Air Serbia to launch Chicago, boost New York to daily


Air Serbia will introduce services between Belgrade and Chicago following the launch of its China flights this October, as well as increase frequencies to New York to daily. The carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, told the TangoSix portal the airline will launch operations to Chicago in the spring of 2023, as well as increase its overall frequencies to New York to daily. As reported yesterday, Air Serbia will take delivery of its second Airbus A330 aircraft this October. The jet will be used on flights to China, as well as to New York, with the airline’s existing aircraft of the same type to undergo scheduled maintenance over winter. As a result, the network will not face any disruptions.

Chicago is considered to boast the second largest population of Serbian nationals outside of Belgrade. During the pre-pandemic 2019, the city was Belgrade Airport’s busiest unserved destination in the United States and, overall, the fourth busiest unserved route from the Serbian capital. During that year, over 32.000 passengers flew indirectly between the two cities on a single itinerary. The Lufthansa Group handled the majority of travellers between Belgrade and Chicago, with Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines each transporting 25% of all passengers on the route. They were followed by LOT Polish Airlines with 10% of the market, Turkish Airlines with 7%, as well as Air France with a 7% share.

As a result of the new service, Belgrade and Chicago will be linked for the first time in 32 years. The city will also mark Air Serbia’s second destination in the United States. Air Serbia indicated its intention of serving the Windy City as far back as 2014. At the time it said, “Air Serbia will connect the entire region. We plan to expand our network based on the Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin diaspora. We will launch new routes and Chicago is the first destination we are thinking of. It is a logical choice since it is home to the biggest Serbian diaspora but also a sizable number of immigrants from other former Yugoslav countries”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    Great job Air Serbia!

    So proud of you...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:49

      +1000

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:43

      +10000! So glad they picked Chicago! Not just Serbian diaspora, but tons of former-Yugoslavs in the city and also in nearby Indiana. Smart choice!

      Delete
  2. AMAZING!! But i have to say that I am sad that Toronto was not picked.

    Some how, I am hoping that they will find those 2 rotations for YYZ in the near future. Difficult with two planes, I know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. but for secondary flights to YYC, YWG, Milwaukee etc it's still great

      Delete
    2. I am not suprised about not selecting YYZ as their future destination. Canada has shown real face in the last 5 years . Their gouvermant and airports are very corrupted , which is why JU was not able to secure the 3rd weekly flight. Also landing fees at YYZ are insane. Their own carrier WestJet just announced that all their wide-body operation is moving out of YYZ as they are losing money big time.. They had most terrible restrictions to and continue to punished people based on their vaccination status. Smart choice for JU to select ORD.

      Delete
    3. Aleksandar16:07

      Agreed. They ruined the great country of Canada. I moved away in 2009 and I can no longer recognize the country I loved. So disappointing.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:15

      Moved out of there in 2006 and don't have the desire to even go back to visit although I have their passport. Licemerje na kvadrat!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:56

      Serbian side wanted twice per week limit for ASA.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    To everyone complaining about ASL here you go... It's the only functional airline in ex-yu.


    Also, I can see a possibility of them leasing 3rd a330 next year to open Canada and to boost China flights.


    Exciting times and once again congrats from wild west of aviation - Slovenia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:13

      This has little to do with other ex-YU carriers, at this point they are not relevant. Most important part is that with this move they are killing any ambitions Aegean might have had when it comes to long-haul flights.

      With North American carriers going crazy in ATH and with JU and TK growing their network, it has become next to impossible for Aegean to make these work now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:35

      NEMJEE , what Aegean has got to do with this ? Who said that they are interested in long haul flights ? After all they are a private owned airline which means they don't have the luxery of having the tax payers pay for at least 5 years losses !

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:34

      Yeah, Aegean's owners are smart and that's how they managed to grow from a Hertz franchise to owning such a good and large airline in spite of all the circumstances. I don't think they are interested in venturing to crazy heights - as the commentator above said they do not have a govt budget to prop them up when they fail.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee12:20

      Every airline out there aims to have long-haul one day, Aegean is probably the same. There is a reason why they were adding destinations like Tehran, Tbilisi, Riyadh, Yerevan... in the past. They are building a true hub in ATH. If you think they don't have long-haul plans then you are naive.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:31

      But NEMJEE why take the risk when you have other airlines to do the job ?! Athens have Emirates daily to New York and soon United will start year around and this is for winter .I don't mention for the summer you know the enormus connectivity this time of the year . So there is no reason for loosing money , and as I said they are a private company and they don't have the back up from the governement to cover their losses !

