The Serbian government will discuss the potential acquisition of eight Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft for Air Serbia at the Serbian - Russian economic forum in October, which will be attended by over a hundred Russian companies. The Serbian Minister without a portfolio in charge for innovations and technology, Nenad Popović, said “numerous agreements” will be signed at the event. In June, a delegation from Serbia attended the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, where negotiations resumed over the acquisition of the Superjet 100 aircraft, as well as the Irkut MS-21 jet. Air Serbia has shown little interest in the aircraft, which is why talks have been elevated to an inter-governmental level.
Sukhoi first approached and pitched the SSJ100 to the Serbian carrier in late 2015. In 2017, the plane manufacturer reiterated it was negotiating with Air Serbia over a potential aircraft order. In December 2019, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said his country’s aviation sector was prepared to assist in the renewal of Air Serbia’s fleet. However, meetings stalled afterwards, primarily as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “Supplying Russian-made aircraft to Serbia is being discussed in various formats. In particular, Sukhoi is working with the Serbian national carrier Air Serbia to upgrade the airline's fleet by purchasing the Superjet 100 aircraft. As for the MC-21, this type may be of interest to Air Serbia in the future”, Russian officials have said.
The Sukhoi Superjet has the capacity to seat between 87 and 108 passengers, depending on cabin layout and seat configuration. The Russian manufacturer is planning a new generation of the regional jet with extended capacity, new wings and new engines, which is expected to appear after 2025. Air Serbia itself has not commented on the Russian government’s comments over its interest in acquiring the aircraft. The Serbian carrier added two Airbus A319 jets to its fleet last year but returned one A320 and one ATR72 to the lessor. It also shelved plans to lease additional ATR72s last year with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and retired three Boeing 737s from its fleet.
Well considering Air Serbia has not bothered or been able to renew its fleet in a any way, in the end it will be stuck with Sukhois which the government will get for them for peanuts.
ReplyDeleteGlobal backlog shows just how "good" these planes are... C'mon.
DeleteActually one of the biggest problems with the SSJ was the French manufactured components (I think by Safran).
DeleteSSJ 2.0 is modified and all of its parts will be manufactured in Russia bypassing the need to rely on foreign spare parts.
Redesigning an inefficient airplane with all-Russian parts, that'll solve everything. I wonder if they will even try for EASA certification.
DeleteIts precisely the poor after sales support what has made airlines abandon the SSJ, not EU policy. SN briefly had the SSJ's in their fleet and quickly abandoned them.
DeleteЭмм это было 2 года назад и никто теперь не отсказывается от ррж, а наоборот их заказывает
DeleteEmbraer has also been in negotiations with JU over E2 but in the end nothing came out of it. They even sent a plane to BEG for demonstration but JU didn't go ahead with the plans supposedly because introducing it would cost too much money. Naturally they ignored all the positive effects of introducing a regional jet.
ReplyDeleteSame thing will be with the SSJ. In the end nothing will happen because JU is not interested in introducing a regional jet. I blame their foreign management who don't really care about long-term plans for JU. I think they are just here until something better comes along ... especially a job in the Persian Gulf.
Agree with you... although Embraer didn't have Nenad Popovic pushing for their purchase :D
DeleteEh Popovic is pushing many things outside of aviation but very few have actually come true. He better focus on bringing Russian tourists to Serbia and on the CAD not blocking N4's ROV-BEG which, judging by the fares available, started selling quite well.
DeleteKinda embarrassing for management that a politician is renewing their fleet.
DeleteAnon@9.49 - there's nothing "embarrassing" about a fact being a fact. The Govt of Serbia is 82% majority of owner of JU; they have also been pumping millions of euros into the airline since 2013 to keep it afloat and people employed. So if they want to be making fleet decisions, then that is their prerogative to do so - plain and simple. Not sure where or what is the dilemma here
DeleteYeah, but than they will need to pay even more as ssj will be on ground even more because of tehnical issues and they will have to pay delais...
DeleteThey should be used to that by now given how often their ATRs break down.
DeleteI really hope they are not serious about this :/
ReplyDeleteBasically, this is the best alternative aircraft for ASL given the fact that the country is focusing more on China and Russia. Reliable aircraft and perfect replacement for ageing ATR72.
ReplyDeleteIt's tragic that in the seven years since Air Serbia was born its management did not manage in bringing a single younger ATR,
DeleteTrue
DeleteI guess that's the strategic planning Marek keeps on mentioning. Maybe there is something we don't understand, maybe there is some hidden benefit in competing with Eurowing's A319 to STR by sending a 35 year old ATR with a worn out cabin.
