The three national carriers from the former Yugoslavia will all be expanding their fleets this summer season in order to support their growing networks.
Air Serbia will lease two former Adria Airways Airbus A319s. The first (pictured), has been painted in Tolouse with the second to follow shortly. They will be registered YU-APL and YU-APM and are due for delivery around 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. The Serbian carrier is also expected to lease two ATR72 turboprops, with the airline’s mechanics recently dispatched to inspect the aircraft. At the same time, the carrier is expected to return one ATR72 it has been leasing over the past few years. A CRJ900 aircraft is still being sourced for a short-term wetlease over the summer months starting from June. The type, which was previously visible on a number of routes in the booking system, has now been removed until a lease contract is finalised.
Croatia Airlines will introduce two additional aircraft to its fleet this summer when compared to last year. Despite initial reports it would lease an easyJet Airbus A319, the carrier has instead opted for an eight-year lease of an A319, which was most recently utilised by charter carrier HiFly. According to the “Avio Radar” portal, the eight-year old jet, which has the capacity to seat 150 passengers, is due for delivery just prior to the summer season, in late March. It will be registered 9A-CTN. A fifteen-year-old Dash 8 Q400 turboprop will also be added to the fleet this summer. The aircraft is believed to be currently registered OE-LGJ and operated its last flight for Austrian Airlines ten days ago. It will have a low utilisation rate at Croatia Airlines and will be primarily used as a spare, so as to limit network disruption, by supplementing any aircraft which may go out of service due to technical reasons. Its delivery is due in late April. A Bombardier CRJ1000 will again be wetleased from Air Nostrum and will operate on behalf of the Croatian carrier until the end of summer.
Montenegro Airlines will add a fourth Embraer 195 jet to its fleet from April. The carrier’s CEO, Živko Banjević, confirmed the dry lease of the jet at a recent summit of industry professionals in Zurich. A fifth E195 will eventually replace an outgoing Fokker 100, which is due to leave the fleet at the end of the 2020 summer season. “The plan is to have a fleet of five Embraer E195 jets, while a sixth plane, of the same or greater capacity, would be wet-leased through an ACMI over the summer season”, Mr Banjević previously noted.
Image credit: Dan Raistrick
How come these former Adria planes have Austrian registration?
ReplyDeleteDon't know. Their registration was changed right after Adria went bankrupt.
DeleteIt's interesting that these planes were first meant to be going to Turkish Airlines.
DeleteThey were returned to the lessor, which tranferred them to Austrian register.
DeleteNobody sane would keep aircraft on the Slovenian aircraft register even a minute longer than absolutely necessary.
DeleteDoes anyone know which 2 JU aircraft will be leaving the fleet?
ReplyDeleteYU-APG should be one.
DeleteAnd YU-ALT the other.
DeleteShame. YU-ALY is one of the "newer" ATRs.
DeleteSo there will be only 1 A320 left in the fleet?
DeleteI think that's the plan.
DeleteThe entire ATR fleet needs replacing.
DeleteEspecially the 3 left from JAT Yugo times.
DeleteNot the entire ATR fleet, just the older planes they got from Jat Airways.
DeleteYU-ALT was leased during Jat Airways from Alitalia. Before it was painted into Air Serbia livery it even (for some unexplainable reason) had part of the Alitalia livery on the radar.
Deletehttps://i.ytimg.com/vi/d29VDu4P1k0/maxresdefault.jpg
Professional painting done :-)
Delete** rudder not radar haha
DeleteYU-ALV is the newest ATR in JU fleet. As far as I know, it's the only one with ADS-B. All other Air Serbia ATR's wouldn't be even allowed to fly in the US.
DeleteHow about B737 retirement?
DeleteIn the case of Croatia Airlines/Air Serbia leases, are these planes getting the interior used by the airline or will they stay as they are?
ReplyDeleteConsidering the money poured in all three airlines this year, it is good they at least used it to expand fleets and networks.
ReplyDeleteSeems like the government aid is paying off.
