Air Serbia's new routes key to future expansion


Air Serbia is in the process of launching nine new routes from Belgrade which it says will play a role in its future expansion plans. The airline noted it made a careful selection of the seven year-round and two seasonal routes, bringing its network to a total of 49 international destinations.
The first of the new destinations, Helsinki, was launched over the weekend. Despite a small Serbian diaspora in Finland and limited business ties between the two countries, the two cities will be linked with three weekly flights. Air Serbia is initially targeting transfer passengers on the route but expects for leisure travel between the two countries to develop in time. "The flights departing from Helsinki have been scheduled so as to offer smooth transfers via Belgrade Airport to Tirana, Sofia, Dubrovnik, Split, Larnaca, Athens, Thessaloniki, Beirut, Skopje, Podgorica, Tivat, Bucharest and Krasnodar", Air Serbia's CEO, Duncan Naysmith, said. He added, "I am confident that the three weekly flights we added between the two cities will significantly improve connectivity of Finland and the Nordic region on the one hand with Southeast Europe on the other, thus contributing to the development of business and tourism cooperation". The inaugural service from Belgrade saw a group of senior Serbian travellers visit Finland as part of an organised tour group, while the return flight also saw transfer traffic from Russia.


As part of its expansion, Air Serbia is returning with scheduled flights to the Iberian peninsula after 21 years. The inaugural flight from Belgrade to Madrid registered a cabin load factor of 91.7%, while the return service had a 100% load factor. The weekend also saw the launch of flights to Barcelona, which was followed by Nice. Official airport welcome ceremonies at these destinations will take place over the coming days. On Monday morning, Air Serbia returned to Kiev after a three-year period. Similar to Helsinki, the airline is targeting transfer passengers on the route, in particular for onward travel to Tirana, Sarajevo, Sofia, Dubrovnik, Split, Larnaca, Athens, Thessaloniki, Beirut, Skopje, Podgorica, Tivat, Bucharest, Zurich and New York. Today, the Serbian carrier will mark the resumption of flights to Rijeka, after 29 years, and Cairo, following a fourteen-year hiatus. The airline will complete its summer expansion from Belgrade by resuming scheduled operations to Zadar on June 21, for the first time since August 1990.


Air Serbia touches down in Kiev

Commenting on the expansion, Mr Naysmith noted, “With the introduction of no less than nine new routes in just one month, Air Serbia has once again confirmed it is the regional leader in commercial air transport. We are very happy because we managed to significantly improve the functionality of our network, through careful selection of destinations, and in accordance with our passengers’ desires and the strategic plans for further expansion. The new routes that are being launched are a result of hard work by numerous departments of the national airline, over several months, which makes us extremely proud”. The carrier added, "By connecting the Serbian capital with nine new, strategically selected destinations, and by expanding the Air Serbia international network to 49 destinations, our national airline provides strong support for our economy and drives tourism growth".




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    New routes seem to have been good picks so far.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      Agree. I'm wondering how Cairo will perform. I think in summer it will benefit from tourists who may go through Cairo to holiday resorts on the Egyptian coast, while JU will also try to develop transfer traffic, similar to what they have on Beirut route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:48

      I have heard that ticket sales for CAI is quite good

      Delete
    3. It would be great if Air Serbia could start a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Nis

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:49

      And maybe via Malta -Nis

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Congratulations Air Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    This indicates to me that long haul expansion is next on the cards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      If that is the case they are going the right way about it this time around.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Excellent results. Well done Air Serbia!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    What makes me happy is that they actually added aircraft, until now it was just rearranging of chairs on the deck. This is the real deal.

    Love them or hate them, JU is the only ex-YU airline that seems to be getting its house in order.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Montenegro is also improving its performance.

      Delete
  6. JU520 BEGLAX09:04

    Good luck JU. Glad to see u re back in Spain. I think both routes are justified and at least one will become yearround

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Both routes are year round.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:06

      There are better chances BCN to survive as year round than MAD

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:09

      All routes are year round except Nice and Zadar.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:23

      I said "to survive" as year round route...

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:05

    There are information that KRR did not perform well on the first flight. Let's see if it is going to work

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      You can't judge a route's performance on a single flight and that being the first one of all.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      Return was ok, 79 passengers in total with 4 in business. That's a LF of 55%.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:08

      As I said let's see...BCN, MAD, NCE, HEL were all good on first flights

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:08

      Yes, but onward flight was just 33 in economy

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:10

      I really wouldn't trust load factors from anonymous people posted on here.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee09:15

      If LCA survives in winter then why wouldn't KRR, MAD, BCN or HEL?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:25

      KRR and HEL will not be continued. They will become seasonal.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:26

      Stop talking nonsense. Flights are already on sale for winter.

