Air Serbia has taken delivery of its third Embraer E195 aircraft (pictured). The 118-seat jet arrived in Belgrade just before midday today, following a ferry flight from Costa Rica via New York, Goose Bay in Canada, and Reykjavik, where it touched down yesterday. Previously operated by Brazil’s Azul Airlines, the same former operator of the carrier’s two ATR72-600s introduced last year, the ten-year-old aircraft was registered as PR-AUJ and has now taken up its new Serbian registration, YU-ATA. The jet, sourced through leasing company Azzora, had been in storage since March 1.
Air Serbia will further expand its E-Jet fleet with the arrival of a fourth E195 in the first half of next year, also formerly operated by Azul. In addition, the airline is planning a narrow-body boost ahead of the 2026 summer peak, with three Airbus A320s scheduled to enter the fleet. The first of these, an eleven-year-old jet previously flown by Wizz Air and registered 9H-WZS, is currently undergoing maintenance ahead of its entry into service, expected in February. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, two additional units, both formerly operated by Aegean Airlines, are set to follow and join the fleet by June.
Commenting recently on the airline’s fleet, CEO Jiri Marek, said, “As part of our strategic vision, we continuously modernise the fleet to ensure the highest level of service for our passengers. Since early 2022, our fleet has been strengthened with eighteen aircraft - a significant step towards greater operational efficiency and capacity. These aircraft allow us to expand operations and further enhance Belgrade’s connectivity with destinations across Europe. In the coming period, Air Serbia’s fleet will be joined by two E195s and three additional A320s, bringing the total number of aircraft to 31. We will continue optimising our capacities to provide passengers with even greater comfort and convenience throughout their journeys”.
I have seen them using Ejets more and more in Ljubljana. It's great that they are upgrading their fleet.
ReplyDeleteGreat news! The E195s are perfect for many of JU’s European routes. Hope to see more frequency increases soon.
ReplyDeleteThey are!
DeleteJust need to make sure you retain current pilots and hire many more!
Let's see if they will have enough pilots to fully utilize these planes. So far they are not flying at full capacity (E95).
ReplyDeleteYU-APB is leaving the fleet in late January so this should be a convenient replacement.
Leaving just for service, or ...
Delete^ It has already been announced that they are retiring A319s
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/10/air-serbia-retires-first-a319-plans-wet.html
Leaving for good. YU-APD left in September and YU-APB is leaving at the end of next month.
DeleteSo why is YU-APD flying to FCO today if it left the fleet in September?
Delete^ Why don't you open the link that was provided (is that hard?) It is YU-APK that left.
DeleteKilavi has left, Delta is flying
DeleteAnon 09.44 yes it is that hard since I need to copy it. It's easier for you to give me an answer like you did.
DeleteThat really requires a lot of work on your part...
DeleteHow old are the A320s that are coming from Aegean?
ReplyDeleteThey are old, between 20 and 25 years from what I heard. They will use them mostly for charters.
DeleteBiggest problem is that the two Wizz Air A320s won't have ovens like YU-APS. This is a real problem because this plane flies to destinations with a lot of business class passengers (like London). Passengers in business class are served cold meals like sandwiches after paying €1.000 for an intra-European ticket.
Why even get planes that are around 20 years old that just sets them back in my opinion even if its just for charters
DeleteAnd how do you know they won't put in ovens? The plane has been at Jat Tehnika for a while.
Delete@9.11 don't trust everything you read in the comments section.
DeleteThere is only one Wizzair A320 coming, not two.
DeleteIf that's correct, it is very dumb unless they got it dirt cheap and will utilize it on charter flights
Anon 09.11 if they really wanted to put ovens then they would have done it for YU-APS. Since they didn't then they obviously don't care. Also YU-APS doesn't have a proper divider between economy and business class like A319s do.
DeleteAnon 09.12 I agree, just like I don't trust your comment.
They are much cheaper to lease compared to newer birds.
DeleteBUT Aegean didn't got any A320s that old.
@9.14 Yes, I agree especially since Aegean's oldest A320 is 18 years and not 20-25 like you made up.
DeleteMy friend Anon 09.29, Aegean is currently not flying these planes. They were removed from the fleet after summer.
DeleteAnd I don't think Aegean's airplanes were owned by them . I think they belong to a lessor company.
