Air Serbia maintains plans to add A321 jets and mid-age aircraft


Air Serbia welcomed the seventh ATR72-600 aircraft over the weekend (pictured below), with plans to introduce a further three units, as the carrier maintains its strategy to further grow its fleet with mid-age aircraft, including the Airbus A321 jet. “We based our fleet strategy on options available on the market, which allowed us to capitalise on several good deals. We decided not to order new generation aircraft. New technology aircraft are immature, many airlines are struggling with grounded planes for various reasons. I don't think Air Serbia is a carrier that should experiment with new types of aircraft. As the technology matures, then we will evaluate the available options”, the carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said.



Earlier this year, Air Serbia noted it was looking to potentially add two A321 aircraft to its fleet. Mr Marek, said at the time “We are currently looking to add two A321 aircraft, which could potentially join our fleet this summer”. Although the jets have not joined the fleet so far, the airline still has plans to introduce them. “The way forward for Air Serbia is to increase its fleet of ATR72-600 turboprops. We have Airbus A320-family aircraft and we intend to acquire more jets of this type. These will be several-year-old A320s and A321s. The smallest Airbuses in our fleet (A319) will be gradually phased out. We will also receive another wide-body A330-200”, Mr Marek noted.

The CEO reaffirmed the airline has no plans to order new aircraft for the time being. “We are very pleased with the approach we have adopted. Recently, wet-leased narrow-body Embraers have joined our fleet. We'll see how these planes perform. If it turns out that they perfectly fill the gap between ATRs and Airbuses, we will keep them. We have no appetite to order new planes. We see no benefits from this, fixed costs are too high, and if we look at long delivery times, it turns out that the profitability of such an investment is low”, Mr Marek said. He added, “The decision to choose an aircraft that forms the backbone of the fleet is a complex one. Therefore, we will continue our development based on aircraft from the French manufacturer. The development of technology means a transition from CEO aircraft to NEO. This is a natural step. If we look at the scale of the operation, we see that the range of the Airbus A220 is too long for Air Serbia. Operations with such an aircraft would not be profitable for us”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:00

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:54

      Nice like Air Moldova- they also have 321s :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:14

      Air Serbia should be called rent a plane company. They could buy at least a few ATRs

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    We see no benefits from this, fixed costs are too high, and if we look at long delivery times, it turns out that the profitability of such an investment is low



    OU should learn a thing or two about this

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      Cim Jasmin popije kafu.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:41

      Kahvu*

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:57

      @Anon 09:02

      Sounds like all airlines in Europe who are getting NEOs and MAXs should learn from JU's strategy. Not! 😄

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:59

      There is obviously a big difference between major European airlines with hundreds of aircraft and small airlines with 12-20 aircraft.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:00

      All the companies of JU size - yes.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:26

      It just makes financial sense for small airlines to have 15-20% higher fuel costs compared to their larger competitors. At an era of 90$ a barrel of oil. Not! 😄

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:28

      20% fuel saving vs 150% lease increase

      You are talking absolute nonsense, especially in a world where OU is transporting 20-40 pax on average on some routes

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:31

      Fuel is 40% of an airline's expenses. So much ignorance from some here!
      And what does OU have to do with any of that? 😄

      Delete
    9. Anonymous15:57

      OU has absolutely nothing to do with this. Flying reliable, recent build ATR72-600 on regional routes is far superior in terms of fuel consumption and resulting CASK to A220, but OU has no clue about it. As a dyed-in-the-wool Air Serbia fanatic, I prefer it stays this way.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:31

      Fuel being 40% of an airlines expense is on the higher end. The gains from fuel efficiency go down the drain if you have higher acquisition costs and higher operating expenses. As mentioned above, smaller airlines such as JU will not be getting the same deal from Airbus as does its competitors which puts JU at a disadvantage with acquiring new aircraft.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:02

      All of your fuel savings can go out of window once PW 1000 goes out of action. Plus 10% savings doesn’t mean 0% of fuel costs overall . Don’t mention extremely expensive lease rates for new shiny “unreliable” aircraft.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    The A321s would be useful even in winter on flights to Russia. I notice they have scheduled the A330 to Moscow this winter on some days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      I think 1 A321 could be easily utilized year round. In winter to Russia, you can also make used to it around the holidays, especially to destinations like Zurich.