      Delete
  8. BA88809:08

    REALLY looking forward to see LF on LHR route those two pm flights! On Sun 26th May, 16.05 flight there was about 30-40% seats occupied and there was ANOTHER flight 10 minutes later. I guess Etihad plane flew practically empty. I could no see queue on C1 gate. (School holidays and UK bank holiday on)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      The flight was put on sale 2 weeks before it launched. What did you expect?

      Delete
    2. Nemjee09:17

      Exactly, because of a short time to sell tickets loads were abysmal on the first few flights. However loads have considerably improved since and the route will do well in summer.

      Why are people so surprised? We are talking about London here, not some random village in the middle of nowhere.

      Delete
    3. BA88809:20

      Advanced planning.
      Not wasting aviation fuel.
      Not wasting tax payers money.

      (It may sound as a surprise but majority of people in UK plan holidays months in advance and I cant see, unfortunately, Serbian travellers filling up aircrafts)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      You need to ask EY about this. They introduced flights in order not to lose slots at LHR, they brought the plane, they brought the crew etc. It is obvious they do not care here about LF.

      Delete
    5. Nemjee09:29

      Here we go again with the whole taxpayer money argument... do you even pay taxes in Serbia?

      What was JU supposed to do? Say no and lose a chance to get the slot at LHR which it so desperately needs? JU's loads last year were very high even in low season which indicates that there is room for growth at LHR. It's a short-term loss for a long-term gain.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:03

      It's true that JU388/9 had been put on sale 2 weeks before it launched, but something doesn't go well with this flight. Two weeks have passed and average LF is as low as 25%. Many flights had around ten passengers.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:05

      I would be really careful with trusting anyone's loads (I wonder how you all know load factors on Air Serbia). There was a guy here today (comment deleted) who claimed that there were 15 passengers on Air Serbia's first flight to Cairo, even though the first flight hasn't even operated.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:15

      Many people work at the airport and they have access to that day's loads, not only JU but all airlines flying that day.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:18

      Somehow you need to develop the skill of recognizing realistic comments from those who are nothing but jeaulos.

      If someone said that KRR was OW 33Y and RW 79Y with 4J it looks like more relaible / realistic comment for the flight that actually operated.

      If you see comment saying 15 pax were on board of the flight that has not happened yet - well then make your own conclusion.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:46

      I don't know who wrote there are 15 pax, but please don't be stupid and say how can we know the number of pax on flights to come.

      There is some thing called computer, and Air Serbia information system. When you click the right buttons you get info on the loads. JU manamanage does not wait in front of the gate and count how many people accidentally show up to take the flight.

      BEG - CAI Y89J1

      Idk the load for the return flight.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:48

      But if you have the Air Serbia information system in front of you, how don't you know the load on the return flight?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:52

      There is no reason of calling anyone stupid especially if you did not understand the point.

      It is obvious that the person who wrote there "were" 15 pax on the flight wanted to make the confusion and it was recognized by most participants here. So pointless to discuss about it.

      Delete
    13. BA88811:09

      LF on JU386...I sort of witnessed.

      Unfortunately I could not, well, I wasn't that obsessed, to do a full head count but all middle seats were empty and one passenger per row pass the emergency exit.

      Is I mentioned I could not see LF on the flight 10min later.

      (It is amazing that anyone can defend adding flights in the middle of the season with full price which just happened with JU388 flight. Etihad somehow gave JU those flights for free? Give me a break mate!)

      Delete
    14. Anonymous11:13

      And why do you think that Air Serbia did a favour to EY for free?

      There you are.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous11:14

      Return flight, from CAI to BEG, is taking off tomorrow so it will be loaded later during the day.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous11:22

      BA888 you understand JU needs those slots? Are you aware of that? It is cheaper to fly planes empty for a month than to pay millions to lease slots.

      Delete
    17. BA88811:46

      If JU needs/gets these slots all year round and provides competitive price (!!!) for I'd say OK product I see no problem.

      But I see low chance about any of the above happening...

      Delete
    18. Anonymous12:17

      Competitive prices? What exactly are competitive prices for you? You want 20 Euro return tickets from one of the world's most expensive airports? Talk about being unrealistic.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous13:08

      BA888 just fly from Luton and you will be fine, that's the airport and airline for price sensitive pax like you.

