Air Serbia will add the third wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft to its fleet this summer and have it in operation by June or July amid favourable leasing rates on the market. Speaking at the New Air Gateway Conference in Ljubljana yesterday, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “We have short-listed [A330] aircraft so we are doing final approval processes, and we believe, depending on the MRO [maintenance, repair, overhaul] slot and facility, that it might be in operation in June or July”. Mr Marek added, “For us, I call the A330 the ATR of the wide-bodies. It is the perfect aircraft for an airline of our size. It is a very profitable machine, especially with the lease rates we have since Covid”.
Air Serbia’s CEO had previously said the airline would first look to expand into China with the arrival of the third A330, to destinations such as Beijing and Shanghai, and later on in North America, with the likes of Miami and Toronto a possibility. The carrier will commence operations to Chicago this May. Explaining the decision-making process behind selecting new long haul destinations, Mr Marek said, “Whenever we look at long haul we look for demand from both ends of the route plus regional connectivity, not necessarily the European market. Chicago obviously has one of the biggest diasporas of Serbian origin, or even ex-Yugoslav origin, so there will be good connectivity in the region and that’s one of the key factors, what is the share of the point to point versus transfer traffic. Point to point should be the main factor given the size of our airline. So, for us, point to point will always be the key plus the regional connectivity. At the same time, you can’t take a long haul aircraft just for the summer so the seasonality and directionality will always be important. That’s what is sometimes difficult to explain to people, that Toronto has very strong demand in the summer but is very seasonal, even more seasonal than Chicago, and is even more directional in terms of the beginning of the season and the end of the season, and you don’t have so many beyond and behind options where you can tackle this rigorous directionality. You can tackle it in New York, you can deal with it in Chicago, because it is a big hub, and you have cooperation with others. Despite having cooperation with Air Canada in Toronto, this, at the moment, is kind of challenging. We have Toronto on our priority list but in whatever area you look, Chicago was more preferred. What is often overlooked is cargo and Chicago is a very important cargo hub when you compare with Toronto”.
Commenting on the aggressive growth the airline has embarked on, with over twenty new routes scheduled so far this year, Mr Marek said, "There is always a risk, but the question is what you want to
do. If you are sitting in the market that is forecast to be the fastest
recovering by IATA, which will grow even faster in the future, growth is the
only way to stay on the right side of history and not end up somewhere else". Air Serbia started the year off strongly with the airline handling 219.216 passengers in January, up 20.1% on the pre-pandemic January of 2020. During the month, the most popular destinations in the Air Serbia network in Western Europe were Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, London, and Berlin. The top destination in the region were Podgorica and Tivat, while there was also strong interest for Istanbul, New York and Tianjin, the latter being launched in December 2022. The airline will soon unveil another two routes to its destination network, with the CEO noting the carrier is awaiting confirmation of slots before putting tickets on sale.
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Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteHopefully it'll be A330-300.
DeleteČestitke Air Serbia, lijepo je vidjeti još jedan širokotrupac u floti! Sretno!
Delete"Air Serbia will add the third wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft to its fleet this summer"
DeleteNope, it's better to have a streamlined fleet when you are small and trying to make a profit.
They're as different as A319 & A320.
DeleteNot really
DeleteProbably the biggest news for ex Yu in a long time. A real game changer.
DeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteTime between first and second wide body - 6 years. Time between second and third - 6 months :D
ReplyDeleteThey saw an opportunity and took it. Well done
DeleteThey waited for New York to become profitable before they started growing long haul network.
DeleteTime between 3rd and 4th A330 .......
DeleteI think like with the third A330, it will be sooner rather than later.
DeleteOh the Toronto fans are not going to like that explanation
ReplyDeleteIt makes a lot of sense what he is saying.
Delete+1
DeleteFinally Toronto gets a slap.
DeleteIf YYZ is so seasonal then ok, schedule it seasonally. And in winter deploy the third A330 to exotic destinations, and/or Moscow, Paris, Istanbul.
DeleteSeasonal service to YYZ could work. I’m just not sure why JU is not giving it a try, at least seasonally?
DeleteWait till the Toronto boys wake up?!
DeleteRunning a long-haul route on a seasonal basis is a tough proposition even for bigger airlines, let alone a regional carrier that is only dipping its toes in long-haul. I support their cautious approach.
DeleteBecause the math does not work. If you have few planes and need to have an additional one in order to start seasonal Toronto, then you end up with an expensive bird sitting on the tarmac all winter and the whole thing is loss-making. If JU had 10 widebodies, then it is not a huge deal to launch a summer service to Toronto. But it has only 2, getting the third one and it just doesn't seem to work. Deploying A330 in winter to exotic destinations is easier said than done.
DeleteThey don't understand the demographic of Serbian diaspora in Toronto area. People that used to travel in summer only because kids are in school, don't have to don't want to do it any more. And we now travel more then once a year.
