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| Air Serbia adds sixth ATR72 to its fleet |
Air Serbia will expand its fleet to twenty aircraft this week with the addition of a newly leased ATR 72-500 aircraft. The turboprop, registered YU-ALV, landed in Belgrade last week, featuring the Air Serbia livery and cabin, with a capacity to seat seventy passengers in an all-economy class layout. The nine-year-old aircraft is on lease from Air Corsica but has previously operated for ČSA Czech Airlines as well. The carrier recently said it was planning on modernising its ATR fleet within two to three years and gave a vote of confidence to the regional aircraft manufacturer, noting it would consider newer ATR planes as an option.
Commenting on the arrival of the latest addition to the carrier’s regional fleet, Air Serbia’s CEO, Dane Kondić, said, “The arrival of the ATR is part of our strategy of carefully matching our growing network, seasonal and frequency requirements with the right aircraft. Choosing an ATR was a logical step, as these aircraft are well known for their reliability in diverse flight conditions and are ideally suited for our regional routes. Our pilots and crew know this type of aircraft very well, so the latest addition to our fleet can be deployed immediately after the completion of required formalities and provide additional capacity during the peak of the summer season”. Air Serbia’s first ATR 72 (-200 model) was produced 25 years ago, landing in Belgrade on July 14, 1990 with another two of the same type following shortly after. All three are owned by the carrier. Furthermore, the airline has leased two more modern ATR -500 series aircraft.
Meanwhile, Air Serbia has begun with the installation of wireless Internet on board its Airbus aircraft. According to previous announcements, the airline expects make the new service available to passengers during the second quarter of the year. In a recent interview to “Travel Daily”, Mr. Kondić said the carrier will be focusing on improving its services and passenger experience this year. “This year our main focus are on all aspects of the travel experience we offer to our guests by innovating our product and service, providing even more convenience, comfort and enjoyment. With these advances, which will be rolled out progressively throughout the year, we will provide our guests with industry-leading innovations and world-class amenities, some of which are rarely seen on short haul European services”, Mr. Kondić said.
Air Serbia now has a fleet of twenty aircraft with eight Airbus A319s, six ATR72s, two A320s and four Boeing 737-300s which are operated by the airline’s dedicated charter brand Aviolet. The charter fleet has been heavily utilised on scheduled flights over the past few weeks. The arrival of the ATR is set to ease the use the Boeings on mainline services. The airline also has an order for ten Airbus A320neos, scheduled for delivery from 2018 onward.
2-3 more ATRs would be nice, perhaps in time for Summer 2016. Mostar, Maribor, Ohrid, and maybe Naples or Trieste could be new destinations, as well as increasing some of the better performing regional destinations. Either Split, Dubrovnik, or Pula could go year round.
ReplyDeleteI would also add Genoa, Venice, Zadar, Chania, Santorini, Innsbruck, Debrecen, Catania, Bari, Nice and Salzburg. Perhaps even Kosice and Cluj. And Lviv. Maybe Simferopol. Rhodes is a must. And let's not forget Naples and Bratislava who may be hidden gold mines.
DeleteKoji genije!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteČovek je samo sarkastičan.
DeleteI dont think A.S. deserve that.
DeleteWHAT???????? No INN in the list? Dear Lord almighty someone will self implode!
DeleteMaribor would work surely...
DeletePlease please spend some money on the website
ReplyDeleteintroduce web checkin and seat selection and allow amex payment online. These are some of the things that will make my life easier. Dont give a damn about internet access on board on european flights.
Couldn't agree more. Please, please bring online check-in. JU is one of the few airlines that doesn't offer this functionality. Even though people enjoy their inflight experience, they also value their time. Higher yield pax don't want to waste time at the airport because they have to do last century type of check-in.
DeleteAlso, online check-in will cut your costs. And given that JU lost 14 million euros last year (so-called 2 million euros profit - 16 million euros paid by the Government), you do need to start lowering your costs!
Bring online check-in! This should be your top priority. I wonder how much WiFi instalation is costing, and how much revenue it will bring JU.
I agree.
Deletebut to fair seat selection is available when you purchase the ticket online, is it not? I did it many times.
seat selection is available. web check in not yet, this is supposed to come with the new website. when will the new aite come? who knows, theyve been talking about it for a year now. all that has come is the new.airserbia.com site which is great to use from a mobile phone
DeleteThe new website was supposed to be launched in February. ;)
DeleteYou cant buy anything online in Serbia with Amex. The only online processor that works there is Banca Intesa Visa/Master but the version Verififed by Visa used in suspicious countries...
DeleteAMEX is de facto standard for corporate CC for many global corporations and is very important for an airline to accept it. Online processing should be doable through a third party, but that probably adds to already huge amex processing fee.
DeleteBas me briga za preuzimanje sedala na netu, dodjes na aerodrom i lepo pricas sa agentima i dobijes sedalo koje zelis. Internet je super i jedva cekam u AS dobije net na Evropskim letovima.