      Delete
    20. BA88815:36

      FYI mate, other national carriers fly from this 'expensive' airport in London to e.g. Bucharest (sort of same distance) for the half of the money and with similar level of service...

      As you clearly enjoy being ripped off I hope you have fun defending the above...
      And don't worry about my sensitivity to prices ;-)

      Delete
    21. BA888 you are absolutely right!
      This new London flight is utter nonsense and waste of tax payers money (either way - giving subsidies or not making profit for the owner). Many people here claim that London has fantastic LF. I have personally not witnessed that on few flights I had to London over past years.

      Delete
    22. Anonymous16:02

      Yes especially since you flew on a few flights over a few years.

      Delete
    23. Anonymous16:25

      05-12.08.2018 for flights out of Heathrow:

      BEG on JU: €296
      ATH on A3: €356
      OTP on RO: €312
      BUD on BA: €255
      ZAG on BA: €325

      My oh my, look at JU ripping off its passengers!!

      Delete
    24. BA88816:55

      Ermm...

      Sorry mate....
      Same dates:

      11:40LHR
      17:00OTP
      British Airways British Airways
      Non-stop3h 20m Flight details
      lowest
      Economy
      from
      £156

      And if you ever lived in UK you might know that dates you chose are in the middle of the school holidays and that prices are not representative.

      Anyway...Have fun...

      Delete
    25. Anonymous16:58

      What do the holidays have to do with anything? Serbs in the uk have them as well so JU can hike the prices as well and anyway you claimed JU is twice the price of some of its neighbours which obviously isn't the case.

      As for BA is that return or one way?

      Delete
    26. Anonymous16:59

      All prices above are return.

      Delete
    27. Anonymous17:32

      Let me complete the list:

      05-12.08.2019
      OTP on BA: €324

      Delete
    28. Anonymous08:36

      Hahaha what a fail, better luck next time BA888.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:10

    Cestitke za nove rute. Sad cekamo Toronto,Peking,Cikago...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:59

      Santjago, Gvadelupe, Osaku....

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:22

    This is massive expansion, Air Serbia is getting back on the original plans from 2013 of making Belgrade regional hub, but this time more carefully, with more balanced approach.

    According to my opinion they should not start yet Chicago, Beijing or Toronto. This European network needs first to show its results and once proven to be successful new wide body routes to be introduced.

    After Turkish airlines and Aegean Air Serbia positioned itself as third biggest Balkan airline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      Moraju uraditi nesto sa YU-ARA koji tokom zime stoji parkiran 5 dana!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:51

      Ali da je bilo isplativo YU-ARA bi vec bio angazovan da leti tokom zime na nekoj drugoj ruti osim JFK.
      Imaju ga u lizingu evo vec trecu godinu.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      Verovatno su mislili da ce i tokom zime imati 5 letova nedeljno. Posto se ispostavilo da je to nemoguce jer je sezonalnost veliki problem,trebaju dodati jos jedan A330 i uvesti jos 2-3 preko okeanske linije. Tako ce tokom zime oba aviona sa po 2-3 leta nedeljno na svakoj od destinacija biti uposljeni 5-6 dana.

      Delete
    4. kakva prekookeanska ekspanzija, kakvi bakrači, avioni (ha!) - kamioni
      i ovo sada što lete za ny je preveliki gubitak

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:27

      Koliko se secam oni su redukovali zimske letove za JFK jos negde 2017 tako da je bilo dovoljno vremena da uposle YU-ARA na jos jednoj desinaciji tokom zime, ali to ipak nisu uradili.

      Cak se secam jednog intervjua gde je Kondic rekao da im nije isplativo tokom zime sa YU-ARA da lete chartere za Kubu ili Tajland. Mogu zamisliti koliko bi zimi bilo neisplativo leteti za Kinu na primer.

      Oni vec i sad imaju velike troskove na liniji za JFK i nisam siguran da pre potpunog razvoja ove nove evropske mreze letova treba uvoditi YYZ, PEK ili ORD sa drugim sirokotrupcem. Moglo bi ih preskupo kostati. Troskovi lizinga i odrzavanja linija ce biti duplo veci a cinjenica da ce avioni biti uposleni odnosno leteti ne znaci da ce donositi profit.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:35

      Bas zato moraju nesto uraditi da taj gubitak bude sto manji a ostatak ce platiti drzava na ime podsticaja razvoja turizma :)

      Delete
    7. Da bi bio regionalni hub/vrata regiona/sta god moras da imas barem tri dnevne frekvencije do aerodroma u regionu.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:04

      Aegean doesn't have three daily departures to the region does it mean they are not a hub airline?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:16

      Gospodine Čelik, prekookeanska i dalekoistočna ekspanzija je upravo ono što je LOTu omogućilo da letove za BEG podigne sa par letova nedeljno na skoro dva dnevno u poslednjih 5 godina. Air Serbia će nove longhaul linije iskoristiti za efekat povećanja broj putnika na regionalnim linijama.

