Air Serbia to grow narrow-body fleet and look into regional jets


Air Serbia is keeping an open mind in terms of its fleet structure in the coming period with market conditions still changing quickly. In an interview for EX-YU Aviation News, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “We are still flexible in terms of the fleet. We have a plan for how we will be introducing the dry leases. They will be added whenever there is a good opportunity on the market. Just because we are profitable does not mean we will go out and take whatever is available. One Airbus A320, which has been painted, should arrive in March, and start operations approximately in April. We are looking into adding an A319, which was not originally planned to join the fleet this year, but the deal is quite attractive and will most likely go through. We have signed a letter of intent for two more ATR72-600s, but because of maintenance and redelivery from the previous lessor, one will most likely arrive in May, and the other in August”.

Mr Marek added the airline expects to operate a fleet of up to thirty aircraft this summer. “This summer I would say we will have 28 to 29 aircraft and in terms of wet-leases we would expect four to five A320s or Boeing 737-800s and maybe one A319. We should have a clear picture on the fleet during March”, the CEO said. He added, “We want to grow the airline constantly, adding from two to three aircraft every year. Some years maybe more, some years maybe less. On top of that, we will renew existing aircraft, so this is just growth we are talking about”.


Commenting on the potential introduction of a regional 100-seater aircraft to bridge the gap between the ATR turboprops and the Airbus narrow-body jets, Mr Marek said, “It’s too early, in my opinion, to be creating the complexity of introducing a regional aircraft into the fleet. However, we might already have the opportunity for that segment. We have had some initial discussions but those will most likely result in us getting some capacity provider, instead of short-term wet-lease, similar to SAS or Iberia regional operations via third party, because that is low risk - observing how that aircraft or segment can perform before you start creating the complexity of adding a jet that requires additional licenses, crew training, engineering etc. We are looking into it. I don’t think it will happen this summer but next summer we may consider it”.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Interesting that they are considering B737-800 wet leases.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      They did it in 2021 too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      They had B737 last year when they wet leased from that Greek company. I flew it to Thessaloniki.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:05

      Wasn't it B734?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:10

      Yes, it was a run down 734.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:17

      Actually it wasn't run down at all. As I said, I flew with it last year. It was perfectly fine shape. Crew was very nice too.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:40

      They had B733, B737 from Lumiwings & B734 from Mediterannean

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:24

      Funny how, when it comes to OU's fleet renewal, most people say it's either not happening or OU can't afford it. Then again, when it's about JU, and not renewal but expansion using 10 year old aircraft or older, people go bravo!!!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:38

      Because it is sustainable. When a near bankrupt airline orders new A220s, which turn out to be a lease and not directly purchased from the manufacturer as the airline advertised and when that same airline did everything to get out of a previous jet order, it is no surprise people are sceptical.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL17:49

      It might have something to do with the 4 x A319 order from back in 2008 which was supposed to be delivered in 2013 was then in 2015 converted to 4 x A320 neos to be delivered in 2022, which was now converted to A220's.

      The inability to repay loans or turn a profit doesn't give confidence that OU can afford brand new aircraft either. If JU can't afford brand new aircraft, OU definitely can't.

      JU on the other hand is using leased aircraft for it's expansion, which is a much cheaper solution to grow while improving their finances, which has been successful. OU on the other hand, despite the opportunities given, has reduced it's destination count and it's home market share is at record lows, despite being the national airline of major European tourism destination.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:25

      For you it's funny. For the rest of us it's 40 million euros of difference in net profit between the two last year. Smart business decissions lead to profit, bad to loss.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    I'm assuming they are looking at Embraer planes for the 100 seater?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      It makes sense in my opinion. I think it would be a very useful plane to have.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:24

      E195 is most likely.

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    3. Anonymous09:28

      It is a sensible solution for the future in my opinion.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:09

      Plenty of aircraft around right now. They can get nice leasing deals.

      Delete
    5. Plus they had experience with it since half if Air Montenegro fleet has been with them this winter.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:22

      E195 suits perfect

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:07

    Is that painted A320 this one?
    https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/02/air-serbia-to-take-delivery-of-third.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:08

    Adding 2-3 aircraft per year on top of renewing existing fleet is huge. We will see big increases in their network in the years to come under this plan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      Fo sures.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:14

      It is all about frequencies now.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:11

    The two additional ATRs are dry leases right?

