Air Serbia eyes second destination in Poland


Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, has said the airline is considering introducing flights to Wroclaw, in Western Poland following the success of its newly launched service to Krakow this summer, and will review the possibility of restoring flights to Warsaw it discontinued in 2016, but will first seek cooperation with LOT Polish Airlines on the route. Speaking to “Rynek Lotniczy”, Mr Marek said, “We are very pleased with how Belgrade - Krakow - Belgrade flights are performing. We have had a very high load factor on the route from the beginning. Half of the passengers are transit travellers who fly via Belgrade to Croatia, Greece and the United States. The route has a very high potential to be operated daily from the new year”.

Commenting on its potential next destination on the Polish market, Mr Marek said, “In the near future, we may come to Wroclaw”. The CEO is confident the carrier will eventually restore operations to Warsaw but will first seek out cooperation with LOT Polish Airlines, which maintains flights between the two cities. “At this moment, LOT Polish Airlines connects Warsaw with Belgrade. We are talking about entering into a codeshare agreement. We believe that such cooperation makes more sense. Warsaw is a destination tailored to jet operations, and our jet planes fly to places where we can make a profit. Sooner or later Warsaw will join our network. We are at the beginning of talks. Air Serbia has already had a codeshare agreement with LOT in the past. Interestingly, when I worked for LOT, I signed them”.

The airline’s priority in developing its network is to first target destinations with high volumes of point-to-point traffic. “Our strategy is to offer point-to-point services, we don't want our traffic to be dominated by transfers. Currently, transit traffic oscillates around 30%. Some of our routes are "pure" transfer, such as Tirana, but on routes to leisure destinations such as Palma de Mallorca or Valencia, point-to-point traffic dominates. Usually, it is above 90%. The first choice will be routes where we can offer point-to-point services”, the CEO said. The airline plans to introduce flights to China as soon as it secures a third wide-body aircraft but will also work on stabilising its services this winter following an operationally challenging summer. “Of course, there are always new network development options, but we want the current network to become more mature. We will increase frequencies and improve international connectivity”, Mr Marek said. He added. “I would say that at the moment, our main goal is to make sure that development in Belgrade is possible. We are struggling with issues faced by the airport operator. We need a buffer, so we want to stabilise the execution of our operations”. 

Photo curtsey of Aleksa Vladisavljević



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Now that they have Embraers I am sure that WAW and many more destinations in Poland would be a success.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    WAW should be a higher priority.
    As is MUC.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:18

      They want to open WAW in cooperation with LO.

      The same could work with MUC, but we all know that LH would not like to cooperate with JU. It is sad, but is is true. They are probably still angry because JU started having cooperation with EK something like 12-15 years ago.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:21

      I don't think Air Serbia would like to cooperate with LH either. Most European airlines that cooperate closely with LH have become their feeders.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:33

      I understand your point, but I think there are still airlines that cooperate with them without being their exclusive feeder.

      LO for example.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:33

      or Aegean.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:44

      I disagree that WAW makes more sense. Why enter a bloodbath with LOT when each company can have to itself a market that makes more sense to them? Let LOT have WAW and let ASL have KRK and WRO. And let them have accompanying margins. It's actually also good for the passengers -- they might pay more than in a rough competition, but in return they will have two healthy, stable carriers offering flights at decent prices. If WAW eventually grows so much that there is space for two carriers to make a healthy profit, then the story changes. But we're not there yet

      Delete
    7. Anonymous22:46

      So far it seems that a deal is LOT in Warsaw, LH in Munich.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    Bravo AirSerbia! 👏🇷🇸 Great to see them keep growing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    Glad to hear Krakow is doing well. Surprised they will go for Wroclaw ahead of Gdansk.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    Can Wroclaw be operated with an ATR?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      I think it would be too long. PRG is already pushing a limit with ATR.

