Air Serbia hopes to finalise the lease for a third Airbus A330-200 aircraft this month in order to put it into service by the second quarter of 2024, enabling it to launch services to Shanghai and Guangzhou. The airline had initially planned to add its third wide-body jet over the preceding summer. “Our third Airbus A330 was expected to come last July. However, the problems in the engine market escalated (supply chain, manpower shortage, etc.), and the lessor decided to sell the engines and scrap the airframe rather than proceed with the dry-lease”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, told journalist Kurt Hofmann for “Aviation Week”. He added, “At the moment, we have some interesting leads for aircraft that we believe we will be able to finalise in November. After the finalisation, the actual arrival of the aircraft will depend on maintenance, painting and shop visits, and we will try to be ready before the second quarter of 2024. For us, this is an important project. However, given the continuous volatility of the market, to insist on any definite deadline would be premature”.
Air Serbia anticipates having four A330s in its fleet during the 2024 summer season. “During this past summer, we secured traffic rights to Guangzhou and Shanghai in China, and we will be getting the necessary airport slots soon. Regarding China, ideally, we would start each destination with two weekly flights. However, this depends on many factors, and since we are committed to our Chinese development, we might start gradually. The remaining aircraft capacity most likely will be added to New York JFK, growing beyond daily flights. That would mean that for some days of the week, we will introduce a second daily rotation to JFK. It depends on many factors, for example, the availability of slots and terminal space, which is an issue that is becoming more and more serious, especially at JFK”, Mr Marek explained. He added, “Having the four A330s in the fleet will enable us to plan spare capacity to overcome any unscheduled maintenance or spare parts issues as the market will continue to be volatile for several years ahead”.
Air Serbia will focus on expanding operations on the Chinese market in 2024 while the carrier’s third destination in North America is unlikely to come before 2025. “We see limited opportunities to start another North American expansion before 2025. Since Air Serbia has already reached the critical mass of its network in terms of destinations and connectivity, we will continue to develop the long-haul network as a natural step of our evolution. The Chinese market fits in well with our strategy of addressing seasonality, as in the first quarter there is the high season during the Chinese Lunar New Year”, Air Serbia’s CEO said.
Maybe the solution would be NEO option? They are nearing the magical number of 30 leased planes where it's viable to buy the planes, and to own 3-4 widebodies would be a great start - especially as the A330-800 isn't selling well, discounts might be big
ReplyDeleteThis is either a stupid or genius idea and I can't decide
DeleteThere is 5 year waiting period for new a330-800 which doesn’t make economic sense and that is why it is slow seller. There is plenty of nearly new a330-200,300 with good lease rates so why bother with NEOs.
Delete@Anon 09:56
DeleteNo there is not a 5 year wait period for an A330-800! 😁
The stuff you can read here are just crazy....
330neo is not economy aircraft. Engines need to be replaced on every 1500FC it makes a lot of problem for companies that have them. If you ask if this is true it is because i am the one replacing them
Delete^^^
DeleteSMFH with the BS some people write!
Don't they offer a new package upgrade that pushes it up to 4000 hours?
DeleteI think it's standard offer now. But I do agree that older 7000 didn't have a long TOW.
Amazing!
ReplyDeleteWell done Air Serbia and all the best!
Better something then nothing. Was hoping for 2 widebodies to come in time for summer 2024..but I'll take this! 😊
DeleteWith already 2 wide body planes in service and with the announcments that third will be here in about 6 months time I think we are far from nothing.
DeleteAir Serbia hopes the same
"Air Serbia anticipates having four A330s in its fleet during the 2024 summer season.".
@9.12 it says they will have 4 next summer.
DeleteLooking at the country I live in, that has a tourist orientation (at least at a declarative level) - the expansion of AS which, though operating in a market double the size of Croatia (not getting into purchasing parity), is to the least amazing.
DeleteAny idea where the aircraft might be coming from?
ReplyDeleteInteresting that there are no plans to start North America expnasion till 2025.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad😞
DeleteWhat about Lagos? 😁
DeleteTurns out that Miami is not a top priority, but it's good that they're evaluating the market. Maybe we get both MIA and YYZ by 2025 xD
DeleteThey never said Miami was a top priority. What they said is China is a top priority and they have been saying it for a few months. On top of the recent free trade agreement signed with China, I don't blame them.
