Air Serbia will add a second wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft to its fleet this October. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, the carrier has adopted the decision to lease its second twin-aisle jet. In addition, it has decided to launch flights to China that same month, pending government approval. The development will mark the first expansion of the airline’s long haul operations since introducing services to New York City in June 2016 and its first scheduled flights to Far East Asia since its predecessor, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, discontinued operations to Beijing in October 2000. Furthermore, the decision has been made as Hainan Airlines readies to launch its own flights from the Chinese capital to Belgrade this weekend.
Under the Bilateral Air Service Agreement signed between Serbia and China in 2016, Air Serbia must submit its application to launch flights to China with the Civil Aviation Administration of China at least sixty days prior to inaugurating its operations. The application must include data on the type of services, aircraft, frequency and validly period. Any subsequent modification of the timetable must be submitted at least thirty days prior to start of operations. The Air Service Agreement also notes, “The designated airlines of each contracting party shall have fair and equal opportunities to operate agreed services. While operating the agreed services, the designated airlines of each contracting party shall take into account the interests of the designated airline of the other contracting party so as not to affect unduly the services which the latter provides on the whole or part of the same routes”.
Last year, Air Serbia replaced its A330-200 jet with another aircraft of the same type, that has lower leasing costs, which is believed to have contributed to pushing its sole long haul service, between Belgrade and New York, into profitability. This summer, in addition to serving the Big Apple, the jet has also been trialled on shorter popular routes such as Paris, Barcelona, Zurich, Istanbul and Moscow. During the pre-pandemic 2019, China was the largest long haul market from Serbia based on OAG data. Air Serbia has a codeshare agreement in place with Air China between Vienna and Beijing, while in 2020, the Serbian carrier renewed its Special Prorate Agreement with Hainan Airlines enabling passengers to reach Beijing from Belgrade via Brussels, Berlin and Moscow. Most of these services are currently suspended by Chinese carriers due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Great news!
ReplyDeleteShould qe expect Canada or additional USA flights next summer?
Theyve gotta use some of that capacity for either ORD and YYZ.
DeleteOMG!!! Thats awesome!! But please start Toronto soon.. We have been waiting for YYZ for a long time.. Srecno Air Srbija!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't expect this in the autumn. They can do China and JFK with one plane in the winter. So, good morning ORD or YYZ, or both!
DeleteLets hope!! 🤞🙏
DeleteI truly hope they start YYZ as well. Lots of potential as there is so much diaspora from all over ex YU living in the area.
DeleteThey were super cautious about long haul expansion, waited for 5 years to get the second plane. I guess they wanted NYC to start making money before tapping into new markets
ReplyDeleteProbably but please take into account these 2.5 corona years
DeleteI want also long haul charters during winter to some exotic destinations :)
ReplyDeleteMe too. But they would probably already have to start selling those with tour operators now.
DeleteI am certain we will see A330 used on charters to Doha in November and December.
DeleteI'm not so sure it will be necessary with daily A330 Qatar Airways flights.
DeleteEXPO charters to Dubai weren't necessary neither but they happened. Same will be with FIFA Cup.
DeleteBig news. I wish them good luck
ReplyDeleteSo this will be YU-ARC?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the logical continuation.
DeleteWill it be A330-300?
DeleteNo, A330-200.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteBecause the capacity suits them.
DeleteSo the question is which destination it will be in China. Beijing, Shanghai or something completely different.
ReplyDeleteSomeone was mentioning Tianjin yesterday which is a bit odd. But I think it will be Shanghai.
DeleteIt would be logical for it to be Shanghai, as that’s the largest unserved market, and Hainan already serves Beijing, though by the looks of it they might also add Beijing, and maybe Tianjin.
DeleteI really hope for Shanghai.
Deletenot also instead of Shanghai
DeleteBut why Tianjin?
DeleteI'm 90% sure they will go for Beijing.
DeleteTianjin does have a population of almost 14 million people.
Delete14mil people really isn't too impressive for China :)
DeleteGuys, im pretty sure the Tianjin guy was missinformed and misunderstood the news.
