Air Serbia will grow its fleet to ten ATR72-600 aircraft during the first quarter of 2024, and is looking at the possibility of adding three additional Airbus A320s and two A330-200s to its fleet. Speaking at the Aviation Day South East Europe conference in Belgrade yesterday, the carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “Three ATRs are already contracted and should come in the first quarter of 2024, subject to issues on the market with spare parts, because they will now go through the maintenance check. The situation on the market is going from bad to worse in terms of aircraft availability and supply chain. In 2019 it was already critical in terms of the supply chain and spare parts. Currently, the biggest issue are landing gears and two of our ATRs were previously delayed because of landing gears”.
Commenting on the Airbus fleet, Mr Marek noted, “We are exploring an additional three A320s, but again, the market is very volatile, because contracts for aircraft that were supposed to be returned to lessors are being extended because of problems with neo engines on new aircraft, which will likely last four to five years. The same situation is on the A330 market. We currently have a need for additional units, but I do not want to anticipate when they will arrive. From our perspective, as soon as we conclude the deal they should be here, so we are trying to get them as soon as possible. We will continue to develop the ATR and Airbus fleet”.
The airline recently wet-leased a number of Embraer aircraft from Marathon Airlines, with cooperation with the Greek carrier set to continue. “As you notice, it is not a typical wet-lease. It is going more towards a capacity provider model, which is used in the US. The aircraft are in Air Serbia’s livery and we are currently working on damp-lease options, meaning cabin crew will be from Air Serbia and we are looking at some other functions that we can synchronise in order to make it as seamless towards our own product”, Mr Marek explained.
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Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteWhy did they wait so much to get the third and fourth A330 of the situation is going from bad to worse?
DeleteThey started the process early this year. I wouldn't say they waited long. In 2022 the market was extremely volatile and no one knew what was going to happen with the virus.
DeleteA propos A320neo engine problem, which airlines shoul one avoid in the next 4-5 years? I mean, the problem pertains to those with PW engines only, right?
DeleteWhat you mean they started early this year?
DeleteThey started talks about third A330 early this year. In February they announced that the A330 would arrive by July but the deal fell through
DeleteThe point is doesn't matter when start process to obtain new planes, where are much needed new planes now?
DeleteJU 5 million pax next year
ReplyDeleteBEG 9+ million.
They have to grow and to provide additional capacity otherwise their competition will profit.
DeleteThis morning I was on the KL flight (95% full) and many were transferring to European destinations.
What you mean, as opposed to flying direct from BEG?
DeleteExcellent. I am guessing frequencies will be added on routes operated with ATRs.
ReplyDeleteI think so too. They were unable to start the Sarajevo night flights they scheduled because of a lack of planes.
DeleteAnd hopefully they stop using the wet-leased DAT ATR plane.
Deletehopefull before the new planes arrive they need to look at refurbishing the interior of their current fleet, youre right get rid of the DAT ATR. online there is a review of a the JU A320 flying from IST to BEG and its not good enough for a full service airline and a flag carrier.
DeleteThat third A330 is long due, seems like they are struggling to find a good deal. Hopefully the plane will arrive in time for summer season.
ReplyDeleteThere is a rumor that they are in final phase of talks for a former Air Belgium A330. Don't know if it is true.
DeleteApparently 9 years old, A330 with RR engines operated previously by Air Belgium.
DeleteI assume the extra A320s will be replacing A319s? I think some of them have their leases running out next year.
ReplyDeleteYes. Some of those A319s were contracted for 10 years
DeleteI hope they will eventually add a 3rd daily flight to Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteThey should next summer with this extra capacity.
DeleteI think it will be even more than 3 on some days
DeleteMore than three daily to LJU? You serious?
DeleteYes i am serious. why not?
DeleteIf these 19 flights this winter prove to be good, then they will definitely increase LJU to 24pw at least during summer.
DeleteThat would be wild.
DeleteLJU - city with most frequencies by JU.