DeleteArticle says
Delete"both formerly operated by Aegean Airlines"
not owned by Aegean. And it says formerly, meaning they are no longer.
Any idea which birds they are?
DeleteSX-DVK is parked at SEN so it's probably that one. It was manufactured in 2008.
DeleteThere are several others made in 2007-2008 which are parked at ATH and are undergoing maintenance. So the A3 birds are around 16 to 17 years old (my guess).
You can see the Aegean airlines age of airplanes and any other airline in the world at planespotters .
DeleteIt's still not ideal at all if they are 15 plus years i thought they were trying to modernize the fleet not get older aircraft.
DeleteThey already talked about it. Plan is to modernize using latest generation engines such as NEO once engines become more reliable. There is no fundamental difference between 5 and 15 year old A320 classic except for price. Besides, Airbus stopped A320CEO production in Dec 2021, so it' not possible to get 3 year old A320CEO even if you wanted to pay for it.
Delete^ They have gotten very good at talking about it. Actually getting new generation aircraft is what they haven't mastered yet...
DeleteBut then again NEOs are 10 years in airline service, it is probably too early to get some. Maybe in the middle of next decade.
Are you able to comprehend comment at 15:05? No one was talking about how long were NEO engines on the market, but maintenance issues still affecting them in large numbers. Don't you know how many aircraft Wizz had out of service due to engine work? Air Serbia was very clear they don't want to take NEOs until those issues are resolved.
DeleteWith 118 seats this is just the right size for secondary markets. Better economics than the A319 for sure.
ReplyDeleteFlew with Bulgaria Air Embraer yesterday from Athens. It had 3 or 4 empty seats, so the LF was 95%+. Very good fit for JUs network, essentially in slower months and for thinner routes
DeleteThe 31 planes for next summer, is that with wet-leases?
ReplyDeleteWithout, with wet leases it should be 39 (4 Bulgarians, 4 Baltic)
DeleteNo
DeleteThat's a lot.
DeleteWill be interesting to see how long it will take for the plane to enter service.
ReplyDeleteIn JAT time it took one day, when AND arrived from the delivery flight it flew the next day it's first commercial flight to AMM.
DeleteAt that time pilots were smoking cigarettes in the cockpit while making jokes during final approach. There are more checks and balances nowdays in all areas.
DeleteAt that time flying was fun and now it has become a hassle with all the checks ...corporate legal epidemy!
DeleteIt was also very expensive and limited for a lage number of the population. Especially in the Balkans with very low mobility during that era. Whilst it can be a bother nowadays its far more readily acessable for more people.
DeleteNot exactly. Many people in Yugoslavia flew by plane because state owned companies organised summer holidays and weekend. School children went to Dubrovnik through their parents' companies and we are talking about factories, javna preduzeca etc. That is why there were over 2 million domestic passengers per year
DeleteIndeed. But mobility was still proportioanlly low. Very low compared to western europe at the time but higher than the Eastern Blok. But my point is it wasnt that avaliable to a broad section of the populace globally then.
DeleteGreat news!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the ferry flight routing wouldn't a Costa Rica-Bermuda-Canaries-Belgrade be shorter?
I really have no idea but I find it interesting.
Is really a flight from Costa Rica via New York, Goose Bay in Canada, and Reykjavik to BEG the fastest route?
I'm sure they flew this routing for the fun of it. To waste time. Jeez some people on here.
DeleteAnon 09.12 what's the point of this bitchy comment?
Delete^ The original comment is so bizarre. Insinuating they were flying around for no reason.
DeleteMight be shorter, but Embraer don't have the required ETOPS range to just fly over water. The E2 were just given 120min ETOPS, old version probably has even smaller
DeleteOriginal route called for Gander but they had to divert all the way to Goose Bay due to snow.
DeleteIs it a JU crew flying this bird to BEG or the lessor's?
DeleteJU crew. They were ferried to Costa Rica few days ago.
DeleteA few days ago someone was talking about 'stained carpets' on 'dreadful Air Serbia' which are 'unheard of' in Lufthansa. When I said that this is certainly not the case, I was attacked. Well this morning I flew with the "Lovehansa" plane from Belgrade and guess what? * shock *
ReplyDeletehttps://ibb.co/XrLLShky
https://ibb.co/d4fKJ4mv
To top it off we waited 35 minutes to disembark as there was no one to bring the stairs or busses at the world class hub that is Frankfurt Airport where there seems to be quite a few rodents roaming the terminal in plain sight of passengers and employees.
