!
Enjoy everybody!
Vlada
Was Morrissey maybe on the flight?? (he was about to travel between BEG and ZAG for tonights concert) Hahah that would be funny
ReplyDeleteIs Larnaca 3 pw or 7 ?
ReplyDeleteIf it's 7, with those insanely cheap fares, I am afraid it could kick Wizz out of the way.. :/
What insanely cheap fares? A return flight between Belgrade and Larnaca on Air Serbia is €270. Wizz Air on the other hand is around €85 but with no luggage.
DeleteTo make things worse, JU lands in Larnaca at 03.20 while Wizz arrives at 09.50.
Everyone I know in Cyprus is flying with Wizz Air and their loads have been really good. They have added a second weekly flight around Christmas and during the 2015 summer season.
As for JU, LCA is three weekly.
I just checked and they have further reduced their Larnaca fares to €180.
DeleteIt still won't help them because the times are horrible.
Most people who travel between the two cities live either in Nicosia or Limassol. Now, if you land at 03.20 you either have to force someone to wait for you and then to drive 50 km to either one of these cities or you have to sit at the airport until the first bus which is at 05.30.
Of course, there is always the option of taking the taxi which comes out to be €60.
On the other hand, Wizz Air arrives at 09.50 and the first bus leaves at around 10.30.
Until they decide to introduce a day flight they can forget about any O&D passengers flying with them.
By the way, today I booked my Wizz Air flight for the 28th and I paid €150 (luggage included).
Nemjee, is there a lot of O&D traffic between Larnaca and Belgrade? What kind of market JU could/should be targeting?
DeleteThe only way to grab connecting traffic ex LCA seems to be the night flight... daytime options seem tricky. It would be difficult to squeeze in a 3hr daytime flight in the midday departure bank. They would end up with less than perfect schedule, like TLV or LHR.
I haven't checked the times, neither I know cab fares, buses, so that's why I asked. I was afraid that Air Serbia (legitimately) kicks Wizz out if it starts dumping.
DeleteThe prices for Larnaca flights are among cheapest WIZZ flights out of BEG. I did not know if they are doing badly or they want to fight JU or something else..
There are about 2.000 Serbs living in Cyprus and 98% of them are working for large international companies. Though the market might not be that large, it is definitely high yielding.
DeleteCyprus is generally a high-yielding market. For example, Emirates have been flying there since 1998 and despite the current economic crisis they still manage to fill all classes, first included!
One problem with Air Serbia is that its competitors offer more convenient schedules with a greater number of frequencies. Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Aegean all regularly send their A321 down there. Of course, both OS and LH have multiple waves of departures so it's easier to schedule a day flight to Larnaca. Though both of them have night flights in summer.
One way of retaining O&D passengers in Larnaca would be to introduce a one weekly flight at a decent hour. When I speak to people in Cyprus, they all want to fly with ASL but the times are just too inconvenient.
Even Jat Airways used to have a summer flights to Larnaca which used to depart Belgrade at 09.40. God, that was fantastic even if we used to pay €350 for a return ticket. Jat Airways used to make a killing on the route. They had two seats for €270 while the other classes were crazy. I remember once I paid €470!
AnonymousDecember 12, 2014 at 2:49 PM
DeleteNo problem. Well, a friend of mine flew from Belgrade to Larnaca in mid-November and her fare was about €90 return. She told me that the loads were ok, around 65%.It could be that Wizz Air is the one dumping the fares in order to hurt JU as much as possible. Given that JU reduced their own fares from €355 to just €180 could only mean that W6 is winning this fight.
Even though I wish all the best to Air Serbia, I would like them to lose this battle.. I am afraid that. 65 % LF with 90 euros return tickets is not enough..
DeleteGuys, check out 25.1 - 1.2. Less than 50 euros return ticket...
With Wizz Air?
DeleteYes! That's why I want wizz to survive on this route! Only because of that.
Deleteit's ok. They have nothing to worry as long as they are the only airline offering daytime flights.
