The Serbian Minister for Finance, Siniša Mali, has said the country’s national carrier will retire older noisy aircraft, as well as those producing greater gas emissions. Mr Mali said the move will be part of the carrier’s restructuring program which includes fleet rationalisation, the reduction of the company’s workforce and termination of select routes. The restructuring program should unlock access to state aid, which will be used to mitigate the financial impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, the Minister reiterated his support for the carrier, noting, “We have connected Serbia to Europe and the world. Almost every other passenger either departing or arriving in the country has been carried by our national airline. Even in these tough times, we continue to proudly protect our wings which have been in the skies for almost a century. With some good tailwinds, we will fly faster and better, to the end of the world and back, thanks to our Air Serbia”.
Air Serbia’s fleet currently consists of 21 aircraft. It has returned an Airbus A320 jet (registered YU-APG) and one ATR72 (registered YU-ALV) to their owners as their lease with the company had expired. Two former Adria Airways A319 aircraft were recently delivered to Belgrade with one of them (YU-APM) entering revenue service last week. The jet still dons Adria Airways’ cabin interiors. One of the remaining three Boeing 737-300 aircraft in Air Serbia’s fleet (YU-AND) has not been in operation since the pandemic started and is unlikely to return to service. However, the remaining two, one of which is the world’s oldest passenger 737-300 still in operation, continue to be utilised across the network. The lease for the carrier’s wide-body Airbus A330-200 runs until May of next year, after which the airline could extend it or replace the jet.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the airline has renegotiated leasing terms for its aircraft, with power by the hour contracts concluded, where leasing costs are accounted based on the number of hours the aircraft has been utilised rather than a fixed rate. The Serbian government previously said it was the “right time” to acquire aircraft for the company. “We are thinking about starting negotiations for the acquisition of some aircraft. This is the right time, because there will never be an opportunity like this where prices on the market will be as low”, the Ministry for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure said in May. Prior to the pandemic, Air Serbia planned to lease up to four ATR72 turboprops, which were to join the fleet in the summer of 2020, in addition to the two A319s.
About bloody time
ReplyDeleteIt would make sense
ReplyDeleteThose ancient 737s are being worked more than ever at the moment.
ReplyDeleteYU-ANI flying to Frankfurt this morning, YU-ANK to FRA yesterday.
DeleteWhy are they using them so much all of the sudden? In the past they would mostly only use them for charters and in case some plane went tech
DeleteSimple. Answer is in the third paragraph
Delete"Since the onset of the pandemic, the airline has renegotiated leasing terms for its aircraft, with power by the hour contracts concluded, where leasing costs are accounted based on the number of hours the aircraft has been utilised rather than a fixed rate."
They own the Boeings, meaning they don't pay for any leasing costs. So if it replaces an Airbus which is sitting on the ground, they don't pay for the Airbus.
But operating those old B737s must be costly.
DeleteIt must be that marginal cost of additional fuel burned is less than cost of leasing at pwr by the hour. My 2 cents...
DeleteI think it has to do with keep the pilot's certificates and ratings current. If they don't fly, they expire...
DeleteI'm assuming Mali is referring to either the B737s or the ATRs since the ATRs are noisy and the 737s are now becoming gas guzzlers.
ReplyDeleteI think the two A319s that came from Adria will replace the two remaining B737s.
DeleteThe A319 is no longer a competitive aircraft. If they want to beat W6 better stick to the A320 with more seats.
DeleteA320 is only competitive if you can fill the seats, something JU might not be able to do especially in winter. Don't forget that unlike W6, JU relies on transfers meaning they need to keep a much higher level of frequencies. A319 is quite ok at the moment, especially after they refurbished it.
DeleteNemjee - anon@9.22 is referring to the fact that compared to the A319, the A320 provides a significant cost advantage (by way of providing a lower seat cost), thereby being "more competitive". It is up to the scheduling, sales and pricing people to do their job to fill the aircraft. But, on a seat cost basis - A320 wins hands down over the A319.
