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| Air Serbia set to roll out new long haul product |
Air Serbia will take delivery of a Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 aircraft this May, which is currently operated by Etihad Airways. The carrier's CEO, Dane Kondić, and the Chairman of the Air Serbia Supervisory Board, SIniša Mali, toured the jet in Abu Dhabi recently (pictured below). The aircraft will have the capacity to seat 256 passengers and will feature eighteen seats in business class, while the remaining 238 will be in economy. "The aircraft will arrive in Belgrade in May with each seat featuring a personal video screen, in-seat telephone and Internet access", Mr Mali said. He added, "Air Serbia currently has twenty aircraft in its fleet. Following several years of consolidation, Air Serbia, a company which was on the brink of bankruptcy, has become a profitable business. Profits have increased from 2.7 million euros in 2014 to some four million in 2015, with further growth expected this year". The carrier has not officially released its 2015 financial results.
The A330-200 will enter service in June and will operate five flights per week to New York's JFK Airport. Etihad Airways' A330-200s feature 262 seats, with 22 in business class. On the other hand, Jet Airways offers 254 seats on its A330-200s, of which eighteen are in its premier cabin. While Etihad offers a 1-2-1 configuration in business and 2-4-2 in economy class, its Indian counterpart offers a 1-1-1 configuration in its premier cabin and 2-4-2 in economy. Etihad currently operates the A330 in question with Jet Airways' interior and configuration. The aircraft is eight years old and was delivered new to the Indian carrier in December 2007. "Our A330 will have 256 seats, including eighteen in business class", Mr Mali confirmed.
Air Serbia's CEO previously said the airline will "probably have the best product flying transatlantic from Europe". "We are fortunate that we have a one aircraft operation as opposed to a forty or fifty fleet aircraft operation. Our positioning is very much such that we are a boutique offering in Europe and as a boutique offering we can bespoke what we have and that will give us an enormous competitive advantage. However, people have been pleasantly surprised with our offering today, which by and large is the very best business class offerings in Europe, that is exactly what people can expect with our long haul offering", Mr Kondić said.



Comments
If they didn't pay airport anything government of Serbia lost 18 mil usd in a year from a 'profitable business'.
Srecna priprema, miran let, dosta putnika.✈😊✈☀✈🌏✈ Rodney. Kraljevo ✈ Sydney✈
I ASL ce imati uvek pun A332, za letove za JFK kao jedina EX YU Kompanija ce leteti .
Nadam se da ce doci i koji A321 uz A332.
INN-NS
https://youtu.be/lmz7jz_-xAA?t=4m3s
@1:36 I don't follow, really, 1-1-1 in C is more than generous, lie flat seats, what's outdated? Perhaps space utilisation is low, but pax comfort is actually higher because of it.
Fuel is neither paid in full nor ASL enjoys "hefty discounts" on it. What ASL got from Gazprom is a 50% discount on into-plane differential. And there is nothing "hefty" in this because into-plane differential is something very very different from the fuel price.
ASL gets much more relief through the airport subsidies.
At this point it's same old, same old.
Premature expansion to the N American market
Second, returned out to be politically motivated in every sense
They've got significantly more legroom than EY C seats due to 1-1-1 config, making them more comfy for tall pax, especially those 180cm+ tall.
Now, as this here is a much more knowledgeable crowd, take note that some insane comments are getting tons of votes, while on the other hand people who do understand a thing or two about aviation are being shut down and called bots.
Judging by the lack of comments, as you've nicely put it, I'd say JU fans, myself included, are a bit tired of the negativity - often completely irrational - and the face of Siniša Mali doesn't really inspire me to walk the extra mile. I'll just vote for JU with my money once they start selling tickets and that's it.
So, please for all of us stupid can you describe what is into-plane differential and how it is working, who is making discount and whose cost is that.
What soever you can see that by this into-plane differential Air Serbia have big discount, NIS profit was much lower than year before and Serbia had some questionable relationship with NIS.
As for interest, looks like I have more interest in the product than all others combined: when will sales start, will there be an interline with AC to enable single ticket BEG-JFK-YYZ connection, will there be USB port in Eco seat, will JU charge extra for four exit row seats in Eco with extra legroom, what will be the price and method (bidding, fixed price) for Y to C upgrade, will there be any on-demand or self service premium coffee, beverage and food service, will there be premium decor (natural wood panels, brushed alum Air Serbia logo etc) etc. I can send the whole list if needed :)
The thing is that the initial 'elan' is lost and growth is slowing down while connectivity is being butchered. At a time when pretty much any airline is growing JU is shrinking. For their sake I hope they return to growth soon.
