Air Serbia has hired over 120 new cabin crew members and will take delivery of the first of several aircraft in the coming weeks to support its aggressive expansion plans. An Airbus A320 jet, which will carry the registration YU-APS, is expected to arrive shortly. The aircraft, which is twelve years old, has already been painted in the airline’s livery. It will become the carrier’s third jet of the same type. Furthermore, the airline is expected to take delivery of an ATR72-600 next month, followed by another turboprop in August for a total of seven. Air Serbia had previously said it is also exploring the possibility of leasing an additional A319 jet, while it has short-listed its third Airbus A330-200, which should be arriving this year.
Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, recently said, “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 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 wet-leases Mr Marek previously explained, “We use wet-leases for two things. One is to cover the summer peak. It is also less risky for growth because if any kind of external worldwide effect happened, you can easily just end the wet-lease because the dry-lease is longer-term. We are also using the wet-leases to bridge before finding the right aircraft on the market. We want to capitalise on the market trends. So, if there is a good aircraft on the market at the right rate, we will be taking it any time it appears, and we will cover the bridge period with the wet-lease”.
In preparation for the peak of the summer season, Air Serbia has hired 123 new cabin crew members out of the 800 which had applied to its recent job opening. “As a result, Air Serbia has selected enough candidates to cover the entire summer season, when a large increase in the number of destinations, fleet expansion, and growing frequencies are all expected”, the carrier said. Air Serbia inaugurated flights to Tel Aviv and Ankara last week, while it will be introducing services to Catania, Lisbon and Izmir this week. A further nine destinations will be launched in May and another seven in June.
123 new cabin crew members?! That's a lot to add in just one go.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is but from what I heard many have quite over the last six months. Including many experienced ones.
DeleteIf 800 people applied, that's a huge base to choose from and I'm sure, like most airlines, they would have made a shortlist of people to call if any of the current one leave.
Delete*ones
DeleteGood luck. They will need it this summer.
ReplyDeleteHow many aircraft are they currently wet leasing?
ReplyDeleteTwo, one is E95 from Air Montenegro and the second is a Dan Air A319.
DeleteAren't they leasing also Air Connect ATRs?
DeleteAh yes, forgot about the Romanian ATR. So that comes out to three planes.
DeleteThat's not that many. I was under the impression they were wet leasing much more. But from the article it seems these wet leases will all be replaced with new wet leases during high season.
DeleteDon't forget that the charter season has not yet begun. That's when they'll need most of the extra capacity. Also, many of their new routes have also not started and they will still increase existing ones.
DeleteI don't think their charter offering will be as huge this year as before since many charter routes are becoming scheduled flights.
DeleteI was looking at PMI flights a few days ago and it seems like all three weekly flights were upgraded to A320. Makes you wonder if they could have added a 4th flight if they had enough capacity.
DeleteMaybe it's time to consider A321 for summer 2024.
Their entire fleet is leased
DeleteI have been saying for ever now that A321 is needed.. Besides, how much of a fuel burn difference is there between 321 i 320?
DeleteAny idea why they're not considering A321s?
DeleteThey are not considering a321 because they do not have crew and maintanance for that plane. And does not make sence since this would be probably only one plane. For more JU does not have demand from Oct to May. Better to grow with severall more more a320's - since they are already well known to JU.
DeleteCrew and maintenance??? ... Lets forget this topic altogether
DeleteFrom what I know the crew that operates 319/320 can also operate the A321.
DeleteI think one or two A321s can be ok especially with rising passenger numbers. If W6 can operate them then so can JU.
They can make so much money with them from April to the end of October that it's ok if they fly half full during the slower months.
That's how they started with two A320s and look at them now, fully transitioning to that model.
1 A321 mislim da nrma smisla, 2 su za početak ok. Oba u Februaru slati na redovan servis i naj sporiji mesec u godini je rešen. BER, ZRH,CDG,SVO,TGD,BCN,MAD,LED,ATH svakako mogu raditi na A321 i tokom zime pojedinim danima.
DeletePrijatelji, za ATH preko zime je i A319 preveliki. Za TGD bolje da lete 3x dnevno ATR/A319 nego da salju A321.
DeleteProblem je da kada imas jedan A321 pa cak i dva, kompanija prodaje, recimo 210 sedista (ili koliki je vec kapacitet) i kada ispadne iz saobracaja iz bilo kog razloga ti onda nemas zamenu i ubacujes A320 ili A319 sta god samo da se prevezu putnici i onda razlika od 150-210 (A319) ili 175-210 (A320) putnika osatje da visi.....i sad zamislite nedelju dana van saobracaja, zeznuli ste 1000 putnika....brojke sedista nisu tacne, aproximativne su.