DeleteThere is nothing reliable or perfect when it comes to SSJ...
DeleteAnonymous 09:09 - what you write is not true. JU leased in an ATR-500 from Air Corsica (I think it was 2014 or 2015) which was much younger than any of the existing ATR's they had at the time. This is also the ATR which was recently returned. I know the temptation is always there to throw shit at the airline, but chose your targets more judiciously as there are many more worthy and compelling examples to make than the one you have chosen - which is WRONG
DeleteWhen an ATR lease is roughly the same if not more than an A319, no surprise that the focus has been growing that fleet. Besides, A319 offers them greater flexibility compared to the ATR, and a couple of destinations could see permanent upgrades.
DeleteATR's on the German routes are temporary. Just because EW sends a larger aircraft doesn't mean that they are full. JU just has the flexibility to send something smaller. Not ideal, but there is an alternative if pax don't want an ATR.
The Russian government seems desperate to offload Sukhois to anyone.
ReplyDeleteAlso Air Serbia recently refused 6 brand new Atr that were offered to it at a very favorable rate.
ReplyDeleteEvery aircraft manufacturer keeps on pitching new planes to JU, even Bombardier tried to give them the C series or whatever it is called now. They keep on turning down everyone out there. They prefer to stick to the current fleet structure which is not the best.
Deletethey don't have money for new planes. That's why they only do pay-by-the-hour lease. New planes cost fixed monthly payments, which JU can't afford
DeleteThey don't have to buy them. They have to get them through a lease like they already do with the A319s, A320 and A330.
DeleteI quitted JU but I was there when ATR, E2 and C series story happened. Only reason why new planes never came is because of Marek and Naysmith who doesn't want to risk and bother with all that. Much easier to reduce schedule and ask government for money.
DeleteAnonymous09:38 - With such fluency, I think the JU is on the winning side when you QUITTED. That's if you ever worked there.
DeleteI guess you are one of my old colleagues since you are so angry about truth. I worked on a position that didn't need English language.
DeletePrepelice,
DeleteNo need to insult someone because of a spelling mistake.
Last Anon, don't worry, he is full of complexes. Just like he wrote 'I think the JU...' which is grammatically incorrect. However that doesn't matter as he was trying to discredit someone who did not think like him.
Delete@ 9,11
DeleteWhat is meant by a favourable rate?
@ 9,15
Few things are not ideal in JU. Fleet isn't the worst of their issues. For new planes you need money, including leases. JU has not made any profit in decades, regardless of what their creative accounting has shown the past several years. Their current A319 leases are not bad.
@ Prepelica
Don't worry, there are more half literate "English speakers" in JU, especially in marketing. Even Serbian isn't their strongest at times.
This particular deal will never see the light of day, hopefully.. so many much better options should be considered asap, as good, efficiant and modern regional jet is what Air Serbia needs for quite some time now
ReplyDeleteYes and the question here is why they never did anything about it? They don't even bother with cabin renovations for their ancient fleet of ATRs. Even A319s could use a refresher.
DeleteNot going to happen.
ReplyDeleteNothing ever happens when it comes to JU and its fleet.
DeleteNe mogu zamisliti Ruske putnicke avione do sada proizvedene u sluzbi Er Srbije. To nije bilo od Aero Puta do danas. U Srbiji postoje pojedinci koji lobiraju za Ruske putnicke avione. Do sada Rusija nije proizvela putnicke avione koji bi bili uporedivi na medjunarodnom trzistu. Izuzev Severne Koreje i Kube. Buduci novi tipovi Ruskih aviona mozda e biti uspesni na svetskom trzistu. Ako su konkurentniji.
ReplyDeleteVreme i Ruska sposobnost ce se pokazati. Do sada se nisu pokazali.
It's not about airplanes, quality of the product or efficiency, it's all about western politics and policies towards Russia.
DeleteRodni, leteo je Il-14 za JAT (1957-1963), a kasnije i Titov Il-18 čartere.
DeleteAnon 12:46. Aircraft IL-14 was part of political deal. After Rasian president, Crushev visited Belgrade. Predecessor of Air Serbia never have
Deleteall Russia's fleets in sevice. Not likely to have.
Posle koriscenja IL-18 za carter sloser se prizemljio nrgde u Dedinjskom brdu. Tako je
Obavestena javnost. Blizu pola veka je od tada.
