NEWS FLASH
Air Serbia plans to double its operations between Belgrade and the Cypriot city of Larnaca this coming summer season from seven weekly to double daily. Flights will initially run seven times per week, growing gradually to reach two daily rotations from May 30. All services will be maintained with the Airbus A320 family fleet. Air Serbia will compete directly against Wizz Air on the route, which this summer plans to run four weekly flights between the two with the A321 jet, up from two weekly last year. As a result, the two cities will be linked with a record eighteen weekly flights during the summer months.
That's just.... "Boss"
ReplyDeleteLove how it's YU-APK in the picture which used to fly for Cobalt and was based in LCA.
ReplyDeleteIt's incredible how strong JU is going to be in LCA, they are really putting pressure on others. Since they started growing in LCA, RO has not returned and LO has revised their schedule to basically act as a glorified charter carrier.
When looking at all the airports in the region, I believe BEG will offer the most flights to Cyprus. Even more than BUD or SOF. I think only VIE is ahead since OS also plans double daily flights if I am not wrong.
In SOF, there are flights to LCA with both FB and W6 and PFO with FR. There are also year-round flights from VAR and DEB to LCA.
DeleteBtw Congratulations to JU for another good work, in Cyprus 😃
Deleteaaand the moderator did it
DeleteLove u <3
Indeed and we should congratulate them because they boosted LCA from the start and they didn't wait until summer came like they did last year when they kept on adding more flights a week before their departure. I think they had 7 or 8 in June and by the end of summer they had 11.
DeleteThere is strong demand between Russia and Cyrus they can feed via Serbia. LO and RO cannot cater for that market since they have the sancitions.
DeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteJU flights are at the moment too expensive for lowest fare
ReplyDeleteIt could be that flights are filling up by tour operators. I noticed the other day that, for example, one Saturday in June (13.30) is already sold out.
DeleteIt's about 13500 for a return ticket from BEG to LCA on economy light fare in June is more than realistic and decent for almost 3-hour flight. This is currently the cheapest option with AS which is good for people looking to go on a vacation to Cyprus that is traditionally very popular among Serbian tourists. Wizz air charges about 21000rsd Wizz club price for a return ticket with Wizz priority. Knowing how reliable Wizz can be, and the type of service they offer I see AS kicking out Wizz from the market in no time.
Deletesalaries might be higher but the cost of living in CY is exponentially higher than in SRB
DeleteI know this may sound like "usual suspects" but does this have anything with Russians? I don't think they can reach Larnaca from IST and they love Cyprus. I know LCA was fairly popular here but this is unexpected boom.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think so. There will probably be Russians using BEG as transfer point to LCA, however in order to justify the claim AS would need to significantly increase flights to Russia which is currently not the case. Cyprus is a tourist hub, anything related to Greece and Turkey is super popular and valued among Serbian tourists and the demand is there (and Cyprus is a mix of both), plus with double daily flight it will also offer a great connectivity to Cyprus from all AS destinations.
DeleteThanks. It looks LCA is great example of good mix of direct travellers and transfers.
DeleteYup, and its currently one of very few destinations that AS operates in south-west Asia.
DeleteHowever, they don't seem to have interests in returning to other cities of the Levant like Tel Aviv, Amman, Beirut or even Damascus (which probably would be nearly impossible now, but the airport operates normally but non-European airlines). I believe they will be back there in the near future. For now, twice daily to LCA is more than good news.
There are Russians on every flight but their numbers are not big enough to warrant so many flights.
DeleteDon't forget that Air Serbia has been present in LCA for a decade now. Their operations remained stable and they kept on flying even during covid when Cyprus had an extremely strict entry policy. Even at that time they managed to carry between 40 and 60 passengers per flight which isn't all that bad.
Another thing is that recently they introduce daytime flights which have proven to be extremely popular with transfers to Western Europe. Paris has been one of the top transfer destination since day one. It's not uncommon when summer comes for LCA to have 20+ passengers to/from CDG.