      Probably E190 would be perfect for this route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      It is great that they now have Embraer planes that can be used on newer routes than need to develop.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee09:17

      PRG and WRO are more or less the same distance so there shouldn't be a problem. Flying time to Prague is 1 hour and 40 minutes so not a big deal for the ATR.
      Let's not forget that a few years ago JU sent the ATR in winter to both Berlin and Stuttgart where both are longer.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:20

      That must have been a comfortable ride to Berlin :D

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:22

      Yes, you are right Nemjee. My foolish guessing was that WRO is quite longer route than PRG.

      BER and STR were flown by ATR but it was not standard equipment for these routes while PRG is flown only by ATR.

      Flying 1h40min on ATR is not a pleasure, but now with ATR72-600 it is much more bearable than it was the case with ATR72-200

      Delete
    6. Nemjee09:26

      Indeed, now that they have the E90 they can upgrade some routes. Until then the ATR is their best bet. I agree that flying almost two hours on the ATR is not ideal but it's a must in order to keep a high number of frequencies on the route.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:11

      I traveled with the ATR from BEG to STR. Took nearly three hours. Not the most comfortable thing.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:00

      @Nemjee is right. BEG-WRO is the same distance as BEG-PRG. ATR can make it easily.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:58

      My longest flight on the ATR was when Jat used to fly to MUC. I think it was back in 2007. We flew on YU-ALS, the one where you board from the front. Took us 02 hours and 45 minutes. Horrible.

      Delete
    10. Nemjee13:58

      Forgot to sign my comment above.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:36

      How is it possible that with ATR72

      BEG-PRG is 1h40 min for 740 km and

      BEG-MUC is 2h45min for 770km?

      Delete
    12. Nemjee16:29

      No idea. I guess we had unfavorable winds, maybe a longer flight path due to traffic and we were flying on an older and I suppose slower variant of the ATR.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous17:06

      Just no way

      Delete
  6. Hater09:05

    Who would have guessed that point to point travelers are preferable to connecting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Thankfully, they develop both hand in hand.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:12

      P2P passengers bring more money, it is obvious.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:13

      Hopefully the number of connecting pax who actually do not make any money for JU will decrease.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:14

      And you know transfer traffic makes no money? Wow, Emirates must be loosing billions since they were founded.

      Delete
    5. Nemjee09:18

      Indeed, transfer passengers are such a loss making business. Just ask Qatar Airways, Emirates, Icelandair... about it.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:28

      Nobody said it is loss making business. Bad attempt to twist my words.

      The point is that airline earns more money on P2P routes than on transfer passengers. Just have a look on TK prices to IST and to other surrounding destinations in their offer. You will see that transfer ticket price is always cheaper than 2 separate tickets.

      That was my point.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:37

      Transfers are a normal part of business. Your comment "Who would have guessed that point to point travelers are preferable to connecting!" is trying to spin how they just realized that and basically have no P2P traffic, when, in actual fact, it makes up 70% of their overall traffic.

      Delete
    8. Slav.Man11:19

      If JU wants to turn BEG into a hub for the balkan region then Marek must increase transfers also.
      otherwise there would be no poiint in getting more ATR to develop the regional network. the long haul routes to new york and chicago are successful because of transfers and this will be the same for any future long haul destinations to north america.

      So yes point to point is better if you can get it. but to be a balkan hub then they will need to keep transfers at about 30%

      Delete
    9. P2P passengers are in theory better for the city/country, but in terms of the airline itself, it makes no significant difference.

      Delete
    10. Nemjee14:03

      P2P is is always a welcome addition but it's not always there. Also, this market segment is not uniform and yields are not the same all around.
      P2P between London and Paris is not the same as the one between Sofia and Dortmund. At times transfer passengers might be more lucrative than P2P.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:49

      Well, surely there are exceptions like SVO now for example.

