Air Serbia will lease two former Adria Airways Airbus A319s, which were registered S5-AAP and S5-AAR. They were ferried to Toulouse last week where they will be painted into Air Serbia’s colour scheme. According to “Skyliner Magazine”, the jets are due for delivery in Belgrade on March 20. The aircraft, both manufactured in 2010, are owned by Carlyle Aviation Partners. One of the A319s is tipped to replace an existing member of the fleet which will be returned to the lessor. As previously reported, the Serbian carrier is expected to lease two ATR72 turboprops and conclude a short-term wetlease for a Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft over the summer months.
Air Serbia added its ninth A319 last summer. It currently boasts a fleet of 21 aircraft. In addition to the A319s it operates two A320s, one A330-200, six ATR72s and three Boeing 737-300s. The new additions to the airline’s fleet will enable the carrier to introduce up to ten new routes and significantly strengthen its frequencies on a number of services including Barcelona, Istanbul, Larnaca, Ljubljana, Madrid and Zagreb. The carrier is also expected to announce an increase in the number of flights between Belgrade and Tivat shortly, as well as a few more destinations.
Air Serbia also plans to grow its charter traffic in 2020, which is becoming an increasingly important segment in the company’s business. Last year it ran 2.370 charter flights and registered a 23% increase in passenger numbers on leisure services to some 274.000. The carrier will introduce charter flights from Belgrade to Morocco for the first time this year starting next month, to Fes and Marrakesh, while it will deploy its wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft on a charter service for the first time, to Palermo, in two weeks’ time. Although the airline predominantly uses B737-300s for its charter operations, which are run under the Aviolet brand, it is increasingly utilising jets from its mainline fleet to support the growing number of flights.
Ok
ReplyDeletehahahaha
DeleteSo in the end we should have 24 aircraft in the fleet this summer.
ReplyDeleteIf one A319 replaces one from the fleet and one ATR replaces one from the fleet as expected then there should be 24 as you say (CRJ900 wetlease included)
DeleteYes. net addition will be +2. Just like was announced all the way back in December :)
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/12/air-serbia-to-add-two-aircraft-in-2020.html
I know many aviation fans would love for JU to lease 10 planes tomorrow but I think this slow and thorough growth is the way to go.
DeleteThough these planes could end up at JU when Adria went bankrupt.
ReplyDelete*thought
DeletePerhaps, they will see Pučnik often :)
DeleteWell last Friday the three daily flights to LJU were full, 13.15 flight departed with 60 passengers and the evening one with 50-something.
DeleteHopefully they increase LJU to 21 next summer. <3
DeleteAir Serbia did a great job in LJU
DeleteI have to admit I was the first one to be skeptical especially when they went crazy after JP bankruptcy. Great job JU.
DeleteAnyone know what year JP flew to BEG? I think they had daily flights?
DeleteWell, in the eighties they had more than daily flights...
DeleteI meant JP 2.0 post-Yugoslav phase.
DeleteThey flew to BEG in 2012 before Air Serbia was established
DeleteHopefully new Adria returns to Belgrade to break JU's monopoly on the route.
Deletenew Adria? Belgrade?
DeleteWTF?
New Adria powered by the banana guy.
DeleteMaybe they can use the Spirit Airlines color scheme?
DeleteHahahahah brilliant idea and highly appropriate given the circumstances XD
DeleteThe frequency growth is really extensive. A lot of destinations included... and there could be more.
ReplyDeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteThe planes are not too old. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteActually they are not even 10 years old. Very good move by Air Serbia
DeleteOk they will be 10 in a few months :D
DeleteI wonder if they will receive JU cabins.
ReplyDeleteAnd wifi antenna.
DeleteI believe the one they leased last year still has neither. I'm not 100% sure though.
DeleteYU-APK will get it during the C check.
Deletegood
DeleteThe seats on YU-APK are actually very comfortable though I guess we will get more legroom once slim seats are introduced.
DeleteI was flying with APK INI-HAJ and can say that with my 1.99m it was really tight.