As mentioned above, since JU started growing in LCA, both RO and LO discontinued flights. Both used to carry a great deal of transfers. From June, Air Serbia will offer the same number of flights as Austrian Airlines (14) and just three flights less than Lufthansa (17).
Aegean is extremely strong over there but given the massive amount of O&D between Cyprus and Greece, most flights are filled with locals. Transfers via ATH tend to be quite pricey unless you are flying on the 05.15 flights which is unpopular with locals.
Finally, since sanctions were introduced, many Russians have actually left Cyprus. From what I was told most of them moved their businesses to Dubai.
Russian capital which flowed into Cyprus in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been successfully removed by the EU.
NEMJEE , I don't think that Aegean airlines prices are expensive . Maybe for the income of Serbs but defenitely not for the income of cypriots .
DeleteI feel confident the strategy in LCA will be fruitful. We need continuous link with Cyprus. I am only puzzled why return to TLV is being delayed. I might have missed someting.
DeleteHow yes no, the Russians with 20 flights a week (most of which are P2P) also fill BCN, LCA, CDG, MAD, VIE, JFK, LHR... Do you think that when they take off from SVO, they multiply along the way? For flights from IST to Cyprus they have ECN. There is probably a certain number of Russians who travel via Belgrade to LCA, but not as many as you think.
ReplyDeleteThat’s reply do @Anon 11:18.
DeleteI didn't think anything, I just asked a question, don't be ofended.
DeleteGuys, is it just me or the flights are still not on sale via website? I still see only 11pw in June and after. I don’t see any flight available on saturday.
ReplyDeleteThey were in the system when I looked about a week, ten days ago.Mind you, on some days you can book LCA-BEG but there is no option for BEG-LCA on the same day. This can only mean that flights have been sold out and removed from the website.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if tour operators took a whole bunch of seats this early.
Well, I have looked for the whole summer, until the end of August and there are only 11 flights on sale. I highly doubt that tour operators have booked all those flights this early.
DeleteThe only week with more flights is May 29th to June 6th with 13 flights. After that number decreases to 11 per week. I still haven't seen a week with 14 flights.
Flights are in the system.
DeleteMaybe they are doing something so flights are not currently loaded. I'm certain they are not going to cut the 10.20 flight on Sunday which was always packed, especially on the way back.
Delete@Anon 13:07 They are not. Look at the website before saying something. I am not stupid and I have counted flights many times since I'm interested in booking one.
Delete@Nemjee These are flights currently in system, looking BEG-LCA for the week June 19th to June 25th:
Monday: 06:35-10:00, 23:55-03:20+1
Tuesday: 13:20-16:45, 23:55-03:20+1
Wednesday: 17:10-20:35, 23:55-03:20+1
Thursday: 10:20-13:45, 13:30-16:55, 23:55-03:20+1
Friday: 23:55-03:20+1
Saturday: no flights available
Sunday: 23:55-03:20+1
That gives 11pw. And that schedule is currently same for the whole summer, from June 5th onwards.
Well @ Anonymous13:39 I'm sorry to tell you, you are being stupid. Air Serbia's website is not "the system". If it were, it would show you things such as sold out flights.
DeleteThe GDS (google the meaning) show the following, departing BEG:
JU888 6:20 AM - 9:45 AM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins Su
JU880 6:35 AM - 10:00 AM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins M
JU880 10:20 AM - 1:45 PM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins Th
JU880 10:30 AM - 1:55 PM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins Su
JU882 1:20 PM - 4:45 PM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins T,Sa
JU882 1:30 PM - 4:55 PM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins Th
JU884 5:10 PM - 8:35 PM A32S 2 hrs 25 mins W
JU886 11:55 PM - 3:20 AM +1 A32S 2 hrs 25 mins M,T,W,Th,F,Su
Total: 14 flights
Thanks a lot. I know what is GDS - Global Distribution System - but I don't have access to it. The only system I have access to it is Air Serbia's website. OK, so flights are still not loaded into Air Serbia's website.