DeleteIf i understood correctly, Hainan is flying Tianjin-Beijing-Belgrade, which someone must have misenterpreted as BEG-Tianjin flights
We will know their destination and frequencies soon. Like ex-Yu says they need to hand in their request at least 60 days before launch. Assuming they are starting around 30th of October that means application needs to be submitted at the latest 1st of September. And I'm sure they will actually submit their request in next few weeks.
DeleteTickets will also probably go on sale soon. I doubt they will employ the Chinese model where they put tickets on sale days before flights start.
DeleteChinese airlines don't put tickets on sale just days before flights start. They start sales through their own website days before but by then tickets have been on sale for weeks through agencies and resellers which is the way almost everyone buys tickets in China.
DeleteI wonder who they will lease the plane from. Also I hope they will have the same cabin as on the other A330. Wouldn't look great to have two different long haul products on two planes.
ReplyDeleteAviation still works far below its 2019 capacity worldwide, lessors have a lot of grounded aircraft, leasing fees are lower than before, and fuel prices are finally going down.
DeleteYes so it would be nice for the new aircraft to have the same cabins
DeleteWhere did you read that fuel prices are going down?
DeleteI'm just hoping they don't take back ARA!
Delete^ Same. I can only imagine the state of the plane after it has been sitting for almost 2 years in Abu Dhabi. Plus it wasn't in great shape, especially after the cabin was used for transport of cargo for most of 2020.
DeleteHope they use the livery on the photo :)
ReplyDeleteLivery will be of a famous Serbian person. Confirmed by JU. I guess it's time to guess the person :)
DeleteI hope not.
DeleteThe fact that the plane is arriving in October and China flights will start, there will be many rotations available between ARB and ARC. JFK will probobly downgrade to 5 or 4 until Christmas time. There should be room for another destination. YYZ or ORD? I cant wait to see what JU has in mind. 🙂
ReplyDeleteThere is Moscow daily.
DeleteHardly Moscow, insirance issues.
Delete*insurance
DeleteNot insurance, but US objected that same aircraft being used for flights to US and Russia.
DeleteI've understood it to be both.
DeleteWell, insurance obviously works on the A320.
DeleteAfter all they can insure the plane in Serbia.
...or the UAE.
DeleteIt’s reinsurance. You can do it in UK or US.
DeleteI think definitely New York frequencies will also be increased. I believe they usually fly 2 per week for most of winter right?
ReplyDeleteYes for the most part it's 2x weekly expect during Christmas and New Year. I also think it is likely New York frequencies will be increased.
DeleteIs there a demand for more than 2x weekly flights to New York in the winter?
DeleteOf course there is.
Deletewow nice!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteWow, it's happening. Anyone got tip on success of JU's new routes? I don't think they would opt for this if the expansion didn't start well?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've heard their Spain flights are doing really well. As well as Sochi.
DeleteLyon is terrible.
DeleteDidn't work for Wizz Air either.
DeleteLyon must be some Vinci initiative (lower fees or something like that). No info on numerous Italian destinations?
DeleteFrom what I know Bari has 30, 40 passengers per flight.
DeleteI'm a bit surprised. Happy for the news of course but I was not expecting them to expand long haul this year.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, 2022 is looking pretty good for JU's development. They reestablished Nis base with new routes that make more sense, started operations from Kraljevo, launched 10+ new routes from Belgrade, started replacing ATR fleet and will expand long haul flights and get second widebody.
DeleteThe only thing I think they dropped the ball with is Middle East flights.
DeleteWho knows. Maybe those Amman flights start this winter.
DeleteWould be nice.
DeleteWould there really be any demand?
Delete@9.45
DeleteCompletely agree. A lot of good things have been done. And to do it all during Covid, economic and geopolitical uncertainty is a success. Credit where credit is due.
+1
DeleteTrue, but still there's huge issue of seasonality they haven't tackled (at least not till today's long haul announcement). Last expansion is almost exclusively summer-based so I hope we'll hear of some novelties in short haul too.