      But, let's not forget that JU was selling LHR-IST for something like 120 EUR one way.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous16:48

      P2P is where the fat margins are. The premium that the passengers are willing to pay for P2P -- especially in this age of routine delays and lost luggage -- is substantial. Every sensible company will seek to maximize P2P traffic, while also developing transfers as normal part of business (which also helps develop routes for P2P traffic)

      Delete
    13. Nemjee16:52

      Theoretically yes, practically not always. BEG-BNX is almost exclusively made up of P2P yet yields are not fat since fares they are charging are not high.
      BEG-NCE was another market where P2P dominated but the moment JU increased their fares the market migrated to W6.
      Unless you are based in a major economical center such as London, Paris, Milan, New York... then you will have a lot of price sensitive passengers who will chase the cheapest fare on the market. That is why it is not unimaginable that certain market might actually survive thanks to transfers rather than P2P.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous00:19

      On top of that, if there were no transfers, P2P couldn't be handled the way they do it now. Would Krakow be possible without transfers? No. And there is P2P demand. Thanks to transfers, we get more choice, people, not less.

      Delete
    15. @Nemjee Exactly.

      Delete
    16. Nemjee06:43

      Exactly the more transfers they get the more flights they can add. With higher frequency they can actually attract more people from the wider region.
      A P2P passenger on this route doesn't necessarily have to be someone from Krakow or Belgrade, it can be someone from Osijek, Tuzla, Timisoara, Subotica, Szeged etc.

      BEG has a large catchment area which should fuel even more demand as the standard of living improves.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:08

    I wasn't aware the codeshare with LOT is no longer valid. What happened?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:24

      Because LO decided to expand in Belgrade and the rest of the Balkans. They don't need JU to grow in this region. Mind you, LO is a tough player, they don't mind picking a fight with big players regardless if it's United, Lufthansa or Turkish Airlines.

      Just look at how well they are doing in India despite competing with MEB3. They just announced Warsaw-Tashkent with the B788 where they will compete against TK.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      Thanks for that. Makes sense for LOT. Hopefully they can reach a new agreement.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:37

      Yes, they fly to many Balkan destinations.

      It is interesting to me that on their map of destinations we do not see Zagreb or Athens.

      https://www.lot.com/de/en/lot-mice/routemap

      Delete
    4. Athens is on the map. Don't know why Zagreb isn't. Might be a seasonal route but I'm not sure.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:36

      That what you think that Athens is is actually Preveza.

      Athens is not on this map.

      Delete
    6. I couldn't even open this link as I was on the phone, but I did check the most current map and Athens is on it.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:09

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:10

    Admin, do you know why second month in the row AS is not publishing results and will Vinci today announce results for July?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Quick, make up a conspiracy

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      Relax, there is no conspiracy, i just asked. Maybe you know why AS two months did not publish numbers? I would be grateful for the answer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      Most likely because they wanted to avoid backlash from the public which has been well aware of the huge operational issues they had in June and July.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:36

      I also believe it was a decision not to irritate people when there were daily headlines how they are facing delays and the airport was full of long lines and lost luggage. Would be tone-deaf to advertise your passenger numbers at such a time.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:37

      ano 09:27
      Could be, my toughts was same as yours but still i cant understand, because i am pretty sure that results was great.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:11

    I must say I am very positively surprised with decision for WRO. Air Serbia is really thinking out of the box and I congratulate them for that.

    It is however sad to see they are limited by BEG. Who would have ever thought it could happen?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nemjee09:21

    I wrote months ago that Wroclaw makes sense. It's a wealthy region with a relatively decent population number. Connections from WRO are limited and this market can be served with an ATR.

    As for cooperation with LO, I don't think it should be a decisive factor for them since their code-share and interline agreements rarely make any commercial sense. Not only are they expensive but connecting times rarely fit. Neither of them two makes them particularly competitive when compared to what others offer.

    As I wrote many times before, JU's commercial department leaves a lot to be desired. They need to work on introducing a loyalty program, corporate program, more competitive code-shares etc. Unfortunately I don't see much changing anytime soon.

    It's interesting how they seem to be more aggressive in Poland than in Romania which is a massive market with millions living abroad. If JU had a strong commercial director they could organize a good campaign there so as to penetrate new markets such as Iasi, Cluj etc.
    Unfortunately they still struggle with OTP.