DeleteWe should be happy that everyone is growing. Good work.
DeleteSo this summer the fleet should look something like this?
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia - 24 aircraft
Croatia Airlines - 15 aircraft
Montenegro Airlines - 5 aircraft
Yes, if you include the short term wet leases for JU and OU.
DeleteMontenegro 6
DeleteSo they will again wet lease B737 in summer?
DeleteYes I believe so.
DeleteI'm still wondering whether any of their expansion plans will be impacted by the virus draa.
ReplyDeleteBased on what?
DeleteBased on the collapse in demand for air travel.
DeleteThis is my thinking too. I am not spreading fears here just using common sense and beads on what is going on around the world, Balkan usually reacts to the crisis after the big players do first.
DeleteLH is already offering leaves and part time work to their staff and has halted any hiring.
We'll see I guess in a month or two....
That was supposed to be *drama in the first comment.
DeleteThing is that all ex-YU are regional players, Lufthansa is a global airline so they are more affected since they fly to places like Seoul, Beijing, Singapore... and many of their European flights are filled from those markets.
DeleteOur banana airlines (<3) are nowhere near that level of business so they should be mostly fine.
Remember when the coup took place in Turkey, Serbs still flew on charters to Turkey and they didn't care. Same thing with Tunisia where they still kept on going after the shooting at the beach. Coronavirus won't affect travel demand that much.
With 2 extra aircraft, Croatia Airlines really could have opened more than 2 routes!
ReplyDeleteI think OU is waiting to see what is going to happen with PSO flights.
DeleteIsn't Croatia Airlines doing significantly more charters this year?
DeleteMy only question is what will they do with the extra planes during winter? TGD and SOF will be seasonal.
DeleteHopefully they will turn some seasonal routes to year round.
DeleteTurkey just removed e-visa restrictions to Croatian citizens yesterday. Maybe they will try IST once again? With a TK codeshare, it's impossible not to succeed in IST.
DeleteThere were rumors they may introduce a mid afternoon flight which would be codeshared by TK.
DeleteWould there be enough demand for a third daily flight, especially when the winter season starts?
DeleteI think there would especially now that visas have been abolished for Turkish citizens.
DeleteVisas abolished for Turkish citizens?
DeleteDid I miss anything?
@9.57 I think you mixed something up. Turkey has removed visa requirements for Croatian citizens. Not the other way around.
DeleteNo way, IST couldn't work as demand is not that big, in winter TK has 10 weekly on the A320. With coronavirus there is going to be less Asian demand and ZAG has little demand from Istanbul or the Middle East. If market was that big Pegasus would be flying to ZAG.
DeleteAlso don't forget TK is boosting LJU.
They are boosting capacity in Ljubljana, not frequnecy.
DeleteThe former Adria plane looks really shiny in its new livery :)
ReplyDeleteNew livery shine. Looks good.
DeleteCan someone explain why there are blue marking where the doors are?
DeleteI think it was left there because of aircraft painting.
DeleteGood move by JU.
ReplyDeleteGood decision by all three. All the exyu airlines should be flying more regional jets.
DeleteExactly, really good move by JU!
Deleteyesterday I saw that 5 exAdria CRJs are still parked in Brnik. Some of them are without engines.
ReplyDeleteSad. I'm surprised they haven't found a buyer for them.
Deletebut those are not ex-Adria planes. Adria was just leasing them. What about lessors?
DeleteHope the 2 ATRs coming for Air Serbia are newish and not some old junk.
ReplyDeleteMe too. After all they are not leasing ATR72-200 :-)
DeleteIt would be great to have ATR72-600 but I suppose they are much more expensive to be leased.
Are we sure that they are leasing -500s?
DeleteYes I think it was written somewhere that it is the 500 series.
DeleteThese Air Serbia's planes have screens in passenger cabin. I wonder if they will be used during the flight.
ReplyDeleteI wonder too. Would be nice if they showed the moving map at least. The crew does the safety demo on all planes except A330 where they have a video.
