Air Serbia is looking to improve both its on-board and ground product in the coming months with a range of new services, including trialling on-board streaming and elevating the experience at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport as part of the latter’s infrastructure development. In an interview for EX-YU Aviation News, the company’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “We will be piloting streaming of content, which will run on the narrow-bodies. We will initially test it on the ATR and Airbus for three months, to monitor how important it is for passengers to have access to music, videos, games etc. Based on the outcome of that test, our intention is to go for streaming on the narrow-body fleet, depending on customer feedback and satisfaction”. During its boutique-era service concept up until 2018, Air Serbia provided an "Elevate Play" application, enabling passengers to stream a select number of movies, TV shows and music through tablets, laptops, mobiles and other hand-held devices on its Airbus fleet.
For the time being and with the current technology, the airline has ruled out the reintroduction of Wi-Fi, which was available to passengers across Airbus jets until 2019. “In our case, on-board Wi-Fi had less than 6% usage and that was mostly on long haul flights, while on narrow-bodies it was even less, around 2% to 3%. The original concept was not the best fit and we were recently looking at different models with different providers. However, the current technology with the mentioned share of users is not economically viable. Even if we improved the concept, by reducing the prices, offering different payment models - like one month or annual subscription - usage would never go over 10%”. He added, “At the moment, Wi-Fi is not on our radar. For an airline of our size, the return of such an investment is not economically justified. If we were a larger airline perhaps we could find a provider that would take the entire investment onto themselves, which would quickly pay off from usage and revenue, but at the moment we will concentrate on improving the overall cabin look and feel, content streaming and potentially USB charging option. However, for all these product elevations you need some time to make a feasibility study and determine the size of the investment amounts necessary and what is the return on that investment. After our transformation and return to profitability, our main business objective is to keep this profitability going forward, and by doing so to accomplish long-term sustainability. The five-star boutique airline concept was not the best fit to the market at that time and we are not going down that road, as profitability is not an automatic entry ticket to unreasonable spending”.
Air Serbia also plans to elevate its ground experience with the opening of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport new central processor building, especially for business class passengers. “Part of the VIP carpark will be dedicated to Air Serbia, from where there will be a bridge to the new facility, offering seamless movement of passengers. At the end of the bridge, there will be a dedicated and branded Air Serbia entrance and after entering the building, straight ahead you will be welcomed by dedicated separate business class desks. By separate, I mean there will be a glass-wood partition going up to the ceiling or a little bit below which will have a glass door, and inside there will be refreshments, as well as four to six check-in counters, hotel lobby-style. It may come a bit after the new facility opens as it will need a lot of fine-tuning, however this development is not fully on us. It requires synergies and coordination with the airport operator, additional discussions are ongoing and we strongly hope that we will be able to achieve this together before the summer season”, Mr Marek said. He added, “The majority of the check-in desks in the new building will be dedicated to Air Serbia. We are also, in cooperation with the airport operator, developing a new service desk with an open-space U-shape style design with eight agent seats as an additional touchpoint for our customers”.
Nice to see that streaming will be available on ATR!
ReplyDeletePity about Wi fi though.
Delete^ it didn't make economic sense by the looks of things.
DeleteThey really rushed onboard wifi at the time when it was still new and likely very expensive. Even today it's not yet become industry standard, but in a few years maybe
DeleteThe prices were more or less the same as you have them on other airlines today
DeleteThe prices were ok but the download limit was terrible.
DeletePrices of WiFly
Delete4.90 euros for thirty-minute access (download limit 20 MB)
8.90 euros for sixty minute access (download limit 50 MB)
13.90 euros for access throughout the duration of the flight (download limit 90 MB).
The most important thing they should do is to eliminate chips and introduce tea, coffee and wet-wipes. Perhaps some chocolate bars. This chips thing is so f***** primitive and tasteless. Qatar may discard them only because of it 😂.
DeletePretzels on AA where much better. Only enough liquid is important.
DeleteThey could easily increase the quality of the tech (wifi, onboard entertainment etc) by simply creating a partnership with the ETF faculty of Belgrade. A student project could be created with a prize/award which would be significantly cheaper and probably of better quality than a commercial contract.
