Flag carrier Air Serbia plans to launch a direct line to China, supervisory board chairman Sinisa Mali said on Tuesday.
The direct line to China would boost the business and tourist potential of the region, Serbian national broadcaster Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS) quoted Mali as saying at the opening of the Southeast Europe Aviation Summit (SEAS) in Belgrade.
Air Serbia will directly pay 200 million euro ($212.4 million) to the country’s budget this year and the additional indirect contribution, through tourism, will amount to additional 800 million euro, Mali said.
In 2013, Etihad Airways signed a strategic partnership deal to acquire 49% of then state-owned JAT Airways while getting a five-year management contract for the airline and rebranding it to Air Serbia in October of the same year. The remaining 51% of the carrier are held by the Serbian government.
As a result of the deal, Air Serbia recovered its financial performance, booking a net profit of 3.9 million euro in 2015, up 44% on the year.
In June 2016, Air Serbia launched a regular service between Belgrade and New York, the first direct flight connection between Serbia and the U.S. in 24 years. The route is serviced five times a week by a 254-seat Airbus A330 wide-body twin-engine jet airliner.
