Air Serbia set for major network expansion in 2020


Air Serbia is expected to introduce a number of new routes from its Belgrade hub in 2020 following the launch of ten new destinations from the city this year. The airline has entered into the reservation system, on a trial basis, a number of new routes during the first week of July, although these are expected to be spread out and added to its network throughout the duration of the 2020 summer season. They include Amman, Budapest, Chisinau, Florence, Geneva, Lviv, Oslo, Rostov-on-Don and Valencia. The destinations have also appeared on Air Serbia’s website, although tickets are yet to be put on sale. Air Serbia itself has not officially commented on the matter.


According to the current, preliminary schedule, which is visible in reservation systems, services from Belgrade to Amman (JU857), Chisinau (JU696), Rostov-on-Don (JU678) and Lviv (JU668) will depart Belgrade during its so-called midnight wave of flights, from 23.00 onwards and return to the Serbian capital in the morning, ahead of the airline’s morning wave of predominantly European services. On the other hand, flights to Budapest (JU620/624), Geneva (JU470/474), Valencia (JU590/594), Oslo (JU450/454) and Florence (JU550/554) will run with a split-schedule, leaving Belgrade during the morning and afternoon waves on selected days. From the abovementioned, services to Budapest, Chisinau and Lviv will be operated with the ATR turboprop aircraft.

This development will mark the carrier’s entry into the markets of Jordan, Moldova, Hungary and Norway, as well as expansion in Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine and Spain. Once the routes are all confirmed, Air Serbia would face direct competition on three of its new services - Geneva, Oslo and Budapest. The Serbian carrier planned to introduce flights to the Swiss city in 2018 when it appeared that low cost carrier easyJet would discontinue the route. However, the no frills carrier persevered, and Air Serbia shelved its planned service just weeks after putting tickets on sale. In addition, the Serbian airline will go head-to-head against Norwegian Air Shuttle to Oslo, as well as LOT to Budapest. The Polish carrier is set to introduce a new daily service from Hungary’s capital to Belgrade in May 2020. Air Serbia previously operated flights from both Belgrade and Niš to Budapest, however, both routes were discontinued. The carrier is also set to schedule an increase in frequencies on a number of its existing destinations by the end of the year for the 2020 summer season.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    wow :O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:33

      A giant leap for ASL... !

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    This is huge!

    Amazing job Air Serbia!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:11

      This is getting interesting.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    These are bad news for LO. Not only will JU have a better schedule to BUD but LO is blocked from expanding in WAW so they can't respond. Good to see JU fight for its market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      Personally I think this is an attempt to get LOT to back off. JU will probably offer dumping prices, get LO to suspend service and then they themselves will end the flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:06

      JU will have departures from BEG at 07.45 and at 18.20 which are also great for locals. I don't see anyone O&D flying with LO with such a schedule. LO will end up carrying transfers to their modest hub in BUD.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:09

      Kick in the groin for LOT. Message from JU is clear: back off Lot!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:48

      JU cannot allow LOT to take passengers from BEG via BUD and must react as all noticed.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    A very good list of new destinations. Budapest is a bid of an oddity though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    BEG is really becoming a real hub.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:06

    Shook!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:06

    Budapest will fail. Nothing can match convenience of vans which get to Ferihegy from anyone's home in Belgrade in five hours at a fraction of air ticket price. It goes to LO as well

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Honey JU is after transfers which is why they have morning and night departures. Let's say a Russian arrives from KRR at 06.00 to Belgrade and then connects to Budapest at 07.45. When he decides to fly back home he will arrive from BUD to BEG at 21.50 and continue to beautiful Krasnodar at 23.45.

      Also for many, if JU has normal prices, flying will be a grea alternative to overcrowded border crossings in summer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:09

      JU will do whatever it takes to chase LOT out of Belgrade. I am sure they will fly half empty to Budapest with low prices in order to scare LOT away. Sometimes you have to make radical moves if you want to succeed in the bigger picture.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:11

      JU`s flights are not going after connecting pax from Ferihegy, as it is not possible to fly from somewhere to BUD and catch connecting flight with JU to BEG.