DeleteI have more than a few friends living in Canada, Toronto and Montreal area, but mostly first..To be honest, they come to Serbia with their family once in 2-3 years, and exclusively july or august..None of their family or friends that live in Serbia don't go to Canada to visit them, due to visa issues that all of us here are well familiar with ..We have to be honest, and not just to advocate new routes according to our, very infrequent, needs
DeleteHe said seasonal and directional, so basicly even if they schedule only seasonal that mean that flights from Toronto to Belgrade will be full and from Belgrade to Toronto empty durring Jun and durring August opposite.
DeleteToronto boy here!
DeleteI have a couple coming from Novi Sad to visit us in Toronto for 4 weeks from mid February. They are flying via LH. They would have flown directly BEG-YYZ if it was available, and even if it was a little more expensive.
@Toronto boy
DeleteYeah, I know the feeling! In the past, I had to travel to Gibraltar twice a year and would have flown directly even if it costed double! But no one wanted to open this service for me...
My sister with her family lives in Toronto and for the past fifteen years it would have been great if there was a direct service. But that still doesn't make this route realistic.
@ Anonymous13:57, perfect observation!
DeleteI live in Vancouver, which adds additional distance to Belgrade, and I still visit Belgrade / Europe twice a year. My friends here do it once a year on average with more than one family member visiting at any given time. It is not that relevant to the BEG-YYZ route discussion as flying from Vancouver would not count much on this connection, but to say that we who live in Canada (born in Serbia mostly between 1960 and 1970) fly to Belgrade once in 2-3 years is not correct in my experience. Also, the directional traffic argument is weak. Yes, there may be some difference in overall LF between early and late summer in opposite directions, but if the overall LF is satisfactory, it would not mean much. I am sure that the LF would be much higher than BEG-JFK in its early days.
@23,08
DeleteThere isn't any denying that in the top season that YYZ would have great loads. The problem they see is that the start and end of the summer season is where loads are directionally thin, that is the projected loads doesn't work for them. What doesn't help is that, judging by Marek's comment, is that they don't have a partner on the YYZ end which would help boost loads. JU got that in ORD with an additional 70 interline destinations through AA which isn't a small deal. The deal with AC I believe is some small interline and FF program benefits, but nothing more. They seem to have nothing on the YYZ end but a full package and access to a larger market on the ORD side which is perhaps why it got priority.
I think a possible scenario would be some deal with AC would need to come together with a YYZ route announcement. Either an expanded interline agreement similar to that seen recently with AA (most likely) or perhaps JU and AC jointly going in on the route at 2 pw each.
As well, unlike previous years, JU is really going after their seasonality problems. We see winter route announcements, charter routes becoming scheduled routes that start earlier and end later, new routes starting much earlier than previous years. A seasonal YYZ route would be a step back from what they are trying to tackle - seasonality. YYZ seems to be one of those routes that they want but are working out the best way to launch it.
Does air canada want same number of flights to serbia, reciprocity?
Delete@JATBEGMEL A seasonal YYZ route would be a big step forward for Air Serbia - they would finally admit it makes sense for some intercontinental routes to be seasonal. Dozens of airlines realized it and are using it in practice, and so can Air Serbia.
DeleteInternet chatter from multiple sources points to possibility of Air Serbia - Porter deal. Air Canada clearly said 2pw is a deterrent for them starting Belgrade so I would not place bets on AC-JU joint launch, codeshare etc.
Then why isn't Transat starting seasonal flights if there is so much demand?
DeletePorter wont work as the plane cannot land in downtown Toronto. Maybe a deal with Westjet, which would open doors to a LOT of places. I reached out to Westjet a few years ago and they were open to the idea of working with JU down the road.
Delete@Anonymous 13:57
DeleteWell, my friends who live in Canada are at ages between 1973-1983..Maybe it has to do with a fact that their kids are still smaller, and in primary or high school, which makes travel quite harder..Some of them have been living in Canada since you g age ( moved during 90'), some moved beginning of 2000', after graduating university, some in the last decade..But anyhow, their family and friends are not visiting them in Canada, visa issues, and we have to be honest and admit the fact. Family and friends who live in USA have closer ties to Serbia, one of the reasons is 'cause their family/friends are constantly visiting them in the States...Even when US visa was much harder to get,bit was always easier and taken shorter time than canadian visa..nowdays you cannot even compare those 2...literally everyone gets US visa, and done after a week...and how about Canadian? do they issue visas for Serbian citizens at all hehe??? And if they do, how long does the procedure takes, 4,5- 6 months, not sure? Any US destination would always be more popular and with higher loads than Canadian destination...And that's a fact..MIA, ATL, LAX, you name it...
