LOT Polish Airlines has filed for slots to launch daily flights between Budapest and Belgrade starting September 1. The service, which is yet to be officially confirmed by the airline and put on sale, is expected to depart the Hungarian capital late in the evening, arriving in Belgrade at 23.35. The inbound service is expected to operate early in the morning the following day at 05.10, giving passengers the opportunity to connect onto the carrier's short haul network from Budapest, primarily London City and Brussels, with the latter to launch on September 2. Furthermore, the carrier will introduce services to Bucharest, as well as station an Embraer E195 jet in the Hungarian capital.
The Warsaw-based airline is creating its first airport hub outside of Poland in response to recent growth and route expansion opportunities. The aim is to position LOT as the new transfer airline of Eastern Europe. Apart from London, the carrier already operates to several destinations from Budapest, including New York, Chicago, Krakow and Warsaw. LOT Polish Airlines' CEO, Rafal Milczarski, previously said, "With new flights we will start developing transfer traffic via Budapest Airport. It is a smart way to further establish the airline as the preferred choice for travelling in the region". The Polish carrier currently maintains eleven weekly flights between Warsaw and Belgrade, which will increase to twelve weekly in late September.
The national carrier of Belarus, Belavia, currently runs two weekly services from Budapest to Belgrade, which will be discontinued on October 24. The airline will instead operate three weekly nonstop flights from Minsk. Air Serbia launched daily operations to the Hungarian capital in March 2014 but suspended the service in October the following year due to poor demand. It will introduce subsidised two weekly flights between Niš and Budapest from August 1. In 2017, Wizz Air, with the support of the Hungarian government, launched services from Budapest to Pristina, Skopje, Podgorica, Sarajevo and Tirana, which have so far proven successful.
Wouldn't it make more sense to feed traffic to the US and Canada?
ReplyDeleteWell people can connect onto those too.
DeleteIf they have this planned schedule, the connections are quite bad. Around 5 hour waiting time in BUD and no connections on the way back.
DeleteSsht. Don't say this. They'll scaremonger you that Belgrade is a leading international hub and doesn't need another hub ٩(◕‿◕)۶
DeleteBEG-BUD-JFK-WAW-BEG is viable combination
DeleteLOT does not fly to Canada from Budapest. Just the US - Chicago and New York.
Delete@9.13 yes with a 5 hour layover in Budapest.
DeleteMy guess is that they plan on re-scheduling their North American flights. Until now they relied on local demand so they didn't care about connections, now they do!
DeleteBEG-BUD 05.15-06.15
BUD-LCY 07.00-08.45
BUD-BRU 07.10-09.15
BUD-WAW 07.00-08.20
LCY-BUD 19.30-23.00
BRU-BUD 20.15-22.10
WAW-BUD 20.10-21.35
BUD-BEG 22.35-23.35
Either they will offer some really short connections or they will retime some of their flights. I think it makes more sense for the flight to leave BUD at 23.35 and to arrive at 00.35. It wouldn't be unheard of as more and more airlines schedule arrival to BEG after midnight. Some like Vueling schedule them around midnight but depart after sunrise. lol
Anon 09.11
DeleteNo one implied that BEG is a LEADING international hub but rather that it's an international hub that covers four continents thanks to JU"s growing network. No one can dispute that.
LO can also sell flights to Krakow via BUD.
DeleteBEG-BUD-KRK
KRK-WAW-BEG
Like that they can offer morning arrival to southern Poland.
BEG-BUD 05.15-06.15
BUD-KRK 09.25-10.25
This move shows JU's total and utter incompetence. Instead of launching flights to BUD (larger market) to feed JFK and the rest of the network they'll have LO to further thin out the demand from BEG in winter (smaller market). As a bonus, instead of providing money to JU to lease one or two damn more Atr's, they'll subsidize ludicrous flights from Nis which directly contribute to Hungarian tourism. This is the sole example among regional routes from BUD that the state emitter of tourism will be sponsoring the flights and not vice-versa. As a minimum, Krakow should have been launched from INI (or BEG long-ago). Instead of, Serbia is surrendering one more market to Poles, this time their own while subsidizing Hungarian tourism.
DeleteAэrologic, totally agree with you. If they were unable to compete with LO on WAW flights - and that was solely due to the fact JU had no jet smaller than A319 - they had to strike back to the Poles by lounching Krakow (or Katovice) by now. And that they coul do with the ATR. As for BUD, there`s no logic the two neighbouring capitals are down to two buses per day between them. None whatsoever.
DeleteThis INI route is a disgrace.
