Air Serbia

Initially I flew with JAT Airways back in September from SKG to BEG with an extremely noisy turboprop aircraft. Either due to long service or due to bad maintenance it felt bad and the service was mediocre having two stewards with basic English and average catering. On January 11 I boarded JU523 again from SKG to BEG. I boarded an Emirates leased A319 with Air Serbia livery and had four very kind stewards. I found small pillows in Air Serbia brand on the seats and overall a huge boost in standards. I asked for a seat change due to a knee problem I had for the seats right at the emergency exit corridor and was immediately granted one. The catering from two small cupcakes in foil had changed into a paperbag with a 0.25l water bottle a paper cup and a packed sandwich with options for only cheese cheese and ham or cheese and turkey plus the trolley with the bar. Given the fact that the flight takes slightly over an hour those are excellent choices. Only minor point is the training of the personnel into the new status of the airline calling once "Welcome onboard JAT Airways flight" and once "Thank you for choosing Air Serbia flight" Overall the impression I got was as if I was in a star alliance equivalent member airline.

JU 651 SVO-BEG (27th Dec). B733 YU-ANK seat 2A. Load factor 100% (both J and Y classes). Departed gate 16 min late due to late start of boarding. Cabin crew purser in early 50's but all other members significantly younger. Crew did not provide assistance with overcoats but welcome drinks served. Newspapers menu and food orders taken by purser while taxiing. Served after take off drink with warm nuts. Choice of main food between chicken with vegetables and staffed zucchini. Appetizer consisted of 2-3 shrimps and salmon. Chocolate cake for desert very tasty. Choice between 2 red and 2 white wines and good selection of aperitifs and non alcoholic drinks. Overall good meals and selection but nothing spectacular. Service was good and there is nothing to complain about but it lacked a bit of final touch to categorize it as something one remembers no refills offered (same with bread basket) but after asking I got everything. Cockpit crew made 2 announcements to welcome passengers and also gave in flight details. Arrived BEG about 15 minutes after schedule at gate A10 (operational air bridge). Luggage came in shortly but priority tag status was not observed during delivery. Overall fair rating would be 8 (out of ten). To be improved: earlier check in time of departure punctuality assistance with coats a bit more leg room appetizer could be better and a salad would be a + additional runs with bread / wine (without asking) would be nice. Absolutely not worst than AF or LH European service in business but not quite like Asian or Middle East airlines.

Flew JU656 BEG-SVO on 8/1/14. Departure on time. 100% full even though SU had a flight leaving some 20-30 minutes prior to ours. Catering in business was fantastic worth trying "home-made meatballs and stuffed peppers" and Serbian made Chardonnay! Purser and cabin staff very communicative and pleasant. Overall great flight and product even for a red-eye.

Travelled to Belgrade on 9th November YU 381 and returned to London on 16th November YU380. What a pleasant surprise. Food was very good and for a change it was served with proper cutlery!

London Heathrow to SKG via Belgrade return and feel disappointed. At the beginning of November my flight which I had booked in May to get a good price was rescheduled and now included a sleepover in Belgrade both ways with no accommodation offered. All 4 flights were late from 30 to 40 minutes without an explanation nor an apology offered. Cabin was very nice new and modern and staff looked professional but were mostly inattentive and got annoyed when asked to move out of the way so people could get to the toilet. Even when I asked for specific help I was ignored by several FAs. English was a problem on the flight back to Heathrow. Drinks get served by 1 member of staff to the entire cabin which takes about an hour. By the time I got my drink I had spent about 2 hours without a drink there is no option to buy any at Belgrade past security check and flight was so late. By the time we got our drinks the meal that had been served an hour before had gone cold the cheese on top of the salad had started to melt and the white wine (served in a small plastic cup) had gone warm. Some people were told "sorry no beef left chicken only". That was the only flight that offered a decent meal. I thought overall that a lot of effort has been made with the re-branding and it looks great but customer service is not great and there are organisational issues on board. Most disappointing was the cancellation of the daily connection between Heathrow and SKG and how we were dealt with. I will be avoiding this airline in future.

TIV-BEG return economy class. Both flights operated by ATR 72 aircraft. On both legs aircraft showing age cabin dirty and seats old and cramped. One complimentary drink offered on each flight. Cabin crew very polite in spite of their age and dressed in a little bit worn out uniforms. Still the best option on this route.

FRA-BEG return last week. Flight experience good quite old but clean Boeing 737-300 cabin crew was friendly. Inflight service very simple (consisted of a small cheese ham and pickles sandwich and beverages) but adequate for a 2 hours flight. Would fly with them again.

LHR-Belgrade-LHR in business. Alitalia lounge at Heathrow was quiet and pleasant with adequate facilities. Onboard the 737 business was in a dedicated cabin with three rows of seats in a 2x2 config. These are old-style first class seats with plenty of leg room. Pre-flight juice and water offered sparkling wine on request. FA’s busy and courteous. Food ordinary airline food served in massive portions – a Serbian characteristic. Crew generous with wine and other drinks. Cabin was full but with all that space you hardly noticed. All in all it made me nostalgic for the days when most business classes in Europe were like this – ie a sufficiently different experience to warrant the higher price. JAT’s price is roughly £500 as opposed to BA £800 on the same route. Only slight disappointment was the funereal business lounge at Belgrade (tatty purple leather sofas) but even that offered a waitress service of drinks and snacks. Would definitely fly JAT business again.

Business class Dubai-Belgrade via Beirut. Very nice flight on 737-300 aircraft in good condition with 12 Business class seats. Cabin crew professional meals with full size trays out of Dubai and Beirut. Luggage claim in Belgrade was quick.

I regularly travel on JAT Business Class between Zurich and Belgrade and am extremely satisfied with the product which is much better than one would typically expect. Seating is probably the best Business Class seating on short haul flight with 2 x 2 seating big First Class leather seats and only 10-12 seats depending on aircraft type. Service is 4* with hot meals being served even on afternoon flights of one and a half hour duration. early they are usually less expensive to London than BA.