Air Serbia analysing neo jets as part of fleet development


Air Serbia has said transitioning to Airbus neo aircraft is inevitable as part of its long-term fleet development strategy. “Renewing the fleet is one of Air Serbia’s strategic goals. During 2022 alone we took delivery of four ATR72-600s, as well as one A330, one A320 with sharklets and an A319. Earlier this year, Air Serbia took delivery of its fifth ATR72-600 and wet-leased a sixth unit. Also, this year we will add at least two more ATRs and one A320. During the summer we expect the third A330 to join the fleet”, Air Serbia’s Head of Networking Planning and Scheduling, Bojan Arandjelović, told the “Connect” publication.

Commenting further on the airline’s fleet development, Mr Arandjelović said, “For a company of our size, a lot has been done in one year regarding fleet renewal, especially the regional type which is key to our success. We have improved our customer experience and comfort tremendously on regional flights”. He added, “Keeping in mind current aircraft availability and the challenging times we went through recently, being a capital-intensive industry, our primary short-term aim is consolidation and stabilisation of our operations. That means that we will strive to keep renewing our fleet with younger A320ceo aircraft, while preparing the company for the ‘neo’ option as well, as in the long-term it becomes inevitable. As in many other fields, we keep analysing how this aircraft could fit into our network and what benefits and savings it will bring not only to us, but also to the environment we operate in. Over the past few years, we have learned how to be agile and adapt, therefore, we keep the ball rolling, believing that everything is possible”.

In early 2019, Etihad Airways cancelled its order for ten A320neo aircraft which were to be delivered to its Serbian equity partner. Deliveries were initially due to begin in November 2018. They were set to completely replace Air Serbia's fleet of A319s and A320s at the time. The delivery of the neos to Air Serbia was originally slated between late 2018 and 2020.

In comments made earlier this month, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, “Acquiring new aircraft might look interesting, but it is currently not on our radar because we can still take advantage of a volatile market with very good [leasing] deals”. Air Serbia hopes to secure leases for two A321 jets in the coming months and has said it will look into adding regional 100-seater planes next year. “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”, Mr Marek said.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Wow! Does this mean A330NEO too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      No. First it is obvious that they don't plan to move to A320neos anytime soon and second A330neos are definitely not available on the leasing market.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:13

      A330-800 would be ideal for Air Serbia. Neo has better range and if they really want to fly to Japan one day, classic A330-200 would be pushing the limits

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:16

      Not right now but some leasing companies ordered A330neos

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:30

      A332 on Belgrade-Tokyo HND avoiding Russia airspace is possible but getting closer to distance needed for BEG-LAX. Air Serbia said they won't fly to US West Coast destinations as it was too far for A332 without restrictions.

      If they also decide to densify main cabin to 3-3-3 seating, then classic A332, not even newer 242t MTOW version will do. A330neo is the solution. You can fly fully loaded A338 in 3-3-3 config all the way to Tokyo.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:34

      The listed range of the a330-200 is 13,450km. Tokyo main airport to Belgrade nikola tesla has straight distance of about 10-11,000km (flying around ukraine).
      The ceo can make the distance, but the Neo would be much more efficient for it.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:15

      I doubt Tokyo will launch any time soon, so I don't think it is that big of an issue.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:26

      Qantas is flying A330-200 on BNE-LAX that's 1200km longer than BEG-LAX but Air Serbia doesn't want to fly to Los Angeles because it's too far. Go figure!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:37

      They don't want to fly there because it would not make money, because they have a much smaller fleet than Qantas, because they are more prone and impacted if a plane goes tech, because they have fewer crew and pilots.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:58

      But they do fly to TSN and want to fly soon to PVG and CAN and probably YYZ. Pilots and planes are needed for those as well.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:13

      NO! 330 neo is not an option! Also for next 24 months first new routes will be PVG and CAN. Later maybe PEK or YYZ. And this will be all what is possible to do with 3-4 aircrafts of same type - a330-200. I believe this will be maximum possible within next 2-3 years.