@02,08
DeleteJU do want seasonal intercontinental flights since 2016, however they want them for the winter season and not summer. They've been talking about it for years. They have no issues with summer seasonal intercontinental routes, problem is what to do with the excess capacity in the winter. YYZ summer seasonal flights would just exacerbate the problem, not make it better and that is what Marek is talking about in the article above. They want YYZ to be year round and not just seasonal. The airlines doing summer seasonal intercontinental flying also have winter seasonal routes where they use that capacity. JU doesn't have, as of yet, winter seasonal intercontinental as the yields aren't there, meaning they could perhaps fill flights however at a loss. JU were close to launching a seasonal HAV route this winter with a strong focus on Russian transfers however Russian carriers relaunched flights to Cuba leaving JU with the little O&D demand ex BEG which wasn't sufficient.
As for AC-JU jointly launching the route, it wouldn't be the first time AC has done this. What comes to mind is the deal AC has with EK. Although the DXB-YYZ route wasn't jointly launched, they do work together.
https://onemileatatime.com/news/air-canada-emirates-partnership/
JU could operate year round BEG-YYZ at 2 pw, while AC adds summer capacity with an additional 2 pw, however both codeshare (JU onto AC domestic routes, AC on JU regional Balkan routes). I see this as a win win for both sides since both are interested in launching the route. Porter doesn't really have anything worth working with in YYZ and a possible codeshare between the 2 would practically be useless.
То make and conclude any deal with AC is next to impossible; they are protected by the Canadian government and they act as a spoiled elephant in a glass shop with no desire to venture into new deals and especially not to allow anyone to get onto their grass.
DeleteSlowly they are becoming a really serious player in this part of Europe. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThey are now the 9th largest carrier from Central and Eastern Europe.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/01/air-serbia-becomes-ninth-largest.html#:~:text=Air%20Serbia%20becomes%20ninth%20largest%20airline%20in%20Central%20and%20Eastern%20Europe
But they won't say who the other airlines on the list are.
With such a progress I expect them only to grow on that list.
DeleteNice. I just hope it does not have a third type of cabin
ReplyDeleteMost likely in the beginning, but that remains to be seen.
DeleteLet's not forget: https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/08/air-serbia-in-talks-with-airbus-over.html?m=1
If they had 219k in January, I imagine Belgrade went over 400k? For January, that is a very good result, compared to past years.
ReplyDeleteAs I said yesterday I expect BEG to have 405.000-410.000 passengers in January this year.
DeleteJU marketshare is roughly 50% so it means BEG will be around 415.000 passengers in January. I think in 01.2020 they had 375.000.
DeleteAll I can say is well done VINCI which made the best decision by getting the BEG concession. Couldn't have asked for a better main customer.
DeleteNot just that but that they started expanding during covid. That saved them as it would have been a mess right now without all this extra capacity.
DeleteIt would have been impossible for JU to expand its widebody fleet without this terminal extension.
They was quick!
ReplyDelete*were
DeleteCongratulations Air Serbia!
ReplyDeleteMarek also said that Trieste will be kept during the summer, so there will be no cancellation of this route.
It should be a woman. Mileva Maric Ajnstajn is the logical choice IMO
ReplyDeleteSo China expansion is next I guess.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, it is logical.
DeleteThey are even a bit late with China as this country started opening and some western airlines alrrready used that opportunity to increase traffic to China. Ju can't do it at the moment as they need third wide body plane.
Agree, makes sense. The gamble with Tianjin seems to have paid off for them.
DeleteHow come? Aren't they flying to Tianjin only once a week and JFK 3 times? With two long-haul aircraft they could easily fly up to 6 times to each destination.
DeleteThey are using A330 regularly to Moscow
DeleteI support the idea of having Milutin Milankovic on the tail.
ReplyDeleteThey are unstoppable
ReplyDeleteI am certain it will be Milankovic. I just don't see what's the fascination with Mileva Maric Ajnstajn. If they want to be politically correct (which I hope they are not) then there are other women who are far more deserving.
ReplyDeleteGood, with three A330s they can be more flexible and pragmatic in planning their long-haul operations. This is an extremely positive development.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they schedule it on some short-haul routes with high demand especially since they won't be using it to launch any new long-haul destinations in summer 2023.
Barcelona and Rome could be good candidates and it would be also good PR to counter Wizz Air's growing presence in both markets.
+1
DeleteHuge if true
DeleteIf someone told be a year ago we would know the month of the arrival of the THIRD A330 for Air Serbia I would say they are crazy.
ReplyDeleteLet alone if someone said there will be discussion about the introduction of Belgrade-Miami :D
DeleteHahah, true!
DeleteIt is amazing.
They are actually doing what they have been saying for 3 years now.
DeleteIn May 2020 Serbian Transport Minister said that Air Serbia will use Covid as its opportunity to expand and get more long haul aircraft. When that was published here everyone was laughing and making fun of it.
In 2021 Air Serbia said they would expand aggressively when the infrastructure at Belgrade Airport was complete.
In 2022 Belgrade Airport said they will see big long haul expansion in 2023.
