Air Serbia announces codeshare with Air China

Air Serbia announced the implementation of a codeshare agreement with Air China, the national carrier of the People's Republic of China. The agreement will pave the way for closer commercial cooperation between the two airlines, further extend the partners' networks and offer customers more choice when travelling between Europe and the Far East.

The terms of the codeshare agreement were set forth during the recent visit of Air Serbia's top management team to Beijing, where they held meetings with senior officials at key companies and institutions in China's travel industry, including Air China, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and China International Travel Service. The implementation of the agreement comes after the approval of Air Serbia's safety audit, as required by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration.

Under the agreement, effective May 5, a codeshare will be established on the Belgrade-Beijing route, whereby Air Serbia will place its "JU" code on Beijing-Vienna flights operated by Air China, while Air China will place its marketing code on the route operated by Air Serbia between Belgrade and Vienna. Additionally, both airlines will continue to explore additional connecting points, which will not only enable greater customer choice, but also help facilitate the partnership to grow.

Dane Kondić, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia said: "Codeshares are a fundamental pillar of our strategy to offer our guests greater flexibility and choice to key distant destinations, while our comprehensive commercial partnership with Air China is a crucial step in enhancing our presence in China and the Far East. We are now able to enhance our business and leisure travel offering between Serbia and China, and onwards to strategically important destinations throughout Asia and Europe. We are equally confident that the cooperation between our two airlines will not only further contribute to the traditionally friendly relations and the exciting momentum of growth in economic ties between Serbia and China, but also has a significant role to play in facilitating the attraction of Chinese investment to countries within our network, a strategic priority for our wider region".

The enhanced commercial cooperation between the two carriers is based on the renewed Air Services Agreement between Serbia and China, initiated in May 2014. The aim was to update the agreement, originally established in 1972, and to define the regulatory framework for the relationship between the designated carriers of both countries, Air Serbia and Air China. The codeshare agreement follows a Special Prorate Agreement between Air Serbia and Air China, established in September 2014, which enabled both airlines to offer their guests access to a significant number of important destinations within their respective networks in Europe, Asia and Australia from Beijing, Shanghai and Belgrade.