Air Serbia has scheduled the launch of night-time flights to Sarajevo Airport, which will be the latter’s first after announcing it would become operational 24 hours per day. The Serbian carrier will add a further three weekly rotations between Belgrade and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital from June 12 for a total of ten weekly services. The night flights will depart Belgrade on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 00.45, arriving in Sarajevo at 01.35. The return service will take off at 04.30, arriving in the Serbian capital at 05.20. Tickets for the new additions are now available for purchase through the airline’s website.
The additional flights will enable Air Serbia to offer convenient connections for Sarajevo passengers to almost its entire network of destinations. Customers arriving from Air Serbia’s evening wave of European flights will be able to transfer onto the Sarajevo service departing after midnight, while those arriving in Belgrade in the morning will have the opportunity to connect onto the carrier’s largest daily departure wave. The additional Sarajevo frequencies also make it possible for travellers to connect onto Air Serbia’s transatlantic network with short connecting times to and from New York and Chicago. The increase in frequencies will mark the largest volume of scheduled weekly flights between Belgrade and Sarajevo since 2013, when both Air Serbia and the now-defunct B&H Airlines maintained flights on the route for a short period.
Air Serbia is also expanding its ATR fleet. Next week, the carrier will wet-lease an ATR72 from Danish Air Transport on a longer-term basis. The turboprop is expected to arrive in Belgrade tomorrow and has already been scheduled on several regional routes including Budapest and Prague. It joins Air Serbia’s regional fleet of five dry-leased ATR72-600s and one wet-leased Air Connect aircraft of the same type. Furthermore, the airline is to take delivery of another dry-leased ATR72-600 in the coming weeks, during June, while an additional ATR is expected to arrive in August.
its time to buy some regional aircraft like CRJ or Embraer 🙃
ReplyDeleteBetter Embraer.
DeleteOrder Embraers but use CRJs parked in Ljubljana for a year or so, to get the best possible lease agreement on long term basis for Embraers
DeleteAnd how many CRJs are parked in Ljubljana? Who is owner?
DeleteMy guess is about 10ish (mix of - 900 and - 1000) all returned to the lessor
Delete09:07 over 10, most owned by Irish lessors.
DeleteAnd all this time they haven't found a company to fly for?
DeleteDefinitely! Few weeks ago I was on a ATR and Air Serbia/handler offloaded about 10-15 bags from the plane, including my own, because the plane was overweight?!
DeleteI did get m luggage the next day but it is insane that the ATR cannot carry the luggage for the entire plane, particularly as the regional destinations are usually packed with transfers that carry heavier luggage on average.
I loved ATR but after this experience I believe they have to change them and stop embarassing themselves.
Exactly, that's why leasing them for a few years actually isn't a bad idea at all, they would probably be dirt cheap
Delete
Delete09:11
I am wondering the same thing!
It's odd that they were offloading luggage since LJU is not one of the longest ATR routes, heck it's quite short. I think there must have been another reason. Maybe there was cargo onboard or some technical limitation with the aircraft.
Delete9:11 + 9:17
DeleteYes the planes are currently parked in Ljubljana without anyone wanting them, I think CityJet took two CRJ1000s and is operating them for LH this summer, but that's it
An ideal option for any Slovenian airline. I don't understand why no one cares about CRJ. This is one of my favorite planes. Same with the Dash, again a great plane that has also been forgotten.
DeleteCRJ aircraft are repaired at LJU, it is normally full of such aircraft.
DeleteIf nothing else, technical bases profit from the fact that no one buys them. Lessors pay themselves.
It would be great for JU to take a few CRJ900 jets. Fits perfectly for regional and further European fligjts
Deletei dont think many people want the CRJ's or even embraers now. Looking at what a lot of airlines are doing is ordering the A220 to use instead of the designed regional jets like the CRJ's and Embraers.
DeleteEven LOT is doing the same.
But i agree air Serbia should take on the regional jets. Allow to increase frequency, very flexible with low capacity. can do short hops for the region and fly across europe.
Between ATR and The A220 they are squeezing Embraers market
I highly doubt JU can afford the A220. If they had the money they would have taken the A320neo they had on order.
DeleteThey need cheap planes to keep their costs down until they are financially stable. Getting a few second hand E90/95 could do wonders for them. They could completely remove the A319.
E190/195 insted of a319? This would be step back. I believe Yu will go in direction of a320 insted. Only one self proclamed "analyst" is capable of recomending e195 insted of Airbus. What a waiste.
DeleteI'm saying that they should keep the A320 but replace the A319 with E90/95.
DeleteSo you recomend to reduce capacity? Smart decision, šć.
