Turkish Airlines has embarked on an expansion of its operations into Belgrade this year by introducing services from Ankara through its regional brand AnadoluJet, as well as a third daily service between Istanbul and Belgrade. The additions were made possible through its closer ties with Air Serbia as well as greater political will. The airline now plans to further grow its operations between Ankara and Belgrade and hopes to introduce a year-round scheduled service between Antalya and the Serbian capital, which is currently operated on a charter basis by Air Serbia. In the coming weeks, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will visit Serbia where further discussions on expanding tourism and aviation links are expected to take place, among other matters.
Commenting on its Ankara - Belgrade service, AnadoluJet said, “The route is showing significant successes and we are certain it will only keep improving with time. It is mainly targeted at point-to-point travellers”. The Turkish Airlines-operate regional brand has begun expanding its fleet by taking deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, while Airbus A321nes are to follow later this year. The carrier has earmarked the latter for its future flights to the Serbian capital, which would result in additional capacity on the route. “There are more and more passengers from Turkey visiting Serbia, and we expect for this trend to continue due to the upcoming passport-free travel between the two countries”, AnadoluJet noted.
The Turkish Ambassador to Serbia, Hami Aksoy, has said his diplomatic mission is assisting Turkish Airlines in the introduction of a new year-round service between Antalya and Belgrade. However, due to the rigid bilateral air service agreement between the two countries, which outlines the need for the national carrier of each not to object to the launch of any new service, the Embassy is in discussions with Air Serbia in order to enable the route. “Our goal is to connect Serbia with Antalya through nonstop year-round flights with Turkish Airlines. We are currently talking about this with Air Serbia. I hope we will succeed as Southern Turkey has lovely weather all year round, perfect for tourist visits”, Mr Aksoy said.
Serbia and Turkey are soon expected to sign a protocol enabling passport-free travel. “This development will enable citizens of the two countries to cross state borders with a valid biometric ID card to improve and facilitate the movement of people and goods. The measure will also facilitate a large number of mutual tourist visits”, the Turkish Embassy noted. In addition to Turkish Airlines’ triple daily flights between Istanbul and Belgrade, as well AnadoluJet’s two weekly rotations between the two capital cities, Air Serbia maintains a daily service from Belgrade to Istanbul, as well as two weekly flights each from Niš and Kraljevo to Turkey’s largest city. In addition, low cost carrier Pegasus Airlines runs four weekly flights between Istanbul’s Sabiha Gocken Airport and the Serbian capital.
I wonder how many additional passengers the passport free travel will generate
ReplyDeleteTomorrow there are 17 flights from Belgrade to Turkey!
DeletePassport is sort of an expensive item in Turkey and a lot of people don’t have one. The option to travel somewhere with a biometric ID only will certainly attract some visitors who don’t have passports, or haven’t renewed them during the pandemic. Smart move.
DeleteThat's why it's a shame the market is handicapped by the bilateral. I think we would have a lot more flights.
DeleteAYT is too important for JU during summer as these charters bring them a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they could find some compromise that TK flies AYT-BEG during the winter only, but I am not sure they are willing to do it.
Perhaps JU should have tried to get politicians to lobby for them to launch Antalya year round.
DeleteMaybe Air Serbia will get something in return for letting them fly to AYT.
DeleteI don't think it will hurt JU's sometimes 8 daily flights on this route. This will give people an option to book independently because JU only has charters.
DeleteCan AYT really work in winter?
DeleteAllow them to fly 2 times per week. It won't hurt JU's charter flights. There is more than enough demand.
DeleteClimate is good and if good prices are offered I believe that many people would like to escape there at least for 7 days. I spent couple of times winter holidays there and did not regret especially as the prices are much lower than during summer and service is excellent.
DeleteI really do not think they would be happy with 2 weekly flights.
DeleteKnowing Turkish they would insist on 5 weekly minimum.
