Air Serbia’s Airbus fleet renewal approaches


The Serbian government’s plans to renew its national carrier’s Airbus fleet after an order for ten A320neo jets was cancelled in 2018 is approaching next year, with clear signs the airline is looking to replace older jets in its fleet with newer ones. The Serbian Finance Minister, Siniša Mali, who served as the President of Air Serbia’s Supervisory Board between 2013 and 2018, previously said the carrier would replace its A319 and A320 jets between 2022 and 2025. "The acquisition of the A320neos has not been terminated but moved for the period between 2022 and 2025, as the aircraft we have been leasing so far have shown to be very efficient”, Mr Mali said at the time. However, over the years, the Finance Minister has not had the best track record in communicating Air Serbia's fleet plans to the public, previously announcing the airline’s ATR turboprops would be completely replaced and a second wide-body jet would join in 2016, none of which materialised.

The coronavirus pandemic has seen Air Serbia reduce its fleet size and renegotiate leasing contracts. However, the need for additional aircraft was illustrated over the summer when the airline was forced to wet-lease a Boeing 737-700 jet to meet demand for leisure flights. Last month, it returned its oldest A319 to the lessor, with its second oldest having been grounded for the past month as well. Overall, the airline now has ten A319 jets, one A320, one A330-200 and five ATR72s in its fleet. Over the past year, it has also returned one A320 and one ATR72 to its owners and retired three Boeing 737-300s. At the same time, it added two former Adria Airways A319s for which it signed leasing contracts prior to the coronavirus pandemic and replaced its A330-200 wide-body with an aircraft of the same type.

Air Serbia’s average fleet age is at nineteen years with the ATRs being by far the oldest, averaging almost 28 years. In 2018, Etihad Airways cancelled its order for ten A320neo aircraft made exactly eight years ago, that were to be delivered to equity partner Air Serbia. Deliveries were initially due to begin in November 2018 and were set to completely replace the airline’s existing fleet of A319s and A320s by 2020. The aircraft were also to be used to unlock new markets in North Africa and Central Asia. Last year, Air Serbia shelved plans to lease additional ATR72s due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    It's obvious that they can't manage next summer with current fleet. Something has got to give.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:46

      Additional planes will be leased.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    The sole logic move is to reconsider the Sukhoi offer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      Thanks, but no thanks.

      Let Belavia do it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      Belavia? They went for E2.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:02

      That would be the biggest mistake in Air Serbia and Jat's history. Embraer or Airbus A220 would be a better choice.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:14

      Due to the sanctions Belavia will be able to purchase only Russian planes.

      Delete
    5. Anyway the sukhoi is a failed model, Not viable. Non any European airline (not Russian) is using it as the maintenance is terribly expensive, which will make any airline make a loss...

      Delete
    6. Stop spamming)
      Azimut is most profitable airline in Russia

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Unfortunately, the planes they have to replace are the ones they own.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:07

      If I am not wrong they own three planes in their fleet, all ATRs.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:02

    I think this is just Mali shooting off his mouth again. Doubt there will be any fleet changes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      I would take everything he says with a grain of salt

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:03

    Air Serbia needs a plane between the ATR and A319.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Exactly. A220 wpuld be perfect for JU.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:40

      A220s don't come cheap.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:18

      I remember the PM saying how they have the surplus money now and that they are looking where to invest it. Plus the A220 is worth every penny.

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL15:03

      I wouldn't trust much from the Government. Besides, I somehow doubt they have over a billion Euros to replace each aircraft in the fleet, 2 billion when including expansion.

      It would be nice for brand new aircraft to finally enter the fleet, however JU is struggling to control its finances with cheaper leased aircraft, let alone paying repayments for more expensive, newer aircraft.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:04

    Are the ex-Adria frames the youngest Airbuses in the fleet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:20

      Do they still have the Adria interior or have they changed them?

