Air Serbia China flights in advanced planning stages

Air Serbia’s plans to introduce new services to China are already in their advanced planning stages, with the company finalising its business case for the new long haul service to the Far East. According to the “TangoSix” portal, apart from seeking discounts for handling and landing fees at China’s airports, the state is also negotiating reduced overflight costs for Air Serbia with Russia and China. Last week, the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, said the airline would lease a second Airbus A330 aircraft and introduce services to either Beijing or Shanghai if talks over reduced fees and taxes are successful. Expansion into China would also trigger the introduction of an additional two weekly flights to New York and a potential new service in North America.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic and strict entry rules into China, traffic between the two countries is continuing to recover on the back of strong business ties between the two. Due to a lack of flights, Chinese carriers have been chartered in recent months to transport Chinese construction workers to the Serbian capital, with services from Shanghai, Xian and Beijing taking place just over the past few weeks. On the other hand, Iran’s Mahan Air, which currently maintains a biweekly service between Tehran and Belgrade is presently catering purely for transferring Chinese passengers, which was confirmed by the Iranian Ambassador in Serbia last week. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Aeroflot was the main transfer airline of choice between Serbia and China, followed by Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

China has emerged as one of the top unserved markets to and from Belgrade since visa restrictions between the two countries were mutually lifted in 2017, with travel reaching a record high in 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the traffic flow between China and Serbia over the past few years has originated from Shanghai, followed by Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu. Flights between China and Belgrade were first introduced in August 1972 by Air China’s predecessor CAAC from Beijing via Karachi with the Boeing 707 jet. Over the years, the stop shifted from the Pakistani city to the likes of Urumchi and Tehran. In 1985 the equipment on the route was changed to an Ilyushin Il-62 and in 1989 to the Boeing 767. On the other hand, JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated its first service to Beijing via Karachi in late 1971 under the Air Yugoslavia charter brand with its Boeing 707, while scheduled flights were introduced in 1979.