      Delete
    6. I really don't see AEGEAN starting long haul operations any time soon. They have to stay profitable.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:59

      Nemanjee seems to have Aegean's interests above Air Serbia's interests.

      Delete
    8. Nemjee is absolutely right. Biggest money is made on long haul. If long haul was not profitable, do you really think LH, AF, KL KL, BA and many others, bigger and smaller would operate it? It's corporate mantra invented to brainwash managers of smaller companies that long haul must be loss making. And it's quite opposite. Less passengers - bigger costs. More passengers - lower costs. Economy in its essence is actually very simple. And of course, hundreds of factors influence particular and overall long haul service, but it's simply not true small companies cannot operate profitable long haul. Air Serbia is the best example, and Croatia Airlines the best example how this potential is wasted

      Delete
    9. Nemjee17:48

      My point is that exactly because there is more competition, there are less chances of A3 launching long-haul flights. This is something that is good for JU.

      Delete
    10. Nemjee17:49

      Just to add, one of the reasons why Aegean is so profitable is because of extremely strong tourist industry and charter traffic.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:52

      POZDRAV .........In the end always this obsession with OU ! BORING !

      Delete
    12. Anonymous18:01

      NEMJEE , now you are right ! Greece is a huge tourist destination and that's why foreighn airlines are coming by themselves . Serbia is not that strong and foreighn airlines do not prefer it .So they have to start with their flag carrier long haul routes . So why does Aegean start
      long haul routes and loose money , while there are others airlines that do the job ?!

      Delete
    13. Adeze bot, capital letters on internet, rude! Plus your obsession with me speaking truth is much more boring, as at least I always put my post in some context, unlike you who just kmeeeee to drive attention away from criminals who destroyed OU






      Delete
    14. Nemjee18:44

      Anon 18.01

      Because Aegean is not making any money when other airlines are flying long-haul. I am certain that at some point they will launch their own flights but not before they have a strong network to feed these flights (beyond their domestic market).

      Don't forget that A3 is late to the party and they had to fight a lot of battles to be where they are today. They won the war for the short-haul market, what makes you think they can't win it for the long-haul one? No one is saying they will go for 50 destinations but a few are more than doable, especially when you consider how big the Greek diaspora is around JNB.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous18:46

      Čovjek uvijek mora imati zadnju riječ, uvijek

      Delete
    16. Anonymous18:47

      Never ever a post without OU or HDZ, never. Nema veze koja je tema.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous19:01

      NEMJEE , This is the point for Aegean they need to be profitable ASAP , and not wait for at least 5 years for that . And I repeat again they di not have the luxary of the governement to civer teir losses as Air serbia does !

      Delete
    18. Anonymous19:03

      *do , *cover , *their

      Delete
    19. Nemjee20:06

      Well, Aegean is not a political project like JU, LO, TK and even LH are so they will have to do with their short-haul network I guess.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous20:38

      Well NEMJEE for sure long haul for JU is a political decision ! As for LO huge diaspora in North America and as for TK and LH huge hubs !

      Delete
    21. An.18.47
      Well, I am so sorry I am not commenting Cazmatrans or Jadrolinija on an aviation blog. And also so sorry I am repeatedly speaking the truth who destroyed OU . I know it hurts you but it is not SNS, it is not LDP, it is not SDA, it is not VMNRO, it is Kradeze

      Delete
    22. Nemjee21:51

      LO, TK and LH have all profited from state protectionism which enabled them to consolidate their position as major European players. Just look at the restrictions Germany has on carriers from the UAE or how protected LH was during AB's demise. Then take a look at TK and why are they the only carrier to operate between IST and ESB or how much money was pumped into them over the years to make them what they are today.
      Then comes LO which was also received state aid and protectionism either in terms of slots at WAW or when it comes to limiting the airport's expansion and so on. Now they are planning on renewing their narrowbody/regional fleet. Do you honestly think they have enough money to get around 60 planes?

      So why shouldn't Serbia provide its carrier with some benefits which might help them become a serious player one day? By increasing the number of transfers at BEG, JU will also help in accumulating extra девизе which is always a good thing. How much foreign capital has JU brought into Serbia from transfers to/from The Russian Federation?

      Delete
    23. Anonymous08:50

      Nemojte mu tresti kavez, jako to ne voli.