DeleteWell if you are 1.99 then it's highly likely any airplane seat will be really tight. ;)
DeleteI wonder of the increase of frequencies on TIV Is a fight with YM over a dominance on the BEG-TIV route...
ReplyDeleteI think they are finally fighting for the MNE market since YM dominated until now.
DeleteDisappointing. I was expecting them to really consider the Sukhoi jet.
ReplyDeleteNo thanks
DeleteExcellent news - no SSJ in JU fleet
DeleteBest news for JU for the year is that it won't be getting that p.o.s. aircraft from Sukhoi!
Deletestrange: https://sierra5.net/novice-novo/novice/item/3460-adria-airways-airbus-a319-turkish-airlines
ReplyDeletePlans obviously changed.
DeleteYep I also thought the A319 are going to Turkish fleet as they were already ferried to IST, werent they?
DeleteThey weren't ferried to Istanbul. It wasn't the correct information.
DeleteOE-IKE ret, ferried LJU-CDT 07.10.19, stored at CDT 07.10.19, ferried CDT-ISE 02.12.19, stored at ISE 02.12.19, ferried ISE-LFBF 28.01.20
It could be that people got the wrong impression that the planes would go to TK based on the fact that they were stored in Turkey for almost two months.
DeleteNo, the impression was made based on the following information
Deletehttps://www.planespotters.net/airframe/airbus-a319-100-oe-ikf-carlyle-aviation-partners/ey6n52
JU also hired many JP pilots. I guess working for JU beats working for Lauda.
ReplyDeletegot any numbers how many went to JU?
DeleteNone
DeleteI heard the same.
DeleteI thought JP's 319s were going to TK, at least there were somereports claiming so
ReplyDeleteThey won't be going to TK.
Deleteand to be honest it never made sense they would be going to TK which has just 6 A319s in the fleet.
DeleteActually now that TK moved to the new airport there are enough slots so they were considering introducing a smaller jet into their fleet. That's where the A319 made sense. Given the recent cuts in European flights, one can assume that now they need a smaller jet more than ever. With more room at the new IST and with SAW no longer being disadvantaged due to its location, TK will have to step up its game.
DeleteTake BEG-IST as an example, now they have Air Serbia to deal with which can expand as there are more slots, especially once the third runway opens. Many other airlines have also announced flights to the new airport, just the other day MS increased CAI-IST from 2 to 3 daily.
@Nemjee
DeleteTrue, even though it's almost impossible to visit Egypt as a Turkish citizen (you have to wait like 3 months and leave your passport in Egypt Embassy for 3 months) to get a one entry visa. Turkey does the same btw, if you have an Egytpian passport, you have to have a valid schengen/uk/usa visa in order to apply for an e-visa from Turkey.
What I want to say here is; there is almost no O&D passengers from Istanbul to Cairo now, but EgyptAir just increased 3 dailys against Turkish Airlines 3 daily flights and they have a codeshare agreement which means 6 daily flights between IST and CAI only serves transfer passengers that TK brings all around to world to Istanbul and that continues to Cairo with both airlines.
I really hope AirSerbia can get a codeshare with TK, like TAROM did last week, they have 2 daily flights to IST also.
AirSerbia can benefit quite a lot from this agreement.
Thanks for that report. I know this is off topic but what is the issue with visa's between Turkey and Egypt?
DeleteInteresting, I didn't know that the visa situation was that bad. I think TK still flies to Hurgada and I was sure it was introduced for Turkish tourists but I guess I was wrong.
DeleteI used MS an example to show the effect of the new IST airport opening and how much more room there is now for expansion. I am sure MS carries a lot of its own transfer passengers since they have an extensive Middle Eastern and African network. Thanks to their competitive cost structure they tend to offer really cheap transfers via Cairo.
Many other airlines have added IST flights in recent months meaning TK will have to face a lot more competition than it did at the old airport.
Would be cool if JU introduces overnight flights like they have to BEY, LCA, ATH... with a 2 hour difference they would be flying back to Belgrade at 06.00 which isn't bad.