Jedno je sigurno. Owner of the national airline of Serbia will make decisions.
Opinions is not so relevant.
Rod.😀🛫
DeleteIt is true the SSJ is plagued by some problems, though not all caused by the Russians themselves (like them or not). Should have they approached the plan in a different way from the start, indeed they should have …
If they renewed their ATR fleet and maybe added 1 or 2 extra planes there would be no room for the SSJ to even make a pitch. Especially since considerable sums would already be invested in the fleet renewal process.
ReplyDeleteI wish JU would finally get a good CCO. It's a chronic problem for the carrier and the impact on their operations is huge.
Er - isn't it the job of the CEO to step in and make up for any shortfalls in skills across the C-level team ??
DeleteYes but CEO can't micromanage the commercial department
DeleteSeems like the CEO doesn't manage too much else anyways ! The Govt makes all the key decisions - so his job is largely to implement and there really isn't anything to "micromanage" - except shortcomings in his immediate executive team ....
DeleteAnd to the person earlier who had an issue with the English used by someone making a comment - if you think this is an issue for someone who is lower down in the organisation and by their own admission, didn't have a need to be fluent in English, then have a look at the COO and his level of competency ... just brilliant ! My late Baba in the selo could string together better English than this guy .... where on God's Earth did they find him ?
You are right about the COO, he is a living disaster but JU struggles with finding good and competent staff. At this point they have a reputation and many people are refusing to come work for them, even if salaries are not that bad. Serbian economy has grown so people actually have options at this point. JU needs to start thinking about this.
DeleteY E S S S !!!! Finally, someone else who also thinks that the COO is an embarrassment of monumental proportions. God damn, where do they find people like him ? Is he a Govt BOT ? And even if he was, no issues if he was at least literate and proficient in the English language. Geez - why do they do things like this ?
DeleteAs for the point about getting good people - it doesn;t really matter as long as they can get party affiliated people who are trusted. Slowly but surely, all of the good local people recruited in the first 5 or so years have left or are leaving and Air Serbia doesn't have the same cache as it once did to attract good people as they have better opportunities elsewhere .....
Are you on something? CCO is Czech, how do you think he is a government bot? His English is also fine. Stop embarrassing yourself.
DeleteWell, if they ever buy Suhoi 100 jet plain I will newer ever enter i to Air Serbia plain. I'm sorry but that's my choice.
ReplyDeleteSSJ100 is just not reliable and safe enough. There are reasons why no one is flying them.
When it comes to civil aviation, Russians have to do much more that they do now.
You are right, that is why my choice of plan is the highly reliable MAX aircraft. Or maybe the B787 which even today experiences major problems. Just ask LOT.
DeleteYet both 787 and MAX continue to get new orders from airlines worldwide, and SSJ doesn't.
DeleteI wonder why...
How come 2 Max planes fell from the sky in such a short period of time and airlines still buying it while the Sukhoi had 1 more serious one during the last couple of years. Why is Azimuth using only Sukhoi planes and never had an issue?
DeleteSukhoi IS the right choice for Serbia and IS the perfect aircraft for its needs.
Perhaps because 737 MAX is overall a more reliable aircraft with a reliable supply chain and worldwide maintenance support?
DeleteName one airline outside of ex-USSR that is using SSJ today. Even easier, any non-Russian airline.
Nice try, what about Mexico and Kazakhstan??? NO issues with Sukhoi
DeleteStatements like "Superjet are not safe enough" shows a lack of understanding of the issues in Air Safety. It's no secret that Russia doesn't have a great Air Safety Record but the Jets they manufacture are not necessarily the problem, in fact they are probably the least relevant factor. Boeing and Airbus crashes in Russia have also been numerous and the causes are varied but include drunk Pilots, falsifying maintenance records, lack of Pilot training etc
DeleteAlso it needs to be remembered Air Travel in virtually all Countries is very safe, there are enormous numbers of people flying and an extremely small percentage of the world population are dying on flights. So there is no particular reason for the Russian Government to allocate a lot of resources to improving Air Safety when there are so many other things they could do with their budget which would have more impact on living standards.
As for whether the Superjet is a good choice, I believe if the order goes ahead it will be more for Political reasons than Business ones. The French made Motor was having issues with the Combustion Chamber which caused it to need major maintenance much sooner than it should have. Not sure if this has been resolved. Also Sukhoi did not have an adequate pool of spares for Interjet or Brussels Airlines. So they would need to show this wouldn't be an issue again before they could make a viable Business case for ordering the SSJ.
