Air Serbia is expected to lease two Airbus A330-200 aircraft formerly operated by Etihad Airways as part of its wide-body fleet expansion this year. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, the aircraft have not been in service for some time and are currently stored. As previously noted by Serbia’s Finance Minister, the first frame is expected to arrive in Belgrade in July and the second in September, after they undergo maintenance and repainting. The airline plans to launch operations to Shanghai and Guangzhou upon the arrival of the wide-body jets, complementing the two A330-200s it already has in its fleet.
The Serbian carrier’s two A330-200s operate with different configurations, with one having the ability to seat 257 passengers (21 business, 236 economy) and the other 268 travellers (18 business, 250 economy). The majority of Etihad’s former A330-200s have the capacity to seat 262 passengers, with 22 seats in business class and 240 in economy, although seating may vary depending on subsequent carriers the aircraft were leased to, including Alitalia and Air Seychelles. Etihad retired the A330-200 jets from its fleet in late 2019 after operating 31 aircraft of the type. The majority have since been sold to leasing companies, with many stored in Spain.
Late last year, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “During this past summer, we secured traffic rights to Guangzhou and Shanghai in China. 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”.
The Etihad cabins are nice, so that's good
ReplyDeleteAs long as they don't have 9 abreast in economy I'm happy.
DeleteI want Anonymous @12:36 to ve happy
DeleteAir Serbia looking to expand. This looks a good deal Ethiad are higher quality
DeleteHope they arrive as announced
ReplyDeleteWe will see when maintenance starts.
DeleteGood
ReplyDeleteWill they have GE engines like YU-ARA?
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought - engine commonality. Maybe they will take the engines separately
DeleteI think they may be MSNs 825 and 831
DeleteThere are RR's on ARB and ARC?
Delete^ Those planes are 17 years old. I highly doubt it.
DeleteI just checked through the Planespotters.net DB (I know, not always great data quality) and as far as I could see, the only MSNs that would be available are 658, 724, 730, 824 & 852. All others are either cargo conversion, actively flying for another airline, or broken up.
Delete824 & 852 were flying for Condor until November 23. The other three have been in storage significantly longer.
How old are 824 and 852?
Deleteboth frames are 17 Years old (MSN 824 & 852, first flight in 2007)
Delete@13:48 are those the confirmed MSN's?
DeleteNo, they aren't. The article states that the aircraft have been stored for a long time, so I guess it is not MSN 824 and 852.
DeleteGreat news, hopefully they don't need a D-check soon.
ReplyDeleteIf they do they will get them heavily discounted. Wasn't that the case with ARB or ARC?
DeleteMaybe it's time to put into consideration Newark instead of JFK .
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteMaybe because of the rare slots in JFK ??
DeleteJU doesn’t seem to have a problem with sourcing JFK slots
DeleteAs much as I would personally like EWR flights, it is not reasonable for an airline with such a small (in relative terms) presence in the USA and barely around 1 flight per day and no strategic partner at EWR to spread its NYC operations over two airports. There are significant additional expenses this entails with no obvious upside. If they were to develop a code share with a major airline in the USA, it might make sense to start prioritizing their hubs in addition to the more obvious diaspora gateways, but not otherwise.
DeleteThey can have more then once a day to JFK or Newark on some days.
ReplyDelete* more than
DeleteLepe vesti za rastucu flotu Er Srbije. Kao i sve ljude koji vole i postuju napredak Srpske kompanije. 🇷🇸✈♥️🛬🌐✈
ReplyDeleteGreat. Can't wait! :)
ReplyDeleteWhy not take YU-ARA which is still in Abu Dhabi in JU livery?
ReplyDeleteI think it is subject to Jet Airways' bankruptcy case.
DeleteYU-ARA is now 2-UARA and it’s not in AUH anymore, but in HYD.
DeleteOh thanks. Wasn't aware that it has finally left AUH.
DeleteYU-ARA was maintenance nightmare, one of the reasons they got rid of it.
DeleteI wonder what they will do with 4 A330s in winter
ReplyDeleteThey will fly, why? Some of them will go on maintenance. Moscow, Barcelona, Zurich, Paris...
DeleteThey can replace Marathon EMB with A330, there is always a way.
DeleteThey don't fly to any of those cities with A330 now so I don't know why they would fly it when they have 4 A330s.
DeleteLeisure flights to Cuba, Thailand, Zanzibar, Bali...
Deletethailand charters would be 1000% successful. I know so many people that travel 20+ hours there.
DeleteAnon 09:59, they don't have free A330 for that now.