      Delete
    24. Anonymous08:53

      Čovjek opterećen HDZ-om, a navodno je iz Rijeke koju je SDP u zadnjih 30 godina potpuno devastirao i pretvorio u otužnu kasabu.

      Delete
    25. Tocno je da je Rijeka grad koji je ekonomski i fizicki najvise nastradao za vrijeme Kradezeovog unistavanja Hrvatske. Kradezeova specijalnost je sve centralizirati i dijeliti podobnima, u pohlepne i pokvarene kradezeovske dzepove, a ako nesto pretekne, onda i za opce dobro. Naravno da za Rijeku nije bilo nicega jer je ostala ponosna i dostojanstvena, unatoc osiromasenju od strane Kradezea. A sto se tice otuzne kasabe, Europska Prijestolnica Kulture ce po svom mentalitetu, nacinu zivota i suzivota, toleranciji i kulturi, pa cak i u siromastvu, uvijek biti trn u oku lopinama i primitivcima koji mogu zivjeti u metropolama i bogatstvu, ali kasaba koju toliko osjecaju nikada iz njih izici nece, sto vjerno pokazuje i gornji post.

      Delete
    26. A za gospodina s kavezom, koji misli da je jako duhovit, jos jednom : Vi niste svjesni da ste u kavezu Vi. U kavezu mrznje, primitivizma i gluposti.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Excellent news. I wonder what the frequencies will be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Twice per week. With China and JFK, I don't see them able to do more.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee09:11

      My guess is that PEK will be one weekly at first due to Chinese restrictions. However, once restrictions are removed and once tourists start making a comeback, I expect the number of frequencies to grow real fast.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      I am.not sure JU will start PEK now when we have Hainan flying this route.
      PVG looks more realistic to me.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:33

      Could be, I still hope it will be PEK as the rotation is shorter.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:34

      I think it would be better to have PVG and that way have long haul flights to New York, Beijing, Shanghai and Chicago.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:57

      I also think it would be better than competing with Hainan. Unless they have some deal with Hainan.

      Delete
    7. To lease plane for one weekly PEK till spring?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:09

      @Nemje - JU does not have to do one flight to China per week. They must do one flight TO CHINESE DESTINATION PER WEEK. And flight cannot start and end at the same airport. That will mean that Belgrade-Shanghai flight will be something like Belgrade-Shanghai-Tianjin and then empty shuttle to and flight Guangzhou-Belgrade. Or (if they are allowed) Belgrade-Shanghai Pudong-Tianjin and Tianjin-Shanghai Honqqui-Tianjin (but I am not sure Chinese will allow this). So, it will be tricky. But manageable. Thats why (maybe) JU introduces two or even three different destinations in China in order to have more than one weekly to China while this weird chinese rule is in force

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:17

      @anon 1209-must correct myself - flights will be something like Belgrade-Dalian-Shanghai and Shanghai-Urumqi-Belgrade. Thats the only way for chinese will allow one prr week "direct" Belgrade-Shanghai flights. The same apply for any other destination in China. One stop in between. Hainan is doing the same - Tianjin-Beijing-Belgrade and then Belgrade-Dalian-Beijing

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    At least some airlines have ambitious plans in the region. Long-haul expansion is quite a disputable topic especially in small sized airlines such as JU, but if the business is bleeding money in any case why not include a vision in it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    Interesting all of JU's Airbus crew will do training for A330.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      *cabin crew

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:58

      Makes sense. Easier to do rostering that way.

      Delete
  7. Nemjee09:10

    <3 <3 <3
    This is very good news. Now they should make sure they have enough capacity for all this extra feed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:58

      Definitely. Short haul network will now be key to fill up these long haul flights.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:12

    This is great but things would be a whole lot better of them if they could find a US codeshare partner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      It would help a lot fill up those planes. But I don't think any US airline is interested.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      Because they haven't been so far. Air Serbia has tried several times to secure a US partner.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:51

      They have connections with JetBlue and American when flying from different US cities, so that’s fine I guess.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:58

      Very limited possibilities though.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:02

      OK, so far they were not interested, but why?!
      And why wouldn't they be interested to get a deal with company flying to 2 destinations in the USA and 50+ in Europe?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:09

      Flying to JFK and ORD now makes JU much more attractive for deals to be made with US (and even AC) carriers for connections. Remember, ORD is a hub for American and United - plus it has Air Canada connections to a bunch of Canadian cities.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:48

      More passengers are switching from Lufthansa to LOT Polish Airlines as Warsaw is an excellent transfer airport, less problems and the B787 Dreamliner.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:14

      It's not excellent at all, it is simply average.

