Air Serbia is satisfied with the performance of its sole long haul service between Belgrade and New York as it marks the route’s fifth anniversary. The airline noted New York has been one of its most profitable destinations in 2020 and 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”, the company’s CEO, Duncan Naysmith, said. The airline is currently operating five weekly rotations between the two cities, the same level as prior to the pandemic.
Air Serbia has been maintaining flights between Belgrade and New York's JFK Airport since mid-June of 2016, carrying over 320.000 passengers between the two cities. Last year was its most challenging yet, with the Big Apple being hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Services between the two were suspended from March 19 until June 6, while mandatory quarantine for all foreign arrivals into New York state during the fourth quarter also had an impact. Air Serbia handled 41.320 passengers between the two cities in 2020. The year started off well, with the airline outperforming its 2019 results in both January and February. It suspended flights in March and restored them on June 6. In October the carrier was handling more travellers than it did in 2019.
Data provided by US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Competition on flights from the region to the United States is on the rise, with both United and Delta introducing operations from New York to Dubrovnik this summer. “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”, Mr Naysmith said. He previously noted, “We are very proud to offer direct flights to New York, whose launch represented a significant milestone at the time of their introduction, confirming the strength of our business strategy and contributing to the development of tourism and business cooperation between the Southeastern Europe and the United States. Many did not believe it, but we have managed, in a relatively short time, to secure our first wide-body aircraft, the necessary permits, and to undertake all steps necessary to start the flights".
If the route is profitable and the numbers are good, the logical thing would be to add more flights.
ReplyDeleteThey don't have the aircraft for that.
Delete6 pw is the most they can have with one plane
DeleteSo despite everything, they managed profitability on this route five years. Good.
ReplyDeleteThere are rumours a second A330 is coming. Don't know if it is true.
ReplyDeleteThey should use the current lower leasing rates to get a second A330.
DeleteCongratulations
ReplyDeleteThe point is that after 4 years they made JFK profitable.
ReplyDeleteI suppose they do not wish to ruin it now with new wide body destination. Maybe they need their European network to be wider in order to open PEK, YYZ, PVG or ORD.
Well they said from the start that JFK is a long term investment and that it would take around 5 years to make it profitable. They also said they would start Toronto and Chicago between 3 to 5 years after launching New York.
DeleteThey could not foresee a global pandemic and border closures.
DeleteDoes it make sense to take LAX into consideration?
DeleteMiami made sense.
DeleteLOT launched it before the pandemic.
JU's A330 can make it to LAX as it has the extra fuel tank but I think costs would be too high. In my opinion priorities should be: YYZ, ORD, MIA and then LAX.
DeleteThank you for the reply. When I said LAX, I meant something like BEG - NYC - LAX - NYC - BEG.
DeleteCan you elaborate MIA, please?
Good to hear. Those figure are ok considering the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteWith more flights this year and a better situation, numbers should go up.
ReplyDeleteWell of course especially considering since they are able to fly New York in March, April and May unlike last year ;)
DeleteJU is profiting from non-EU and non Shcengen passengers being unable to transfer via EU or Schengen countries.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, so is TK.
DeleteHopefully Air Serbia will be able to retain some of those passengers that travel between US and Europe once US lifts those restrictions for EU/Schengen.
Delete^ good point. A lot of people from Serbia flying to the US still use Lufthansa (to New York as well). So hopefully the realise the convenience of flying with JU. They have pretty much the same product.
DeleteLufthansa is worse actually since they have one less inch of legroom in economy class and they removed the second meal to JFK so now you get a sandwich.
DeleteLH, Swiss and KLM have two inches of legroom more in economy than JU.
DeleteAir France and LOT have three inches more in economy than JU.
Nope, JU 32', LH 31.
DeleteAre there any plans what they are going to do with the A330 this winter? If they keep 2 flight p/w outside peak holiday period they can comfortably use the aircraft on some other route.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the aircraft in off season isn't used on frequent routes by demand?
DeleteThey have slowly started doing that. They have sent it many times to Moscow and now Podgorica.
DeleteThere used to be plans for 1 pw BKK as charters from October through March three years ago, but they couldnt see sufficient demand. Maybe it improved in meantime, the number of people who can afford vacation in Thailand are on the rise in Serbia and surrounding countries.
DeleteThey will probably use it on Dubai flights.
DeleteIntroduction of second long haul destination will allow them to improve utilization during winter months. What are they waiting for? Second destination was expected long time ago.
Deletein this case you will need more widebody aircraft to serve in the high season.
Delete@9.40
DeleteBangkok was considered but they said that while the loads would be good, the yields wouldn't justify such a long flight.
