Air Serbia to outline Turkish Airlines partnership development today

Air Serbia is set to announce developments in relation to its growing partnership with Turkish Airlines today. It comes shortly after stakeholders from Serbia's and Turkey’s aviation sector met during which a new agreement was reached over frequencies, destinations and capacities between the two countries. The announcement, expected before midday, will likely involve additional services between Belgrade and Istanbul. Air Serbia currently maintains ten weekly flights between the two cities, while its Turkish counterpart runs a triple daily service. Bookings on the route have been notably strong, which has increased prices. Passenger numbers between Belgrade and Istanbul grew by 43% during the first three quarters of the year, becoming one of Belgrade’s busiest routes.

Commenting on the Serbian carrier’s growing cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Air Serbia's CEO, Jiri Marek, told the Czech "Denik N" newspaper, “When you can't beat someone, you better befriend them. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Turkish Airlines and we are studying whether we could also proceed with the set-up of a Joint Venture”. Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines previously said the Joint Venture “would enable the two companies to offer more competitive and more affordable flights between Turkey and Serbia, improve the quality of service currently offered, as well as expand the offer and benefits for all passengers”.

Air Serbia has begun adding frequencies on routes within its network for the 2023 summer season, after scheduling wide-ranging growth for the coming winter. So far, services to Istanbul have not been increased past ten weekly, which is likely to change today. On the other hand, Turkish Airlines has embarked on an expansion of its operations into Belgrade this year by introducing services from Ankara through its regional brand AnadoluJet, as well as a third daily service between Istanbul and Belgrade. Commenting on its Ankara - Belgrade service, AnadoluJet said, “The route is showing significant successes and we are certain it will only keep improving with time. It is mainly targeted at point-to-point travellers”. The Turkish Embassy in Serbia noted, “Our goal is to connect Serbia with Antalya through nonstop year-round flights with Turkish Airlines. We are currently talking about this with Air Serbia. We hope we will succeed as Southern Turkey has lovely weather all year round, perfect for tourist visits”.

This news item will be updated during the day.

EX-YU Aviation News

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