      Same as LOT.

      Delete
    9. Better than LH, BA...

      Delete
    10. Nemjee21:53

      Actually LO has considerably improved their product on short-haul flights. Now you get some drinks and a snack free of charge (usually some sort of a pie).

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:16

    wow so 50% of transfers were held between LH and LX. Crazy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      I'm surprised at how many LOT had to be honest.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Why? North American transfers are LOT's main source of passengers from most ex-Yu countries.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:49

      I'm assuming that KLM now has a big share.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:20

      Yes, they are very popular with North America transfers.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:48

      More passengers are switching from Lufthansa to LOT Polish Airlines as Warsaw is an excellent transfer airport, less problems and the B787 Dreamliner.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:20

    Bravo Air Serbia, BEG und Air Serbia make the best Job in exYu - greets from RJK

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:21

    I wonder if next year we will see more short haul routes added in addition to this long haul expansion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:07

      Maybe not too many like this year, but I am sure they will add a few, putting the focus on increasing the frequencies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:03

      And hopefully putting focus on the Middle East and North Africa

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL13:07

      They will definitely launch more short haul. Question is how many destinations will they launch. Plan is to have 100 destinations by their 100th birthday.

      They also confirmed that another A320 will join the fleet. Lease of A320's seem to be better than A319's since there is more of them on the market.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:14

      They're extremely stupid for not getting a single A321.

      Delete
    5. JATBEGMEL16:42

      @16,14

      What reason should JU go for the A321 and not A320? Why does JU need an aircraft with a huge 52% increase in capacity?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:11

      Have you seen the loads to Moscow/LED lately?

      Delete
    7. JATBEGMEL18:30

      6 and a half hour rotation out of 24 hours. What happens with the aircraft for the next 17 and a half hours? The same conversation just keeps repeating itself.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous19:01

      Send it to IST, demand is crazy right now. Then there is CDG and so on.

      Delete
    9. JATBEGMEL20:04

      IST is almost always on the A319 so logical step forward would be to bring it to an A320 and not nearly double capacity with the A321. CDG as well. If they haven't found reason to have a few A320's in the fleet they sure wont with the A321.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:21

    So this winter they will have 2 A330s with just flights to New York and China?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      Yes, for a period of time 1 A330 will be in maintenance. Also I don't think New York will be 2x weekly this winter.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      The flight to China (be it Beijing or Shanghai) will most likely have a 17 hour turnaround. This is minimum rest for crew so the same crew can do the return flight because the flight, at first, will be just 1 per week.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:35

      That will be brutal for cabin crew.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:36

      They did something similar for the crew on the Belgrade-Dubai charters. They would land in Dubai and have a 12 hour layover. Then go back. That's why the rotation was so long.

      Delete
    5. Or crews will just have lovely week long stay in China! Hopefully not in quarantine (if policy changes from 2023).

      Delete
    6. Anonymous18:45

      @MM are you Air Serbia crew?

      Delete
    7. JAT Yugoslav Airlines crews were staying 7 days in Beijing, actually it was still Peking at those times. The Great Wall Sheraton.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:26

    Finally :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:27

    A bit disappointed that Toronto will be left behind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:28

      Maybe when one day they take a third A330.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      So in 7 years :D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:31

      It would be great if a Canadian airline takes up this route since it seems JU has no internation to start flights.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:38

      Air Canada, Air Transat or West Jet. All would be welcome.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:45

      @9.29 I think this expansion would have happened 2 years ago had there not been corona.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:45

      @anon 9:31
      +1
      With only 2pw permit and YYZ fees, it's beter leave the route to Canadians.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:05

      Air Canada said 2pw is not enough. Westjet is not going to expand long haul from Toronto. Air Serbia can't justify 3rd A330 (wet or dry leased) for 2pw to YYZ. That leaves Air Transat as the only and uncontested airline to launch Toronto Belgrade. Two flights per week to start is not a problem for their high density cabin. They already fly to Zagreb 2pw.

      Delete
    8. Wait wait. Why wpuld they lease 3rd jet only for YYZ...if they were to get 3rd jet, they can add YYZ and boost China.. or start anpther city in China..

