Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said two days ago that “Air Serbia” will end this year with seven million euros in profit, as well as that direct flights to China and Chicago are planned.
– Despite all this crisis, “Air Serbia” will end 2022 with seven million euros in profit, a new route to China is opening soon, and a direct flight to Chicago is planned from March, April, so that, except for New York, you will be able to fly directly and for Chicago. These are fantastic successes, we are by far the best in the region – said Vučić for TV Prva.
The new plane, the Airbus A330, which will bear the name of the scientist Mihail Pupin, should take off for the Chinese city of Tianjin by the end of the year. “Air Serbia” is currently in the process of obtaining flight permits, which is not easy at all, at least when it comes to China.
China is one of the world’s three largest markets and is predicted to grow much faster than already mature markets such as North America. The reason is that Chinese visitors do not need a visa to visit Serbia, and Serbian citizens do not need a visa for China. It is very rare in Europe. Therefore, China was a logical choice for Air Serbia.
As the company told Politika, Tianjin was chosen because there are very strict restrictions in China due to the pandemic, and also in terms of market access. Airlines can’t fly where they want. From Beijing and Shanghai, no company can fly abroad, including Chinese ones. There is still zero tolerance for covid.
Tianjin is connected to Beijing by high-speed train in 30 minutes and is one of the largest freight hubs in the country. It is currently an alternative to Beijing or Shanghai, but with the potential to become a permanent destination for our airline.
Jirži Marek, director of “Air Serbia”, recently announced that in March 2023, they will launch flights to Chicago, as another North American destination. He explained that their main strategy is to try to fly to destinations that have year-round potential.
When it comes to the business results of “Air Serbia”, it is evident that the national carrier overcame the covid crisis and came close to the result from 2019, when they had a profit of nine million euros. “Air Serbia” recently told Politika that they expect by the end of the year to reach around 90 percent of the number of transported passengers from 2019, when there were 2.8 million. In August, they transported 400,000 passengers, and in September there were 100,000 less. In this company, they hope to exceed that number in 2023 and plan to grow between 10 and 15 percent each following year.
The loss in 2021 was considerably reduced compared to 2020, when it amounted to around nine billion dinars, Politika reports.
