The city of Granada in southern Spain has initiated talks with Air Serbia over the potential introduction of flights from Belgrade, aiming to enhance its international air connectivity and tourism reach. The discussions took place at last week’s World Travel Market fair in London, where representatives from Granada presented a comprehensive business case to Air Serbia, underscoring the region's tourism potential and the benefits of a nonstop air service. In a statement, the Granada City Council said, “A detailed business case study was prepared by the city, highlighting key aspects of source air markets, Granada's tourism potential, technical data of Federico García Lorca Airport and the proposed incentives for the launch of the new service to the city”.
The proposed route to Granada would expand Air Serbia’s growing presence in Spain. The airline has recently announced Ibiza as its sixth Spanish destination, which is set to launch next year, adding to its existing flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Palma de Mallorca. Based on the schedule currently filed for next year, as well its planned Ibiza service, Air Serbia is expected to boast 33 weekly flights between Belgrade and Spain during the peak of the 2025 summer season, representing an increase of twelve weekly flights on the summer of 2024. This will include twelve weekly flights to Barcelona, a daily service to Madrid, five weekly to Palma de Mallorca, four weekly to Malaga, three weekly to Valencia and two weekly to Ibiza. Changes remain possible.
Granada, located in Andalusia, is best known for the Alhambra palace and fortress complex which brings thousands of visitors to the city each year. Granada is located some 150 kilometres northeast of Malaga, which is already served by Air Serbia. The Spanish market has seen the biggest growth in the number of visitors from Serbia this summer. On the other hand, some 17.000 tourists from Spain visited Serbia during the first three quarters of the year, up 9% on the same period in 2023. Last week, Spanish tour operators visited the country in a bid to expand their travel programs for next year. Earlier this year, Air Serbia took part in the CAPA Airlines Leader Summit held in Granada, which was co-hosted by the city authorities.
woooooow :)))
ReplyDeleteWon't happen, they don't have the planes or crew. Unless they cut something else
ReplyDeleteYour wish or?
DeleteHis wet dreams.
DeleteAnd Malaga is 100 km away. Nonsense
DeleteMore like 150km. Why couldn't the flights be in addition to Malaga, especially since city is willing to give incentives
Delete120km.
DeleteSo what? How far is TIV from DBV? 55km
How far is ZAG from LJU? 170 km
How far is SZG from MUC? 170 km
How far is NUE from MUC? 160 km
How far is SPU from ZAD? 116 km
How far is PUY from RJK? 130 km
How far is LJU from RJK? 160km
How far is TGD from TIA? 145 km etc.
and Air Serbia keeps flying on all of these destinations successfully.
Guys there will be no growth in summer the same way there was minimal growth this winter. Also Marek lied about those surprises
DeleteBecause they serve specific locatons, cities and tourist resorts. Granada is served via Malaga i would say unless they got massive help from thr tourist board to operate such a long rotation when they struggle during summer to offer consistency with aircraft let alot service (which is minimal to say the least). This route would struggle
DeleteAir Serbia doesn't fly to MUC but it's true the distance between two destinations isn't crucial.
DeleteYou are right, but LH does.
DeleteSure, there will be no growth in summer.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/09/air-serbia-adds-over-100-additional.html
I think Seville would be better choice. Granada is too close to Malaga. And prices to Malaga is very high, which allows JU high yields. For Granada they would have to lower the price, which would ruin Malaga route
DeleteFor Granada they would get subsidies from local authorities, from Sevilla not.
DeleteFor a second I thought it was Grenada :D
ReplyDeleteI thought Canada
DeleteHaha me too, thought it was Grenada in the Caribbean when I read the title. Should have read more carefully.
DeleteI've been to both places and I would go back to Grenada 🇬🇩 and Granada 🇪🇸.
DeleteIf they offer incentives like they say, why not. It can act complementary to Malaga 2 weekly.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s a good idea as there will be both point to point and transfer demand because there aren’t any direct flights from the balkans. I really can’t believe we went from no flights to Spain just a few years ago to 33 weekly, a huge accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is amazing.