    Polish market is similar to the German one in the sense that both have a strong national airline which can't cover the whole market. JU's strategy should be to work around their hubs and to redirect their passengers to BEG.

    Why attack Lufthansa directly in Munich or Frankfurt when you can consolidate your position in places like Berlin, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart... Same with Poland. Avoid slot restricted WAW and focus on secondary markets such as Gdansk, Wroclaw, Krakow... That's the way to do it until you are strong enough to take on LO and LH at their fortress hubs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      I agree fully with you especially about flying to Romanian cities.

      "As for cooperation with LO, I don't think it should be a decisive factor for them since their code-share and interline agreements rarely make any commercial sense."

      My understanding is that they plan WRO no matter if they will have cooperation with LO or not. For flying to WAW they want to have CS with LO.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee14:12

      I think they should indefinitely postpone WAW, there is simply no commercial sense to enter that bloodbath. At least not before they consolidate what they have now. I think growing ATH to double daily year-round should be higher on their list of priorities.

      Delete
  12. New warsaw aorport is open in radom i think

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      There is an airport in Radom already that they reopened this year.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:32

    Is it Češke Budjevice?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      That is in the Czech Republic, not Poland.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:40

      @9.32 You could have read the first sentence of the article to find out which city they are referring to.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      Sorry it is Wroclaw. Not too bad. If they are looking for a destination with a lot of Poles, they should consider Toronto after they opened Chicago.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:39

    Note that he said Krakow will probably go daily from next year. That's very good news. Is Wroclaw a possibility for this winter or next summer?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:42

    I am very surprised and I am at the same time very glad that KRK started working so well for them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:42

    Maybe Gdansk?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      Yes, but not with ATR.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:45

      Please read the first sentence of the article and not just the headline.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:58

      I believe he thought that GDN could work too as next Polish destination.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee14:13

      Maybe when they get their second or third E90.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:46

    Seems the new routes they selected for this summer were good ones. Like it was reported before, they asked for slots in Porto (second destination in Portugal) and now want to fly to Wroclaw (second destination in Poland)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:09

      I believe Lisbon is the most successful new route this summer in terms of loads.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:45

      Maybe JU will increase LIS for next SUTT?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:46

      It would probably like to but Lisbon is heavily slot constricted. Getting good departure/arrival times is almost impossible.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:29

      Indeed, this was my thoughts.

      Delete
  18. Wrocław is worth a visit for a shorter or longer citybreak. If you alreadycseem Kraków then you shoukd go to Wrocław next. BTW, domestic route Warsaw Wrocław is a popular one with 6 daily flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:08

      I have seen some photos of Wroclaw and looks like a beautiful city.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:30

      I knew one Monika from Wroclaw.
      She defenitely looked beautiful not only on photos 😍

      Delete
    3. Congtats. Lucky you 😉

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:08

    Excellent news

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:08

    What is the target audience for the Wroclaw flights. Transfers?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:11

    Why they are so late with Slovakia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:29

      Kosice airport is too small and BTS is way too close to VIE.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:29

      If Ryanair can fly with A320 or 737-800 from Zagreb to Bratislava which is shorter then JU should be able to fly to there with its Atrs..

      Delete
    3. Nemjee16:30

      Isn't FR struggling on ZAG-BTS?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:34

      It is, the route ia being discontinued

      Delete
    5. Nemjee16:53

      There we go.

      Delete
  22. Miroslav NY10:31

    Wonderful news. Another city in Northern Europe with no tourist potential. What's next? Glasgow?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:38

      I would say that WRO is more central than northern Europe.

      Wroclaw defenitely has tourist potential. It had close to 6 million tourists in 2022.

      https://www.wroclaw.pl/en/wroclaw-city-of-adventure-a-great-tourist-campaign-of-wroclaw-has-started

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:38

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxkiWdD3zjM

      Delete
    3. Nemjee14:15

      Well luckily JU is not only in the business of carrying tourists. There are a lot of locals who could fly with JU via BEG to sunny destinations around the Balkans, Italy and why not even Spain or Portugal.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:47

      LO has covered Balkans pretty well so I am not sure where JU could take people from Wroclav area where LO does not already fly from WAW. Banja Luka and Nis?