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL15:23

      @10,20

      It appears to have the JP seats. In a recent photo with the President and the Serbian national football team inside a JU aircraft, you can see that the seats are grey, while JU have blue seats.

      https://www.danas.rs/sport/predsednik-ispratio-fudbalere-i-obecao-milion-evra-za-pobedu-video/

      The aircraft in the article is YU-APL, formerly S5-AAP with JP.

      Delete
  7. Nemjee09:06

    I think Air Serbia's main problem is that they are not maintaining their cabin as they should. Even some younger Airbuses could be refreshed. Both inside and outside.
    These things matter when forming a brand. I remember flying on Lufthansa's B737s just before they were retired, inside they were fantastic and you couldn't feel that they were close to 30 years old.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Agree. Who is in charge of this? Jat Tehnika?

      Delete
    2. Nemjee09:20

      No idea who is in charge of it but I suppose there should be someone at JU who is responsible for standards and quality. Dane might have been crazy but at least he really paid attention to these things.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:42

      With Naysmith leaving, I really hope the next CEO is not another finance person. The focus needs to be on rebuilding the customer / guest experience with a much greater commercial focus

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:43

      Where did you get that Naysmith is keaving? And if it's a 'rumour', it has been present since 2018.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:44

      *leaving

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:44

      And the focus should always be on running a profotable business.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:59

      It has never been operationally profitable and only profitable due to govt subsidies/aid. So the focus is not always on running a profitable business, if it achieves other shareholder aims/goals - which in the case of JU, it has obviously been meeting or else the govt wouldn't continue to fund and support it.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:03

      They haven't announced Naysmith leaving because they haven't decided on his replacement. But Marek is a big chance - which would be tragic if it happens.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:21

      Anti-Marek guy rides again?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous13:13

      If he really is leaving, it is about time that they appoint a local Serb as the CEO ... we have alot of great local management talent that should be given an opportunity

      Delete
    11. JATBEGMEL15:37

      @13,13

      The work environment has to change to allow our talent to stay. When JU was rebranded back in 2013, there was some interest in those working in the ME3 to work for JU. Those that did go to JU have in the mean time mostly if not all resigned and described working for JU as 'toxic' that I personally know. This is for HQ, and not onboard. More than several hundred Serbian nationals work for Middle East airline companies, a fair few with over a decade of experience with 0 motivation to join JU.

      But we have some new SNS family members who joined JU recently.

      https://www.danas.rs/vesti/ekonomija/anja-kisic-nije-rodjaka-ministarke-kon-kaze-sin-ima-impresivnu-biografiju/

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:58

      Serbia should consider leaving ECAA. Negotiate bilateral agreements, kick out Wizzair, design fleet around this new reality and keep flying while other airlines in the region go under.

      Delete
    13. JATBEGMEL16:26

      @15,58

      EU is the largest market for JU. Bilateral agreements would be a disaster and hurt JU more.

      Wizz Air being kicked out of BEG could possibly mean that JU is kicked out of EU airports.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous16:58

      Bilaterals are between two countries. For example Austria-Serbia, and that would be based on balance, same for OS and JU. Wizz could only affect Hungary-Serbia. For example, France-Serbia agreement would only allow AF and JU, not W6. Wizz would lose the most.

      Delete
    15. JATBEGMEL17:30

      Judging by your comment, you don't seem to know how flying out of Serbia looked before open skies and additional competition. How bilaterals restricted competition where BUD and TSR gained alot from Serbians wanting cheaper travel. BEG before Open Skies with EU had 2 million pax.

      If you want to see what bilaterals do, look at Canada where air travel is expensive. Serbia's bilateral with Canada allows only 2 pw. We also have bilaterals with Turkey and Russia. With Turkey, that bilateral is not enforced, but with Russia it is and alot of people complain of high ticket prices.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous17:45

      Air Serbia could use bilaterals to grow instead of letting Wizz and others grow. Air Canada is doing well.

      Delete
    17. JATBEGMEL17:59

      Bilaterals could also stunt growth. EK has this in Germany, TK in Poland.