DeleteOni naprave problem i sa jednim A320 kad im ispade pa ostane 25-30 pax da im vise.
DeleteA321 ima 40 redova po 6 sedista od Wizzair.
Delete240 sedista u All Economy Class layout.
Wizzov a321 ima 230 sedišta, a321 neo ima 239. Posada i mehaničari su isti za celu a320 familiju.
DeleteAdd Maribor to the network. Yields are good and the network from Graz is limited to LH dsstinations and usually quite expensive. There are probably 1m ppl in the catchement area slo+at
ReplyDeleteI think next year they will add either Maribor or Graz.
DeleteTrue dat.
DeleteTwo weekly on the ATR would be a good start.
... doesn' KLM offer a daily flight from Graz to Amsterdam ?
Deleteit does and so does LX to ZRH.
Deletein summary, GRZ is (surprisingly) very well connected to major european hubs, and it may be that prices are higher, but on the other hand this market is not that price sensitive. Also, not sure what additional destinations JU could offer compared to the KLM, LX, or OS.
I'm surprised they don't already have contracts for all these planes. You can't say we'll maybe add A319, maybe this, maybe that, cause they are not maybe adding 20+ destinations but most certainly, it's scheduled. I'm less and less optimistic the expansion will roll out as planned but wish them all the luck.
ReplyDeleteSo far all the routes have rolled out.
DeleteYes, one or two they scheduled for season start. But some are already postponed.
DeleteThe few routes they moved they moved by 7-10 days. This might have been for completely unrelated reasons.
DeleteIt might have been, but it's not. The reason is fleet shortage.
DeleteI'm not trying to defend them but a lot of things don't depend on them. Example is the YU-APS plane for example, which was painted in February but still isn't in Belgrade because of the previous operator.
DeleteThat's why you need to prepare earlier than February. If they did, the aircraft (APS) could have been in operation to prevent the wet lease during winter time (ex. Danair)
DeleteThat what Aegean does for example. Their summer timetable was loaded 6 to 7 months in advance. They plan ahead so they can see how advance bookings perform. If one route does better than the other then they can slightly boost it and so on.
DeleteNemjee,
DeleteThat's how propertly run airlines do business. Hopefully JU will improve over time..
From what I heard, Wizz Air is to blame for YU-APS' delayed delivery. Apparently they haven't completed their part of paperwork. It's unfortunate since JU is currently experiencing major problems when it comes to their fleet reliability. If I am not wrong, 4 or 5 planes are currently not flying.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping these issues would be resolved by summer but... Also it's a shame they are struggling to maintain their network operations around Easter when there is more demand than usual. Their competition on the other hand is doing quite well, even Wizz Air.
Never get aircraft from your immediate competitors :D
DeleteHaha I didn't want to go into conspiracy theories but ... I really wouldn't be surprised if they delayed the process by as much as possible. They know very well that JU is struggling even before their massive expansion.
DeleteInteresting. I think there might also be some cabin issues when you are getting planes that were formerly operated by LCCs because none of them have any of the basics in the galley needed for meals, they have extra row of seating etc.
DeleteWell, I suppose the Wizz A320 was enough for their needs. I doubt they would bother with changing the galleys and so on. It would cost too much.
DeleteI remember they did it before when they got former Belle Air aircraft. But this was during the Kondic era.
DeleteThose were the days when money was being burned on a daily basis :D
DeleteAlso back then they needed those ovens since both classes were served hot meals. That Belle Air aircraft is YU-APA which hasn't flown since December. At least YU-APB is flying now after being parked for 7 months.
DeleteTrue I forgot about their premium service in both classes back then.
DeleteOnly 4 are not flying at the moment including APS, but still too much:
DeleteAPA (319)
APS (320)
APH (320)
ARC (330)
YU-APD has not flown since the 8th. Also I think some ATRs are not flying.
DeleteYou are correct. APD (319) and ALY (726) have not flown since April 8, 2023, let's hope there are no significant issues with it.
DeleteThe more pressing issue is either sorting out their relationship with Jat Tehnika or finding a completely new MRO provider for the entire fleet.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteJAT Tehnika has gone down the drain.
DeleteWhat is taking so long for Turks to fix YU-ARC?
DeleteProbably supply chain issues. Some part is probably missing and not available on the market at the moment.
DeleteThey were boasting how they can 'make' a part with 3D printer.
DeleteAll in all it's the most missing part of their fleet at the moment.
A330 used to fly to Moscow, Barcelona, Zurich etc. thus freeing some A320's.