      Delete
    10. @anon 16:04
      Aegean is serving metropolitan area of 5 mil in developed country with booming tourism, and yes they are gate to Greek islands with multiple daily departures to their "region".

      Delete
    11. Anonymous00:10

      Yeah and look at the amount of competition they have yet they still manage to come out on top.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:32

    Air Serbia is going to bring a lot of transfer passengers to Adriatic coast.

    Taking in consideration JU flies to TIV, DBV, SPU, ZAD, PUY and RJK it is obvious Air Serbia is using its potential to make successful business based on airports in Croatia and Montenegro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      You are forgetting their growing presence in Albania and Greece!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      I was talking about Adriatic coast airports and in that group do not belong TIA and Greek airports

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      TIA can be considered an Adriatic sea airport because it's the only one that serves that sea in Albania.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:59

      Somehow you are right, but it is still not coastal airport.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:06

      Then we can replace TIA with VCE. ;)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:19

      Hahah, now you speak my language. You are fully right, I forgot VCE

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:43

    Good start JU. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:43

    My guess is the next expansion will be long haul. They will probably get a second A330 which will allow them to open two routes. My guess is Toronto and Beijing/Shanghai.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:34

      If they soft launch it as soon as JFK drops to 3pw they won't need 2nd A330 until next summer. That would keep ARA busy whole year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:46

      Which second long haul route would make most sense?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:50

      Chicago, but that's just my opinion.

      Delete
  14. Имао сам прилику врсћајући се из Сиднеја, да из Беча пре три дана летим у авиону Ер Србије за Београд. Обрадовао сам се. Поготово се радујем закупом четири или пет авиона
    и проширења дестинација. У нади да ће у трећој фази проширити флоту за још два, три широко трупна Ербаса или Боинга... Ако би се у будућности приватизовала Српска национална компанија, верујем да би имала флоту од 30 авиона. За домаћи, Европски и интер континентални саобраћај. Посвећеним људима могуће и на Балкану се развијати. Ер Србију чека време инвестиције да би била самоодржива компанија. Верујем. ✈
    Радован. ☺✈😇✈🔅✈✨✈💒☺✈🌎✈🌍✈🌏✈

    ReplyDelete
  15. Aэrologic10:34

    They should have selected Krakow instead of Budapest from INI.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:34

      And Odessa in stead of Kyiv.

      Delete
    2. Aэrologic10:34

      or Lvov.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:34

      They had quite good experience with Kyiv few years ago using Adria's CRJ900.
      I suppose it is a reason they brought back this plane as well as this destination

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:34

      They should fly Krakow from Belgrade.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:36

      Interestingly the Kiev flight will again like in 2016 be operated with CRJ900. They only operate the inaugural with A319.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:41

      Hehe that's what I said at 10:34 :-)

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:51

      Sorry did't notice the second sentence :)

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:56

      But in winter they will have to go back to the A319. Won't that make this route difficult to work out?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:04

      I think KBP is not the only new destination that will be difficult to work out during the winter. I mean HEL or KRR in February with A319 even if it is only 2pw? Quite challenging

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:35

    My guess is that Madrid and Barcelona will be the two most successful routes this summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:45

      I think Krasnodar might be the weakest here. I'm not sure that the number of transfer could be so large to sustain the route. I don't think there will be many people from Serbia traveling there. 98% have never even heard of the city.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:46

      My estimation for this summer (newly introduced routes fro BEG):

      1. BCN
      2. CAI
      3. KBP
      4. MAD
      5. ZAD
      6. NCE
      7. HEL
      8. RJK
      9. KRR

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:37

    I really hope the Helsinki route develops and works out. It is scheduled to operate twice per week in winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:39

      Yep HEL will be on Wednesday and Saturday in W19/20.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:39

      All new routes will be 2 weekly in winter - except the seasonal Nice and Zadar.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:44

    And this is just the first phase. Next month 12 new routes.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:49

    Nice is a bit of an oddity. Is there a Serbian diaspora in the area?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59

      No big Serbian diaspora here.