DeletePlease don't tell me Hungarians are going to visit Southern Serbia.
'Disgrace'
DeleteYou need to calm down.
"As for BUD, there`s no logic the two neighbouring capitals are down to two buses per day between them. None whatsoever."
DeleteMajority of people use the minibus service and there are several daily departures by several different companies.
...which certainly meets high standards of Subsaharan Africa and post-Gaddafi Lybia.
DeleteWhatch you talk'in 'bout Willis?
Delete@17:43
Delete+1
I am a Hungarian and I plan to visit southern Serbia. I am pretty sure, it has many treasures. I am happy to get more inspired! :)
DeleteSo Belavia is probably ending BUD-BEG because of this,
ReplyDeleteCant you read the article? They are making MSQ BEG non stop from the winter timetable.
DeleteMind you last winter they introduced a non stop flight on Saturdays so there is obviously a lot of demand. Especially since they tend to send E75 on Saturdays in stead of the tiny CRJ-200.
I have read it, I'm just saying that their decision might have been influenced by the launch of these flights since it has been one of the worst kept secrets.
DeleteI doubt that their decision to withdraw was influenced by this. it's simple, there is no enough demand, especially since it takes you approx the same time to get to Budapest by car and by plane
DeleteLO and B2 should have code-shared on the route!
DeleteI think BEG-MSQ matured and can survive on its own now, without the BEG tag. B2 relies on transfer passengers to a market that's largely underserved (Baltics and the CIS).
DeleteI have flown BEG-BUD and it' definitely does not take you as long as driving by car, especially in the summer when the boarder crossing between Serbia and Hungary is a nightmare.
DeleteAgree with last anon. Especially if the prices are affordable it it much better to simply fly.
Delete@ Anon 9:31 - sure it does - u need to be at airport min 1 hr ahead, can take u some 45 min to get to the airport, flight 45 min, another 45 min from BUD to the city... Do the math... +1000 for those 3 weekends over summer when there are jams at border crossings...
DeleteWhere do you have to live in Belgrade and where do you have to be staying in Budapest for it to take you 45 minutes to the airport.
DeleteProbably in Grocka. lol
DeleteOne advantage with Belgrade is that you have the highway right through the center that passes over Gazela. That means that you can go on it from pretty much any part of the city. Even if you live in Ustanicka or Konjarnik you can be at the airport in 20 to 25 minutes.
This is a great news.
ReplyDeleteThe more new routes the better :)
DeleteSince JU is dragging its feet with long haul expansion, others will come to take away the cake and probably by dumping fares.
ReplyDeleteIt will depend on the price, but it's not as if you already don't have transfer options from BEG to the US.
DeleteJU already has very competitive prices to JFK.
DeleteHope prices for P2P passengers will be affordable.
ReplyDeleteSo they will be arriving in BEG during the JU night wave and departing before the morning wave starts.
ReplyDeleteThey will be departing during JU's morning arrival wave :D
DeleteAlthough they applied for slots, I think it's more likely for them to launch this route at the start of winter,
ReplyDeleteNo it will be September. That's when they will launch all the other from Budapest routes too.
DeleteAir Serbia should codeshare. LOT and JU are codeshare partners after all :D
ReplyDeleteI think LO and JU no longer code-share. Just checked beg.aero and there is no code-share on today's WAW-BEG-WAW flight operated by LO's E95.
DeleteHealthy competition is always good for the passengers.
DeleteYes, seems like that codeshare is dead.
DeleteDoes JU codeshare with anyone to Warsaw?
DeleteJU completely surrendered the high growth Polish market to LO.
DeleteAnother brilliant management decision.
Along with Belgrade, LOT will also announce Prague and Sofia from Budapest.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Prague will be departing in the morning with Brussels, London, Warsaw and Krakow.
DeleteLOT will also launch Budapest-Seoul soon.
DeleteOnce they launch ICN then ZAG will become their biggest regional priority as it has the most demand to Korea.
DeleteLO already flies to ICN. And they offer good connections from ALL Croatian cities. Launching BUD-ICN would make no sense for the Croatian market, as I personally doubt that NK Tourist care about whether they change planes in BUD or WAW.
DeleteIf NK stands for North Korea here, let me just remind you that passengers from Pyongyang don't change in BUD, WAW or anywhere else . LOL!!! And passengers from SK (a nije Savez Komunista) but South Korea, have direct nonstop Korean Air flights to ZAG plus plentiful other 1 stop options so I agree completely BUD-ICN on LO would make no sense when Croatian market is concerned
DeleteGreat. Good to see these flights won' end when Belavia stops the sector.
