Serbia has committed to subsidising a new air service between Kazakhstan and Belgrade which will be operated by either Air Astana or SCAT Airlines. Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, made the announcement following talks with his Kazakhstani counterpart Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev in Belgrade yesterday and the singing of ten agreements and memorandums between the two countries. Speaking at a joint press conference held by the two leaders, Mr Vučić, said, “In order to achieve all the planned cooperation goals it was very important to resolve the question of air connectivity between Belgrade and Astana or Belgrade and Almaty. I am very thankful to Mr Toqaev in this respect because of his initiative on this matter. Kazakhstan has two excellent airlines - Air Astana and SCAT. One of those two carriers, which I would not like to reveal now because it is part of our negotiations, will introduce flights to Belgrade. We have approved all the necessary subsidies for this air service because it is of great importance to have good connectivity with Kazakhstan”.
In 2016, Air Serbia’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board at the time, Siniša Mali, who is today’s Serbia’s Finance Minister, noted the carrier was considering launching flights between Belgrade and Almaty. However, the route never materialised. The two countries have since signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the aviation sector. Kazakhstan has designated Air Astana as its operating carrier for flights to Serbia, while Serbia itself selected its own flag carrier. Serbian citizens do not require a visa to enter Kazakhstan. Furthermore, Serbia is one of only six European countries that does not require entry visas for Kazakhstani passport holders.
Regionally, Air Astana currently maintains seasonal summer flights from both Astana and Almaty to Podgorica. The service, launched in 2021, is operated between June and mid-September with the 166-seat Airbus A321neo aircraft. The flights take five hours and forty minutes. Air Astana is the largest airline in Central Asia and the Caucasus region with a fleet of over fifty aircraft and a destination network counting over ninety destinations. On the other hand, SCAT Airlines operates a fleet of over thirty aircraft and a network of more than sixty destinations.
Interesting. I guess it will be Air Astana
ReplyDeleteIs Air Astana a state run airline? They seem to be very well managed. New planes, good service...
DeleteIt is a joint venture between Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems (49%)
DeleteYes they have british capitals. Also are listed in London and Astana Stock exchange.
DeleteWow why is BAE an owner? Wired...
DeleteSounds shady
DeleteThey are doing really good actually.
DeleteOne of the best yielding investment of BAE
DeleteNot shady at all - actually brilliant business move from Kazakhi president on those times. It also become one of best investment of BAE systems. You can read details on Wiki - super interesting.
DeleteDefinitely not brilliant in any way.
DeleteA so called national airline that is legally british.
They are not even allowed to have flights with their neighbouring country Russia ...
And how much will this cost?
ReplyDeleteone brazilian of dollars.
DeleteIf you think about the cost to subsidise a few flights a week, instead of the income, then you will never understand the reason for subsidies, nor how much the country gains from it.
DeleteWe're all ears, please tell us about the income and gains from Almaty flights.
Delete@anon 13:31. Maybe go and do some research yourself? Or do you just want to hang onto that negative bandwagon? If subsidies weren’t important AROUND THE WORLD, then no one would have them. There’s clearly gain from it. Local jobs? O&D travellers, spending at local venues and increasing patronage that in turn increases business revenue, better pay, should I go on? With a codeshare agreement, filling up JU seats onward from BEG in turn increasing the LF. Like tell me you don’t see beyond “tax payer money”, without telling me.
DeleteWho is going to use these flights?
ReplyDeleteWith good codeshare with JU transfers maybe?
DeleteMe
DeleteMe
DeleteThere are a lot of Russians, and a lot of Kazakhs have relatives or business partners from Russia. Also, Kazakhstan is a big country, there might be a decent flow of tourists who want to visit ex-Yu.
Deleteyou don't wanna fly internationally and be called SCAT
DeleteYes we do want to and it is very welcome. New destination is always welcome.
DeleteIt’s interesting that Air Serbia isn’t operating this route, given its earlier considerations of Belgrade–Almaty flights. Perhaps there’s still room for partnership or codesharing opportunities once the route is established.
ReplyDeleteLack of aircraft for the route. They'd need to deploy an A320
Delete2500nmi that is a tall order even for a319, maybe e195e2 or e190e2 one day!
DeleteIt’s anticipated that cargo revenue will be strong with Kazakh Potassium imports.
ReplyDeleteVery nice!
DeleteVery nice reply!
DeleteBest potassium in the world actually!
DeleteSubsidizing a route is a good start, but what happens when the subsidies end? I hope the demand is strong enough to make this route sustainable in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is that subsidies help the route stay afloat till it becomes more widely known and profitable
DeleteIs there a potential for Belgrade-Almaty service to become more widely known and profitable? I don't think so.