And here we are today.
Treu dat.
DeleteAnd people on here were mocking the government when they were announcing such plans.
DeleteI know, can you imagine?!
DeleteIvo Andric
ReplyDeleteI don't see a female historic figure from Serbia (born, raised and educated in Serbia), more famous and well known in Serbia and abroad, thatn Mileva M.A.
ReplyDeleteWell, the Serbian government disagrees with you which is why they put Nadezda Petrovic on the 200 Dinar bill.
ReplyDeleteThey are waiting for the inflation to skyrocket a bit more, so they put Mileva on 10k bank note :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what will happen with Tianjin. Will they keep it alongside Beijing and Shanghai or will they cancel it in favour of these two?
ReplyDeleteAnd also I wonder if there is an opportunity for them in the future to expand further in China. Maybe Guangzhou or Hong Kong?
DeleteThey said they might keep Tianjin depending on its performance this winter.
DeleteIn my opinion Shanghai should be an absolute priority. Ahead of Beijing.
DeleteI would hope Shenzhen, being a huge tech center, close to Hong Kong, Gunagzho...
DeleteI imagine the freight would be great, plus a lot of business.
Any idea which A330-200 frame they will source?
ReplyDeleteThey haven't chosen it yet
Delete“We have short-listed [A330] aircraft"
So by the end of the year, Air Serbia's long haul network could be New York, Chicago, Beijing, Shanghai, Miami/Toronto. Can that be done with 3 aircraft?
ReplyDeleteWith 3 planes, they can realistically do 16-17 rotations a week.
DeleteWith daily JFK in summer, three ORD and one or two TSN, they have the room for max 4-5 more rotations. In my mind it makes sense to have 2 PVG and then 2 either PEK or MIA
For destinations where rotation fits within 24 hours like New York or Toronto, three widebodies could in theory do 21 rotations a week or about 18-19 rotations in practice. For bilateral-constrained Toronto they only need 2, or about 11% of available rotations.
DeleteFinding room for just 11% of capacity for top unserved destination excluding PVG should not be the problem if there is a will. Let's look at the other example to understand this better. Top unserved destination in Europe for a long time was Lisbon yet Air Serbia didn't have a will to launch it. Will Wizz move to start LIS force Air Serbia to suddenly find the will to also start LIS? Would Air Transat/Air Canada launch of BEG route force Air Serbia to find a will to start Toronto route? Rhetorical questions.
forgot YYZ.
DeleteWill Air Serbia fly to Daxing in Beijing or Capital Airport?
ReplyDeleteI think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself.
DeleteThere are already flights from Belgrade to Beijing Capital. Maybe offering Daxing could give them some competitive advantage over Hainan?
DeleteCan't wait to see 3 A330-200s line up in Belgrade one next to the other.
ReplyDeleteThat will be a sight for sore eyes.
DeleteFo šur.
DeleteAll the dice are falling into place.
ReplyDeleteGreat. Now they need to work on improving on board service.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Especially long haul business class. And business class in general.
Deleteso my guess is 5 next summer....and after that they SHOULD introduce their own cabin, just for the sake of brand image....
ReplyDeleteThey have their own cabin. It's installed in ARB. There wasn't enough time to install it on ARC, but that will happen sometime this month when it goes in for maintenance.
Delete5 widebodies? Not a chance. Let’s be realistic
Delete^ https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/09/air-serbia-eyes-five-member-wide-body.html
DeleteSure in the long term but growing from 2 now to 5 in SS24 is a bit too optimistic
Delete@JATBEGMEL
DeletePupin is not going for maintenance this month. That will happen during first three weeks of SUTT. Check on JU's website, they have rescheduled flights to JFK and TSN to accommodate those to one A332.
@22,03
DeleteThanks for the correction. I see they've added TSN into the summer schedule with a slight change of timetable :)
219,000+ passengers in January is huge for an airline like Air Serbia. Good work
ReplyDeleteLast January Sofia had 300.000 so if BEG managed to handle over 400.000 then it means they overtook them. This would be huge since Sofia has a lot of ski traffic in winter.
DeleteGreat news!
ReplyDeleteSo YU-ARD!
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the logical continuation.
DeleteWow, it's happening.
ReplyDeleteExactly my very first thought upon reading the title of the article.
DeleteWill it be A330-300?
ReplyDeleteClearly written
Delete"Air Serbia will add the third wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft to its fleet this summer and have it in operation by June or July amid favourable leasing rates on the market."
No, A330-200.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteBecause the capacity suits them.
DeleteAlso 332 has better range compared to 333 - and my personal opinion is that 333 would not suit their current capacity requirements.
DeleteAir Serbia nowhere near needs the A330-200 range, yet in summer and on many destinations (Moscow, Tianjin) they can easily sell A330-300 capacity.
DeleteYou can repeat it 1000 times but it won't change the reality that JU is taking A332.