DeleteNo, I am saying that they should adjust it. Are you aware that there are many routes today that are simply too big for the A319? Some of them include SKG, CPH, BRU, STR, NUE ...
DeleteBy replacing the A319 with the E90/95 you could improve the route's economics which will enable you to add more frequencies. More frequencies means that you are more competitive.
In addition to these they should keep on adding A320s for routes that have a higher passenger volume. With the E90/95 there is simply no need for a subtype such as the A319.
Nemjee is right. The A320 is needed on routes that have demand and also slot restricted. But the A319 are less efficient so replacing them with the cheaper to operate Embraers would allow for cheaper ticket prices, also increase in frequency. A higher frequency, attracts more passengers/ transfer passengers and people outside Serbia since there is more scheduled flights and opportunity for them to catch them.
DeleteEmbraers are smaller capacity so more ideal when looking for opportunity to introduce new routes.
Also there many A319 operated routes with 100 or less passengers onboard. By replacing them with, let's say, an E90 you could also improve your economics by reducing the number of crew that operates a certain flight (from 3 to 2).
DeleteLOT did exactly that, they seem to be extremely happy with the E90 and they currently have 8 of them in the fleet. I am sure they used them to upgrade many routes that previously saw the E70/75.
Air Serbia on the other hand wouldn't have to upgrade certain ATR routes to A319 which would be doubling of capacity. Instead routes such as SKG, OTP, LJU, PRG... would be increased from 70 to 100 seats per flight. Much easier and more economical than going from 70 to 144 especially with JU's weak commercial strategy.
Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteThe ATR delivered in June is currently registered as EI-FCY and flew from Germany to UK to be painted
ReplyDeleteHow many days do they need to paint? On May 22, it flew from MGL to EXT for painting.
Delete5-10 days.
DeleteThanks. And after painting, how long do they need to get it ready to fly?
DeleteIt depends on whether it will need maintenance. Probably after they certify it it will be released. Possibly around June 20.
DeleteKnowing the company, won't before July.
DeleteCAA Corruption not JU
DeleteFinally. These are very good news. I believe this will make JU far more competitive in Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this is an important move for the local economy as it will make the city and the surrounding areas much more accessible. With this morning arrival they can get access to JU's growing network in Italy, Spain etc.
Hopefully they increase BEG-SJJ to double daily soon. Their daytime flight is packed all the time. I don't think there is a single flight with less than 55 passengers.
By the way, is there public transport that late at night? What are your options to reach the city? Taxi?
Only taxi I believe.
DeleteBEG-SJJ-BEG 63 and 59 pax today.
DeleteI am very happy with this. Always thought that everyone is neglecting regional routes and happy that Air Serbia is finally doing something.
DeleteHopefully they continue this and one day the Yug will be much better interconnected.
Unfortunately bilateral agreements are a problem but I think the whole of ex-YU could profit from improved inter-connectivity. Air Serbia is the only airline that could do it.
DeleteSo far they are successfully operating the following routes:
INI-LJU
INI-TIV
KVO-TIV
Though I think the following route could also work:
BNX-TIV
SKP-SJJ
SKP-TGD
SJJ-TIV
All of these could do very well with the ATR.
SJJ Airport still has a long way to go. Night flights are a good first start, and the renovation is supposed to give it a fresh look, but they still need to have at least a bus line to the city center and vice versa, the taxis could start accepting credit and debit cards as a form of payment, and the airport could look into getting a proper business lounge, since the current “lounge” is a total disaster, worth only if you’ve got LoungeKey or a similar subscription, otherwise I’d never pay $30 to access that disaster over there.
DeleteSarajevo has a bus service that costs 5KM and the timetable is based on the arriving flights, they often do 2-3 buses in the summer, while there's room for improvement it's certainly better. Sarajevo Taxi does have an option to pay with card and the drivers can opt in or out (since the company is just an association of independent drivers), they probably don't want to have fixed prices and keep their scammy ways. New area for lounge is ready and I think SJJ will move there within a month or so, as the stores in new area open and the restaurant is ready
DeleteNice times for transfers to USA, also and Europe.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's good that Air Serbia is the first company to introduce night flights.
Delete+1
DeleteOne more option ( with good fares, airline and times) for bosnians to fly to Europe also and JFK, ORD.
They should do the same in Ljubljana
ReplyDeleteI think the airport is closed at that time. That said it's time they bring back midday departures to LJU.
DeleteJU tried night flights to ZAG and those didn't perform that well, there were around 20-something passengers per flight.
Ljubljana needs to have early departure flights, as there is literaly no connectivity.
DeleteSo "ideal" would be 4am flight, you arrive by 10 to your destination in eu, and depart back at 7/8pm arriving in ljubljana at 2 or so in the morning
Actually if LJU-BEG would operate early in the morning, you could reach any major European city before 09.30. Some like CDG arrive at 09.15 for example. Only question is if you could operate at those hours in LJU.
