newstodate.aero
Jan 22, 2014 (newstodate): Serbia had hoped for a short-cut to its dreams of adding Air Serbia's prefix to Etihad's North American flights - but this has not been approved by the US authorities.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has denied Air Serbia's request for approval of its code-share with Etihad on Etihad's flights to the USA, arguing that it makes no sense to transport passengers from Serbia to Abu Dhabi for onward flights by Etihad to the USA.
Air Serbia will thus have to wait for the next assessment by the FAA of aviation safety, expected by March 2014.
If Serbia regains its Category I status, Air Serbia may be allowed to establish direct flights into the USA.
Serbia was downgraded from Category 1 in 2002 barring any service by a Serbia-registered aircraft carrier into North American airports, and the country has since made several unsuccessful attempts to regain its position that would allow JAT and now Air Serbia to launch flights on routes to the USA.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has denied Air Serbia's request for approval of its code-share with Etihad on Etihad's flights to the USA, arguing that it makes no sense to transport passengers from Serbia to Abu Dhabi for onward flights by Etihad to the USA.
Air Serbia will thus have to wait for the next assessment by the FAA of aviation safety, expected by March 2014.
If Serbia regains its Category I status, Air Serbia may be allowed to establish direct flights into the USA.
Serbia was downgraded from Category 1 in 2002 barring any service by a Serbia-registered aircraft carrier into North American airports, and the country has since made several unsuccessful attempts to regain its position that would allow JAT and now Air Serbia to launch flights on routes to the USA.