DeleteYou will have to live with it.
I'm actually not surprised by their move. In some cases A330s are currently being leased under better terms than A320s.
ReplyDeleteAre we going to hear today announcment from Air Serbia about opening BEG-LIS?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your detailed reply.
DeleteAnon 10:33
DeleteNo, we are not going to hear today announcement from Air Serbia about opening BEG-LIS.
That's more detailed for you. ;)
Indeed.
DeleteWhy not just have the regular Air Serbia livery on one A330? It looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference ten years make. Do you remember before 2013 when we had politically appointed CEOs of Jat Airways who knew absolutely nothing about the aviation industry. Imagine them even using the words Marek used. Most don't even know what an A330 is.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do remember that some of them could not even speak English properly.
DeleteI am not defending them, far from it but circumstances were also very different back then. Serbia's economy was much weaker, GDP was much lower, purchasing power was nowhere near where it is today ...
DeleteAir Serbia is operating out of a much stabler and prosperous home market. It also helps them that 200.000 Russians moved to Serbia and that they will plan their summer holidays out of Belgrade.
From November 2023, Sava Centar should be fully operational which should mark the beginning of congress tourism. Civil aviation and the the hotel industry stand to profit the most from it.
GDP
2021: $63 billion
2011: $49.2 billion
Also, at the time of Jat Airways, competition was much stronger. Malev was still around, CSA was a relevant player, OS was quite strong, JP was well positioned in some key regional markets, YM was strong on the BEG-MNE market, Wizz Air was starting to attack them left and right...
It really makes me wonder what would have become of JU if MA never went bankrupt. They were extremely strong in the Balkans and they were even doing well in BEG.
And finally, back then, there was zero political will to actually save and reform JU. Jat Airways was on life support and it was getting weaker and weaker with each passing season. That is why Serbia under SNS had to spend so much money to create Air Serbia. In retrospect it was a wise decision and every single Euro they invested was justified. Now, it's Serbia that is profiting the most from all the investment in JU.
I do agree that it was more difficult to make good company ten years ago, but I truly doubt that ex Jat Airways management would have used the chance of spreading the wings of that company even if they had had more attractive business environment.
DeleteBeside disadvantages that Jat Airways had at that time let's not forget also the advantages they had it back in 2012
- Wizzair had only 1 plane based in BEG, now they have them 4
- Whole LCC presence in BEG was either non existing or much weakier than today (Wizzair, Pegasus, easyJet, FlyDubai, Norwegian)
- Aeroflot was regularly flying to BEG and it is not the case today
- Jat Airways did not have the competition of KLM / Transavia on their flights to AMS or Israeli airlines to TLV
- No airline except Jat Airways was flying from BEG to DXB/AUH. Despite it they were unable to keep it profitable and they closed it.
- Jat Airways management did not use the possibility of having transfer flights via BEG on the way Air Serbia is doing it now and it has nothing to do with Serbian GDP, but with hub model orientation.
- Jat Airways management was making last minute leasing of Bulgarian B733's with wholes in tanks just to save the season as their plan (did they have any?) of C checks went terribly wrong.
- Jat Airways was cannibalizing their own planes (it started with YU-ANH) just to get spare parts for other flying planes cutting on that way any possibility for further grow.
- Jat Airways did not have the costs of planes leasing (except for few of them) as they owned most of their fleet. Despite it they kept making losses and sank further with every passing year.
That's why I said that I am not defending them. I merely pointed out that market dynamics back then weren't as favorable as they are today.
DeleteAir Serbia is growing much faster because it has greater support of the local market. Both business and leisure demand is much greater today than it was back then. That is why numbers at BEG have been growing so much over the years.
I am not sure what a weak economy in 2011 has anything to do with people with high school and fake diplomas leading a national airline. The economy might have been bad, but there is no excuse for random people to lead a company employing 3k people and burning millions every year. If it was me, I would be ashamed to do the job if I was not qualified, even if the state of the country is terrible. It is all about common sense and responsibility.
DeleteWTF??? 😂😂😂😂
Delete@Anonymous 12:57 - I agree with you 100%. Air Serbia has truly changed in almost every single way for better than what it used to be under Jat Airways. This is mostly thanks to Etihad. No matter, how much some of you don't like Etihad, they were able to turn things around and bring some fresh air into JU. They were able to change the mentality and get rid of the old, socialist style attitude and corruption that is unfortunately still so much prevalent all around the Balkans. This is clearly evident from the recent youtube video from Josh Cahill who flew with JU. The JU staff was really professional and doing their best, but then you see his interaction with the airport people, taxi drivers, the military billboards and you realize that the Balkans are still living in the past.
DeleteWell, without political backing and willingness to support all these changes Etihad would have failed. After all, they did fail everywhere else. If JU is the only successful one then it must mean there is more to the story than just EY.
DeleteEtihad might have reset JU but Air Serbia's true transformation came after EY left the airline. That is when things started to change very fast....for the better.
