Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will all boast nonstop flights to the United States this summer season. Although Air Serbia has been operating year-long services between Belgrade and New York’s JFK Airport since mid-2016, Delta and United Airlines are set to enter the Croatian market with seasonal operations from JFK and Newark, respectively, to Dubrovnik. This is expected to be strengthened by start-up Pragusa.Ona which aims to commence flights from the coastal Croatian city to both Newark and Los Angeles next month. Elsewhere, Sarajevo Airport is in negotiations with US-based carrier Eastern Airlines over flights from Chicago.
Eastern Airlines initially scheduled and put on sale a one weekly seasonal service from Chicago to Sarajevo which was set to commence on May 28. However, the flights have been removed from sale. Sarajevo Airport’s General Manager, Alan Bajić, told EX-YU Aviation News last week that negotiations with the US carrier are ongoing over the Chicago service. If the flights go ahead, it will mark the first time Sarajevo has been linked with a scheduled nonstop air service to the United States. Based on its original schedule, Eastern Airlines planned to operate a total of fifteen flights each way with the Boeing 767-200ER aircraft.
Dubrovnik Airport will see Delta Air Lines run 54 flights from New York’s JFK Airport starting July 2 until October 3. The US carrier has a total of 24.408 seats on sale between the two cities, with all flights to be maintained by the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Its rival, United, will launch services from Newark Airport to the Croatian coastal city from July 8, with the 38 flights running until October 3. A total of 16.264 seats have been put on sale by the airline, which will also maintain operations with the Boeing 767-300ER jet. United has indicated it is considering a second destination in Croatia in 2022. Meanwhile, start-up Pragusa.One has announced it will inaugurate seasonal flights from Dubrovnik to Newark and Los Angeles from June. According to the airline, three weekly operations to the Big Apple will commence on June 21 with a wet-leased Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The LA service will be inaugurated a day later, on June 22, and will be maintained three times per week with an A340 jet. Flights will be operated until the end of the 2021 summer season in late October. The company said it will offer a total of 15.700 seats between Dubrovnik and Newark, and a further 14.700 seats between the Croatian coastal city and Los Angeles. Ticket sales for the new routes are expected to commence next Friday.
Air Serbia is operating 121 flights from Belgrade to New York this summer, with 62.122 seats on sale. The airline recently launched a new on board product on its transatlantic service, which, according to the company’s CEO, has been one of its most profitable routes in both 2020 and so far in 2021. “Despite the pandemic, our transatlantic flight has continued to deliver positive results. We were one of the few airlines that have flown to New York throughout the pandemic. New York in 2020 and 2021 is one of our most profitable routes”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Duncan Naysmith said. Commenting on increased transatlantic competition in the region, he added, “In terms of competition to the region, we welcome it. What you have to bear in mind is that we actually have a regional connectivity network. Our consistency is there, and our product proposition is one of the best in class”.
Eastern has removed SJJ from it’s system.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to read the article first.
DeleteSo what happened with Eastern. Why did they put tickets on sale and only after started negotiating with the airport?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they scheduled the flights and were only later contacted by the airport that they have to negotiate them.
DeleteFirst connect with the European continent and then connect with North America. Priorities please.
DeleteThis is great news.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to see if both United and Delta will stay next year on DBV flights.
ReplyDeleteOf coures . Americans love Dubrovnik!
DeleteIt seems that the one who already tried DBV during its most popular time has failed and has no intention to return back (who would continue a transatlantic route with only 83% LF during summer months - if there's no political pressure). Now the remaining two will try their chances, believing that any leisure destination will work like crazy this summer and exceed 2019 levels. I guess people with common sense already anticipate what's going to happen.
DeleteYeah, they failed epically, with 83 %LF and always sold out premium product. They failed so badly that they scheduled daily instead 4 weekly, pre-covid. Actually their failure was so huge that caused both UA and DL to join the party. Or should we just change "failure" with "hate" and "common sense" with "envy"?
