TRIP REPORT: Air Serbia, Niš - Tirana via Belgrade

TRIP REPORT

On the 28th of January i flew from Niš to Tirana via Belgrade. I flew both the ATR72 and the Airbus A319 so I could say I was able to get the full Air Serbia experience. The flights were booked about 2 weeks before and cost 30 euros less than a return flight to Belgrade.

After a very short taxi ride, I arrived in the "Constantine the Great" Airport of Niš. The check in and security process was quite simple and fast, and I was able to get to the gate in a short time.

Soon enough, it was time for boarding. We walked to the aircraft while it started to snow and made a quick and short taxi to the runway. The aircraft left the runway 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time which was definitely a new record for me.

The aircraft we flew for today’s flight was YU-APF, a 14-year-old Airbus A319 with a capacity of 144 passengers in a standard 3-3 configuration. It was the same aircraft that brought me to Niš the day before. After completing two flights to Hahn and Cologne it was returning back to its base. From what I could see the LF for this flight was about 25-30% with many connecting to further destinations. There were also some positioning crew flying with us. The flight itself took exactly 33 minutes and we arrived only 14 minutes after the scheduled departure time (another record of mine). Overall, it was an uneventful and smooth flight and as expected, there was no service available.

After landing we were bussed to ‘’domestic arrivals’’ which was right next to the domestic departure gate and from there entered the terminal. It was a very simple and quick process and in just 10 minutes you could go from your plane to the gate of your next flight.

2 hours went by quickly and it was time to board my final flight from gate A4a. The aircraft flying to Tirana today was YU-ALO, a 31-year-old ATR72 with the capacity to seat 66 passengers in standard 2-2 configuration. Funnily enough, it was the same ATR that brought me from Tirana to Belgrade a day before. There were about 30ish passengers in total, which meant a LF of just less than 50%. At least 10 passengers were connecting from the JFK flight from what I overheard but there could definitely have been even more. Unfortunately, it has been a pretty rough January for JU in TIA as they cancelled many flights throughout the month. We departed soon after for a noisy and shaky flight that would take precisely 54 minutes. Serving the flight today were two very nice flight attendants. Apart from the buy on board products, the in-flight service included a small water and two Toto biscuits. Truth be told, the cabin was truly falling apart but as an aviation enthusiast I could say that I enjoyed every single minute of it. With the new ATRs coming this year it was one of my last opportunities to fly with one of these oldies. Finally, we landed in a hazy Tirana about 20 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time.