The government removed direct political meddling which allowed for true change to take place.
Pokrenu Toronto u Junu pa ako vide da prodaja karata za zimu ide loše obustave letove i preusmere ih na Kinu. Barem će znati da su pokušali.
ReplyDeleteNe ide to tako brate.
DeleteKako ne ide? Probali su par ruta,nisu uspeli,obustavili letove i idu dalje. Ako Toronto propadne imaju alternativu,Kina.
DeleteDo you have any idea what kind of investment and logistics it takes to start a long-haul route? We're talking millions. You don't just start and stop a long-haul route at a whim.
DeleteApparently routes such as TRS and YYZ is same same, tomato tomahto. It's a plane after all, can't be that complicated.
DeleteJATBEGMEL they are not the same. But when YU-ARA was sitting on tarmac five days a week for about 4-5 winters, that was somehow acceptable. Now that Air Serbia will have three A330s and a growing number of (still most summer seasonal) destinations, then all of the destinations are justifiable EXCEPT Toronto? When winter demand drops for JFK or completely tanks for ORD, that's fine? It will be okay to have YU-ARB, ARC and ARD sit on the tarmac in winter for at least a couple of days a week, as long as that's not due to Toronto seasonality?
DeleteToronto shall not be an excuse for Air Serbia's inability to deploy widebodies in the winter. Once JU's ORD winter numbers are made public don't expect caring and gentle comments.
This is fly Air Serbia ORD flights will fail in the winter:
Deletehttps://forum.beobuild.rs/threads/air-serbia.989/page-373#post-1029180
Rivian recently opened a big research center in Novi Beograd. They have some 200 employees here, mostly engineers. Hopefully this helps fill some seats in business class.
Delete@17,00
DeleteNobody praised JU for keeping ARA on ground for 5 days a week during the winter. However, things have changed and the A330 has seen more use than previously. JFK is up to 3 pw minimum and not 2 as previously, TSN was launched while SVO sees A330 service sometimes even twice a day.
JU management have access to figures that we don't have, they've been very proactive both expanding the network and lowering the losses. I don't see the reason why not to believe the reasoning in not rushing to launch YYZ. Passenger figures don't mean much without knowing the yields, Marek is claiming the cargo numbers are stronger for ORD compared to YYZ. And while mentioning passenger numbers, ORD is was mentioned to be fairly seasonal however YYZ is worse, where the start and end of the season is very one directional. I don't see the benefit in them lying about this.
Let's wait and see how ORD will perform before jumping to conclusions. Who would of thought TSN would perform quite well and previous pax numbers definitely didn't support the launch of the route.
Sure, let's give JFK 5 years to turn profit. Let's wait and see how ORD performs. But no one is giving YYZ a chance to outperform expectations. What if direct line reduces seasonality and reduces one direction characteristics? What if potential codeshare with Porter helps with that? No one mentions that 2 pw flights are not enough capacity for massive demand between BEG and YYZ, giving Air Serbia an opportunity for higher yield due to passengers willing to pay premium for direct service?
DeleteAS will launch MIA flight first, I bet on it...US destination will always be more popular and with higher loads, than canadian one....The biggest reason is visa issues..and even besides family/friends visiting diaspora, who goes to Canada for tourism?? To USA yes, many people go, especially to year-round summer destinations
Delete@01,50
DeleteWe all know JFK was pushed to be launched as a political route. It's not normal for a route needing 5 years to turn a profit. ORD was chosen over YYZ as they already had cooperation with not only AA but B6 as well in the US, with the interline agreement with AA now expanded with an additional 70+ destinations. Are you suggesting Porter will offer something similar to JU in YYZ? Porter is practically non existent in YYZ. JU needs a better partner in YYZ and that is exactly what Marek mentioned.
Congratulations Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteTrue dat
ReplyDeleteSo AS will be the same size as old JAT in a span of 2-3 years.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is planned to be achieved in more difficult political situation and without having domestic market of 22 million people, but much, much less.
DeleteExcept the fact that old JAT owned its entire fleet, while Air Serbia owns only.... the brand Air Serbia
Delete@11,50
DeleteI don't think there is an airline that owns 100% of their fleet. JU doesn't have the finances yet to purchase brand new aircraft. I think in the next couple of years that'll change. In the meantime, it's good to see that the average age of their fleet has significantly dropped.
Besides, not owning aircraft came in handy when the pandemic hit, allowing them to be flexible enough to offload excess capacity and reduce costs.
Realistically speaking, I think after they add the third they will have to slow down and consolidate their operations. I see them maybe adding a 4th next summer but then they might focus on short-haul operations without which long-haul can't work.
ReplyDeleteEven though their network is impressive, now it's time to focus on frequencies and flexibility. All major European airports will need at least triple daily flights.
Anonymous 10:27
ReplyDeleteLOL, sad but true!
