Russian carrier Aeroflot has suspended its flights to Zagreb and Tivat for the rest of 2020 with the carrier planning to return to the two cities at the start of next year’s summer season in late March. The airline discontinued flights to the pair following its grounding this April as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Although Aerfolot resumed a limited international schedule, numerous routes have again been cancelled or postponed. Seasonal flights to Split have also been temporarily discontinued until next summer. The airline now plans to resume commercial operations from Moscow to Belgrade and Ljubljana at the start of the 2020/2021 winter season on October 25. Scheduling changes remain possible.
Aeroflot has announced a major strategic overhaul, which may leave some of its routes in the region in limbo. Under the plan, the Russian carrier plans to focus on long haul premium routes instead. It’s low cost subsidiary Pobeda will take over its entire fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, while its other subsidiary, Rossiya Airlines, will take over Aeroflot’s fleet of Sukhoi Superjets and its order of Irkut MC21s. Eventually, Aeroflot will operate only Airbus A320s, A321s, A330s, A350s, and Boeing 777 aircraft. As of next summer, Aeroflot plans to maintain operations to the Croatian capital with the Airbus A320 jet, however, services to Tivat are still scheduled to run with the B737-800, indicating the route may be transferred to Pobeda, which itself maintains operations to the Montenegrin city.
In April, Aeroflot suspended international sales until August 1 amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the company announced that the ban would be in effect until "there is certainty about the resumption of international air traffic". Due to the pandemic, Russia closed all commercial passenger flights in March, and a partial resumption of commercial operations began on August 1. Currently, Aeroflot maintains operations to Turkey, Tanzania and the United Kingdom.
Pobeda taking over Tivat would make sense. I find it interesting that they fly year round to TIV.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they don't fly to Podgorica.
DeleteAeroflot would be crazy to leave Tivat. They had over 100k passengers last year and there is a need for legacy carriers on this route. I seriously doubt they are going anywhere. Their combination with Pobeda works perfectly.
DeleteI am not surprised, most passengers are tourists from Russia as well as Russians who purchased property next to the sea.
DeleteMost of the passengers going to Tivat are lower yielding tourists. I am sure SU did the maths and realized that they can make more money with Rossiya or Pobeda.
DeleteLower yielding? Do you have any clue about this market? According to statistics, Russians are the highest spending tourists in MNE by a big margin (literally the second nation is more than double the amount less), they have all this property on the coast and stay in the most luxurious hotels. Even YM manages to have 2-3 daily flights. I am not saying there aren't any low yielding tourists, but they are certainly not a majority.
DeleteIf route to TIV is operated by the most premium single aisle aircraft, 737-800 which has 20 business class with in-flight entertainment, why would then they change it to the worst product in the group? It has no any sence to me.
DeleteIf all that is the way you write then what's the reasoning for the suspension of Tivat. Theories are one thing but reality another.
DeleteWe don't know if Pobeda is going to take over. The article simply says that the B737-800 is scheduled on the route and the B738s are going to Pobeda. But they could change the aircraft type.
DeleteOne more that leaves ZAG this year...
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a very quiet winter at MZLZ.
DeleteAs they postponed so many routes so many times I have doubts they will start Belgrade and Ljubljana eider this winter.
DeleteBoth LJU and BEG were very busy for them so I am sure they will be back.
DeleteWERE busy before covid. WERE. We'll see.
DeleteWith new vaccine found by Russians I am sure they will return first to BEG
DeleteThey were busy because there was an obvious demand, they did not fly as much for the fun of it. Look at BEG-IST, that route boomed this summer because it was strong before, demand was there and it obviously didn't go anywhere in the meantime.
DeleteMaybe an opportunity for Croatia Airlines to start flights to Moscow?
ReplyDeleteIt is too early for that
DeleteI don't think they will. They cancelled their seasonal LED flights for this year,
DeleteI think their logic is that it's easier to just send passengers via VIE, MUC or FRA. Also I don't think LH would be too happy if OU was to introduce Moscow flights.
DeleteThey thought about it a few times but always gave up on the idea.
DeleteI think OU could make Moscow work seasonally.
DeleteDidn't they fly to Moscow in the past? I think two weekly on the Q400 could be more than ok.
DeleteQ400 cannot make it to MOW. But there is demand for OU on that route for sure.
DeleteFlying ZAG-SVO on Q400?