DeleteKazakhstan doesn’t have many connections to europe, so Air Serbia’s network might be of benefit to them, if a codeshare agreement is established
DeleteAnd why exactly are we subsidizing flights to Kazakhstan?! On a foreign airline no less. Ridiculous waste of taxpayer money.
ReplyDeleteSame reason I guess you get other neighboring countries subsiding flights to Berlin on foreign airlines.
DeleteBecause everybody wants to see beautiful Kazakh landscape!
DeleteAhahahahaahah. Great reply!
DeleteNo, but every Kazakh wants to visit beautiful Serbia
DeleteDefinitely, maybe.
Delete“ Same reason I guess you get other neighboring countries subsiding flights to Berlin on foreign airlines. “
DeleteWhich is also nebulous. If other countries are wasting their taxpayers money that doesn’t justify us doing it.
Never would have thought flights from Kazakhstan to anywhere in ex-Yu could work but they seem to be doing well in TGD of all places.
ReplyDeleteAdriatic with no visa needed. Montenegro found several interesting markets to fill the Russian&Ukranian gap.
DeleteMissed opportunity for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Air Serbia has the plane for it. It would be a very long rotation and aircraft can be better used on some other route with better yields.
Delete"Missed opportunity" to take 13-14 hours of scarce plane rotation time to serve a rather uncertain route?
DeleteAir Serbia have nothing to offer on that long flight. 180 seat A320 of YU compare to A321 166 seat plane is not is not going to attract any customers from Azerbejan
DeleteMissed opportunity to lose much needed capacity. Good for them.
DeleteWell they could use A330.
DeleteAir Serbia can’t support flights to Cairo, duoble closer and proved profitable. So, no way to Astana
DeleteHow long would BEG-ALA be?
ReplyDeleteAround 6 hours I reckon
DeleteIf TGD is 5.40, then BEG is surely only about 5 hours?
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteVery nice you mean! ;)
DeleteThis would be an interesting experiment.
ReplyDeleteA market worth exploring.
DeleteCentral Asia is quite an underserved market.
ReplyDeleteThey are not...There is no interest of them flying to Serbia, and viceversa.. I was flying every single month during the period of last 2 years from BEG to GYD, and I rarely saw any Azeri coming to Serbia, or people from Serbia going to Baku.....Out of probably around 20+ return flights I took to there and back, I saw less then 5 people going from BEG to there...or Azeri coming here... Azeri mostly go to Italy, Germany, Turkey off course, not here
DeleteDidn't you just claim the other day that you fly every month to Spain? How do you manage to go to Baku and Spain every month, calculate how many passengers fly here and there and do that sort of analysis.
DeleteGYD is not central Asia
Delete@12:54 Because of my work...I work in Spain, and I used to work in Azerbaijan as well...so that's the problem with that? I also travel a lot, apart of my work
Delete@13:02 Geographicaly they are not Central Asia, but culturaly yes..they all belong to the same ethnic group- Turks, Azeri, Kazakhs, Usbek, Turkmen, Kyrgyz...
DeleteWell done to Air Astana for starting Podgorica flights. I never would have thought it would turn so successful.
ReplyDeleteIf Serbia will pay for these flights then it would be more than logical to have code share with JU.
ReplyDeleteMore feeding to North American routes. Just need to synchronize waves
DeleteCrazy
ReplyDeleteWhat?
DeleteAnyone ever been to Kazakhstan?
ReplyDeleteYes, amazing and beautiful country. Astana is very modern, Dubai like, but Almaty is a jewel! I was impressed when reading about Almaty history prior visiting it. Astana Airways is amazing airline and only one profitable during Covid times without any state subsidies.
DeleteYes, what is of interest to you?
DeleteNice. If the ticket is not too expensive I would like to visit. What are the prices like over there?
DeleteApproximately at the same level as prices in Turkey although it is not much of a touristic destination like Turkey is. Caspian sea towns Aktau / Atyrau are not really resorts but rather industrial centers. A lot of the country is desert like. Strong winds blow all the time; summers are hot and winter cold. Astana is modern and looks quite empty, the only city really worth seeing is Almaty because of the mountains. The area North is quite green with hilly terrains. Uralsk is a nice town in the North. Overall really nothing special to be seen worth making that long trip.
DeleteI'm going there today via SAW... let's see.
DeleteNot too important. For money Alaska will launch the flight... The good thing is JU will not be bothered with this.
ReplyDeleteAlaska?
DeleteA decade of people complaining about taxpayer money going to JU even though it creates jobs, brings in foreigners, supports and develops important markets. But now they're all silent even though as far as wasting money goes, subsidizing pointless Kazakhstan flights is really up there. Let's be real knowing how our country works, this is probably for the interest of some shady businessmen close to SNS leadership for god knows what they're up to there
ReplyDeleteI am always the first in line to criticize SNS, but this is some really unfounded speculation. Subsidies for exotic and untested markets are standard everywhere in the world.