DeleteI am sure that if the LCA route was under-performing they would have made it seasonal and they wouldn't have added the extra frequencies. :)
By the way, Larnaca arrived this morning with 22 passengers! ;)
DeleteLoving each other, we are the same, killing each other, hating each other, we are similar,marring again ... good "old" Balkan way...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for the new flight!
Keep it going.
What a great day for BEG and ZAG today, finally linked by air again.
DeleteMakes me really happy, and I hope it will bring benefits for both airports, countries, and all JU passengers.
Regards from Beg.
OT: Today there is an Europe Airpost's flight from CDG to BEG with an 733. Any idea?
ReplyDeleteThey are servicing their aircraft in Belgrade with Jat Tehnika.
DeleteIf people are interested in seeing some JAT's old timetables, in full you can go to a site called Timetable Images. Also an interesting site is The Timtablist which gives you other sites to look at too. You will get an insight into the Flights that were handled between Zagreb and Belgrade and other points.
ReplyDeleteVideo of the landing in Zagreb
ReplyDeletehttp://vijesti.hrt.hr/ponovno-zracna-linija-izmeu-zagreba-i-beograda
Bas me zanim hoceli brzo prebaciti barem jedan od dva leta na 733 posto prodaja ide vrlo dobro.
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
Током лета 5 од 14 недељних летова добија Б733.
DeleteCongratulations to Air Serbia, hope for safe skies and commercial success! Now that Zagreb is operational, Air Serbia officially has no more routes planned and no additional planes to join the fleet. Long haul fleet and destinations development notwithstanding, Air Serbia needs further expansion of narrowbody fleet and regional destinations to reach the critical mass needed for sustainable regional and long haul ops. It’s time to end 2014 on a high note and announce new planes and routes!
ReplyDeleteOT: Before they go on a Christmas break, are there any hints if VINCI’s BEG airport report will include recommendations on how to further expand the airport infrastructure?
ReplyDeleteIf brand new terminal is out of the picture, hope they can at least propose “hybrid” new terminal by tearing down existing T1 building and surrounding patchwork of offices, and replacing it with brand new terminal building in the same place of T1 all the way to Gates A5-A6. That can help with everything from additional check-in areas and better baggage processing to bright central open space and airy shopping area similar to SkyCourt in Budapest (or small version of T5 core at LHR). Additional offices and new control tower can be integrated into terminal building similar to new Edmonton airport solution. Extend concourse C with new gates to C10 and expand remote stands for turboprops and LCCs. All of this should be easier to fund and develop. C’mon VINCI if not new T3, at least this hybrid solution, give us raison d'être!
I have to tell you that if ASL intends to be an world class airline, their hub must be in much, much better condition than BEG is right now. A lot of transfer passengers are travelling with ASL, and some of them have to wait at BEG more than 5h to change the plane. At BEG you have no much things to do in those 5 or more hours, I wanted to kill myself waiting there 9h for my flight to Tel Aviv some months ago.
DeleteThe tragical thing is that they won't do nothing special at BEG, they'll just renovate gates A6-A10. Management of BEG is pretty stupid if the only thing they will do is waiting for June-July 2015 just to REVEAL THE PROJECT about expanding BEG. What about concessor? Where you'll get the money for expansion? If things keep going like this, we won't see construction site at BEG until 2025... I mean, new terminal at ZAG will open it's doors in 2017., and BEG will be smaller than ZAG then, and that is bad for ASL. Even if construction of T3 begins in 2015 (which is impossible) it won't be build before 2018, that is bad. So I really do not see why management is not looking for concessor to build that cargo terminal, Terminal 3, and maybe the second runway. I do not see so bright future for BEG...
Are you nuts? They need more people in baggage department only. They have enough space for travelers but they need to reorganize technical department.
ReplyDeleteThey need to implement an automated system and not rely everything by someone manually counting and checking bags. It would be faster and more efficient. Delays have come from the numerous miscounting of luggage,
DeleteLOL, I am nuts? If you only see a problem with baggage handling you are not a man with a vision. If you think my idea was nuts, what would you then say to Scott Wilson's BEG master plan with second RWY, third terminal etc:
Deletehttp://www.dodaj.rs/f/3D/ky/2lnu7oB1/spojeno-i-smanjeno.jpg
@2;50
DeleteWhat's wrong with that plan??