      In summer you can easily deploy it on charter routes. Just yesterday they had three flights to Antalya leave one after the other.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:09

      A321 would be a great choice and much needed addition to their fleet.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:02

      But minimum 2 of them as JU might be in a big problem if one A321 goes tech. In that case they would need to send their A330 or 2 X 320 to pick up the passengers.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:40

      you should work at the airline and make these decisions

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:06

      Of course.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:03

    But the analiticar told me the A321 is not happening, that the CEO lied about it and that he said it will arrive this summer, even though he said they could potentially come in summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Jatovanje, kajgot.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      Jatovanje is becoming a new meme
      How that guy is calling himself a professional is beyond me

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:04

      He is simply not serious and I wonder how anyone can take hire him for anything related to aviation. He made a fool of himself min 100 times.

      Delete
    4. Slav.Man10:34

      only time will tell. what else are people supposed to think except that he lied. He first started talking about the A321 last winter and nothing happened and then started talking about the embraer and atr. he stopped talking about the A320/21.
      If he does get them I do hope it is as soon as possible.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:36

      ^ no because you are simply mixing up things. He first mentioned A321 this June where he said Air Serbia could POTENTIALLY get them this summer. The only person who lied is your favourite analiticar.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:03

      He also said that AirSerbia does not consider regional jets, jet here they are. This Marek lied us again, damnit! This is absolute proof that he is notorious lier.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:06

      ^ What are you on about. He said exactly the opposite
      "Air Serbia looking into bridging gap between ATR and Airbus fleet"
      FEBRUARY 22, 2023
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/02/air-serbia-looking-into-bridging-gap.html

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:44

      Before he was saying opposite... so he was lying, right. Or he is lying only when some here decide?!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous23:53

      “ He is simply not serious and I wonder how anyone can take hire him for anything related to aviation. He made a fool of himself min 100 times.” Definitely can’t argue with that !!!

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    Yeah, who need cutting edge "new" technology like sharklets and engines using 15-20% less fuel? The last airline on Earth to realize that they need 321s.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Yesterday one of those cutting edge engines caught fire on an Air China A320neo. Many of those planes with cutting edge engines are currently grounded across the world.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      airBaltic?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:10

      If you put the cutting edge technology plane that saves 15-20% fuel with 130 seats on a route where you can hardly fill 30-40% of Q400 at best, how much costs will you save?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:41

      JU was the last airline in Europe to fly 737s Jurassics.
      That is very prestigious.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:00

      Well, prestige is in the number of routes and where it flies to. 13 is certainly more prestigious, NOT!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:11

      @9.41 I flew from Tampa this weekend with 31 year old Delta A320 :)

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:34

      Yet Delta ordered and operates 130 new A220s, A321neos and A350s and did not take more 31 years old A320s. How can it be? Are they amateurs or they know that fuel costs will make you or break you in aviation business?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:39

      Are you suggesting Air Serbia leased a 31 year old plane? Stop spreading misinformation out of pure hate.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:36

      @15,34

      Are you seriously comparing the purchasing power of one of the largest airlines in the world with JU? Do you honestly believe that JU will be getting the same deal as DL when going for factory fresh aircraft?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous18:59

      Delta has one of the biggest fleets in the world, you cant compare such an airline with Air Serbia. Look at Austrian, still using the B767 and the old B772 plus their A321s and A320s are old. This year they started to replace them with A320neo little by little. Plus Austrian is also more powerful then JU.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous20:27

      Delta operates 70 B717s and has another 20 for spare parts yet they didn't get a single brand new B717 ever. Those planes entered the Delta fleet when they were already 10-15 years old.

      So yes, sometimes it makes more sense to take a less efficient and older plane if the capital costs are low.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous21:28

      Delat took those 717s in 2013-2014. We are not talking about 2013 here but 2023 (or even 2024-2025 for JU). Not quite the same time, not the same world and not the same fuel prices.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous21:32

      @Anon 18:59 Yes, other operators are stuck in the past all well (like AUA) but is that a reason for JU to do so?

