TRIP REPORT: Air Serbia, Istanbul - Belgrade
TRIP REPORT
I recently flew from Istanbul to Belgrade with Air Serbia. I purchased the ticket just a few days prior to my flight as my plans had changed. Unfortunately, at the time of booking economy was sold out and there were only two seats left in business. So, I purchased the business class ticket, which was a one way ticket as I was not returning to Istanbul. It wasn’t as expensive as I expected it would be despite the plane being full.
I arrived at Istanbul Airport exactly 2.5 hours prior to my flight just as check-in was opening. There was already a line of people waiting but thankfully no one at the business class counter. I checked in quickly, was given a window seat in the first row and went to passport and security. As it turns out, a year and half after Air Serbia started flying to Istanbul, the airline still hasn’t found the time or seems to have bothered to contract a lounge for its business class passengers or arrange for its passengers to use the fast-track lane for passport and security check, which took half an hour at a very busy Istanbul. Part of purchasing a ticket in business class should be that you can have some benefits from it at the airport too. So that was a disappointment.
As I waited at a crowded Istanbul Airport (it was a Sunday), around an hour prior to departure I checked if the plane was on its way to Istanbul. It turned out it hadn’t even left Belgrade. I checked what was happening with the aircraft and noticed it arrived on time from its previous destination which was a charter from Antalya. So, it was delayed on the ground in Belgrade for some reason. The departure screen in Istanbul kept delaying the flight by 20 minutes every 20 minutes.
The business class section consisted of a single row, with the middle seat blocked. There was no curtain or divider between business and economy, I guess they took it down because of the previous charter. Business class was also full. There was a Russian lady and I assume her child on one side, and me and another Serbian passenger on the other.
Even though everyone seemed to be on board and no one was boarding the plane anymore, we waited and waited at the gate. After 45 minutes of waiting on a hot plane, the pilot came on to say that some passengers haven’t shown up and that we are waiting for them. Fifteen minutes later, they closed the door and we started to push back (no other passenger showed up). The crew announcements on Air Serbia are now pre-recorded so there was no apology from the crew for the late arrival of the plane.
We took off from Istanbul and some 15 minutes later the crew distributed a menu for this short flight, which was a nice touch. The cabin crew member asked what I would like. I ordered the fish, but she said they were out of this option. Considering there were only 4 passengers, I wondered how many meals they loaded in the first place. So, as an alternative I had the hamburger that was the only choice left. I asked for a coke to drink and was asked if I wanted some ice. I got a single mini ice cube and drinks were brought out after everyone almost finished their meals. It’s not that important but I seriously wonder if there is a reason Air Serbia is bothering with having an inter-European business class.
The food was fine. The meat was ok, the chips, as one would expect in an airplane, were quite awful but considering it is a short flight it’s nice they offer a choice in the first place. However, personally, I would rather Air Serbia invested a bit in the presentation of their meals instead of offering multiple meal choices. Better do one thing right. For example, compare this meal to the one offered by Lufthansa between Belgrade and Frankfurt or Belgrade and Munich and how they are presented.
This was a former Adria plane, and it was interesting to note that the first row has tables installed in front of the seats but there is a sticker saying not to use them and to instead use the ones in the armrest. Adria also used to have pop-out screens above every few rows but the plane doesn’t have them anymore.
Around 30 minutes into the flight the pilot came over the PA and finally apologised for the delay, saying the plane was late from Belgrade due to “non-aviation related reasons”, whatever that means. It certainly wasn’t the weather as it was a sunny clear day and over 30C in both Istanbul and Belgrade and all the way en route the weather was good.
We made up some time and landed in Belgrade with a one and half hour delay. The two cabin crew members in front seemed genuinely concerned about the passengers who were about to miss their connecting flights and I could hear them talking (they didn’t close the curtain between the cabin and galley) how it is so stupid that we were delayed, and they hope the onward flights would be waiting for the passengers. As soon as the doors opened the purser immediately asked the ground staff member whether Zagreb left. When he said it did, she asked about Tivat (there seemed to be connecting passengers there too) and he said it left as well. Both crew members were visibly disappointed about it.
Generally, I wouldn’t waste my money on an inter-European business class experience with Air Serbia. It really wasn’t worth it, especially with no lounge in Istanbul either.
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