DeleteCharters in the summer often arrive at 3am, so i think something could be done...But I agree, midday flights will be first on their to-do list
DeleteMidday flights and would be good if they grew a pair and increased BEG-LJU to A319 on the busiest days like Friday and Sunday afternoon.
DeleteBoth Ljubljana and Prague are mature enough for the A319.
I'm always wondering who are the passengers that need extremely early morning flights and are prepared to forgo sleep in order to catch a flight at 04:00. Usually, the argument is that these passengers are flying for business. I'm based in Ljubljana and work in IT. Most of my business is done online, so when I travel for business, I prefer afternoon flights. This is because most of my business interactions happen during dinners, and official meetings are just to finalize deals rather than engage in serious business negotiations. However, one thing that is lacking in LJU is the availability of afternoon flights. As a result, I usually opt for AF flights whenever possible. I have also worked for the European Commission, where morning flights were not permitted. This was because a lot of lobbying took place the day before meetings, and most member state representatives were already in Brussels a day prior. For some countries, the argument was the need for lobbying, while for others, it was ensuring that their representatives were fresh and ready for active participation rather than being half asleep throughout the day. Active participants in conferences would never take a morning flight on the same day as the conference starts. It is common for participants to be present for the first plenary lecture on the starting date, and you wouldn't want to miss that. Therefore, it doesn't surprise me that the very early ZAG-BEG flights were quite empty.
DeleteWell the night flights to ZAG were empty but they are far from empty to/from IST, ESB, ATH, SKP, OTP etc.
DeleteObviously there is enough demand for JU to keep on flying overnight. Morning flights are popular with businessmen who do not want to spend the night at their destination. For example you can have someone from LJU flying via BEG to BER where he would arrive at 09.00.
He could have meetings the whole day, have a business lunch and take a flight back at 20.30 in the evening and be back in LJU by 01.00.
What is the number of leased planes now?
ReplyDeleteATR72 from Air Connect
ATR72 from DAT
A320 Dan Air
A319 Dan Air
Are they have more?
They will add 737 from Klas Jet.
Delete737 from Klas jet is flying for a week now
DeleteAlready using 737 from Klasjet
DeleteThanks I understand
DeleteMany weeks.
DeleteWhat percent are p2p passengers on SJJ flights?
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one noticing but the flights to Egypt are less than previous years?
ReplyDeleteNormal. This year, Spain is far more popular, as is Italy. Also, Athens is holding up well, and besides everything, Tunisia is also back.
DeletePlus Egypt got much more expensive since the Russians came back.
DeleteTurkey also
Delete
ReplyDeleteI find ACMI a good alternative, but it's not normal to have 4 planes in the winter months. I hope they realize themselves and don't ruin their program with new destinations. The new A320,321, Atr72 and A330 will be key to improving the company this summer.
I am glad these flights are starting. Belgrade and Sarajevo will be much better connected. And I hope Air Serbia won't have any fleet issues to cover all the new flights.
ReplyDeleteKonačno. Cene karata na pojedinim letovima idu i do 300e u jednom smeru a često su im letovi do SJJ i rasprodati.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if all the crews are Serbian, Ex-Yu, or even international? Because fleet is growing. I like the detail having someone serving in my native language. :)
ReplyDeleteOn JU flights crew is Serbian. Serbs are proud of their airline that is shu thousands apply to work there.
DeleteI think only carriers that base planes in other countries will employ foreigners. Or arab carriers hire foreigners (but thats for their cultural reasons).
DeleteIf air Serbia expanded regional operation and connectivity then they could start employing other Ex-yu, but that would mean they operating more like JAT, dont think many would be want that. All the countries want their own separate identity carriers.
At this pace the only local carrier left will be Air Serbia.
DeleteAdria is gone, Montenegro Airlines is gone, Air Bosna is gone, Dubrovnik Airline is gone, MAT is gone, Aviogenex is gone...
Air Montenegro is struggling and so is Croatia Airlines. Looking at the financial performance of both carriers one doesn't have many reasons to be optimistic.
Will this aircraft get an Air Serbia style interior as well?
ReplyDeleteHardly I suppose, they lack time. Just flew with the new A320 with grey recaro seats.
DeleteRe. operations, JU seriously increased number of routes and flightes. It’s possible to find aircraft for the new demand, but it is not to find qualified crew, especially domestic, in such a short period of time. The demand for pilots in Serbia currently is unprecedented. At the same time, many of experienced JU pilots can find very lucrative jobs in the middle east and elsewhere, as the air travel is picking up everywhere. Just look at the demand in India… it will be a real challenge to have good and qualified crews in the following period.