Delete"has no intention to return back"
DeleteIt literally has.
Philadelphia-Dubrovnik performed very well. I remember reading here that they planned to go daily in 2020 and extend the flight season and even considered a second destination to Dubrovnik in 2021 (of course if there was no covid).
Delete"has no intention to return back"
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/04/dubrovnik-airport-expects-american.html
Could year round flights from DBV to the US work?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. What are you going to do in Dubrovnik in winter?
DeleteWaiting to see if Pragusa will start ticket sales in 8 days :D
ReplyDeleteReally hope Zagreb is next to get flights.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed there will be some concrete results finally.
DeleteI do not think so especially now when United and Delta launched DBV.
Delete^ So when United says it is considering a second destination in Croatia next year, which one do you think they are talking about? It certainly isn't Osijek.
DeleteMaybe Split. ZAG could work only if they could offer connections to OU and since FR is attacking them who knows what might happen there.
DeleteAlso I doubt UA will launch another destination in Croatia before DBV starts performing well.
Can the runway at Split accommodate wide body planes?
DeleteWhy would they at all consider second destination?
DeleteIf someone wants to see ZAG they have domestic PSO routes DBV-ZAG operated by OU.
What about Skopje?
ReplyDeleteWhat about it?
DeleteFor US carrier its just a not important. They even dont have KL, AF or LH so i dont know how you can expect US carriers.
DeleteIf flights to Sarajevo are possible and being negotiated, then so is Skopje.
DeleteNo market demand. SKP is 85% focused on secondary and tertiary German and Swedish airports. NMK diaspora is now more in Europe compared to Australia.
DeleteI think SKP reached its potential as an airport with few remaining possible connections to primary, European airports. There is no demand for US or Canada.
Pristina would be a much surer bet than Skopje - especially from the broader NY area given the size of the Albanian diaspora. Just need a tour operator who has the guts to wet lease some capacity over the summer (high) season
DeleteAgree, PRN could work. They even had some seasonal summer flights a few years ago.
DeleteIf Sarajevo planes fail they can fly to Prishtina .
DeleteMakes much more sense cuz Albanian diaspora is B I G .
It wouldnt work, demand is too low. And most important, no US carrier is interested in operating such a flight. Remember there are no US carrier in far larger markets like Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Finnland.
DeleteWhat are the main Macedonian diaspora centres in the US?
DeleteDetroit and Chicago.
DeleteNever say never :D
DeleteSkopje could serve Albanian and Kosovo passengers too and that market is quite big.
DeleteWould people from northern Greece also use these potential flights?
DeleteUnited codeshares on Austrian's flights to Skopje
DeleteThe best thing that could happen to Skopje is if Wizz Air starts transatlantic flights :)
DeleteSame thing with Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Prishtina, Skopje, Podgorica, Tirana, Varna, Burgas, Thessaloniki, Bucharest, Cluj, Oddesa, Lviv, Timosoara, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Riga, Vilnius, Minsk, Yerevan, Chisinau and so on. They all should have then connection to the US with US carrier. But they dont because demand is not to high for US carriers so they are not interested at all. There is at least 50 Skopjes and Tiranas around Europe who have same potential for US flights.
DeleteWell a US carrier is interested in Sarajevo. If you read the article...
DeleteSorry, i was thinking about some USB3 carrier, not Eastern Airlines which basicly has no strategy. They planned to fly to SJJ from ORD where they dont have any other route or base.
DeleteThis PRN and SKP obssesion for JFK flights is ridiculous. There are many more important things to focus for these airports.
DeleteI hope Croatia Airlines can benefit from these United flights and that they can maybe feed their flights from DBV to ZAG.
ReplyDeleteYet again - another "feeder" proposition instead of OU going for it themselves. Doing this will only further box them into a corner and ensure that they become a 'bit' player
DeleteWell they positioned themselves as a feeder long ago. They may as well make the most of it.