DeleteBut what I can't really understand is that no Spanish airline showed interest in opening any route to Belgrade despite the fact that "The Spanish market has seen the biggest growth in the number of visitors from Serbia this summer."
The biggest growth is good but the absolute numbers are low for the market of that level. There are markets with millions of visitors to Spain. They have to prioritize.
DeleteI understand that absolute numbers can't be compared with tourists from Germany, UK or France, but is unbelievable that JU will have up to 33 weekly flights to Spain and Spanish air carriers 0 to BEG.
DeleteIt is huge disbalance.
Iberia and Europa both serve the hub in Madrid which seems to be a slow destination for JU too, plus having in mind their limited presence in eastern Europe it's not realistic to expect any of the 2. Other than those Vueling and Volotea are decent shouts but they seem to focus more on leisure destinations and Vueling had shown in the past it wasn't too willing to take Belgrade seriously. So yes there's zero Spanish airlines but let's be real they have bigger markets to explore first before deciding to put resources competing with Air Serbia who's in the good position in the Serbia-Spain
Delete@09:42 Just check the number of JU flights to Croatia with no competitor in sight. Albania&Slovenia too, Italy&France to some level, even Greece is not covered by other airlines as it could be. Spain is no surprise, Air Serbia rules Mediterranean travel from/to Belgrade.
Delete@11:58 Madrid flight is always top full for Beg, and that's the only region in Spain from where spanish tourists actually come to BEG and Serbia on tourist trip..At least in my opinion, and since I fly to Spain every month, I have quite good observation
DeleteI hear Spanish in the city often so I think you're right, there's some tourism to Belgrade too.
Deleteanon 12:28
DeleteCroatia, Albania and Slovenia are too small comparing with Spain while Slovenia and Albania do not even have airline (Air Albania is a joke) that could open BEG as their destination. OU is not far from that.
Italy is the same case as Spain, but if we have a look on Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland, Turkey or Switzerland we shall se that there are national carriers that do not think so conservatively about flying to Belgrade. Instead of it they come to Belgrade to make money.
Sure, everyone has their own strategy to follow. Belgrade is not the "must have" airport in the airlines' portfolio. I would like it to be different, but it is not.
DeleteI would rather say that some are proactive and some aren't.
DeleteThere is no logic on Earth that IB flies to LJU but not to BEG.
20:24 it seems there is...
DeleteEasy money, should go for it.
ReplyDeleteBeen there! Really nice town with lots of orange trees everywhere and of course Alhambra is fascinating. Airport is very small and vintage.
ReplyDeleteThat was unexpected
ReplyDeleteGranada is beautiful, a big university center too and nice position for checking Andalusia which is much more than a sea... Although I think Seville makes more sense. Maybe some form of "hop on hop off" could be interesting, at least during the lower season, like landing at Malaga and coming back from Granada, or vice versa...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt is encouraging to see that the city is going after them. It means they have identified JU and the Serbian market as having potential.
ReplyDeleteGranada and Malaga are a two hour bus ride apart. Or an hour and a half by car. It really is not that close. And the Granada area has much to see, including the amazing Sierra Nevada mountains.
ReplyDeleteAnd Alhambra.
DeleteAgree! Would love to see this route happen! Granada has so much to offer culturally and historically. It’s also a great gateway to explore more of Andalusia
DeleteThis would be amazing, Granada is amazing city but small 2-3 days in city are enough so lets say Friday and Sunday flights would be amazing. But not sure how much Serbians are familiar with city in continental Spain.
ReplyDeleteSpain has horrible sea coast, regarding beaches ( apart of Mallorca and Ibiza) and Serbian tour operators and serbian tourists know that..Serbians go to sea coast much closer, Greece etc. and as tourists they go to Spain for everything else, but to swim..Tourist go to Spain for city hop, weekend getaway, or to visit well known regions, like famous Andalusia..And in Andalusia, Granada is the most famous place of all
DeleteIt's not horrible coast, it's just boring, especially if you're close to Adriatic and Greece. And it's too hot. But - to each his own. People do holiday in Spain, many Serbian agencies offer that, even with bus transportation.