      3 planes=

      JFk daily
      PEK 3-4 weekly
      PVG 2-4 weekly
      YYZ 2 weekly

      Something like that.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:36

      You forgot ORD. They needed 6 years for 2nd A330 and you expect them to add 3rd in a year? Not likely, Air Transat is safe for at least 3-4 years.

      Delete
    10. Crap..i did forget ORD.

      YYZ is in my mind thr whole time..Always thought they would choose Toronto over Chigago.

      OK

      JFK daily (A330 #1)
      PEK 2-3 weekly (A330 #2)
      PVG 2-3 weekly (A330 #2)
      ORD 2-4 weekly (A330 #3)
      YYZ 2 weekly (A330 #3)

      Now thats me being hopefull.
      And thats summer season. During the winter, they would have to think of something..

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:15

      I really don't get guys like Anons 9.29 and 10.36. Yes it took them 6 years to get 2nd A330, so what? I am sure the 3rd one will come at 2025/2026, unless we have something unforeseen as Corona or WW3.
      So far you were complaining why they don't add 2nd plane, now you already bragging where is the 3rd one, unbelievable!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:30

      Recently the bilateral agreement was renegotiated between SRB and CA so why for sake they didn't make it more liberal to allow more flights? Stupid politicians running the show!

      Delete
    13. Anonymous11:33

      Because Canada does not want it more liberal. Canada is one of the most restrictive countries when it comes to aviation rights and is the most protectionist when it comes to its national airline. That's why Canadians have high fares, the airports are the most expensive in the world and foreign airlines have to negotiate everything.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous12:09

      With 2 A330`s they can utilize it for max 11-12 rotations per week. With JFK going daily, this leaves ORD and PEK/PVG to 4-5 weekly rotations, lets say 2 weekly flights each.

      With the third A330 arriving they would be able to either introduce two new routs with 2-3 weekly rotations, only increase existing routes or anything in between

      Delete
    15. Anonymous16:32

      With 3rd 330,s Moscow can be in play again and they can add Dubai service year around and compete directly with Fly Dubai.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous18:09

      @Anon 11:15 I am sure the 3rd one (A330 for JU) will come at 2025/2026

      If Air Transat launches YYZ-BEG in 2023 they will have 2023, 2024 and at least 2025 if not 2026 season all for themselves! That's more than enough time to become well known on the market, improve numbers, ask for 3rd weekly flight if needed. By 2025/6 Air Canada might join the party. Both AC and TS will receive new aircraft by then.

      So if Air Serbia gets 3rd A330 by 2025/6 as per your vision it will be way too late to unseat Air Transat (or AC&TS combo) from the BEG-YYZ throne. That is, if Air Transat reacts quickly and starts the route in the early summer of 2023.

      Delete
    17. JATBEGMEL19:58

      @18,06

      For years we've been hearing how foreign companies are going to snatch up the potential long haul routes from BEG, yet 6 years later it's just JU doing the long haul flying.

      No one but JU knows what they want to do on the long haul market. It could further expand next year with a wet lease and operate YYZ seasonally, it might wait 2, 3, 4 years. TS might launch flights to BEG, it might not. TS might launch YYZ while JU launches YUL. Maybe both JU and TS will operate on the YYZ-BEG route, maybe JU alone. Maybe Canada wont allow extra frequencies between the 2 countries. Lots of maybes. No need for hysteria and assuming the worst.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous22:50

      It's not the worst if Air Transat launches Toronto Belgrade instead. Air Serbia could use some long haul competition.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:35

    Thank goodness it won't be a wet-lease of the A330.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:41

    The Balkan Diaspora is huge in Chicago. If Air Serbia's prices are 10-20% less than AF, KLM, Lufthansa etc. then it can work. Don’t forget that Cargo is also a factor. So, the potential is there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:20

      +1

      Delete
    2. Vlad14:36

      I don't think JU has to be cheaper than the competition to make things work. Just staying competitive will be enough. I know a lot of people who prefer to want to visit their children & families across the pond but are uncomfortable flying a foreign airline or transiting at a huge airport because of the language barrier.

      Delete
    3. @Vlad - plus the royal pain of waiting 5 hours to transfer

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:44

    Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:48

    If these are starting in March, when should we expect tickets to go on sale?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:56

      The sales for JFK flights started in February for June, so maybe November?

