Air Serbia is evaluating the possibility of extending its upcoming seasonal Belgrade – Toronto service into the winter period. The Canadian Embassy in Belgrade, together with Air Serbia, hosted an event yesterday evening to promote the route ahead of its launch next year. Speaking at the gathering, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, “I hope that in six months we might have news on whether we will extend flights into the winter or not. Any new service not only boosts business but stimulates demand. We strongly believe this route will be successful, and that in six months’ time we will have the opportunity to share some positive news”.
The Serbian carrier will launch two weekly flights to Toronto on May 23 next year, with the service currently scheduled to run until September 26. The Ambassador of Canada to Serbia, Michelle Cameron, said, “When two countries have flights, studies show it increases the trust between the two nations. This decision to connect Toronto and Belgrade with a ten-hour flight finally means that we will have passengers and cargo travelling between our two countries. I keep thanking the Serbian carrier, but this is a business venture. Air Serbia has done the metrics and made sure that this is profitable. Air Serbia is not a charity organisation. We applaud this decision”.
Commenting on the Toronto service last month, Mr Marek said, “Demand for Toronto is comparable to, or even stronger than, what we saw when we opened sales for Chicago. It is a very similar market, driven not only by the Serbian diaspora but by travellers from across the wider region. Initial sales indicate significantly higher interest than when we began selling tickets for Chicago, which started at roughly the same time. To put this into perspective, three years ago we operated just one long-haul route, and now we will have five”. Air Serbia is expected to announce a range of new routes which will complement the Toronto launch within the next two weeks.