      Regarding Italy, Greece, Croatia, Spain or Portugal they already have direct FR or W6 connections from WRO to Alicante, Bologna, Malaga, Naples, Palermo, Porto, Rome, Valencia, Athens, Chania, Corfu, Lisbon, Palma de Mallorca, Zadar, Barcelona, Bari, Dubrovnik, Rhodos and Split.


      Delete
    5. Nemjee16:32

      Your comment makes literally no sense. LO has a very limited network out of Wroclaw and most of the destinations you listed are offered from WAW. So one would have to fly north-east from Wroclaw to catch a flight to the south. In many ways it would require quite a detour.

      By your logic JU in VIE, BUD, ARN, FCO... is only carrying passengers to destinations that no one else is offering... in addition to P2P, of course.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:47

      I got the same opinion about your comment. I very clearly indicated that all the destinations I listed are flown directly from WRO by FR or W6. Please read it carefully.

      So according to your opinion people from Wroclaw area will be flying with JU through BEG on connecting flights to Italy, Spain or Portugal rather than on direct flights from their city to all of these destinations? Interesting.

      Flying from WRO to NAP or LIS through BEG for example is also flying to south-east in order to get to south-west.

      After all if some of them want to make transfer it will be much easier for them to do it with their own airline though WAW which LO connects 6 times daily with WRO then with JU through BEG that will have max 2-3 weekly flights.

      Destinations like VIE, ARN, FCO from BEG are much different as in these countries there is a lot of Serbian diaspora and the same can't be said for Poland.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:52

      "So according to your opinion people from Wroclaw area will be flying with JU through BEG on connecting flights to Italy, Spain or Portugal rather than on direct flights from their city to all of these destinations? Interesting."

      I always find it interesting that many people here do not understand that people use transfer options even if there are nonstop flights from their city. And I read that argument here again and again which is completely nonsense since many people do transfer because of better fares. I am not talking about this particular case but in general I see this myth being posted here time and again and it is actually not true.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:55

      Do not underestimate the potential of city break tourism, both in Belgrade and in Wroclaw, when coupled with potentially rather low fares made possible by the ATR aircraft. With a good schedule this could be pleasant even with just one or two nights in a hotel

      Delete
    9. Nemjee16:55

      Well, JU does well in similar markets to Wroclaw so I don't see why it would be any different. After all, look at how well BEG-BUD has performed despite JU having such fierce competition there.

      Not everyone is willing to work around LCC's timetable. Legacy carriers can offer more flexibility to their passengers. There is a reason why both models coexist today.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:26

      I agree that BUD-BEG has fierce competition, but in the case of Hungary we do not have there Malev anymore. It is similiar situation in PRG or in SOF - national air carrier is almost not existing so it is much easier for JU to fight against one enemy only.

      In case of Poland we have strong LO with 42 weekly flights from WRO to WAW together with FR+W6 competition that makes whole game much more difficult.

      I do agree that not everyone is willing to fly around with LCC although there are more people who prefer that in comparison to those who do not like it. But even if they decide not to fly with LCC there is always LO transfer from WAW with massive network and minimum transfer times.

      So, beside LH, KL and LX flying to WRO too, JU would be here 5th or 6th option for sunny Balkans or charming Italy.

      I wish them to have success there, the same like they claim they have in KRK, but it might cost them too much.



      Delete
    11. @17.26
      Speaking of close by airports where national carrier is almost non existing and where JU flies, you forgot to mention ZAG, PUY, RJK, ZAD, SPU and DBV, and their national shame OU

      Delete
    12. Nemjee06:48

      Ok, fair enough. WRO-WAW has 42 weekly flights which is impressive to say the least. Could you please tell me how many are there between Krakow and Warsaw?

      I am asking because BEG-KRK is obviously a successful route for JU. So if they are succeeding there why wouldn't they in WRO? Or is BEG-KRK a success because JU carries a lot of passengers to BNX and INI?