      Wizz has not really grown in BEG. It's been 2 aircraft the past 10 years in BEG.

      Competition is good for JU in remaining competitive. They're keeping INI-HHN which FR is interested in operating. JU operate more frequencies on BEG-AMS than most of their other routes because of KLM, just to name a couple.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous18:20

      We abolish the open skies and buy a few sukhois to carry the remaining 2 million still willing to fly JU at overpriced tickets. It's a win-win for everyone really, JU gets more money, while passengers and Wizz get the satisfaction of knowing JU's finances are good

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:06

    The ATRs must go ASAP. They are extremely noisy and uncomfortable and they are in the worst shape in JUs fleet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      +100

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      I know quite a few people that don't want to fly JU on certain routes becuase they use the ATRs

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:44

      Passenger perception of ATRs are that they are "ancient" technology, plus in some aspects they are inconvenient - you are forced to leave some of your cabin luggage in front of airplane, level of noise is higher, lower cruising speed - longer trips, cabin is really tight

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:49

      Don't hold your breath. In 2013 they said they would launch international tender to replace turboprop fleet. It is 2019.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:12

      2019?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:33

      The only acceptable options for fleet renewal should be Airbus & Embraer, what is this Sukhoi nonsense in the comment section.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:34

      Airbus, considering Serbian MoD and GoS intensive contacts with them. There were/are helicopter and military transport plane purchase and possible fighter jets upgrade deal with Airbus.

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL15:49

      @12,44

      Some cabin luggage are left out with CRJ's too.

      I have seen even on an A380 where there wasn't enough space in the cabin for cabin baggage.

      @09,06

      ATR needs to remain as a fair few flights can't work without it. Anything out of KVO being the most recent.

      JU needs them to build frequencies on regional routes. LJU, ZAG, OTP, SKP, TGD, TIV, TIA are all examples. 35 pax on an ATR is decent, while on 90 seat regional aircraft it's not, let alone an A319.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:08

    Considering the money poured into JU they should really think about fleet renewal. Shame those neos got cancelled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      The neos would have been a disaster to have in the fleet now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Considering 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.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee09:21

      NEOs would be a disaster only because their sales and marketing departments are not doing a good job, not just now but many years back. When was the last time JU had an ad? Not just in Serbia but abroad. They are in the transfer passenger business, they need to invest more in their branding.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:10

    Sukhoi was the much more logical and much economic option. Hopefully, there will be new talks soon between both governments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      And hopefully this topic will be rejected once for all.

      Delete
    2. On this time, Russia have not good enough
      comercial aircraft yet. To selling outside of
      That's country. Future products? Maybe.
      Till then Airbus, Boeing and Embarrer is
      fundamental in comercial aviation.
      So obviously.

      Delete
  11. Good morning everyone. Does anyone know if the a319 APJ is going to leave the fleet, or it is on maintenance? Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Avionlet09:15

      It's most probably leaving the fleet

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:10

    This would be a good move by JU. Replace old jets with newer ones under more favorable leasing terms.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:13

    Shame those 4 ex-Air New Zealand ATR72s never came :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      What would they do with them now

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      Could have replaced the 4 older ATRs.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:34

      The 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.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:17

    Is the lease for any other Airbus jet expiring soon?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:18

    Maybe the should look at getting a couple of Boeing MAX aircraft?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:40

      Why would they move from all Airbus/ATR fleet to B737?

