AnadoluJet to launch new Belgrade service

Turkish Airlines’ lower cost unit AnadoluJet will commence scheduled flights between Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport and Belgrade starting December 1. The service will be maintained four times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a mix of 186-seat Airbus A320neos, 211-seat A321neos and 189-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft. It will compete directly against Pegasus Airlines’ four weekly flights between the two cities and further builds on the frequencies between the two cities which will peak at fifty weekly flights this winter season if both Istanbul’s main gateway (IST) and Sabiha Gocken Airport are taken into account. The new route complements AnadoluJet’s existing flights from Ankara and Izmir to the Serbian capital.

Air Serbia, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines welcomed close to half a million passengers on flights between Belgrade and Istanbul last year, with the route continuing to grow into 2023 as well. The big increase in passenger numbers, up almost 90% on the pre-pandemic 2019, comes as a result of a revised Air Service Agreement between Serbia and Turkey, favouring the flag carriers, and enabling more frequencies, as well as close cooperation between Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines, which has resulted in a wide-ranging codeshare agreement and a potential joint venture. Furthermore, tourism exchange between the two countries has significantly increased, there is a notable rise in Turkish workers in Serbia, while a larger amount of Russian travellers transferring on the route also generated more traffic. Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines handled a total of 380.004 passengers between Belgrade and Istanbul’s main gateway last year. In addition, Pegasus carried a further 81.730 travellers between its Sabiha Gokcen hub and the Serbian capital for a total of 461.734 passengers between the two cities.

Turkish Airlines aims to complete the certification of AnadoluJet by the 2024 summer season, when the carrier would begin operating as a separate entity. It currently uses the “TK” designator code from its parent company. The Turkish flag carrier incorporated AnadoluJet as a new, wholly-owned subsidiary on August 7, 2023. Until now, AnadoluJet was a division of Turkish Airlines. The group will announce new branding for the carrier as a stand-alone firm in the coming months. AnadoluJet will apply for its own Air Operator's Certificate and Operating Licence shortly, even though the division already operates over seventy aircraft and has its own staff. Turkish Airlines is betting heavily on AnadoluJet, a carrier targeting budget-conscious passengers and ethnic traffic, as an engine for regional growth. It plans to increase the division's fleet to over eighty aircraft by the end of this year, even before it is fully spun off.

Further flight details for the new Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen - Belgrade service can be found here. Tickets are now available for purchase through AnadoluJet's and Turkish Airlines' websites.