DeleteChina makes more sense because there is less competition. When it comes to flights to the US they have to compete with well established hubs such as VIE, MUC, FRA, AMS, CDG, WAW and even IST.
DeleteI think they should definitely explore India since TK and the MEB3 are relatively restricted there. TK is cooperating with Indigo but the overall experience is disgusting. Check out this trip report:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nujrykF-Hlg
Plus with a growing European and US network they could also tip into the transfer market. Also, flight time to India isn't too bad, I think Delhi would be around 6.5 hours. They could easily fit it into their waves.
DeleteSo the fourth A330 will be used as a back up and to add some frequencies to New York.
ReplyDeleteI also understand it on that way.
DeleteIt seems they pulled bit a brake with new N.America destinations, maybe ORD does not perform that well or they simply realized it would cost too much to introduce one more N. American destination at this time.
I am glad JFK works so well for them that they plan to make it double daily on some days.
Chicago is performing well and he highlights that in the original interview. Here he gave the reason why they won't add a third destination in the US until 2025.
DeleteIt is logical that they will focus on China which is less seasonal, where it costs much less to launch a new route and in addition to the free trade agreement signed the other week which will generate a lot of cargo, and likely more business travel.
Delete^ Oh the Toronto fans are not going to like that explanation
DeleteMost Serbian and Baznian people from Toronto retiring, second generations come once a while. Who cares about Toronto.
DeleteSo what if they’re retiring? This is still a huge community and relatively wealthy as far as diaspora Serbs go. Ignoring Toronto only goes at JU’s peril. Even Swiss is coming back.
DeleteBaznian ... hahahaha
DeleteThey are plenty in St. Louis Missouri.
DeleteSo we will have a third long haul hard product on the third plane?
ReplyDeleteI would assume they would look to have a similar product as one ARB or ARC.
DeleteFinally
ReplyDeleteASL needs to have more A350s and especially A350-1000 in its fleet.
ReplyDeleteTime to resume MIA, YYZ and also consider SYD plus latin America Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires. The planes can also operate charters in winter to Zanzibar, Bali, Phuket
Havana 😉
Deleteno.
DeleteWhy this is popular destination for serbian peoples.
DeleteA350 is way too expensive they can’t afford it. That said, A330neo could be a a potential new aircraft considering low sell rate, meaning potentially big discounts
DeleteZanzibar, Aqaba, Phuket, Djerba, Bali....all famous for East Europeans and Serbia is no exception. La Romana is also a good option including Maldives and Mauritius....ASL must focus on charters and retrieve the old AVIOLET brand which was the people and travel agencies looking for....
DeleteNot needed for this time.
DeleteIf AirSerbia was to get A350 it could only work on a mix of North America and Australia.
DeleteNow how you think they fill those planes that need to be premium heavy is beyond me.
Do Serbian tour operators organize excursions to China? That would guarantee them some seats. As far as I know, mainly Chinese tourists travel on these flights. The number is impressive, it will be more than BUD.
ReplyDeleteBUD has in winter schedule 1 CKG, 2 PEK, 2 NGB and 3 PVG flights/week. In the next summer schedule PVG is likely to go back to 5 flights/week
DeleteThat's actually not a lot for BUD when you take into consideration how many more passengers they have than BEG.
DeleteWhat a logic
DeleteGot any better arguments Anon 16.28
DeleteMiami or Toronto? 😁
ReplyDeleteNeither nor
DeleteToronto ASAP.
DeleteI did not understand it on that way.
ReplyDeleteFourth airplane might be there for more than daily JFK flights and for spare parts
"“Having the four A330s in the fleet will enable us to plan spare capacity to overcome any unscheduled maintenance or spare parts issues as the market will continue to be volatile for several years ahead”."
How old was the A330 frame that JU had chosen that the lessor found more profitable to scrap and sell it for parts rather than leas it?
ReplyDeleteSound very strange to me if it is an aircraft younger than 20 years old.
It's not unheard of. Because of part shortages, we've seen relatively young aircraft get scrapped recently. The parts are worth more than the aircraft as a whole.
DeleteYes but how young are these aircraft?