@Charlie
DeleteYeah, it's totally politic and because of the Egyptian coup in 2013. For example the Rabbi'ah sign, it was used in social media and protest marches in Egypt but it turned out to be Erdogan's own symbol afterwards. It's a way to say that you support Erdogan if you do 4 with your hand lol. It's Erdogan vs Sisi now, both countries revised visa regimes in 2014 and made it almost impossible to visit both countries.
Sorry for off-topic. I just hoped it would give an idea how only transfer pax can make a destination work with 6 daily flights...
TK still serves 5 destinations in Egypt daily, but it's only for transfer passengers and a few tourists from Egypt visiting Istanbul. Same as Pegasus' flights to Hurghada and Sharm-el-Sheikh.
@Nemjee
I agree with you again, JU can make double daily IST work(with an overnight flight) after the 3rd runway is built on June 18th.
Also wanna add one more comment to your last comment - I am sorry if it's also off-topic - but none of those airlines who have announced they were starting new flights to IST are a threat to TK, because IST is a TK fortress with a %82 share in its hub, those airlines mostly find a way to codeshare with TK. Indigo, Ethiopian, ANA, Garuda Indonesia have and will have codeshare with TK, they increase TK's pax numbers bringing more pax to its main hub. And don't forget it has a massive domestic coverage for Turkey that welcomed 40 millions of tourists in 2019, unlike Qatar or Emirates, this is where TK proves its advantages against its competitors.
Here is how IST will look like in 4 years.
https://serving.photos.photobox.com/35888661e6a8dad8953f16f66a235b7089bead82104507485d8959430eec1eff1ebc97e1.jpg
Time for JU to codeshare with TK and let Turkish widebodies in BEG. :)
Thanks for that anon@13:11 much appreciated.
DeleteCan JU make double daily IST work (with an overnight flight) without a code share with TK?
IST as a fortress of TK is absolutely right on. They code share with their competitors on flights to IST and get additional transfer passengers. For them it is win-win. Very smart-smart.
Great to see JU expanding in all segments.
ReplyDeleteWhere are they getting the money from for all the plane leases and destinations growth?
ReplyDeleteWell those subsidized flights from Nis and Kraljevo certainly help.
DeletePlus didn't they get deposit money from Airbus last year for cancelling the neos?
DeletePSO helped but the amount in that field was smaller than provided to OU every year in last who knows how many years. Even for profitable routes like ZAG-DBV.
DeleteAnd they are still struggling to open 1 or 2 new destinations
The GoS has said numerous times that they will continue to financially support the airline.
DeleteI think introducing KVO-VIE was a brilliant move as they got people to take the plane in stead of the bus. Hopefully they get a German destination once KVO can accept a larger plane than the ATR.
DeleteAnonym 9h54 - per flight JU gets much more subsidy for PSO!
DeleteYes that's because it offers more for the money it receives, starting with operating longer, international flights onboard jet aircraft. Compare that to OU's domestic flights where the longest flight is 45 minutes.
DeleteWhen will they put the new routes on sale?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is Belgrade Tourism Fair but who knows.
DeleteThey should not wait anymore with new routes announcing
DeleteTrue dat.
DeleteTo me it turns out that the best solution for them would have been to have taken delivery of thos A320neos as planned.
ReplyDeleteThe A320neos are probably too large for them to cover most routes, especially in winter time.
Delete1xA320 will be returned
DeleteNEOs are far more expensive than 10 year old A319s.
DeleteAnd don't have much advantage on short haul...
DeleteWell A320 is primarily short haul aircraft. Lower fuel burn is always an advantage.
DeleteDifference in fuel burn between A320ceo and A320neo is about 2 USD/seat/hour, making it about 700USD savings on a 2-hour flight.
Man next summer will be fantastic! I wonder if BEG might finally handle a million during a summer month
ReplyDeleteMaybe in August. Last year they had 757.062 passengers.
DeleteSeems like getting rid of Etihad influence has done wonders for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see local talent contribute to Air Serbia's growth and expansion. Keep up the good work guys if any of you are reading this.
DeleteExactly good to see things improve and they are hiring new crew thanks to this growth so more jobs for young people. Etihad is a massive mess now and they are not in position to lead anyone. They just sold their A330 and B777 to some Amerikan company.