DeleteExactly, that's why JU flies BNX.
DeleteOff course most people here are silent, their boss thinks, no one else...
DeleteIf its so common giving subsidies to exotic destinations, why our government doesn`t give subsidies to Indian carrier, or Garuda, I`m sure would be much more tourists and businessman from those countries, or viceversa...
@Vlad
DeleteCould you name one such exotic and untested destination that's subsidized?
And let's say that's a thing, then there are better destinations in more important economies to subsidize like India, China, Japan etc. There's absolutely no economic nor national interests in subsidizing Kazakhstan flights
BNX. That's the only destination for which our national carrier gets money to fly from other governments (the example as this Kazakh). I don't think it is too exotic.
DeleteBNX isn't either exotic or untested, but kinda akin to a PSO service as there's importance to connect it to Belgrade towards which RS gravitates both in political and economic sense, while providing extra connectivity via BEG. None of those benefits would be provided by connecting BEG with Kazakhstan...
DeleteAlso by asking for example I meant anywhere in the world where a government with a well connected hub pays an airline from another country with insignificant trade volume or political ties to fly to it...
DeletePointless really, unles subsidies are very small.
ReplyDeleteYes, right after Cairo and whatnot has Vučić announced.
ReplyDeleteI am just imagining that 166-seat configuration on their A321neo aircraft.
ReplyDeleteThat is 64 seats seats less that Wizz = 11 rows.
Wow.
Their A321neos look fantastic. Beautiful business class too.
DeleteIf they can make TGD work, they definitely can BEG
ReplyDeleteNo. TGD and ZAG act effectively as seaside airports during the summer unlike BEG which doesn't have an hour-distant beach.
DeleteZG seaside airport?! You smoked pipe this morning xD
DeleteSPU and DBU are only true gems of our coast, ZG can dream and wet..
I said "act effectively". Or you think Koreans coming to Zagreb for pleasant summer vibes, light breeze and cocktails at Jarun?
DeleteIf Koreans wanted to go to the coast, they would have operated directly to Dubrovnik like United does.
DeleteSo it is about Jarun and not Adriatic with these Koreans? Great insight.
DeleteNo, it's United's passengers wanting to go to Zagreb but flying to Dubrovink anyway :)))
DeleteAnyway T'Way will not fly to ZAG or DBV.
Has a single one of these announcements he makes when meeting foreigners ever materialized?
ReplyDeleteHopefully it never materializes. It’s a ridiculous idea
DeleteAbsolutely love SCAT airlines, hope we'll get it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they could find more stupid name for that airline.
DeleteIt remainds me on Šamačka industrija tekstila (ŠIT).
Come on now don't kink shame them
DeleteNoel Phillips has done two trip reports on SCAT. If you watch the first video, SCAT was comically bad.
Delete11:45 XD
DeleteWhy Serbia would give subsidies to airlines from Kazakhstan? Are Serbian citizens gonna be flying to there? What is the explanation of this move? Kazakh people coming in big numbers as tourists to Serbia, or what? If that is the case, which I doubt, hey should give us some facts....
ReplyDeleteOf course they will come, when there are flights and proper propaganda in Kazakhstan. Their economy works very well, but they can not travel without visa to most of Europe. And Belgrade is the closest they can get
Deleteit is like opening tunnel in Fruska Gora.. As soon as it is opened, Sremci will stike to NS fast forward. nithing on their sight to stop them xD
DeleteNow it is sharp curve in Irig :D
Explanation is expanding the economic and trade exchanges
DeleteThis is one line Belgrade does not need to subsidize.
DeleteKarta Budimpešta-Astana (NurSultan) je 2019. kad sam ja išao bila oko 70ak €. Wizz naravno.
ReplyDeleteSa tim cenama, sasvim je očekivano da se leti tamo.
Ja bih opet išao, mada pre u Uzbekistan i Tadžikistan.
Zašto da ne, mi ćemo iz budžeta pokriti po 450 eura za svakog putnika, a vi platite 70 eura kartu za Astanu. Meni to zvuči pošteno.
DeleteI looked at projects announced by the government and they don't justify subsidies. Flying via IST or other transfer airports between BEG and Kazakhstan instead of direct flight is not a major inconvenience that could cause joint projects to collapse. Serbia has successful business ties with many countries and regions without direct flights.
DeleteGenius move again by the government. This is an undiscovered source of passengers that will increase the number of passengers to BEG
ReplyDeleteSMFH
DeleteThis service will mostly be used by the Chinese.
ReplyDeleteNot having anything against giving subsidies to foreign companies but a big strange choice next to some other unserved destinations. Hopefully will work in some ways. I can see that Astana is having boom in Europe. Every now and then I got their add on youtube/ fb and I live in Italy and Germany.
ReplyDelete