The national carriers from the former Yugoslavia have all made plans to renew their fleets in the coming years as they look to operate younger, lighter, more fuel efficient and comfortable aircraft.
Adria Airways currently has the youngest fleet in the former Yugoslavia, averaging just under thirteen years. The airline will grow this September with the addition of six Saab 2000 turboprops, a number of which will operate out of Ljubljana, with one stationed in Padeborn, Germany and some to be wet-leased to other carriers. The six Saabs are being leased from the American company Jetstream Aviation Capital. Furthermore, the Slovenian carrier will add three Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to its fleet in 2019. Adria has signed an agreement with lessor Regional One to acquire the jets. The airline is also considering adding more of the seventy-seat CRJ700 aircraft to its fleet next year.
Croatia Airlines has the second youngest fleet in the former Yugoslavia, with its aircraft averaging just over thirteen years. The carrier confirmed earlier in 2018 that it had begun advanced payments for its order of four Airbus A320neo aircraft, which will result in their arrival in Zagreb in 2021 and 2022. The Croatian carrier will make several advanced payments, after which the remainder will be payed for following the arrival of the jets, with the first two due in three years time and the remaining two a year later. The new generation Airbus planes are set to replace a part of Croatia Airlines' existing fleet. Furthermore, the operating lease agreement for six Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft was recently extended. In addition, the airline has been wet-leasing two CRJ1000 aircraft from Spain's Air Nostrum between May and October for two years running.
Air Serbia's future fleet plans remain in limbo, with the arrival of ten new Airbus A320neo aircraft uncertain. The airline's minority shareholder, Etihad Airways, which ordered the jets among hundreds of others, is still considering swapping some models, delaying deliveries, as well as making some outright cancellations as it presses ahead with a company-wide review. The Serbian airline secured ten of the narrow-body A320neos as part of a major fleet order by its equity partner at the 2013 Dubai Air Show, for up to 117 Airbus aircraft. They were set to completely replace Air Serbia's existing fleet of A319s and A320s. The delivery of the neos to Air Serbia has been slated in between late 2018 and 2020. A previous deposit payment made by JAT Yugoslav Airlines for eight A319s in 1998 has been credited against the pre-delivery payment for the neos. Commenting on the order last month, the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, said he would "have to check" whether the aircraft will be delivered to the Serbian carrier. Air Serbia's fleet age averages 16.7 years.
Montenegro Airlines currently has the oldest fleet in the former Yugoslavia, with its ageing Fokker 100 aircraft set to be replaced next year. The airline has boosted capacity this summer season by wet-leasing a Boeing 737-500 aircraft. The CEO of Montenegro Airlines, Živko Banjević, recently said, "Plans concerning the fleet past 2018 are much more complex because we must replace the remaining Fokker aircraft. This has to be done in a way that meets the needs of the market, which is becoming more complex from year to year due to a range of different factors, making it difficult to forecast and plan". The CEO added, "As a result, the recently adopted five-year plan outlines two scenarios. One is for the remaining two F100s to be replaced with two E195s in the coming period, in addition to short-term aircraft leases over the summer. In that case, Montenegro Airlines' fleet would be made up of five E195s and one leased aircraft for summer operations. The second scenario calls for the replacement of the Fokkers with two Airbus A320 family aircraft or Boeing 737 family jets. Therefore, the fleet would comprise of three E195s and two A320 or B737 family planes".
I don't think JU needs neos at this point. It needs planes of around 100 seats and much more regional aircraft.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Focus should be on replacing and expanding regional fleet.
DeleteThey should try to convert the neo order into A220 by any means necessary.
DeleteThe current Airbus fleet aren't spring chickens either. They will have to replace them sooner or later.
DeleteAnd I think the leasing contracts for some of them expire at the end of the year.
DeleteProbably, it would be best to get some combination of A220 & A320neo. A220 is more suitable for many current destinations & economics for this plane looks excellent judging by input from some other airlines. But Neos could be utilized either on destination with most passengers or to open new destinations because of improved economics & range.
DeleteI also think they should convert at least 4 aircraft to A220.
DeleteLack of regional fleet is now huge problem and serious brake in development.
2013. year and those plans are past, they must adapt to the present if want to see some future.
for 10 320Neos they can get 5+5 A220s and 3 A320Neos
DeleteDon't forget that they didn't pay upfront, they only have deposit. So, whatever they buy they have to pay for it, and that is not small amount. Therefore, decision may be to get fewer new planes in order to keep economics at certain level. New planes will be probably much more expensive than taking some used ones.