DeleteThat would be challenge...or better to say torture for passengers!
If the Q400 can make it from Iceland to Scotland then I am sure it can make it from ZAG to MOW.
DeletePlease try to find some bacis facts.
DeleteQ400 flying range 1100 nautical miles
SVO-ZAG distance 1160 nautical miles
Now you can do whatever you want with Scotland and Iceland but Q400 can't make it from ZAG to SVO.
But it's not like the plane will fly full, there will be around 50% so it should be doable. Once loads pick up they can increase it to A319. By the way, they can also add a stop on the way like they do for FCO and ATH.
DeleteDo you realize that it is not allowed to fly more than your range is no matter what is LF? Just have a look what happened to LaMia flight 2933...
DeleteEspecially as you need to have extra fuel in the case of alternative airport, bad weather etc. Those are the basic safety postulates in aviation. So direct ZAG-SVO on Q400 is big no go.
Flying 1000 nautical miles on Q400 would be tortute by itself and you want even to add a stop on the way. I am sure you would be very successful route plan manager.
"Do you realize that it is not allowed to fly more than your range is no matter what is LF? Just have a look what happened to LaMia flight 2933..."
DeleteMost airliners cannot take full tanks of fuel with full payload because maximum weight without fuel + full tanks would exceed maximum takeoff weight. Even after you reduce the payload far enough so you can take full fuel, further reduction in payload will increase range, because - just like cars - the less passengers/cargo on board, the less fuel the aircraft will consume.
And you still can't fly further than your flight range is....
DeleteRange is not fixed for aircraft, right?
DeleteIt depends on a lot of things, such as departure airport runway length, obstacles, temperature, wind, winds enroute, etc.
Max flying range is fixed per each aircraft type.
DeleteEverything else are games airlines play trying to save fuel costs.
Max range is based on full tanks. Overall shall be extra 30min reserv, contingency*, alternate fuel. So you ll get ruff 900nm actual
DeleteExactly!
DeleteI think ZAG will most definitely get switched to Rossiya, that is why it is delayed until next year. Makes no sense to resume it now before the big switch.
ReplyDeleteJU can profit nicely from this as its flights are perfectly timed to connect to/from Moscow. Morning arrival connects to ZAG while the return flight to BEG connects to SU and the evening flight out of ZAG connects to the night departures of both SU and JU. I see SU plans triple daily flights from October.
I don't think it will be switched to Rossiya because Aeroflot has switched the route to A320 for next summer, which means Aeroflot mainline aircraft.
DeleteYes but that was before their new business plan was published. Btw SU planned A320 last year as well and then ended up sending the SSJ.
DeleteAeroflot has been transferring A320s to Rosiya too, and the newer ones with sharklets to be exact, so i don't see what is their strategy exactly.
DeleteResearch the archive on here and you will see what their new strategy is.
DeleteHopefully they resume it earlier if travel begins to recover.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteRussian border is still closed to all foreigners except UK, Turkey and Tanzania nationals so until the borders are re-opened there will be no flights. I am sure Russian is not in rush at all to re-open their borders so this might last longer than October.
DeleteAeroflot will just send all the passengers to Tivat via Belgrade, JU has a code on all SU flights ans SU has a code on all JU flights.
ReplyDeleteI hope ZAG doesn't become a seasonal route and that it returns on a year-round basis.
ReplyDeleteDon't think that will happen.
DeleteI find it impressive that SU plans triple daily flights to BEG. I guess with the vaccine being registered in Russia they expect the situation with air travel to normalize. Could this also be that Aeroflot mainline will focus on BEG to distribute passengers around the Balkans in cooperation with JU? Triple daily in winter seems a lot, have they loaded any other cities like Sofia, Bucharest, Thessaloniki...?
ReplyDeletetripple daily is very unrealistic even if its in the system as of now
DeleteOk, please let SU know, just to be on the safe side.
DeleteLooks like they only plan to focus on Turkey in 2020....
ReplyDelete10 daily flights today to 4 Turkish cities and most of them with 777-300ers.
I think other countries are not letting Russian citizens in.
DeleteSerbia is, that is why Red Wings is resuming flights in mid-August and Air Serbia is resuming SVO and KRR in September.
DeleteIt is already mid August... I don't see Red Wings resuming those flights this month.