      When it comes to vans, they have already been banned in Croatia, so it is probably not long before they get banned from Hungary as well. They carry passengers commercially without any control or check on long driving hours, drivers, vehicles, etc... If Serbia does not ban them, Hungary probably will at some point

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:11

      Hopefully JU can offer connections from BUD to LJU now that they have those 13.15 departures.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:38

      JU`s flights are not going after connecting pax from Ferihegy, as it is not possible to fly from somewhere to BUD and catch connecting flight with JU to BEG.
      -----------------------------------------

      Huh? They will offer connections via BEG to their network. JU is not looking at offering connections via BUD if that's what you mean.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:07

    Great to see direct flights to 3 Spanish cities after years of no flights!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:56

      I hope to see Lisbon being added (as an extention to MAD)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:06

      I hope to see Lisbon being added as an extention to MAD..., I hope.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:13

      I do not think so.

      It is really too far and we already saw that TAP failed on this route although they have decent S.American network for connections from BEG through LIS

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:00

      TP and JU are not after the same market though.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:09

    So Scandinavia is pretty much covered - Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen plus Gothenburg from Nis.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:09

    So we went from having Vueling flying seasonally to BCN to having MAD, BCN and now VLC! WOW

    Also BCN is 3 weekly from June!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:10

    ...and then people still think BEG is not overtaking SOF in the next year, year and a half.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:07

      Zzzz

      1 million pax to go.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:00

      Down from 1.5 :*

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:11

    Amman! Great add <3

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:11

    Geneva is an interesting choice. Going up against easyjet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      Payback for easyJet launching TXL flights I guess.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:47

      I flew EZ from TXL in mid October flight was absolutely full, though it was Sunday, no idea for other days loads

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:12

      Not surprised, Berlin was always a big market.

      Delete
    4. Aэrologic10:14

      In late November 50-60% full in the middle of the week.

      Delete
  14. Aleksandar09:13

    Looking at the map of Air Serbia's 2020 expansion, it seems more impressive than Montenegro Airlines' entire network.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aэrologic10:16

      Just my thoughts about OU.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:14

      Bad news for Purger ;)

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:14

    Most of those destinations are for transfer passengers. Valencia for example has much smaller demand from BEG than PMI yet transfer potential is superior.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:17

    This is crazy. They might as well order at least 20 new planes and get a new dedicated terminal at BEG airport if they plan to continue expanding like this :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:17

    Wow some really unexpected destinations in the east. Obviously Chisinau, Rostov and Lviv are mostly for transfers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Amman too.

      Delete
    2. Aleksandar09:21

      Krasnodar started off as entirely transfer but the route actually stimulated some local demand. Wouldn't be surprised if the same happens.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:04

      Aleksandar did you fly the route to know? Or is it wishful thinking?

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:20

    OSL - Jat Airways was flying here 10 years ago and quite quickly they closed this destination. I hope Air Serbia will have more success although they are facing now the competition in Norwegian who is quite cheap on this route offering good quality.

    GVA - The most surprising route - U2 flies here already for few years offering cheap prices, unlimited hand luggage weight and good flying times. Air Serbia can't have good yield here and at the same time they can't count on transfer passengers as GVA connecitivity to every part of the Europe and beyond is excellent.

    FLR - One of the reasons for this route might be the success Bologna has from Nis - but with subsidized tickets. It is nice Italian region but also the base of Volotea. I find that CLJ would be better than FLR

    VLC - obviously meant for summer vacations. If they keep it as year-round it will be mostly used for transfers from Romania, but at Air Serbia they should not forget that VLC is not MAD or BCN. BCN is bigger touristic place and in MAD JU has code share with Air Europa that makes this route successful.

    LWO - great choice. The same as KIV it will be operated with ATR during the night when these planes are available making it costly effective and at the same time bringing transfer passengers for other JU routes.

    KIV - same as LWO

    BUD - Air Serbia was flying here at the time it was established and was not successful. Malev was also not very successful at the time when they were flying to BEG. This time Air Serbia obviously hope that they have more destinations to cover than in 2013 and therefore they can count on more transfer passengers as P2P traffic is very weak. Also the competition with Lo won't make it easier.

    ROV - being led by the success of KRR people in Air Serbia decided to bring on the table one more tranfer destination from Russia and taking in consideration the size of the ROV airport it could bring the same success KRR brought.