"While there was also strong interest for Istanbul, New York and Tianjin" ... why is he not mentioning Moscow / Sochi / St Peterburg all flights to Russia are packed and probably making currently the most direct profit to Air Serbia !?
ReplyDeleteBecause Serbia may impose sanctions against Russia soon. And then it won't look too good.
DeleteThey were getting bomb threats for months for even flying to Russia, and you're wondering why they're not doing more PR for their Russian routes?
Delete@11Ч19 Pregrizi jezik, imam 2 karte za naredne mesece SVO-BEG-SVO a + ni u kom slucaju nam ne bi bilo dobro da uvedemo sankcije Rusiji.
Delete@Anon 11:11
DeleteAir Serbia is not mentioning anything related to Russian routes. They even claim in their Elevate that they have 10 weekly to Moscow, when it's actually 14.
Wondering who will be sweating the most with this news? Lot, OS?
ReplyDeleteAustrian Airlines without a doubt. Just look at the situation in JFK.
DeleteOS is planning to operate daily flights from VIE to JFK onboard their B763 thus offering 1.477 seats in one direction.
Starting from 19.06, JU is planning on increasing BEG-JFK to 6 weekly thus offering a total of 1.542 weekly one way seats.
Naturally, Austrian Airlines has been shifting their focus to EWR which can only mean that they are losing the battle in JFK and are leaning towards the UA fortress hub in New Jersey.
Who would have thought that we would come to that situation where Air Serbia would actually have a greater presence in JFK than Austrian Airlines.
I remember back in 2014 or 2016, OS even operated 9 or 10 weekly flights to JFK in addition to EWR.
What happened with Air Serbia launching daily* JFK flights?
DeleteI think they will have daily flights but later on in the summer. I didn't check after this date since that is when JU will overtake OS. If they go daily to JFK then the difference will be even larger. OS uses the relatively small 767 on the route.
DeleteJU will have a harder time in ORD where OS sends the 777 and where they have UA to rely on.
Great news!
ReplyDeleteWith this news and news about profitability, let’s hope Air Serbia will finally pay their staff at least pre Covid pay!
Why sad?
ReplyDelete@nemjee
ReplyDeleteWell said. IST is already 3 daily, I think the next routes to see 21 pw or more will be ZRH, CDG, VIE and LJU. I think what might be hampering the increase in frequencies could be a lack of suitable aircraft, with the A319 having an ok load on a given route but not enough to boost frequencies. A320 isn't going to make that any better and I don't see JU replacing the A319's with A320's 1 for 1. Regional jets I think is a way to go to boost frequencies, however they don't intend to get them anytime soon. There are quite a few routes where it seems that the ATR isn't enough and the A319 too much capacity. OTP, LJU, TIA, SJJ, TGD, TIV and PRG come to mind.
Hope someone from OU reads this
ReplyDelete"There is always a risk, but the question is what you want to do. If you are sitting in the market that is forecast to be the fastest recovering by IATA, which will grow even faster in the future, growth is the only way to stay on the right side of history and not end up somewhere else".
Even if they read, they don't care. They are there to take percentage on as many deals possible, preferably not related to aviation, due to their knowledge and skills, and to obediently follow orders from highest politicians in order to make them happy, due to their mindset and mentality. They are also there to provide quality feed for the Cartel on expense of tax payers. So, no, they probably read but they don't care. Unfortunatelly, because Croatia with its tourism, diaspora and geopolitic position has everything needed to rock and roll aviation, at least to an extent done currently in Serbia or even more
Delete+1
DeleteI hope it will be A333 and one day it would be nice to see B77L or B77W.
ReplyDeleteOh, not again!
DeleteI am wondering if those 2 destinations they are about to announce, are they linked to A330? Rr are we should be expecting a few more ?
DeleteI do not think that any of new destinations we expect to be announced are linked with new A332.
DeleteWhy would anyone fly to TLV/LIS/AMM/BEY with A332?
What again?
DeleteIt makes no sense for JU to keep accumulating -200 over -300.
I think it would be appropriate to put Jelena Karleusa or Ceca on it. Very representative of the country if not the entire Balkan region :)
ReplyDelete@JATBEGMEL
ReplyDeleteZRH is also 21pw during summer. Swiss also has 21pw, for a total of 42pw for BEG-ZRH route.
Next to get 21pw will be likely be VIE, while CDG will first get 18pw and then 21pw. Same goes for LJU.
What if they buy some Boeing airplane? Like 777’s family or 767
ReplyDeleteWhy do they make a Novak Djokovic model?
ReplyDeleteA319 YU-APC?
DeleteWhat about more flight in Asia (Shanghai dont count), like, Japan, Singapore, Manila ?
ReplyDeleteI always thought about an Asian expansion by JU. Flights would be packed and they would allow transfer especially to Croatia as Croatia has no longer direct connection to South Korea for example which were always full before its hiatus but also Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong could work (added to Shanghai and Beijing)
DeleteManila would never work. It's a notoriously low yielding market where QR and EK dominate due to sufficient O&D demand.