      Delete
  19. It's easy to open new routes when you have the financial support of your government!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Croatia and Montenegro have government supoort too

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:40

      Liol. If that's the case, why isn't OU opening up any new routes, considering they are the utmost sponge of state aid in the wider region?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:35

      Because they are incompetent

      Delete
    4. Incompetent, corrupt, and with a.s sold to LH to be their feeder

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:39

    I wish them luck with ORD launch but I must say that I was surprised that one can still find tickets available for JFK for almost any flight in July / August / September. My mother worked for JAT and I remember in the old days that finding a ticket to the US especially second part of August to mid September (end of summer) was almost mission impossible. I guess they know what they are doing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous04:16

      Check the prices of these tickets. It is actually something they couldn’t do better!

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:59

    How long will the flight to Chicago be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL12:56

      Around 10 hours and a half hours outbound, 9 and a half inbound.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:03

    Chicago will be a huge success for connecting flights. It is full of people from Eastern Europe especially Poland and Hungary and I believe from the Balkans. The biggest Bulgarian diaspora also lives there, so I believe connecting flights will even be more popular. JFK seemed to have matured as a destination after more than 5 years now if I am not mistaken and we are yet to see what happens with China. Good luck to Air Serbia. Good improvements lately. Поздрави from Sofia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:39

      Поздрави от Белград ще летим заедно до Чикаго !!!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:21

      @Anon 11:03
      JU does not fly to either Hungary or Poland, though, but hopefully they start Budapest and Krakow by the time they depart to Chicago.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL12:53

      They did plan BUD back in 2020 but it never made the final list of destinations announced. Perhaps we will see it launch next year.

      As for KRK, they have direct flights to ORD 4 pw with LOT, as well as seasonal EWR. I don't think JU will be very competitive there, if they launch the route. KRK would most likely connect with destinations such as those on the Adriatic coast, as well as IST, ATH, SKG, LCA.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:35

      What is happening with GullivAir in Bulgaria? Are they starting North America flights?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:00

      Nothing about them, nope. They were approved to receive a state aid because of Corona, but nothing is said there. Flights to SKP, TIA and BOJ are definitely suspended.
      They should have acted a bit more serious. Also God knows if they will continue to operate their winter charters to Punta Cana and Maldives.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous11:04

    They need as many transfers as possible and by that I mean Middle East - Cairo, Beirut, Ammann, Tel Aviv ASAP !!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:23

    I’m so proud and happy to hear this exciting news.
    I really hope that after high downfall off their soft product in Business class on 330 they will listen to their costumer and bring all the amenities on the previous level.
    As this is must for competition and connecting pax who are not Serbians
    Well done for a move.
    Strongly but slowly establishing.
    Looking forward to see the new 330 where is it going to come.
    Third one in Serbian register

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since I only fly cattle class I wouldn't know personally but this article did sum it up well enough
      "https://onemileatatime.com/insights/air-serbia-business-class/"

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL16:36

      Looks like the JU product development team is either quite bad at their job, not motivated to do better or has a severe lack of budget.

      My guess is that little thought is put into the product due to a poor work environment, no motivation for the team to do better. Lets do the bare minimum and call it a day.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:09

      Max, thanks for sharing this post. It is the typical demanding, business traveller but they have all their entire right to do it having to pay much more compared to the rest. So sad to learn that the business class deteriorated that much. Lets not forget that the real golden years of the new airline Air Serbia in 2013 were the best. The boutique airline went solo and now is paying its cost of being an independent carrier I guess. In reality, the Arabs have the money whether we like it or not and their absence now is very very present. Yes, that omlette on business class for a person paying thousands of dollars is really not ok.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous04:22

      This post has a lot of incorrect stuff and certain things are valid also. Amenity kid is on each seat, beds are working properly, they offer duvets and pajamas etc. Food and few other things can improve

      Delete
    5. I don't remember them bringing back amenity kits or pj's after COVID?

      If they did it's even worse since the writers flight had non, and had a bad choice of food.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous12:54

    About China, ASL are banned 10 years ago with commercial agreement BTW two governments,only Chinise companies can fly, thanks to you know whom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:56

      Stop talking nonsense. Air Serbia is starting flights to China this October, as confirmed by Air Serbia.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous13:23

    They should lease another one and launch YYZ 2x p/w, LAX 2x p/w and MIA 2x p/w.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uh kamo srece 🤞

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:56

      Many people mention codeshares, let me mention... for JU, besides JetBlue at JFK, they partner with American Airlines...
      this is very good, especially if they continue out of Chicago ORD where AA has a giant base too...
      Issue is, their codeshares are not well established... for example, I fly often to Cleveland from Belgrade. Through some travel agents and sometimes on some websites, you can find on one ticket JU BEG - JFK, AA JFK - CLE, on some dates and times, you cannot. It's very difficult to find, unfortunately, and here is at a competitive disadvantage...

