Based on its inventory filing, as well as the schedule provided by Sheremetyevo Airport, Nordwind plans to operate one weekly flight to Belgrade, each Sunday, until the start of the 2021 summer season in late March. Flights will be run by its 168-seat Boeing 737-800 jet. The full schedule can be found here. Nordwind initially planned to commence operations to Belgrade during the 2020 summer season, however, the service never materialised due to the coronavirus pandemic. Once launched, Nordwind will become the third airline to fly between Sheremetyevo Airport and Belgrade. Meanwhile, low cost carrier Red Wings Airlines plans to restore flights from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport to the Serbian capital from January 18, 2021, however, these too are subject to government approval.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Russia was one of Belgrade Airport’s biggest markets. During the 2019/2020 winter season, up until the start of the global health emergency, flights between Serbia and Russia ran up to 34 times per week. Aeroflot maintained three daily rotations from Moscow, while Red Wings Airlines had three weekly services between the two cities. On the other hand, Air Serbia operated daily flights to Moscow, three weekly to Krasnodar and two weekly services to St Petersburg, although the latter was only maintained during the New Year and Christmas holiday period. The Serbian carrier was to launch its fourth destination in Russia, to Rostov-on-Don, this summer.
Great to see new airlines coming despite the times.
ReplyDeleteIt is but the question remains if and when will the Russians allow it.
DeleteRussians already allowed Red Wings to operate so hopefully they allow Nordwind as well.
DeleteI mean they allow it in these circumstances. Currently only JU and SU can fly.
DeleteMy guess is these two weekly flights by SU and JU are insufficient to deal with the demand.
ReplyDeleteMost likely. That's why Aeroflot is sneding an A330 and A321.
DeleteNordwind has widebodies so they sned them as well if there is need. :)
DeleteThis would be great
ReplyDeleteDidn't Red Wings add a fourth weekly flight in summer 2019 and JU was 10 weekly if I am not mistaken, 7 in winter.
ReplyDeleteIt's talking about the frequencies in winter 2019/2020 before corona started in March.
DeleteGoods news
ReplyDeleteHa yes, I seem them listed on Sheremetyevo Airport website. Hopefully it starts soon.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Azimuth Airlines also launch BEG. Would love to see the SSJ flying.
ReplyDeleteRed Wings might send it as well. They just got a whole bunch of them.
DeleteYes, that is really rare sight ;)
DeleteSo 4 airlines on a single route.
ReplyDeleteSU provides definitively the best service on this route
DeleteBy far
DeleteThey also had the best and most consistent schedule of flights + their on time performance is remarkable
DeleteThat's because SU has a two hour rotation between flights in Moscow so delays have to be really big for the next flight to be delayed.
DeleteMore airlines fly on MOW-TIV.
DeleteYes but on a summer seasonal basis, we also need to take that into consideration.
Delete@9.20
Delete2 hour rotations? :O what is their fleet utilization then?
@9:20 their (SU) on time performance comes mainly because they schedule each flight time 3 hrs (one way) while it takes in fact about 02:40 average for each flight. Also they close boarding strictly 20 min prior to scheduled departure so often the aircraft sits on the ground fully ready while waiting for exact departure time. JU announced same gate closing procedures but they were never fully implemented (many times I witnessed in BEG boarding started within the last 20 min although the AC was at the gate. In addition to punctuality, SU service onboard is much better so although SU is a bit more expensive on the route it is worth the extra cost difference. These facts over the past few years + extensive SU network materialized in a much better LF for SU on the route (compared to JU). Generally, even with 3 flights per day SU had average about 85% LF which is impressive while JU couldn't compete and maintain 2 daily flights year round.
DeleteWell don't forget SU gets the money airlines pay for Siberian overfly rights. They are directly subsidized by their competition. Lol
DeleteYou gotta love Russia.
There is a saying "business is business, love is love".
DeleteI doubt that SU subsidies come only from overfly rights but they do from the Russian budget. Same as JU gets it's subsidies! Regardless of either way who is and how subsided there is a fact that Aeroflot adopted Sky Team service quality reference targets that are reflected in good organization and good overall quality standards. Air Serbia in that respect is far behind as we all know.