What is impressive is that there have been no major delays or cancellations for 5 years now and they have managed to keep these flights with just 1 aircraft. I remember the comments and hysteria when they launched and how flights would be delayed and cancelled.
ReplyDeleteTrue. Let's hope they keep it up.
DeleteThank you for the loads
ReplyDeleteAny idea on what percentage of pax are O&D, and transfer?
DeleteI think in summer its around 50/50. In winter more than 50% are transfer for sure. At least that was the experience on all my flights so far.
DeleteThere was some info recently that about 55% is O&D on this route overall.
DeleteThe only thing that matters is profitability.
ReplyDeleteJU transatlantic product is excellent.
ReplyDeleteAgree
DeleteGood news for Air Serbia. I'm glad this route is improving.
ReplyDeleteI hope they expand with some sort of agreement with one of the US airlines, preferably a codeshare.
ReplyDeleteJoining an alliance would be most beneficial.
DeleteWas there an idea in any point to introduce premium economy to improve offer and income from this route?
ReplyDeleteNice! Good luck Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the pandemic didn't happen whether we would have a second widebody now.
ReplyDeleteEntrepreneur would look at the numbers and say let's repeat this with another destination. Ne'er-do-well would just shrug his shoulders and say let's just enjoy this.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia started New York service 5 years ago. It didn't add new long haul destination since. Air Serbia New York service established solid reputation for connecting flights in the region. Profitability has now been achieved. No reason not to launch new long haul routes.
ReplyDeleteYou areabsolutely right, but I also appreciate the cautious approach of the JU management.
DeleteIt's impressive that in October they had more pax than 2019.
ReplyDeleteThere was around double the flights in october 2020 compared to 2019.
DeleteI think the JFK route was introduced too soon but nevertheless, they persisted and it became established and an option for more people in SE Europe who might have otherwise used TK, LH or OS.
ReplyDeleteWeren't experts here predicting how they will cancel these flights?
ReplyDeleteIt started off with predictions it would not launch.
DeleteI remember all the comments on here how these flights will all be empty, cancelled in less then a year, that with one plane their flights will always be delayed and cancelled and all the other BS.
DeleteI wonder what can they do to get more passengers in winter months?
ReplyDeleteImprove regional connectivity and frequencies.
DeleteThe only way to substantially increase winter loads is to improve business environment and attract more investments into the country, plus good ski resorts (that Viceroy hotel for example).
DeleteWinter tourism in Serbia is not value for money, its overpriced for what is offered. Infrastructure needs major upgrades as roads are in poor condition, especially around tourist destinations. I wouldn't count on winter tourists from abroad in larger numbers anytime soon.
DeleteBest thing for JFK would be to increase to at least 3 pw in the winter months and improve on the regional connections. JU is way overpriced on regional fares, with people inclined to use busses, cars or combi transport between regional cities, which limits their capabilities in increasing regional frequencies - in turn, less connectivity possibilities.
Kolko košta kombi do NJuJorka?
DeleteIsto koloko kosta komdi od NJuJorka!
DeleteSpecijalno za vas prepametni Anon 21.21
Have plesent journey.
Good performance, nice to see it has developed well. It s an important flight for the whole region
ReplyDeleteGood results. Hope their numbers keep improving.
ReplyDeleteAny idea when they might expand their long haul flights?
ReplyDeleteObviously JU much improved its route to JFK.
ReplyDeleteWhich route provides the biggest feed to New York?
ReplyDeletePodgorica and Tirana.
DeleteIf you JU had PRN flights, they would be able to fill these planes to the US even more.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they stuck to it and that the route stayed part of the network. Good luck JU.
ReplyDeleteVery nice that JU is improving it's position with regards to this flight. Only sceptical about 2/3 flights a week during winter and lack of engagement for the aircraft.
ReplyDeleteJust because Mr Naysmith said this, it doesn't mean that I have to believe 9!why Mr Naysmith don't you publish official numbers that confirms what you said? Other companies do it every 4 months!
ReplyDeleteCan you provide us with Lufthansa's profitability of its Frankfurt-New York JFK route? Considering they publish it every 4 months as you say.
DeleteNo airline posts reports on the profitability of an individual route. You should know that Bel Cielo.
DeleteIf they said in the past that the route was not profitable, why would they lie now when they say the route is profitable.
DeleteThose passengers numbers were published by US government, DoT. It's free and available for everyone to download. With many other airlines grounded, Air Serbia was obviously able to have healthy loads and yield during 2020. What seems to be the problem understanding that?
DeleteSolid results and even more important, trending looks good.