      Delete
    11. Regarding BEG-LAX. I wish if somebody can show us calculations (pax, revenue, etc.) for that route. I think it would be successful one.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:26

      @Anon 09:30: Why should Serbia avoid Russian airspace??

      Delete
    13. JUBEGYYZ15:29

      12 August 2022 on this site: 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 was discussed. “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

      What happened to this initiative? Supplier issues notwithstanding, 9 seats in a row on A330-200 is not unprecedented. That extra capacity could detrimental to LAX route prospects but would add additional seats needed for frequency restricted routes like YYZ.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous15:31

      @Anon 15:26

      It already avoids it on China flights apparently due to restrictions imposed by aircraft owner:

      https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/ju702#306f2982

      Delete
    15. Slav.Man15:50

      @Uros, im wondering the same on the point of demand to LAX. as for california i didnt know there are many from the balkan there.
      For long haul to work, Air Serbia needs passengers from the entire Balkan region, are there enough ex-yug + bulgarian + greek + romanians in california for this route?

      im wondering this also for miami. who in the region is in miami?

      Delete
    16. Anonymous16:10

      I doubt they can get an A330 neo. there has been poor sales for it especially the A330-800. Even the A319neo has terrible sales.

      The reason they are so confident in the A330 Ceo is because everyone is upgrading to the Dreamliner or a350 or interested in the Neo version. So the ceo which was very popular is now entering the leasing/second hand market more and more.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous16:51

      Analysing as news. Lol

      Delete
    18. Anonymous18:36

      A330 neo is a good candidate for Air Serbia future longhaul plane. Air Serbia does not have the need for 787 or A350 range and capacity.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous21:05

      Air serbia needs an A350 for the range for direct flight to sydney/ brisbane. but probably wont be able to fill it enough to make financially viable.
      ow and its much more efficient that the a330ceo.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous08:43

      @slav.man - Miami route will work fine for O&D, transfers from Balkan and the most important for crew embarkation/disembarkation as Miami is one of the biggest cruising ports in the world.
      Each flight will have at least 30 crew members

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Are there second hand A320neos on the market?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alaska Air got rid of them a few months ago, to go full Boeing, but idk if those are available on market or if they were took over as soon as they were phased out of Alaska

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:04

      They are without doubt more expensive

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:39

      They are also without doubt 15-18% per seat more economical to fly.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:15

      It is true, the neos would provide some necessary savings.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:23

      With the price of Oil at about 75 dollars NEO should come as soon as possible!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:16

      @XYZ Alaska kicked out A320 Ceo's. There is barely any available A320Neo on leasing market. Those ones that show up are quickly taken.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:56

      Yes. From Viva and Go First, that filed for bankruptcy. I think Go First jets are with PW engines that can cause problems. Otherwise Neos can save them on fuel and maintain ce cost without any doubt.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:03

      The A320 neo is popular and has been used in most fleet renewals so not many with good price for leasing its an in demand plane. with huge backlog. So will be few years before they will be on the market with good leasing deal.

      Delete
  3. 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


    CityJet with CRJs coming soon - that would be ideal

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arent those meant to wait for a new slovenian carrier?

      Delete
    2. Where did you hear about this one? :D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:39

      There are rumors indeed... that Cityjet is coming with CRJ900 to Slovenia as a virtual carrier

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:41

      So SAS wet leases the regional operation to City Jet? thats what Air Serbia is planning to do also with some provider?

      isnt that the same thing that some of the the large american airlines do also?

      Delete
    5. Oh wow!
      Any links or is it just a chat?

