Air Serbia will enter the Portuguese market for the first time by introducing flights between Belgrade and Lisbon. The announcement comes just weeks after low cost carrier Wizz Air unveiled plans to commence operations between the Serbian and Portuguese capitals in late July. Similarly, Air Serbia will run two weekly rotations between the two cities, on the same days as Wizz, each Tuesday and Saturday. However, the Serbian airline plans to add the route ahead of its low cost rival, with flights commencing on April 15 with the Airbus A319 aircraft. Lisbon is Belgrade’s busiest unserved route in Europe based on indirect traffic passenger volumes. Tickets for the new service are now available for purchase through the airline's website. Further flight details can be found here.
Meanwhile, Air Serbia has said it has high expectations for the year ahead with plans to carry over three million passengers, launch over twenty new Euro-Mediterranean routes and introduce Beijing and Shanghai to its network, with a high likelihood of maintaining services to Tianjin, launched last December, as well. Speaking to the “Airways” magazine, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “Our expectations for 2023 are high. We plan to carry over three million passengers, with more than 30% being transferred (compared to 25% in 2022). Since we mentioned that there will be over twenty new destinations, with some of them already announced, we continue to work on new opportunities to be regularly added to our network”.
Commenting on its long haul expansion in China, Mr Marek said, “Our aim has always been Beijing and Shanghai but due to Covid restrictions and market access to the country, our only viable option was Tianjin, from the options available. On the other hand, Tianjin is a good secondary niche - it is just thirty minutes by high-speed rail from Beijing, it is a large cargo port, and it also has an Airbus plant”. He added, “Our Tianjin flights were sold in no time within two months of being listed. The market is changing rapidly as China has reduced restrictions and we are working on adding Beijing and Shanghai but will most likely keep Tianjin as well”. Mr Marek noted that a third wide-body aircraft will be targeted for growth in China.
The CEO noted that destinations such as Zurich, Paris and Istanbul are producing strong results for the airline. “Typically, our busiest winter routes, such as Zurich, Paris, etc., continue to deliver great results. However, we would like to point out Istanbul for example, where three years ago we started with three weekly flights and are already currently flying seventeen weekly, while growing towards 21 weekly flights, which makes us one of the highest-frequency European airlines flying to Istanbul”, Mr Marek said. He added. “We anticipate the same challenges [in 2023] as last year, which disrupted the supply chain and caused infrastructure constraints in the aviation industry, particularly within the network of European airports, which will be exacerbated by growing industrial action”.
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Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteGreat to see they plan to keep Tianjin and start PEK and PVG. Wonder which airport they will be serving in Beijing.
ReplyDeleteDoes it make sense to serve both Beijing and Tianjin which are so close to each other?
DeleteLooks as if it does to them
DeleteTSN would be such a niche which is not served from Europe. Two weekly to TSN could work fine.
DeleteChina's bureaucracy is notoriously slow. Hope they can launch these new routes soon.
DeleteThey are getting the third A330 in June so I expected by June/July the new routes to China will be launched.
DeleteThe gamble of launching these China flights in December paid off.
DeleteSo finally we know exactly what is the share of their transfer traffic. Some in the comments here were implying it is over 50%.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteSo it is slightly more than 30%. That means that there is more room to grow the transfer market.
Good work
ReplyDeleteSo they could handle up to 3,5 million passengers this year?
ReplyDeleteI think that is a bit too much. Maybe around 3.1-3.3 million.
DeleteThey are off to a good start in January
Delete"Air Serbia has said it has high expectations for the year ahead with plans to carry over three million passengers"
DeleteThe development of their IST route is really amazing.
ReplyDeleteWell, they are just following the positive trend in bilateral ties between Serbia and Turkey.
DeleteIt helps that trade between the two countries is booming and Turkey expects to double the value to $5 billion in the future.
Another thing we need to keep an eye on is the upcoming free trade agreement between Serbia and The UAE. This could be a good opportunity for local companies to further promote their activity over there. This should translate into even more demand between BEG and DXB/AUH.
I don't know if JU has a code-share to Dubai with either TK or QR but they should definitely consider it. Then again, knowing how their pricing works, maybe it's better not to bother with it.
wow they are really going after Wizz with the Lisbon flights.