      JU stated that there are transfers to the US from KRK. Doesn't LO fly to the US both from KRK and WAW? Doesn't Lufthansa offer the same connections? Austrian, KLM etc. as well?

      So obviously JU managed to somewhat penetrate this market and to find enough passengers who are willing to fly via BEG.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous07:05

      I don't know how many flights are weekly between WAW and KRK but it could be easily checked.
      The point here is that KRK and WRO can't be actually compared as demand is much, much bigger in KRK than in WRO. Krakow also has much bigger tourist potential.
      In 2022 KRK had 7,4 million passengers while WRO had 2,8 million.
      It is than obvious to expect that JU will have more success in the city with higher air travel demand and even to have few US transfers.

      Delete
    14. Nemjee07:19

      Is it always the case that it will have more success in a city with higher air travel demand? Last year NCE welcomed over 12 million passengers yet JU failed there. Krakow which is smaller, poorer and not as popular with tourists turned out to be a bigger success.

      MRS had over 10 million, Hamburg over 11 million... yet JU isn't exactly thriving in these markets.

      JU has the advantage of operating WRO with the ATR thus keeping its operating costs quite low. As the market matures they will keep on adding seats to the market.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous07:45

      Can we expect JU to launch IEG too as higher air travel demand does not play any role? I don't think so.

      The chances are surely bigger that a success will be made in a KRK with 7,4 million passengers than in a city that has almost 3 times less traffic and smaller tourist offer.

      Also, KRK is 170 km closer to Belgrade than WRO meaning flying costs are lower and the plane could return quicker to BEG. The difference is not that big, but if you take in consideration that ATR flies 510km per hour it means that for additional 170 km that plane needs 20 minutes more each way.

      In NCE JU had direct competition of W6 with A321 so we can't actually compare it to KRK where JU is the sole carrier to BEG while the costs of flying from BEG to MRS or HAM are way higher as JU can't fly its ATR72 there.

      Once again I wish to emphasize that I wish them a lot of success in WRO, but it won't be easy at they will have to work much harder to bring that destination at least to KRK level.


      Delete
    16. Nemjee07:50

      IEG is not in the same category as WRO. Take Varna as an example, it's a relatively small market where the vast majority of passengers arrive by charter flights. Yet, despite this fact, JU does relatively well over there. JU has no direct competitor on this route.

      When it comes to WRO and KRK, major point is not if they can make both work with 4 weekly flights but rather how far can both routes go. Down the road KRK can go as high as 14 weekly while demand to WRO might plateau at around 7 weekly flights. I am sure JU can find enough passengers to fill 4 weekly ATR flights especially now when they have a much larger network.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous08:39

      WRO is also not in the same category as KRK, but still they seem to be compared.

      I am not sure VAR could be taken as an example as it is sea side destination and the profile of passengers is defenitely much more different than the profile of people flying to and from WRO. After all VAR is seasonal destination while KRK and probably WRO would be flown year round.

      There is no doubt that JU can position itself as an important regional player only by adding some destinations and frequencies, but I believe that before talking about 14 pw in KRK and 7 pw in WRO we would have to think about introducing these frequencies to the destinations like SJJ, SOF or adding new destination like CLJ that could bring much better results to JU.

      Delete
    18. Nemjee08:57

      It is thanks to destinations such as VAR that JU will have an easier time making routes such as WRO work. Air Serbia will offer convenient connections to sunny destinations such as ATH, SKG, IST, TIA, TGD, LCA, TIV, DBV... to Polish holidaymakers living in and around Wroclaw.


      I disagree. There is no good enough reason why JU should first focus on regional destinations. These regional destinations with limited O&D demand can't be sustained without adding frequencies to destinations such as WRO, KRK, MRS, LIS etc.

      Both need to be expanded at the same time as one relies on the other, especially now when JU is trying to build a hub in BEG.
      CLJ, SOF and SJJ arguments are not valid here because they operate in waves which feed flights such as KRK. JU can still launch CLJ without sacrificing any potential growth in Poland. One should wonder why JU decided to return to VAR before introducing CLJ flights.