DeleteTreshnja - Granada is not the most famous place in Andalusia at all, Alhambra may be the most visited place in Andalusia, but cities like Seville or Malaga are much more popular than Granada, which is reflected in the prices you'll see in those cities (Granada is the cheapest by far !)
DeleteAlhambra is the most visited monumental complex in Spain and one of the tops in Europe.
Delete@14:22 sure it is, but other than that Granada isn't a very popular tourist city, most of the visitors of Alhambra are just passing through Granada.
DeleteOk, You know better, and I live there almost half of the year, in all 4 major Andalusian cities- Malaga, Granada, Sevilla and Cordoba....all 4 are top in popularity...Also there is no tourist trip to Andalusia that doesn`t include Granada....Some tours don`t go to Sevilla, Some don`t go to Cordoba, but everyone goes to Granada...Malaga is popular just in the last 15 years, mostly because of airport..Before 2008-2010. Malaga was small town with ruined streets in downtown...And then Spain decided to invest a lot of money, they built completely new pedestrian are around the port, Antonio Banderas invested in 3km long new beach near downtowon, with all facilities and pedestrian area, they completely refurbished old town..and there you go...but Malaga 20 years ago was far away in popularity among those 4 major Andalusian cities...Sevilla and Granada are still the most well known throughout the world, so tourists go there...
DeleteMust see doesn't mean must stay.
DeleteYou're right, but as to my knowledge, most of the tourists stay at least one night in each of those destinations, in Sevilla few nights off course, because its the biggest city...And Granada being the largest university center, has excellant nightlife offer, much bigger than considering its size..
DeleteI was there last year. And really, Malaga is just a transit point, 2 days are enough for Granada. Cordoba was much more interesting to me. Seville and Cadiz are on the waiting list and I would prefer the plane to Seville.
DeleteI wonder what the transfer potential is. I'm assuming they could attract passengers from different market, especially Romania.
ReplyDeleteThey should expand in Romania first as currently they only serve Bucharest.
DeleteI think they will. They have 10 ATRs. They have poor utilization and not all were used this summer because of a lack of pilots but hopefully things will improve by next year
DeleteI still don't get it why they don't launch CLJ.
DeleteGranada would be yet another route for tourists, while affordable regional options remain neglected.
DeleteThis would be such a win-win! Granada is an amazing destination, and having a direct route from Belgrade would make it so much more accessible for Serbian travelers. Plus, the Spanish market is growing fast for Air Serbia, so it seems like perfect timing
ReplyDeleteAnother Spanish destination for Air Serbia? Yes, please! The Alhambra alone is worth the trip to Granada.
ReplyDelete33 weekly flights from BEG to Spain just on Air Serbia is pretty amazing considering in 2019 there were 4 in total
ReplyDeleteHow come Spain was discovered all of a sudden by Serbian tourists? I remember in the 2000s there were almost no flights.
ReplyDeleteI think it happened during Covid. People suddenly found an alternative to holiday in Spain. And I guess they discovered it's not that expensive either. Tour operators also got their act together and started offering Spain in their packages both for summer holidays but also city breaks.
DeleteOr there was back in 2000 no financial means for most of people to fly there.
DeleteSpain is probably the best country in Europe and one of the best worldwide in what you would call "art de vivre", and also one of the countries with most beautiful cities. There is just no other place where life is so nice, and accompanied by almost always sunny weather. Add to that the fact that compared to other European countries it is still quite cheap (at some places in Andalusia you can still get a bear for 1 EUR !) so it is not a surprise at all that Serbian tourists "discovered" it. After visiting Spain I fell in love, came back 20 times at least, and started wondering why on Earth is anybody coming to my overpriced country at all...