Having said that I don't see any issue with orders being placed for Political reasons, if States have common interests there is nothing wrong with them supporting each others Industries. In this example they may not get the best Aircraft but they may still get a pretty good Aircraft plus other benefits that compensate for not getting the very best Aircraft for their needs.
That would be the biggest mistake in Air Serbia and Jat's history. Embraer or Airbus A220 would be a better choice.
ReplyDeleteOpinion of anonymous super expert is definitely super important)
DeleteThey only fly in Russia because the government force Airlines there to fly them.
DeleteI said it before and I'm saying it now! Only if Russians will give them for free, otherwise Air Serbia don't even think about it!
ReplyDeleteI love how so many of you "airline experts" comment under an anonymous pseudonym instead of using a real name. I guess insulting each other is easier this way.
ReplyDeleteThey could use them primarily on the flights to Russia - and take advantage of them both to increase the frequencies (St. Petersburg, Rostov, Krasnodar), but also to introduce new destinations (Samara, Voronjež, Soči, Volvograd, Jekaterinburg, Čeljabinsk, Nižnji Novgorod, Ufa - apart from Soči, all are inhabited by a million inhabitants, or more.
ReplyDeleteThat is a huge market potential for the company, both in transfering pax and also for tourist purposes, and franckly, SSJ might be the ideal equipment for materialising from it. Seams worth of a thorough analysis.
Yeah - just what the airline needs - another aircraft type on top of what they already have. That will do wonders for JU's cost base ...
DeleteThat precisely should be subject to analysys, and the introduction of a new type cannot be disregarded just like that, in a Purger-like manner.
DeleteWhat is stopping AS from using airbus for the Russian market?
DeleteOf course, nothing is stopping them, and they are doing that as we post here, but I thought I wouldn't have to elaborate here how A319 is a bit larger an aircraft than SSJ, so it might not fly as frequently and to all airports mentioned above, that might just be feasible with a bunch of SSJs.
Deleteha ha ha
Delete8 jets sounds like a reasonable deal:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/06/russia-renews-pitch-for-eight-sukhoi.html
Also the livery looks amazing on the SSJ hopefully without touching the tail.
Communist dictator Tito saved JU from ever flying Soviet/Russian jets. Russian aircraft had no chance under a communist rule they have even less chance now.
ReplyDeleteExpert consensus is SSJ is not the right fit for Air Serbia needs. If SSJs are donated free of charge to JU, EC might object and could force Air Serbia to pay for it. Malev ordered SSJs and went bankrupt shorty after.
It is in Air Serbia's clear interest to stay away from SSJs, therefore those pushing SSJ to JU are working against Air Serbia interests.
Why so much hate? Have you ever tried SSJ? Do you know how many times it has been mentioned on this blog? Do you understand that ASL needs smaller planes to fit its network? Do you know that SSJ is cheaper compared to the Embraer or A220? Sorry, you have to wake up from your dream.
DeleteMore like nightmare.
DeleteThose were facts not hate. More facts to bring you to tears: SSJ is not an issue from passenger perspective, so it does not matter if or how many times I tried it. SSJ has been mentioned here too many times which indicated troubling online effort by the seller. JU does not need planes smaller than current ATR72-500. I know there is a reason Kia and Lada are cheaper than Lexus and I know same reason applies to planes. Air Serbia had many chances to get SSJ and turned them down every time for a reason, this example is from 5 years ago:
Deletehttps://tangosix.rs/2016/04/02/suhoj-ponovo-u-beogradu-er-srbija-i-dalje-mera-dcv-daje-misljenje-o-dual-type-ratingu/
Government of Serbia also rejected SSJ as a government plane couple of years ago and opted for Embraer instead. SSJ sales effort has been repeatedly defeated in Serbia. Dream of SSJ in JU is over.
I would never use neither Russian nor Serbian sources as reference. Give me something NEUTRAL like Swiss or UK sources. Enough of one-sided journalism, thanks but no.It is very easy to say one day to say oh SU are sending A330 to BEG and next day refusing their aircraft. What is is? A cherry picking tournament? Make up your mind.
DeleteThis site is Serbian yet you are using it.
Delete@Insufferably arrogant
DeleteCommunist dictator Tito? Communist rule? You only forgot to mention we had only one type of yoghurt during those dark years full of fear, poverty and hunger. Shame on you for forging history. If only we had Tito today we wouldn't be as low as we are, od Vardara pa do Triglava, aviation included
Tito himself flew in an Il-18 from 1967 to 1974, and those aircraft flew charters for JAT, too.