1. Air Serbia gets cheap petrol. How? NIS is very nice company which likes to give their profit off or...?
2. What is huge discount on into-plane differential?
And it is not only about JU. In general, the warmth and enthusiasm with which anything negative is welcomed in Serbia is just astonishing. People seriously wish things to be bad and all screwed up. Unsurprisingly, this is what they get.
I think we should ask ourselves why is there so much hate towards Air Serbia? Jat was disliked but never hated.
Other ex-yu airlines can only dream of realising long haul flying and so would JU if not for Etihad. This will put them well ahead of the ex-yu pack, not to mention many of their regional peers.
Their move is strategic and will position them well ahead of the ex-yu pack.
The problem with armchair critics, is that the one-eye they see the world through, is myopic and often distorted
And most importantly, it is NOT previous generation. Today, this seat AND configuration is used by Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand. What differs, is the fabric, trim and finish.
You should check your facts first before plying such misinformation.
What however, is an undeniable fact, is the seats and configuration being the same as Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand ....
Don't Delta and Air Canada have it too?
EY doesn't seem to be having issues with A6-EYC. It has been regularly flying AUH-JNB-AUH for the past few months.
JU has more help than EY. AB and AZ both have JFK ops, as well as 9W. JU is not alone in JFK.
Yeah but you should mention that you didn't pay for that ticket, the company you work for did. ;)
Ako dolazis na posao sutra, sidji malo do nas.
Also, that whole argument that JU isn't alone doesn't stand. What can these airlines really do besides accept maximum 30 to 60 passengers in case a flight gets cancelled. It's not like AZ will rush to dispatch an A332 to BEG so as to operate a JFK flight.
Maybe it's time for you to realise that these US flights are politically motivated and the only thing they will do is harm JU. But hey... time will show who was right. With a single widebody and weak connectivity I know where to put my money.
To the other comment earlier above, the seats do not have USB ports, but do have an AC power point in every business class seat and one between every 2 economy class seats.
JU functions differently from OU because one is a feeder and an O&D carrier with minimal connections while the other concentrates on building its entire business model on transfer passengers. That's why it's apples and oranges.
JU should aspire to become a true European airline and because of that it must be compared to airline's with similar backgrounds. We all remember that OS was pretty much bankrupt a few years ago and thanks to Lufthansa they are turning things around. Doesn't this seem quite similar to the story of Jat and Etihad?
Anonymous 21.52, that was a poor attempt at being funny- but I guess that's normal given the fact that you are out of arguments.
True! But, see, I don't remember any comments regarding connectivity in the mainstream media. It's either the subsidies - citizens are restless because BEG profit is funneled to JU, as if it was taken directly out of their pockets, and it doesn't matter that these "subsidies" JU receives are 1/100th of all subsidies in the country and surprisingly they might even amount to something in the future - or something coming from this gigantic sense of entitlement; laments about sky-high prices (say 120 euros to TGD, imagine that), complaints over having BEG as hub airport instead of flying from every single village directly to a destination of choice of the locals, etc.
Sure, JU can fail, it's a strong possibility, competition is scary and JU is not really the miracle we hoped it would be. But, cheering for it to fail for no reason other than pure spite... I don't get it. That company provides for thousand of jobs country-wide. What's wrong with that?
+1.000.000
I have been saying for months that JU is trying to build a house starting from the roof instead of the foundations but the cheerleading trolls go crazy every single time.
OK. Understand! Another scam of GoS! Nice word lucking professional but really means "we have to pay for another discount"!
INN-NS
JU 18 (LJU, ZAG, SPU, DBV, PUY, SJJ, BNX, TGD, TIV, SKP, TIA, SOF, OTP, VAR, BEY, TLV, ATH, SKG)
OU 10 (PUY, RJK, ZAD, OSI, SPU, DBV, BWK, SJJ, SKP, PRN)
OS 68(AMM, AYT, TSE, ATH, BGW, GYD, BRI, BSL, BEG, BLQ, BDS, OTP, BUD, CAI, KIV, CFU, DNK, DBV, EBL, FLR, GVA, GRZ, HER, IAS, INN, GVA, HRK, GBP, KLU, KGS, KSC, KRK, KRR, SUF, LCA, LNZ, MSQ, JMK, MJT, ODS, PMO, GPA, TGD, PRG, PRN, RHO, ROV, LED, SZG, SMI, JTR, SJJ, SBZ, JSI, SKP, SOF, SPU, IKA, TLV, SKG, TIA, TIP, VAR, VCE, VNO, VLO, EVN, ZAG)
So, you don't find your self unreal when you thing you are not in league with OU where you have just 8 routes difference, but still you compare with OS where there is 50 routes difference????
So typical...