D check is done about 8 weeks
DeleteSo on one hand there is Wizz Air sabotaging them with A320 and Turkish with A330 😂.
DeleteWonderful.
Guys, stop spreading misinformation in the comments'. YU-ARC is not taking long to "fix". The aircraft is on D check, which is scheduled maintenance and the airline knew when it would have to go for D check when they leased the plane. It didn't break down so that it has to be fixed. D checks take a month and a half to complete. The plane left for Istanbul at the second last day of February and work began in early March. Its D check was timed so it can enter into service when they need it. So it is neither delayed nor taking too long.
DeleteWhen you have bad maintenance at home for years now when you send plane for maintenance somewhere you get this delays. Now planes stays 2-3 months in maintenance instead 10 planed days
Delete^ Again. You don't know what a D check is.
DeleteBetter ever than never! Hopefully they get their ducks straight before the end of summer.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the arrival of the third A330-200 will be delayed. Marek said at the start of the year the plane will be in Belgrade in June or July but last month in that interview to ex-Yu he said China won't start before Q4 because of permit delays. So will they also delay the third A330 till Q4? Mind you I notice they sent the A330 yesterday to Zurich. I assume a lot of demand because of Easter and school holidays.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is they will delay the arrival of third plane until Beijing and Shanghai are confirmed.
DeleteOr maybe Miami or Toronto?
DeleteI really hope YYZ, just some inside info from YYZ (as I work here) is that AS has reached out to YYZ Airport Authority for start-up package ;-) hopefully they will consider it soon. Cheers!
DeleteWhere is the Lagos comment? 🤣
DeleteAnon@16:52
DeleteWhat is typical in this startup package? Does GTAA offer subsidies or incentives for new airlines?
The start-up package is a massive document with all the information that airline needs to provide to GTAA in order to operate, such as certifications, plan of operation, insurances, billing information, legal information, compatibility and integration of IT systems etc. however there are no incentives or subsidies for any new airlines, the fees are the same for all commercial passenger operation for everyone and non-negotiable.
DeleteAlso, just to add as "seasonality" comments will follow shortly lol; most of the EU airlines at YYZ have posted record load factors during both shoulder periods of 2022 and 2023 so far, event with high yield fares released in December, most of EU carriers are full for the summer and tickets are crazy expensive. For example, KLM never published any special fares or net fares for travel agencies when they opened summer fares in December 2022, and advised Canada is currently number one demand market worldwide in their network. AS needs to take this opportunity quick and jump on board, not to mention record immigration numbers forecasted for next couple of years, especially if they add BEG-DEL/BOM flights, there goes your load factor through the roof just for transit traffic lol.
DeleteCheers.
Hope there is enough time for the training not only of the crew, but of the airport personnel. The peak season will start in 1 month. This morning BUD was the only cancelled flight. Hopefully, there is a good reason and not lack of passengers. Moscow will also witness a delay of approx. 3 hours.
ReplyDeleteYesterday afternoon Berlin, Rome and Vienna were also massively delayed. They don't have enough planes. What is marek doing?
DeleteI noticed they started their Hurghada shuttles the other day. 3 flights in one day.
ReplyDeleteSaturday 3 flights, Sunday 2.
DeleteWeren't people saying they won't have enough cabin crew for the summer? Doesn't seem to be the case at all.
ReplyDeletePeople say lots of things, usually, like in this case, it's not true. They just want to hate.
DeleteAlso that no one wants to work for them as crew yet 800 people applied.
DeleteWhat is the rough salary for a cabin crew? 800-900€?
DeleteI think that is their base salary. Then your earnings depend on the number of flights you do. I know last summer (when the crew was overworked) they were earning around 1500 euros per month during high season. Also depends on your seniority.
DeleteWhat is interesting is that Wizz Air doesn't recruit new cabin crew which means that people are happy with work conditions in Belgrade. Air Serbia lost many of its staff to them over the years. Something has to change. JU can't treat its employees like dirt.
DeleteThat is actually not true at all. Wizz constantly has recruitment events in Belgrade. They had one last month actually. Also, just FYI Wizz Air crew in Belgrade have lower pay than Air Serbia and their salary depends on how many sandwiches and drinks they sell per flight.
DeleteBase salary for crew is 400 euro, plus flight time, transport, and a few extra additions. For newcomers the should have around 1100-1200 in the summer. In case you get sick, God forbid, you are back to 400
DeleteFor anyone outside the 'region' - we are talking about net (after tax) earnings.
Delete13:47 400€ is an insultingly low net salary for a cabin crew member. If it goes up to 1200€ in summer then kinda ok, but how will one survive until the start of the season.