ReplyDeleteSo now we will have 4 weekly Lisbon flights in total. 2 weekly Wizz and 2 weekly Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteWill there be room for both or will one eventually give up after the first year?
DeleteJU and W6 coexist on many routes. Hopefully Lisbon will be another.
DeleteBut seriously operating the flights on exactly the same days?!? What's the point?
DeleteDon't forget that Wizz is going after Air Serbia on many destinations with their latest expansion.
DeleteAnonymous09:35
DeleteSeeing the prices and the service offered, only a complete idiot would pay 18000rsd return with Wizz air only to carry a backpack, while they can pay 22000rsd for a return on AS on economy light and get treated like a human being.
Greasy Chips is priceless.
DeleteAnonymous12:11
DeleteIt's not a about the chips but about customer service, care, treatment when flights change, seat pitch, cleanliness and punctuality and most importantly the service they offer for the money.
Try putting all the services you get on economy light with AS and the most basic tariff with Wizz and compare the prices on LIS route.... JU is just a better option.
What bothers me the most with Wizz is their customer service, last time i needed about 11h to reach their chat support since their call centers don't work in any of the surrounding countries. Their website is shit sometimes and you just can't make changes on your own. Waiting for 10 minutes for AS operator that will actually solve your problem FOR FREE (since Wizz charges you for calling their contact center) is something I value the most.
Wizzair needs to lower prices if they want to compete with AS on this route..These prices are just way too high for one LCC, especially with this reputation which Wizz built in the last year.Who normally would fly with them on the same day when Air Serbia flys, with the same prices, or even higher than Air Serbia, and not knowing that you would even reach our destination at all, considering all those cancelations last year, and leaving pax in frint of the gate, and kicking them out from the airport...I even assume that Wizz is gonna cancel this route in the next few months..Or at least they need to drasticly lower prices, and change departure days
DeleteFour hours block time, Air Serbia A319 with 144 seats vs Wizz A321 with 230 seats. Slightly higher trip costs for Wizz but 86 seats more. Do the math.
DeleteWhat I find especially interesting is that at the end of the day, Wizz Air does well in Belgrade. We will see how they performed in Q1 when BEG publishes their quarterly report.
DeleteObviously Wizz Air's product is acceptable to a large number of local and regional passengers that keep on booking flights with them.
Like I wrote before, as long as Wizz stagnates in the region (mostly OSI and TSR), they should do well in BEG. In a way BEG should be a good base for them because the risk of FR showing up is minimal. There is also no pressure on their yields since most of their competition is not pressuring them in that way. Air Serbia is not willing to engage in a price war with them so Wizz Air can afford to offer slightly higher fares.
With so many different destinations getting a daily service by Wizz Air, will be interesting to see in what direction their future expansion goes.
Anon 13.45
DeleteI'd also add that Wizz Air can always add A321neo to their Belgrade base which is even more economical. Should do wonders to their performance on such a long flight.
What JU can do is reserve YU-APO for LIS which has sharklets and a lower CASM compared to their A319s.
Treshnja12:44
DeleteWell, there are locals in Serbia that think that everything Serbian is just bad and would rather pay extra money for Wizz service than pay AS like God intended lol
Worst kept secret about the Lisbon flights :D
ReplyDeleteNow we are only waiting for them to schedule Tel Aviv :D
DeleteIs this the first time JU has flown to Lisbon? I don't think they operated to there even during Yugo times.
ReplyDeleteGood to see they are starting LIS much earlier than Wizz.
ReplyDeleteWizz did move their flights to Lisbon by around a week. Originally they planned it in first week of August, now it is starting in last week of July but Wizz said they are constrained by aircraft deliveries which is why they are starting it so late.
DeleteJU will be able to capture to the Easter travel period with this early start, as well as most of summer.
DeleteNice addition
ReplyDeleteDoes this become Air Serbia's longest flight? I see it is scheduled to operate 4 hours in each direction.
ReplyDeleteKZN is also 4h block time due to closure of Ukranian airspace.
DeleteSo far nothing beats TSN flight in length.