Delete@ 9.47 - how do you know cost per seat if you don't know leasing cost?
DeleteAnd that's exactly what I said. It's only competitive if JU can fill the seats and if that planes fits into JU's business model. I think the answer is no to both.
DeleteAnon@09:11
DeleteAdria’s planes are planned to replace old YU-API (ex A6-SAA) and YU-APJ (ex A6-SAB) at the beginning of next year when their lease period expires.
landing fee is usually based on weight, so i bet if A320 is 75.5MTOW and A319 is 70MTOW, then it will be cheaper to operate. Especially, in next two years due to lower demand in travel sector.. i barely believe that it is possible for small countries to fill up to gasket all 180 seats even in non covid times.
DeleteWhy didn't they change the Adria interior on the A319s?
ReplyDeletecosts?
DeleteProbably. But I remember there were stories that many seats were broken on Adria in the last few weeks before they collapsed. Maybe they fixed them.
DeleteIt took them a year to replace YU-APK's interior which had Cobalt's cabin.
DeleteDo you know if they do the retrofit in Belgrade or somewhere else?
DeleteThey do it in Belgrade, they also have to keep the seats in storage because leased planes have to be returned with the same cabin.
DeleteSince the cabin is the same I wonder if they are using the overhead screens which Adria had. For the moving map at least
Delete@Nemjee thanks
Delete@10.01 they don't use them. They just keep them folded.
DeleteThe sole logic move is to reconsider the Sukhoi offer. I am sure that Russia will provide a sweet discount and a maintenance centre. SSJ has been flying for decades and much cheaper than the A220.
ReplyDeleteStop with this, please, everyone knows Sukhoi would bring JU to grave. Whoever leased those planes regreted it big time.
DeleteWhy did SN Brussels nor Cityline have any issues with them? It was only Interjet, an inexperienced Mexican LCC airline. Why does ASL necessarily have to have problems?
DeleteBrussels and CityJet had issues with SSJ-100, and that was reason why they sent back them to Russia much before leasing agreement was finished.
DeleteWhy don't you go to some German blog trying to convince Lufthansa to purchase SSJ100?
DeleteNo chance, right?
Then don't do it here as well
09:12
DeleteDo you understand these 2 planes are in different categories? SSJ hax about 90 seats while A220-300 about 145
@10:39 - let me remind you that there talks held just before the pandemic and are likely to be resumed:
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/03/russia-serbia-to-resume-ssj100.html
News is from March 2020, which is not a long time ago.
Brussels and CityJet could not secure a supply of spare parts as a result of EU sanctions on Russia. The planes were acquired some time before sanctions took effective.
DeleteUnfortunately, the planes they have to replace are the ones they own.
ReplyDeleteI think some fleet expansion announcement might made when they make the announcement that Etihad is leaving
ReplyDeleteOr they will wait for the Chinese
DeleteWonder what they will do with the Jet Airways A330-200
ReplyDeleteThey will keep on sending it to JFK.
DeleteI mean do you think they will look to replace it with another type or another A330-200? Especially since Jet Airways is being resurrected. Maybe they will want the plane back.
DeleteMy bet is that the aircraft will go back to Jet and they will source a newer and cheaper aircraft in the market - of which there are plenty available
DeleteThe planes was not owned by Jet, it was leased to them through a contract. YU-ARA is owned by a lessor which recently renewed the contract with JU.
DeleteThe contract ends in a few months. They didn't renew it they just renegotiated the price. The plane is not owned by leasing company, it is owned by Jet Airways, leased to Etihad, subleased to Air Serbia.
DeleteNonsense. ARA is owned by MOORGATE AIRCRAFT 2007 LIMITED.
DeleteI think this is just Mali shooting off his mouth again. Doubt there will be any fleet changes.
ReplyDeleteI agree, EU wouldn't be happy if government suddenly started buying planes for AirSerbia.