      Delete
    6. Well, I have heard there is a lot of presure from former JP pilots and old JP structure for CRJ.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:52

      Anon 9:41 There are a few big providers in USA, but mostly due to regulatory/union reasons... not so much commercial. In Europe, Cityjet is the only one so far, but this is not a popular model here (too expensive)

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:08

    If they want A320neo, they should change its A332 to A330 neo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:10

    It makes sense, in time they will have to transition to neos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:15

      Neos will eventually completely replace ceos, so yes.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:14

    To me even more interesting is about the 100-seater regional planes which seem to be coming next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:18

      It is interesting but I would have assumed those aircraft would come in more handy in winter on some routes but it does not seem they plane to take them till summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      Any idea which aircraft type they are looking at?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:09

      At the 100 seats category there is the Embraer E2 and the Sukhoi Superjet.
      The A220 is too big.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:12

      Well you can eliminate the Sukhoi.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:24

      JU can probably get dozens of SSjs for peanuts.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:32

      Hello, EASA rewoked approvals for SSJ as a part of sanctions package. SSJ will not fly over EU anytime soon (if ever).

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:33

      Even if you get SSJs for free you are paying too much! :-D

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:34

      @Anon 10:32
      Didn't know that, thanks for the info.

      Delete
    10. JATBEGMEL13:11

      @09,18

      JU always took on regional jets in the summer. They were used to boost capacity on routes served on the ATR (SOF, SJJ) and new routes where the A319 was too much capacity (HEL, HAM, KBP). I see the same happening again. Regional jets replacing the ATR (PRG, BLQ, LJU, TIA) on some routes to help boost capacity on other routes (Croatian coast, VIE, KRK, SZG), while freeing A319/A320 capacity (MRS, LYS, STR) where they could better use the aircraft (Spain, UK, CDG...)

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:15

    Sooner or later they will have to replace the ceos

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:17

    Are Aegean's A320neos brand new or leased?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:37

      They are all new. Some are bought directly from Airbus and owned by A3 and some are leased through sale and lease back agreements.
      It is interesting that HER based Sky Express got almost 10 NEOs so far from slightly used parked and non taken up NEOs for a good price.
      Most were from Air Asia and Interjet.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:19

    Just don‘t take the ones with PW engines

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:16

      Indeed, Steer clear.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:19

    They are still far away from it, but good thing they are at least thinking in that direction. No doubt the government would need to invest some serious $$$ in this, as the airline itself would have a hard time paying for the NEO fleet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      They could always do sale and leasebacks.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:49

      I thought JU business model was profitable and no government subventions are needed?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:53

      It is profitable, which is why they are not buying new planes as they need to reach a certain level of profitability to be able to do that. On the other hand you have unprofitable airlines getting millions in state subsidies misleading everyone that they are buying new planes when they are actually leasing them.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:26

      So JU business model is not profitable without subsidies. Thanks for clearing that out.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:34

      ^ You obviously failed to read what I wrote. But it doesn't matter. You can read their financial report and see exactly how much money they made. But you don't care so what's the point?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:26

      Anon 10:26 Your jealousy needs no subsidies

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:19

    Best of luck JU

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:21

    A320neo is suited for Air Serbia and would really help during the summer in terms of capacity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      But what about winter?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      They can fly to the Maldives, Zanzibar, the Canaries, Mauritius and other winter destinations.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:44

      I'm more interested in knowing what they will do with A321s in winter.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:19

      He answered you. Fly them into long range winter destinations.

      Delete
    5. JATBEGMEL13:19

      Everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that their average CLF has increased, even in the winter. Cost difference to operate the A319 and A320 is minimal, especially if you have high loads on the A319. The difference in lease rates between the A319 and A320 is really small, it makes more sense to take on the A320. Plus winter is when capacity is reduced when aircraft go off on maintenance.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:23

    I hope it materializes

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:24

    No matter what people say I'm glad JU has woken up and things are moving in the right direction :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      The same people that were saying NEOs are not suited for JU and that it is better to have CEOs will now be the biggest praisers of NEO acquisition!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:16

      I have a feeling that anything related to Air Serbia or Serbia in general on this portal is being praised to heaven:-D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:30

      ^^^
      ASL management can do no wrong.
      It is a record for the Guinness book! :-D

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:35

      Maybe you should start reading the comments more carefully. You would notice that there is a lot of criticism where criticism is due.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:27