LH planes are pretty clean compared to BA. I was impressed that you could be flying on a 30 year old A320 and the cabin was in tip-top shape.
DeleteBut the seats, Recaro slimline are junk. Y service is trash. C on short flights is rubbish but long ones with a hot meal is good. Plus, pre-order in C.
Their lounges are tonnes better than what JU have in BEG, it’s really gone down since opening when it was really good. MUC is a very nice airport to connect, I literally never go to FRA if I can avoid it.
Nice seat blocking for SEN in Y. Such a concept would be like speaking Chinese to a JU ground agent.
JU is just a typical 2-3* airline, I’d put LH around 4 but no higher.
^ what a load of bull.
DeleteWhy are you ruining bots' microworld? How are they suppose to continue persuading us that only JU have broken seat headrests, stained carpets, stale sandwiches and ugly uniforms
Delete@09:33 fully agree.
DeleteWhat I find most convenient about LH intra European flights is the availability of inflight WiFi and charging ports!
That is wayyyy more important to frequent flyers than chocolates or biscuits!
Well WiFi was not working on the "Lovehansa" plane this morning. In fact it was not even turned on and it wasn't even announced that it has wifi.
DeleteLH used to be a good airline. My latest experiences with them were quite poor. I used them from SKP via FRA to LRH. FRA is a borring monster taking half an hour to connect.
DeleteService on LH economy is no different than WIZZ (by the way they have better choice).
When compared with Turkis on European short haoul, LH is a second class airline.
I always imagine what the reaction here would be like if there were rats running around the terminal in BEG, ZAG, SJJ, SKP or anywhere in ex-Yu.
DeleteI am a regular on LH and their planes are almost always extremely well kept. I flew on an almost 30 year old A319 and it was nicer than YU-APO.
DeletePhotos show something different.
DeleteLH is definitely not better shape then JU. Germany might never experienced huge sanctions like Serbia and Serbian aviation however LH went down hill super fast in the last 7 years . Their Aircrafts and in-flight services should be rated by 2* in my opinion. We should never ever compare JU and LH as everyone well know what the damage has been done to this airline for a long time while LH has 0 reason for any bad services. It is just nice to watch JU growing and improving as much as possible.
Delete"We should never ever compare JU and LH" indeed. The two companies share nothing in common. One is vast, the other is a minnow in comparison. JU isn't perfect but it does offer a fairly solid product during times when many airlines/airports in Europe are not the nicest.
DeleteIdemo dalje...
ReplyDeleteOn its way to BEG now :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what condition they’re in. The ex-Azul EMB that LOT got have been a real headache with many problems. And I would say LOT are pretty good at taking care of EMB, being the launch customer.
ReplyDeleteHopefully JAT tehnika has enough certified mechanics to look after them. Otherwise we might experience flight disruptions during the summer season like in 2024.
DeleteThe plane has not even arrived and you have already declared it a disaster and envisaged flight disruptions in the summer. Crazy,
DeleteEmbraer arriving today and 4 more jets on the horizon. Another great news for Air Serbia and its fans in the recent days.
DeleteThe former Azul ATRs were in good shape and have had no issues since joining Air Serbia's fleet.
DeleteJU services their EJets in NAP not in BEG.
DeleteThe Naples MRO facility takes way too long.
DeleteJU needs to get some inhouse engineers to do the basic staff at least.
To get more in-house engineers you need to pay decent wages, which JU refuses to do. Jat Tehnika was worse (much slower) and ended up losing their license for some time which is why maintenance is done abroad. NAP and SOF will remain as the main maintenance providers until there is a realisation that in-house maintenance for an airline of that size is necessary.
DeleteAir Serbia is considering own MRO:
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/05/air-serbia-plans-32-member-fleet-in.html
That was ages ago, are they still considering?
DeleteI am sure that you already took care about MRO in your Airline Tycoon Manager. But in reality, it take some time to catch up with your success
DeleteThe Embraer utilization as well as the ATR one are low by industry standards to be frank.
ReplyDeleteIt's the slowest part of the year and also best time to do maintenance, to be frank. But you know that already
DeleteNonsense Anon 09.55. Exactly because it's the slowest part of the year those E95s should be flying to the maximum just like Bulgarian E90s are. But you know that already.