Well i would use air serbia way more if i could connect to some of their flights. So if they increase to 4 on some days (maybe early morning flight … at 5.30) im sure it would be sold out
DeleteSo there 3 ATRs that are doming have already been contracted. Anyone know from where they are coming?
ReplyDelete*coming
DeleteAre the incoming ATRs wet lease or dry leases?
ReplyDeleteDry leases
DeleteGood!
DeleteWhat is the difference between wet-leaase and damp-lease, which is mentioned for the Embraers?
ReplyDeleteA damp lease is a type of lease that falls somewhere between a wet lease and a dry lease. The lessor provides the aircraft and some of the crew, usually the cockpit crew, and the lessee provides the rest of the crew, maintenance, and insurance.
DeleteThank you! Learn something new every day :)
DeleteSeems like a good arrangement.
DeleteDoubt about the lack of spare parts only. In general it is quite difficult to find decent and newer A320s in Europe, because most of them are on ACMI or operating on behalf of bigger companies. The A330 is quite an old aircraft now and finding a more decent one will also be challenging. If JU is chosing to grow and make BEG a hub, they will need good aircraft. The most logical thing is to opt for the A220 similar to what Croatia Airlines, Bulgaria Air, Cyprus Airways and of course Air Baltic. The A220-300 will be a great fit and will allow them to even expand if Africa if they decide because of its great range. There are no significant issues with the production of the A220 in Canada. The A220 is also quite superior compared to the E2 jet.
ReplyDeleteAs for the A330, they might consider having 1 A330neo instead of 2 more older A330s. This way they can have an all-Airbus fleet + ATR, which sounds more than reasonable and to stop this "habit" of collecting aircraft from Dan Air, Marathon, etc, etc. Not that this is not a common practice in the industry, but Dan Air for instance is more of an LCC. And you want to offer proper business class as well and not a lousy curtain separating you from economy and with proper seats.
The A319 should also be history. This is an amazing aircraft but similar to the A330 is quite outdated now. No comments about the ATRs, they are probably the most reliable aircraft and proved to be solid and bold. JU can continue with the ATRs because they are really essential and fit perfectly for the regional routes and late night transfers/early morning to neighbouring countries.
The A220 is expensive with a lot of engine issues. As for A319, Air Serbia said it will phase these planes out.
DeleteYes, Air Serbia has already said that the whole A319 fleet will be retired and instead they will keep A320s.
DeleteI do not agree with you, they should definitely not get 220s as they are continue to have lots of engine problems and that could create s nightmare for JU summer operation. The Embraer is exactly what they need and they are doing a great job adding more of those into their fleet. Also instead of 220s much better option for them is 321. Speaking of 330s, neons are way too expensive and they should stick to 330-200. Those have proven to be very reliable for them.
DeleteDan Air will leave BEG at the end of October. Marathon will stay.
DeleteDan Air stays through the winter.
DeleteThis is good because they will should have 10 ATRs at the start of the summer season 2024.
ReplyDeleteIf there are no issues with the plane and they need spare parts from the list of unavailable spare parts.
DeleteLooks like third and fourth A330 may arrive at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHighly doubt they will be able to find 2 available A330s at the same time.
DeleteAnd what happened to the A321s?
ReplyDeleteNothing. It was an idea while there were some planes available. Now they are not available.
DeleteAdding A321s would be a logical step for JU.
DeleteI agree A321 is very needed, however it would be only logical once the majority of their fleet becomes A320. They need to phase out A319s as quickly as they can, and move to A320/A321. Probably what we will see in future is mostly A321 - once route network starts growing and transfers get more and more present.
DeleteIn retrospect, it probably would have been wise to contract 2 A330s when they got YU-ARB. At the time there was a huge availability of A330s and they were cheap.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I meant when they got YU-ARC.
DeleteAt that point no one knew what was going to happen on the market because covid was still a big thing. I remember many criticizing them in the comments here for even getting YU-ARC.