    AMM - Expecting the results to be between BEY (that runs successfully for transfer passengers) and CAI (results are weaker than expected). Anyhow worth trying.

    Wish them all the best and congratulations for so many new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:40

      JU flights to MAD do not connect onto anything on Air Europa so whatever success they have on the route will be their own.
      As for Valencia, well if they did well to Nice then I am sure they will do well here as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:26

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/05/air-serbia-air-europa-expand-codeshare.html

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:16

      Anon 9:20 ... Personally I am a bit surprised by Rostov being their choice considering that the same is only 250 km away from Krasnodar and with good road / rail connections between those two cities. In my opinion Samara / Orenburg / Ekaterinburg or Novosibirsk would have been better choices but anyways I wish them good luck with Rostov as well.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:27

      The cities you mentioned might be too far away to complete night rotation and return to Belgrade in the morning.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:20

      I, too, think that Rostov and Krasnodar will partially cannibalize each other.

      Delete
    6. Саобраћајна повезаност Ростова и Краснодара јавним превозом је, са становишта доласка/одласка авиона, веома лоша. Када дођеш у Краснодар мораш да јуриш на железничку станицу на први воз који полази око 7:15. А за одлазак из Краснодара мораш из Ростова поћи око 21:00 и стићи око 24:00 у Краснодар. Онда бус/такси до аеродрома и чекање неколико сати до чекирања и укрцавање. И, што се Ростова тиче, најзападнија десетинација је Праг, тако да је ово одличан потез АS. Исто тако је и из Краснодар једини лет на запад био за Праг. Још су летели за Беч (OS) више не.
      P. S.
      Крајем октобра авион за Краснодар је био пун. И лет из Краснодара је такође био пун и већином транзитним путницима.

      Delete
    7. FLR - One of the reasons for this route might be the success Bologna has from Nis

      BLQ is everything except success! LF is about 40% medium.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:06

      What a horrible disaster. Don't know what they are thinking about Florence. The bubble gets bigger and bigger.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:22

      @Mixajlo
      Do you know the other LF out of Nis? Every route that bad?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:15

      Rostov is also the 'unofficial' airport for the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:15

      Krasnodar serves more Crimea, Sochi etc.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous17:16

      Both are big cities, Rostov is at around 1.2 million people.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous19:19

      AMM might end up quite tourist heavy. Not too expensive, Petra and Wadi Rum are booming, most (including Serbian passport holders) get visa on arrival -- but connections to the ex-Yu region were hitherto poor

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:21

    This is literally too good to be true and if it is, it's amazing! Can they really pull all these additions off with only two additional aircraft? That's not to mention the needed increases to the currently scheduled flights? Wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The real question is do they have the passengers dynamic to support those routes or they will fly half empty?!! We all know who is going to pay for the damage.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:07

      I see your point, but I reckon they have got right. Both with this year's expansion and the big chunk of the destinations they announced. The demand will be there, when O/D and transfers are combined. I'm more worried about delays and inadequate number of planes. Would really hate for that to be their undoing after such stellar strategic choices.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      SMH.... Sad. Always doubt from some people even tho JU has been destroying everyone recently. I guess some will have to wait and see.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:20

      Many delays are not because of them but are caused by ATC delays around Europe which cause a chain reaction in their network. For example AMS gets delays by 60 minutes because of ATC which means the flight will arrive some 45 minutes late to BEG. Now imagine if they have connections to SKG. That flight will have to wait for them which means it ends up being delayed.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:26

      Annon 10:20 it is not exactly correct what you wrote; it is rather a myth (ATC) that JU and their fans put together as a good and justifiable excuse to be late. Very often FR24 shows others flying more or less on time while JU is late on certain European busy airports. I know you will dig out stats about JU being ok with regards to time and are in line with others but I don't share this and I can tell you that every flight I took with them regarless of airport / air space was delayed (some more, some less but always late). Yes I am waiting already for your reply that I flew once / twice and it happened. Not the case just to let you know, JU has a problem especially in summer with regards to keep up the schedule.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:51

      Ja ja sure hundreds and thousands people wait for reimbursement.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:08

      You obviously don't fly out of FRA in summer. LH delays are monstrous compared to JU.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:21

    Can Amman become a new Beirut?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:24

      Theoretically possible - if it gets somehow magically beamed 200km to the North and then declared the new capital of Lebanon.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:25

    I wonder which of these will be seasonal and which year round.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:26

      My guess would be Florence and Valencia are seasonal and the rest are year round.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:42

      Venice is year-round so why couldn't Florence as well? The region is quite wealthy and the airport isn't that well connected.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:50

      I guess FLR can stay year round mainly because of transfers to Eastern Europe. I guess there is a lot of Albanian diaspora there as two companies fly to TIA

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:57

      FLR has good connectivity with Western Europe, but not so good with Eastern Europe.