DeleteAwww so cute, you want to have E95s busy to the max as Santa's helpers this time of year so they can chill and sit on the tarmac all summer? Some kids might believe you!
DeleteThe E95s are never busy to the max. Not even in August!
DeleteThey only got the second one in April. No sane person would push for max utiliziation right away, when you have a tiny subfleet of only 2 aircraft. With 4 E95s for next summer they will have enough to keep them busy.
DeleteInstead of more used jets, Air Serbia should negotiate new orders. Wet-leases and second-hand aircraft shouldn’t be the long-term solution.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAnd who’s gonna pay for that? Setbian taxpayers?
DeleteIf the company is so proftable as annonced the new aircrafts repay themselves.
DeleteHow do you think operators manage to get brand new aircrafts?
OK sure someone will throw the OU (bad) example…😉
I'd be happy to pay for that as a taxpayer
Delete@14.47 most airlines pay for aircraft by making loan arrangements with banks. Few do so from operating profit. Over half of Air Serbia's profit is repaid into the budget of the Republic of Serbia, which does not leave much money to buy brand new aircraft.
DeleteI mean, we are paying for everything, why it wouldn't be one nice thing for a change, like new plane? And not now but as part of some mid to long term strategy where company can actually use its own previous earnings instead of my money or, maybe, take a loan or a leasing as all other companies in the world do or go public and issue shares? Why is that a heresy?
DeleteI'm not sure why second-hand aircraft "shouldn't be the long-term solution". It is very common for people to spend their entire lives happily driving passenger vehicles (cars) that they buy gently used, 3 or 6 years old. This hugely reduces the depreciation hit. Of course, owning a used car is not as convenient as a brand new car that likely requires 0 maintenance and is of course very pleasant to ride. But the new car financial penalty / depreciation hit is very real. It comes down to what you can afford. If the economics are at all comparable in the aircraft market, then it makes every sense that the carriers that have access to premium markets (some of the legacies in US and Western Europe) as well as carriers that need their aircraft to run nonstop without a peep (such as Ryanair) will want to pay extra to use the aircraft when they are at their best, and that the carriers that have a more price-sensitive customer base and can afford to occasionally have a plane out for maintenance (or have the winter season so slow that they can maintain their aircraft all they want) - such as JU - will want to economize by using second-hand aircraft. It's all about the right strategy for the market you're serving
Deletehttps://www.flightradar24.com/ASL4023/3d71d783
ReplyDeleteSome new destinations incoming
ReplyDeleteThe older A319s must be on their way out soon. This will be a welcome refresh.
ReplyDeleteCongrats JU.
ReplyDeleteInteresting mix: E195 + ATR72 + A320 + A330. Fleet commonality isn’t ideal but it gives them lots of flexibility until they decide on long-term narrowbody strategy.
ReplyDeleteThree type of planes are necessity for hun and spoke airline business model
DeleteLanded :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats JU! 🍺
DeleteWhen are YU-ARD/YU-ARE returning to service. Are any one of them returning to service within the next week? According the seat maps for a few JFK flights for December 20th and 21st its the YU-ARD/YU-ARE set up.
ReplyDeleteIs YU-APK still in BEG?
ReplyDeleteWill it go back to the lessor or what will happen?
It is stored by the lessor in Belgrade. When they decide what to do with it, it will leave.
DeleteThey will have to get another a330-200 soon right?
ReplyDeleteI hope so, they will need it to expand to Toronto and Miami and add frequencied to China. If Air Serbia also extends Toronto into winter as they are considering, hope they are aware what winter flying means at YYZ, right now long lines to get into largest deice pad in the world:
Deletehttps://www.flightradar24.com/airport/yyz
They should really look into retrofitting their long haul aircraft. With the current long haul product they have JU cannot compete with other big European carriers, and if they are going to be expanding the way they are right now then retrofitting should be a no brainer. From what I hear on this site Pupin will be returned to its lessor so realistically JU will have to add at least 2 new a330s. Let’s hope they add something nicer and more modern.
DeleteI agree. However JU are not actually competing with western european carriers. Rather offering an alterative. But making sure their cabins are as up to date and clean as they can afford is never a bad thing for a niche airline.
DeleteWelcome to the fleet! Next one should be former PR-AUP, currently 10 years old. Expecting in next 2-3 months at BEG
ReplyDelete