Air Serbia and European plane manufacturer Airbus are evaluating the possibility of potentially increasing capacity on Air Serbia’s A330 and A320-family fleet. The carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, spoke with Airbus representatives at the Farnborough Airshow recently where the possibility of adding an extra seat in each row in the economy cabin on the A330 and an extra row of seating in the A320-family jets was discussed. Speaking to the “TangoSix” portal, Mr Marek said, “My vision for Air Serbia’s fleet in terms of the cabin product is not to reduce pitch but to increase the number of seats in a horizontal line. With Airbus’ assistance, we will see whether it is possible to add additional seats in the A330, both in economy and in business class”.
Air Serbia is set to take delivery of its second A330-200 aircraft in the coming period. The incoming jet was previously utilised by South African Airways. The plane will initially feature the hard product offered by its former customer, after which it will be modified with both of Air Serbia's wide-body aircraft to have a common product. “Due to a short turnaround time, we have to work quickly. Our future A330-200 has a somewhat different configuration than our current YU-ARB jet. The incoming aircraft has eighteen seats in business class and 250 in economy. The seats will be upholstered in our company colours. During the aircraft’s next major maintenance check, we will unify the product on our two widebodies. At the same time, we will work to improve our product, both in business and economy class. It will be done this way because the average lead time for business class seats is between ten and twelve months”, Mr Marek said.
Commenting on the narrow-body Airbus fleet, Air Serbia’s CEO noted, “We are in discussions with Airbus in order to utilise their A320 and A319 models as efficiently as possible in terms of the number of seats. We currently have 144 seats on our A319 aircraft, and the logical maximum would be 150, because anything above that requires additional crew and an additional emergency exit. At the same time, in case of the potential densification of the cabin, we are looking into different types of seats, which will not affect passenger comfort”.
So the cabin on YU-ARC will be worse than on YU-ARB for a good year probably.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if they will both have completely new cabins once the product is unified or they will have the one that YU-ARB currently has? Will YU-ARB get new seats when it goes on maintenance soon?
DeleteWhy do you think it's worse. Look at the photos. Economy looks better. Business looks better on JU but at the end of the day you also get a flat bed.
DeleteI believe they will have completely new seats/cabins considering he mentioned the lead time to develop a business class seat.
DeleteBravo! It's good to see Air Serbia thinking of ways to maximise profits and be less if a burden on the taxpayer.
ReplyDeleteSo they want to have 3-3-3 configuration in economy on the A330? That will be nasty.
ReplyDeleteThat would be like Air Transat...
DeleteWell the way things are going the two airlines are about the same category.
DeleteWhat is the point adding more seats in the 320/319 when for 8 months of the year they have ample free seat capacity? I can see the reason only for charter flights.
DeleteI guess having those extra seats for 4 months is a good enough incentive.
DeleteThey should get A318s
DeleteIf they add an extra row of seating in the A319/20s it will mean reconfiguring the plane with some very slim seats.
ReplyDeleteLike in LCC I guess. But they won't change the pitch so that's good.
DeleteMore people will be cramped but this is the only way to compete with LCC.
DeleteIt's much better than LCC which has 180 seats on A320s
Delete^ JU has 174 seats. Not such a big difference.
DeleteThe idea is to install another row in the A320 and have the same number of seats as LCC. That's exactly what the CEO is talking about. As for pitch, it's not an issue for it to stay the same. Many LCCs have better pitch than legacy carriers.
DeleteJU had quite a number of promotional offers this summer, and I guess they were pleased with the response. After all, they did just announce that they had the best month since the creation of the Air Serbia brand. I personally took up on one of those offers and was happy with it and hope the price becomes a standard thing.
DeleteOne way to compete on price is putting in more seats. This is what the market wants. I think we will see them being more competitive with price especially with Wizz being abit more active in BEG. After all, Wizz has taken over in NCE and HAM, while JU compete with Wizz on a few routes.
JU should offer cheap €10 flights in the winter like Ryanair. I would say €150 for JFK flights
Delete17:20 you must be jocking
DeleteSo what's the point of building a separate business class zone at the airport and introducing such new and rather exclusive services for a European airline while downgrading your business class product?
ReplyDeleteBy the time they build that they will probably have a completely new product in business and economy. I think they will upgrade the business class cabin.
DeleteThe business class zone is being built because of Etihad pushing them to.
DeleteThe economy class seats on the SAA A330-200 are better than the current ones on JU A330.
ReplyDeleteTheir business class is also a flat bed seat like on YU-ARB. Don't see why people are complaining.
DeleteBut they do lack privacy.