DeleteThe plane in questions must have been really old if they decided to scrap it, instead dry/wet lease it. That caught my eye as well in the article
Delete^ Since covid many much younger aircraft are being scraped. Read the explanation above as to why.
DeleteHow old was the youngest A330 that got scrapped?
DeleteI'm really curious to know.
10.7 years was the youngest A332 scrapped.
DeleteTime between first and second wide body - 6 years. Time between second and third - 1 year 4 months. Not bad.
ReplyDeleteYou are talking nin sense . Not sure if you heard about global pandemic that was there for almost 3 years ?
DeleteI always thought ir was spelled nonsense, but nin sense is cool too. ;-)
DeleteYou sound like a scientist from the movie Pacific Rim. So in 2025 we might expect double event.
DeleteNice. I just hope it does not have a third type of cabin
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting to see which person they choose for the tail design for the third and fourth plane.
ReplyDeleteI assume Milutin Milankovic will be on one.
DeleteIvo Andric?
DeleteWhy not just have the regular Air Serbia livery on one A330?
DeleteMilena Pavlović Barili? It would be nice to promote both genders.
DeleteLet's leave gender politics aside. Milutin Milankovic absolutely deserves to be featured on the third A330.
DeleteIf and when they decide to feature a lady then my vote goes to Milunka Savic. ;)
Mileva Marić.
Delete" Regarding China, ideally, we would start each destination with two weekly flights. However, this depends on many factors, and since we are committed to our Chinese development, we might start gradually."
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean they might start some routes at 1x weekly? Not sure I understood correctly.
Waited couple of days to see if anyone else picked up on this. Nope.
DeleteChina has Air Serbia longhaul expansion firmly under control. They are taking years for approvals, they denied Air Serbia from Beijing, forced them to fly to TSN instead and only once a week for more than 10 months and are now likely to give them only once weekly PVG and CAN. Two to three times a week should be a minimum for reasonable crew and aircraft scheduling!
They didn't even give them slots for both of those airports according to this news article. Yet Air Serbia doesn't want to expand other longhaul routes until China expansion goes first! Nuts.
^ you are so far off that literally everything you wrote is wrong starting with the fact that JU never requested permits for PEK, that they have already recived permits for 3 and 2 weekly frequencies to PVG and CAN (it is published on CAAC website and as news on this site too). In fact they recieved these permits all the way back in May (less than 5 months since they started TSN). TSN was limited to 1 weekly due to Covid up until part of summer. They were able to increase it from mid-2023 but chose not to. Please please please inform yourself before writing false information.
Delete“We would have preferred to start with Beijing and Shanghai. However, there are very strict restrictions in China due to the pandemic and also with regard to market access. So, you can't just fly wherever you want. Tianjin was the best alternative”, Mr Marek recently noted
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/10/air-serbia-expected-to-push-back-china.html
So next summer, Air Serbia's long haul network could be New York, Chicago, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shanghai.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the plan
DeleteMy understanding is that it will be used the same as OU is using their newest A320
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see 3 A330-200s line up in Belgrade one next to the other.
ReplyDeleteThat will be a sight for sore eyes.
DeleteOne day 5
DeleteWhich BEG gates can handle wide bodies?
DeleteAll C gates can handle wide bodies, but they block 2 gates (C1-2, C3-4, etc).
DeleteC1/2 is rarely used for widebodies, mostly those are C3/4, C5/6, C7/8, C9/10, C11/12. So that gives us 6 widebody stands at BEG. There is also B1A which can be used for widebody.
DeleteGates C1&C2 cannot be used for US flights as they are 'open' gates, that is they don't have the extra scanners at the gates. I believe that the A330 cannot be parked at gates C1/C2 (C1A) but smaller widebodies such as A310 and B767 can. A1 however does have the extra scanners and is often used for flights to Russia. A1 also used to be used by Uzbekistan B767's so that's another widebody gate.
DeleteActually the biggest plane that can use A1 is B767, I think it has to do with the wingspan. If anything larger parks there then either the taxiway or A2 will be blocked.
DeleteThat could be another reason why they are putting so much emphasis on China, it also makes it easier to use gates at BEG as I don't think China requires those extra scanners.
Will Tianjin continue or they'll switch flights to Beijing?
ReplyDeleteIt's performing well for them so they will continue.