      Despite it I do not see what JU can offer here more than LH, KL, AZ, OS, BA, LX, AF...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:20

      Can't we say the same for other destinations they fly to like ATH, FCO, BCN, MAD... obviously JU is offering something others can't if they are thriving in those markets.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:25

      The airports you mentioned are much bigger than FLR and have more P2P passengers than FLR

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:26

      Don't forget that Russians love Italy so Florence should have good connections from Moscow, Krasnodar and Rostov. JU carries a lot of passengers from Venice and Rome to both Krasnodar and Moscow.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:09

      Why should JU care about competition? It's not like they have to worry about profitability.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:25

    I would like to see a complete map of Air Serbia summer destinations. Including charter and destinations from INI they will probably have close to 100 airports in their network. Very impressive growth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:36

      Next time they expand after this they will surely surpass 100 destinations. That’s really unbelievable

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:26

      If you like, you can create such a map yourself - e.g. on gcmap.com

      Delete
  23. Anonymous09:31

    This is impressive. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous09:31

    Hoce li biti dovojna samo dva aviona za ovoliku ekspanziju,plus pojacane linije na postojecim rutama?Sve ovo zvuci neverovatno,bravo za AS a pogotovu sto pokazuju zube i ulaze u borbu sa LOTom za svoje trziste.S obzirom da AS u buducnosti planira letove za Toronto i Cikago jako je bitno da proteraju Lot iz Budimpeste.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      Ма та Лотова авантура у Будимпешти ће бити кратког даха. Прескупо је а овај раст у Београду ће им додатно компликовати живот. Већ су угасили Чикаго из Будимпеште и померили све регионалне летове за месец дана. Преамбициозно су ушли у цео мађарски пројекат. Уз све то, велики им је проблем то што немају више простора да се шире у Варшави те не могу ништа урадити што се ЈУ тиче.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous09:31

    The midnight wave will become quite busy.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous09:32

    Does the photo give the details about fleet expansion? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      We heard 1xA319 and 1xATR72 will join the fleet

      Delete
  27. Anonymous09:39

    Belgrade will become real hub and Air Serbia third Balkan airline (after Turkish Airlines and Aegean) by its size.

    Europe became small for JU! After this network got stabilized it will be great base for new long haul flights

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think TAROM is a little bit bigger than air Serbia by fleet size and also much younger.

      Delete
    2. Easy does it Anon @9:39, "Europe became small for JU" C'mom man.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:11

      RO has 25 aircraft, they are about the same as JU but they carry less passengers.

      Delete
    4. Wrong anonymous 16 :11,TAROM carried 2.75 million passengers for 2018 and had 74% load factor while for the same year Air Serbia carried 2.48 million passengers and had 71.2%load factor. Source :Wikipedia.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:03

      With the "slight" difference that RO has a very developed domestic network :)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:32

      JU WILL become. Future tense

      Delete
  28. Anonymous09:41

    Isn't it too early?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Luka09:43

    Lets wait until these destinations are officially announced. But if they are, this might be a sign that SSJ 100(s) are coming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      Why wouldn't they happen? I mean we got even more destinations last year and they were all successful. This is just a continuation of something that already works quite well. :D

      By the way I don't think the SSJ are coming. JU starts new destinations with two or three weekly flights so it's doable with extra two planes. I think only KIV and LWO will be four weekly but they will go at night.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:52

      Actually this is the sign SSJ100 are not coming as it is clearly written that ATR will be flying to BUD, LWO and KIW.

      Delete
    3. Luka10:16

      I am not saying that they won't, I do hope they do. But until airline officially announces it I wouldn't take this with 100% certainty. As we all know things might change.

