The easiest way to get to Belgrade, Serbia from the North East is via Air Serbia. Non-stop flights fly out of JFK’s Terminal 4 to Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla International Airport three times a week – every Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

We’ve decided to give this a try and also splurged on an upgrade to Business Class. It’s a nine hour flight after all!

Air Serbia was recently acquired by Etihad Airlines and at that time it has gone through a fleet refresh. One of the new additions, servicing Belgrade as its destination, is the Airbus A330-200 named after the well known Serbian-American scientist and inventor – Nikola Tesla.

Yes, that’s the guy who’s name is on the street sign on 6th and 40th. He enjoyed feeding pigeons in  Bryant Park while living at the famed New Yorker hotel, located near by.

Airbus A330-200 business class cabin looks modern and comfortable. Each passenger has their own seat which is partitioned for privacy.

Those of us that are over 6`, can still comfortably fit even stretch out while enjoying the paper.

The seats are equipped with pull out screens that allow you to select from a large menu of entertainment options. You can also fully customize your seating set up, i.e. how far back you lean, how high up you leg rest goes, and ultimately whether you want to fully recline. The reading light is powerful but unobtrusive.

If you feel like catching some Z’s your seat can go fully horizontal and the courteous cabin crew will add a foam cushion so that it converts into a bed. They’ll even throw in a pair of slippers to wear around the cabin and cozy cotton pajamas if you’re so inclined.

But not before they feed you! Below you’ll find the menu.

We felt adventurous and went for the traditional Serbian Mezze.

Next, we opted for salmon.

Aaaaaand don’t forget desert.

All in all, the service was impeccable, the (convertible) seats were very comfy and made the flight go by real fast, and the food was good (for airplane food!). Oh, we did find the wine selection very interesting. We can recommend the Zvonko Bogdan Rose and the Temer Tri Morave white. They were delicious! And if you’re feeling like trying something new, you should most definitely try the quince brandy (“dunjevača’”).

This was definitely the way to fly across the Atlantic. Will most certainly be a repeat customer!