I think it's silly to compare JU and SU starting with the fact that Russia is a super power and SU's hub has more people than all of Serbia put together.
DeleteIf we compare JU and BT then we can see that they are similar in terms of product.
What does SU's service have to do with whether Russia is a superpower? I mean Qatar is not a global superpower but they have some of the best service in the world.
DeleteQatar is the richest country in the world so they can afford it. Aeroflot has gigantic domestic and international demand which helps SU big time. JU doesn't.
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteAre the fares between BEG and MOW expensive?
ReplyDeleteThey are not cheap. Around New Years they are 500 euros return
DeleteYes but that's because of New Year
Delete@9:15 / @ 9:27 They are expensive in general compared to other destinations. Both JU and SU are milking the cow until they can. For peak holiday date the ticket is around 670e return (light economy) which is insane! They are abusing the fact that there are only 4 weekly flights operating for now.
DeleteThey are not abusing it, the Russian government is at fault here. Flights are full otherwise JU would not be sending the A332 to Moscow, same with SU. People can still connect in Istanbul or Minsk.
Delete@13:19 JU A332 is sent for a few charted flights performed for Velestroy (construction company) and is not representing increased demand. SU332 represents holiday time because of temporary increased demand as a way out for Russians to Europe via Belgrade. People (Serbian citizens) can not easily connect through Istanbul as they are quite a few rules in effect on who and how is permitted into Russia.
DeleteIf there were enough empty seats on non stop flights then there would not be any charters. So obviously there is increased demand, bigger than the amount of seats offered right now. SU A332 is not just about holiday demand as the first one took place ten days ago.
DeleteAnyone ever flown with Nordwind? Any info about them?
ReplyDeleteI mean are they low cost/full fare?
DeleteGoogle is your friend.
DeleteThey are very similar to Air Serbia in terms of on board product.
DeleteI have. Old planes, LF is about 95%+ service is correct dares are generally lower then competition. On SVO they have farest pisition riched by bus, similar as RedWings on DME. Not joyful when windy and rainy... In summary, I'm happy if they get permission, JU will probably get new russian routes as bilateral equity
DeleteThat is bad news for JU.
ReplyDeleteEverytging is bad news for JU when viewed from your city's perspective, we know that.
DeleteFrom Russian carriers I expected S7 or Utair but not NW
ReplyDeleteGood. At the moment anything new you get is good news.
ReplyDeleteHow about Moscow-Nis?
ReplyDeleteWhy would this be required?
DeleteAnd just a year and a half ago there was a duopoly on this route with very high fares.
ReplyDeleteIt is a duopoly at the moment again :p
DeleteOnly temporarily because of corona
DeleteBEG-SVO is massive ...in relative terms of course. It's also a market that has been growing for a while now:
ReplyDelete2017: 250.059
2018: 256.277
2019: 329.543
In 2019 it was the second busiest route (even without DME) behind only Zurich and ahead of Podgorica.
With tourism between the two countries on the rise, I expect more airlines to launch flights between Belgrade and Russia. Nordwing is using COVID to their advantage while their competition is limited.
Those are some huge numbers.
DeleteWe want Rossiya from LED to BEG please!
ReplyDeleteThis is great and not too unexpected. Hopefully they approve them, we need more competition. It's also good to see BEG not blocking JU's competition.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth would BEG block any airline? The more of them, the more money they get.
DeleteSo BEG becomes the second busiest airport to Russia in the Balkans after IST.
ReplyDeleteIs this route busier even than ATH-Moscow? Impressive!
DeleteAbsolutely, for example in winter SU operates double daily flights to Athens and triple daily to Belgrade. Aegean has three weekly in winter while JU has daily. In summer BEG has more even with slight increases from Athens. ATH doesn't have flights to KRR like Belgrade for example.
DeleteТhis is just the beginning for Belgrade
DeleteI hope they manage but I'm not sure they will be able to repel SU and JU to/from SVO.
ReplyDeleteI agree, JU and SU are just too strong. But good luck to them.
DeleteThey are not looking to kick JU and SU out of BEG-SVO, they are just looking to get a piece of the growing cake for themselves.
DeleteWith 300.000+ plus passengers there is room for growth.