      Elite destination, close to Monte Carlo and Cannes. Probably for passengers with deeper pockets

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:03

      Interesting choice. But can that category of passengers fill an A319?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:04

      My guess is that they are hoping to get transfers on this route, especially from Russia.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:10

      It is only 2 pw in summer. I suppose they will have around 70%-75% LF here.

      Transfer from Russia? Possible, but it takes too long via BEG. And those Russians flying to NCE surely would not care too much about the price of the ticket in order to pick transfer flight with long layover duration

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:26

      Nice can be relatively affordable as well, it's a very popular summer destination. 2pw shoudl work

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:56

    Now the hard work begins in making these routes sustainable.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:58

    2019 will be a great year for BEG. All this expansion should push them to 6 million passenger.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:01

    Big delegations from Air Serbia coming on the inaugural to Rijeka today - COO, marketing director, Area controller and head for Croatia market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:06

      Sto je dzabe i Bogu je drago :-)

      Mozda malo i nogice da probrckaju u moru, hehe puna kapa

      Delete
  23. Anonymous11:14

    There will be strong demand for both BCN and MAD from SOF because of the extremely short transfer time in BEG.
    Even though there are many non-stop options JU can still compete.

    Example: 24.09.2019
    SOF-BCN via BEG - 92€

    Total journey: 4h40m!

    That's around 50€ cheaper than the non-stop FB flight on the same day.

    JU has really competitive OW prices from SOF.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:20

      And do you know that FR flies non stop SOF-BCN on the same day for 39 EUR (less than 3 hours)?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:24

      Connecting flights tend to be cheaper than nonstop ones but it's great to see those promotional fares from Sofia. Shame they didn't bring the night flight.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:25

      Wizz, Ryan and Bulgaria Air all offer direct flights to Madrid for bargain prices. Why would anyone fly via BEG?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:25

      You will have to pay the hand luggage which is 9€. The price on their website is 52€. Still JU's price is quite good.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:32

      Why is anyone flying on LH or OS to JFK when there are nonstop flights from BEG? Why did people from BEG connect in the past in DOH on their way to DXB when FZ flies directly?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:33

      A11:25
      Because there is always demand. There is a huge Bulgarian diaspora in Spain and now many Spaniards visit Bulgaria especially Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo.
      Also JU has an agreement with UX which is important to stress out.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:33

      Let's say that JU price is really good, but why would anyone make transfer flight via BEG that costs more and that takes longer than FR flight?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:34

      @anon 11:32
      Because it is cheaper.
      In this case it is not

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:36

      What a stupid comment. People fly via DXB, DOH, WAW, SVO, ATH despite direct flights to most of the destinations at their airports.

      Mind you, JU is flying to SOF for years certainly not carrying O&D traffic.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:36

      Regarding agremeent with UX, ok but why would anyone rather fly SOF-BEG-MAD-SVQ instead of SOF-FRA-SVQ

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:46

      Err price, maybe? An Erasmus student is more than happy to pay less and have 2 transfer points.
      The same goes for the backpackers visiting Europe.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:53

      Vi stvarno mislite da FR drzi te cene za ceo avion?

      Delete
    13. Anonymous11:53

      Hello anon 11:36,
      Can you read English?
      People take transfer flights as they are CHEAPER and therefore they are ready to fly longer with 1 stop.
      In this case there is no benefit of having transfer flight as the direct flight with Ryanair costs less and gets you quicker to destination.
      Why would anyone fly with JU via BEG in that case?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous11:53

      Why are you so worried about BEG and being so unhappy?

      They'll fly, just as they fly now.

      Xoxo

      PS: First flight BEG-MAD 100% LF.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous12:01

      Quite vague answer on direct queestion by avoiding to reply directly and chaning the topic. Speaks for itself.

      We were talking about craziness to fly SOF-BEG-BCN if you have cheaper and non stop flight SOF-BCN.

      No more no less.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous12:02

      MAD-BEG was 100% LF and not BEG-MAD. Get real figures

      Delete
    17. Anonymous12:17

      Craziness and being illetarate is someone denying in the 21st century the existence of the transfer model.

      JU flies for years to OTP, SKG, SOF, TIA, BEY and so on carrying transfer traffic.

      You're asking questions to which you have the obvious answers so unless you're playing dumb there's no point in continuing this discussion.