      It does say that some of these destinations will be operated with ATR, and certainly they wouldn't put SSJs in the system until they get them.
      But it also says that increases on existing routes will be announced. And when JU said that they will expand fleet nowhere did they specify the type of aircraft.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:23

      It has been mentioned that 1xATR72 and 1xA319 are coming

      Delete
    5. Luka10:58

      I must have missed that, when Jiri Marek announced fleet expansion here during CAPA summit he did not specify the type:
      "Mr Marek did not specify the aircraft type Air Serbia will be adding next year" (https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/12/air-serbia-to-add-two-aircraft-in-2020.html)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:57

      It was mentioned few days on some other portal as unofficial info.
      I don't think there was official statement yet.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous09:45

    Nice! Will they bring back double daily to ZAG? Would be nice to have more options when connecting. JU has become quite popular in Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:52

      I was thinking the same thing! Lots of the new destinations towards the East would have some demand from Zagreb via BEG. Bring back the double daily!

      Delete
  31. As a Croat I am super happy for Air Serbia. I just hope they add more flights to Zagreb. For example for the flight to/ From Helsinki, you need to either fly night before from Zagreb or wait many many hours in the Belgrade airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      That's why they need those 13.10 flights they do for LJU. Maybe we see that in the future as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      Is there demand from JU's night flight destinations for Croatian coast in summer? Could it make sense to have two weekly SPU or DBV in the morning like LJU and ZAG?

      Delete
    3. Writing this from Amman. 3 times here during last 12 months. Once Alitalia/Royal Jordanian from Trieste via Rome, once Aegean from Venice via Athens and once Croatia/Lufthansa from Zagreb via Frankfurt. Next time, it will definitely be Air Serbia, whether from Rijeka, Pula, Zagreb or Ljubljana, via Belgrade, my first base airport. Once again shame on you Croatia Airlines and once again congratulations and Bravo Air Serbia!

      Delete
    4. @POZDRAV IZ RIJEKE, don't be so pessimist. You know well Croatia airlines can't take that risk. Air Serbia is not under the EU aviation rules, so if they fail they will just stop and the damage will go to the Serbian tax payers.

      Delete
    5. Bravo Rijeka!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:12

      "so if they fail they will just stop and the damage will go to the Serbian tax payers."

      Unlike OU, where they won't even try and the damage will anyhow go to the Croatian taxpayers :)

      Delete
    7. @An.17.57
      Somehow I don't see EU membership and rules harmed LOT, Air Baltic, Aegean, TAP, Tarom...., so not speaking big and developed EU superpowers but airlines from former "East" or relatively poor or small countries. They took EU membership and rules as an advantage and Croatia Airlines, with its tourism, diaspora and geographical position could have done that even easier than those countries and companies. Concerning taxpayers - Croatian ones paid much more during last 30 years for Croatia Airlines, uhljeb's nest led by mafiosos, than Serbian taxpayers for Air Serbia. And in Air Serbia, we at least see some results of those financing, while Croatia Airlines represents one of the most shameful pictures of independent Croatia, by its size, relevance, corruption and nepotism, and lost chances and potentials. Cheers!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:00

      OU should see the benefits JU had from distancing itself from EY. They should do the same for LH Group. Not like it can get much worse than it is now.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous09:52

    so night departures should look something like this:

    23.10 CAI
    23.45 SVO
    23.45 BEY
    23.45 AMM
    23.45 KRR
    00.01 LCA
    00.20 LWO
    00.20 KIV
    00.25 SKG
    00.25 SKP
    00.25 TIA
    00.30 OTP
    00.30 ATH

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21

      Surreal! I remember a time when BEG would go to sleep at 21.00

      Delete
  33. Anonymous09:54

    Is there a way to make BUD work by making it triangle flight like the JAT used to do? For example BEG-BUD-Kosice or Krakow or Katowice or Ostrava-BUD-BEG?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:58

      Nobody is doing it anymore

      Delete
    2. Aleksandar09:59

      Triangle routes are outdated and not popular anymore. Also it wouldn't fit neatly into the waves. BUD can be successful for JU without a triangle route.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:10

      Zaista nema potrebe za tim. Pored NYC mogu jednu ili dve linije da odvoje za rat sa nekim od prevoznika i da pocnu da se uvlace u dupe Delti posto imaju razvijene kodserove sa njihovim kompanijama od Iberije do Moskve da udju u Skyteam.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous10:17

    Great.

