Air Serbia plans to focus on long-haul expansion over the coming decade as it prepares to mark the tenth anniversary under its current brand name tomorrow. The airline currently serves New York, Chicago and Tianjin as part of its long-haul operations. “Aviation is about being constantly on top of the market, being dynamic, observing and reacting to changes. From a management perspective, we will continue to grow. We have big ambitions ahead of us and the next decade will be mostly about long-haul expansion, positioning ourselves as the leading regional operator in the wider Balkan region, as well as densification of the network. There are also some more routes we plan to add. We have an ambition to reach 100 destinations by our 100th anniversary [2027] but it might happen earlier”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said.
This summer, the airline was granted approval by the Chinese regulator to commence operations to Shanghai and Guangzhou, with the carrier noting services will launch as soon as it secures the lease of a third Airbus A330 aircraft, with existing plans to grow to up to five wide-body jets. Once the carrier expands to these cities in China, it will look to add another destination in North America, with Miami and Toronto being evaluated. Afterwards, the carrier will also look beyond China in the Far East, most likely South Korea and Japan. Delhi in India has also been highlighted as an important market by the airline, however, these points in Asia will not come in the near future and are still in the phase of being analysed by the carrier.
The airline’s CEO recently said, “We have a list of destinations which have positive business cases. We are just waiting to get the aircraft to go on - before it was the opposite, you had the aircraft, and you were looking where you could utilise it”. Once it has a sufficient number of jets, the carrier will consider winter long-haul leisure destinations as well. These will focus on niche markets rather than highly saturated ones such as Thailand. “In the past, we were looking at Mombasa or Zanzibar and some other options, but this will always be in synergy between us and the tour operators”, Mr Marek previously said.
The CEO noted the carrier is already preparing and planning its operations for the specialised EXPO 2027 which will be held in Belgrade. “It is just around the corner. Those three years will pass quickly. It is estimated there will be over three million visitors at EXPO, which puts extreme pressure on us, the airport and everyone else. It’s not only EXPO, before that there will be a lot of preparation. Next summer in Europe will also be very demanding. We have the Olympics, football and so many other things taking place at the peak of summer so there will be challenges ahead. We will definitely continue to grow but the situation on the market is not easy with a lack of spare parts and the worsening supply chain. Next year, we expect around 15% to 20% growth but, if the situation on the market changes and we are able to contract aircraft faster, we will be happy to grow beyond that. The demand is there. Internally, we are working quickly to be ready for the growth”.
I understand there are issues with supply chain but is it so difficult to source an A330-200?
ReplyDeleteIn good condition, young age and with good terms at moments it is very difficult to find a330-200.
DeleteFor a right price, it probably is not, but eveyone is looking to save and want the best deal.
DeleteFirst deal with Etihad for a330-200 was disaster. Over 600 payments, and no profit cause of bad deal and huge expenses. Now, YU is having 2 aircrafts same type for less cost than firs one!! If they are to make money - than bad deals are to be excluded. This is why they wait so long. Now if 2 next airplanes offered for right price - YU will purchase and in few months and open 2 routes in China and one in North America. I hope this will be in 2024
DeleteJU will purchase planes, what are you going on about?
DeleteNo, JU will purchase nothing. They will lease, just like they lease their entire fleet.
DeletePurchase as acquire, not necessarily buy.
DeleteFirst YU will need to find available right planes for right price. Than sign contracts to lease.
DeletePurchase means only one thing: buy. No room for interpretation, none!
DeleteGoogle translate from Chinese
DeleteIf you ask me Air Serbia should contact Middle East Airlines.They recently stored one of their A-330-200(OD-MEB) with RR engines with other Airbus fleet including their A-321 outside of Lebanon.Are these aircrafts available for lease from MEA?
DeleteDestinations outside China in Far East sounds great.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the demand between Belgrade-Tokyo-Seoul?
DeleteI doubt it is too big. But with marketing and nonstop flights, you can create demand.
DeleteAgree with last anon. Also business ties are rising with both countries. Just a month ago SK bioscience from South Korea signed an agreement to begin manufacturing its vaccines in Serbia.
DeleteWhich of those Asian markets other than China has the most potential? India, Korea or Japan?
DeleteOut of those there is most P2P traffic to Delhi, then Tokyo Narita and then Seoul but the differences between the three are rather small.
DeleteTo add, that's just P2P.
DeleteA330s are being phased out by large airliners for a more economical A350. So, it is not true that A330s are hard to come by.