    I like their fleet plans

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:33

    Will be interesting to see what their fleet will look like in 5 years

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:44

    A320neos would look great in Air Serbia livery

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      Is there an aircraft that doesn't look good in Air Serbia livery?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:17

      True. Hope we get an A330 with their original livery soon too.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:21

      Yeah, the Stits SA-2A Sky Baby

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:45

    What they need is CRJ planes if you ask me. Lower capacity plus cheaper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      They are planning it for next year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:35

      ATR series 600 is much more comfortable than CRJ, much more efficient/cheaper to operate, etc. CRJ is becoming history… Embraer, that’s a different story.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:21

      +1000

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:46

    How many planes does Air Serbia own?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Out of curiosity - Can the pilots licenced for A319 also fly A320/321 or they have to obtain additional licence for that model?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:01

      I think its the same one, If you are experienced with 319 and 320 you can pilot A321 and A330

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:37

      A 319/320/321 on one side and A 330 on the other.. you cannot fly both at the same time, it needs to be one group, although the switch is easy, but not allowed to fly simultaneously.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:44

      A 318/319/320/321 is the same aircraft, so - yes. A330 is a different aircraft.

      Delete
    4. Not exactly correct. One can fly both A320F and A330 with only short additional CCQ (cross crew qualification) training. No new type rating needed. So, no, A330 is not entirely different aircraft from A320F, as it shares the same systems and the same "philosophy".

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:04

      Here's the biggest fan of Air Serbia on this blog

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:12

      AirSerbia pilots fly both on 319/320 and 330, you just cant switch between types (a32f and 330) in 24h timeframe

      Delete
    7. Anonymous23:31

      Here is the biggest aviation fan on this blog, who would equally, or even more, be the biggest fan of Croatia Airlines as well, if Kradeze hadn't turn it into a pile of sh.t

      Delete
    8. And the last post is mine, Anonymous accidentally went thru

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:43

    What is the seat capacity difference between A320neo and A320ceo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:03

      in full economy layout max 180 for ceo(186 in some extreme cases, like some Wizz air planes, but they don't have windows in the last row) and 186 max for neo, I'm not sure about eurobusiness thought.

      Delete
    2. A full economy A320neo can go high as 188 seats, as demonstrated and flown by an Asian LCC.

      Delete
    3. Air Serbia can just fit either 174 or 180 seats on the NEO, so little difference in case

      Delete
  22. notLufthansa12:11

    Interestingly, it seems as current AS manahement has learned Tradeair lesson: baby steps foward, and bite what you can chew.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous15:04

    I think 2024 will bring surprises regarding Air Serbia fleet

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous15:04

    Getting Neo’s will unclude new medium-haul routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:44

      Like what ? I’m curious to know

      Delete
  25. Anonymous17:18

    Does anyone know, how many wet leased planes fly for AS at this moment? In total, from Dan, Klas, etc?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:13

      9.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:59

      And, more importantly, what is the yield vs cost?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:31

      Anon 18:13

      Its not 9. Currently there are 2 from Dan Air, 1 from Klas Air, 1 from Air Connect which will be replaced with DAT. So thats 5 of them, not 9.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:05

      Air Connect unfortunately still remains. Flights with Air Connect and DAT have been announced for tomorrow. There will be a total of 9 of them this summer. The rest arrive during June.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:28

      Thanks everyone

      Delete
  26. Je l'se to Jasmin zaprijetio tuzbom da mi se opet brisu komentari? A lipa janjet'na u Mostaru, mlada, sad njoj je i vrime.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:25

      A zašto ti misliš da imaš pravo kršiti pravila portala?

      Delete
    2. Prvo, tikajte one iz svog sela s kojima cuvate ovce. Drugo, nemojte mi soliti pamet ni odredjivati sto smijem a sto ne smijem. I trece, kad budete imali svoj portal radite na njemu sto Vas je volja, a do tada dobro cuvajte Kradezeovu Partijsku Iskaznicu

      Delete
  27. Anonymous16:27

    Bravo Air Serbia

    ReplyDelete

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