    Now, I would advise someone from BEG management to hop on a flight to KIV to see how cheap excellent food is served in a few very pleasant restaurants in what is a rather small airport. Puts many big hubs to shame.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous10:24

    Let's not forget that on top of these they also returned to IST!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:39

      With so many Turkish tourists in Serbia I hope we see more flights by JU. In October there were 9.713 Turkish tourists which is almost 100% growth. In the first ten months there were 96.659 Turkish tourists or 7% more.I am happy KK is out of the picture as unlike JU, they couldn't add more flights to meet the demand.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:58

      Does the bilateral agreement between Turkey and Serbia allow for JU to potentially open flights to Ankara?

      Belgrade is full with Turkish tourists, I am sure direct flights would further help in increasing the number of tourists even more

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:36

      And IST is the most critical destination JU started to fly to!

      If JU can get a codeshare with TK to/from IST, they can fly 2 daily full to Istanbul (Like Aegean 3 daily and Ukraine International 3 daily with full loading factors even in winter).

      Flying to IST without a TK codeshare is a disaster, it's a city of 15 million tourists visiting and 16 millions of inhabitants, and Air france and KLM seperately only flies 1 daily! Against TK's 7 daily to Paris LOL.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:14

      TK is restricted in Serbia so they can't be a total predator like they are elsewhere.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous10:44

    I am glad JU is launching BUD and LWO because that's a direct reply to LO's expansion in JU's backyard (TIA, SKP, TGD...). Nice to see Air Serbia open up another front.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous10:55

    Impressive. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous10:55

    I just hope that they aren't going to crash with such a huge expansion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:40

      I hope they are not going. But if they are government would inject money to JU

      Delete
  39. Anonymous11:18

    Job well done. I assume most flights will be 2-3 per week like with this year's expansion?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous11:31

    What about frequencies?
    The article doesn't say anything about how often ASL will fly these routes.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous11:34

    Flew with Air Serbia to Banja Luka yesterday, returned today, mixed loads but I guess they’re good considering off season + subsidized + increased to 4 pw :) sve naj! Service was great btw for such a short flight.

    15.12 BEG-BNX 21/66 32%
    16.12 BEG-BNX 34/66 52%
    16.12 BNX-BEG 42/66 64%

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous11:38

    I was expecting Ankara but I guess the bilateral doesn't allow more flights between Serbia and Turkey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:41

      Admin,

      Can you reply what is allowed by bilateral?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:48

      I don't think Ankara would be allowed

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/10/serbia-turkey-approve-rigid-air.html

      Delete
  43. Anonymous11:45

    Amman,Lviv and Chishinau are risky with the amount of lcc's started entering both markets recently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:00

      Well JU is used to LCCs since they have to live with them in Belgrade.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:22

      Aman ljudi !

      Delete
  44. Anonymous11:50

    Lviv will work 100%!
    Put not inflated prices and that's all. Maybe I would add Odessa in summer too.

    Well done Air Serbia!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Aэrologic12:58

    It took years for people to realize ''region" is not just Ex-yu but something including parts of Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and going as far as Moldova.

    Better late than never.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:15

      As far as Moldova?

      Chisiniau is closer to Belgrade than Kiev

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:48

      But still not Chisiniau on map. I think they should go for Krakow instead Budapest.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:57

      ?? KIV=Chisinau...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:16

      KIV is bad news for RO. They already turned ODS to seasonal.

      Delete
    5. Aэrologic14:17

      I'm talking about 'regional' destinations.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:18

      KIV = Кишињев in Russian, Chisinau is a Russian-speaking city.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:46

      My fault it was KBP once.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:33

      That's IEV.

      Delete
    9. Aэrologic has been advocating regional expansion for years.
      What other 'regional' destinations do you think would work in the coming years?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous16:29

      Actually Purger has been doing it for years and you can read his texts. Others were probably influenced (educated?) by him.

      Delete
    11. Aэrologic16:48

      Krakow, Odessa, Cluj and other Romanian destinations, Bari, Catania.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous16:51

      Hilarious assumption.

