Air Serbia is aiming to deploy more Embraer aircraft on thinner routes this winter in an effort to reduce seasonality. The airline is expected to take delivery of two additional Embraer E195 jets by year’s end, bringing its total E195 fleet to four. However, the two incoming aircraft are not central to its winter schedule, and some delays may occur due to maintenance procedures ahead of the handover. While not officially confirmed, EX-YU Aviation News understands the incoming aircraft are likely ex-Azul Airlines frames. In addition, Air Serbia is expected to retain all four Bulgaria Air E190s over the winter through its ongoing wet-lease agreement.
Air Serbia has scheduled the deployment of its Embraer fleet on the Belgrade - Tbilisi route this winter, replacing the Airbus A319 used during the summer months. According to the current schedule, the airline also plans to maintain services to Ankara, Gothenburg, Hannover and Hamburg during the slower travel period in February and March, routes that were temporarily suspended during the same period the previous winter. Additionally, flights to Naples will be upgraded to year-round operations, maintained by the Embraer fleet. Other seasonal destinations are also currently under review and could be extended into the winter months through the use of E-jets.
Speaking recently to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “This winter, for example, we see some promising opportunities. Last year we already evaluated certain destinations for winter extension, but unexpected maintenance issues limited our capacity. Now, with the Embraers in the fleet, we’re seriously considering extending some routes, possibly even year-round service, where market conditions allow. Of course, as we saw recently with other airlines' adjustments, there may still be short off-periods, but the long-term potential is evident.”
Great Job JU! Embraers are doing miracles for them!
ReplyDeleteAirlines across the world are moving over to the A220. It would be better for Air Serbia to do the same, seeing as the rest of their fleet is Airbus.
DeleteA220 is not Airbus, but Bombardier. It has literally no similarities with any other Airbus family
DeleteSo LOT moving to A220 in what even Polish media have described as a politically motivated order is "airlines across the world".
DeleteBravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know how old these incoming Azul planes are? And possibly their registration? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteE190s from Azul are between 10 and 15 years old. It's safe to assume that they will be getting older airframes.
DeleteI hope that is not true. Air Serbia needs aircraft more around the 10- 13 year range so they can be used for good amount of time. Getting airframe already around 15 years is a bit old in my opinion, of course my opinion can be wrong but its just my thoughts. I am hoping that they are at least a little bit more on the younger side.
DeleteWell, most recent E195s retired by Azul are 9.6 and 10.2 years old.
DeleteBoth of those E195s are owned by Azorra, the lessor who also owns YU-ATC.
DeleteWould be really cool if at least one jet arrives at the start of winter season.
DeleteAzul is in deep financial trouble and are retiring a lot of E-jets. They are still receiving though brand new E2s and NEOs.
DeleteBut they do have a large old E-jet fleet. Hopefully JU can select aircraft that are in relatively good condition and do not require expensive maintenance and refurbishment before entering service.
^ Maintenance and refurbishment before the aircraft is handed over to the airline is done by the lessor and former operator.
Delete^ Nope, plenty of times the new operator does it.
DeleteJU had paid for YU-ARA's D-check shortly after they leased it from EY.
There is no need to make things up with "plenty of times the new operator does it." The leasing company and former operator need to bring the aircraft in the state it was before it was handed over to the the former operator. I also like how you so confidently claim who paid for a D check. Did Air Serbia call you and tell you? Did you manage the receipt? D check is something completely different and has to be done after a set amount of cycles and flying hours. Please, don't make things up as you go if you obviously know nothing about it.
DeleteIt could happen. Airlines might pay for a D check if the lessor provides them with a discount.
DeleteGreat to see Air Serbia finally using the Embraers to tackle seasonality. These jets are perfect for thinner routes in winter. Cost effective and flexible.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that they're keeping all the Bulgaria Air wet leases too.
ReplyDeleteThe E190s are doing a great job for Air Serbia. I think they should consider buying the E190s from Bulgaria Air. Or get some 190s off the market would be perfect for JU!
DeleteThat would be bingo. And employ their crews in JU
DeleteExactly, E190s are necessary in JU.