DeleteAny fool can successfully operate in summer. Real airlines manage to operate efficiently in winter. That's where JU has been failing every year.
DeleteLOL. They are failing pretty good - renewing and increasing fleet, number of passengers, destinations and now widebodies.
DeleteHow are other airlines located between TK and LO doing with efficient winter long haul flying?
About time!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is any sense in adding a premium economy cabin?
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure Air Serbia's passengers, mostly from ex-Yu countries and Balkans would care much about premium economy (and same goes for future passengers from China). More likely it would stay empty while you would reduce economy class capacity.
DeleteThey need A330-300 for that.
DeleteIt would not work from Balkans.
DeleteWell done. Big achievement for an ex-Yu airline.
ReplyDeleteBecoming a regional player now for sure.
DeleteActually I'd say this is what puts them above the level of a mere regional player. Three long-haul routes will already start to make ripples on the wider European market. I just hope they use the opportunity to refresh their long-haul cabins and invest a bit more into the product, especially in business class that has been less than stellar recently.
DeleteDoes Turkish Airlines have any A330-200s. Considering how close they have become with Air Serbia, maybe Air Serbia leases the plane from them.
ReplyDeleteYes, they have 13. And they are starting to phase them out so it is possible that Air Serbia leases one.
DeleteI also have a strong feeling TK will be somehow involved.
DeleteI will just leave this here :)
ReplyDeletehttps://i.ibb.co/CWJF1YQ/comment.png
Hahaha amazing find!
DeleteWho laughs last, laughs the best!
DeleteAnon@11:29
DeletePure gold!
I'm more excited to see what else will come :D With 1 extra A330 it surely won't be just 1 route to China.
ReplyDeleteBravo Air Serbia and shame on you Croatia Airlines!
ReplyDeleteU Vasoj nemoci, jalu, jadu i bijedi, slobodno me zovite Cacak. Takodjer, slobodno me nazivajte zivotinjom u kavezu. Uopce niste svjesni toga da ste u kavezu Vi, u kavezu mrznje i primitivizma. A to sto me nazivate stanovnikom jednog grada u Srbiji, ili zivotinjom u kavezu, nece I ne moze promijeniti cinjenicu o propustenim prilikama , izgubljenim sansama I potencijalima Croatia Airlinesa, I to zbog nesposobnosti, kriminala I korupcije onih koje branite, a koji su nam unistili, osiromasili I opustosili zemlju. S postovanjem, Srbislav Radosavljevic, Cacak
DeleteGornji post odgovor je na u medjuvremenu obrisani anonimni post : " Cacak, opet ti netko trese kavez"
DeleteGreat! Another 15-20 years and maybe we get to the point where JAT once was with 5 widebodies.
ReplyDeleteThey don't need 5 widebodies but 5 freighters.
DeleteIf Yugoslavia remained as a reformed country, Yugoslav Confederation, with no war and no thieves on the highest levels, who used war for their personal benefit, and with the level of economic development Yugoslavia had, JAT today would have been something between Austrian and Turkish, two companies which experienced the biggest growth in Europe after the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Who is to blame the most for the war, is another story, which I would rather not discuss here
DeleteTrue dat.
DeleteShanghai makes most sense. It is China's biggest business hub, the regions and cities around Shanghai are where most Chinese living in Serbia originate from and I'm pretty sure the majority of Serbs in China are based in Shanghai too.
ReplyDeleteCroatian Tourist Board has representation office in Shanghai. That's also where most of the Chinese tourists come to Croatia from. It's another opportunity for Air Serbia and I hope they will, as Croatia Airlines, as we all know, is perfectly satisfied with its humiliating and loss makng role of feeding LH only
DeleteIf Croatia Airlines is so incompetent, why dont foreign airlines commence these routes such as Beijing, Shanghai, New York, Tokyo and Chicago from Zagreb and other Croatian cities. Wouldnt they benefit from them or is that not the case?
