TRIP REPORT: Air Serbia, Paris - Belgrade in business

TRIP REPORT

I flew between Paris and Belgrade on Air Serbia on the 8th of November. It was my fifth flight with Air Serbia this year (I previously flew Belgrade-Niš, Belgrade-Barcelona, Belgrade-Thessaloniki and Belgrade-Rome). However, this was my first business class trip with them this year. I wrote a report last year about my disappointing experience with them in business between Istanbul and Belgrade where you basically got almost none of the amenities one would expect from buying a business class ticket such as lounge, fast track etc. I’m happy to say that this experience couldn’t be more different and was probably one of my best flights with Air Serbia in recent time.

The flight from Paris to Belgrade was scheduled to depart at 10.10 in the morning so I got to the airport at about 8AM. There were three Air Serbia check-in desks, two for economy and one for business. There was no one in line at the business class desk so I checked in quickly, handed in my suitcase and was told that I could use the lounge. I was already aware that the business class cabin would be full as it was indicated that 8 people had selected their seats.

Security was quite quick and as a business class passenger I had access to the fast-track security and passport check lane, which was convenient and appreciated. I checked to see if the plane had left Belgrade on time and to my delight it not only departed on time but would arrive in Paris 20 minutes early.

The lounge Air Serbia uses is shared with Etihad Airways and a few others, but it wasn’t too busy. There were only Etihad passengers in there. The lounge offers some hot food and drinks. I wasn’t really hungry so didn’t have anything other than a coffee. A bit later, Air Serbia passengers were called to board. The gate was nearby, and I saw that most people had already boarded by the time I arrived. There is a dedicated lane for business class boarding and economy class boarding.

As I walked down the jet bridge towards the plane, there were two cabin crew members greeting passengers. All crew were wearing face masks (properly) which is interesting considering almost all airlines in Europe have ditched the concept. They didn’t take them off at any point during the flight. I’m assuming Air Serbia doesn’t want its crew to get sick and then have staffing issues, so they made it a requirement for crew. Despite the mask, I recognised one of the two crew members from my previous flight to Milan a few months earlier, although back then she was working in the economy cabin.

I sat at my selected seat 2F and the two rows which were dedicated for business class were filling up. I recognised musician Goran Bregović sitting in the first row. Air Serbia has a euro business concept, so the seats are the same as in economy class in 3-3 configuration, but the middle seat is blocked. As I took my seat, I was offered the business class breakfast menu by the crew in order to make my selection.

I must admit that a European airline offering a selection of three hot meals on a 2 and a bit hour flight is very unusual but welcome. Around 10 minutes later as boarding was nearing completion the crew member came by to ask me what I chose and what would I like to drink with the meal. I ordered the pizza pie. The crew asked when I would like the meal served and also passed by with newspapers.

The two crew members in business were hard working. Before the doors were closed, they were running around trying to accommodate people’s luggage from economy. Since literally everyone had mini suitcases with them and the flight was full it was an issue fitting all the bags in the overhead bins, but they managed in the end.

The doors were shut at 10.00AM (I recorded the time for the purpose of this report). We pushed back at 10.08AM. We were parked in between an Etihad B777 and an Emirates A380. As we taxied towards the runway, we were fourth in line for departure - there were two Air France planes ahead of us (one to Athens and the other to Milan), as well as the Emirates A380 to Dubai, which had the same departure time as us at 10.10. Eventually it was our turn to take off at 10.30. So, despite the doors being closed 10 minutes ahead of departure, we only managed to depart 10 minutes behind the scheduled departure time.

Shortly after departure, the crew served everyone their selected meal and beverage. Mine tasted good. It’s interesting to see that the cutlery has the Air Serbia logo engraved on it. The crew was quick to clear the trays as well and asked if anyone wanted tea or coffee.

The lavatory was clean although only one other person used it beforehand. Soap, antibacterial gel and wet wipes were available.

The rest of the flight I listed through the Elevate inflight magazine, which featured Malta on the front cover as the airline’s newest destination. The magazine has good content and mostly reads as a travel magazine with features on various destinations but also has some interesting articles on what’s happening around the world during the month. There are a few interviews with celebrities as well as features on various parts of Serbia. There is also a news section about Air Serbia.

We landed in Belgrade exactly on time at 12.30. Despite flying in from the north, we took a turn and landed from the south, which means everyone on the right side of the plane got a scenic view first of Belgrade city centre and then of the New Belgrade commie blocks. The city was notably very green for early November, although even as I write this report at the end of the month it still is.

We parked at gate C10. I was one of the first off the plane and thankfully there was no other flight at the time so passport control was empty. Since 5 of the booths were open, I immediately passed it and prepared for a long wait for the baggage. To my big surprise, the baggage was already on the belt and I saw my bag circling. I say this was a surprise as no more than 5-10 minutes passed from the point the doors of the plane were opened to my arrival at the baggage belt. I have since had another flight to Belgrade and exactly the same happened. Perhaps they have improved their luggage delivery speed or something.

Overall, this was an enjoyable flight. It was good to see that amenities such as lounge access and fastrack are back at outstations after Covid. Service was good. I do believe Air Serbia is the only airline in Europe to give such an extensive selection of food choices on a relatively short flight.

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