      Delete
  16. I'm no expert on technical aspects of planes, but considering a volatility and still unclear resolution to when and how will the industry go back to pre-Covid levels, I am more and more warming up to the idea of SS100 to fully replace ATR's. Again, this is with assumption that offer is much better than i.e. ATR, other regional jets. It seems to me that AS was much more pro-active and faster in 'response time' vs. other ex Yu airlines, even bigger EU ones to respond. That leads me to believe that (even if it is for political reasons, one of older DjafteKurafte articles, circa late Sept.) they (foreign management + SNS) want to make this a successful venture. Hence, if Russians come up with very, very sweet deal, it could work. I know there are many Cons to this, yes I am aware of it. But if they see that Pros outweight the Cons, then I would go for it. It seems they have to make decision soon and patch work will not fly especially if Covid dies down and air travel explodes (big if, and when).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL12:48

      @SF

      The SSJ isnt a bad aircraft. It's attaining spare parts and maintaining the aircraft that is the problem. That is why SN got rid of them very very quickly. SSJ could of done quite well however airlines outside of Russia got stuck with aircraft grounded as they wait for spare parts. At one point, Interjet had around 3/4 of the SSJ's grounded waiting for spare parts. No point on having a brand new, efficient aircraft if you can't fly it due to the inability to attain spare parts. The cons massively outweigh the pros with the SSJ unfortunately.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:31

    It is interesting that JU returned ATR, YU-ALV that was in best condition of all ATR's in fleet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:51

      Its lease was probably up.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:50

    They are all talk and no action.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL15:52

      So 4 aircraft entering the fleet in the last 3 years didn't happen?

      YU-APK, APL, APM, ARB?

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:53

    It is smart that they are retiring older planes one by one.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous09:56

    This airline finally needs a brand new aircraft that has flown 0 years beforehand. It would be the first time since 1990 that they got such a plane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL15:53

      And they need over a billion euros to do that.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:58

    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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:00

      Embraer 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

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL16:11

      @09,58

      It seems the surprising factor here today is that you need money to buy things. I would love to have a private jet, but don't have the money to buy one. That doesn't mean I'm not interested in having one.

      We keep hearing here how Sukhois are coming, but reality is 3 A319's have joined the fleet.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:01

    Air Serbia recently refused 6 brand new Atr that were offered to it at a very favorable rate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      Why would they do that?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:04

    Air Serbias fleet problems are a big pain. The Serbian government should just lease or buy new Atrs for JU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      Their fleet is a major issue that should have been addressed years ago.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:17

    So how many active aircraft do they have in the fleeet now?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:20

      16 active aircraft.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous10:50

    The ERJ E2 would be a good option to replace both ATR72 and A319.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:56

      What is the capacity of that aircraft?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:58

      There are several variants, but between 80 and 120.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:00

      I agree that this would be a good idea. Eding turboprop ops would be a positive step since a lot of stigma is attached to them. A lot of people do not like flying with them.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:09

      Embraer would be perfect for air serbia!!

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:01

    They don't have money to buy any planes but sooner or later they will have to start leasing some to replace the ones they got, especially ATRs. They can't fly forever.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous11:07

    Voleo bih da flota sledeće godine izgledaovako:
    A330 -2
    A321-2
    A320-2
    A319-10
    ATR-7

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Potpuno se slazem da je jos jedan 330 potreban za Kinu i Chicago i/ili Toronto, da s obzirom na spektakularan rast chartera 321 dolazi kao najoptimalniji izbor za nasljednika 737 i da je potrebno vise ATRova za bolje frekvencije u regiji, ali sto se financija tice, ako me sjecanje ne vara, ima kod vas ona izreka/posalica :Volela bi i baba da je devojka "☺

      Delete
  28. Anonymous11:07

    Instead of replacing current decent A319/320 JU fleet, I think they should give priority to the ATR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:01

      A319/320 are decent by age but not by appearance.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous11:56

    AirSerbia's future fleet:

    10 A321XLR
    10 ATR72-600

    with 321xlr they could fly both to JFK, ORD, YYZ, PEK, PVG and HKG and to the busiest European destinations. With the ATR72-600 they could maintain all near cities (from Milano, Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Lviv, Warsaw, Prague to Munich) with a high density of frequencies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:49

      I fear the A321 would be too large for many European routes.

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL16:40

      PEK is around 9 hours outbound and 10 hours 15 return. PVG and HKG are much further. Not possible without a fuel stop and possible weight restrictions.