DeleteIt's fake info about red wings flights. Russia allows flights only to UK, Turkey, Belarus, Tanzania and Abkhazia. So currently it's impossible for any company to fly to Moscow from Belgrade
DeleteIsn't SU flying those two weekly flights to BEG just for transfer passengers?
Delete@12:07 not anymore in the past 2 weeks there were no SU flights to Beg
Delete@09:26 JU will not be resuming SVO as of September although it is in the system, borders of Russia are closed to all foreign citizens (except Turks, UK and Tanzania) and are likely to remain so for a while. If flying restarts in October that will be considered lucky!
Let's see what happens in the end.
ReplyDeleteWas ZAG daily on Aeroflot?
ReplyDeleteI think daily in summer, 5 weekly in winter.
Delete4 weekly*
DeleteI really hope they come back to ZAG.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunate.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible year.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time for ZAG management to be fired. Proportionally ZAG has lost the most airlines and frequencies compared to airports in the region.
ReplyDeleteBUD got Luxair and a few new routes on Wizz Air, so did OTP. TIA got a three A320 base while BEG got a commitment from Wizz to stick to its expansion plans next summer while only Vueling cancelled flights until next summer. Even almost-bankrupt DY kept flying despite JU launching OSL. VIE got Belavia at the height of corona as well as more routes from Wizz/Ryanair.
Seems all airports in the region have taken a proactive approach to ensuring there is more connectivity and flights. Meanwhile in ZAG the situation keeps on going from bad to worst, we are no longer talking about airlines like Eurowings but legacies like LH (FRA) or Aeroflot and Aegean.
So blaming corona is no longer enough.
I think you are fully right.
DeleteAnd regarding BEG...Let's not forget that Vueling got competition for flights to BCN from JU and from W6 (later on moved to spring 2021).
If they remained the only carrier on BEG-BCN route maybe they would not cancel flying to BEG this year...
Totally opposite comparing to ZAG. All the airlines that cancelled ZAG route this year were single carriers (except FRA owith LH) on the routes they performed.
There is also Athens where Aegean competes against OU flies via DBV though.
DeleteSo we have following airlines that left ZAG in the last 10 months permanently or until the end of summer season / until the end of 2020.
Delete- Swiss
- Czech Airlines
- Lufthansa to FRA
- Air Transat
- Canada Rouge
- Emirates
- Korean Air
- Aegean
- Aerofot
- Iberia
- Brussels
- Eurowings to BER and DUS
- Windrose
I am still shocked that FRA didn't return on LH. That has been a landmark route for the airport and one of its busiest.
DeleteIt has been taken over by OU which has increased freuqnecies.
DeleteThey just force OU to operate these flights. 0% stake but 100% control. I think there are currently 3 or 4 daily flights to FRA which is totally ok for the current times.
DeleteAnd I still dont know why are you talking about lost airlines only at ZAG. Literally every airport lost some routes and frequencies.
"I think it's time for ZAG management to be fired."
DeleteAnd if I can ask, who will fire them?
I am talking about ZAG as that airport is today's topic.
DeleteZAG-FRA 4 daily on working day, 3 daily on weekend. Mostly on A319/A320, some flights on Q400.
DeleteThat is just one daily flight per day less than 2019. That is something to be congratulate to Croatia Airlines.
Congratulate on what? For taking over a market LH considered as loss-making?
DeleteIt is fact that lot of companies cancel Zagreb routes. 4 of them are long-haul and that is reality concerning fact that no tourist or other passengers want to play long distance. And that is not something Zagreb can influence. Of course those airports which did not have long-haul flights can not loose them.
DeleteOn the other hand Zagreb has much more flights than any other airport in exYU exempt Split. Even 10% more than Belgrade. So, it is not important that some companies stay with just one flight per week (symbolic presence), as at the end most important fact is how many flights per week you have, and how many passenger.
And what's the point of having flights if they are not full? You just end polluting earth.
DeleteCould you please provide proven facts about the number of passengers in BEG and ZAG in first 6 months of 2020?
DeleteIf you can't find it I will help you
BEG 1.008.000
ZAG 547.735
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/07/ex-yu-airports-hit-by-steep-passenger.html
So having more flights in month or two means nothing as long as these flights are almost empty.
BEG had almost double more passengers than ZAG and ZAG as 10% more flights. You can make your own conlusion how much money got burnt on those empty flights.
So it is not important how many flight you have but how many passengers you have on them.