DeleteORD will be longer, BEG-ORD is 8044km, while BEG-TSN is 7562km. BEG-JFK clocks at 7260km. BEG-PVG would be the longest at 8458km.
Delete@Anon 11:14
DeleteI assume you are talking about great circle distances which are hard to meet when going eastbound to China, this is why the TSN flight is actually much longer.
Utorak
ReplyDelete13.15h povratak u 21.45h
Subota
19.05h povratak u 3.55h.
Iznenađenje je ovaj dolazak u Nedelju ujutru.
The Saturday rotation is perfect for connections onto Sunday morning network from Belgrade.
DeleteSorry, meant the Tuesday rotation, the poster above wrote the wronf times.
DeleteWould have preferred an unserved route (considering Wizz will be operating this one).
ReplyDeleteWow horrible times. I guess they will rely on locals only. Should be harder to fight Wizz on such a long and expensive market.
ReplyDeleteNot really. They are perfectly timesd for transfers on both days.
DeleteFirst guy says it is bad for transfer pax, second guy says it is good for transfer pax. So what is is?
DeleteIt is good because the timings allow you to connect well onto their network.
DeleteWhat sort of passengers can we expect on the Lisbon route? Tourists? Transfers? Diaspora (is there any)?
ReplyDeleteThere isn’t a significant Serbian diaspora in Portugal. It is estimated around 1000 people. So mostly tourists and ofc Russian transfers and transfers to balkan will play a role.
DeleteIf serbia put embargo to russia, no more flights...
DeleteStop spreading sanctions propaganda. Serbia won’t impose sanctions, accept that!
DeleteLisbon (and Portugal in general) is a prime destination for digital nomads, so these numbers could very well grow over time.
DeleteAnonymous09:58
DeleteI personally know more than 10 people that want to travel to Portugal for vacation, but due to high prices and long transfer times they just abstained. In 2020 when Wizz announced Lisbon route, 5 of us instantly got the tickets and planned the trip (that was canceled because someone far away decided to eat a bat). There is a demand for Portugal flights, I believe seasonal flights to Porto would do the job, even maybe Madeira once a week.
There is a significant portion of young people that can afford to travel, there is always a reasonable demand for such flights and destinations. I do believe that local tourists are the main target group, however with these transfer times it I believe this route will grow and maybe even be as successful as Barcelona. Baby steps...
Both W6 and JU will profit from the fact that BEG is the only airport with LIS flights in the area between SOF, BUD, VIE and VCE.
DeleteEven though A319 seems like a normal fit, if they have success then A320 could serve it, again if they have good loads. As far as Portugal, some time ago I noted a quick post on DjafteKurafte blog regarding unserved routes to Portugal for our region.
ReplyDeleteAwkward times. Naturally slots are the problem which is why they should have rather used this capacity to strengthen their Spanish operations. Will be tough to fight W6. Only time will tell who will triumph. Right now I'm 50-50 between the two.
ReplyDeleteKnowing w6 habits, they can cancel any route anytime.
DeleteWell, Wizz has been more or less stable in Serbia. Also, the fact they announced their growth for the end of July shows that they want to avoid cancellations. At least here they seem to be planning more thoroughly.
DeleteAir Serbia's boom is a big inflated balloon with the taxpayers money wasted on it. JU has no real expertise, knowledge, background (staff, technicans, etc) to operate such a complex process. They have fleet shortages and staffs too. As Serbia is one of the poorest countries in Europe in terms of purchasing power, I can imagagine how much of of their citizens can afford holiday abroad with fliyng...Of course, there is a slim layer of ppl who can do it once a year maybe...relying on transfers from western countries is nonsense in my opinions.. But we will see.
ReplyDeleteJU is an airline that exists for almost 100 years, in various forms. They survived heavy sanctions for 10 years, I am sure they can survive Lisbon route :D
DeleteThey fly NYC for 5+ years and are doing fine.
They served 2,7 million passengers last year (300,000 of which were just on leisure charters bookable only by the local population) and managed to have the biggest recovery out of any European airline in terms of pre covid traffic levels. I guess it is because Serbs are poor and don't fly.