I think BEG should expand in the next few years, T3 will be needed by 2016-2017 for sure. Second runway is maybe not so needed, but I think that building T3 on the other side of airport is much better option than building it next to the T2.
Are you blind? There is T1 on that drawing and only 6 C bridges. For anonymous at 3:07 you can't do much more on JFK too. On some other airports yes. I agree with JATBEGMEL.
Delete@4;25
DeleteI think the best option for Belgrade is to build a brand new airport, and let this one to low cost carriers. That is how most of bigger hubs in the world are working:
Frankfurt: Main International airport and Hahn for low cost
London: Heathrow as main airport, and GTW, STN, LTN for low cost
Paris: CDG as main airport, and Orly, Beauvais, and Vatry for low cost
Stockholm: Arlanda as main airport and Vasteras, Skavsta and Bromma for low cost
And so on. I know that Paris and London are much bigger than Belgrade, but Frankfurt and Stockholm are not. I think building a new airport, as Athens did in 2001, would be the best option, this one can't expand so much, it's like JFK, as you said. ASL and other flag carriers could move to the new airport, leaving Tesla for Wizz, Ryan, EasyJet..
Maybe I am wrong, but I think this is the best option.
Surcin can expand a lot, Batajnica should be the low-cost one.
Delete@Aэrologic
DeleteI think that if it happens Belgrade would be the only city in the world which has an low cost airport with two runways and the main airport with just one. I mean ASL can't be anything with capacity of it's hub of 5 million pax, next to AEE, TK...
The number of runways doesn't matter and will not matter for long time to come, many airports have several runways built not due to traffic but wind-directions and landing restrictions.
DeleteBelgrade can handle much more than 5 million pax in the current state and comfortably if the apron area is expanded, new bus-gates opened, luggage system reorganized...
DeleteThe aprons and terminal space are not that important at this point. The most critical issue are the bus gates. Those are the things that need to be dealt with asap.
DeleteI dont see the problem in bringing in more remote stand gates at BEG. They seemed to have come in quick, and it is a quick temporary solution. Saying so, if they intend to see the larger narrow bodies using the gates, theyll need to expand the waiting area for these gates. DOH only had remote stand parking until this year when they opened the new airport, and QR does have a nice fleet of B777 aircraft which BEG doesnt see.
DeleteProblem in BEG is the lack of organisation in doing things timely and efficiently. This comes to renovating the terminal (been happening since 2005/2006? and is still ongoing), bringing in more shops, adding a smoking zone, more coffee shops and food outlets...
BEG atm is fine for more growth as the current facilities are planned for 7 million pax, but bringing in plans for the mid to long term hasnt been the best part of the management running the airport.
The current phases for development seems like it will go on for many more years which is outrageous. Talk of a new runway is ridiculous to say considering it cannot deal with easier problems such as illegal taxi operators scamming and harrassing people in the arrivals, making surrounding areas of the terminal decent (ie: not just slapping a layer of asphalt), and the fact that this current runway isnt being used to the max.
The comments on the poor state of the runway go back to the disfunctional and unorganised management of the airport. We can talk from today to tomorrow until be turn blue in the face, but lets face it, how optimistic can you be with Sasa Vlaisavljevic running the circus?
I support everything what was being said. Been recently to DOH and their whole narrow-body fleet is loaded through bus gates on remote stands. Yes, i'm speaking about the new Doha airport sumptuous mega-project (not the old one). We're speaking of a fleet of about 50 aircraft. Gates are used almost exclusively for wide-body aircraft.
Deletehttps://pp.vk.me/c624826/v624826496/e044/5ryAap5L-ZI.jpg
OT : Are the flights JU800/801 (AUH) cancelled yesterday night and today ?
ReplyDeleteDoes somebody know what gonna happen with other ASL destinations in Croatia during the next summer schedule? Increasing SPU, DBV and PUY? Adding RJK or/and ZAD? Some article related to Brač airport and ASL flights also was published, does somebody know will it be materialised? I am very happy that Croatia is closer to destinations such as Athens, Sofia, Bucharest etc from today!