Delete@12:13, you are right many nations use their top institutions a source of inovation and self-production, Serbia hasnt gotten the memo that they have the same potential to create their own product and further develop people's skills and knowledge.
Deletebut at the same time there is report air Baltic are introducing free wifi on their planes with Starlink. but they have to get permission first. I think its from Airbus that has to give it.
Quite a few partnerships to benefit the passenger experience could be done but it doesn't work like that, because thought needs to be put into something and thinking is hard (for example, think of the genius idea behind serving chips and not even a napkin to accompany it). Just like previously when Elevate Play was available and there were no charging outlets for devices on aircraft. JU has failed consistently for years with the finer details. Great ideas, poor implementation. And I am convinced that the lack of attention to details costs them alot of money each year, money that could be used for further improving the onboard product ie complimentary tea/coffee.
Delete@12:13 Nice idea, but unfortunately, not very realistic (in the air at least). Regulations for aircraft parts and components are way too rigid. You can't just put something built by a bunch of students in the air. There are many tests and certifications required before a new component can be used. See SR111.
Delete@13:20 I fully agree with you, many nice ideas, but shi**y implementation. And it seems after they implement certain things they don't even bother to review them. Let's hope they will improve further moving forward.
"The five-star boutique airline concept was not the best fit to the market at that time and we are not going down that road, as profitability is not an automatic entry ticket to unreasonable spending”
ReplyDeleteAmen
+1
Deletewow unexpected. Good work Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteThis is great news, especially for people flying longer routes. I hope the feedback will be good and they extended it to the entire narrow body fleet.
ReplyDeleteGood way to pass the time. Even on short flights you can just listen to music.
ReplyDeleteOk good. They should also work on improving IFE on the A330.
ReplyDeleteYes, they need to add much more options and update the content on a more regular basis.
Delete+1
DeleteI like that they will have a separate area for business class passengers. Any chance of a new lounge too?
ReplyDeleteThis would be a good idea. The current one is really crowded at certain times, especially at around midday when it is also being used by QR and FZ passengers.
DeleteA new lounge would be fantastic, the current one is small and it, unfortunately, starts to look dated. Investments have been minimal since they opened. Also the location will not be great anymore, once the new processor opens, it is quite a far way to the end of the C Gates. They opened the lounge up to third party airlines during covid in order to generate additional revenue, downgraded the food and drinks options. Fair enough, but now they should start looking out for their own premium passengers again.
DeleteBut more than a new JU lounge, I am hoping that Dufry's contract finally expires and Vinci takes charge to build and operate something proper. The Dufry lounge is an absolute joke, absolutely neglected, toilets sometimes broken and so on.
Dufry sucks so much.. .They are even managing to destroy the Hellenic Duty Free Shops that were a powerful brand.
DeleteThey are horrible, I hope Vinci can get rid of them soon. Their offering in BEG sucks top to bottom, starting with the food outlets, then the awful lounge, right down to the actual duty free store. Though luckily they now finally offer Serbian meat products and cheese and stopped selling Salami and Parmesan from Italy...
DeleteThis is exactly what they need after these big expansions! Bravo JU!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing they should look into is catering in business class. I think it is great that they offer so many choices and the meals are ok but they have to work on presentation and the recent trend of serving drinks in plastic cups in business' on short haul flights is not the best look.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteYes, the food is fine (or even more than fine) but the presentation gives late 80s vibes. And that's easy to change, really, it's literally just the style of vegetable cutting or the type of plate.
DeleteThe food is okay, but the menus lack finesse. Also, the menu is not rotating often enough. They could also play a bit with the wine offering; there are so many wineries in Serbia that could be featured. The same goes for other products that could be featured.
DeleteFar more important to passengers would have been the introduction of power outlets on every seatback.
ReplyDeleteThose who want to watch movies, tv series etc. on board have already download them on their laptop/smart phone.
What they most need is the ability to charge their devices.
Not accessing a very narrow selection of content that the airline would provide.
Also wifi is becoming standard for airlines flying transatlantically.