*has
DeleteCan someone please specify what aircraft movement are we talking about? Only passenger, civil aviation flights or ALL in total.
DeleteAlso don't forget that for many markets there can't be flights from BEG. Simple as that. So even if ZAG is ahead, which I doubt, then it's because of circumstances and not because of market dynamics.
Montnegrin politics caused this, unfortunately. Furthermore, it's rumoured today that Serbia will introduce a PCR test requirement and 14 day quarantine on travelers coming from certain countries. If one of those countries turns out to be Montenegro, then Tivat Airport will virtually not operate this winter season, with the exception of private jets.
ReplyDeleteAll this has to do with politics which is why I think Serbian government will wait for the result of the parliamentary elections which are going to take place in about two weeks. However, for the sake of the MNE economy I hope the situation stabilizes, the coast was destroyed economically this year. Arrivals were down like 96% in June or something like that.
Delete:(
ReplyDeleteHope SU's new strategy works out.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to see more Pobeda in the region, which might happen.
Delete@09:45 Pobeda is an awful airline with only one virtue they can brag about ... money extortion for everything! So the less Pobeda is in the region the better it is.
DeleteThey actually have pretty decent prices from TIV to VKO with the luggage and free seats selection both included!
DeleteТиват по Москва (Внуково)
14:30
TIV
2ч 15м
18:45
VKO
Понедельник15февраля2021
Выгодный
Рейс
DP 830
Москва (Внуково)поТиват
11:20
VKO
4ч 20м
13:40
TIV
Воскресенье21февраля2021
Выгодный
Рейс
DP 829
1 взрослый
Туда:
TIV - VKO
61,34€
Обратно:
VKO - TIV
61,34€
Общая стоимость
122,68€
wow that's a really good price
DeleteOk I do notice it is for February which is the dead season but still not bad.
DeleteThey are a great airline. Hope to welcome them back.
ReplyDeleteZAG so far registered more than 600,000 passengers, which means that by the end of the year it will most likely surpass 1 million. Come on, guys. It's not that tragic.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.zagreb-airport.hr/en/business/b2b/statistics/statistics-for-2020/629
Cargo figures are also not that bad.
When is JU to Moscow returning?
ReplyDeleteSeptember
DeleteIt is unknown. They are selling tickets for september but cannot guarantee realization of flights. It depends on Russia
Delete@10:43 You are too optimistic! no chance of it happening in 3 weeks!
DeleteIt is possible if Russian authorities approve them. There is indication they may approve foreign airlines starting flights in a few days.
DeleteThe Russian government does not want to announce a clear date for resumption of air traffic to international destinations other than Turkey and GB. There are many inluential people im Moscow who do not want this happen any time soon. The reasons for allowing flights to Tansania are not clear as no Russian airline flies there (Aeroflot did not fly to Tansania for at least a couple of decades). In the meantime Aeroflot was heavily criticised for selling tickets for flights that were eventually cancelled. So, they had to cancel all other international flights for the summer season.
ReplyDeleteIn summer Tivat is an important tourist destination for several Russian airlines, not just for Aeroflot. However, in winter traffic is limited. So, I am sure Aeroflot will resume flying to Tivat next summer. Other companies, such as Pobeda, S7 and Montenegro will resume flying from Moscow to Tivat as soon as the Russian goverment allows them. I would expect this to happen in September or, more likely, October unless the situation with COVID in Russia worsens.
The reason (or one of) is for the money to be kept inside Russia and invested into Russian business such as in Crimea etc.
Deletehttps://www.flightradar24.com/data/airports/sip/arrivals
Koliko ovde ljudi uopste ima veze sa avijacijom??????
ReplyDelete... or english?
DeleteSad to see them leave.
ReplyDeleteIf the situation improves during the winter, I hope we can see them there.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the way the covid situation is developing around the world and particularly Europe, it is not looking likely.
DeleteI'm not so sure. More of a chance that BEG and LJU may be pushed back too.
DeleteRussia has been so odd with these flight restrictions. One day they are allowing Aeroflot to fly everywhere, the next they are allowing Aeroflot only to fly to a few countries, the third day they are not allowing any foreign airlines. Make up your mind.
ReplyDeleteStation is volatile. It's logical decisions will change.
DeleteRussian politicians are incompetent to their bones .
DeleteLike your regional politicians?
DeleteDon't think so.