DeleteMy guess is they will just keep them folded. Maybe they even removed them.
DeleteI am also afraid they will be removed.
DeleteWho needs them anyway?
DeleteWould be nice for them to keep the screens, but I doubt they will. If Im not mistaken, there were other A319's that had the overhead screens but were removed.
DeleteThey could be used for the safety demo video, in flight map, maybe adds from the tourism board for advertising Serbia.
I couldnt help but notice in the pictures posted that JP had onair connectivity, but I believe it was for the inflight entertainment and not wifi?
Weren't the Adria A319s in very bad shape before the airline went bankrupt? I remember they had broken seats and ripped carpets because Adria couldn't pay to get it repaired. I assume all of that will be dealt with before they are delivered. Maybe they even put in Air Serbia's interiors.
ReplyDeleteIt looks fine to me.
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
Worn out but it is still OK.
DeleteJU is putting in their own cabin which includes seats, carpets and curtains. Adria interior will be thrown out, never to be used again.
DeleteYU-APK should also get the JU interior soon.
Will these planes get WiFi antenna?
DeleteI doubt it. It's extremely expensive.
DeleteAll the Airbus planes others except YU-APK have it, don't they?
DeleteYes but YU=APK has been in the fleet for almost a year and they didn't install it. So my guess is that they won't install them on any upcoming planes.
DeleteYU-APK might get it when it goes for a C check.
DeleteMy guess is that they are short on money so why refurbish a plane if there is no need.
DeleteWhat about the MGX E195. Do we know where it's coming from?
ReplyDeleteSeems like ATRs will be the future of Air Serbia's regional network.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense. Pilots already trained for this type.
DeleteIt is not bad at all, but they need to replace 3xATR72-200.
DeleteIt will cost money especially as they own these planes but they can't fly forever
What I hear is a major problem for Air Serbia in regards to fleet expansion is actually finding pilots.
ReplyDeleteActually we got many Slovenian pilots who moved from JP. They said that JU working conditions were better than what Lauda offered. I think it also helps JU has 17 weekly to LJU so it's easier to go home.
DeleteI hope that's the case but I still hear there is a shortage. Same problem experienced by many airlines.
DeleteIt is not bad at all, but they need to replace 3xATR72-200.
DeleteIt will cost money especially as they own these planes but they can't fly forever
Same goes for B737s.
DeleteThe issue with replacing 3 ATR72-200s and 3 B737s is that it will significantly drive their costs up because all six aircraft are owned by Air Serbia, so no leasing costs.
DeleteCorrect.
DeleteBut maintaining costs as well as fuel consumption costs are higher for older planes.
But around a third of all Adria's pilots went to Lauda. How many went to JU?
DeleteI think the biggest problem is that leasing ATR's can be as much as leasing regional jets or even A319's. There is seasonal figures posted on airliners.net
DeleteJU might own 3 of them but are they cheaper to operate compared to leasing newer models when you factor in maintenance, fuel consumption and reliability issues (ie AOG situations where pax need to be rebooked and compensated, or a larger aircraft needs to jump in to operate the route).
Good thing is that these A319 are coming in March so by April they will be flying. I am sure JU will not be removing the A320 before the end of the summer when they have more demand.
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to more flights to Milan and Paris from April. It's impressive how many flights there are going to be from Belgrade to Paris: 16 on JU, 14 on AF and 2 on W6.
wow that's really nice, 32 weekly to Paris is quite a lot. How does BEG compare to other cities in the region like TSR, BUD, OTP, SOF and SKG?
DeleteWasn't BVA-BEG 4 weekly?
DeleteIt is and it is 4 weekly this summer too.
DeleteLots of capacity of Paris this summer, interestingly AF will clash with W6, they will fly out of Belgrade at the same time.
DeleteThis is what BEG-PAR will look like this May on Sundays:
06.40 JU CDG
12.40 W6 BVA
12.45 AF CDG
16.20 JU CDG
17.05 JU CDG
I don't understand why Wizz Air did not reschedule BVA flights, it's not like they can beat AF which has a better service, flies from a better airport and has transfers on both ends, in BEG and CDG. Oh well ...