DeleteHave in mind that A220 is not a typical Airbus. The perk of having all airbus fleet is the type commonality of its families. But A220 is not a typical Airbus, so it would probably be expensive having both A220 and A320 in the fleet.
DeleteIt would be great if they decided to make a uniform fleet with both A220 models for short to medium haul and A330 for long haul. Though I feel the hell would freeze over before JU retires the ever so economical ATRs
Also, A220 is not perfect replacement for ATR72. Its a bigger plane, and at least for "closer" region they will need smaller plane operating twice daily. I doubt that economics of A220 is so much better that 50% full A220 costs same as full ATR72. They will need something different to replace those ATRs.
DeleteKako ne kapirate da oni nemaju ideja kako bi razvijali kompaniju. Po dva polovna ATR72 aviona serije 600 nisu vise od 40 miliona evra bez problema za budzet Srbije da se kupe u naredne tri godine i da rese sve aerodrome od juga poljske, lavova, odese, kisnjeva, ankare, liona, juga italije, varne, kluz. po tri cetri puta nedeljno.
DeleteAir Serbia should order 2 A320 NEO, if they paid deposit already, this should pay partially for the two. After two join the fleet, retire B737s and try to replace ATR fleet with 4 ATR-72 600, ideally lease these. I'd say Q400 is way better aicraft, but hate brigade will probably start screaming at me.
DeleteThese 6 and existing 10 A320/A319s + 1 A330 should be sufficient for Air Serbia till 2025.
Air Serbia is hiring A320 pilots so maybe they will get the neos after all.
DeleteI still don't understand how Croatia Airlines will pay for this aircraft? Will the government give them a loan? Are they expecting a foreign investor to buy OU and pay for these planes?
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts too. Interesting how they sold their LHR slots to pay for maintenance yet they have cash for these planes.
DeleteI'm surprised they are not doing a sale and leasebacks for these aircraft.
DeleteThe contract with Airbus might not allow it. Sometimes there is such a clause that they cannot do it.
DeleteIf they don't get privatised, the government will give them a loan for these planes.
Delete@Anonymous31 July 2018 at 09:04
DeleteCroatian airlines will make number of payments for the aircraft before the aircraft are delivered, in total at least one A320 NEO would be paid for before the final A320 is delivered in 2022, for remaining 3 aircraft OU will get a loan from Croatian government, presumably at least €150 million to pay for the last 3 aircraft and additional spare engines. Brand New A320 NEO is around €42 million, listed price is €110 million. Spare engines for B737/A320 are between €7 and 10 million per.
€150 million loan which Croatian government can give to OU must be repaid with in 10 years, according to EU rules. Just to add, Owning aircraft or buying aircraft is really old concept, OU should have leased the aircraft like air Baltic did, due to the fact OU still owns 4 A419 and 2A320, these aircraft won't be retired before 2025, simply put OU can't afford to retire these before 2025/8.
When you order new expensive aircraft you need to get all the benefits out of the aircraft, and the fact OU isn't swimming in €s it'll have to keep very old aircraft for some time. Leasing additional, at least 6 A220 to replace old A319/320s is the way to go, post 2025.
Most likely look of the OU Fleet circa 2025:
4 A320 NEO
6 A220 100
6 Q 400
Not true. OU 100% own 1 A320 and 4 A319. One A320 was sell and leaseback.
DeleteSo partially true then.
DeleteAnyhow, what I am saying the 5 aircraft will remain in fleet for sometimes cause they were expensive to begin with.
Congratulations Adria!
ReplyDeleteIt's questionable how many of these planes will actually be operated by Adria for Adria and how many will be wet leased.
DeleteIn both cases they will make money FOR JP
DeleteGreat to finally see some clarity and smart thinking from Montenegro Airlines. The fleet plans sound good.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the average age of JU's A319/A320 fleet?
ReplyDelete13/14 years.
DeleteThanks and A330?
DeleteA330 had its first flight in November 2007, so it will soon turn 11. Along with YU-APF (A319, first flight also in Nov 2007), these two are the youngest in the fleet.
DeleteThanks. That A330 isn't too old actually.
DeleteIf Adria is getting at least 9 planes they must be planning new destinations for next year.
ReplyDeleteHopefully by then they will stop using wet leased ancient equipment.
