Air Serbia's new routes key to future expansion

Air Serbia is in the process of launching nine new routes from Belgrade which it says will play a role in its future expansion plans. The airline noted it made a careful selection of the seven year-round and two seasonal routes, bringing its network to a total of 49 international destinations.

The first of the new destinations, Helsinki, was launched over the weekend. Despite a small Serbian diaspora in Finland and limited business ties between the two countries, the two cities will be linked with three weekly flights. Air Serbia is initially targeting transfer passengers on the route but expects for leisure travel between the two countries to develop in time. "The flights departing from Helsinki have been scheduled so as to offer smooth transfers via Belgrade Airport to Tirana, Sofia, Dubrovnik, Split, Larnaca, Athens, Thessaloniki, Beirut, Skopje, Podgorica, Tivat, Bucharest and Krasnodar", Air Serbia's CEO, Duncan Naysmith, said. He added, "I am confident that the three weekly flights we added between the two cities will significantly improve connectivity of Finland and the Nordic region on the one hand with Southeast Europe on the other, thus contributing to the development of business and tourism cooperation". The inaugural service from Belgrade saw a group of senior Serbian travellers visit Finland as part of an organised tour group, while the return flight also saw transfer traffic from Russia.

As part of its expansion, Air Serbia is returning with scheduled flights to the Iberian peninsula after 21 years. The inaugural flight from Belgrade to Madrid registered a cabin load factor of 91.7%, while the return service had a 100% load factor. The weekend also saw the launch of flights to Barcelona, which was followed by Nice. Official airport welcome ceremonies at these destinations will take place over the coming days. On Monday morning, Air Serbia returned to Kiev after a three-year period. Similar to Helsinki, the airline is targeting transfer passengers on the route, in particular for onward travel to Tirana, Sarajevo, Sofia, Dubrovnik, Split, Larnaca, Athens, Thessaloniki, Beirut, Skopje, Podgorica, Tivat, Bucharest, Zurich and New York. Today, the Serbian carrier will mark the resumption of flights to Rijeka, after 29 years, and Cairo, following a fourteen-year hiatus. The airline will complete its summer expansion from Belgrade by resuming scheduled operations to Zadar on June 21, for the first time since August 1990.

Air Serbia touches down in Kiev

Commenting on the expansion, Mr Naysmith noted, “With the introduction of no less than nine new routes in just one month, Air Serbia has once again confirmed it is the regional leader in commercial air transport. We are very happy because we managed to significantly improve the functionality of our network, through careful selection of destinations, and in accordance with our passengers’ desires and the strategic plans for further expansion. The new routes that are being launched are a result of hard work by numerous departments of the national airline, over several months, which makes us extremely proud”. The carrier added, "By connecting the Serbian capital with nine new, strategically selected destinations, and by expanding the Air Serbia international network to 49 destinations, our national airline provides strong support for our economy and drives tourism growth".

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EX-YU Aviation News

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