ReplyDeleteIf they had a partner in JFK then the route could easily be operated 14/week.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a shame that they can't offer through interline connections to ORD both ways. On the way back you have to spend the night in New York.
I think for JU the most important thing is that the Serbian market is recovering faster than those around us.
ReplyDeleteDepartures today:
BEG 60
SKG 55
BUD 49
SOF 36
TIA 35
ZAG 29
Tomorrow
BEG 81
BUD 66
SKG 64
SOF 55
TIA 43
ZAG 36
How is the number of flights related to Air Serbia's New York flights or this topic?
DeleteHow isn't it? JFK relies heavily on local demand and the number of flights per day is an indication of how strong a certain market is. There is a reason why JU is successful to JFK from BEG while LO did not bring back their JFK flights from BUD. It's very simply if you think about it for a moment.
DeleteNow that Serbs can travel to Austria and The Netherlands from today I expect even more demand which means more revenue for JU! With more revenue they can afford to introduce a second A330!
Ok but in 2019 they had all that revenue but didn't get a second A330.
DeleteBecause JFK was still maturing and improving. Covid was a gift for them in terms of JFK.
DeleteIf BEG keeps on expanding and booming like this, JU should be careful as it risks someone else like UA or AC launching Belgrade from either Chicago or Toronto. As they say: you snooze, you lose.
DeleteJU should be mindful of that.
What was average number of Departures/Arrivals before pandemic at BEG?
DeleteWhat was maximum number (and approx. when it happened) of Departures/Arrivals at BEG?
I can't remember but I think on some days in 2019 we came close to 100 a day. Maybe once or twice we reached it... like 102. Mind you charter traffic already surpassed pre covid.
DeleteThanks. I just wanted to have some numbers in my head to compare.
DeletePretpostavjam da bi drugi A330 vec bio u BEG ali nisu sigurni kakva ce biti epidemioloska situacija na jesen.Sta da rade sa tim avionom ako ponvo krenu zakljucavanja?
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteRadili bi isto sto i sa prvim A330 - leteli bi i dalje.
DeleteCould profitability been achieved faster if the airline used a newer generation aircraft with lower operational costs. The B787 or the A350-900?
ReplyDeleteI think the cost of introducing B787 would be too large as I don't think Jat Tehnika can service it. Maybe they could get a good deal on the A330neo since its not selling that well.
Deleteif they opt for new generation, I think that either 338 or 339 will be the choice. 359 is just too big at the moment
DeleteI don't think A330neo would be a good idea precisely because it's not selling. B787-8 has two class seating capacity of 242 seats. That's actually less than Air Serbia's A330-200.
DeleteYes but B787 is not a reliable plane, look at the problems JAL, LOT, Norwegian... had with it. better then to go for A350.
Delete...or A330neo.
DeleteA321 XLR.
DeleteRR power unit is the main problem, at A330, A359, A35K as B787
DeleteAccording to Mr. Naysmith and financial reports Air Serbia is profitable every year. We know that is not. So probably is the same thing with this route.
ReplyDeleteWhatever makes you happy.
DeleteAnon 11:22 You also think Earth is flat but they don't want to admit, right?
DeleteNice. Although I must admit I dislike the fact the new A330 being used no longer has wifi.
ReplyDeleteIs that true?
DeleteYes, all the last aircrafts which came to ASL have no wifi antenna: ARB, APK, APL and APM.
DeleteWhat happened with naming the aircrafts by popular persons???
Their way of naming aircraft was stupid from the start and was inspiration for jokes.
DeleteA better idea would be:
- A330: famous historical people (Nikola Tesla, Milutin Milankovic, Tadija Sondermajer)
- A319/A320: cities of Serbia (Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad)
- ATR: rivers and national parks (Danube, Sava, Djerdap)
At least their entire fleet will be named, and not just 4 aircraft.
When they launch ORD & YYZ, should they do both cities at the same time or first one and then the other?
ReplyDeleteIt would be best to first introduce the one that they have found to be more statistically profitable via connecting flights and do the same thing they're doing with JFK;wait for the route to mature and come out as profitable, then introduce the other destination.
DeleteWhat is the situation with airtransport agreements with the USA, China and othe potential countries where they would fly to? I know with Canada new agreement has been signt 2 years ago...
ReplyDeleteFor editor, it would be interesting to give us some insight in this legal framework for ex-yu each market. I would like to read it.
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2015/03/serbia-and-us-to-sign-air-service.html
DeleteJU is able to maintain strong pricing power on BEG-NYC route vs. big competitors, at least this summer. August round trip was nearly 2X the cheapest options from Swiss, Austrian etc. Nonstop and not particularly having to deal with transit during COVID seem to be strong drivers at the moment.
ReplyDelete