Air Serbia announces start of sale of tickets for direct service between Belgrade and New York - First return tickets bought by Vucic and US ambassador for EUR 399

The news that the first three tickets are sold was communicated by Aleksandar Vucic, the prime minister of Serbia, during this morning’s opening of the 38th International Tourism Fair in Belgrade, the largest annual tourism event in the Balkans. These first three tickets are purchased by the prime minister himself, US Ambassador Kyle Scott and Marija Gacesa, who is a dual citizen of Serbia and the USA.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Sinisa Mali, the chairman of Air Serbia and mayor of Belgrade, and Dane Kondic, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia.

To celebrate the new service, Air Serbia is offering travellers special promotional fares, with round trips originating from Belgrade starting at only EUR 399 for Economy Class and EUR 2,499 for Business Class, including taxes and charges.

These special introductory fares will be available for purchase from 18 February to 24 February and can be booked through the Air Serbia website on airserbia.com, any Air Serbia sales office or travel agents.

The announcement also included the launch date for the flights, which will be 23 June 2016.

- This is a great and positive symbol for Serbia. There are no originating flights to the USA from any other country in the region, which is why there is such a huge interest in the new offering from Air Serbia. I am very happy that today, at the Tourism Fair, we can announce the start of ticket sales on the Belgrade – New York route - emphasised PM Vucic.

Air Serbia will launch a scheduled non-stop service between its Belgrade hub at Nikola Tesla Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in June 2016*, deploying an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the route.

In addition, it was announced that the proceeds from the sale of the first pair of Business Class and Economy Class tickets will be donated to the Blic Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance in Serbia.

Sinisa Mali, the chairman of Air Serbia and mayor of Belgrade, said: “The Air Serbia New York service will have a huge impact upon Serbia and the city of Belgrade, bringing many thousands of business and leisure travellers from the United States."

- Today’s announcement, that tickets are now on sale, marks a great moment and we look forward to the build-up over the coming months when the A330 aircraft arrives in Belgrade and the moment the inaugural flight takes-off in June - Mali added.

The New York service has been assigned flight numbers JU500 and JU501, the same numbers used by Air Serbia’s predecessor when the carrier operated non-stop flights to the United States 24 years ago.

Operating five times a week, the flight will depart Belgrade at 07:30 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, to arrive in JFK International Airport at 12:00. On Friday and Saturday, it will depart Belgrade at 12:55, to arrive in JFK at 17:25. The return service will take off at 14:40 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, to land in Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport at 05:30. On Friday and Saturday, it will depart JFK at 19:30 to arrive in Belgrade at 10:20.

Dane Kondic, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia, said: "We are pleased to report that our flight approval request with the United States civil aviation authorities is progressing well and we are on track for a successful launch in June 2016.”