DeleteWow ok👌
Delete4 chinese routes from BEG!
Tourist numbers are really good as well.
DeleteArrivals from China:
September: 10.401 (+426%)
Jan-Sept: 65.929 (317%)
In the first nine months of 2023 foreign arrivals rose by 24% to 1.603.441.
Turkish arrivals are also crazy:
September: 25.083 (+163%)
Jan-Sept: 151.310 (+164%)
Yet, some will say how Serbia has nothing to offer to the tourists! They would be surprised with the income generated by tourism.
DeleteAs they say: пси лају каравани пролазе.
DeleteBest thing is to ignore them and to focus on further improving the offer. Congress tourism will be a great opportunity for Belgrade.
Look at how Turkish numbers exploded once more flights were added. Same can happen with China but it seems both Air Serbia and Hainan struggle with capacity at the moment and can't meet all this demand. I guess airlines such as EK/FZ. QR and even TK will profit from it.
Great news! Hope they manage to get the lease
ReplyDeleteSo YU-ARD?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the logical continuation.
DeleteFifths YU-ARE
DeleteFourth* sorry
DeleteFifths YU-ARF
Reason to start leisure long-haul operations.
ReplyDeleteSlots are JFK shouldn't be a problem. Their code-share partner jetBlue has some extra ones now that they were banned from flying to Amsterdam. lol
ReplyDeleteWith the arrival of the third A330 and overall growth of traffic at BEG, it makes you wonder if we might see serious congesting next summer. This year it was already bad enough around noon and early in the morning. Maybe BEG could work on adding some more bus gates as well as additional remote stands. I remember reading that they were planning on adding some around the new C gates. Don't know what became of that plan. Maybe they built the de-icing platform instead.
Cannot deicing platform be used as remote stand during the summer?
DeleteI guess in theory they could but in practice there might be issues with certifications and special permits. Who knows. Easiest way would be to move those barracks from the B platform and just add another 6 or 7 remote stands.
DeleteThat could be Wizz Air's new home. <3
No, the deicing platform was not built instead of C gates expansion. The deicing platform was there before but due to the genius management of the Vlaisavljevic administration the deicing platform was built in such a way that it was completely unusable, so they had to expand the area around the deicing platform to actually make it serve its function. Additional C gates will be built in continuation of the current C wing. The land where it is supposed to be built has been cleared recently. The original plan was for the expansion to begin immediately after they completed the C/A wing but obviously that's not going to happen considering the mess they had this summer. So it is likely work will start some time next year.
DeleteInteresting, thank you. Though I mentioned additional remote stands as a fast solution since rising passenger numbers might create serious problems next year.
DeleteAs I already wrote before, this summer we had serious congesting at BEG. I can only imagine what might happen next summer especially if Wizz Air adds their 5th plane on top of JU's planned growth.
It’s time to built new cargo terminal on new location and free the space for new terminal(A gates) expansion.
DeleteMy thoughts exactly, not to mention that current cargo facilities are outdated. A gates could be expanded to A14 without a problem. They could also add more bus gates which are going to be in high demand once JU continues to expand its ATR fleet.
DeleteSo when can we expect those potential flights to Japan, India or South Korea they mentioned
ReplyDeleteThey emphasized those were long term plans. Not coming soon.
DeleteHow much are they looking to increase JFK?
ReplyDeleteNine weekly is the current plan.
Delete"The critical mass of network in terms of destinations and connectivity". What does this mean, no aircrafts or no demand?
ReplyDeletePerhaps google the meaning of critical mass. It has nothing to do with aircraft or demand.
DeleteNo, it means their network has reached that stage that existing flights can generate enough passengers for whatever route they end up launching.
DeleteNaturally, it's worth mentioning that passengers might be there but yields might not. This a common occurrence in the aviation industry.
For example, that is why this time around they managed to successfully operate flights to both BUD and VAR despite these failing a few years back (when their network was much more modest).
Anon 13.03
DeleteWhy the need for such a tone? If you are not willing to answer a question on an aviation forum then why even bother? Just roll your eyes and move on.