Delete(a guy from that Game of thrones city on the Adriatic).
Spain is great, but calling it the best country in Europe (even for holidaying) when Italy exists is a step too far :)
DeleteIt was discovered much earlier but the people were using massively Timisoara and Budapest airports for Spanish flights.
Delete@anonym 10:29
Deleteagree with you. Spain is considering the price level too, probably the best. I have been two Andalucia in September for 2 weeks and enjoyed it very much. If you love Tuna, visit Costa de la Luz around Zahara de los Atunes. Less crowd than Costa del Sol, weather lit bit more chilly than Costa del Sol, same for sea temperature. Playa de los Alemanes is probably one of the most scenic beaches I have ever visited. Quiet bay, cut off from the tourist paths.
@12:34, thanks, I've been there, even tried surfing in El Palmar which is nearby :) Surfing is also one of the advantages that Spain has compared to other Mediterranean countries that don't have acces to an ocean.
DeleteHeeey, why would i want a bear for 1 eur?
Delete¿So that you don't pay 5 €?
DeleteJust 6 airline serving Granada with very few routes
ReplyDeleteAir Europa: Palma de Mallorca
Binter Canarias: Gran Canaria
Iberia: Madrid, Melilla, Seasonal: Santander
Transavia: Amsterdam
Volotea: Asturias
Vueling Barcelona, Bilbao, Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Orly, Tenerife–North, Seasonal: London–Gatwick
With incentives I would say there is a lot of potential for JU.
DeleteMaybe with E175/190 could work 2pw, including incentives
DeleteGranada is near from Málaga so Why not others Spanish cities like Alicante Sevilla and in north Spain Santiago?
ReplyDeleteWell it is about the city of Granada pursuing Air Serbia. It's not like Air Serbia is interested. Let's see if they can entice them
DeleteWith the increase in Spanish tourists to Serbia and more Serbians visiting Spain, this sounds like it could work well. Good to see Granada recognizing the potential and maybe working with Air Serbia to make it happen
Delete@10:16 I don't think many Spanish tourists are coming from Granada or anywhere in Andalusia, that's one of the poorest regions in Spain.
Delete@10:07 So Granada is near Malaga, and how about Alicante, how far is from Valencia? 1 hour
Delete@10:30 Where did you get that fact that Granada is one of the poorest regions? First of all, Granada is full of tourist during whole year, 'cause during winter Sierra Nevada , which is the highest spanish mauntain, and covered with snow till April, attracts huge number of tourists..And Granada is downhill of that mountain..Secondly, one of the 3 largest and most important universities in Spain, recognized worldwide, os in Granada..Attracts the biggest number of foreign students out of all others..
DeleteTreshnja - Andalusia is one of the poorest regions in Spain, 24 of the 30 poorest places in Spain are in Andalusia, 5 of them are in Granada region, and Granada had 26,8 % unemployment rate in 2021...
DeleteComparing Granada region or Andalusia province with Serbia, I think Serbia is still behind... Yes, thousands of tourists visit Spain. So, being poor in terms of statistics, doesn't mean everyone is poor
DeleteI've visited both Malaga and Granada and whole Andalusia several times. Always flying to/from Malaga. I don't think this will happen, it is just too close to Malaga, and Malaga is such a good starting point for visting Andalusia that I don't think Granada has a chance. Car rentals in Andalusia are dirt cheap, each time we paid cca 15 EUR to max 20 EUR / day, and it takes only 1h30 to drive to Granada from Malaga. Nice city really, but unless it offers a really attractive incentive I don't think this is going to happen. Of course, it is nice to see them contacting Air Serbia, shows you that JU has created a name for themselves.