Delete@Anon 09:24
DeleteBulgaria Air has hired Serbian cabin crew for E190s.
@Anon 9:27 the this is JU cant just lease these Air Bulgaria 190s forever. They need to dry leased them and get it into Air Serbia livery. Wet leasing them wont be ideal long term. Getting some dry leased now would be amazing! I really hope they do add in just a few 190s dry leased!
DeleteSeems that JU management prefers to pay wet leasing prices to the Bulgarians instead of hiring its own flight crews and dry leasing the aircraft.
Delete^ Read the interview from the other day published here where they talk about wet leasing. They also explain why they keep the wet leases over winter.
DeleteIm sure the management isn't that dumb to keep the wet leases on going for an extended period of time. They will realize the needs for 190s in the fleet and hopefully make a decision to bring them in. Also Air Serbia already knows about the complaints of wet leased planes and are trying to get less of them. So I'm very hopeful in the near future we will see some type of move or deal.
Delete@9:27
DeleteI know about cabin crew, but I mean hire FB pilots. If they sell E190s to JU, they will not need Ejet type rating pilots any more.
Makes sense, keep going JU😃
ReplyDeleteThis shold`ve been done back in JAT days, but better late then never. One should look at E-jet quantities at LOT.
ReplyDeleteAnd of all the lines mentioned, i wander if Naples could be run by the ATR?
Of course it could, but they probably want to utilise ATR elsewhere. With Bulgaria Air flying the route, JU has more flexibility to adjust their own equipment across the network.
DeleteYes, Naples could easily be operated by an ATR. However, if they operated NAP with ATR in midday wave, they will lose many connections. For that, they would need to move NAP to split schedule like Florence.
DeleteActually, they need more ATRs
DeleteIt may very well be that even a two dozen of e jets would match JU`s needs.
ReplyDeleteTwo dozen!!?
DeleteWonder if we will see some regional routes extended in winter like Dubrovnik, Ohrid or Split?
ReplyDeleteWell, if they get an ATR 42 :)
DeleteBut I guess they should extend Split into winter.
Split will get extended only if there are subsidies for winter connectivity.
DeleteATR 42 would do well for more convenient connections in the region, like SJJ, ZAG , SKP, LJU, SOF, BUD
DeleteATR 42 is dead aircraft. Nobody uses it for commercial routes, only for PSO.
DeleteATR 42 can only be suggested by someone who thinks badly of the company.
DeleteI was really wondering how long it will take before someone mentiones DBV or SPU.
DeleteWithout winter subsidies neither DBV nor SPU should be launched. There is absolutely no need for them as there is no demand.
Additionally JU would be facing unfair OU PSO competition for transfer flights as all SPU-ZAG or DBV-ZAG flights are PSO flights.
9:44 & 9:45
DeleteAnother zama academy graduate? Use your head before writing nonsenseness.
ATR42/600 is great aircraft for local regional routes
@ 10:50
DeleteWhere else JU could send ATR42? Having it only for SPU/DBV winter 2pw flights even with subsidies and for a couple of pax is nonsense. You could send Cessna Caravan instead.
More daily flight frequencies in the region for better long and short haul connectivity.
Delete@10:50
DeleteI am not a ZAMA Academy graduate. If you have so much knowledge as you state, who in Europe uses ATR 42 on non-subsidied routes? Nobody literally.
It could be sent to Niš, twice daily, and onward from Niš, also from Kraljevo, etc. On PSO flights it can hardly be "uneconomical". It could be used to boost frequencies to regional destinations, the way E-170 could do it on medium haul.
DeleteAnd ATR 42 could also fly to Bor, to connect onto flights to PRC :)
And who will fly twice daily to Nis? Nis is only 250km by highway from BEG, easy 2 hours drive. Also, some flights from Nis require jet aircraft, so some BEG-INI have to be on jets or to have expensive ferry flights.
DeleteAnd where to fly from Kraljevo? Kraljevo does not have fuel supply, so ATR brings fuel from Belgrade. Therefore, range from KVO is even more reduced.