They seem to be happy with 2 weekly Ankara flights
DeleteA year ago Anadolujet applied for 4 weekly flights from Antalya to Belgrade.
DeleteJust showing how popular Antalya is, tomorrow JU is operating 9 flights to there!
DeleteGood news. It would be great if Turkish or Anadolu Jet establish flights from BNX to Istanbul.
DeleteIf TK wants it they will get it. They have the backing of their government which is on good terms with the Serbian one.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, Serbia profits from all those Turkish arrivals.
JU should not waste its time blocking these flights but should rather start growing. Belgrade Izmir should be on their radar as well as more flights to Istanbul.
Not surprised. They want a piece of the cake that JU has been enjoying competition free for years. The only way they can do it is through scheduled flights.
DeleteIt's disappointing how inactive they have been, even in Istanbul. Their flights are full yet they are not adding more frequencies. Then later on they complain when someone like TK keeps on adding flights.
DeleteI don't think JU can add anymore flights. It's all very restricted and tit for tat.
DeleteWell TK is determined to add AYT-BEG so JU should make the arrangements and prepare themselves. TK will grow in the future because they have strong political backing. It's not a question of if they will grow but when and how.
DeleteFrom what I read online, TK Cargo also boosted BEG.
Yes, I believe from 2 to 3 per week.
DeleteWhat equipment do they use on these cargo flights?
DeleteTK Cargo uses A310, I think the operator is ULS or something like that.
DeleteI'm happy to see that they are performing well on Ankara route!
ReplyDeleteActually it seems to be excellent!
DeleteAlthough I must say it's unfortunate JU isn't flying this route as they could probably get transfers as well, unlike Anadolujet.
DeleteKnowing JU sales team, this would probably be planned as year round and turned into seasonal before being eventually suspended.
DeleteLol...so true. Let's wait and see how many of these news ones get turned into seasonal routes
DeleteGreat news
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how many Turkish tourists in Serbia this year?
ReplyDeleteI also think there will be a huge increase in Turkish tourists this year. Many Turks visit Ukraine each year and due to current circumstances these people will likely look for a similarly priced alternative
Delete@9.14
DeleteThere is information for the first quarter. Total of 15,612
from Jan-April 23,157 Turkish arrivals in Serbia
DeleteNot bad. Numbers will rise a lot in June, July and August.
DeleteWow, Turkish is really flexing its muscle in BEG. First they introduce Ankara flights, then third daily Belgrade and now they want scheduled year round Antalya flights.
ReplyDeleteDo they still fly wide body on some days to BEG?
DeleteWith 3 daily flights not anymore. It happens sometimes randomly but not regularly. But they do mostly use A321s on their flights to BEG,
DeleteThanks.
DeleteIn summer they could use A330 from Antalya to Belgrade without a problem.
ReplyDeleteAnd who would fill the business cabin? It makes much more sense to send 2x A319 than an A330.
DeleteIs there no premium traffic?
DeleteFingers crossed they succeed.
ReplyDeleteLet Turkish launch Antalya while Air Serbia should get another route in Turkey. Like someone mentioned, Izmir would be a good option. it is Turkey's third largest city after Istnabul and Ankara.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure Air Serbia is interested. Reason is that they can't get transfer passengers. Turks will always fly with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.
DeleteDon't forget Anadolujet was supposed to fly Antalya scheduled last year but the directorate did not let them.
ReplyDeleteAnd they wanted to fly 4 weekly during the summer.
DeleteThey could easily fill double daily flights to Antalya in summer.
DeleteGreat news for BEG!
ReplyDeleteBut bad news for JU.
DeleteHopefully TK is allowed to further increase BEG
ReplyDeleteIf they strike a deal with JU, they will be.
DeleteJU will have to get something in return too.
DeleteIST has been the busiest airport in Europe almost for 3 years.
ReplyDeleteLooks like TK will expand even more since there is plenty of room at the new airport compared to old IST.