The two extra Air Serbia flights to Paris are only in April and May right?
DeleteYes, JU couldn't keep them after due to the plane shortage.
DeleteOk, I see. Shame.
DeleteI dont think W6 is flexible to retime their flights due to their fleet limitations. I dont think they are as flexible as what JU and AF can offer on the route.
DeleteAs for JU and the new CDG addition, it will be interesting to see after the season if they will bring back the JU316 rotation.
My armchair CEO analysis would think a 10am departure would better suit:
JU312 BEG CDG 1010 1250
JU313 CDG BEG 1330 1610
Small readjustments to regional ATR utilisation especially on the newer models (if they can pull it off), with arrivals by 0930 could help feed from the BEG side, and AF has a number of N American flights that would connect well with a schedule above. On days that they dont rotate the aircraft to CDG, they could use the same departure for a new UK (MAN) or a DUB rotation.
I just hope all the extra capacity won't lead to wider losses at all three airlines.
ReplyDeleteJU seem to be doing better financially, their negative figures have reduced significantly the past 2 years (as of 2018), and if Im not mistaken, they are lower than OU, who in 2018 were receiving subsidies for PSO routes, which JU wasnt (INI funding being from mid 2019).
Delete2019 would be interesting to see, OU has stagnated while JU seems to be doing better seeing that they have started publically releasing statistics unlike previous years and have embarked on another season of expansion.
I believe the A330 lease for JU is the biggest issue to their profitability. I dont see them renewing the lease of YU-ARA, especially after the AZ report of their issues with their A330 leases for which JU has a similar agreement. Either they cancel JFK or take on 2 A330's for slightly higher rates compared to the lease of YU-ARA and go for another 2021 expansion (daily JFK + YYZ).
New planes are definitely welcome, looking forward to see how the three airlines perform this summer.
ReplyDeleteMe too, let's just hope the virus hysteria does not impact them.
DeleteOU needs some regional jets besides the Dash 8s.
ReplyDeleteSo if U2 is number 1 in seat capacity in Slovenia, then does JU have more seats than OU or they are the same?
ReplyDeleteI see OU has 2 A320s with 174 seats which is basically not too far from the JU A330 which has 254 seats.
I don't understand what your question is? OU does not fly to Ljubljana...
DeleteIf you are talking who was more seats in general it is JU. Not only to they have a bigger fleet but their fleet is significantly more utilized. OU planes are mostly on the ground during the night while the majority of JU's fleet is flying.
DeleteExcellent news :) hope for more fleet expansion next year too.
ReplyDeleteOdlicne Vesti za sve tri kompanije, naravno je odlicno sto ASL menja starije ATR 72. Svakako bi bilo odlicno da dodje jos neki ATR , jos bi dodao da nebi bilo lose da dodje jos neki Airbus A319 da se krene na takodje jaca trzista Afrike koje je malo zanemareno. Jos bi dodao kad bi dosao jos neki wide body mogao bi visestruko da se iskoristi.
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
I dont think JU has alot to offer in Africa, other than maybe TUN or maybe HBE. Anything else is too far for the A319, and any more A330's could be better used elsewhere ie YYZ, ORD, DEL, PVG.
DeleteSeems like JU did the right thing to return to Istanbul and to boost it this year. With KK still around the market was limited in growth which affected tourism.
ReplyDeleteJanuary statistics are out, foreign arrivals rose by 28% to 106.774
Turkey - 4.249 - +49%
Some others like Red Wings helped boost Russian arrivals:
Russia - 4.428 - +25%
Will be interesting to see how Chinese numbers look in February and March because in January they were impressive with 8.183 (+145%).
All in all JU growth has definitely contributed to more foreign visits to Serbia, Turkey being a prime example. Still, 28% growth in January is quite good. If Russian arrivals keep on growing like this then maybe Nordwind changes their mind and launches BEG.