Air Serbia to increase flights to Istanbul

Thanks to the growing demand for flights between Belgrade and Istanbul and the bourgeoning commercial cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Air Serbia will be operating up to 17 flights a week between the two cities during the upcoming winter season, instead of the current 10. Starting on 7 November, the number of flights between the two destinations will gradually increase, and during the summer season of 2023, passengers can expect as many as 6 flights a day. Three flights will be operated by Air Serbia, and the remaining three by Turkish Airlines, under the companies’ codeshare partnership. This partnership will make Istanbul the best-connected global hub available for flights from Belgrade, while passengers flying from Istanbul via Belgrade will have seamless connectivity options in the wider Balkan region. At the same time, Air Serbia will become the European airline with the most weekly flights from Istanbul Airport.

“Following a hiatus of several years, in December 2019, Air Serbia recommenced flights to Istanbul. Within just three years and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to our cooperation with Turkish Airlines, we have grown from zero to a prospective three flights a day. During the winter season, apart from 17 flights a week from Belgrade, Air Serbia will operate two flights a week both from Kraljevo-Morava and Niš to Turkey’s largest city. Focusing beyond Istanbul, we continue to expand our code-share cooperation with AnadoluJet, the daughter company of Turkish Airlines, with a view to increasing weekly services between Belgrade and the Turkish capital of Ankara. Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines also plan to expand their partnership to include flights between Belgrade and Izmir, to further improve inter-connectivity between the two countries,” said Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia.

Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia continue to explore further opportunities for commercial cooperation. In the future, it could lead to a potential joint venture, which would enable both companies to offer improved and competitive services between Turkey and Serbia and to expand their offers and passenger benefits.

In June this year, during the 78th annual General Assembly of IATA in Doha, in the presence of CEOs - Bilal Ekşi and Jiri Marek, Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This document envisages the strengthening of existing cooperation in the areas of code-share partnerships, cargo operations, and passenger loyalty programs (Frequent Flyer Program) and exploring options for cooperation involving VIP lounges in their networks.