DeleteAdria is expanding its fleet way to fast, there's a huge danger of a bubble. When you burden the finances of a company with so many new leasing contracts and you don't have the underlying numbers to pay for it (ie no profit) - it's a financial disaster waiting to happen.
ReplyDelete+1 exactly. I just don't know why they are doing it.
DeleteA good chance for JP and OU to update their liveries.
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with them?
DeleteOutdated and boring.
DeleteLet's spend money that they don't have on something as important as livery change.
DeleteZnaci svima cetaju ruze,svima je super,kod svih je sve izvesno jedino kod ErSrbije se nista ne zna i sve je neizvesno.Super tekst,nema sta. Kad bude stigao drugi A330 nadam se da ce te se udostojite da objaite.
ReplyDeletelol pa svi drugi znaju kad i sta im dolazi. Za razliku od Er Srbije.
DeleteTako dobro znaju da Adriji ovi malecki avioni dolaze vec godinu dana
DeletePa rekli su pre 3 meseca da ce doci u septembru. Ako nista, znali smo razlog njihovog kasnjenja. U JU cute kao zaliveni jer i sami ne znaju da li ce im doci avioni ili ne. A avioni su najavljeni pre 5 godina.
DeleteE bas lol... bas se pokazalo koliko svi znaju. Ne zna se u cijem dvoristu je veci haos.
DeletePa da vidimo
DeleteAdrija objavila da uzimaju 6 Saab - stizu u septembru
Croatia Airlines narucila 4 neo - poceli sa uplatama
Montenegro najavio da iznajmljuje avion ove godine - iznajmio ga
Air Serbia objavila 2013 da kupuje 10 A320neo - vise ih nikada nisu spomenuli.
Probably, its because AirSerbia didn't had any announcements regarding future fleet, including order for NEOs or new A330. Let's hope that they are having some serious talks both internally & with Etihad at the moment and they need to act fast. Etihad is currently having ongoing restructuring process for their fleet together with new orders. Maybe some solutions will come from their excess number of planes at the moment.
DeleteWhy would they need second A330, is it for Toronto? They don't need it if Air Canada Rouge starts first. What if Air Serbia gets second A330 for Toronto and Air Canada Rouge also starts Belgrade? Isn't that a problem for Air Serbia?
DeleteAir Serbia was offered by Etihad some of Alitalia's grounded planes last year (while they were still with Etihad). Kondic refused and said they had no need for them. I assume it had something to do with costs.
DeleteDa,Croatia zna da im stizu avioni 2021 jedino ne zna dal ce postojati te godine ako ne pronadju partnera.
DeleteAnon 09:41 - maybe the offer will be better now, managements & circumstances are changed at Etihad. Further, maybe there was no point taking additional planes if you can't prepare & launch new destination. They have to rethink 2 things - replacing some planes from their fleet & potential expansion.
DeleteA sto se Toronta tice,direktor samog aerodroma je prosle godine rekao da razgoaraju sa AS,nigde se ne spominju kanadske kompanije.
DeleteKako se ne spominju, eno u novom bilateralnom sporazumu. Mozda ne vole da pricaju unapred o tome kao neki drugi?
DeleteNije valjda da ti smetao nacin pisanja. Jesi li ti cuo za slobodu glasa. Ovde nema nikakve uvrede, tako da je skroz legitimno napisano. A ti vidi da smanjis tvoju paranoju i prihvatis konstruktivno kritican nacin diskusije.
DeleteLegitimno i PRISTRASNO. A to sto mi je smetalo ja sam napisao i to je valjda sloboda govora? A sto se paranoje tice to ti je vec medicinski pojam a sta znaci pitaj nekog psihijatra, pa stavi prst na celo.
DeleteJeste realan, i tvoja sloboda je to. Pogotovo sad kad se tematika diskusije sklonila sa aviacije i otisla u pravcu nacina pisanja. Samo nije to bilo na pocetku
DeleteI honestly don't see any malice. The text simply states the situation at the moment.
DeleteI don't know if this means anything but AC's in flight magazine En Route for July is featuring 10 page editorial on Belgrade.
Deletehttp://enroute.aircanada.com/en/magazine
AC surprised Air Transat in Zagreb so following same logic they might surprise Air Serbia in Belgrade
Delete@SM31 July 2018 at 13:51
DeleteMeans nothing, they feature places across the globe in every edition, they had one edition Vietnam in other edition they featured Egypt and Cairo, Jordan and Amman, they even did Tallinn and Estonia.