DeleteAir Serbia should honestly configure their A330s in an all economy configuration.
DeleteWhy JU wants so badly to become a LCC?? What about the comfort for economy passengers?? Why didn’t you order A333 instead of A332 if you need more seats??
ReplyDeleteThey should consider standing places as well, only that way they can maximize the capacity ;)
I really like the recent job the JU has done, but this is just a huge NO and will downgrade the quality of their long haul product !!!!
They chose A332 over A333 because it has a longer range.
DeleteYes but if you pack it with more pax and luggage you are decreasing the range respectively.
DeleteJU wants to become an LCC because that's what the market is responding to. 95% of their long-haul Y pax would gladly fly in a 3-3-3 cabin instead of 2-4-2 if that means a 50€ cheaper ticket.
DeleteUsing 3-3-3 configuration on Tianjin service is not such a problem. Majority if passamgers
DeleteUsing 3-3-3 config on Tianjin service is not such a problem considering majority of passangers will be Chinese with lower average height and weight than Europeans.
DeleteThey should make the seats 3-4-3 if they. really want to make money, plus get rid of business class all together.
Delete3-4-3 can't fit in an A330 and business class generates money for them.
DeleteThe seats can be as narrows as possible, and the money generated in business can be generated elsewhere
DeleteYou would have to generate a significant number of alternative revenue streams just to replace 1 sold business class seat. But I get you are just trolling.
DeleteOne business seat generates revenue as 1 ton of cargo. So what is "easier"? To have 18 business class seats sold AND to have cargo or to have all economy?
DeleteWhen is YU-ARC arriving?
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming in October.
DeleteDoes the plane get the new registration in Belgrade or before it arrives?
DeleteUsually in BEG.
DeleteI hope they send it around the region before it starts flying
DeleteIt would be a waste of money. The reason they did that with YU-ARA was for crew familiarization.
Delete^ Keep in mind all of JU's cabin crew are now being trained for A330 so they will need familiarization too :)
DeleteThey should consider the A350
DeleteNice! Good luck Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteDoes YU-ARC have more seats than YU-ARB?
ReplyDeleteOne extra row.
DeleteI hope that they will change the color of the cabins ion A320s. I liked the original blue from 2013 much more.
ReplyDeleteI also hope they bring back movable headrests on the narrow body planes.
DeleteYou won't find those on most European airlines on narrow body planes anymore.
DeleteSo dumb. Why? it's not like it takes up space
DeleteSmart upgrade
ReplyDeleteI hope they update the inflight entertainment at least on YU-ARC. I'm a fan of Air Serbia but they need more variety on their IFE.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteDefinitely. A little upgrade to their entertainment system would be welcome. I mean greater variety of movies and TV shows.
DeleteI've flown with JU several times TATL and I don't think their entertainment system is that bad as some people write here. There are Serbian and US movies and TV shows. The good thing about TV shows is that they load an entire season and not just one or two episodes like some other airlines do. The major issue with JU's IFE is that they update it with new movies and shows once every few months. So if you fly often, you will get the same entertainment options.
DeleteI assume JU pays the lowest priced package from the entertainment system provider. That's why you have the same content for 6 months.
DeleteI'm not trying to defend them or anything but it kind of makes sense if you only have 1 plane that offers IFE.
DeletePerhaps now that they might have up to 3 A330s within the next year they will expand the IFE offer.
DeleteThey better if they wanna be competitive, especially to China…
DeleteThey should get rid of the IFE system and introduce free Wi-Fi, so passengers bring their own devices and do as they wish.
DeleteAA tried that and it didn't work out, they even admitted it themselves
DeleteGood move JU.
ReplyDeletePity they are not thinking about premium economy on the A330.
ReplyDeleteWhat for?
DeleteSo they could offer another class of service and attract some additional passengers.
DeleteI'm not so sure Air Serbia's passengers, mostly from ex-Yu countries and Balkans would care much about premium economy. More likely it would stay empty while you would reduce economy class capacity.
DeleteAgree with comment above. It would not work from Balkans.
DeleteBut I think it would be used by a lot of passengers originating from the US (diaspora) and I believe this the main source of passengers on this route.
DeleteJU doesn't count just on Balkan passengers. But yes, premium economy doesn't look like a fit for this strategy.
DeleteIt is unnecessary. Very few people from the region will pay for premium economy. In fact everyone is just looking for the cheapest option and would fly an additional 10 hours longer if it is 5 euros cheaper.
DeletePremium economy would need to be offered on their entire fleet for it to work properly. This is one of the reasons TK got rid of it.
