Air Serbia recorded strong results on its first transatlantic service to New York in 2022, as well as its busiest first quarter performance on the route in 2023. The carrier welcomed 74.916 passengers on flights between Belgrade and the Big Apple last year, up 2.3% on the pre-pandemic 2019, according to data provided to EX-YU Aviation News by the United States Bureau of Air Transport Statistics. The annual average cabin load factor stood at 81.9%, up 2.4 points on 2019. Notably, Air Serbia had one of the highest annual load factors on flights to and from New York’s JFK Airport among European carriers, ahead of the likes of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, LOT Polish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Finnair, Turkish Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and ITA Airways. In 2022, Air Serbia uplifted 3621.9 tons of cargo on the route, up 104% on the pre-pandemic 2019.
Air Serbia registers record results on New York service
Air Serbia’s New York route performance, 2022
Air Serbia’s New York route performance, Q1 2023
During the first quarter of this year, Air Serbia handled 14.113 passengers on its New York service. The figure represents an increase of 64.8% on the same period last year. The airline also saw a high load factor during the first quarter, standing at 89.3%. Notably, in March of this year, almost all flights from the US’ largest city to Belgrade were sold out, with the average load factor standing at 99.8%. High loads were also achieved from Belgrade to New York, amounting to 98.8% in March and 95.9% in January. This summer, the airline has increased weekly operations between the two cities to daily for the first time.
Last month, the Serbian carrier introduced its second transatlantic service, to Chicago, with the route also performing well. “Flights from Chicago to Belgrade have sold out very quickly. As we move forward into the season, we also see that flights from Belgrade to Chicago are also filling up. We are satisfied with this route. We will continue to grow on the American market. We are considering Toronto and Miami, which we have already mentioned many times, and after that we hope there will be enough destinations in North America in the years to come”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said. The Serbian carrier is awaiting approval from US authorities to place its designator code and flight numbers onto 26 jetBlue destinations from New York’s JFK airport.