“You should check your facts first before plying such misinformation”
I am Air Serbia superfan and wish them all the best, but can’t blatantly lie. For starters, I never said seat is angle flat so no need to argue over that, I know its lie flat. While your 185cm is not too shabby, let’s not discriminate against much taller ones, common for Dinaric type. This is example of what can happen:
http://onemileatatime.img.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Virgin-Atlantic-Upper-Class-03.jpg
Others also complain about it, search the word “knocked” on this passenger review page of Virgin seats:
http://www.flatseats.com/Reviews/vs-j.htm
Another downside with herringbone config is limited window view.
Airlines that use identical seat as 9W (and future JU seat) like Air Canada on A330 (https://www.aircanada.com/en/about/fleet/a330-300xm.html) have been moving away from it and are installing newer and better “reverse herringbone” seats in new planes like 787 (https://www.aircanada.com/en/about/fleet/789.html). They are even wider and reverse herringbone is widely considered the best business class config.
Those AC A330/787 are a good example: if you already have Air Serbia-like seats, keep using them, but if you have opportunity to install new seats, go with superior reverse config. I thought Air Serbia would actually follow standard Etihad and Alitalia Sogerma Solstys seat (read my review at http://www.exyuaviation.com/2016/01/croatian-airports-post-record-numbers.html?showComment=1452511335931#c8562377051149903699). Instead they will use what was inherited from Jet and as I said earlier, those seats are very good, just not the best. That’s not going to prevent me from flying ASL!
BH Air are currently negoting with JFK for the slots. They're planning to start service in late June or begging of July.
We are not talking if JU is as powerful as A3 or OS but if they are in the same league, that is if they share same ambitions and business plan- which they do. So no one said that they have the same amount of frequencies or aircraft but rather than they have the same goal, same aspirations, that is to turn their respective airports into major hubs used for transfers. So do you understand now or do I have to put it in even simpler terms?
I think that you will have to check-in your bag going there but maybe you won't have to on the way back; though I don't know if this applies only to US airports or to the Canadian ones as well.
But wouldn't it be easier for you to connect via some European airport via which they have an interline?
I said it clear that I wouldn't be discussing anything with a person who is not ashamed to say that Gazprom saw its profits shrink because of ASL.
Your tone and attitude do not sound promising either but I will give it one try.
So, into-plane differential is the difference between the wholesale price of fuel and its 'into-plane' price. This difference includes transport, storage at the airport, any additional movements and the NIS margin.
So, the price of fuel Air Serbia pays to NIS includes the wholesale price and 50% of the remaining costs (that occur between the wholesale and the plane).
You are welcome.
Kada Air Transat pocne da leti za Zagreb ove godine, i otkaze im taj 330 u ZAG, sta cemo onda? A njihova cela flota od 30ak aviona je toliko nategnuta tokom letnje sezone, da sigurno nece im biti lako. Prema tome, i ako priznajem da ASL nece biti lako dok ne nabave drugi avion, ipak se nece svet srusiti u medju vremenu :)
Stupid, isn't it? Real? Don't think so... And it is the same stupid thing as Air Serbia ambition.
And yeas, even Montenegro has same ambition, and Adria, and Croatia, and eve B&H Airlines was announcing they will be regional leader with SJJ as hub...
JU nije u ništa lošijoj poziciji ako se tako nešto desi na JFK, samo eto, na zamenskoj letelici neće pisati Air Serbia. U tom smislu su dve kompanije u sličnoj poziciji, samo će to JU koštati više jer neće slati svoj avion. Ali za putnike će biti potpuno jednako (ne)prijatno.
Iskreno, meni je svaki let na kome sam prihodovao 600 evra bio veoma prijatan i rado ga se sećam...
It understands that it is flying to and from the Balkans and what really matters to passengers is PRICE.
+1000
Sounds like a solid business plan LOL. Website stuck in the '90's. No feed no alliances. Failing to realize regional low cost market is different from long haul scheduled market. Oh they are going down faster than "Octagon Steakhouse Airline"!
Talog je na BEG. I to reciklirani, više puta. Kao i u SMATSA, a verovatno i u DCV. Prema tome, jedini zaslužan za nešto bolje stanje u JU je Etihad i taj čuveni tajni ugovor - inače ne sumnjam da bi priča bila ista i u ovoj firmi kao u svim ostalim partij... državnim preduzećima.
In aviation P2P pax matters, not the transfer. If you like the fact that you're flying from BEG to any point in Europe for higher price than a transfer passenger from Sarajevo for example is fine by me. To be honest I as a resident of Zagreb am very OK to pay less to fly to London via BEG than you're paying to fly from Belgrade to London.
Cheers, buddy!
hvala sto si odgovorio na moje gore poredjenje sa Air Transatom.
+1