      ORD is outside the range. JFK and YYZ will need fuel stops in the winter months and weight restrictions in the summer to make the direct flight.

      Practically the A321XLR is pointless for JU's needs.

      With an average load of 90-105 pax per A319, going over to the the A321 would just make things worse for them. JU needs more flight frequencies not extra seat capacity per flight. JU has already experienced problems with the A319 in destinations such as WAW, HAM, KBP, imagine what an A321 would do with the rest of their network.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:33

      The official range of a a321xlr is 8'700km, all of the mentioned destinations are in the range

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL00:27

      Official range on paper doesn't mean it will be the range in reality. Alot of things affect the range of an aircraft: configuration, load, weather.

      https://www.businessinsider.com/3-aircraft-fly-new-york-to-london-under-five-hours-2020-2

      For example, while PEK will be 'in range' in km distance, the outbound sector is over 9 hours, while return is roughly 10:15. Flight time, not block time. Thats a big difference for fuel loading, again effecting range. PVG and HKG are much longer than PEK.

      Besides, a full pax load on an A321XLR is still an ok load for the A330, it's just the A330 can take on more cargo that the A321XLR could never take. As well, the A321XLR is slower than the A330 meaning rotation time is longer. Demand is there for an A330 so whats the point of the A321XLR which wont adequately do the job?

      Delete
  30. Anonymous12:46

    Hope it comes sooner rather than later.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:47

    They can lease new used A319 / 320 as Bulgaria Air did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL16:32

      That is what they're currently doing. JU's jet fleet is roughly the same age as FB's.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous12:54

    Mix of turbo props and regional Jets would make most sense for JU, as if it would allow them to achieve good financial returns on short routes and yet open new routes that are uncomfortable on a turbo prop yet beneficial for longer flights covered by the Airbus fleet.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Nobody has mental the possibility of buying or leasing the Q400. Why?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL16:29

      ATR fits JU better. The only advantage of Q400 in JU is that PRG would be quicker by roughly 15 minutes per sector, however operating costs would increase.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous13:28

    1. Air Serbia/State is not in a position to buy any new planes. The a320 neo order is cancelled for good. It is only possible to go with a lease, and this will probably remain the only option for the years to come (which isn't so bad per se, as it provides certain flexibility - as we all saw at the beginning of covid).

    2. Air Serbia's fleet is almost adequate for the current demand. Mix of A319/A320 provides needed flexibility and ATRs are probably the most valuable type that JU can have, even if they were the richest company in the world. They should just replace the old ones (which are still very efficient as they own them) with younger birds. ATR can fly with literally 20 passengers and remain brake even on JU's routes. That provides Air Serbia with a great flexibility and ability to feed their Belgrade's hub with passengers from the region. Without ATRs, they would be unable to fly to Zagreb, they would not have 2 flights a day for Ljubljana, etc. Embraer would be a nice addition for Central European routes, for which they have to use ATRs and fly for 2 hours, which is not the most pleasant thing on the older planes. However, with younger ATRs, this could also change. My personal experience is that YU-ALV (the youngest one that left as the lease with Air Corsica expired) was quietter than A319 in the cruise.

    ReplyDelete
  35. JU520 BEGLAX19:00

    JU should take 5 A220-100, 8 A220-300, 5 A320NEO and lease a 2nd A330 and open PVG, YYZ and ORD. In 2025 they should decide whether to take 2 A359 or A330NEOs instead of the A332s

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous19:26

    New Embraer E2 jets are the best option for them with the capacity range going from 80 to 120 passengers. Phase out turboprops and most of the A320 family (keep A320s or even get A321 for charters). And for long-haul, A330 is the go to solution for them.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous20:43

    In the meantime Bulgaria's BulAir are getting 3 A319 from Alitalia's fleet.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anyone here able to check their load factor before posting nonsense?)

    Only Superjets will work for them.
    And Russia may be will give them discount on gas)

    ReplyDelete

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