DeleteWhat an aviation expert you are! IATA should appoint you as a CEO there!
Delete"They survived heavy sanctions for 10 years, I am sure they can survive Lisbon route :D" 😂😂😂♥️
DeleteA big inflated baloon that just made over 20 million euros in profit last year. Something that carriers in far more ~ richer neighbourhood will never achieve.
DeleteI am missing a part about "inflation" in your comment. When something is called inflated it means that is based on something exaggerated. So far, their understanding and predictions of the market were very realistic so I don't know where your conclusions are coming from beside your personal feeling that something from Serbia could never be good enough. You can like or dislike their strategy, but going that far to call it nonsense is really arrogant
Delete...and stupid.
DeleteI would suggest original poster to take a closer look at Ethiopian Airlines - one of the best World's airlines, coming from one of the World's poorest countries. Or maybe it would be better to have 12 humiliating feeder services out of BEG on the most expensive aircraft on the market?
DeleteAnonymous10:20
DeleteAir Serbia became profitable, it's not getting money from the government anymore, it's a significant employer (with many issues), it is serving the demand of the passengers and its doing a decent job for Serbia. Are they the best in what they are doing? No. Are they bad? Also no. Are they the best/biggest legacy airline from all the neighboring countries? Yes.
They are serving their purpose and are profitable and that's what matters.
Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and even Romania and Bulgaria are richer and purchasing power is much higher yet their airlines either don't exist or have a huge struggle.
I am sure there is demand for 2 flights a week, so be sure to check facts before you make such comments.
What is average salary in Turkey? 300 euros, but Turkish airlines is a giant. Or we would rather live in Slovenija with much more money, but we no national airline?
DeleteI guess majority of people would for Slovenia?
Delete40min rotation time in LIS on Saturdays is mission impossible. These guys in their planning department are smoking something strong.
ReplyDeleteConsidering average loads on their flight it should be okay.
DeletePosebno je znacajno povecanje interkontinentalnog saobracaja. Sadasnja floata Erbasovih A332 ce se povecati
ReplyDeletedo sest u iducih nekoliko godina. Zbog velikih investicija i privrednog i trgovinskog razvoja Srbije. Sirenje Er Srbije je
realnost koja dolazi. Tri destinacije za USA, jedna za Kanadu. Kai i tri za Kinu, realno je ocekivati jos par destinacija za Daleki Istok. Moguce i bar jednu ili dve rute za Afriku.
Flota od sest sirokotrupnih aviona je realno za navedene destinacije. Mir svetu se vraca. Srbija ce se podizati u comercijalnoj avijaciji. Vec je pocela da se sprema za buduci svet. Bipolarni ili multipolarni, kako bude.
Zivot se nastavlja. Avijacija se menja, Er Srbija opstaje i preobrazava. Dostojno docekujucu Prvi stogodisnji jubilej.
Srecan Dan Srbije. Sretenje Gospodnje.
😀♥️🇷🇸🛫🌐✈. Rodney Marinkovic and Aviation Enthusiast Associate Group. ✈ Sydney and Belgrade 🛫
Pre bih rekao da smo na ivici svetskog rata... a onda ce biti samo vojni turizam...
DeleteIvica je uvek bilo i bice. Optimista i pesimista takodje.
DeleteSvetla i tame isto. Ko sta prihvata, tako i zivi.
Postovani Anon Dee, mnogo vam dobrog raspolozenja i srecan Dan Srbije.
Iskreno, Radovan. ✈
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteU slucaju rata bezite avionima JATa.
DeleteU slučaju mira Air Serbia vas repatrira
DeleteIn my opinion they should strongly consider TIP 2-3 weekly with night flights. Currently flights are scarce and expensive and competition is not strong. Great potential to feed the entire network with transfers while yielding a good return.
ReplyDeleteTIP is no longer used, there is a reason why not a single European carrier didnt return to Libya , even Turkish carriers avoid it.
DeleteTunisair have flights to Tripoli and Benghazi.