DeletePlus if i had a penny for every plan government said they'd do and they didn't, I'd be a few hundred bucks richer now.
"Almost every other passenger either departing or arriving in the country has been carried by our national airline."
ReplyDeleteThis is such a LIE. Couldn't be further from the truth.
This year it is probably the truth.
Delete'Every Other' means 50%. JUs market share of BEG departing pax is around 40-50%, so 'almost every other' sounds about right. Although I agree that it's a strange way to structure a statement
DeleteShouldn't it be "every second passenger"?
DeleteEvery other and every second are synonymous. Other means second or second of two.
DeleteJU's share in Belgrade might be ~40-50%. However, to say that every second passenger ARRIVING or DEPARTING in the COUNTRY, is a LIE.
DeleteA big part of those passengers are just in TRANSIT. They do NOT arrive nor depart from Serbia.
This is just pushing the LIE that Air Serbia brings a lot of tourists to the country.
Again - don't mind whatever business model they want to pursue. But this is not even twisting the truth. This is just a plain LIE>
And how in the world is one supposed to TRANSIT if he doesn't ARRIVE and DEPART?
DeleteAnd what is not a lie what Mali said about JU in the past? ...or in general?
DeleteHe repeatedly said over years Air Serbia would be supported and not allowed to go under. He was/is right about that.
DeleteI still remember haters back in 2013 that claimed Airbus planes would NEVER arrive in BEG for Air Serbia. Looks like same haters are still hanging around...
Air Serbia needs a plane between the ATR and A319.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI mean they can lease former YM’s E195, that would be perfect aircraft type
DeleteAgree together with a couple of their crew and pilots trained on the type.
DeleteJU needs to CUT costs, not increase them further. Another aircraft type would only add costs at a time when they are rationalising their business
DeleteI'm kind of happy those old 737s are still in use :D will be sad to see them go.
ReplyDeleteVERY TRUE!!! they are iconic!
DeleteBravo JU!
ReplyDeleteFinally
ReplyDeleteAre the ex-Adria frames the youngest Airbuses in the fleet?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteThat's a nice lineup of ATRs on the photo.
ReplyDeleteThe ATRs must go ASAP. They are extremely noisy and uncomfortable and they are in the worst shape in JUs fleet. The 737 is an A350 compared to these.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteI know quite a few people that don't want to fly JU on certain routes becuase they use the ATRs.
Too bad they had to return YU-ALV since it was in the best condition.
Delete@Anon 9.32
DeleteCompletely agree. I especially know a LOT of people flying from/to Montenegro who never wanted to fly with Air Serbia just because of the ATRs. Obviously now they don't have a choice but still, I'm sure there are examples in other countries too.
Well right now seems like A319 will become the norm which is more comfortable the YM's F100 or E95.
DeleteToday it's all ATRs.
DeleteToday:
Delete10:00 ATR
13:40 A319
The other day ASL operated ATR to Berlin. Radar24 showed a return flight of over 2.35h..thats gotta be uncomfortable ride.
DeleteConsidering current situation it is totally accetable. OU is also sending Q400 everywhere.
DeleteDon't get me wrong, I agree. Except the Q400 is a better product for these medium haul routes. Amongst turboprops. Of course CRJ or ERJ is a level above them.
DeleteBeside the slight speed advantage, i don't see how the Q400 would be a better product
DeleteNot sure how well do you know both aircraft, if you say it like that..
DeleteSlight speed: over 150km/h in difference
Quieter by far
Flies higher - tops FL250 all the time, regardless of weight or atmospheric conditions. Higher means smoother as if avoids more adverse weather.
You can bring your carryon luggage onboard vs waiting for the trolley to deliver it to the aircraft. Walk on onboard , walk off type of thing.
You can lower the bridge so that paxs don't have to step their foot outside
Handles icing during winter like it's a non event.
Has a Low visibility Cat 3A approach capability.