DeleteNot at this very moment because one is in maintenance but in general they had the opportunity the entire winter. They only sent it to Zurich twice. That's about it. With 11 weekly flights to Barcelona in winter (JU+W6) I really don't think an A330 is needed.
DeleteThey should consider Dubai as a winter destination. They can defeat flydubai with the A330 without a problem. I am certain BEG will eventually see the FZ 787 so this is their last chance.
DeleteMiami is winter destination (December-April is the best weather)
DeleteCollect ❄️
DeleteCan't wait to see them in BEG.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see al four lined up together :D
DeleteVucic will make that happen for sure!
DeleteAs he should!!
DeleteHe love the PR.
DeleteWhen an aircraft sits in storage, there are nearly always unexpected problems which get noticed during the checks before going back into service. Hope there won't be more delays.
ReplyDeletePity they don't put in premium economy
ReplyDeleteWhat for?
DeleteSo they could offer another class of service and attract some additional passengers.
DeleteI'm not so sure Air Serbia's passengers, mostly from ex-Yu countries and Balkans would care much about premium economy. More likely it would stay empty while you would reduce economy class capacity.
DeleteThe competition will be hard this summer to New York in the Balkan region .HiSky from Bucharest , Turkish from Istanbul and five !!!! airlines from ATH .
DeleteAgree premium economy is s fast growing area. Emirates are adding and whilst business class numbers have reduced hearing other airline CEO’s leisure passengers are treating themselves and upgrading to premium economy. Definitely need to be in the mind of Air Serbia as they expand long haul and connections.
DeleteBusiness and first class occupancy across the industry is at a record highs after Covid. It hasn't decreased. Quite the contrary.
DeleteI really hope they install wifi on these planes. It is needed on a long flight
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMe too. It is a big downside to YU-ARB/ARC for not having wifi.
DeleteI agree but in JU's perspective, the majority of people flying on these flights are mid-age to old and I think the overwhelming majority don't use wifi. So it is an expense for them that wouldn't pay off.
DeleteLooking forward to more wide bodies being added to the fleet
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree that they should add Newark. Austrian and Turkish fly out of Newark and many people from the Balkans avoid JFK because Newark Is a great alternative.
ReplyDeleteAustrian and Turkish fly there because Newark is a Star Alliance hub.
Deleteis newark an acceptable alternative? is it acceptable to people to travel to or will JU lose passangers because people will take a longer flight in order to fly to JFK? i ask because it like other secondary airports in europe that are much more inconvenient like the difference between CDG and Paris ORLY
DeleteNewark is the same distance from downtown Manhattan as JFK.
DeleteI don't think they have any plans to fly to Newark. La Guardia is the most convenient airport though due to its proximity to the city) and you get an amazing view of Manhattan upon landing :)
DeleteEWR makes no sense for JU.
Delete* JU barely fly daily to JFK, and thats in the top season.
* It's better to consolidate ops to one airport and increase frequencies and connectivity options on both ends.
* JU's partners in the US have hubs in JFK, not EWR where the offer is limited.
La guardia would be great since Jet Blue has many flights out of there.
Delete@16:18
what if JU cannot consolidate at JFK. if the airport becomes more expesnive, or they cant get the slots with the times that they want?
then they would need to look at having that second daily flight to an alternative.
Maybe JU could fly daily to JFK today but it needs the rest of the fleet organized to do that. it needs more atr's first to feed the regional traffic to the hub in BEG and it needs more widebodies first so that it can maintain the Chicago and China route.
LGA ima perimeter rule.
DeleteJaysus, u want JU to fly to LGA with an A320 via Kangarlussuaq?? Ever though about runway length at LGA?
DeleteHopefully those will be able to fly to Moscow.
ReplyDelete+1
Deleteis needed if you ask me
DeleteNo. These planes should fly to normal countries people WANT to visit - USA, Canada, hopefully Japan sometime, not Moscow.
DeleteUSA is a normal country? ok bro.
DeleteCrew rest?
ReplyDeleteApparently not :(
DeleteOuch
DeleteNice. Good luck Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteVery interested to see what the cabins will look like
ReplyDeleteLike Etihad's most probably.
DeleteOr Alitalia's if it was an ex-Alitalia bird. Which is more or less the same as Etihad just with different seat covers.
DeleteWhen I look back, they had amazing luck operating the A330s all these years. Rarely had they had any operational issue with the plane.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey did have some operational issues when Vamos was contracted on their behalf to save the situation. Last year ARC had do go to IST unexpectedly.
DeleteHow many wide bodies did JAT have at the peak ?