Do not forget they plant to buy some A220 and to start flying to smaller airports in Europe. By doing it they will additionally increase already huge number of passengers in IST.
DeleteWonder if we will see those A220s on ex-Yu routes ot the plane will be too small.
DeleteMaybe to ZAG :)
DeletePerfect scenario for JU would be TK taking over 50% of the company, and giving them some planes.
ReplyDeleteW-W for both sides
There would be too much Balkan temperament there.
DeleteIt did not work in BiH so I think JU is doing just great even without TK.
B&H Airlines and Air Serbia are incomparable.
DeleteHonestly I wouldn't like TK to have a stake in JU.
DeleteMe neither.
DeleteI think 2 years ago the Serbian government had that idea. For TK to take over Etihad's stake. That's when cooperation between the two airlines was initiated.
DeleteIts better to see SunExpress to BEG during summer to AYT. They already fly to SKP and have excellent results. Sunexpress have base in AYT and can make excellent results
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, for the time being we will only see JU and TK expand on Serbia-Turkey flights. The bilateral is made in such a way that it does not give any space to others. Pegasus has been wanting to add frequencies to Belgrade for years. They apply each year and each year their request is rejected.
DeleteShame
DeleteNice to hear. I believe routes to tourist destinations are needed because charters are not enough
ReplyDeleteThere is a significant number of tourists from Turkey in Serbia. No wonder they want to launch this route.
ReplyDeleteAntalya would be mostly for Serbian tourists. Nor the other way around.
Deleteover 230.000 Serbian tourists visited Turkey last year
Deletewow that's a lot
DeleteWhy not 'the other way round'?? Antalya is the size of Belgrade.
DeleteI think their 3 flights to BEG are enough. If they want to expand further on the route, they can start increasing capacity and scheduling A330 on some days.
ReplyDeleteAgree. I think this is the natural progression of growth on this route.
DeleteDo they send the B787 or any European route>
DeleteI like that special livery in the pic. Would be nice if all their planes were like that.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMaybe now that they will have to change their name they will also change their livery.
DeleteConsidering the livery in the pic has Turkiye written on it, it is possible this will be the new livery :D
DeleteSuch an overrated airline.
ReplyDeleteWhy? They really are one of the best in Europe.
DeleteTheir in flight service is great but the ground experience in IST far from it.
DeleteExactly! Ground service is terrible!
DeleteI'm not a huge fan of new IST airport either. Long distances between gates, not a lot of moving walkways...
DeleteIt's still a massive improvement on Ataturk. Trust me.
DeleteRussian transfer passangers are huge. That is reason because they want wide body planes. Serbia is banned to establish more flights, while Turkey is not.
ReplyDeleteJU isn't banned from increasing frequencies to Russia, it's being threatened and its passengers terrorised to convince them not to. However, they still launched flights to Sochi.
DeleteThe more flights the merrier.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow there are a total of 17 flights between Belgrade and Turkey:
ReplyDelete9 to Antalya
4 to Istanbul
4 to Bodrum
And how many flights to Hurghada do they have tomorrow?
DeleteLet's hope that they do not experience an operations collapse like last Saturday. There is a saying "mnogo macku govedja glava" so fingers crossed that they manage to execute this schedule without impacting all operations.
Delete^ +1
Delete@12.09 just 3 tomorrow but there will be a lot on Sunday
DeleteAnd on Sunday there are 16 flights to Turkey too.
DeleteWalked throgh the city about an hour ago. Full of Turkish families.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia and Turkish should go for charters .
ReplyDeleteIf Turkish citizen can visit Serbia then why only from Istanbul and Ankara ?
There are also big cities like Kayseri, Konya, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep ..
JU flies a lot of charters to Turkey.
DeleteIt's nice too see Anadolujet using the new B737 MAX plane on its Belgrade flights frequently until October.
ReplyDeleteI'll never understand why so many people want to visit Turkey, but good for them for having options.
ReplyDelete