DeleteYeah, I'm sure you know the exact situation on the leasing market and they are probably lying to everyone. They actually don't want to fly long haul and don't want to launch new routes. They requested permits and slots in China to play around. Are you for real? Armchair CEOs and experts everywhere.
DeleteGoogle is the answer, 12:17.
DeleteAir France KLM are letting some 20 of their A330s go, to be replaced with A350s.
DeleteHow old are they?
DeleteYoung enough for a company that used B737 for decades longer than other companies.
DeleteAF/KLM do not have RR engines.
DeleteVery ambitious
ReplyDeleteHow many routes do they have now, if they plan 100 by 2027? Does this include charters?
ReplyDeleteThey have around 80. I don't think they are counting charter destinations.
DeleteWill there be enough gates at BEG for these wide-body jets in the future?
ReplyDeleteI think they will begin the C wing expansion too with 4 extra jet bridge gates.
DeleteLet's hope. They should have built it straight away.
DeleteAnd for that purpose, they should work on improving their premium products
ReplyDeletePariz definitivno dobija podnevni let u pojedinim danima sledeće godine.
ReplyDeleteWithout doubt
DeleteMy guess is a ~2pm departure, which should have the flight connect onwards to SVO, LED, KZN and any possible new destination/s to the east that are longer and will need an earlier departure (~ 8-9 pm) as it doesn't fit the current midnight wave. TBS, EVN and GYD come to mind.
DeleteFor Asia they should consider Hong Kong too.
ReplyDeleteThey are launching Guangzhou so they definitely won't start Hong Kong alongside it.
DeleteTrue, it's quite close
DeleteThe train ride from Guangzhou to Hong Kong is very convenient and easy.
DeleteI think Singapoore is more important then Seoul or Tokyo
Delete"We have the Olympics, football and so many other things taking place at the peak of summer so there will be challenges ahead."
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope we don't have a June-style fleet meltdown.
+1
DeleteQuite a few changes have already been outlined which should limit the risk of repeating the June meltdown.
DeleteParis will go 4 times a day next Summer if they get enough of the planes + special charters during the Olympics.
DeleteExpo 2024/25 is being held in Osaka. I wonder if they will consider adding Japan to their network in time for Expo.
ReplyDeleteFlight numbers: Ju2024/Ju2025 :D
DeleteWould be nice. Who knows. I think next year the priority are the two Chinese destinations and Miami/Toronto.
DeleteI find it impossible to even begin to imagine the Osaka Expo without Air Serbia, at least three flights daily.
DeleteI'm sorry, THREE FLIGHTS DAILY?!
DeleteI sure hope you mean weekly, because I don't want to be better connected to Osaka then to Borcha from Surčin.
It's called sarcasm, buddy.
DeleteAny news on their E fleet? Delayed again?
ReplyDeleteOf course not, delays are reserved for OU only (and engine problems, needless to say), JU has a priority in delivery at, again, needless to say, 50% reduced price.
Delete?!
DeleteIn December perhaps we will know few new destinations ,i think will be around five or six places in Europe .
ReplyDeleteHow many long haul routes can they serve with 5 aircraft?
ReplyDeleteI mean with 5 wide-body aircraft.
DeleteThats a complicated calculation becuase it depends on frequency and timing of flights. so if they fly daily to new york then one will be needed just for this route. propbaly need 4 or 5 to serve 6 long haul routes with a 2-3 weekly frequency each.
Delete5 aircraft could do between 1 and 30 routes.
DeleteIt's not about number of routes but number of the rotations. If that is 30 with 5 planes, it means each plane does 6 rotations every week. If we presume each route has 3pw, that's 10 routes. Since NYC is already much more, I would say it's 5-6 routes max.
DeleteTime to bite the bullet and get more widebodies, this is becoming ridiculous. I am seeing many airlines sourcing larger birds.
ReplyDeleteThere obviously isn't enough aircraft that they need. Remember, they need an A330-200, it has to have particular engines and it has to be in good condition.
DeleteAnd in Air Serbia they like them young
DeleteAnd cheap :)
Deletewell many had plans to retire their older a380 such as lufthansa but its taking longer to aquire the a350 so they had to bring them back from storage.
Deleteand the airlines phasing out their a330 are too old for Air Serbia to use. but also since JU is commited to airbus mainly they cant get boeing aircraft.
Would there be a market for Premium Economy?
ReplyDeleteFor the kind of market JU serves, I don't think so
DeleteWhen US Congress brings new law this segment will die instantly.