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  7. Anonymous09:12

    Flew on E2 and A220. Both are nice and quiet but A220 wider cabin feels much better.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:13

    A few weeks ago Marek said that the airline should order brand new planes when they achieve a certain number of aircraft. I think it was 40? They are not too far from it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      He actually said between 30-35.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      So, they will reach that number this year.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:19

      He said above 35, you start looking into aircraft purchasing.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:16

    Any idea why they're not considering A321s?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Only way they could use it is in summer so maybe a wetlease. I don't think there are routes that can handle it in winter.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Maybe it's hard to get A321 on the market at this point. That aircraft is not as available as A320.

      Delete
    3. When they have more A320s than A319s it will be time for the A321s. And probably for the start in wet leasing. When all A319s are replaced with A320s, they will start with 100 seaters.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:17

    Wise words I would say. He seems to have the right vision for JU. And he is obviously very much concerned about profitability and making the airline stand on its own. Good!

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  11. Anonymous09:18

    So they will have 4-5 Airbuses or Boeings wet-leased this summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      I don’t like wet lease flights

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      Why?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      Because you don't get the product you pay for.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:05

      Usually, they lease in capacity from some random airlines I first have to google with very few planes in their fleet. Lumiwings, Dan Air, Air Mediterranean, Air Connect. For all of them the JU contract seems like their last life line.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:07

      I don't know about others but Air Connect is a start up airline in Romania and have a few young ATR72-600s.

      Delete
    6. Prepelica10:25

      I flew with Air Connect's ATR726 last week. Nothing to complain about. The plane looked fairly new and the crew was pleasant.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:41

      @Anon 10:05

      Lumiwings is about to be renamed Aegean Romania.
      All their aircraft are former Aegean frames that are being replaced by NEOs. So they are in very good condition and well maintained.
      With the start of the Summer season they will all be flying Romanian tourists so they won't be available for wet leasing to others.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:43

      I think you mixed up Animawings with Lumiwings. Two different airlines.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:01

      @Ano 10:43
      You are right, my mistake!

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:24

    How many aircraft do they currently have in the fleet?

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    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL10:03

      2 X A332
      2 X A320
      10 X A319
      5 X AT76
      1 X AT72
      = 20 aircraft

      +

      1 X A320 is painted in JU livery and awaiting delivery. (YU-APS)
      1 X AT76 wet lease (YR-ACA)
      1 X A319 wet lease (YR-URS)
      1 X E195 wet lease (4O-AOA)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:08

      ATR72-200 is not listed on their web page anymore as the part of their fleet.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL11:31

      It might not be listed on their webpage but it hasn't "officially" left the fleet.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:30

    That E2 looks nice in Air Serbia's livery

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:44

      A220 in Air Serbia livery would look amazing ;)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:43

      It doesn't make sense to introduce E2 if the rest of their fleet is all Airbus/Atr.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:59

      @anon 16:43
      Well the A220 isn't realy an Airbus either.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:34

    A lot of wet leasing in their strategy and plans, not sure that this is a viable option.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      There was an article recently where they explained why the wet leases.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:01

      Arguably the wet leases more or less replace Aviolet's capacity. If that's better or worse...?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:43

      Wet leases are expensive. Hopefully they are selling those tickets at a price that justifies the monthly lease.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:05

      It depends, if you are able to negotiate flight hour-based contracts then wet leases are very attractive. The way they are utilising the Dan Air fleet with sometimes just one flight per day is at least a hint that the contract is based on actually flown hours.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:35

    More ATRs will be needed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:42

      I think they will wet lease a second Air Connect ATR this summer. So they will have two of them wet leased.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:19

      Air connect has 2 atr's and they need both of them for their summer schedule out of Bucharest .So I don't think they will wet lease any of them to Air Serbia .

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:32

      Both of their ATR’s are already in JU’s reservation system. Second one is coming in April and staying until the end of SUTT.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:36

    Good luck Air Serbia!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:41

    I hope they get business service right this summer with all these wet leases. Other airlines also offer a business service on wet leases, for example, BT on LX flights. Selling a business class ticket, aircraft change, downgrade and then letting the "premium" customer struggle to get refunded according to Regulation 261/2004 isn't a serious strategy. Their business service isn't so difficult, FAs from other airlines also know how to hand out a menu and how to reheat three different types of dishes in an oven...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      Are you telling me they don't have business class service on wet leased planes???