They're just doing feature articles they think might be interesting. They featured Croatia and Zagreb only after they announced they'll fly yo Zagreb, in fact they features Croatia at least 3 times since 2010, but only flew in 2018. Skyservice to Belgrade wasn't a success and Air Transat stayed clear cause of it.
I don't think air Canada will now jump in, thinking everyone else is missing something. ACR flies to touristy places, and AC flies to major destinations, no idea if Belgrade computes in any of these plans.
Is Warsaw touristy (RV in 2017) or a major destination (AC in 2018)? How about Honolulu?
DeleteYou focused on NEOs and forgot about ASL older ATRs and 733s. They are first in line to be replaced. Will they replace them or just shrink?
ReplyDeleteThere are no plans to replace them at the moment.
DeleteA320neo is well suited for Croatia Airlines and will really help during the summer in terms of capacity.
ReplyDeleteBut what will they do during the winter? Their average annual LF is currently 70%
DeleteACMI leases. I'm surprised they haven't done it already during the winter time.
DeleteI agree with the idea of ACMI wetleases. This is something they could have been doing for years. A good idea in my opinion. They should take some advice from Adria.
DeleteWhy don’t they work together with travel agencies to organize winter flights to Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Canary Islands? No demand? Especially northafrican countries and turkey have often offers from 400 Euro 1 week Al incl
Delete@Anonymous31 July 2018 at 09:42
Delete2.25 / 3.0 , LF is 75% ;) has been for a while now. Seasonality is the big problem, yes, however OU needs good management to run airline such way so there's little seasonality problem, good PR and marketing campaign, inter airline agreements and schedules so that transfers can be coordinated with major carriers. Make Zagreb in to a transfer hub for Croatia. This can't happen as long as OU is run by incompetent fools.
Would be nice if Adria eventually replaced the CRJs with A220s.
ReplyDeleteWay too expensive for JP.
DeleteIt would act more as a replacement for A319/320 then CRJs.
DeleteHope MGX chooses the second scenario.
ReplyDeleteMe too. That livery looks lovely on the 737.
DeleteI think an all EMB-fleet for such a small airline would be best.
DeleteWell that young fleet title of Adria's will probably evaporate when they add six 25 year old planes to their fleet.
ReplyDeleteDespite their age, Saabs are good value for money paid.
DeleteInstead of replacing current A319/320 JU fleet which are in decent condition, I think Air Serbia should give priority to the ATRs which have seen better times.
ReplyDeleteMontenegro Airlines should stick to one fleet type, either all Embraer or replace the entire fleet.
ReplyDeleteBut if it's all Embraer they will still need to lease extra capacity in summer.
DeleteWhat about regional jets for Croatia Airlines? The can't wet lease CRJ1000s forever.
ReplyDeleteThey can but we will see no real growth in new routes. Like this year. They opened new routes but they suspended the same amount of flights so these routes could operate.
DeleteWhat is the capacity of the A320neos?
ReplyDeleteDepends on layout/cabin configuration.
DeleteBetween 165 and 195 passengers.
DeleteA320neo capacity is exactly the same for both pax and cargo as A320 (or A320ceo as it’s now called). A320neo is a re-engined A320 with sharklets instead of winglets and refreshed cabin. Fuselage wasn’t changed. Compared to A320, A320neo offers more range, less fuel consumption and better passenger comfort.
DeleteI'm interested to see how OU's fleet will develop in the next few years. The neos will be a great addition.
ReplyDeleteI assume that Adria will not now be taking delivery of any Sukhoi Superjets...
ReplyDeleteIf the A320neos do not arrive, it will be the biggest disappointment. In the end Serbia's 23 million $ deposit will have been used to pay Etihad's pre-delivery payment.
ReplyDeleteThese planes might be tricky to fill anyway.
DeleteIf EY have decided to continue their cooperation with JU, then they should next focus on aviolet.
ReplyDeleteAn upgrade from the current 737 classics to the Max 7 or 10 will be more than welcome.
JU can focus on charters as there is extremely high demand every year.
The Max 7 has a range of 7130km meaning charters from BEG-CMB or BEG-LPA can be offered.
So, Etihad with Aviolet should focus on charters and at the same time, JU should have completely different approach and focus on charters? :)
DeleteWell, I believe you witnessed how huge the BNX charter flights were.