DeleteWhat I find ironic is that United codeshares on Croatia Airlines flights from Europe yet Croatia Airlines does not codeshare on a single United flight.
DeleteWaiting for Pozdrav iz Rijeke to enter the chat :D
DeleteI already enter the chat, but accepting your challenge : what else could you expect from missed opportunities World champion?
DeleteI'm really happy ex-Yu countries are finally getting more trans Atlantic flights. Looked very unlikely a few years back.
ReplyDeleteWell done. The region is finally waking up
ReplyDeleteWhat would be the flying time for DBV-LAX?
ReplyDeleteI assume ten hours .
DeleteNo chance. Ten hours is a flight to New York.
DeleteFlight would take around 13 hours 30 minutes.
DeleteIt depends on the aircraft type ..
Delete767 are old types .
Flight time has almost nothing to do with aircraft type unless it's a turboprop. An A330 and A350 will take the same time, it's just that one has longer range.
DeleteEven less to do with flight time is the aircraft's age. Jeez
DeleteAircraft type matters. Look at the difference on VIE-ORD when B767 flies and when B777 flies. Also I don't think B767 can make it all the way from LAX to DBV without serious payload restrictons.
DeleteJU A330 flew BEG-LAX in about 13 hours from what I remember.
Hahahaha, JU does not fly to Los Angeles ...
DeleteEPIC FAIL
It flew a repatriation flight from Belgrade to Los Angeles last year nonstop. I would suggest you grow up before you comments.
DeleteAccording to Old JAT timetables, Jat flew to Los Angelas in the 80's. This was done with a stop in Chicago both ways.
DeleteGood to see that more airports have the initiative to get these long haul flights.
ReplyDeleteBesides Belgrade and Dubrovnik, Zagrebis the only city in my opinion that has potential for US flights in ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are right. ZAG had scheduled flights to New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, plus Dubai and Doha which are not long-haul by definition, but 90 % used for long-haul transfer. All European carriers from ZAG carry about half P2P passengers and about half passengers transferring to far away destinations. In my opinion ZAG had the biggest potential to become long-haul hub for ex-yu, but it failed not only to do so but at the moment doesn't have single long-haul service, primarily because of lack of synergy with flag carrier which is world champion in missed opportunities
DeleteYou are correct about DXB and DOH not being long-haul, but I can't forget when so called expert called DXB long-haul from ZAG and not long haul from BEG due to 80 miles air distance.
DeletePozdrav iz rijeke just one reminder, all these destinations to the US were operated before 1991. and a lot of thing changed, not only that Yugoslavia was no more but and aviation changed so some things were not so profitabile today as were then. Cleveland and Detroit were operated as triangle route which originated in BEG if im right, today that has no any sense. New York was operated directly only by Pan Am, JAT flew via BEG or from BEG via ZAG mostly, that isnt profitabile today at all. Same with other routes to USA.
DeleteMalaysian failed in ZAG, Emirates operated only seasonal because of low potential during winter, same with Korean, while AC Rouge and Transat never tried operating year round. I really wouldnt say that there is a lot of potential in ZAG, especialy for OU basing widebody here. Of course, that doesnt mean it shouldnt operate long haul with some other plane. A321xlr is coming in 2023 and it would be ideal for operating year round long haul flights out of Croatia. So the best opportunity for long haul in OU is only yet to come, but sadly it doesnt seems that OU will do anything about it. We all know that airline is just getting more and more destroyed by bad managment witch doesnt know anything about market in Croatia (exm. they operate same frecuncy with same capacity all year round from ZAG to MUC, ZRH, CDG, AMS) If we sell it to A3 i also doubt it will happen because they dont have interests in long haul and they said that.