DeleteOur market might not have enough passengers willing to pay extra for an upgraded economy product, while the cost of developing and executing it could be better spent elsewhere.
Commonality is also why the ATR's will also get a business class cabin.
TK used to have premium economy?
DeleteI highly doubt there will be business class in ATR. He just said it's of interest to them. But I doubt it will happen
Delete@12,37
DeleteThey did. It was called Comfort Class. They began removing it in 2016. I believe it was only available on the B777.
@12,37
JAT used to have business class on the ATR. The new ATR's have extra seats which is why they're contemplating it. Marek made mention that there was a demand for it.
It also makes sense as business passengers don't like the downgrade to economy. Imagine flying JFK-BEG only to be seated in economy to TIA. As silly as it may sound, business passengers will just go to the competition. Not to mention that the competition are all carriers in alliances which puts JU at a huge disadvantage.
I absolutely pay for premium economy on long-haul flights when the option is reasonable and find that an extra e.g. $250 per leg per person (so what is this? extra ~30% price) is totally worth it for 10 hours of more comfort. There absolutely is a market for this -- including among diaspora who are a large segment of the JU customer base -- and it is *not* the same market as business, where you are looking at prices that are ~100-150% higher than economy (and that market also exists). Not saying that it would necessarily work but it is not obvious to me that it wouldn't. And also there is no way -- no way -- that I would board a 9 abreast 330 for 10 hours. Not for $0; maybe if they pay me... a lot.
DeleteFor those asking about TK premium economy, here is a bit more info about it
Deletehttps://simpleflying.com/turkish-airlines-premium-economy-removal/
@Anon 14:43 Well you are clearly not the targeted audience, but don’t worry, the theater is big enough.
DeleteJU needs to just get rid of business class all together
DeleteWhy on earth would they do that? Business class brings them money and they have added business capacity compared to YU-ARA.
DeleteBecause their business class is bad.
Delete^ I'm somehow certain you never set foot in business class.
DeleteTheir business class is far from bad. In fact it is above what most European airlines offer on US flights - lie flat seat with all aisle access, dine on demand and decent entertainment.
Deletehttps://onemileatatime.com/insights/air-serbia-business-class/
DeleteYou don't have to post a review by one guy who flies Emirates first class 50 times per year. I flew Air Serbia business class just last month from Belgrade to New York and fly back tomorrow in fact. I've flown this product a few times already including with YU-ARA. The service is very good with a la carte dining (not offered even by TK) and the seat is comfortable with lots of privacy. It is true they no longer have an amenity kit but I assume they might be in between providers and will have a new one available soon. Basing your entire opinion of a product you've never flown with on a review by a guy who complains that his caviar is not salty enough on Emiartes is stupid. I will write my review about my experince after my flight tomorrow and send it for the trip report section.
DeleteWhat is the website you will be posting on? exyuaviation.com?
DeleteThey don’t have any IFE in their planes - some very basic choice in A330.
ReplyDeleteAll these contradictional announcements coming from JU last weeks, show that they don’t have an exact business strategy, but they just got some additional money from taxpayers to play, and they do. Once they spent all the money, the whole management team will go and the new will come, and it will go over and over again, as long as we continue to pay it.
What are the "contractional announcements"?
DeleteAnd why would you need IFE on flights which are all under 3 hours? Which European airline other than Turkish has IFE on intra European flights?
Aeroflot does on all it's fleet
DeleteThat is 2 airlines in the whole of Europe and I should mention that Turkish Airlines does not have IFE on all its narrow body planes.
DeleteThey compare JU to TK but then talk about government subsidies. Make it make sense.
DeleteExactly. The amount of state funding TK gets rivals Gulf airlines.
Delete@10,16
DeleteSU doesn't have IFE installed on all its fleet. A320, A321 and B738 don't have it.
I think it was once on the B738 that I was able to connect to some form of in-flight entertainment on my mobile.
you probably did not fly on SU recently, I use them on regular basis and the service is great. wifi a la carteenu in each plane and always on ttime. Great legacy airline!
DeleteI really hope they install wifi on ARC. It is needed on long flights.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they will.
DeleteIt is probably expensive to install and the return on investment isn't great. That's why they discontinued wifi in the first place.
DeleteLooking forward to another wide body to be added to the fleet
ReplyDeleteWhy not order A330?
ReplyDeleteHuh?
DeleteFrom Airbus
DeleteWizzovi 321 iz beg su uzasni za svakog višeg od 185. Sedista za decu. Umesto radosti za profit necijih kompanija navijam da propadnu jer tretiraju putnike kao stoku.