      Purger never mentioned anything remote to Lviv or Chisinau.

      What did he mention on the other hand is how now (seasonal-) EK service to Zagreb is bigger development than Air Serbia.

      So much for the 'expertise'.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous16:52

      On the other hand every single route Aerologic proposed launched including Krasnodar which proved a tremendous success.

      Delete
    14. Krakow, Odessa for sure.
      Cluj, doesn't Tarom have it covered?
      Same for Bari, vis-à-vis AlItalia?
      I would add Napoli before Catania.
      Lyon would also work.
      Riga or Vilnius should be on the radar.
      Ankara, in next wave of expansion.
      Caucuses should be considered.
      Baghdad and Tehran future destinations.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous17:27

      Purger's articles are available online. You can check them out and read what is written there, you are obviously not well informed.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous17:49

      Do we know figures on these routes like Krasnodar to support these statements? Just genuinely asking.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous18:27

      So what are you saying? We need to read Purger's articles to get informed?? But if we do you call us copy-cats?

      I don't read them and have not the slightest interest in reading them.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous19:24

      You don't have to be so passive-aggressive. Sure, Purger's had a few missteps over the years, and he tends to be a bit dramatic at times, but overall his articles are well-informed and well-argued. And he definitely invests a lot of effort into something that's ultimately a hobby.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous19:33

      Purger didn't ever say one dime about expansion into Eastern Europe.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous20:16

      He did! He criticised OU for not flying anywhere to the east beyond SKP.

      Delete
  46. Anonymous14:18

    And still nothing from Wizz. They lost the battle in Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous15:39

    Does anyone has information when will they announce this expansion officially?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:13

      I'm curious as well to see if they'll cut something from last year to free capacity for this year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:34

      Exactly. Im curious as well. And will they add some more frequencies to some other routes and which. I think that Tirana can easily go twice a day, due to Albanian diaspora in Florence (and north Italy) and Geneva (and all Switzerland).

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:57

      90% of Albanians in Switzerland are from Kosovo, the Tirana-Switzerland market is not that big. Italy is another story though, that market is just massive

      Delete
  48. Anonymous16:02

    Big surprise is lack of Yerevan (EVN). Great transfer opportunity, minimal competition, no visa required, only 100-200km longer than Amman, Oslo or Valencia but shorter than Madrid. Missed opportunity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aэrologic16:54

      Too far and can't fit into the midnight wave.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:33

      Too far? Did you read my comment at all? It's just as long as some other midnight wave destinations like CAI and AMM. Wrong answer.

      Delete
    3. Aэrologic18:23

      Clearly we do not have the same sources.

      Amman was almost decided against because it's too far and due to ATC restrictions around Israel.

      BEY which is closer is already on the limit and sees severe delays.

      I am not sure if you have read your comment yourself.

      100-200km isn't insignificant when you're already on the edge, that is assuming you can perform a straight-in approach without terrain, weather or ATC limitations (Yerevan is close to 5.000m Mt. Ararat). Thereby, there's not just the nautical distance to take into account but many other factors. Among those the capacity of the airport to turn around the aircraft on time. If i remember correctly EVN has peak of activity between 0300-0500. That is when JU would arrive.

      All things considered. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm saying it isn't the priority right now given the current limitations.

      If you read my comments from before you'd know i've been advocating Yerevan among other Caucasus destinations for very long time.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:01

      Well, they should consider a faster jer then. TU-154 to Yerevan might work �� Or a 747...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:42

      Or Concorde!

      Delete
  49. Anonymous16:02

    Now we know why the suspended INI-BUD, so they can start BEG-BUD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:16

      What a nonsense.

      INI-BUD was with A319 and BEG-BUD is with ATR72

      Delete
  50. Anonymous16:14

    I expect a massive operational meltdown next summer. JU should grow organically, this will backfire like their previous expansion did in 2015.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:16

      People said the same about this year, and yet it didn't.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:46

      Why do you expect it?

      More planes will be there, more airplanes will be there and KIV, LWO and ROW will be flying during the night.