DeleteWith greater connectivity into Belgrade they should also consider places like Bangkok,Thailand. Long haul doesn’t have to be just cos of business it can be due to leisure and with competitive fares places like this would do very well with people transferring through Belgrade. I just hope there are some proper restaurants opening or even a sports bar opening at the airport to provide additional services. Would love to see some Serbian brands we know inside the restaurant, like Walter etc.. I know they have one next to the airport but places like that are great if people transfer through the airport to get a taste for the region and think they need to come visit next time.
ReplyDeleteThey already said Thailand would work in terms of demand but would have poor yields and be unprofitable. It is even mentioned in this article.
DeleteOut of curiosity, could Thailand be served with A321XLR?
DeleteAny long haul needs to focus most on North America its the most profitable routes for most airlines due to more business class passengers, it is also the most competitive but it does mean an upgrade to the onboard business product.
ReplyDeleteDifferent markets have different profitability because of different passeger trends. In Serbia, US market is very seasonal. On the other hand China became profitable from day 1. Their planes to/ from Tianjin are full in both directions and they carry lots of cargo. You can't just generalise like that.
DeleteI want to know why don’t they have a plane for Football and Basketball team ?
ReplyDeleteWhy would they have a plane dedicated to that???
DeleteBecause unlike major US sport teams who play 80+ games all over N.A. our teams in Serbia if lucky do barely 10 trips a year when playing international.
DeleteSo you want them to have a plane dedicated to shuttling around sports teams?
DeleteSerbian teams don't play nearly enough games to be financially feasible to charter a full time aircraft from JU.
DeleteI feel that each one deserves a plane for themselves. And one more for NĐ. And, almost forgot, two for AV!
DeleteWould be cool if Air Serbia sponsored Serbian national teams with JU logo on team jersey. JU would also transport teams to Olympics, Euro/World Championships, Evroliga. And direct sponsor of ABA League, like Turkish is for Euro Basketball League. Air Serbia already flies to almost all ABA liga cities.
DeleteNo, one of the demands from Air Serbia in 2013 was for it not be forced in sponsorship deals with sports teams since it is lost money. Jat Airways was forced in such deals and ended up flying sports clubs and teams for free. If a sports team needs a plane they can charter it thorough JU.
DeleteTimes have changed since 2013. Serbian teams are doing well in various euro competitions. JU would free PR and 'patriotic' points. And JU doesn't have to fly them pro bono, just at discounted rates. And of course only if it works financially for JU.
DeleteNi kog babe za džabe.
It does not work financially. That is why they don't do it and they don't have planes for it. On special occasion, when a national team actually wins something they send a plane. They did it for the female volleyball team and the male basketball team
DeleteJU is already flying most Serbian football teams on their away trips. I fail to see the point of this discussion.
DeleteForgive us for discussing Air Serbia and potential sponsorship, PR ideas etc.
DeleteIf they're gonna enter China, they should consider India for sure. The economy is on the rise and already overtaken UK. Delhi, Bangalore can be a good start. Plus, India is closer, so you can combine it with another longhaul in the same day. Additionally, they might consider Singapore. All them Asian markets are a perfect fit.
ReplyDeleteThey have already entered China. They fly to Tianjin.
Deletetechnically they can already fly to india with the A319 it is within its range.
DeleteMost of IT companies in Serbia have an Indian team. So it could be a good business idea. But otherwise I don't think they have enough transfer or turist potential to make it profitable.
DeleteConsidering Uganda Airlines has said it wants to cooperate with Air Serbia, it would be great if JU could lease their A330-800s
ReplyDeleteWell the hard product on those Uganda Airlines birds is certainly better than the one offered by JU.
DeleteHard product on ARB is quite decent, it just isn't maintained well.
DeleteYU-ARB (Tesla) is good, but Pupin is not. Crew does a good job, but the plane is not in the best shape.
DeleteSo their plan is to have just 3 destinations in North America?
ReplyDeleteJust 3? Maybe you should check OU North American destinations map. And when doing that, please bear in mind some 400.000 passengers yearly between HR and NA and Transat, Air Canada and all NA big 3 which fly or used to fly the markets. If you compare it to Serbia, at least from my point of view , JU 3 destinations give the impression of minimally 10
DeleteWhat does OU have to do with any of this?
DeleteI see, you must be a first time reader
DeleteI think the selected markets are good and I see JU flying three destinations in China by the end of next year.
ReplyDeleteThey will be flying double daily to New York next summer on some days if the A330 arrives by then.
ReplyDeleteYes, probably 9x weekly.