      Not to mention trying to find SKP - BEG - XXUS.

      They really need to work on making their codeshare with AA which will be a key advantage, more accessible and they will gain many more customers (including me ;) )

      Due to this issue, I chose BEG - FCO - PHL - CLE last month, for example. I would've happily flown BEG - JFK - CLE, even for a (slightly) higher price, if they offered some clean codeshare, which I couldn't find... doing BEG - JFK - Florida (with a 8 hour layover) - CLE for an extremely high price just isn't competitive...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:13

      YES! When I was trying to find roundtrips from ORD to BEG on some dates they were available, and on some they weren’t, though I found them to be mostly available later on; end of July, August…This ORD service will be great for the passengers coming from Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and other places in the Midwest with large diasporas and undeveloped airports.

      Delete
  27. Any chances of new route to Chicago being profitable or close to zero except for 15.6-15.9 and Christmas period?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:00

      With decent cargo, it could be close to zero.

      Delete
    2. Many different subjects and factors involved: airplane lease price, oil price next year, airport handling price, agreements with other airlines for points beyond ORD v.v and than load factors for both cargo and passengers and of course tariff for passengers and cargo....plus more other factors, too

      Delete
    3. Indeed, very challenging times to start a new route.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous17:41

    From Belgrade, Toronto has more indirect passengers than Chicago and certainly better yield and business class demand. Flights are shorter. Air Serbia thinks ORD has advantage for cargo and transfer passengers but that's debatable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:10

      Ultimately they should launch both.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous18:42

    Možda JFK sledećeg leta vidimo i 2X dnevno pojedinim danima,ko zna?Mislim da treci A330 stiže pred leto 2024 ali u mnogome će zavisiti od letova u Kini. ORD će biti sigurica.Ponosan na Srpskog nacionalnog avio prevoznik.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:10

      INN-NS

      Delete
    2. Anonymous04:28

      7 weekly on JFK and none of these will be double daily

      Delete
  30. Anonymous20:29

    I am happy to hear about Chicago although I am a bit disappointed about Toronto. But the entire country of Canada is very much corrupted so this is on them. Airports, airlines it is all heavily monopolized and competitors are silenced as quickly as possible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:53

      Nonsense. Air Serbia could have started Toronto but they decided to go with Chicago instead.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:47

      Chicago makes much more sense. The traffic will definitely be higher. Toronto is very seasonal.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:42

      New York is also very seasonal: 2pw in the winter, 6pw in the summer. That's three times more.

      Toronto makes much more sense. In 2019 ORD-BEG and back had 32 thousand passengers, YYZ-BEG almost 41 thousand.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:38

      2019 is the best year to compare but the world has really really changed in 3 years. Yes, I know what you mean but the same levels will eventually be restored worldwide by 2024 as many aviation specialists indicated. Time will tell.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:39

      Chicago makes much better sense!

      Delete
  31. Anonymous20:45

    Congratulations to Air Serbia for expanding long haul. Well done. Marek leadership is moving in the right direction.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous21:44

    Are there any chances that Serbia will be included to the Waiver Visa US programme? I read on internet that Cyprus, Israel, Bulgaria and Romania are now considered. If this happens, I think travel will be much easier similar to Canada. I don't understand why they are still imposing those silly and expensive visas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL01:20

      Haha no chance. For Serbia to have US visa waiver, the visa refusal rate has to be lower than 3%. For the fiscal year of 2021, visa refusal rate for B category visas for Serbian nationals was 13.27%.

      In comparison with the above countries, EU has really pushed for the US to comply with the visa waiver agreement made with the EU. Still, Bulgarian visa refusal rate was 18.40%, Romania 17.03%, Cyprus 15.09% and Israel 4.92%. Croatian refusal rate was 4.65%.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous00:38

    SOOOO glad they picked Chicago over Toronto! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous05:41

    I've been wanting this to happen for over a decade! Based Air Serbia

    ReplyDelete
  35. Nemjee07:45

    More good news for JU is that TK has silently suspended flights to Sochi. Hopefully JU responds by adding a third weekly rotation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:27

      They could have added a third weekly rotation regardless.

      Delete

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