People who fly from Niš to any JU`s destination in Europe/North America/Asia would connect at BEG. Exactly the same thing they`re doing as we discuss it here, having only 4 flights per week. How can it be that such a question is asked on an aviation blog? Have you got a slightest idea of how civil aviation works?
DeleteThat's not true. More than 200 ATR42 are still in use and still have awaiting orders
DeleteATR42/600 use same engines as AT72/600, but consume even less fuel since plane is smaller and lighter. And with JU prices, Marek claim that break even for AT726 is 50%, which means about 36-38 pax. So break even for AT426 should be up to 60%, or about 26-28 pax, considering JU prices.
SPU and DBV should pay JU to fly there in winter. They need more legacy carriers to offer connections.
DeleteATR42 burns the same amount of fuel as ATR72 but has significantly less seats on board.
DeleteTherefore nobody buys it anymore.
That's utter nonsense. A42 is 5 meters shorter and 5 tons lighter, so it's impossible to burn same amount of fuel. Even if it would, it will still be profitable with 70% LF. AT42 have typically 46-50 seats, while A72 have 68-72 seats
DeleteBy the way guys, ZAD is performing really well again just like last two seasons. I strongly believe it should go to 4 x week if not 5. What do you guys think?
DeleteAir Serbia finally seems to be using its fleet mix wisely. Hoping this opens up more winter connectivity to underserved markets.
ReplyDeleteASL should have gotten E-jets instead of A319s 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWell, it was easier to train the crews for one new type then, than for the two.
DeleteThey still had 737 crews back then.
DeleteStreamlining the fleet with E-jets and maybe 4-5 A320s instead of A319s would have enabled them to increase frequencies on thin routes.
Plus the fact that the A319 fuel consumption is uncompetitive and that is why airlines have abandoned it.
Good news for secondary routes
ReplyDeleteATRs are also very useful during winter season. Flights to NUE will be operated by ATR, night flights to ATH and IST also operated by ATR.
ReplyDeleteThose should be operatd by Embraers now.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteBecause jet aircraft are way more comfortable for passengers on routes of that distance.
DeleteI do not think it is JU priority.
DeleteWell I guess it should be, at least as Athens is concerned, because if those night flights are meant for transfers, they are not going to get popularity if operated by ATR - it is too long and unconfortable a voyage.
DeleteC'mon, it's not that uncomfortable on new ATR. The only downside is the slow speed of turboprop, but many people are also okay with it.
DeleteOf course it isn't. Some people here really overreact.
DeleteFlight BEG-ATH is some max 30 min longer with ATR. Big deal.
@09:45
DeleteYou obviously haven't flown on JU's ATR 72-600. Their cabins are in perfect condition, much better than some A319s. Also, their engines are not loud as on previous generations. With ATR 72-600, flights up to 2 hours are completely fine.
Well, no, I`d not say it is 30 minutes longer, because it takes 30 minutes more to get from Belgrade to Vienna on an ATR vs jet, and Antehns is almost double the distance.
DeletePRG is almost the same distance as ATH from BEG (50 km difference by air).
DeleteJet to ATH flies in average 1:20h while ATR to PRG flies 1:50h.
@13:31
DeleteFlight to ATH on ATR is actually about 30 minutes longer. On jet aircraft average is about 1:20, while on ATR average is about 1:50.
Hopefully this time Hanover, Hamburg, Lyon, Izmir, Ankara, Gothenburg won't be scrapped from the system during slowest months as it was the case two years in a row. They should really strengthen their network during winter and offer as many connections as possible.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAt what point do they simply sign an agreement to take over Bulgarian fleet and pilots?
ReplyDeleteAbout aircraft, Bulgaria Air owns 3 out of 4 of those aircraft so why would they sell them to JU? Regarding pilots, why would pilots move from an EU airline to a nonEU airline?
DeleteFor both airlines wet-lease makes sense.
Wet leasing is very expensive so for Bulgarian Air to keep the present arrangement it definitely makes sense.