      Let's say you wish there will be meltdown. It would be more honest

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:55

      I wouldn't be worried about Air Serbia but the lack of gates at BEG.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:58

      Dude remember delays last summer. Beirut did not leave a single time on time. JU isn't ready for this.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:26

      Delays are still happening, look at LJU today but facts don't matter to some.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:00

      Beirut always had a problem with ground agent. They are simply not good enough and their incompetence quite often causes delay.

      JU826 is not a problem, JU827 is.

      Guess why.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:17

      827 is a problem because 826 never departed on time!!!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:22

      JU827 problem?

      https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-ontime-performance-rating/JU/827/BEY

      Delete
  51. Anonymous16:38

    Gates at BEG will be quite busy next year.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous16:42

    Quo Vadis Air Serbia.

    In stead of consolidating and improving their finances they are going to subsidize cheap travel for even more people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:44

      Nikad ljudima udovoljiti.

      Kad seku linije prognozira se kraj, kad otvaraju linije predvidja se katastrofa.

      Sve sam strucnjak

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:45

      Unlike OU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:57

      We've already seen this kind of expansion from JU. It ended up quite badly the last time around. I'm speaking of facts.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:02

      This kind of expansion happened this year. And all routes are operating. So I don't know what 'facts' you speak of. Other than you being irritated by today's news for obvious reasons

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:02

      Seems like the last round went OK.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:50

      Quo Vadis Air Serbia haters? Svi vam se smeju.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:31

      Last expansion wasn`t good, it was excellent and amazing. BCN is upgrading in June to 3 daily, KRR has already been upgraded to 3 daily. And lf on all routes are amazing except CAI where the lf is not great no terrible

      Delete
    8. Anonymous19:44

      KRR 3 daily? Wut ...?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:18

      weekly

      Delete
  53. Anonymous16:59

    Aren't elections coming up? ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:17

      This coming after elections at the end of April. Nice try.

      Delete
    2. Ако причамо о изборима, онда, по вама, не би требало да се ради, јер све би било везано за политички маркетинг. У Србији имамо председничке, парламентарне и локалне. И, по вама, нешто би могло да се ради сваке четврте године. Али ако се десе неки ванредни избори, онда ни тада.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:40

      Који су избори били кад су кренули са Хелсинкијем, Мадридом, Барселоном итд? Који су избори били кад су недавно кренули Истамбул? Шта се сад правиш да не знаш одговор? Апсолутно никакве корелације нема. Само они са нула знања могу да кажу такву глупост, да се линије лансирају везано за изборе. Туга.

      Delete
  54. Anonymous18:40

    Браво Србија! само напред!

    ReplyDelete
  55. George Dedic19:20

    Super proud of Air Serbia, it seems like they figured out what works well for them and are continuing full throttle ahead. Fantastic choices in terms of midnight wave destinations towards the East, no questions there. BUD I feel is really needed despite what lots of people here say and I'm loving FLR & VLC especially during summer. OSL while being served by Norwegian is more point to point and I feel Air Serbia will do a better job with its extensive connections to the region. Also if Norwegian is still on the brink of collapse, I wonder if it has something to do with that as well.
    The only potential mistake I see here is getting into the ring with easyjet in Geneva. Bold but risky (especially if it's true that it's being scheduled on exactly the same days- it seems personal rather than in the interest of passengers and better connectivity).

    Can't help it feel that Krakow (easily 3 pw on an ATR) is the glaringly obvious missed opportunity as many have written before me. Higher and higher O&D demand each year (popular destination for Serbs for NYE, 1st May, weekend getaway in spring/autumn seasons - and also growing number of tourists coming to Belgrade from that area). Local tour operators would definitely jump on this one without a doubt if reasonably priced, much like what happened with BCN. Not to mention JU would be much better placed to serve such a big population centre with Balkan connections than LOT will ever be. Speaking of LOT, it would be an attack on two fronts, not just making them rethink launching BUD but also hit them closer to home.

    In conclusion, swap Geneva with Krakow and you're all set. No cutting any existing destinations launched this year (give Cairo some time, they can't all be an instant success like KRR or MAD!) and give us some Caucasus action in the next wave of expansion. Hats off to JU and best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anonymous20:34

    Adds Interesting Traffic to Belgrade, also using the ATRs' nights at base for more flights, Only about 3 flights depart BEG in the night, Well done AirSerbia! :)

    ReplyDelete

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