DeleteAlso, JAT operated a fleet of Il-14 from 1957 to 1963.
And another Belgrade-based airline, Aviogenex, flew a number of TU-134 for decades.
So, the above mentioned is not 'facts', but BS.
Lepo je rekao jets i JU. Fakat, Ruski mlazni avioni nikad nisu leteli za Jat.
DeleteThe Serbian carrier added two Airbus A319 jets to its fleet last year but returned one A320 and one ATR72 to the lessor. It also shelved plans to lease additional ATR72s last year with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and retired three Boeing 737s from its fleet."
ReplyDeleteVery wise choice, time for Sukhoi! БРАВО РОССИЯ СЕРБИЯ!!
The cheapest option
Deletewhat about other factors like; reliability, spare parts, potential EU sanctions on Russia vis a vis such a large order.
Deletethere are tectonic shifts happening in the world right now and for the last 5 years. (see Kabul today US embassy evacuation)
ReplyDeletePeople in ex-YU due to mediocre media can not really see that economic shift like pendulum is moving from West to the East. It has already moved. It is absolutely natural that aviation industry is changing> Where is Canadian Bombardier today? Finished, bankrupt.
Boeing is very difficult position, not just because of Max fiasco but 787 program and other future developments that are in testing phase. Brazilian Embraer due to geo-economic shifts found themselves in is so called "No Mans Land"..Caught in between East & West. Economically that is the worst place to be.
Russians and Chinese are coming with new civilian planes in the near future
Google on youtube MC21 and C919 and you will se a sleek new planes with modern avionics.
At the very moment Airbus is ahead of everyone, and ahead of Boeing BUT what will happen in 10 years? Aviation goes where the business is going and business is in the East already.
You dont need to be rocket scientist that to figure out that airplane development will follow swiftly.
Capital, technological know how, production lines, educated workforce - all that already exist in the East. This is just business it has nothing to do with cold war era.
Svasta napisa ali ne menja fakat da nece biti Suhoja u Er Srbiji.
DeleteI should have bought popcorns earlier today!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if ASL Sukhoi livery or you are more good looking. I'll say both <3
DeleteFunny that even Russian airlines - who operate the Russophile beloved junk machine, opted to order A220s alongside the SSJ as they were not reliable and capable of their commercial expansion plans. Azimuth!
ReplyDeleteAir Serbias fleet problems are a big pain in the ass on this blog .
ReplyDeleteThe damned Serbian government should just lease or buy six new Atrs for JU !
Superjet is excellent plane and hopefully Serbian government realized this
ReplyDeleteExcellent? Lol
DeleteYes, excellent. Does it fall from the sky? No.
DeleteDid it have recent accidents? No.
Is it expensive? No.
Will the taxpayer be jeapordised? No.
Please bring more data with facts and neva critics.
And airlines are still not buying it..
DeleteJU must focus at eastern market. So many possibilities there, and sukhoi will fit perfect
ReplyDeleteSuhoj nikad nece biti u Er Srbiji.
Delete-1
DeleteVec je u Hrvatskoj.
DeleteJust to make it clear. The Serbian government is under extreme political pressure to buy from the big world players for all kinds of things; mines, roads, factories, subway, trains. So smaller countries politically (like Canada) have no chance. If there is a political decision to get some Russian airplanes it will happen, regardless of whether us "experts" on this forum agree with them or not.
ReplyDeleteCRJ is Mitsubishi, C Series is Airbus. Russia is not a big world player in passenger aircraft production.
DeleteДолазак ССЈ би значио крај Ер Србије. Од линијског одржавања до пилота, сви би имали само проблема. Комон тајп рејтинг са А320 неће спречити пилоте да оду како се потражња за пилотима опоравља. Свако испадање ССЈ би било претворено у спрдњу на друштвеним мрежама. ССЈ троши много више од АТРа и превелик је да замени АТР у зимској сезони а са друге стране не може да се користи за линије као што је Хамбург јер је цена по седишту далеко мања код конкуренције са А321НЕО. Неке будуће санкције могу да приземље целу ССЈ флоту а о стварима као АФ1491 да не говоримо, то је све крај за Ер Србију. Нема политичара у Србији који доведе ССЈ и изазове крај Ер Србије не би значио крај политичке каријере. Ако вам је стало до Ер Србије не дозволите да дође ССЈ.
ReplyDelete