ReplyDeleteNot only that but flights will be daily too instead of current 2 weekly option.
DeleteI don't understand how they will fill these flights each day. Don't think the route will survive.
ReplyDeleteHow many frequencies did JU have to Budapest?
DeleteIt's a long-term investment, they probably don't expect it to work in the next two, three years until they expand their BUD operations.
DeleteJU also had daily flights at first.
DeleteFor intra-European flights from BEG (in particular business one-day flights, i.e. departure very early, whole day for doing business and return home late night), it is more difficult to connect in WAW, as it is further to the north-east from BEG, so the idea of BUD for LOT.
DeleteFor long-haul there is no such a problem whether for TATL or Asia, so LOT doesn't care about connection times from BEG for long-haul in BUD as long as connection times from BEG for long-haul in WAW are OK.
It will be a great option for London with much more affordable prices.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLondon city is expensive to travel in. That’s why the majority of it’s passengers are business people
DeleteYes but it is one of the most convenient airports in London.
DeleteNo, it THE most convenient airport.
DeleteBA888 can not fly to BEG from LCY via BUD. lol
DeleteWhat will be the frequency of the Budapest-Bucharest service?
ReplyDeleteDouble daily, overnight flights like BEG and then an early afternoon departure.
DeleteAnd on top of that TAROM flies to Budapest too.
DeleteWizz Air did once upon a time but they were massacred by the competition.
DeleteStrong start for a new route.
ReplyDeleteHow long do flights between Belgrade and Budapest take?
ReplyDeleteAround 40 minutes give or take.
DeleteI remember once, years ago, we made it from BUD to BEG in just 22 minutes onboard MA's Q400. However that was thanks to some favorable winds pushing us ahead. All other flights were around 40 minutes.
DeleteThis would be nice. Hope it happens.
ReplyDeleteLooks as if it will.
DeleteThis route didn't really cross my mind it makes perfect sense for LOT and their ambitions at Budapest.
ReplyDeletelets wait and see how long their endeavor in BUD lasts.
DeleteBad news for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteIf this happens it would be the 13th route launched from BEG this year.
ReplyDeleteYes, nine of which are by JU.
DeleteAnother missed opportunity for JU.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a missed opportunity. They flew to BUD and it didn't work out.
DeleteKakav "opporunity" , ako znamo da je linija postojala I avioni su leteli poluprazni. Bilo bi sulududo gurati te letove. LOT trenutno ima dosta velike gubitke iz Budimpešte pošto su američki letovi dosta loše popunjeni i ovo je jedini način da probaju poboljšati popunjenost kabine. Ja sam 16 Juna leteo iz Čikaga do Budimpešte i bilo je najmanje 70 praznih mesta. Iako LOT prima subvencije od BUD aerodroma za ove letove mislim lično da su i dalje u gubitcima. AS je uradila dosta dobrih poteza i ukinula neprofitabilne linije u zadnje 2 godine . "Network planning" team AS je više nego dobar i to se vidi po novim linijama koje su odradili ove godine; pojačali i otvorili neke nove destinacije koje su se pokazale veoma uspešno. Naprimer zašto leteti za BUD ako taj isti avion može obaviti let ka jadranu na 5 različitih destinacija i biti skoro non stop pun? Ovde su ljudi jako negativni i samo vole da kritikuju, a u mnogo puta pokazuju veliko neznanje u avioindustriji.
DeleteDidn't someone post some numbers here some time ago that LOT is doing really poorly from Budapest?
ReplyDeleteTheir flights to the US are not performing really well.
DeleteThe winter was not really good for them, ORD had terrible load factor, but cargo was doing well.
DeleteBut don't forget that they still don't really have feed network on any side. OK, at BUD they have KRK, but that's not much, they are just building the network.
LOT is hiring for BUD hub, they are looking for captains and first officers for Q400, Embraers, and for 787 too.
Anonymous18 July 2019 at 11:33
DeleteI'm sorry, I checked again, they are looking for Embraer and 787 pilots for BUD, no Q400.
Perfect for a day trip to Budapest => no need for a hotel.
ReplyDeleteExactly this is really ideal! I just hope the prices will be ok.
DeleteI really don't understand how is this perfect for a day trip - its a 5:10 flight, so need to be at 4:15 at airport. So, if you are going from Belgrade, you need to get up at 3-3:30am depending of your location etc. And then, spend a wonderful day at Budapest, really?
DeleteI mean, you can find hotels or apartments for really small amount, why would someone torture himself like this?