DeleteMitiga is decent airport. And practically in the city center. Is it safe to fly there, and what would be insurance costs for Mitiga flights, is another story
DeleteSvaka cast, izuzetan posao su odradili 2022, a vidimo da ce 2023 biti jos bolja, ocekujemo iz godine u godinu bar za 10 % vise putnika i aviona u floti!!!
ReplyDeleteBice sigurno vise od 10%!
Delete20% growth in 2023, and a minimum 10% annual growth onward is a quite realistic plan (3.25 million passengers. There will be a need for short but smart consolidation of operations and some good planning in the winter 23/24, but overall the future looks bright.
DeleteGreat news...This route will be better than the lot of the other ones newly introduced..Especially the ones to Italy..Finally my friends who live in Portugal can easily get back home, and more frequently
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThe real test will be if they can manage to maintain the route in winter. LIS may be considered a seasonal destination. And 4 weekly flights suddenly is a lot in my opinion. It is a trickier destination. They could've fixed their horrifying Madrid schedule instead...
ReplyDeleteThere is enough demand for LIS in winter I'd wager. I remember there was a huge demand for WebSummit last November when every single one of us had to transfer in various European airports, and it's just one conference in one industry. LIS and greater area simply has a lot to offer in all seasons and it makes it a perfect city break destination, including during winter months.
DeleteNever been to Lisbon, but I like to escape to Malaga in the winter which is quit busy in this period because of the climate. Could Lisbon be that different?
DeleteBeen both to Málaga and Lisbon. LIS is quite interesting, but I found it a bit run down and not so looked after yet still a nice city. Málaga does not have stunning architecture compared to Sevilla, but has a very vibrant atmosphere especially on weekends. Both are extremely different. It depends what you are looking for. Although very much recommend Cádiz. It is a super nice town.
Delete@Anonymous15:02
DeleteMaybe I expressed myself badly - I meant what kind of difference in winter traffic demand could there be. Thanks for a reply anyway. I'm in love in whole of Andalusia...it's another world. I would love to visit Lisbon as well and I definitely will now that there is direct connection.
Talking of Andalusia, seems like package tours have already begun. A colleague of mine is going on a 4 day trip of the area and they are flying into Malaga. I am curious to find out how many they are going to be in the group.
DeleteAir Serbia starting Shanghai is a good business decision. Starting PEK and keeping TSN is not.
ReplyDeleteFRA has two services to wider Beijing area right now by Lufthansa and Air China. LHR and CDG have only one. Belgrade will have three - Hainan A333 PEK-BEG, Air Serbia A332 BEG-PEK and Air Serbia A332 BEG-TSN. Three separate services from Belgrade!!!
Take a chill pill and enjoy!
DeleteAlready did last summer when Air Serbia cancelled my flight but I'm running out of it.
DeleteAnother 0 interest destination. Just like Spain, Portugal is too cold to visit during the winter. So two flights a week is enough for Air Serbia. Bring on Miami so I can actually take a real winter break!
ReplyDeleteLol, too cold where? In Southern Portugal and especially parts of Spain you have an average temperature of 10-15C when it is freezing in the rest of Europe. Besides Miami is just another Caribbean, Latino US city.
DeleteDidn't you troll enough for today?
Delete10-15 degrees is not warm. I traveled to Malaga in January several years ago and it was a waste of my time. It was too cold to sunbathe, let alone swim.
DeleteAnd Miami is not just another Caribbean, Latino City. It is 15 minutes from Key Biscayne and only an hours drive from Naples and Southwest Florida. It is a gateway city to tropical paradise.
DeleteI don't like Miami for its flex culture but de gustibus non est disputandum.
Delete"0 interest route" that is the largest underserved destination in Europe from BEG.
DeleteBy sounds of it China (T)rumped both Miami & Toronto for the third long haul aircraft
ReplyDeleteWell that was expected.
Lisabon is cute choice but also i strongly believe they could make a good deal with Tap for transatlantic connections from Toronto.
TAP did fly to Belgrade but I don't remember them offering connecting flights to Toronto from Belgrade. Air Serbia LIS flight timing with only twice weekly flights makes it difficult to match TAP YYZ transfers. Not sure if this will be competitive.