      My bad, LF was 91%.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous12:19

      You are right, BEG-MAD was 92%! HAHAHAHAHA
      Very bad load, route must be a disaster

      Ugh seems like anti-JU hysteria is going strong since 2013 when the deal with EY was announced.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous12:27

      He's also trying to say 100% of pax went to BEG. Good for BEG i guess.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous12:37

      Yes, passengers fly tranfer when there is a reason for it.
      It looks like you would rather fly BEG-DOH-JFK for more expensive ticket with 1 stop and more time than non stop BEG-JFK for cheaper price.
      So much logic in your post

      Delete
    21. Anonymous12:47

      Are you seriously comparing SOF-BEG-MAD and BEG-DOH-JFK :D :D :D

      Dude, look at the map.

      Talking about logic..

      Geography isn't your strong side.

      Delete
    22. Anonymous12:48

      Are you seriously comparing SOF-BEG-MAD and BEG-DOH-JFK :D :D :D

      Dude, look at the map.

      Delete
    23. Anonymous12:56

      You can't look up ONE date and then make conclusions out of it.

      Imagine 2 days before the flight, a customer needs to book.

      FR direct 250 EUR with NOTHING included vs JU for 120 EUR with one stop.

      Guess what the customer will choose. Do I have to explain you the transfer model?

      Delete
    24. Anonymous12:58

      Dude, let me put it on this way so you can understand it as well:

      - there is always option to fly via certain transfer airport if it brings you financial benefit. Usually (but not necessarily) these flights are cheaper, but it takes longer to get to the destination. In this case it has been spoken about flight SOF-BCN on 24.09.2019 and there was no financial benefit for the passenger as direct FR flight is cheaper than JU connecting flight via BEG.

      - I am not comparing SOF-BEG-BCN (not MAD) with BEG-DOH-JFK. I am only giving the example of transfer flight in order it could be easily understood for those having problems understanding original post. It is not important which cities were used in the example (it could have been also BEG-CDG-JFK as a comparison with BEG-JFK), but the point was that transfer flights are not attractive at all if there is no financial benefit for the passengers involved.

      In the case of BCN-SOF 24.09.2019 there is no such a benefit.

      Delete
    25. Anonymous13:05

      "In the case of BCN-SOF 24.09.2019 there is no such a benefit."
      as of today! Not everybody buys tickets x months in advance, your conclusions are just non-sense.

      Delete
    26. Anonymous13:07

      The total journey time from SOF to BCN via BEG is less than 4 hours while the non-stop flight is 2h35m approx. so not such a big difference.
      Speaking of DOH-JFK, QR do have special prices from SKP to JFK via DOH!!

      Your trip summary
      Outbound flight
      Skopje New York Mon, 07 Oct 2019
      Change this flight
      Departure Arrival
      ClassTotal price
      for all passengers
      Departure
      Mon, 07 Oct 2019
      12:25 SKP
      Skopje, Skopje International Airport
      North Macedonia
      Total duration
      4h 55m
      Arrival
      Mon, 07 Oct 2019
      18:20 DOH
      Doha, Hamad International Airport
      Qatar
      QR 0306
      Airbus A320
      logoOperated by : Qatar Airways
      Connection time : 7h 55m
      Departure
      Tue, 08 Oct 2019
      02:15 DOH
      Doha, Hamad International Airport
      Qatar
      Total duration
      13h 45m
      Arrival
      Tue, 08 Oct 2019
      09:00 JFK
      New York, John F Kennedy Airport
      United States of America
      QR 0703
      Airbus A350-1000
      logoOperated by : Qatar Airways
      Total duration : 26h 35m
      Class
      Economy (N)

      Economy (N)

      Total price for all passengers
      EUR
      391.73
      Baggage Allowance - 2 Piece(s) Included

      Inbound flight
      New York Skopje Fri, 18 Oct 2019
      Change this flight
      Departure Arrival
      ClassTotal price
      for all passengers
      Departure
      Fri, 18 Oct 2019
      21:00 JFK
      New York, John F Kennedy Airport
      United States of America
      Total duration
      12h 15m
      Arrival
      Sat, 19 Oct 2019
      16:15 DOH+1day
      Doha, Hamad International Airport
      Qatar
      QR 0702
      Boeing 777-300ER
      logoOperated by : Qatar Airways
      Connection time : 14h 45m
      Departure
      Sun, 20 Oct 2019
      07:00 DOH
      Doha, Hamad International Airport
      Qatar
      Total duration
      5h 15m
      Arrival
      Sun, 20 Oct 2019
      11:15 SKP
      Skopje, Skopje International Airport
      North Macedonia
      QR 0305
      Airbus A320
      logoOperated by : Qatar Airways
      Total duration : 32h 15m
      Class
      Economy (N)

      Economy (N)

      Total price for all passengers
      EUR
      371.02
      Baggage Allowance - 2 Piece(s) Included

      Total trip price:
      (1 Adult)
      EUR 762.75
      Price breakdown Fare rules Purchase conditions
      Currency converter

      So, if JU cannot be competitive enough to offer SKP-JFK, people will use QR and fly to DOH instead and save money.