      Delete
    14. Anon 21:28,

      Fail. Crude oil and jet fuel were more expensive in 2013/2014 than today.

      https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter5/air-transport/jet-fuel-prices/

      https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil

      Next time please try to do some research before attempting to appear intelligent.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous23:43

      Dear aleksandar. Thank you very much confirming that it's not the same time, not the same world and not the same fuel prices. Did I say anywhere that it was cheaper back then? Please try to read carefully before you attempt to appear intelligent.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:09

    "If we look at the scale of the operation, we see that the range of the Airbus A220 is too long for Air Serbia. Operations with such an aircraft would not be profitable for us”.
    Why? We have routes as Sharm El Sheikh, Kazan, Hurghada, plans for Caucasus and Central Asia. A220 is perfect for JU. Also and E2. One day this plane will be in the fleet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:43

      +1000

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:47

      Yes we do have these routes, but the anwser to your question is implied from Mareks statment. The A220 is good on long and thin routes only when you can sell tickets for a nice premium, and obviously, since Marek says these flights would be unprofitable, it means he knows he can fill the plane, but not by selling expensive enough tickets to be profitable

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:40

      Those longer flights are only a drop in JU's operations. The majority is within the 1,5 - 3 hours of flying time of BEG.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:09

    Plan is good

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Execution is 80% there too. I'm not Serbian but I'm proud of AirSerbia and the turnaround the had over the past 3 years

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:11

    Two A321 for Moscow, Istanbul, Zurich, London, Paris, Rome and leisure destinations. And in winter period the planes will be on flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      To where?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      This routes;) Also have potential for leisure charters to Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Thailand....

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:53

      Anonymous 09:38
      Fully agree. You can't tell me that JU has no use for an A321 sized aircraft in winter for flights to Moscow, Istanbul, Zurich, Athens, London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:51

      London, Rome and Athens definitely not.

      With FCO they seem to be going after frequency, especially now with Wizz competing with them. They've even starting sending the Embraer's over the A319/A320.

      LHR isn't even seeing the A320. A321 would be too much capacity.

      ATH loads doesn't suggest for an increase to the A321. It might even be worth chasing for a 3rd daily to better connect to the long haul network rather than to increase capacity with smaller frequencies.

      AMS could do with the A320, A321 might be too much capacity.

      IST yes, SVO yes, CDG yes, ZRH sometimes. BCN and TIV is missing from the list.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:14

    By my calculations, they will be operating a fleet of 29 aircraft this winter season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      With wet leases?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Yes, with wet leases

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:19

    They're adding new planes, that's good. Without them the number of ACMI aircraft would be at least 6-7 in winter. But they are adding new planes. So next summer they will have at least 5-6 new planes. Along with expansion, they will likely turn to ACMI services again.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dodati jos po jedan suhoj i onaj novi kineski pa da imamo sve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      Sto da ne?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:44

      Možda dogovorimo posao veka: proizvodnju COMAC-a 919 za evropsko tržište u Pančevu. Air Serbia launch customer sa 20 aviona (još 30 kao opcija). Što da ne, Čaušesku je probao sa BAC-om...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:46

      Takvi kao ti su se nadali da ce u JU flotu doci SSJ100 i to predstavljali kao gotovu stvar jer je drug Putin na tome insistirao.
      Sad kad ovog aviona nema vise krenuli ste sa COMAC-om.
      Komedija bez kraja, ne znam samo kako sebi vise niste dosadni.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:25

    Smart move

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:26

    Ideally A321s should have joined the fleet this summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      +1
      That was the plan but they probably couldn't get a good enough deal for them from lessors.
      They are in very high demand right now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:21

      Alaska is withdrawing all their A321 neos by October 31st. Any chance Air Serbia is getting a couple of those birds?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:22

      NEOs are not good enough for JU according to many here...

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:26

    This winter it will operate two 737-800s and one A319 on wet lease. If my calculations are correct next summer they will need ACMI turboprops (as you will certainly increase capacity on regional destinations until three new ATR72s arrive) They will need at least 5-6 ACMI A320s or 737s anyway , because here we will also have many new frequencies. The three new E190/195 will be of great help. Together with them and two new A321s, we have 5 additional aircraft (almost filling the capacity of this summer). That is, the new expansion will again need 5-6 ACMI aircraft.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      it seems in addition to 2 737-800s and 1 A319 they are also wet leasing the Leave Aviation A320 this winter too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      I wonder if they will continue to charter A320s from Dan Air on weekends. They recently announced over 10 new destinations from Bucharest and Brasov.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:34