DeleteNot to mention the numerous destinations offered by aviolet from BEG especially Gerona and Greece. The Max will be looking sharp on the nice aviolet livery!
We dont even know if they re ever going to get the A320neos let alone ordering 737max for Aviolet.
DeleteAnonymous31 July 2018 at 13:53 - You do realise that "nice Aviolet livery" is a rude rip off of Nouvelair Tunisie logo?
DeleteAviolet is older than Nouvelair Tunisie, so maybe it's the other way round...?
DeleteI think JU has to really focus on medium haul charters + operating charters from smaller markets such as OHD and BNX.
If they upgrade the whole fleet, Boeing might give them a special, nice discount.
Can you please explain how Aviolet is older than Nouvelair?
DeleteVery simple. Aviolet is part of JU.
DeleteJU was created on 17 June 1927
Nouvelair was created on 21 March 1990.
It's not about which company exist for longer time but about who introduced livery first (if they look similar, I don't know).
DeleteI don't understand what do you trying to achieve with this ridiculous argument. Only thing that you get is that nobody will take you seriously.
I would like to know economics of new ATR 72-600 and whether their operational benefits could offset their higher cost of ownership. In 600 the comfort is not the issue.They could be the backbone of the JU regional operations.
ReplyDeleteMod, average of Air Serbia fleet age is 19,8 years, not 16,7 years. You can not exclude 737-300.
ReplyDeleteThe years published in the article are correct because 2 737s have been retired. Included or not, MGX still has the oldest fleet. Over 20 years now average age.
DeleteMontenegro je iznajmio od Carpatair fokera 100
ReplyDeleteSo what next for Air Serbia? No new routes, no new planes...
ReplyDeletePatience ;)
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteI'm flying for Adria with my(wet leased) and awesome Fokker 100 in last 6 months,registration number YR-FZA, the passengers are very pleased with comfortable seats and airy passenger cabin.
ReplyDeleteIs this aircraft really safe?
Deletehttps://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=186298
The airplane is relative safe but the operator is moderate. You should see the passengers eyes when the gate/or bus the fabulos Carpatair F100 (o)(o) Have seen it few times.
DeleteЈедан од најудобнијих авиона на који сам пилотирао био је МД-81, двомоторни путнички авион кратког и средњег домета, капацитета 130 до 172 путника удобних сједала у зависности од варијанте авиона, производ америчке компаније Макдонел Даглас и Боинг. Између 1979. и 1999. произведено је више од 1.191 примерак у неколико варијанти,још имам лиценцу за рад на том авиону али једино у Бугарској су активни са више од 15 авиона.Имао сам пуно сарадника пилота из свих република бивше Југославије али ипак Македонци су били најболји пилоти на МД-81/82/88/90 и особито на 737-600 су били заиста добри, Хрвати најболји на Bombardier dash8, Срби су се најболје показали на Боинг 737-300, босанци су имали једну заиста квалитетну посаду на АТР42/72.Али то је једдна дивна прошлост пуно нјих сада ради у Америци.
ReplyDeleteDa, veoma divna proslost. Safety rekord je predivan, mada neki piloti su se ponasali kao da idu na misiju u svemir a putnici su mogli ili ponekad i nemogli stic na destinaciju. Dobri piloti su letjeli na sektant kroz Atlantik na DC6 a ne se frajerisali taksirajuci otvorenim prozorom i pusili u kokpitu.
DeleteU Makedoniji vise od 25% kvalitetnih pilota na MD80/81/88/90 i osobito na 737-600 u 80-tih - 90-tih godina dolazilo je iz jedne velike porodice Stefanovski sada najverojatno svi rade i zive u Americi.
DeleteIz iste sire porodice su bili i veoma uspjesan, kvlitetan i poznati muzicar Vlatko Stefanovski i dvostruki prvak Europe na „ridskim“ utrkama Stefanovski sa Hondom Civic i Mitsubishiem EVO.
Jedino Vlatko je u Makedoniji za druge ne znam.
Mislim da je jedan pilot ujedno i avio-mehanicar iz familije Stefanovski da je bio test-pilot za Zivko Aeronautics na izvrsnom Zivko Edge 540 avionom u Red-Bull Air-Race u ranijim sezonama u 2004 godine i 2009 godina,u 2014 godini bio je prisutan u publici na Red Bull air race u Rovinju ali zadnjih 5-6 godina nisam ga vidio na aerodromu u Zadru ili Beogradu.
ReplyDelete