All of these things make a huge difference when it comes to making it to the destination or diverting or simply not getting of the ground. Comfort, safety and speed.. I thing that's more then saying "slight".
Cheers
In the end the ATR is far more economical
Delete@14,55
DeleteCarry on is still restrictive on the Q400, not much in difference to the ATR.
Most routes JU uses the ATR on would be 5-10 minutes faster on the Q400.
Boarding a turboprop via a bridge is pointless and a waste of gate space, not to mention its rarely done.
Not too sure about the low visibility argument either as OS cancels their Q400 ops to BEG when there is fog, or upgrades the aircraft.
Waste of space, yes when times are busy, but they are not and not going to be for awhile. Boarding straight from the gate to the bridge VS bus ops saves time and especially when you don't have to drop off the carryon outside. It's like a jet operation. Yes, older Q400s bins were tight but still managed to fit a crew size carryon. But Dehaviland has upgraded it now to fit 22" roller bag.
DeleteAs for low vis, I don't know for a fact what options on board has the OS type, but HUD display is an option that you can get with the purchase. So being on average 28yrs old, they fleet of Q400 may not have that option and it's why they may be sending Embraers or Airbuses.
OU fleet of Q400 has a low is approach option.
https://youtu.be/Yv90kPhT3Z8
My carryon didnt fit on my last Q400 flight
DeleteI dont think BEG bridges could connect to the Dash 8. Its always a bus ride to/from the terminal, or walking up/down the stairs of the jet bridge. Same for the CRJ. Time saved is probably not worth the investment for airports to invest into turboprob boarding bridges. Usually 1 bus is adequate to board/deboard a turboprop.
DeleteOverhead bin size may fit 'crew' size bags (different airlines have different dimensions), it still cant accomodate all when full.
As per airfleets, OS Q400's are mostly 10-15 years old, not an average of 28.
There should be absolutely no doubt about who is running the company and making all the decisions .... Mali has now been the go-to guy for some time, so if their intent is to rationalise and cut costs, they should cut the last remaining EY management ties with their CEO (and any others) to get rid of these high cost employees who are now more or less just paper weights, given who is making the key decisions and driving the strategy forward.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteYeah - strange how the CEO has been absent in making these sorts of major announcements. I guess it reflects the reality of who is actually paying the bills
DeleteOut of curiosity: you are both saying that a minister of finance in Serbia is also managing an airline? That must be a nice part time job in this ministry:)
DeleteMali is making all the decisions, not the CEO. The management team simply execute and implement, so there is no need for any high cost expensive EY people or other foreigners to hold decision making positions when they are no longer the ones making these decisions. Therefore, as part of the cost rationalisation process, they should now be moved on
DeleteYeah I'm sure Mali ordered them to increase flights to Montenegro, react to Adria collapse last year and so on...
DeleteSince they own 51% of the company , Serbian gouvermant should be in control and make some decisions as they are planning to invest even more money in the near future . It is the practice in every single country that was given aid to the nacional aiine.
DeleteIn which country a minister of finance is personally managing an airline because it got state aid? Germany? France?
DeleteIn France they do because they own shares. In Germany they don't because LH is not owned by the government.
DeleteMali is now much more involved and making statements/announcements on behalf of the company than when he was the Chairman of JU - WTF ? So why then the need for a high cost foreign CEO ?
Delete@Anon 18:47: Actually, the German state does own a portion of LH now with seats on the board, as a part of the Covid-19 bailout.
DeleteHow many planes is Air Serbia actively being used in the fleet? I mean today they only have 6 flights.
ReplyDeleteI think they are using the entire fleet, it's just that aircraft are not utilised as before.
DeleteJU danas ima 9 letova a to je skoro duplo nego OS sto ima (5 od toga 1 E195 a ostala 4 Q400).
DeleteYes, all of them are being used at the moment.
DeleteThere are 2 ATRs and 2 A319s parked at Jat Tehnika today.