ReplyDelete5 DC10s
DeleteThanks
DeleteThat was only summer 1989 until OO-SLA “Slavica” left the fleet in November. After that only YU-AMA, AMB, AMC and AMD were in fleet.
DeleteSlavica had very quirky interior with pictures of Belgian towns like Bruges on the walls. Also had a huge passenger level cargo door as it was a “combi”.
DeleteNow JU will have 4 in total? (are these the same 3rd and 4th wide bodies that were announced earlier, just it's now known who they are going to be leased from?)
DeleteYes, it's indicated in the third sentence of the text that it is related to those two.
DeleteAll of the airframes are quite mid age, bordering on old.
ReplyDeleteThese should have a nice 1-2-1 business class. Much better than YU-ARC.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that there is obviously no plans to refurbish the cabins on the A330s.
ReplyDeleteCan you procure brand new seats and have them installed within a month? If so please give them a call
DeleteLast time JU had 4 widebodies was 1991 when YU-AMA Nikola Tesla, YU-AMB Edvard Rusijan, YU-AMC, and YU-AMD were the 4 JAT desetke
ReplyDeleteI hope this happens as soon as possible, it's been wayy too long with talks of this.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for those of you that mention EWR, what will happen w/ transfers from JFK with AA/B6?
Here is a trip report of my recent trip with them onboard their A320 with sharklets BEG-FCO! It was on February 26th, about 80% LF, great service, even got to try the new streaming service! I hope they get more dry-leased planes as this is my first flight w/ Serbian crew since my last 4 were foreign :')
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zpLWQRZxuk&t=1322s
If they were "parked" for a while, it could be some time before they enter service.
ReplyDeleteI really hope JU considers DEL in the future. India's economy is booming and there are many people who are eager to travel to Europe. If they manage to time their flights to the US then even better.
ReplyDeleteI really hope JU works hard on making sure all key European destinations are at least double daily. They desperately need it for connectivity. I mean it's somewhat pathetic that CDG isn't double daily year-round.
DEL is a great idea. Shorter flight which can easily fit into the JU network.
DeleteCDG gets a third daily on some days starting May 3rd, which is a positive development. FRA is another route that is getting a significant increase, from daily to 13 pw starting March 29th. It's finally happening. Spain is another market I expect to see further frequency increases.
Well as long as they continue flying out of JFK, they will continue losing potential passangers from NJ, Pa and Conn who prefer to fly out of Newark. JFK and NYC Is a nightmare in every possible way.
ReplyDeleteAnd who on thei
Miroslav NY18 if they were losing passenger as you say that would never even fly to jfk. For your information JFK is preferming real well and they can care less to waste money on the operation an hour away from JFK.
DeleteWhat's the point of getting the 15-17 year old jets? Maybe they might be looking into getting the NEO soon. But other than that speculation, 15-17 year old A332's aren't exactly the best option for them, already near the 20 year age mark
ReplyDeleteThey are stored for 6-7 years, so they are so worned out
DeleteExactly my point, I don't see why they would get these considerably old aircraft and they've been stored for years. Probably not the best decision, unless they are looking to get NEOs when those aircraft turn around 20 years old
DeleteActually you are kinda missing the point. Since the 15-17 year old jets have been stored for some 6-7 years, let's say for 5 years, that means they are roughly equivalent to 12 year old jets. AFAIK, these jet's will remain with JU for 10 years minimum. So it's all cool.
DeleteA lot of airlines are having problems bringing planes back into service that were stored during covid. Some seem to be too expensive to fix as many issues arise that you don't really think can happen when a plane just sits. Cracks form in certain places for example that need to be repaired. Takes forever and sometimes, it not worth the hassle.
DeleteGood insight. But what choice does JU have with there modest procurment budget?
Delete@Anonymous 2:05 so you're saying they would keep these jets until they are 25-27 years old? That's honestly not the best choice. After the planes turn 20 years old maintenance on them will keep getting higher and will just not help Air Serbia. I really do think they should at least look Into NEO options for their A330 fleet
DeleteNEOs are out of reach for JU for at least the next five years.
DeleteThose 25-27 year old A330s can be considered about five years younger because of being stored.
Not the best solution, but realistic for Air Serbia for now.
@Anonymous 4:09 5 years is actually decent, YU-ARB would also turn around 20 years old by that time as well as those Etihad jets so that's when they could start looking into replacing the -200s with possibly the -800s and is honestly pretty reasonable
DeleteYou said it bro.
DeleteThey sold two A330-200 to some big operator Airline only engines and fuselage to a lessor in Ireland.
ReplyDeleteBetter to get some deal with Etihad for more stored A330-200, because they won't find them easy in market.
Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸
ReplyDelete