DeleteThat was the moment to get one additional aircraft or more.
DeleteYes, that is what we know now .. anyway, that moment is gone
DeleteIt will be nice to see a third Air Serbia a330-200
ReplyDeleteIt is now becoming a legend. We have been waiting for it for so long.
DeleteLooks like you will be waiting a little longer! )))
DeleteI think they should consider A350 for JFK line, which is almost always sold out. And maybe it’s easier to acquire it than A330
DeleteAir Serbia should utilise their strong ties with Turkish as they are renewing all their fleets and be nice to have some of their planes especially the ones that have the proper business class seat, which would drive some strong revenue for Air Serbia and distinguish them with most European airlines not offering this product. Especially as they look to drive passengers on to their hopefully expanded long haul fleet and destinations.
ReplyDeleteIt's clear that Air Serbia is dedicated to developing both their ATR and Airbus fleets, which is a positive sign for the airline's future. It'll be interesting to see how these plans unfold in the coming years.
ReplyDeleteJU should dry-least A320neo instead of A320ceo, they should change few details on its fleet, The A321 which planned to came this summer haven’t News.. Yeah we know that market is very volatile but it’s cool if they buy it by them self
ReplyDeleteFirst there need to be A320neos on the market, which there are none. Not to mention that many A320neos are grounded because of engine issues.
DeleteHow about getting some new aircraft?
ReplyDeleteThey have the youngest fleet in ex-Yu.
DeleteFor now
DeleteThey will certainly have it until 2025. By then they may make an order for new aircraft.
DeleteDoes anyone know what's going on with SX-RMA. Today again diverted!!!
ReplyDeletePlan is good
ReplyDeleteLet's see about the actual execution.
DeleteHopefully the number of ACMi aircraft in the fleet will also go down.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too but I'm highly doubting it.
Delete+1 last anon
DeleteSmart move
ReplyDeleteAnd still not a member of an alliance, makes little sense to me.
ReplyDeleteThey said that they would have more to loose from being an alliance member at this point of their development.
DeleteSuper 👌
ReplyDeleteSX-RMA (E195) just got from Katowice and its first flight after emergency repairs was diverted back to Belgrade this morning....
ReplyDeleteOn another note, it seems that the third E195 (that was mentioned here on Monday) is in Warsaw already painted in JU livery.
DeleteOY-GDA?
DeleteYes looks like it's that one
DeleteWill that one also be in damp lease?
DeleteDamp? You mean dry😀👍
DeleteNo, I meant damp.
Delete"The aircraft are in Air Serbia’s livery and we are currently working on damp-lease options"
I hope they will add third flight to Paris. Their tickets are ridiculously high so I also hope that they could offer more « normal « fares to/from CDG if they had more seats on sale.
ReplyDeleteIs demand really high on Paris route? I notice Wizz Air is really expensive on Belgrade-Beauvais route too.
DeleteThey will add third daily for sure, especially with the Olympics coming up.
DeleteEspecially with AF pulling back from the route, they need the third flight just to make up the lost capacity. Fourth daily on select days would be an essential increase in capacity, especially during the time of the Olympics.
DeleteThe Olympics in Paris will become a disaster with the situation in the Middle East right now.
DeleteAlso the attack on Swedish soccer fans in Brussel is showing that these kind of events are extremely attractive for extremists.
Just bought tickets around New Year CDG-BEG and back for €220. Don't consider that particularly expensive for 4+ hours of flying.
DeleteCan someone explain why YU-ARC is sometimes at Nice ? (LFMN)
ReplyDeleteIt has never been to Nice...
DeleteOriginal comment does not make sense
DeleteAnon 12:37 : They were already at Nice, last time was in September
DeleteYU-ARC goes there for its vacations, I heard it loves the French Riviera.
DeleteThat’s YU-APC instead of YU-ARC ;)
DeleteNice that they are expanding the fleet. Also would be nice if they took more care of the cabins on board their aircraft and unified the product, especially on the A330s.