ReplyDeleteWell, both Dubrovnik and Split have already received additional frequencies. Tickets are already on sale.
DeletePula is still not loaded into the system. I heard rumours that new aircraft are due to arrive by April so maybe they are waiting for that before PUY.
Ja bi zaista, zaista voleo da pre tih A330 stigne jos bar dva A320 i bat jos 4 A319, i 2-3 ATR-a, u poslednje vreme vidim da cesto upotrebljuju 733, sta ce tek leti da rade!!??
DeleteWhen i wrote about the new aircraft arriving i did not mean the A330.
DeleteBecause his comments tend to be provocative. As for Croatia, i hope that at least Dubrovnik or Split are served yearround. I am sure there is a market.
DeleteTnx for responding. I dont see a huge increase, dbv had 6w rotations, now 7. I hope that they will anounce something more surprising :) ASL is a portal to do the east, they can send 2 daily atr-s to dbv during peak months. Also, i think that they could send its atr-s at least 2 times per week in slow months, for example on fridays and sundays.
DeleteThe thing is that during the summer months they struggled with a/c availability hence why the B733s were flying so much. Since new a/c will be joining the fleet soon I think they can keep on reinforcing their regional network.
DeleteNext logical thing would be the consolidation of yearround midnight departures. They should have flights to Bucharest, Sofia, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Tirana and why not Dubrovnik and Split. They need these night flights because morning departures are currently disastrous. O&D is simply not there to fill all those seats in the morning.
Fleet issues came as aircraft were still being delivered during the peak season. Which makes me also skeptical that this supposed more aircraft will arrive for the summer season...that is if more aircraft is to come.
DeleteAs for the midnight wave, I too agree it should of stayed.
What were they thinking by pretty much suppressing the entire midnight wave while keeping the same morning departures?
DeleteInstead of reducing it, TLV could have stayed daily as a night flight, perhaps even CAI could have been launched in a similar fashion, now this is a disaster.
OT: Air Serbia codeshare with Air China?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/srbija.php?yyyy=2014&mm=12&dd=12&nav_id=935592
Last time I checked you can fly JU to AUH and connect on EY to China. That should work well for JU and EY, right? If you look at where CA lands in Europe, where would JU codeshare with them: Rome, Moscow? That does not make sense and undermines EY partnership.
HOWEVER it would make sense for CA to drop their MUC-ATH tag-on and instead fly to BEG. It would then make sense for JU to spread passengers around the region with CA codeshare, if Etihad doesn't object to that plan. Also, not sure China would accept coming to BEG instead of going directly to ATH and codesharing with Aegean from there. I think SQ also comes back to ATH, so we'll have to see what Dane had in mind.
So INN-NS was right again.
DeleteNo, he said there would be direct flights to China.
DeleteWell you people said that there won't be anything like that, so he is the winner here, not you.
Delete+1 to INN even he;s not here.
DeleteHmm no one said anything about a codeshare. He said that A330s are coming and that they are launching flights to China. ;)
DeleteInstead of focusing on one user, what about this codeshare? It doesn't make sense unless China starts flights to Belgrade, so should we expect China PM to announce flights to BEG next week in Belgrade?
DeleteI dont see the sense in CA dropping MUC-ATH in favor of BEG. Keeping it short, Greece sees alot of tourists from China to the Greek Islands than what Serbia does. Both MUC and ATH are home to star alliance airlines, something BEG is not. There is more sense in them operating to ZAG than to BEG.
DeleteFrom MUC, LH offers the same and more than what BEG and JU could offer. The same for ATH. There is no advantage for CA to drop MUC-ATH for BEG.
I see this being a codeshare from a/few European destination/s where AC flies to connecting onto JU flights to BEG ie: FRA, MXP, DUS, SVO, FCO, VIE etc with a CA flight number. There could possibly be a JU flight number on CA flights to China from these cities. Nothing more.
Having JU codeshare on CA flights from FRA and other EU cities does not make sense. Etihad already offers flights from BEG to China but AUH-China leg does not carry JU codeshare, so perhaps they are looking to add JU codeshare? Either that or CA flight touching down in BEG.