Because the negativity of everyone is astounding. Ok, you don't know the term but why jump to conclusions that it is because of lack of demand or aircraft. Same as a person above claiming how the plane that fell through "must have been very old" without taking into account conditions on the market and that planes are being cannibalized at a young age because the spare parts from that plane are now worth more than the entire lease of the aircraft for a protracted period of time. Almost all of the planes JU is leasing are 10-15 yrs old so why jump to the most negative of conclusions for absolutely everything? The guy below also already knows there is "zero" chance of them introducing new flights to North America in 2025. Amazing.
DeleteI understand but it's the same way with me, one day they attack me for being a JU bot and the other how I hate JU. It's just how it is, as this portal becomes more popular it is inevitable that it will attract 'unwanted attention.'
DeleteBest is to ignore these little things and to present them with facts. Otherwise you will get sucked into a useless discussion that will just waste your nerves.
You are right, apologies just got the better of me.
DeleteIt's ok, it's natural. :)
DeleteThanks Nemjee and Anon :) +1 to both
DeleteNo one can tell who will lead the country and who will lead the airline in 2025. A330-200 might not be competitive TATL aircraft at that time. A330-800 is not selling. A321XLR will be operating for North American competitors in 2025. Global economy outlook for 2024 is not looking great.
ReplyDeleteChances for Air Serbia North American expansion in 2025 are getting close to zero.
You didn't even know until this morning when they plan to introduce a third North American destination yet you know their chances are close to zero in 2025. They needed 7 years to introduce a second North American destination. Waiting 2 years in total since Chicago launched really isn't much Nostradamus.
DeleteMany indications in the past couple of weeks and months pointed to Air Serbia delaying NA expansion. Your avoidance to respond to trends mentioned in original post speaks volumes about you.
DeleteApart from the fact that you provided no "trends" other than you personal opinions, the airline gave no indications of anything. The only thing it said from the very beginning is that the focus next will be on expanding long haul operations in China, which is exactly what they are saying now. And you are screaming and crying that it will take a year and already know there is "zero" chance of them launching a new North American route in 2025. Nostradamus.
DeleteWas it Nostradamus or someone at Air Serbia who predicted next decade will be marked by long haul expansion of Air Serbia? Predicting ten years ahead when last ten years were marked by couple of unexpected sharp turns such as introduction of economy-only seats and BoB model, and sharp turn as the result of pandemic.
DeleteThree CEOs in the last 10 years and who knows how many in the next 10 means Air Serbia predictions for 2025, let alone next decade, should be taken with a grain of salt.
^ they certainly know a whole lot more what their strategy is than you do Nostrdamus.
DeleteNostradamus says Marek won't be Air Serbia CEO for the next decade.
DeleteWell everything goes how supposed to go. China expansion first.
ReplyDeleteGlobal trade volumes already moved to the East so this just natural process that travel links increase towards East. Life can not exist in vacume so it has to be filled up hence more connections to the East.
New York will get increase of flights just for the fact that it is still global financial center, although declining.
Toronto or Miami? Who knows. Maybe neither. You have to have plane first in order to fly anywhere. And by the time you get a plane circumstances can change. Nothing is guranteed in life. One day you are married the next day you divorced😊
Cheers
JFK 8X
ReplyDeleteORD 4X
TSN 2X
SHA 2X
CAN 2X
Ovo bi bio maksimum od 3 A330.
That is not possible with 3 A332s because rotations to China are longer than those to US.
DeleteWith 4 A332s:
JFK 9pw
ORD 4pw
TSN 2pw
PVG 3pw
CAN 2pw
Thats 20 weekly flights.
A380 come cheep these days.....
ReplyDeleteWhy not A321XLRs? New, more efficient and easier to fill. SAS flying them GOT-EWR. TAP using them a lot out of OPO. These new long range narrow bodies make me imagine what flying was like on JAT’s 707s. Hopefully a lot less noisier.
ReplyDeleteA321XLR's are not flying yet
DeleteShame that Air Serbia doesn't see much opportunity to expand in North America until later in the decade. I'd love to see them bring the A330 on regular service to Toronto.
ReplyDeleteYou said it bro.
DeleteI wonder if the new plane will be VH XFE. This ex Virgin Australia A330-200 was sitting in Perth for 3 years after a hard landing. All of a sudden, landing gear changed now currently enroute back to Europe for further MRO works before being delivered to an unnamed European airline...
ReplyDelete