DeleteSeat selection could be another source of revenue for the airline, or at least charging for exit row and bulkhead seating.
DeleteWhen will YU-ALV(a) enter service?
ReplyDeleteThey need the entire regional fleet overhaul. This is a good start, they should eliminate 72-200s and 7373s.
ReplyDeleteShould they add some additional frequencies on some routes in daily waves. We know that they will probably replace B737 on routes to Zagreb/Ljubljana but it seems they will have enough planes for some additional frequencies in daily wave like Tirana or Banja Luka.
ReplyDeleteNope, the Atr will be exclusively used as a replacement for the B733. No new regional frequencies will be added especially since Etihad wants to reduce the Atr rotations as one of the Atr will have low cycles and will be used as a spare.
DeleteThey will not add more frequencies to BNX and TIA because there is no need for that. Cabin load factor to BNX is around 50% for months. ALV was rented mainly because introducing B733s to ZAG, LJU and SOF turned out to be commercially unsuccessful, with large overcapacity.
DeleteWith SOF as ATR ,routes with ATR in daily wave are SKP,SJJ,SOF plus TIR 4 weekly (same days there is also BNX). I doubt they will put ATRs on TIV,TGD during summer.
DeleteWhat are you saying? Sofia is one of the best performing regional route, that's one of the reasons why Etihad proposed for it to stay daily in W15. Same for Bucharest.
DeleteTo put an end to this discussion, ALV will replace the B733 on flights to TGD, ZAG and LJU.
To the contrary, majority of flights to TIV will be operated by ATR, in fact 16 out of 26 weekly. In June new daily flight JU186/7 to TIV is introduced. To TGD ATR will also operate evening flight JU174 daily.
DeleteNo one said Sofia route would've been cut. Just starting from 15th June jets will not be sent to Sofia anymore.
DeleteSofia got the jet in the first place because of a lack of atrs.
DeleteLOL
Deletehttp://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch==Aviolet&distinct_entry=true
Air Serbia still has a long way to go in terms of network. They should launch some of the routes JU had back in 2006, before the situation deteriorated (Kuwait, Cairo, Malta... )
ReplyDeleteCairo was supposed to start but didnt. I guess that will come in the next expansion wave. Another that was rumoured was Munich and a Spanish city (MAD or BCN). Kuwait Airport sent a feasablity study to BEG and Jat in hopes for a direct line to resume, but nothing came of it. Alot of Kuwaitis are visiting BiH, I think it could make an interesting summer seasonal route, which should connect to SJJ.
DeleteI think IKA is somthing to consider in relaunching. Apparently JAT had good loads to THR, but alot has changed in the mean time. Im sure VCE would be a good ATR destination.
More likely Treviso aka Venice.
Delete"I think IKA is somthing to consider in relaunching."
DeleteEspecially that many Iranian passengers are now familiar with Belgrade due to the fuel stops that lasted for several years.
By the way, are those still in place?
Iranian pax never disembarked the ac during the refueling stops in BEG. The only thing they might be familiar with is what the facade of the terminal building looks like. There isnt anymore refueling stops in BEG.
DeleteThanks for support, but seat selection is not available on line if you do not do it when the ticket is purchased. My tickets are bought for me by my hosts through travel agencies. So no possibility to choose a seat for myself.
ReplyDeleteI love the new Air Serbia,,,,,but some basics first please before being driven mad on board by a neighbour on Viber
Dont expect much from the onboard wifi. I havnt noticed once on my many many flights with onboard wifi that someone sat for any period of time talking on skype/viber/face time etc.
Delete^ Plus you will have to pay for it. I have zero inside info, but you will see! This is pure logic, and I cannot believe some people on this site think it will be free. Maybe just maybe it will be free for only AUH flights.
Delete"I havnt noticed once on my many many flights with onboard wifi that someone sat for any period of time talking on skype/viber/face time etc."
DeleteOf course not, because all civilised airlines block VoIP. Luckily, Air Serbia will too.
I like how Alaska and some other airlines do wifi: internet access is one price for the entire day, but streaming films, TV series, and music is free.
DeleteAir Serbia will most likely be similar
DeleteBusiness class passengers should be given Internet access for free.
DeleteEither way, this will be killing two birds with one stone. Air Serbia will get some extra revenue, and also provide some in flight entertainment, which is certainly nice.
OT: Aegean is increasing frequencies ATH-DBV to 5/7 in summer time + Croatia 3/7
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering about higher capacities on DBV-ATH than DBV-BEG
Believe me on June 15 all flights from BEG-DBV will be sold out for the rest of the Summer. Decreasing number of flights to Dubrovnik wasn't smart move. For ATH flights it is too much capacity, especially considering high prices.
DeleteWell...there is more frequencies between SPU and BEG compared to SPU and ATH...
ReplyDeleteDoce jos koji ove godine to je spremanje za 2016 koja ce biti znacajna za ASL .
ReplyDeleteDobar postupak management-a .