ReplyDeleteAt this rental pace that unification will never happen. I am sure they do not want to spend the extra money to refurbish cabins; the majority of "normal" customers uses them once and probably never again due to their sloppy service and constant delays.
DeleteI'm still unsure of his credibility regarding fleet planning but contracts for ATRs being signed already is a good step. They really need to fix the A319/20 fleet shortage though as well as inconsistent products on aircraft that arrived this year. Hopefully the proportion of wet-leased aircraft excluding the Marathon Airlines fleet declines soon.
ReplyDeleteAny chance JU will sponsor Serbian Olympic Team in Paris next summer?
ReplyDeleteWhy would they?
DeleteThey will sponsor them, of course.
DeleteOf course???
DeleteThey didn't sponsor JU at recent FIBA basketball.
DeleteITA was official sponsor of Italy, with big ITA logo on back of jersey.
JU flew the Serbian basketball players back from Manila. JU will fly them to Paris and back as well.
DeleteBro, I'm talking about sponsorship, marketing, PR, and allbthat stuff.
DeleteWhy not go for 787-8 or 787-9.
ReplyDeleteNo thx . Airbus all the way . Took LOT 787 last month, super uncomfortable plane compare to airbus.
DeleteToo expensive, different to current fleet, requires training, crews, maintenance etc.
DeleteA330neo or A350 would be the best for JU.
DeleteWhy they declined those two A350 they were supposed to take?
Delete^ That was a rumor someone made up in the comments here.
DeleteIt was not a rumor, and they didnt decline it, the deal fell through. not sure on what grounds.
DeleteSince it's not a rumour, give a single source where this was ever mentioned.
DeleteSX RMA tried to fly to Copenhagen today but gave up and returned to Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteThe plane is now flying to Katowice
What`s wrong with that aircraft?It was in Katowice two days ago..
Nightmare for Marathon, they are giving E70 to AirSerbia at a discount already, and the latest incident will cost them A LOT
DeleteThat tells you about the quality of work done on it. The entire world has gone bazoook and needs a major reset. Read the other day about fake spare parts being distributed by a London based firm ... that was unheard off 10-20 years ago, today it is the norm.
DeleteYou don't know the terms of the contract between JU and Marathon, in particular Marathon's liability for delays or cancellations as well as agreed standards as to availability of their aircraft.
DeleteThe same way you don't know what repair was agreed between Linetech KTW and JU. Maybe Linetech suggested a more indepth check/repair, but that would take more time or invoved some additional wait for spare parts, and the client decided to take a risk and do a short version of the repair, taking the risks?
It looks brilliant cooperation, we can see that.
DeleteWhat about giving the
ReplyDeleteATR-72 fleet names?
lets wait for the birthday
DeleteBirthday shmerthday
DeleteLike Ferguson, John Deer, Volvo, Rakovica, IMT
DeleteMaybe as a "capacity provider" they will then finally be offering a business class. I really do not get this restriction on JU...
ReplyDeleteI had two downgraded and disgruntled ladies in front of me on Klasjet today. One of them on an expensive ticket from SVO, the other one saying that this happened to her the third time within one month. ( I myself have several outstanding claims from last year for the exact same reason.)
The kind Klasjet FA apologized and then went on to suggest the two pax to "book their next business class flight with an airline that cares".
A lot of work ahead for Mr. Marek, if even their own wet-lease partners deem the company to be rotten to the core...
100% verified BS
DeleteHow did you verify it?
DeleteKlasjet AC can not fly to SVO; Russian authorities allowing only SRB registered aircrafts to fly into Russia for JU.
DeleteThis was on the connecting flight out of BEG.
DeleteLO propaganda
DeleteWhy they dont see in some another aircraft example B737-800NG or B737-8M? The will be good alternative for AirSerbia :)
ReplyDeletebecause AS have focused on AIRBUS products , thay dont want to have trouble with BOING like these with 737 MAX use to be !
Delete