      Delete
    27. Anonymous13:09

      Yes, we are talking about today as we can't know what is going to be the price in a month or two and which company will be cheaper. Maybe you have crystal ball, I don't.

      I am sorry if my opinion hurts your feelings but that's the way it is.

      Delete
    28. Anonymous13:10

      Hahaha, great anon 13:07!

      Delete
    29. Aэrologic13:23

      The fact you keep focussing on financial aspects shows your level and lack of travel experience.

      The fact is, LCC and legacy transfers coexist in most European airports (ZAG being one exception) and each model has its own benefits.

      What you're trying to say here is that JU shouldn't have even attempted to launch MAD and offer connections from SOF.

      Well, tough luck, it already happened and it seems full with or without SOF so it makes this discussion totally irrelevant. Let passengers decide. No one's forcing you to fly MAD-BEG-SOF.

      Also, you're forgetting FR is often MUCH cheaper from Eastern to Western Europe than vice-versa. You should include everything in the calculation based on a realistic scenario.

      Besides, what's the focus on SOF or one single airport among dozens others?

      There are no LCC in BEY, CAI, KRR, SVO, LED to name a few.

      Give it a break.

      Delete
    30. Anonymous13:46

      Your approach to this topic is.. let's say...hilarious. Of course that financial aspect is for everyone paying his own trip, especially from Balkan area, more than dominant. Can you please provide your expertise about price insignificance to all LCC's who offer cheap prices? I am sure they will have to learn something from you...or not.

      By introducing new flights to HEL, KRR, KBP Air Serbia is actually targeting transfer passengers and it is exactly what they should do as well as for the passengers from SOF, BEY, CAI etc. Your attempt to get what I was trying to say miserably failed.

      Here again you missed the point...In this post we were talking about second half of September 2019 where you can fly SOF-BCN for 50 EUR with FR. Even return ticket one week later is around 100 EUR and Air Serbia goes to 130 EUR. You can also add FR hand luggage costs and in the worst case you will get the same price...But with JU you will fly longer and you will have 1 stop in BEG. If you like wasting time, why not?

      SOF was given as example. If you were reading my previous posts you would have seen that I mentioned other possibilities (including other airports) where transfer flights are much more attractive. You just need to read it carefully.





      Delete
    31. Aэrologic13:56

      As far as i can see you're the only one wasting everyone's time here while begging for answers that are sinply obvious.

      Do you want me to explain you why the sky is blue?

      At the end who cares?

      Delete
    32. Anonymous13:59

      Begging...:-)

      Just introducing the facts you can't stand...Who cares? It seems you do, dude.

      Delete
    33. Aэrologic14:04

      PS: Are you sure FR departs at a time convenient for 100% of passengers?

      Did they introduce round the clock flights or something?

      There are people that have other priorities other than the price.

      JU is there to make money. If the plane is filled with higher paying passengers to other destinations why should they lower the price from SOF?

      Which is anyway more than reasonable all things taken into account.

      Delete
    34. Anonymous14:07

      Other examples of smooth transfers via BEG:

      05 Oct

      CAI-BCN - 467€ OW
      Total time: 6 hours 35min

      14 Jul

      SKP-MAD - 168€ OW
      Total time: 5 hours 10min


      16 Jul

      BEY-CDG (popular route) - 363€ OW
      Total time: 6 hours 10min

      Here, JU must really lower the prices. VY, offer as little as 160€ OW via BCN.

      OK via PRG: 168€ less than 7 hours
      A3 via ATH: 193€ around 7 hours

      1 Oct

      KRR-CPH via BEG - 180.58€ OW not bad at all...

      KRRWednesday, 30th October 2019, 05:25Krasnodar, Pashkovsky Airport, Russia
      2 h 10 m
      Air SerbiaJU687
      Operated by Air Serbia
      Type of transport:
      Airbus A319
      Wednesday, 30th October 2019, 05:35Belgrade, Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia
      BEG
      Layover duration in Belgrade, Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia: 1 h
      Wednesday, 30th October 2019, 06:35Belgrade, Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia
      2 h 15 m
      Air SerbiaJU400
      Operated by Air Serbia
      Type of transport:
      Airbus A319
      CPHWednesday, 30th October 2019, 08:50Copenhagen, Kastrup Airport, Denmark


      Delete
    35. Aэrologic14:21

      BEG-CDG is full with higher paying O&D pax. No need to lower the price.