The airline should really study the best way to offer it. It is particularly important for pax flying for business. later on it should be introduced on the A320 fleet flying the longer sectors in Europe and the Middle East.
They shouldn't bother with doing anything of the above for the ATR fleet though.
Well they do say they are looking at USB ports. As for Wi Fi I don't think 6% usage is justified to introduce it.
Delete6% usage was for the technology and the fee structure that ASL had introduced during the boutique airline face.
DeleteToday technology exists that allows for much much better speeds. And way more people are connected to the internet away from work/home than 5 years ago.
I would rather they introduced Wi Fi than streaming tbh.
DeleteIf only 6% used wifi I wonder how many will use this streaming.
DeleteThat's why they say they will trial it first on some planes.
DeleteI think it will be welcomed on flights like London, Moscow, Kazan, Cairo, Tel Aviv... Plus who knows what kind of route they plan to introduce in the future.
DeleteAnon 09:14
Delete+1000
@09,46
DeleteWiFi and inflight steaming is 2 separate things. I never used their WiFi as I found it expensive and I could go the 5-6 hours between AUH and BEG without it (back when they had the product) but I did use the Elevate Play app to stream movies and TV shows. I personally loved it. Streaming I am sure will be very popular with the customers, especially if it includes the inflight map and flight information. I just hope that this time around the app is device friendly as it was really poorly designed the last time around.
Will you have to download an app to stream these or will you just enter some website on board where it will bee available?
ReplyDeleteThe latter.
DeleteFinally ex-yu airlines embracing new technology
ReplyDeleteAlmost 10 years after this technology was new :D
DeleteAt one point JU was very much ahead of the pack with wifi on almost all planes and streaming.
DeleteThe use of the service though (WiFly) was very expensive and also slow by today standards.
DeleteGood work JU.
ReplyDeleteWhen can we expect for them to start testing the streaming?
ReplyDeleteNow we talking! Excellent work, Air Serbia
ReplyDeletethe streaming service is free right?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteThe thing that I like is that they are constantly talking about profitability and financial sustainability. A welcome change.
ReplyDeleteNoticed that too. The way every business should.
DeleteSo both JU and OU will offer streaming soon.
ReplyDeleteOU will have streaming?
Delete^ https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/01/croatia-airlines-to-roll-out-on-board.html
DeleteThanks. Missed that.
DeleteRegarding Wifi, could using Starlink be more profitable for the airline? I read recently that Air Baltic is introducing it across the fleet
ReplyDeletehttps://www.airbaltic.com/en/airbaltic-to-equip-entire-fleet-with-spacex-starlink
Deutsche Telecom has introduced a hybrid system called the European Aviation Network that combines satellites with land based special antennas that offers much bigger speeds when flying overland and is currently being used by LH group, IAG group, and Aegean airlines in Europe.
DeleteThe coverage of the system:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/EAN_Standorte_EU.png/800px-EAN_Standorte_EU.png
Cruise companies are also switching to Starlink. Certainly increases the speed, I am not sure how Starlink is priced though.
DeleteStarlink is superior to DT product
DeleteThe DT product is much faster than Starlink when flying overland.
DeleteThere won't be much coverage of DT product in majority of countries Air Serbia flies over for many years if ever. Starlink does Netflix HD streaming. Game over.
DeleteBlast from the past, JAT entertainment options
ReplyDeletehttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XV7KTBOCtYA/U432Edbjo-I/AAAAAAAAM2o/SMbqTn5jtaQ/s1600/1964968_650508648330821_1135117189_n.jpg
Simply amazing :)
DeleteGreat!! but no dates mentioned! When?
ReplyDeleteVery soon
DeleteThis is great news. A good way to attract more customers. Congratulations Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone choose their intra European flight based on whether streaming is offered on the plane?!?
Deletehaha
Delete@09,43
DeleteThere is a decent sized market that goes after the product or airline and not just price. You have filters on search engines for specific carriers, alliances, times of departures, number of stops etc as well as information on the onboard product. There is even options to see your carbon footprint when booking an airline. Not everyone looks at price, even on our market which generally is price sensitive.
Is it really necessary when most flights are an hour and a half long?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to stream Žikina dinastia.