DeleteConsidering the money poured into JU they should really think about fleet renewal. Shame those neos got cancelled.
ReplyDeleteThe neos would have been a disaster to have in the fleet now.
DeleteConsidering the network they built, number of passengers they had, size of the fleet, flying to USA etc. they certainly brought back to Serbia all that invested money and much more than any other ex-yu airline (at this moment it means only OU).
DeleteThis would be a good move by JU. Replace old jets with newer ones under favorable leasing terms.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they will replace the planes, they will just downsize the fleet.
DeleteWell Mali's tune has certainly changes compared to a few months ago when he was announcing new planes.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I would take everything he says with a grain of salt.
DeletePolitician...
DeleteAnd it will change again .... that's what politicians do .... he is a maestro in the art of spin
DeleteShame those 4 ex-Air New Zealand ATR72s never came :(
ReplyDeleteWhat would they do with them now?
DeleteCould have replaced the 4 older ATRs.
DeleteThe issue is cost. They would have to pay leasing costs for those planes while they don't have to pay that for their own aircraft.
DeleteWhich routes would they make if they were to be delivered from AKL to BEG? I guess via PER, DPS, DEL & IST?
DeleteJU returned-ALV which was in the best condition of all Stars in fleet. They could also put seats from ANJ and AND to ANI and ANK and you would not see the difference between 319 and 737, except that 737 rules :) So I think that JU doesn't do anything strategic, just talks talks..
ReplyDeleteYU-ALV was also overpriced.
DeleteWell, Lima Victor was the youngest and the most comfortable ATR in the fleet, but not exactly "the best". As for the cars, some are better then the others.
DeleteAlthough one of the most uncomfortable planes out there, ATRs really helped Jat and Air Serbia to survive with much lower costs. You cannot send Airbus on a route with 18 passengers and survive that on longer terms, but you can with ATR.
Changing the way they price tickets would help boost their loads. 200+€ BEG-TIA without luggage is unacceptable, while BEG-JFK was recently on promotion for 300€!
DeleteThis goes for other destinations in the region as well.
In order to restructure and get state aid they will need to reduce the size of the company - routes, planes, employee numbers. So they won't be replacing the planes they retire.
ReplyDeleteIs the lease for any other Airbus jet expiring soon?
ReplyDeletePaint the last 737 in JAT livery and give it as a present to the yugoslav aeronautical museum !
ReplyDeletePotpisujem
Delete+1000
Where did YU-APG go to?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the should look at getting a couple of Boeing MAX aircraft?
ReplyDeleteSure thing, except Boeing would have to take on the lease for all 11 airbus 319/320 AND pay Air Serbia for crew and maintenance training on the new MAX. Even then the price would have to be heavily reduced
DeleteGet those Sukhoi jets! Strategic partnership with Russia would give us decades of stability.
ReplyDeleteB737 are paid off and owned by AirSerbia. Something that EU commission don't allow. Political bulshit.......
ReplyDeleteWhat? EU doesn't allow airlines to own their aircraft?
DeleteFor those born yesterday:
ReplyDeleteApril 2015: Air Serbia plans to replace its turboprop fleet over the next two to three years
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2015/04/air-serbia-to-replace-atrs-over-next.html
April 2017: Air Serbia is looking into the renewal of its regional fleet
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/04/air-serbia-considering-regional-fleet.html
Jul 2019: Air Serbia is studying the renewal of its ageing regional fleet, comprising of six ATR72
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/07/air-serbia-considering-regional-fleet.html
Nov 2018: Air Serbia to retire Boeing fleet by 2020
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/11/air-serbia-to-retire-boeing-fleet-by.html
so ... whatcha trying to say there ?!?!!? ;-) (end irony)
DeleteWhat he's trying to say is that" it's all talk, but there is no cash" lol
DeleteUmesto da pet godina stalno najavljuju pa ne ispune, treba već jednom da izbace stare avione pa tek onda da objave: prvo skoči pa reci hop!
Delete