Air Serbia Launches Service to Chicago

Air Serbia, the flag carrier of the Republic of Serbia, inaugurated its long-awaited Belgrade to Chicago today, marking the first nonstop link between these cities in exactly 31 years.

[BEG,ORD]

Dobrodošli, Air Serbia!

Air Serbia has begun a new, nonstop service between its hub in Belgrade (BEG) and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD). 

This new service will be operated by the airline's fleet of two Airbus A330-200s, registered YU-ARB and YU-ARC. Chicago joins New York (JFK) as the second American destination for Air Serbia.

The last time Chicago and Belgrade were linked with nonstop service was 1992. JAT Yugoslav Airlines, Air Serbia's predecessor, served the route until its closure on May 17th of that year.

Air Serbia knew that its new service to Chicago would be special, and thus, they inaugurated this new route on May 17th, 2023, 31 years to the day that JAT operated its last flight on the same route.

Huge Demand

Serbia is a very popular destination from Chicago, a city that is home to an estimated 350,000 residents of Serbian origin. As such, people have been calling for nonstop service to Serbia ever since it ended.
 

Air Serbia notes that its new Chicago flights are sold-out until at least mid-June, showing the strong and recurrent demand for nonstop travel between Chicago and Serbia.

The new service will operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays until June 12th, from which point it will increase to thrice weekly, adding a Monday service. 

Here's the full schedule, noting that each day of service has a different timetable. All times displayed are local times of the departure and arrival cities:

*Monday service begins after June 12th
 

The Aircraft

The Air Serbia A330-200s being used for the route feature two different cabin configurations. YU-ARB has 257 seats (21 Business, 236 Economy) while YU-ARC has 268 seats (18 Business, 250 Economy).

Unlike the rest of the Air Serbia fleet, the two A330s are painted with special tail art, each honoring a prominent Serbian historical figure.

YU-ARB honors Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla with his portrait painted on its tail, while YU-ARC dons Serbian physicist Mihajlo Pupin.