And of course, you expect that you will be flying for 10eur...
I'm not convinced this will work.
ReplyDeleteWhy not buddy, tell us why? What are your fears and hopes for this route?
DeleteI don't think they will get enough transfer traffic with such a limited network, while I don't think there will be enough P2P demand for daily flights.
DeleteAre trains between Belgrade and Budapest currently operational? Or have they been discontinued while they are building the fast train tracks?
ReplyDeleteNope, Novi Sad should be launched within a year.
DeleteFlixbus will soon be launching 4 daily buses from Belgrade to Budapest, operated by Fudeks.
DeleteHow many times per week did Malev fly to Belgrade back in the day?
ReplyDeleteDaily on the Q400, six weekly in winter.
DeletePerson that made a decision for Air Serbia to start long haul operations with only one plane and only one destination is responsible for this outcome. If Air Serbia started long haul with multiple destinations beyond just JFK, LOT would have avoided this battle. They are now under attack from yet another Star Alliance airline for long haul passengers. How long does it take for majority owner to realize Air Serbia future is based on long haul expansion?
ReplyDeleteThis is not really about long-haul. LOT wants to transfer long-haul pax from BEG via WAW, were they have the biggest choice of long-haul (JFK, EWR, ORD, LAX, MIA, YYZ, ICN, PEK, PKX, NRT, DEL).
DeleteHere it is about O&D and BEG-BUD-BRU, BEG-BUD-PRG, BEG-BUD-SOF, BEG-BUD-KRK, BEG-BUD-LCY.
Why would anyone fly from Belgrade to Sofia via Budapest?
DeleteIn order to be in Sofia not at 3.30pm (YU), but in the morning, do business (a business meeting etc.) and come back still the same day to BEG. And this at the expense of taking a flight at 5.10 am from BEG and arriving back at 23.35 pm.
DeleteLO long haul from WAW is doing mostly okay. LO long haul from BUD needs more feed. Strange LO didn't go for ZAG-BUD instead. ZAG has no JFK service unlike BEG.
DeleteTrue, that is a very good option for Sofia.
DeleteAnd equaly people don't get it Hungarian business in Serbia is growing, with OTP buying off Serbian banks, MET Group investing hundreds of millions into a wind farms etc. Plus, LOT Is probably getting incentives both from Hungary, as well as from Vinci.
From a cost perspective in case a one day business trip BEG-BUD-SOF-BUD-BEG, business saves expenses for a hotel night in SOF, some dining expenses in SOF, one day work of an employee that he spends back in BEG and not staying in SOF for another day. This makes room for a higher fare being acceptable.
DeleteBEG-BUD: already failed with ATR72.
DeleteBEG-BUD-BRU: JU has direct service; 1 stop options already available. W6 to CRL alternative.
BEG-BUD-PRG: JU has direct service; 1 stop options already available.
BEG-BUD-SOF: JU has direct service; 1 stop options already available.
BEG-BUD-KRK: no direct service, 1 stop options available; low demand
BEG-BUD-LCY: JU has 16 weekly direct to LHR including full biz class on EY plane. Does one stop to LCY beat it? Relatively low demand too.
Overall LO BEG-BUD is not likely to thrive.
From perspective of business user traveling a lot in region I can tell that I would never, never, never took a flight in 5:10 in order fly BEG-BUD-SOF.
DeleteI agree that JU schedule is little bit inconvenient, but if I need to go to Sofia and come back in a day I would go with car.
Again, wakng up in 3am for that connection - no way.
True dat.
DeleteGuys, Sofia will have a similar schedule to BEG and OTP so there won't be convenient connections from BEG.
DeleteWell, I thought that ones promoting this have checked schedule, not just drawing connections lines on a map :)
DeleteIs JU allowed by the subsidy agreement to fly INI-BEG-BUD-BEG-INI instead of non-stop? BEG stop you could be applied to other bad performing routes.
ReplyDeleteNo. It has to be nonstop.
DeleteBEG stop would be a good idea.
DeleteSo we could expect E195 on this route?
ReplyDeleteOne of the Embraer jets.
DeleteE170 would make most sense.
DeleteLOT is basing only E195s in BUD (apart from B788). No point to invest in new pilots and cc for E170 as these are supposed to be retired relatively soon. All new pilots and cc recruited in BUD will therefore be recruited for E195.
DeleteI hadn't realised that the E-170s are being retired soon, but I suppose it makes sense since they have more fuel efficient Q400s that are the same size. What are they replacing the E-170s with? Used larger E-jets? Or more wetleased CRJs from Nordica?
Delete