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      I believe the issue is that that some planes don't have ovens so they can't heat food and almost all of the business class meals are warm meals.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:44

      Nope, it is operated all Y, and they just downgrade pax who booked a full-fare business ticket.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:46

      From 1A to 24E in a blink of an eye.

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    5. Anonymous09:46

      That's really crazy and unacceptable.

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    6. Anonymous10:45

      They should lease aircraft that have working ovens and make an effort of offering a similar experience as the mainline JU fleet.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:49

      It is not easy to find those sort of planes for wet lease.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:50

      Or serve a salad if there is no working oven. Just use some brain to find solutions.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:41

    They will need these planes as you can expect extra demand for Dubrovnik for example, as the farce with the ferries continues and so many of us who go to Herceg Novi will be flying there instead of Tivat, I know many who plan that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:54

      Trebinje would be the solution:)

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:57

    Too bad they cancelled the neos. It would fit their current plans perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:00

      Too expensive. With the neos, they probably wouldn't have been profitable with all the capital costs involved.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:04

      +1

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:04

      Back in that time, they would have gone bankrupt had they not cancelled that order.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:08

      They should have just tried to reduce the number of ordered aircraft or try to delay their arrival.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:09

      It was way to expensive for Air Serbia at the time, especially with two massive loans they had (which they have thankfully paid off).

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:46

      NEOs are not expensive for all other airlines. Why are they just for JU?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:52

      Because of the capital cost involved. And JU is massively profiting from airlines swapping their newish CEOs for NEOs, thus they are able to negotiate favourable lease rates. I don't know any details of the leasing deal JU has for their fleet, but in the current climate they might even be lucky enough to negotiate flight hour based lease rates - the wet dream for any airline.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:58

    Glad to hear they considering Embraers and A220.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Where did they mention A220?

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:58

    I think A320 is still too large for most JU routes, especially in winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:04

      Seasonality will continue to be reduced in next few years

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:31

      No problem to fill an A320 to SVO, LED, ZRH, CDG, ISL....

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:52

    Ah yes, let's again be a small airline have 30 planes and 4 different aircraft types and just lease what is cheapest. ATR, Embraer, 737, and Airbuses. A mix of secondhand Romanian planes, different A330 interior. They'd better slow down a bit and stick very closely to the branding and marketing. This is quite lacking in the new company.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:24

    How is he not considering regional jets when LF on some flights are 50-70%, especially during the winter season?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:25

      Their avarage cabin load factor this February was just over 70% which is really good actually.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:42

      It would've been even higher if they utilized E195 on certain routes instead of Airbus family

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:57

      And in summer there wouldn't be any capacity...?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:34

      In the summer they can use it on the busiest regional routes instead of ATR

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:58

    Traveled on AS 2x recently and both flights were heavily delayed. I think they are aggressive in route expansion but they need to match this with planes otherwise customers will get angry with delays. I think they are running a tight ship now, fully get why, but they could suffer if people see constant delays.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:15

      We have discussed this topic a couple of times here. The crucial time will be in summer with the max fleet and them grand expansions that need to be backed up efficiently.

      Delete
  25. Jasmineeeeeee!!! Dje si? Kaka je bila kahva danas? Cuj to, ovi rade nesto, pokusavaju.. E, svasta, moj ti ....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:51

      Jasmin razmislja o OMO. Neki grabe ka ORD, PEK i PVG a OU ka OMO.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:18

      Hahaha..ja zelim da znam ko je taj "Jasmin"? Molim vas reci te

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:17

      Vrhovni poglavnik Kroejša Erlajns-a.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous05:00

      The AS CEO quoted him, he said it "too early". Jasmine will be happy.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous18:01

    Air Serbia should establish its branch, Air Serbia regional or Air Serbia Express that will overtake all regional flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:38

      Why have two brands? The only reason why airlines do that is to hire the regional staff under worse conditions than the one they negotiated with the unions for the main line.

      Delete
    2. Anon c.f. 18 : 01. Yours idea is so good. I do belive to be Air Serbia developing three segment. Long, medium and tegional trafic. All so kargo subsidiary.
      Let see that happening between five and ten years.
      🛫🌐✈

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:12

      AirSerbia should trash "Serbia" from its name. Much better "Avioput"...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:09

      Anonymous09:12 but...why would they?

      Delete
  27. Anonymous19:20

    They should start renewing existing A319's the interior in some of them is really looking quite bad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:22

      They are slowly replacing all A319s with A320s.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous08:24

    Funny!

    ReplyDelete

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