And I have one reminder as well : Toronto was after 1991. Kuala Lumpur was after 1991. Seoul was after 1991. Dubai and Doha (and ongoing to the Far East and Australia) were after 1991. Malaysian haven't stopped the services because of low interest and low yield but because of their internal restructuring process and even more because Croatian authorities refused to give them permission for nonstop service in order to protect the Feeder and the Mutti. For A321XLR, I fully agree again, it would be ideal for New York, Toronto, Mumbai, Delhi. And I agree it would not happen. Cleveland-Detroit, I absolutely agree again - no way for such flights today. But New York and Chicago, are missing big time. And could have been operated with B767 or A330 for at least past decade. And most important of all : all of you people saying ZAG only has not sufficient demand for long-haul simply forgetting that demand could and should have been be created. Indian transfers could have reduced seasonality, Greek transfers could have increased yields, ex-yu transfers could have grown numbers, croatian coast transfers could have significantly contribute to all of these, and that's precisely why ZAG was ideal place for OU to become normal, if not big at least medium size company, which had not been done and now will probably never will because of nezainteresiranih uhljeba i korumpiranih nesposobnjakovica
DeleteI have a quick question. Since some people are obsessed with the term long-haul route, what qualifies a route to be long-haul? I read it to be 6 to 12 hours non-stop. The definition which I read on wikipedia is as follows....
DeleteShort Haul......1100-1500 km
Long Haul.......4100-4800km
Medium Long Haul is in between.
All of these airports are behind Budapest big time in terms of long-haul connectivity.
ReplyDeleteNot at the moment they are not and who knows what will happen after Covid.
DeleteI think United and Delta will canabilise each other. It would have been better that one of the airlines started flying to Dubrovnik for a different destination other than New York.
ReplyDeleteAh yes the "canabilise" guy again :D
Deletebut where is Canada connectivity though :(
ReplyDeletelet‘s just hope that Transat will come back and Air Serbia should finally inaugurate flights to YYZ
Canada is completely closed. The situation there is bad.
DeleteFor those living under a rock, pandemic comes and goes in waves typically lasting couple of months. No sane airline should look just at the current wave when planning a new route. Just because current wave is active it doesn't mean it will be there in a couple of months.
DeleteAny US airlines AA/DL/UA and others definitely should open flights non-stop from JFK to/from Pristina PRN for diaspora special summer season save money, US airlines make money and others airlines no longer need like Turkish via IST and others should lower their price or lose.
ReplyDelete?
DeleteThat means no longer need to stop via IST and other airports which diaspora save money and US airlines make money.
DeleteThat’s true I agree
This Pragisa thing is an absolute scam.
ReplyDeleteI think so to. But let's wait and see.
Delete*pragusa
DeleteI'm impressed Air Serbia has been performing so well to New York in these times.
ReplyDeleteIs there room to expand frequencies to more than 5 per week in peak summer?
DeleteIt's impossible with one aircraft
DeleteEven if they get one aircraft eventually I think the idea will be to introduce new routes rather than increase New York.
DeleteJFK is fine with 5 weekly.
DeleteFor now. But if they continue expanding their short haul network and add more feeder routes, New York could be increased.
DeleteWhy the obsession with New York. There are other cities in the States. Some I think would perform even better.
ReplyDeleteIt is the number 1 hub in the United States.
DeleteNew York City is a place that even can work without connections but simply with O&D .
DeleteNot necessary hub, but definitely numero uno destinacio.
DeleteI really hope we see the US top 3 expand in the region.
ReplyDeleteDoubt it
DeleteAnyone know anything more about this Eastern Airlines?
ReplyDeleteTheir network seems to be targeting niche markets. They are flying out of several US cities to secondary cities in Latin America.
DeleteThis is the third reincarnation of Eastern Airlines launched in early 2020.
DeleteThey have announced any routes over past few months and then suspended them.
Delete*many
DeleteWould it be possible to book BEG to LAX via Dubrovnik this summer?
ReplyDeleteUnited increased DBV to 4pw
ReplyDelete