DeleteRussians can't travel to most countries either so I would not be surprised there is increased travel to BEG. Same as vice versa.
ReplyDelete@10:01 yes but for the time being Belgrade / Serbia has very little to offer since most places are shutting down early in the evening and limited work hours on weekends. Most Russians according to the local media are staying home this winter season. Some use Beg as a transit point for sure but now that PCR has been introduced it will probably slow the demand.
DeleteWork hours have now been extended to 20.00 on all days. If you are only transferring through Serbia within 12 hours you do not need a PCR test to enter Serbia (even if just picking luggage at the airport and checking in again)
DeleteHope Nordwings will bring more opportunities for us to travel.
ReplyDeleteNordwind - N4
DeleteRed Wings - WZ
:-)
I wish them success, but I am not that optimistic.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Deletewhen will they introduce flights or when will they tell us the dates
ReplyDeleteWhen the Russian government allows more than the flag carriers to fly this route.
DeleteCan anyone elaborate the current SVO loads?
ReplyDeleteIf Aeroflot is sending A330 and A321, one would assume it's good.
DeleteWhy are they limiting to just 2 airlines?
ReplyDeleteSo there is a controlled number of arrivals. Frequencies are also limited to 2 per week per airline.
DeleteIs there any chance Air Serbia will resume Krasnodar and launch Rostov on Don?
ReplyDeleteKRR is closed for non-CIS international flights.
DeleteAh didn't know that
DeleteIs this privately owned airline?
ReplyDeleteNordwind Airlines was founded in August 2008 by the Russian and Turkish branches of tour operator Pegas Touristik.
DeleteСеверный ветер
ReplyDeleteThey have a fleet of 32 planes! not bad at all
ReplyDeleteAnd over 4 million passengers per year.
DeleteGood news. The flights between Belgrade and Moscow are an absolutely rip off, last time I checked it was in the region of 500 Euros one way.
ReplyDeleteBelavia says hello.
DeleteI think they profit the most from high fares.
Demand is also probably increased by the fact that there are no other flights to Russia from the region.
ReplyDeleteBelavia increased BEG to four weekly about a week ago, I am sure they are an exciting and convenient alternative to non-stop flights.
DeleteUnfortunately with poor connecting times / options. Also the fact that Belavia (most flighst) lands in Zhikovskyi which is not well connected to the city of Moscow makes trasfer through Minsk not so easy and plaisant.
Delete@11:53 Citizens of Serbia are allowed into Russia without special permit only on direct service flights between BEG-SVO. All Serbian citizens arriving through a transit point into Russia are required to have a special admission permit issued by the respective ministry and with checks from police / FSB authorities (quite complicated procedure to obtain and must be sponsored by an accredited RU based organization registered with the respective ministry). In average takes 3 weeks to obtain and requires the traveller to stick upon arrival to the designated airport. I.e. admission into the country will be denied in case if you land at another RU airport not initially specified in the original request.
DeleteYes but citizens of Russia do not need special permission. There are many Russians living in Serbia due to a lot of Russian companies operating in Serbia.
DeleteAccording to the last census there were over 5.000 Russians in Serbia.
DeleteI assume they will use B737-800?
ReplyDeleteUmm yes, it says so in the article
DeleteI have flown to Moscow several times and I prefer Air Serbia over Aeroflot. And off course, flying to New York no other airline from Europe comes close to providing the service and comfort Air Serbia's A330 provides. I am a tall man and the legroom on Air Serbia's A330 is the best in the industry. And I am supporting our airline!
ReplyDeleteI like this comment! As a tall person I appreciate comfy seats and extra legroom.
DeleteDanas je otkazan let AirSerbie za SVO sa A330, nije stigla dozvola ruskih vlasti..
ReplyDeleteОдмах забранити летове Аерофлоту до даљњег.
DeleteThey just received the permit. Flight leaves at 22.30.
DeleteEvo odoše posle 10 sati čekanja..
DeleteБитно да је добијена дозвола, ово није било до ЈУ. У сваком случају лет је пун из Москве, сигуран сам да су им јавили да не долазе на аеродром док није све било потврђено.
DeleteAh... They wish.
ReplyDelete