DeleteThere were and there are long haul nonstop flights to Zagreb and Dubrovnik from US, Korea, Canada... None of them is operated by OU.
DeleteJAT, Pan Am, United, Delta, American, Air Transat, Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Emirates, Qatar, Korean Air, Malaysian, are airlines which fly or used to fly to Croatia passengers from distant markets, whose number is about 2 million per year. Therefore, your question might only he considered rethorical, in order to advocate OU and completely missed and failed reason of their existence
DeleteThey should definitely start flights to Delhi and Bangkok as well
ReplyDeleteThose two destinations are way out of reach. First they should stick to Toronto, Chicago, China, Korea and Japan
DeleteKorea before Delhi or Bangkok, why?
DeleteTransfers to Croatia? More than 400.000 Koreans yearly in Croatia before pLandemic, Korean Air with 3 weekly leaves space for many others. As Croatia Airlines does not give sh.t about it, JU can freely walk in
DeleteI get it but JU is in the phase where it needs some P2P demand to start with and Korea-Serbia demand is close to zero (just my feeling, no data)
DeleteCacak thank you for your being open about the state of relations in Croatia. Hate and corruption can never serve the people but they go hand in hand because politicians manipulate the system and ruin potential for freedom and economic growth. Yugoslavian could have been something special. Serbia will continue to grow because of economic policy geared to improving the lives of it's citizens. I hope other ex-yu countries can learn from Serbia's example.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone will join you in NY, Miroslav, lovely city
Delete@Miroslav
DeleteMe speaking critically about bad things in Croatia and OU, and praising and giving credit to JU for the things they do good or even excellent, absolutely does not mean that I think overall situation in Serbia is anyhow better than in Croatia. Especially not that other ex-yu countries can learn from Serbia. I don't know that much about overall situation in Serbia, as I know about Croatia, but generally I think Serbia can learn from others, especially about democratic processes, transparency, and facing with what was happening in the recent past. So, Air Serbia, compared to Croatia Airlines : hat off and deep now. Most of other things : no
deep bow
DeleteLovely city, are you sure?
DeleteNYC is flower.
DeleteStupid.
DeleteAir Serbia should use second A330 to start Chicago and offer transfers to other destinations within Balkans
ReplyDeleteThey confirmed. As of spring 2023. they will start Chicago flights
DeleteBoth A330 will be busy with USA and China flights. That means Air Serbia won't have ability to launch Toronto for a while. It took them seven years to grow from one to two A330.
DeleteToronto has always been rather expensive to operate to in addition to high seasonality. Chicago makes much more sense.
DeleteToronto is limited to 2pw, noone will operate it unless the bilateral is changed.
DeleteNot only is ORD coming in spring, but JFK will go daily (7pw) next summer. Finally!
Delete@anon 17:49 Air Transat operates twice per week to Zagreb this summer. That should be enough to start Belgrade service. Frequency increase is possible if needed.
DeleteThey can't do YYZ if they go JFK 7pw, PVG and ORD 2-3pw
DeleteAir Transat can.
DeleteRather see Air Serbia on the YYZ route.
DeleteAir Serbia is going to be busy with second A330 and new China and Chicago routes for a while. They would need another A330 for Toronto and they won't be able get it for a couple of years. Air Transat is the best option to start Toronto-Belgrade in 2023.
DeleteAir Canada can start services as well
DeleteI suppose Air Serbia has overfly rights over Russia to operate any Chinese ops which would give it a big advantage over other European airlines
ReplyDeleteIt would be really huge advantage once China reopens but I hope for quick Russia-Ukraine resolution
Delete+1
DeleteStill waiting for that Chicago Belgrade Route. Biggest Serbian Community in the World (outside of Serbia) is in Chicago!
ReplyDeleteJU confirmed that ORD is starting in spring. They haven't announced the date, schedule or frequencies.
DeleteToronto and Vienna would give Chicago a good run for it's money.
DeleteYYZ has way more first-generation immigrants than ORD, definitely a better choice if JU ends up having to choose.
DeleteI think you mean Toronto and not the simply the airports.
Delete