DeleteThat would be excellent. I wonder if they will increase ORD too.
DeleteFo sures ORD goes to 4x weekly for summer '24.
DeleteIsn't is more affordable to acquire A350 in that case?
DeleteDepends, can they fill A350 most of the time? Right now the 330 is proving easier to fill. They could probably get an old triple 7 or A340 or 380 but filling them everyday with ATR's isn't gonna be easy.
DeletePlus they aim to have a "unified" fleet, so crews can be rotated and spare part pools can be simpler.
I'm sure there are more reasons that we can't even think of but for now AirSerbia is working on fixing it's kinks while trying to grow and remain profitable.
Glad there is a clear strategy for long haul development. They were stuck just on New York for far too long.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSomeone was saying on here, they are looking at 5 X a week ORD next summer.
DeleteWith 4 planes they can do 21-22 rotations per week.
DeleteIf JFK goes to 9, ORD to 4-5 then the three Chinese destinations can have a combined number of 8-9 rotations per week which sounds decent
So long haul development timeline looks something like this:
ReplyDelete- new China routes
- new North America route
- new Asia route beyond China
yes
DeleteIt would be interesting to know if they have approached any of the Chinese airlines about their aircraft or cooperation, as Im sure they arent at full capacity at an international level compared to pre covid
ReplyDeleteThey have said that they want to codeshare with Hainan Airlines and Hainan Airlines has said the same but in China bureaucracy is huge and these things take time.
DeleteMind you Air China has expanded its codeshare with JU
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/08/air-china-expands-air-serbia-cooperation.html
Growth, growth is all we hear and read all the time from Mr. Marek but we never hear "hired so many mechanics, opening of own MRO, hiring of ground staff to start own handling, hiring customer service agents ...etc to name a few positions that will enable that growth. Pathetic approach and then usually the main excuse is the broken supply chain.
ReplyDeleteHe just said last week that they have opened numerous pilot positions and have started promoting their existing pilots. Calm down. If you listen to any other airline CEO in the world at the moment you will hear about broken supply chain. It is a real issue. If you do not face it in your industry it is a different story but in aviation it is the number 1 issue and a huge problem going forward.
DeletePilots is only one segment of the puzzle needed to fly a plane successfully and on time.
DeleteYou have a list of currently open job roles on their website
Deletehttps://airserbia.com/sr_latin/about-us/career/employment/open-positions
Well, they could get an A340 for starters, until they find a more economical A330.
ReplyDeleteAnd how much will it cost to train pilots, crew, find a new maintenance unit that can deal with A340, a plane that is becoming extinct.
Delete4 engines are much more thirsty than two, so with today's fuel prices, big big no....
DeleteI know, but maybe a certain niche, e. g. Shanghai, could make it break even. And they are no small company any more, they have a lot of transfers, so there is certainly a synergy effect that pulls digits up. Those planes might be cheap to lease, too. Lufthansa is still using them - I know, they sell much business class seats, but they also pay their pilots double.
DeleteAs for 16:07 Anon`s remarks, I don`t think A330 crews would need much training for A340, if any, and it`s engines are well known CFM56.
What a stupid suggestion, to put it lightly. Higher fuel burn and increased maintenance costs would ruin the economics of the route, which isn't good for an airline that has struggled to turn a profit after decades of losses. Any additional crew training is already too much. To you JU might not be a small airline, but it is tiny amongst its other European competitors it competes with, especially on long haul. Throwing outdated and inefficient aircraft especially on long haul routes would really put JU at a huge disadvantage.
DeleteLufthansa uses them as they own the aircraft. Kind of like why JU stuck with the B733 for as long as they did.
Armchair experts galore
DeleteAnd maybe Guangzhou could be served by an A340, as it is a very long flight, which makes 4-engined planes more competitive to twin engined.
ReplyDeleteA340 is no longer competitive on any length of flight.
DeleteAir Serbia congrats on 10 years since rebranding
ReplyDeleteWhat about Singapore?
ReplyDeleteFix those screens on NYC - Belgrade route. 3 times already i’ve been having broken screen. And i wasn’t the only one. And i love going directly to Belgrade
ReplyDeleteI can tell you JU is very well aware of it. The issue is, there is no easy fix for them and will have to wait the next time the plane goes for a substantial technical check in IST.
Deletewhat to think of a company that lease all planes? right, nothing!
ReplyDeleteYou obviously don't know much about aviation. It is very common.
DeleteWhen is the Pupin A330-200 scheduled for a new cabin installation?
Delete