Air Serbia plans second A330 and at least two new long haul routes

Air Serbia will lease a second Airbus A330 aircraft and launch at least two new long haul destinations, one in North America and another in Asia. Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, confirmed the airline is in advanced stages of planning the new routes. The comments came following talks between Mr Vučić and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing. “After almost five years of hard work, the service to New York is finally profitable. Now we want to increase frequencies on that route and introduce another destination in North America, either Toronto or Chicago. Due diligence is being carried out and a business plan is being drafted, so we can gauge interest”.

Commenting on services to Asia, Mr Vučić said, “We are initially planning one route to China, which would increase to two. We are talking about Belgrade - Shanghai and Belgrade - Beijing. I believe we can be successful in this pursuit. Of course, we are seeking certain discounts and incentives from the Chinese side, in terms of airport fees and taxes. If all this is achieved, we are getting another A330 and launching these routes this year. Mr Xi is supportive of our plans and has already taken it up with his advisors. We believe that flights to China will become profitable earlier than was the case with New York. These services will further improve business ties between the two countries and bring more Chinese tourists to Serbia. We are the only country in the region whose airline offers nonstop flights to New York. After five years it became profitable, and this is a big achievement for a small airline such as Air Serbia”.

As previously reported, during the pre-pandemic 2019, China (excluding Hong Kong) was the largest long haul market from Serbia based on OAG data, just outperforming the United States, which was followed by Canada. Shanghai and Beijing were Belgrade Airport’s two busiest unserved routes in 2019. That year, a total of 62.526 passengers flew indirectly between Serbia’s capital and China’s largest city, while a further 52.289 travelled indirectly between Belgrade and Beijing on a single itinerary. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Shanghai was still Belgrade Airport’s busiest unserved destination in 2020, while Beijing came fourth, falling behind Toronto and Chicago. There is also believed to be notable cargo demand between the two countries.