OMG they didn't lease ATR-600 but ATR-500 (SE-MDC)
ReplyDeleteWhat are they thinking??
Its a wet lease, who cares
DeleteXYZ
DeleteWhere is problem?
It would be a lot easier for those of us working in Sarajevo if JU scheduled a d flight at 530pm, so we can take the flight after work instead of driving over 5 hours.
ReplyDeleteWhy a 3 hour delay between arriving and departing?
ReplyDeleteSo the connection to their morning wave of Belgrade departures would be short.
Deletethe carrier will wet-lease an ATR72 from Danish Air Transport on a longer-term basis
DeleteLONG TERM
So if no one cares, why don't they fly MDs?
This will be great for Sarajevo travelers with a layover in Belgrade to New York/Chicago
ReplyDeleteI am living in Riyadh and i actually fly in summer to Sarajevo and then take the bus to Serbia .
ReplyDeleteIn winter i fly to Begrade with Flydubai .
So not only people from Sarajevo transfer with JU but also SJJ with its abundant offer of middle eastern flights is a preferred transfer place for visiting Balkans in summer .
Flying from Sarajevo can be dirt cheap if you go to UAEs.
DeleteI also know people from Belgrade and Zagreb that have a nice stopover for some nights and then take the flight to the Gulf.
Tivat is also good for flying into Gulf countries now .
DeleteA lot of people in Beograd spend time in CG .This year Flynas AND Jazeera come to Tivat .
Perfect.
You can also take Tivat to Kuwait and nonstop back to Beograd with Jazeera.
Choices are now manifold.
Unless they offer very lucrative fares to the US (SJJ-BEG-ORD/JFK and vice versa), I don't see why anyone would go for such an early flight and connect with JU instead of going with TK via IST midday. Their hard product is inferior, inconsistent and quite often unreliable, but I wish them best of luck.
ReplyDeleteWell, there's language as an obvious advantage, and TK has got really expensive on long-haul as well.
DeleteYeah because TK to JFK from Sarajevo is a very direct routing. Lol
Delete@21:06
DeleteZato su im avioni puni u podne pa dodaju nocne. Bas zato sto niko nece sa JU pored TK da putuje.
Two key decision factors: price and schedule. Air Serbia can get you from Sarajevo to New York cheaper and faster. For those who don't speak Turksih or English or would like to avoid transfer at a mega hub airport, Air Serbia has an alternative.
Delete21:35 It is not about the routing but the total time of travel. If you have a shorter transfer to JFK in BOTH WAYS and the price is almost the same, obviously you will book TK and not JU or the other way round. Believe it or not, QR also offer fares to JFK from the Balkana.
DeleteAir Serbia will have shorter total time of travel once night flights are launched.
DeleteAs someone mentioned above, TK is really not cheap on long-haul flights. Their pricing has gone up quite a bit.
DeleteI guess it boils down to personal preference. During covid I had to fly to the US via IST. I did it once and never again unless I am forced to. The backtrack from Belgrade is really exhausting as it adds at least 2 hours of extra travel time. From Sarajevo it would be even more. My guess is that TK would have to have seriously low fares for someone to choose them over JU, OS or LH.
It's a no brainer that flying direct from BEG to JFK/ORD add significant benefits, however if one needs to connect from SJJ and backtrack anyways, additional 1-2h with superior product does make a difference, given you are spending 10+ hours in the air anyways. And clearly it is a personal preference, but I would always go for a normal departure time (traveling with kids) rather than taking a 4:30am flight. Not to mention flexibility/reliability in case of cancellations and delays. I'm sure they will attract some customers, but they will need to factor the above and price accordingly.
DeleteAs much as I love (Air) Serbia, I am concerned about the aircraft wet lease or orders in the speed they are happening.
ReplyDelete1. How about management capacity like crew planning
2. Isn't much of traffic from Russia which could stop soon?
3. Where to utilize the capacity in winter
Love to Serbia from Vietnam
1. wet lease means that the plane arrives with crew needed to operate the flight. Air Serbia doesn't have to worry about staffing flights which are operated by these planes.
Delete2. Russia no longer plays such a key role because the overall number of flights is not that big. You have Moscow with 14 weekly, Sochi with 3, Kazan with 2 and St. Petersburg with 3. That's 22 weekly flights in total. Moscow has fewer flights than Istanbul and about the same number as Vienna, Zurich etc.
3. Not all planes will fly in winter. Many are supposed to go for regular maintenance and so on. Also, planes aren't flying as much as they do in summer and that is when most of their crew goes on holidays. I expect JU to have a busier winter than they did last year so there should be more movement in and out of Belgrade.