DeleteFor now, that may be the case. But their newer destinations are getting longer (OSL, MAD, AGP, VLC, LIS, KZN). Going forward, it is expected that they'll extend that list further and an improvement to their onboard product will be a must to remain competitive. A plus side to onboard streaming could be to further advertise the airline, destinations, route network, fun facts about their fleet, while the Serbian tourism board could provide additional advertisement material to encourage more tourism to our country. It could be a way to advertise the frequent flyer program. Perhaps even to order from the onboard menu which could be synchronised to a main device that crew could see, providing a more efficient service. It's not only about movies, music and TV shows.
DeleteAdria also introduced streaming shortly before bankrupcy.
DeleteWonder if they will bring the Elevate Play name back for this service :D
ReplyDeleteI wondered whether the technology has ever been removed from the aircraft that they installed it on.
DeleteIt's good to see that Air Serbia starting to realise the importance of investing in customer friendly products.
ReplyDeleteI really love how AirSerbia is developing and enjoy reading the news about them. But, if you really want to improve your product, please start with the basics that are still missing. The fact that there is no online check-in on a number of airports is just frustrating! I happen to live in a city where online check-in is not available and even though I usually travel just with the hand luggage, I always have to spend half an hour in the queue in order to check in. Come on - don't overlook the basics! Compared to this, catering, USB plugs, Wi-Fi and the rest are simply less important. This is really not acceptable.
ReplyDeleteAnd even when you do check in online in BEG, when you go to security they ask you to go and collect a printed borarding pass, and not have it on your phone. I noticed this last week (not JU’s fault, but BEG’s)
Delete@Anonymous 11:15
DeleteYes, I heard that too from a relative flying to visit us, a couple of weeks ago.
What happened to the "new" A-320 YU-APS (ex-Wizz HA-LWK)? It's sitting on ground in Katowice for two weeks now.
ReplyDeleteusb ports are a really handy feature. Pity more airlines don't install them in seats. It's not so difficult.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much it costs the airline to install this. I doubt it's a huge investment but I don't really know.
DeletePower plug would be useful too
DeleteThe question is, whether USB C wouldn't actually be the way forward, considering the EU made USB C the new mandatory standard from 2024 onwards. (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220930IPR41928/long-awaited-common-charger-for-mobile-devices-will-be-a-reality-in-2024)
DeleteMost modern seats that have USB ports come with both -A and -C standards.
DeleteUSB sockets, please!
ReplyDeleteFor me, if a plane has USB socket, so I can charge my phone, the comfort of the whole journey skyrockets!
The thing is, when you travel, you use your phone more, so the battery empties quicker. But also, you really need your phone, so having options to recharge the battery is very important. I'm surprised more airlines don't realize how much good will they can generate with their passengers by having USB sockets onboard. It should be a no brainer to include it with every upcoming cabin refurb.
+1000
DeleteExcellent news. It is good that they are starting to put more focus on their onboard experience and product. Same with their A330 cabins too.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be constantly looking at how things will affect their bottom line, which is a good thing actually.
ReplyDeleteit is already competitive compared to other similar sized airlines in Europe.
ReplyDeleteWithout power outlets on each seat thatd be pointless.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteStarlink free of charge for passengers plus latest generation seaatback IFE for widebodies.
ReplyDeleteFree will bring usage to 50% or more. Great for Air Serbia promotions, paid ads etc. IFE today has to have Bluetooth and USB-C
DeleteI fly almost every month and I have never needed any of those gadgets. And I charge my phone before I leave for the airport. Even on trans Atlantic flights, there are always a good number of films to watch so there is no need for any upgrades. Save your $ Air Serbia. And don't worry about pleasing these "spoiled travelers".
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteIf they want to be regional leader they should go back to offering complimentary catering including wine and beer. For that matter so should OU!
ReplyDeleteIs this a joke? Air Serbia cares about customer service??? How about start picking up a phone and returning emails, pls? In 2 days will be exactly 3 days that I filed claim on their web site on broken luggage arriving on NY flight, not a peep from them.
ReplyDeleteNot enough coffee in the morning, typo above. 3 months without reply
Delete