DeleteThe article does mention CA which doesnt fly to AUH. A codeshare agreement with HM and EY could expand ex AUH to China. I dont see the business case just as yet for CA to open direct flights to BEG. Unless they want to operate summer charters to BEG, to enable connections with JU to DBV, SPU, PUY, TIV, TIA, SOF and OTP. Problem with connecting ZAG and LJU would be that they dont operate during the 2pm departure wave. Unless CA would want to have an early morning or early evening arrival...or unless ZAG is brought up to 3 x daily...which I doubt will happen soon. These destinations are as well easily reached from MUC.
DeleteBice CA codeshare na letovima ASL kako sam ja razumeo:
DeleteVidecete 16 dec ako budu bili volje vec tad da kazu.
INN-NS
a morning arrival in BEG is possible with departure around 13.00-14.00.
DeleteEven a european leg could be done between.. west- or southwards.
just my 2 cents
saying this regarding CA
DeleteYU-ALT is on its way to ZAG for the second flight of the day, cruising at 19.000 feet. YU-ALO is following behind also on 19.000 feet but on its way to LJU.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Ekonomija/518889/Er-Srbija-i-Er-Cajna-pregovaraju-o-zajednickoj-avio-liniji
ReplyDeleteA319 YU-APJ is now flying back to BEG from AUH after the C check. API and APJ are done, next!
ReplyDeleteWow... I did not even notice that APJ was missing! Hmm... no wonder there were so many Boeing birds in service.
DeleteLogically, the next should be YU-APC.
Any idea why the a/c stays for like 1h15 minutes in Zagreb on the morning flight?
DeleteSo that it doesn't return to early to Belgrade, connections are made shorter like this.
DeleteExcellent article and excellent coverage. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteČestitke Air Serbiji i MZLZ. Ovo je zaista bio divan dan za sve ljubitelje avijacije u ex-Yu. Za mene osobno uvođenje ove linije označava otvaranje novog poglavlja u avijaciji ove regije.
ReplyDeletePosebno hvala uredniku bloga za odlično praćenje ovog eventa od ranog jutra. Bilo je zadovoljstvo čitati.
Pozdrav iz Zagreba
Serving coffee and chocolate bar is enough on so short flight. Thanks exYU. Today winner is INN.
ReplyDeleteMalo OT zbog posecenosti, da se skrene paznja....
ReplyDeletehttp://rs.n1info.com/a19522/Biznis/Radnici-OZB-a-nadaju-se-resenju-svog-statusa-na-Aerodromu.html
Wow, bravo! Provokacija dana! Pa kako si me iznervirao sa ovim pa to je neverovatno, ono gorim! Znaci ne znam sta cu od sebe sad... Cuti molim te, cela Lufthansa (najveca aviokompanija Evrope) je strakovala pre neki dan, toliko letova otkazano...Tako da nisi nikoga spustio sa ovim.
DeleteStrasno. Ne mogu da verujem. Pa ovo je gore nego u Albaniji... Lele... ljudi po 20 godina rade preko Omladinskog! Uzas brale i za Afriku. Strava!
DeleteJel TK 332F najvise prevozi iz LYBE oruzije ko i drugi ili nesto drugo .
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
Ја не знам шта носи, али чини ми се да односи нешто друго, у мирнодопске сврхе :)
DeleteСве најбоље!
Apparently the A330 is spending the night @BEG, cool.
DeleteI just had the chance to put my hands on the Elevate magazine for the first time and all i can say it's that's is a pile of crap.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you like it?
DeleteIt's nothing special and wow, but I think it's better then Jat Review, in terms of paper quality, photos, and even the content.
Of course, it could be even much better...
Ex YU: tx for a fantastic coverage of this special event, appreciate all the pictures. U really do an awesome job
ReplyDeletegood night from ZRH
Prices are good. Looking forward to taking it next week :)
ReplyDeleteKinda wish I bought a ticket on yesterday's flight
Are you flying just between the two cities or are you connecting onward?
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