DeleteEtihad is such a mess they are not bringing back second daily A320 to BEG. No surprise since their network is much smaller now.
DeleteAny pic of the interior while these birds were with Adria?
ReplyDeleteHere you go
Deletehttps://i.imgur.com/TCyzeox.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/itsA9Zm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/95vF6nU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zz1BMsU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/u31voMf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/eIbkePM.jpg
Screens :-)
DeleteNice, no JU narrow body plane had screens up to now.
My guess is that these cabins will stay until the C check.
DeleteThey already have WiFi?
DeleteNo they don't.
DeleteMy bad, I was confused by https://i.imgur.com/zz1BMsU.jpg
DeleteBut now I've seen that it was in-flight entertainment system, not WiFi.
Exciting time for JU.
ReplyDeleteAnd excellent time for JU too
DeleteCan they find enough pilots and cabin crew? I notice they are hiring for all types.
ReplyDeleteThe big elephant in the room remains the B737. What will they do with them? They are extremely old and I think really past their expiration date.
ReplyDeleteThey will stay in the fleet for this summer but I really think it ought to be their last season. Will be interesting to see what JU does. Replacing 3 planes isn't easy or cheap. Especially 3 planes you own.
DeleteWell they are slowly replacing them. We said goodbye to YU-ANJ. :(
DeleteOf course that their expiration date haven't past. With the limited number of cycles during the nineties, they are still capable of flying a year or two. When I just think of Etihad's guys who wanted them out back in 2013.
DeletePlan was to retire them in May 2014 and they even announced the last flight to TGD. In the end they outlived Dane Kondic in the airline. :D
DeleteYU-AND had a thorough check last year so it can fly for another two or three years without a problem.
What about YU-ANI and YU-ANK?
DeleteAs fas as I remember YU-ANI was even officially retired for couple of months together with YU-ANJ, but later on JU brought YU-ANI back.
In Air Serbia they even had female names for each of them
YU-AND ==> Andjelka
YU-ANI ==> Anica
YU-ANJ ==> Anja
YU-ANK ==> Ankica
It is high time these museum aircraft are retired.
DeleteAnybody who knows anything about aviation knows they are no longer fit for purpose.
Fit for purpose? The last time I checked their purpose is to fly passengers from A to B in a safe manner. Isn't that what's going on here?
DeleteWhat will be their airline register with JU?
DeleteAnon@10:36 thanks for that info about the female names, didn't know that.
DeleteJU management doesn't have the guts to admit 737s will be around for a long time. Sometime in 2018 they sad 737 would be retired by 2019 or 2020 but they poured more money into keeping them alive. They returned last one from the service by late July last year. No one sane does that to have aircraft fly one or two more months, so they planned on keeping it around for a while :(((
DeleteSo in the end, compared to 2019, we are getting two extra aircraft, an A319 and an ATR? Not bad. ATR can be used to boost regional flights which is something they desperately need.
ReplyDeleteit can be used for some routes like KBP
DeleteThey finally found compass (lost a couple years ago) :}
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia is basically swallowing Adria.
ReplyDeleteso JU will have 12 A320 family planes
ReplyDelete2x A320
10x A319- now 9 plus one neto, bacause they will replace one
?????
1xA320 will leave the fleet
DeleteThey will have
Delete11 A319s (+2)
1 A320 (-1 apparently 1 is being returned)
7 ATR72 (+2 and -1)
1 A330
3 B737
Why isn't JU interested in acquiring A220? This is a very good aircraft and can perfectly fit their network. Interestingly enough, FB will decide this summer and order 15 new jets as confirmed by the ceo. They even mentioned the A220 and not the Embraer jets.
ReplyDeleteA220 can fly from BEG to DXB even with no problem.
Too expensive to be purchased and nobody is offering A220 for leasing
DeleteWhat about BT, didn't they get their new ones via leasing?
DeleteAirBatlic has ordered those a220 by themselves, they just arranged finance construction with leasing company.
DeleteThere is no any "free" a220 to lease.
BT is really not doing well right now, seems like they bought too many planes.