      Delete
    36. Nemjee14:23

      Why are people obsessing about these things, if the price and schedule is right people will fly no matter what.
      Every time I fly to LCA via ATH on A3 there are several of us connecting from BEG despite there being nonstop flights on both JU and W6.
      Obviously the same applies to JU in SOF, SKG, BEY, KRR...

      Ever since JU announced these flights there has been just so much negativity all around.

      Delete
    37. Anonymous15:39

      @Anon 13:59

      The only thing you can't stand is the reality happening right under your nose.

      Sorry, can't help you with that.

      Delete
    38. Anonymous18:42

      Some people are drooling over JU's new destinations. Dude, get over it.

      Your wishful thinking & pathological negativity can't be called 'facts'.

      By the way, while you're at it you should mail JU/Etihad let them know what mistake they're making. Try to get a job.

      Don't waste your time here.

      Delete
    39. Anonymous22:28

      All Ryanair prices from SOF-MAD one-way on August through September are between 100 and 200 Euros.

      https://ibb.co/99pDBwt

      Delete
    40. Anonymous23:56

      SOF-MAD is always busy with 3 carriers operating the route, similar to BCN.
      Still, JU manages to compete because of price and excellent transfer time.
      The SOF-BEG schedule has remained unchanged ever since JU started operating daily flights in 2014 meaning that it is effecient.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous12:12

    That is so massive, bravo JU!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Potential new destinations for AS:

    I realize that they have serious competition for these three cities, but they should fight back, be competitive, there is demand.
    Munich
    Warsaw
    Istanbul

    Other European destinations of interest for transfer pax.
    Kraków
    Lvov
    Odessa
    Southern Italy - Napoli?
    Baltics

    Middle East/Asia, Obviously some of these area are still unstable, and there are politics involved, but as soon as things calm down AS should jump in.
    Ankara
    Baku
    Tehran
    Baghdad
    Tripoli

    Regionally they aren't missing too much. Below cities could be good for transfer and some O&D pax.
    Mostar
    Maribor
    Cluj-Napoca
    Varna

    With these new cities added to their network it would give AS excellent Regional, European, and Mid-East/Central Asian coverage.
    They could then easily offer Toronto, Chicago, and China, plus potentially India.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:20

      Nice list and great cities with potential!

      I would add:

      Izmir
      Tbilisi <<< JU is missing this destination badly
      Rabat
      Luxembourg
      Porto
      Eilat
      Rotterdam (compete with W6 on the EIN route)
      Second UK destination: Manchester, Cardiff, East Midlands
      Dublin
      Las Palmas and/or Fuerteventura (seasonal)

      Delete
    2. Second British destination would be nice. Tbilisi could probably work too.
      Do you think Luxembourg could really work?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:45

      LUX might work for some cargo route. Charlie, are you the same guy as the Youtube Charles?

      Delete
    4. No, I am not the youtube guy. Who are you referring to? Any links?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous01:17

      Charles Cather on youtube

      Delete
    6. Anonymous08:34

      Cargo should also be developed from BEG.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous19:18

    No need for other new destinations except Lviv with Atr.
    First they should increase frequencies, especially Madrid and Barcelona but also Saint Petersburg.
    And Tel Aviv,Stuttgart and Dusseldorf should become daily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee20:10

      TLV can't due to slots.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous03:34

    Barcelona and Madrid should have been priorities for Wizz Air since they began flying from Belgrade many years ago .
    Only god knows why they never started those ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous06:58

      Ask Hogan and the previous Abu Dhabi experts...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:56

      Wizz preffered to shuttle those pax from Budapest and Timisoara.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:00

      And now they lost the most. Also that strategy made no sense when Vueling launched BEG.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:23

      U petak povratni let iz KRR biznis klasa rasprodata. Izgleda ce KRR dobro raditi.

      Delete
  28. Why would someone choose to travel to Zadar ,Split or Dubrovnik via Belgrade ? There were hundreds of daily flights to Croatia from Scandinavia, Helsinki as well.It takes additional 2 hrs from Belgrade to Croatian coast ,why on the earth would anyone choose that? Ps Air Serbia ain't authorized to offer anything smooth to Croatia. Serbia is not a popular country to go to, so I don't get it why Serbian govt wasting so much taxpayer money to push an airline which causes losses in a short & long term.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:15

      Are you Purger?

      Delete
  29. Anonymous08:56

    Larnaca has become 3pw?

    ReplyDelete

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