DeleteJU on the other hand should take a closer look at India. Their economy is booming thanks to cheap Russian oil and they are projected to be one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. I think their GDP is set to grow by 6%.
IndiGo is currently leasing a 350 seat B777 from TK to operate BOM-IST. I doubt more than 15% of the passengers are locals, almost all of them are connecting in Istanbul. Once JU's North American and UK network grows they should look at places like Delhi, Bombay or Bangalore. Each arrival from India would have enough passengers to fill a whole A319 to BHX.
The first service where LH reintroduced A380 was Manila, very recently. Phillipino people don't work in Gulf countries only, they work in big numbers all over Europe as well. A lot of them working in Croatia too lately. And Phillipines is not small country, it's huge and densely populated country with certain amount of very rich people who can definitely help boosting yields on tourist travel. Also, even today, big groups of pilgrims from Phillipines regularly visit Medjugorje. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying Manila should have priority over Chinese or some North American destinations, but I wouldn't rule it out completely, especially if JU continues with this fascinating and exciting growth rate and pace
DeleteSIN might make an interesting option if JU goes towards a closer relationship with Oneworld members. QF have BNE/SYD/MEL/PER - SIN flights which may be an attractive option for the Australian market. Not to mention the possibility of a few connections through Jetstar Asia. However, LOT hasn't had success with their WAW-SIN route and they have their Star Alliance partner SQ hubbed at the airport.
DeleteTo catch onto the QF flights, JU would need a schedule roughly:
BEG SIN 0030 1745
SIN BEG 0045 0515
This would allow full connectivity to the entire Western Euro network via BEG and all major QF hubs via SIN.
Manila definitely not. Japan I highly doubt in the short term.
LH A380 went for C-check to LH Technik Philippines in Manila!
DeleteI am leaning with Pozdrav on Manila based on personal experience interacting with them. Global expat community, they love to travel, big families travel together, they are mesmerized by europe, they always ask me where to go in europe,
DeleteI tell them Istria, Cyclades but somehow they get always glued to Germany and i could not figure why is that.
Lufthansa does not fly to Manila. Did you mean some other destination? From Europe I believe only TK and KL fly there.
DeleteI'd love they open BKK, I would be on that flight every 2 months hehe..but how realistic is to have a good load between mid may- late november? Unless catching our diaspora from Australia during the winter season in there..India is a option, from BOM area there is a lot of workers and tourists for Europe..But I racon the best would be to open some southern chinese province hub, because most of our diaspora is in that region, most of chinese diaspora in Balkans is from South ( Canton), and its still quite close for transfer pax for tourist destinations in south-east asia during european winter.. Best option is either SZX, HKG or CAN..much better option than Beijing
DeleteWhat about Washington Dulles? What are the chances in serving that destination in the future?
ReplyDeleteNot a lucrative option unless they join Star Alliance, UA rules IAD
DeleteIn my opinion JU needs fourth A330, Shanghai and Havana flights should be introduced by the end of year, they can start Toronto or Miami next spring. I do also think that they should lease another A220.
ReplyDeleteI meant another A320, sorry for the error.
DeleteI think VIE could easily go to 21 weekly if they work harder on promoting connections to their Italian network. I think all of their destinations would connect both ways.
ReplyDeleteJU really seems to be following the LOT plan. Long haul destinations in UAS/CA & Asia. Fed by there ever growing Euro network.
ReplyDeleteJU could do basically the same, focusing on their home market, the Balkans.
Good luck and cheers!
+1
DeleteIf they succeed with 18pw this summer, 21pw is possible next summer.
ReplyDeleteI hope the next A330 will take an image of Isidiora Sekulic on its tail :) Good luck to them in their expansion plans!
ReplyDeleteDjokovic could be next
DeleteTokyo should be in their pipeline soon, and feed it with Dubrovnik, Split, Tivat, Ljubljana flights
ReplyDelete+ Expo 2025 in Tokyo.
DeleteThese guys are on fire!!!
ReplyDeleteHopefully Belgrade gets to host the expo in 2027, that should give them a nice boost.
ReplyDeleteNemjee17:58 - why would schengen pax connect via nonschengen? i always avoid that.
ReplyDelete@09,05
ReplyDeleteJU already has these transfers, Greece being a big example. JU is the largest airline on the ZAG-ATH market, I believe LJU as well.
BEG also has special status where it is being treated practically equal with the other Schengen/EU airports ie security checks, documents etc so Serbia being non Schengen doesn't matter. Pax from Schengen countries don't need passports to enter Serbia (ID card is sufficient), nor do they need to have additional screening upon arrival into BEG during transit.
Lagos, braćo moja, Lagos, a ne Toronto i Majamiji
ReplyDelete