DeleteAgreed on low prospects for direct MIA and YYZ flights. Air Serbia keeps pushing Toronto for the 2nd A330, then 3rd, now 4th. Looks like they still hope for some codeshare or partnership with Air Canada on BEG-YYZ and that's not going to happen. Air Serbia needs to wake up from that dream.
@ anon 17:47
DeleteIt isn't AirSerbia in Toronto dream but everyday anons here in comments.
Anonymous17:47
DeleteI don’t know what is possible to do in terms of transatlantic connections through Lisabon and i do not know what possible in terms of codeshare between AC and JU.
But the fact is that at this moment there is 37,000 pending complaint actions at CTA (canadian transportation association) for compensation for delays, cancellations, and lost luggage. That is in last 2 years and majority is between AC and Westjet. That is a staggering number. We will see what happens in the summer but it could be the last chance if the summer and Christmas performance is repeated.
@Boris
DeleteTAP was recently fined by the FAA $1,1 million for delayed refunds.
A deal with AC would help with a YYZ launch in my opinion as I don't think JU can support the route on its own. China is the focus as it has higher demand than YYZ, while having the added advantage of better cargo demand and lower seasonality issues. TSN took less than 48 hours to start booking out entire flights, you will never see that with any TATL route.
In my opinion there will be no deal of any sorts with Air Canada. Not even 1% chance for it.
DeleteFour weekly flights to Lisbon, would it be maintened? Air Serbia should keep this route during winter because it is a capital city. What about Havana this year? When Air Serbia will announce summer timetable for Rijeka, Pula, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Bari and Trieste?
ReplyDeleteSplit and Antalya should be also winter routes, as well as Tunis. They should try Baghdad because their only connection to Europe is through Turkish. Air Serbia is late to announce charter flights to greek islands, will A3 do them this summer?
I also think Baghdad made more sense than Lisbon.
DeleteRJK, PUY, SPU, DBV, ZAD, BRI have been loaded and are on sale.
DeleteAntalya cannot be scheduled route, only charter.
Tunis require visas for Serbs, however, there will be 2pw flights to Tunis this summer.
Why would they announce charters? Those are only in cooperation with agencies.
Tunisia does not require visas for Serbian citizens.
DeleteWhy Antalya cannot be a regular route? Why seasonal routes are not announced on this website? Is Santorini on sale this summer? There are no visas for Serbian citizens in Tunisia for whom it was a winter leisure for a decade.
Delete@20,27
DeleteA number of charter routes are going into scheduled routes this year. Rather than having limited, peak season charter flights, youre getting scheduled routes that now is open for purchase for both agencies and normal pax which is alot better. Greek routes getting upgraded to seasonal scheduled are Chania, Corfu, Heraklion and Rhodos. Btw charter routes were never announced by JU, they are not technically JU routes, it's only a deal JU has with agencies.
JU never announced that they were definitely launching HAV, they expressed interest in it. Russian carriers relaunched flights to Cuba in the mean time.
LIS is in the top largest underserved markets from BEG, BGW isn't. Focus has been on leisure destinations, for which Portugal is.
Any Turkish route is subject to bilaterals between Serbia and Turkey, which limit operations. TK and JU are only starting to improve cooperation which is why we have seen a sudden boost in flights, destinations and frequencies. Antalya becoming a scheduled route will come at some point soon.
In my opinion they should try Baghdad, however Turkish is a big player. If YU wants to play big they must not wait Wizzair to introduce Beirut, Amman or Marocco. If YU wants to overgrow Serbian citizens and diaspora now is the time. When I made a comment on charters for Greek islands I had in mind that agencies are late to announce the trips, so do they have a problem? Or YU will add some as seasonal flights which seems unlikely.
DeleteJU.
DeleteOf course, JU, automatic typist did a job.
DeleteIs there a transfer potential to LIS? The connectivity from Balkan countries to Portugal is really weak, JU should take the advantage of it
ReplyDeleteBravo keep opening flights everywhere except Canada which has one of the largest Serbian diaspora.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia doesn't care.
DeleteI pray they never fly to Canada
DeleteHahaha @last Anon
DeleteWhen you scratch that Anonymous 21:31, underneath it says Marek 21:31
Delete