DeleteNa sajtu ErSrbije u redu letenja ulistano je svih 14 letova. Gledao sam poslednju nedelju Juna
DeleteSummer timetable isn't final and legally doesn't need to be before early March. We will see a number of changes to the timetable until then. More destinations are still to be announced as well.
DeleteNeko je ovde pre par nedelja napisao da je na letu LCA-BEG bilo dvadesetak transfernih putnika za Kopenhagen tako da ovo povećanje i nije neko iznenađenje. Očigledno da je JU uspela da preuzme deo putnika iz zapadne Evrope koji putuju ka istoku
ReplyDeleteCopenhagen was always a good combination with LCA.
DeleteTakodje i ARN.
DeleteHow many new planes Air Serbia need to acquire to keep up with such a massive expansion?
ReplyDelete3 more ATR's are confirmed to be joining the fleet for a total of 8. 4 aircraft were wet leases last summer, 1 dry lease joined after the summer season (YU-APO) leaving 3 short for this summer season compared to last year. I think 3-4 A320's are likely to join as dry leases and 2-3 aircraft as wet leases. Around 28 aircraft in total.
DeleteAt least 3 ATR76s and 4 A320s.
ReplyDeleteThis is just the beginning, I think that many more routes will get frequency boost, especially in the Mediterranean region (MAD, VLC, AGP, LQA, FCO, FLR, NAP etc). BCN has also potentinal for further growth.
ReplyDeleteIt is safe to say that demand for most of the destinations surpassed pre-Covid levels.
Apsolutno,Split i Dubrovnik su već povećani za po 1 let. Verovatno čekaju da definišu flotu pa će ulistati i povećanja.
DeleteSamo da ih ne preduhitri Croatia Airlines LOL
DeleteThey should add Brač at least once per week in July and August. Lots of our people go there and it's a bit difficult to reach by car. Also there would potentially be transfer passengers.
DeleteAlso they could add Catania. Demand for Sicily will be through the rough this year due to The White Lotus lol
Catania starts in April
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/p/air-serbia-belgrade-catania.html
Why do they doesn’t want to keep their A319 which can be good economically and buy more A320?
ReplyDeleteThey'll keep them for sure. It's just new planes will be mainly A320 but JU still needs A319 very much.
DeleteI think they are getting much better lease prices that can offset the difference in economy that's currently being used for the 319's. Plus they are more confident that they can fill 320's off season.
DeleteA320 lease rates currently are similar or better than A319, however A320 has more capacity and better leasing conditions as there is more of them on the market. A319 will stay for years to come but will eventually be replaced entirely by A320 and regional jets, with ERJ's a likely candidate, to bridge the gap between the ATR and A320.
DeleteReally nice to see how JU is reacting and keep fighting with Wizz. On the other side, the ambitious timetable will put a lot of pressure, especially on a human side - crew and ground staff. It’s relatively easy to lease the planned amount of aircraft, but to get enough new trained pilots will be a real challenge.
ReplyDeleteRegarding cabin crew, a recruitment process finished last month, another is in progress where applications can be submitted until 09.01. Last months applicants should have started training by now which should have them flying by late February, January applicants by early April. More recruitment events will follow.
DeleteRegarding pilot's, another recruitment event is currently underway until 10.01 for all aircraft types, including A330 (Captains). Pilots don't need to be Serbian citizens to apply.
Ground staff isn't recruited by JU, that's to do with the airport. A couple of positions are open currently for BEG.
Bravo Air Serbia. Samo hajde i neke nove linije iz Nisa
ReplyDeleteAbout time this happened. They can really capitalise on transfers to Europe from LCA. Aegean is indeed expensive to transfer most of the time. You can fly out with the 0515 flight but then the return is always a problem. The after 2100 departures from Athens are always packed and full that bumps up the price.
ReplyDeleteIf Air Serbia can keep prices between 200 and 300 for transfers this will be a money pit for them.
Hope that doesnt mean LCA to BEG will become even more expensive. Its hard to find below 250 with luggage nowadays
When you talk about summer season, it would be nice to also mention until it lasts considering that the article may be read by non aviation experts too. BTW, October is probably best month to visit Cyprus.
ReplyDelete