DeleteWell, they might have too many airplanes coming. There were various rumors about their plans to utilize those extra airplanes, opening a new base in some other country is one of them.
DeleteBut if those plains fail for some reason, they might find that leasing some of those A220s as a good option. Again, even if that happens, considering overall market situation there will probably be many companies interested in such a deal.
Flew on Air Canada A220 two weeks ago and was pretty disappointed.
DeletePlane is noisy at altitude plus four and a half hours of noticeable vibration
in my seat. Definitely coming from engines. Sure enough a day later
found that they really have a vibration issues due to a some kind of
software problem. Next flight with CRJ 200 was super smooth and relaxed
Yugoslav airlines are back
ReplyDeleteIt would be perfect if Air Serbia could become JAT from '80s
DeleteAir Serbia is already strong in some markets like Montenegro or Slovenia. If they continue like this then they could be a true regional player. Their Balkan network is truly impressive.
Deleteis the crj that air serbia will lease going to be painted in the air serbia livery or is it going to be some sticker that says who it is going to fly for?
ReplyDeleteSticker. It's just a 4 month wet lease. No point in painiting it.
DeleteI think that last year there was not even sticker on it
Deleteno, they did not paint new parts, parts of engines are white now and they should be red or blue
Delete^ your comment has absolutely nothing to do with his question.
Delete:/
Deletei like air serbias livery and would like to see it in crj colours, but i do see the point if it is only going to be leased for 4 months
thanks for the answers!
I know it won't happen but it would be really cool to see JU back in Dubai. There is enough local demand to fill a few weekly flights. FZ is constantly full and I don't know why they are not increasing flights.
ReplyDeleteToo long rotation
DeleteBecause they don't have the planes for it. Their entire fleet was supposed to be replaced and doubled by Max planes.
DeleteYeah but I wonder if they had any plans, would be cool if they had an evening departure like Jat Airways used to have. I think JU 88 used to leave Belgrade at 21.15 or 20.15, can're remember now.
Delete23:55
DeleteThere was also an earlier departure at around 21.15 that operated via LCA. I think it was back in 2007.
DeleteVery questionable but still they could use parked A330 for DXB flights over winter months, if demand is there long rotation won't be a problem for otherwise unused aircraft. Expensive yes, but they wouldn't be the only airline flying widebody on middle east-ex yu routes.
DeleteThere is EK to ZAG so they would be second but I agree with what you write. It would also be better as an option if they would fly at night with a 00.30 departure. Like that they could offer connections as well and there would be a lot of room for cargo as well.
DeleteHow can it be too long rotation if Wizz Air can fly KTW-DWC with a turnaround?
DeleteAlso, I don't think we will ever see JU fly to DXB as long as Etihad is around...
Good move by JU and I suspected that this might happen when JP went bankrupt. I'd imagine the A319 being returned to the lessor is one of either YU-API or YU-APJ since they are the oldest? Hopefully lease rates will be more favourable when the MAX groundings end which may allow JU to lease a few more frames at better rates to replace the 733's as well as expansion. I do wonder whether longer-term i.e. next 20 years or so whether the A220 would be a good fit as it would allow JU to operate the A220-100 as well for thinner routes. Obviously this is too expensive for JU at the moment but down the line I don't think its a bad direction to look at especially if an A220-500 comes along for busier routes.
ReplyDeleteA319 is not leaving the fleet, YU-APG, an A320 is.
DeleteTrebalo se razmatrati o nabavci jos jednog A332 trenuto ih ima jako dosta na trzistu , leti se moglo leteti za JFK i YYZ. Dok se zimi jedan mogao koristiti u saradnji sa nekoliko jakih EX YU Agencija prema Aziji i ostalim zimskim letovalistima. Ili se moglo fokusirati na Africko trziste koje u Evropi ima jako veliko dijasporu, o Iranu i drugim Bliskoistocnim Zemljama ne treba ni pisati , steta sto je Africko trziste zanemareno.
DeleteINN-NS
Lol welcome back INN-NS (if that is truly the original INN-NS)
DeleteOh no not you again.....
Delete