      So what destinations in JU's network could WRO be compared to? I am asking since so far you have argued against every example I have put forward. I highly doubt WRO would be a unique destination for JU.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous09:25

      I thought that we already completed discussion about destinations in sunny Balkans for holidaymakers in Wroclav area.

      JU as regional carrier is much better profiled in a region than in WRO and it would be much easier for them to start building stronger network on their territory than doing it in the middle of Poland. Once they have 14 pw to OTP, SOF, SJJ, OHD...they should start thinking about WRO.

      Why do you think that destinations like SJJ or OHD have limited O&D demand? There is no doubt they have certain percentage of transfer passengers, but they are surely not on TIA level where almost 100% of passengers are in transfer.

      JU network is already big enough in order it could be fed with regional destinations and I do not think that at this time WRO should be added.

      Air Serbia had massive expansion this year and next step should be adding some more frequencies to the existing destionations (like FCO for example) and strengthening already opened destinations. Only working on that way they could be fully ready for next big expansion.

      I think that WRO could be somehow compared to SZG - not the main airport in the country, served by ATR, similiar distance from Belgrade, not seaside destination, no competition on SZG-BEG route, lower passengers number than WRO but higher local purchasing power etc.

      And we all know that last winter JU decided to heavily reduce SZG (flown only at the end of December and beginning of January) as this destination did not bring expected results.

      I am afraid that WRO could face the same destiny.

      Delete
  23. Jasmineeeeeee!!!! Dje si? Je l'se ispila kahva?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:57

    I posted a comment some weeks ago about number of passengers on my BEG-KRK-BEG flights in last week of July (so it would be good to repeat it): 32 px to krk and then 30 to beg. It's good to hear they have good loads, hopefully it's true and not just PR talk...
    If someone else also used this route recently, please share what the LF was , thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:03

      Yes they are increasing Krakow to daily to loose money and fly empty planes. Just because your flight didn't have 100% load factor does not mean they are not performing well financially on this route. Some people on here...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:07

      Fully agree with you anon 12:03!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:15

      Bravo @Anon 12:03

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:08

      -100 for anon@12:03
      Reading comprehension skills lower than average and therefore did not understand original post.
      There was a point to be made here but it was not yours.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:42

      Odlican komentar @Anon 12:03
      Svaka cast!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous18:45

      Stoji

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:56

      Palo

      Delete
  25. Anonymous14:04

    We are all happy that JU has Embraer on its fleet, this addition to multiply a dozen routes

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous16:33

    I would prefer JU having decent frequencies to the more important markets instead of collecting destinations everywhere.
    Three times a week to Madrid in summer is a joke and obviously JU is doing nothing to change that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:34

      Maybe read the article until the end?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:23

      I did.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous17:28

    Katowice city center to Krakow airport is only 45 minute drive, about 67 km. This is less than Novi Sad to Belgrade airport.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Mozda bi poznanj bio bolja opcija

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee06:50

      As Embraers keep on arriving I think they will aim to serve all Polish cities. It's a massive market with a lot of potential.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous06:54

      Wroclav has more passengers than Poznan and at the same time Wroclav is a bit closer to BEG.
      Maybe these were the reasons why WRO has been chosen and not POZ.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:28

    Nemjee08:57 For Nemjee and everyone lese who is reading this. I had an opportunity to fly from Krakow with Air Serbia in June. On ATR there were 56 passengers. 5 of them were Americans that had to go to Tivat urgently, some funeral taking place there. 2 persons were flying to Budapest from Krakow - this is very interesting to me. Just wanted to share this info with you.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous14:22

    Poznan is worth considering as it is half-way between Wrocław and Gdansk. It could be somewhat of a base for tourist destinations in western Poland and maybe even an alternative for Berlin.. However, I guess Wrocław in itself is far more attractive in a touristy sense..

    ReplyDelete

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