Delete^ But you don't know the price of a long term wet lease arrangement, especially one that involves winter leasing where you get the summer wet lease for cheaper because you went for a winter wet lease too. So you are just speculating.
Delete@09:46
DeleteWe have no information about the price. However, since JU is wet-leasing their whole E190 fleet with all pilots and crew members, it makes sense that Bulgaria Air offered them a good price. It is a win-win for both airlines.
@09:47 can you tell us what the wet leasing price is?
DeleteYou seem fairly knowledgeable about it.
I don't claim to know the price, unlike yourself. But I did read the interview published here the other day with the airline's CEO where he was asked about wet leasing and where he said why it makes sense to them and how the price of the wet lease is brought down. So I will trust his words more over your armchair ceo specualtion.
DeleteBulgaria did offer an exceptionally good and favorable lease terms. If you calculate the amount of pilots you need to get for this big Embraer fleet, their training, contracts, fleet managers and everything and compare it to what Bulgarians did - well you will see that this wet lease paid off nicely.
DeleteNot to mention that Bulgaria did not know what to do with Embraers besides wetlease as they are transitioning to A220 for their regular ops and everything else for ACMI.
If this is a long term lease, i think Air Serbia should get those planes painted or at least wrapped in their colors...
DeleteI think it is a part of the deal. Air Serbia is getting better price for Bulgaria Air planes if they keep their livery.
DeleteObviously Air Serbia does not care about it while Bulgaria Air gets some "free" marketing.
99% of people on foreign airports do not know that Bulgaria Air flight is actually JU flight.
They have cute livery, it also contains a cyrillic signage which makes it unique
Delete"Национален Превозач" !
@09:43
DeleteWhy wouldn't pilots move from an EU airline to a nonEU airline? In a couple of years LOT will phase out their E-jet fleet like Bulgaria Air. Where will those pilots go? For sure not to MEB3.
I think LOT phasing out Ejets will be interesting to see, a lot of them will come straight to the market...major loss for Embraer too
DeleteBut it won't happen anytime soon, will it?
DeleteLOT is starting to retire Embraers in 2026, while A220s are scheduled to start arriving in 2027.
DeleteRegarding the comments why would pilots of an EU airline move to a non EU airline: You realise that after LOT phase out the E190s, they will retrain their pilots on the A220? Bulgaria air’s E190 pilots are already retrained on the A220s. Even currently not all pilots flying the E190s from Bg air for Air serbia are not FB pilots. And I don’t get all this fuss about why hasn’t JU painted the Embarers in their livery. Not all pilots are willing to leave their families in Sofia and move to Belgrade!
Delete@22:07
DeleteYou sound like a zama aviation expert who thinks EU is a God Allmighty himself. Last time I have flown there was a Czech guy FO at JU A319.
Ankara is even increased to 3 weekly this winter!
ReplyDeleteGood news, but let's wait.
DeleteAir Serbia usually goes with more optimistic plan for winter and they reduce it later on.
Which actually shows that people there are following the market and reacting accordingly?
DeleteOr that there are some people who overestimate winter season during the previous summer.
DeleteOr that JU sales team isn't doing a good job so they don't sell the empty seats on time.
DeleteAny hints that the Embraer could also help them make some routes from Niš possible / profitable?
ReplyDeleteI strongly disbeleive that a legacy (hub&spoke) carrier can make any profit by not flying from its hub. I mean, Lufthansa does not try any such flights from Berlin, let alone Niš.
DeleteThey should connect Niš to their hub by at least 12 weekly flights and let the rest of the business to lowcosters.
LH is big enough to have lower cost brand Eurowings that operates out of Berlin. Air Serbia is not large enough to operate separate low cost brand. No, Aviolet was not low cost brand.
DeleteE190/195 would be perfect for INI, replacing A319. Should be incorporated in next PSO. But if you look at frequencies, double daily ATR on work days and one daily on weekends could be fantastic.
DeleteBelgrade and Embraers are cash cow for Air Serbia, they have no interest in sending Embraers to low yield market such as Nis.
DeleteIdemo dalje...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSmart
ReplyDelete