INN-NS
mrzi me da kopam tvoje izjave gde je 2016. zamenjena 2015. (tamo negde u novembru)
DeletePostovani Gospodine nisam ja u rukovodstvu ASL pa stalno menjam plan ,ja ovde pisem sta cujem najvise a dali ce se to desiti ne garantujem ali se nadam.
DeleteINN-ns
+1
DeleteInn....odmori se
DeleteAgree for 2016, but 2017 will be even more important. With even more excellent steps of smart and powerful management. All of us must be patient and wait for bright announcements and promises.
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteIndeed, 2017 will be interesting. Government subsidies are for 3 years (2014/2015/2016). Hope that JU will be able to turn a profit by then.
DeleteGovernment's subsidies expire at the end of 2015. Officially, according to the bilateral contract....But, who knows......
Deleteend of 2016
DeleteOU sent its A319 to SKP today, I guess loads must be improving.
ReplyDeleteYes! improving
DeleteAnyone have the loads for today's BEG-SPU flight?
ReplyDeleteSPU 57/85 b733
DeleteThank you! If JU had Embraers they would be perfect for the route.
DeleteHow would an Embraer save the day? It burns almost the same as Airbus, maybe 10% less.
DeleteNo JET is good for routes under 1hr.
An Embraer would still be more economical with 85 passengers than a Boeing with 144 seats and much bigger weight.
Deletethe burn is more or less the same....doesn't make much difference if say both carry 85 pax. Your operating costs are just about the same. In fact with Boeing which JU owns, you don't pay for the lease, where with Embraer you would have to put money aside for that as well. But then you got maintenance costs which may be higher (maybe) on the Boeing...so more the issue is to replace these routes with a more economical turboprop. ATRs/DH8s.
DeleteA bit related to JU.
ReplyDeleteAlitalia to lease A330s from Etihad
14MAY2015
Alitalia (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) will take delivery of two A330-200s next month on five-year operating leases from 49% equity shareholder, Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l), the AirFinance Journal has reported.
The twinjets will be used to develop the Italian carrier's growing international network which will see service to the Far East Asian cities of Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong, and Beijing Capital resume after an almost twenty year absence in some instances.
"Alitalia continues to focus on the development of intercontinental routes, in particular to the Far East, the area of the world with the highest growth rates and where Alitalia intends to further invest," Alitalia CEO Silvano Cassano said.
Source: http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/37340-alitalia-to-lease-a330s-from-etihad
Dali zna neko LF ASL poslednji dana za Bec?
ReplyDeletePreko 80 %.
DeleteINN-NS
Извини али мислим да си се дискредитовао одавно. Мало ко има поверења у оно што пишеш.
DeleteDobro ali to ke istina.
DeleteINN-NS
JU stats for BEG-VIE route in April : 6.800 passengers, 60 flights (37 ATR, 21 B733, 2 A319), LF 61%.
Delete"Sve rute su jako dobro popunjene"
DeleteINN-NS
Slobodno verujte Anonymousima ne morate meni svejedno mi ko hoce neka veruje ja odgovaram na pitanje @ 7:21
DeleteINN-NS
What happened with this, from February: Serbian Airport Operator to Launch in April. Zorana, it's May 18 already!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2015/02/serbian-airport-operator-to-launch-in.html
Tisina tamo, ne diraj Zorku, ona potpisuje i sta drugi niko nece :) :) :)
DeleteSvi vi pametujete uradite vi bolje ako znate ;)
DeleteINN-ns
Ja znam bolje. I sta sad genije?
DeletePa otvorite partiju i mozda uspete.
DeleteDa znate bolje nebi bili Anonymous
INN-NS
Back in February she said it would be done in March or April, read the linked article. Her boss will likely look at her failed promises when upcoming cabinet reshuffle is due.
DeleteSpeaking of which, on March 8 he said this about airport expansion: "Da li će se u taj posao ući sa stranim partnerom kroz koncesiju, ili nekim drugim oblikom javno-privatnog partrnerstva, ili ćemo u to ići sami, to je odluka koja će se doneti u naredna dva meseca, reako je Vučić." March 8 + 2 months = May 8, that was 10 days ago. Source for the quote:
http://rs.n1info.com/a41200/Biznis/Vucic-najavio-rekonstrukciju-i-prosirenje-aerodroma.html
Vi ne razumete politicare i direktore nikakako a tu vam niko nije kriv.
DeleteKao sto je receno da ce ATR-i doci za 2-3 god a dosli su za 1 mesec kao sto sam rekao .
INN-NS
Neki od politicara treba da donesu odluke koje ce nekim direktorima omoguciti da vode posao kao sto je planirano, a jos nisu doneli te odluke. Air Serbia ceka da se odluke donesu sto pre. Odugovacenje steti Er Srbiji.
DeleteИНН,
DeleteКакве везе има да ли су анонимуси или не? Није као да ти имаш свој прави идентитет овде. Значи по теби ако кренем да се потписујем као ананас од сада то ће бити ок?
well, the article says in April, but not which year, so i don't see a problem here
Delete