Air Serbia carried a total of 476,592 passengers on both scheduled and charter flights in September 2024, marking a 4.3 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
From the airports in Belgrade, Niš, and Kraljevo, the national airline operated as many as 4,815 flights, which is four percent more than in September 2023.
In the first nine months of this year, almost three and a half million passengers flew with Air Serbia, reflecting a growth of 7.8 percent compared to the same period last year.
Cooperation between Air Serbia and China Southern
One day prior to the announcement of the September figures, Air Serbia and the national airline of the People’s Republic of China, China Southern Airlines, have agreed to further enhance their commercial cooperation.
Air Serbia General Manager Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupic and China Southern Airlines Director General of Commercial Steering Committee, Wang Zhen, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Belgrade.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, the companies will negotiate to strengthen cooperation in various areas, including, among others, code-share partnership, cargo operations, ground handling services, MRO, catering, lounge cooperation options within their networks, and more.
“Air Serbia’s strategic plans are closely linked with the development of operations to the People’s Republic of China. For almost two years, we have been successfully operating flights to Tianjin, and on 30 September, for the first time, we are introducing a direct service between Belgrade and Guangzhou, while by the end of 2024, we also plan to commence a service to Shanghai. The Memorandum of Understanding signed with China Southern Airlines represents an important step in strengthening the relationship between our companies, as well as between our countries. Along with expanding commercial cooperation, which ensures even better connectivity between Serbia and China and opens up new opportunities for passengers, we are also considering joint venture. Opportunities lie ahead, and we will strive to make the most of them wisely,” said Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia.
“China Southern Airlines has recently launched a new route from Guangzhou to Belgrade at the end of September, which will significantly enhance connectivity between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding marks a key step in China Southern Airlines’ commitment to the Belt and Road Initiative and a new starting point for its cooperation with Air Serbia. Looking ahead, China Southern Airlines and Air Serbia will work closely together to provide passengers with a more seamless and exceptional customer experience,” said Han Wensheng, President of China Southern Air Holding Company Limited.
So far, Air Serbia and China Southern Airlines have cooperated based on an interline agreement in the form of a so-called special prorate agreement, which has provided additional travel options for passengers between Belgrade and Guangzhou via common points in the traffic networks of both carriers. The introduction of a direct service between the capital of Serbia and the city of Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China will open additional opportunities for significantly enhancing this cooperation through more connection points across the traffic networks of both airlines via Guangzhou and Belgrade.
“The recorded monthly results during September show that passenger interest in our flights to various destinations across Europe remains high. Thanks to this, we carried more than 470,000 passengers last month. The last day of that month was particularly important for the Serbian national airline, as we launched a direct route between Belgrade and Guangzhou. This is our second destination in the People’s Republic of China and the fourth in long-haul traffic. Air Serbia’s network will continue to grow in the coming period, which we hope will contribute to even greater demand for our flights,” added Boško Rupić.
The most popular Air Serbia destinations during September in the region were Tivat and Podgorica, in Western Europe Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Rome, while in the Euro-Mediterranean zone, the most popular flights were to Istanbul, Larnaca, and Athens.
