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Air Canada Aeroplan has done an incredible job adding airline partners outside of Star Alliance over the past few months as the program has added Etihad, Azul and Vistara. Well, Aeroplan has now announced another new partner.
Aeroplan adds Air Serbia as a partner
As of Monday, November 9, 2020, Air Serbia will be a partner of Air Canada Aeroplan. However, this will be exclusively an exchange partnership, which means Aeroplan members will be able to redeem miles for travel on Air Serbia, but not earn miles.
Air Serbia offers a single long-haul route between Belgrade and New York, then offers extensive access to Eastern Europe and beyond. Air Serbia’s long-haul aircraft is an Airbus A330, which previously flew for Jet Airways. The plane has business class herringbone seats, and offers a great flexible product (at least that was the case the last time I flew with the airline).
Air Serbia’s A330 business class
When Aeroplan members redeem miles on Air Serbia:
- There will be no additional charges imposed by the carrier
- Members will be able to combine travel on Air Serbia, Star Alliance airlines and any other partner.
Air Serbia business class catering
How many Aeroplan Miles do you need to travel with Air Serbia?
The introduction of this Air Serbia partnership coincides with the launch of the new Aeroplan program (which has been delayed by one day). With that, we see Aeroplan completely adjusting its premium prices.
Here is the relevant reward table for travel between North America and the Atlantic:
And here is the table of relevant rewards for trips to the Atlantic region:
For a 4,001 to 6,000 mile trip, you can expect to pay:
- 40,000 miles in economy class
- 70,000 miles in business class
- You can add a stopover to the route for 5000 miles
New York to Belgrade covers a distance of 4511 miles. In other words, for 70,000 miles you can travel business class from New York to Belgrade to Athens, Tel Aviv, Skopje or many other cities, or for 75,000 miles you can book the same with a layover at Belgrade.
Air Serbia’s only long-haul route is between New York and Belgrade
You can also redeem Etihad Guest miles on Air Serbia
It should be noted that the other best way to redeem miles for travel on Air Serbia is through Etihad Guest, given that Etihad owns a stake in Air Serbia. For comparison, Etihad Guest charges the following number of miles for travel on Air Serbia between New York and Belgrade:
- 74,970 miles in economy class
- 65,082 miles in business class
However, this only includes one segment, and any connection should be booked separately. So for the most part, booking with Aeroplan will be a better deal.
Could Air Serbia start flying to Toronto?
It should be noted that in mid-2018 there was talk of Air Serbia launching flights between Belgrade and Toronto. Seasonally, Air Serbia only operates two flights per week between New York and Belgrade, so suffice it to say that the aircraft has the capacity to operate other routes.
So, does this new Aeroplan partnership imply a new route and increased cooperation between Air Canada and Air Serbia? Personally, I don’t think:
- This partnership is specific to the redemption of miles rather than the accumulation of miles, which suggests that we likely won’t see any sort of codeshare or expanded partnership between the two airlines.
- Aeroplan’s leadership has done an incredible job adding new airline partners to provide Aeroplan members with more trading opportunities, and it seems to me that is part of it.
None of this is to say that Air Serbia would ultimately not be able to make it to Toronto, but rather I wouldn’t take this announcement as specifically suggesting it.
Could Air Serbia eventually launch flights to Toronto?
At the end of the line
Air Canada Aeroplan has added Air Serbia as a new airline partner, marking the fourth new airline partner in recent months. It is really impressive.
The partnership with Air Serbia is specific to redeeming miles, so Aeroplan members can redeem miles between New York and Belgrade, and beyond.
It has the potential to mean a lot – Air Serbia is a beautiful airline, Belgrade is a great city, and it’s especially cool when you can stop over there for just 5,000 extra miles.
Are you excited about the new Air Canada and Air Serbia partnership?
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