ReplyDelete+ 1
Delete+100
DeleteДокле год су им пуни авио и нема разлога да било шта мењају.
DeleteI'm interested to see what the cabins will look like.
ReplyDeleteAre we talking about so called "Airspace" cabin interior launched by Airbus in 2016?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the airspace interior?
DeleteIt is basically new cabin look for Airbus family (both 330 & 320), including improved luggage bins, toilets, storage capacity (for F&B), new seats designed for that cabin, etc. In presentation it was very futuristic (ie., color led lights on ceiling etc.) but those things are optional. There are some airlines which implemented it (ie. Lufthansa on some planes) but in "toned down" version - more conventional looks without all the shiny extras.
DeleteAirbus introduced this in 2016 for A330 and I think in 2017 for A320 family...if they are working directly with Airbus on this overhaul it makes sense that at least some of the elements from that design will be used.
Interesting. Thank you for the info. Yes, I would say they are probably working on implementing it otherwise they would not be working directly with Airbus on a simple cabin retrofit.
DeleteI'm encouraged by the fact that they are working with Airbus on this. So when they actually do the cabin reconfiguration they won't get some second hand seats.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteHow much money are they are going to get with all these investments planned?
ReplyDeleteTheir revenue is probably strong and they have more money for investment.
DeleteAir Serbia could really shake things up and be a different airline in 2-3 years time with all the things they have planned.
ReplyDeleteThey are changing A LOT right now.
DeleteThey're becoming a lot like LOT.
Delete3-3-3 on A330-200?! For f***’s sake you have got to be kidding. ARE THEY LOW COST OR NOT?! They keep on adding extra seats and doing LCC things, then they aren’t?! Jiri, man, you were doing great don’t screw it all up! Sh** show
ReplyDeleteSwiss has 3-3-3 s i their A330’s. What’s the problem?
Delete3-3-3 would be a catastrophe .
ReplyDeleteJU on long haul will become a big nuissance for passengers .
The flying torture chamber ..
I personally think there is room for 3-4-3.
DeleteIt ia not possible to have 10 seats across on an A330.
DeleteThey should get A350s then
DeleteJesus, they didn't say it going to be 3-3-3. They are talking about inserting additional ROW. So that is same configuration but more modern seats - slimmer, different angle etc. which will provide space for additional row.
DeleteGoogle for "Geven’s Essenza" for example, Lufthansa is using them.
He said
Delete"My vision for Air Serbia’s fleet in terms of the cabin product is not to reduce pitch but to increase the number of seats in a horizontal line."
My bad, sorry, there is obviously 2 scenarios for different types: "where the possibility of adding an extra seat in each row in the economy cabin on the A330 and an extra row of seating in the A320-family jets was discussed"
DeleteSo, for A320 is extra row and for A330 it might end as 3-3-3
Yeah
DeleteI mean why go with 3-3-3 on the A332, I have better Idea for all of you that don't think 10 seats are posible. Just change the 332 to narrow-body and do 5-5 seat conf. (9 seat + 2 aisle is the same as 10 seats amd 1 aisle) 😀😀😀
ReplyDeleteThe real deal is that 90% of the people (Balkan people) when they buy tickets they don't know or care what company, plane type, seat conf. etc. they are paying for. They just go for the cheapes price and short connection (if connecting). Once they are done flying they do complain about sardines on a plane, but next time they still buy the chrapest ticket. There is probably 10% of people that care about these things or they can afford to pay 10-20% more but thats about it.
So the bussines model says "More seats=cheaper tickets" even it is horrible for pax. is good for bussines.
And personaly for comfortability I will take any CRJ, Embraer, Atr, q400.... over any wide-body
+1. The people don't care about it. They talk, they complain and then they buy the same product again. Good timing and affordable tarrif are what people look for. Catering, airplane type - those are factors for small % of people.
DeleteAirSERBIA keeps amusing me. Probably one of the best CEOs in Europe now.
ReplyDeleteFunny how? Funny haha, or funny like yous laughing at me?
DeleteThere are a lot of alternatives to Air Serbia .
ReplyDeleteIf they become a cramped tuna can, people will avoid flying with them .
Except for couple of mostly charter and non-scheduled airlines no other regular airline offers 9 abreast in A330. Swiss doesn't. Airbus all but gave up on it. Air Serbia should do homework before making wrong moves.
ReplyDeleteLong and mid term future widebody aircraft at Air Serbia is elephant in the room. Dreamliner, A321XLR and A330NEO each have specific drawbacks. Proposing 9 abreast is not the right way to future proof A330CEO.