DeleteBase 400e is low... However there is no low season anymore... So average blocking hours range from 75-85hr every month. However, I do not support this low base pay, but I'm not the CEO.
DeleteBlock hours have climbed significantly in months that were slow before, so the difference between seasons have shrunk significantly.
DeleteHowever, there are discussions on the new collective agreement, hopefully includes a significant increase of salary but also the improvement in the work atmosphere which is probably a bigger issue st this point
Fearing YU-APS might not be in service for a long time. Even if it arrives this week it usually takes a month before they get planes in the air from the moment they arrive in BEG.
ReplyDeleteYes it could take some time.
DeleteBTW where is it located at the moment? Here is the article about it being painted
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/02/air-serbia-to-take-delivery-of-third.html
I believe it is in Erfurt
DeleteInteresting that they are considering B737-800 wet leases.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteAdding 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.
ReplyDeletePlans and reality don't always go hand in hand.
DeleteIn the future, emphasis will be on frequencies, not new routes.
DeleteThe amount of new crew is impressive. Adding 120+ employees for a company's Air Serbia's size is a lot.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's just among cabin crew. They are also hired new pilots, ground staff, people in operations etc.
DeleteThe two additional ATRs are dry leases right?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteThat's good. Thank you
DeleteNot even CEO knows how much will the airline have planes this summer season, which already started. Saying we will have 28 or 29 planes sounds like he is selling bananas on the local market. You need long-term planning for the fleet.
ReplyDeleteBecause it depends will they additionally increase frequencies on some routes or not in peak season. And that depends on demand.
DeleteI am sorry but they were supposed to know by now how many planes they were going to operate. Getting these planes for a longer period of time takes time to arrange.
DeleteI said in February that this isn't looking good and that these mysterious A319s and ATRs that were promised wouldn't arrive on time given that contracts weren't even in place. I am not one bit shocked that we find ourselves in this position.
ReplyDeleteThey're already playing catch-up fleet wise on capacity requirements for last summer. I think this expansion is one step too far given their fleet situation. The fleet situation is also choking a key element of what has made JU successful over the past few years which is rapid responses to changing market conditions e.g. Adria collapse. They barely responded to Blue Air ceasing operations in Romania which could have been an opportunity.
The target should be to get 3 more A320s in service ASAP and 2 more AT7s. This is just to cover current capacity requirements. If any form of expansion next summer is to be undertaken, they need to work their way up to a fleet of about 30 aircraft. Management should be concerned about the current situation in my opinion.
There is also another thing to consider, now that covid is gone and that aviation is starting to recover, planes are not that cheap or easy to find on the market. This could be another problem for JU. Maybe they are not willing to pay what others are asking for.
DeleteAll in all I agree with you.
Yes I can imagine that what you've said is a factor Nemjee. But then they need to either dial growth down, accept lower quality leases that will break down more often, resort to older aircraft or accept that they will have to pay more.
DeleteI cannot see how the current strategy of wet leasing is a solution. It must cost them a small fortune to wet lease 10-25% of their active fleet at any one given time. I'm starting to wonder whether some fresh ideas are needed in JU HQ. The current management has taken them a long way but seems to lack the foresight needed in fleet planning and product advancement/consistency.
I have to agree with both!
DeleteA lot of wet leasing in their strategy and plans... Don't know what to think about that
ReplyDeleteI am very much interested in the Zurich - Niš route. For business, I fly this every few weeks and so far the best option is a train to Basel and then WizzAir to Niš.
ReplyDeleteThere were direct flights a few times and when I took them, they were always full, so I am not fully sure they are not returning. On the other hand, I would be willing to fly via anywhere, so any hub airport to Niš would be great: Belgrade, Vienna, Rome, even Munich.
Sure, I know Air Serbia flies via Belgrade to Niš, but the connection is more of a gimmick than a real transfer. They fly often in the middle of the night and it doesn’t align at all with their flights from Belgrade. I took it twice and since then the schedules got unworkable. It would be very nice if they could offer a good transfer option with at least a flight per day.
A true daily connection at a decent time is needed. I was on flights RJK-BEG last summer and two people were transferring to INI.
Delete.
BEG-INI has indeed improved. It started with 2 to 3 passengers and now we are up to 30 something. I am sure they could add more flights if they had enough planes, same with BNX.
DeleteDear JU, do whatever you want with your routes, but, please, pretty please, be on time most of the time. No need to overbook daily rotations, don't be greedy. Thank you. Kind regards, non-BEG airports.
ReplyDeleteThey can fly to Ibiza.
ReplyDeleteAnd who will fly the aircrafts?
ReplyDelete