ReplyDelete@10:20 Granada is giving incentives..For Serbian tourist doesn't really matter if they fly to Granada or Malaga, they go around Andalusia anyway ,on their tourist trip..And Granada is the peak destination of every tourist visit of Andalusia..I haven't seen any tourist programme that offers Andalusia without Granada..That would be the same like you went to Cambodia for tourism, and not visited Angkor Wat
DeleteAir Serbia shall better fix its frequency issue. They shall make all capital cities and important cities at least 6pw even in this low season. And if somewhere theres not enough demand to maintain 6pw then stop flying to such places entirely. After that they may focus to such leaisure destinations like Grenada where 1 to 3 pw is enough.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteShall they.
DeleteWhen it comes to Spain, they should rather go for some Canarian destination in high demand, namely TFS, ACE or even the much less pretty LPA or FUE. These destinations make much more sense.
ReplyDeleteДа ли су TFS, ACE, LPA или FUE понудили JU субвенције?
DeleteThat's my point. Im sure TFS would work without any subsidies.
DeleteWhy open another Spanish route when they already fly to Malaga nearby? Seems redundant and a waste of resources
ReplyDeleteThey are not opening it and neither does the article say they are opening it. It is about Granada approaching JU over potentially launching it. I'm sure many airports/cities approach Air Serbia. Granada made it public.
DeleteDoes Granada really have enough demand to justify a direct flight?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteWith incentives, yes.
DeleteIf They are giving incentives, that would be great option..Granada has more tourist in a week that Belgrade has in whole year..City is literally full of tourist all the time, wintwr or summer..Don't forget about the skiing season, Granada is a hub where all sleep and go to skying on Sierra Nevada , the highest mountain in Spain..It covered with snow till late April..Also huge number of foreign students that live there or come on 1 month, 2,3 , 6 months programs, since University og Granada is one of the 3 larged in Spain, and the best recognized worldwide, out of all..Also, Cordoba is much closer to Granada than if going from Malaga..
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMaybe they will be able to offer cheap tickets, or maybe wizzair take the offer providing much cheaper option that can make Malaga flights less popular ;)
DeleteLCC would have a daily flight from Belgrade to Malaga till now (check ZAG and Ryan). On the other hand, JU was the only one to offer it to the market...
DeleteWould not. Bilbao to the north make more sense?
ReplyDeleteTwo different markets which don't influence each other, so both could make sense at the same time.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/10/manchester-dublin-now-belgrades-top.html?m=1
DeleteBilbao, Seville, Alicante, Tenerife should be given priority, those are commercially viable without any subsidies.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteValencia is not that full plane at all, and it has been on 2 pw since opening of the route...If it was performing better, I`m sure they would`ve increased frequency already, like they did with Malaga.. Why do you think Alicante would work soo well, considering its only 1 hour away from Valencia airport? There is nothing interesting around Alicante, apart of being summer holiday destination, mostly for British and German...But Serbian tourists don`t go to Spain for summer holiday, at least not that much, they have much better beaches nearby...they go to visit Spain for other reasons, and not because of the beach
DeleteAnd I also don`t think Canary islands could have high demand from BEG, only in winter and spring months..but were is the rest of the year...Bilbao, in my opinion, is not something that would attract Serbian tourists, they go to Spain because of Spenish culture, architecture, food, spanish "ambient"m and Bilbao doosn`t have much of that kind of Spain...Bilbao is Basque country, even nature there is nothing like the rest of Spain..
DeleteSevilla could work really well....But incentives matter :)
Well, Bilbao is the most popular Spanish point in Serbia for indirect flights and I assure you that the food and nature are no worse than in the rest of Spain.
DeleteGranada is really out of the box.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I don't think it will happen next year but maybe 2026.
ReplyDeleteThe Treshnja be on 🔥
ReplyDeleteGranada is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Spain and I would gladly visit it again. Maybe I am telling nonsense but maybe there are some transfer travellers from the Middle East that could boost the operation. There are experts here who know better. Also, Granada is Cervantes Institute HQ, so that could be used, too.
ReplyDeleteLet’s face if they get good money that would male this route profitable, just go for it. Plus if some tourists campaign in Serbia and Andalusia would be done would be amazing!
ReplyDelete