      09:27
      So they will have four aircraft on wet lease.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:39

      Must say Leav Aviation left a lot to be desired. Flew with them on Friday BCN-BEG. Plane was late an hour coming in from Belgrade. We boarded, started taxiing, plane returned to the platform to get something "checked out". We spent 5 hours in the plane before we could take off. German crew extremely rude, pilot uncommunicative. We were handed sandwiches and water while on the plane which. During the flight there was no service whatsoever (no buy on board), crew didn't leave the galley the entire flight. Don't know where they find these no name airlines to wet lease planes from.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:46

      Anonymous 09:39
      They got the best deal from them. Dan Air is also very bad.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:29

    Can't wait to see the A321 in JU livery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      +1
      Also with sharklets;))

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:40

    Adding A321s is a logical step for JU.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:41

    Do they plan to take A321 as wet lease or dry lease?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:49

    The airline should seriously consider A320/321neos. The price of oil is rising (it is around 90$ now) and flying aircraft that burn 15-20% more than competing airlines is a big disadvantage.

    Just my2cents

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:28

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:20

      not every county pays the same fuel price.. nor are the taxes the same... serbia has one of the best deals for fuel prices in europe..

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:07

    It is expected new destinations to be announced on 10 years anniversary.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:11

    Super 👌

    ReplyDelete
  21. Can a 321 reach North America?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Slav.Man10:28

      only the A321 LR/XLR can reach JFK from BEG. the normal A321 they would get only cover same distance at the A319

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:29

      A321neo LR could also reach BOS and PHL from BEG.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:31

      Summer should be no problem reaching northeast coast with 321lr/xlr, winter is different story, with strong headwinds, it will require restrictions.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:03

      It's makes zero sense to get the A321 XLR for JU. Way too high costs per seat compared to A330 plus no cargo space.

      They will just continue getting A330s until they run out of longhaul destinations that they can serve profitably.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:28

    Good to see the whole A319 fleet will be retired and instead keep A320+A321

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:42

    When exacly is the anneversary?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:44

    I believe 26 October.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:04

    Isnt it a bit too late to announce new routes on at the end of October?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous11:07

    Last year they announced Malaga in late October for December launch.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous11:19

    Lots of experts here. What Marek is saying is that they're being opportunistic and cautious.
    Further, he seems to be implying that third 330 is being firmed up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:44

      Well said.

      It seems other people can't read and blindly follow evil minded analyst's statements.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:12

      Already boring to listen about criticism of Analyst ..if you don't like what he has to offer just ignore his web page and stop spreading hate.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:25

      @Anon 11:19 Where does it say third A330 is being firmed up? Air Serbia will receive third A330 and we knew that for a long time, but it does not say if that will happen this or next year. More importantly, 4th A330 is no longer mentioned, not even as remotely possible.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:26

      ^where is being implied 3rd A330 is being firmed up?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:27

      Neo is one of the best aircraft for JU

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:46

      Oh Gosh he even writes analyst with capital letter!

      The condition is serious...

      Delete
  28. Anonymous12:56

    This year Tenerife😁

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous13:40

    I hope for Gran Canaria more than Tenerife.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous16:33

    Also good 👍 😁

    ReplyDelete
  31. notLufthansa20:09

    Maybe they should buy OU A320 fleet and then not lease it back :)
    That kahva would not go easily down we-know-whose throat :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:34

      They are so old

      Delete
    2. notLufhthansa08:57

      When is your birthday? I will get you a sarcasm detector

      Delete
  32. Anonymous20:12

    For those interested as it relates to this topic

    P&W geared turbofan issue will ground hundreds of A320neos through 2026

    https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/pandw-geared-turbofan-issue-will-ground-hundreds-of-a320neos-through-2026/154885.article?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=Sendible&utm_campaign=RSS

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous11:13

    Fleet salad is a Problem when a plane is broke down. So a unity of aircraft types is advantageous.
    Aegean will be phasing well maintained A321ceo - maybe they are an option. A3 has got rid of its last A319 this year - to have only A321 A320 and Atr-72-600.
    As some guys have mentioned maybe they were right that slowly A3 will get intercont through A3 will do everything to maintain cost structure and flexibility.
    So as far to Air Serbia I would suggest to have Atr72 ownership for every case as a backbone. Ideally at least 6 planes.

    ReplyDelete

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