Air Serbia's Chairman, Siniša Mali, has said the airline is looking to develop its regional fleet in the coming years in a bid to strengthen its network. The carrier, which currently operates six 66-seat ATR 72 planes, is yet to decide whether it will maintain its regional operations with turboprop or jet-engine aircraft in the future. "Our strategy is to start flying double daily to a number of cities and to get new regional planes. We will see whether they will be turboprops or jet-engine aircraft. With these, we can cover points in the region", Mr Mali said. Last year, Air Serbia's CEO, Dane Kondić, noted that such a decision will depend on a range of factors such as pricing and other terms and conditions. However, leasing aircraft, rather than ordering them from the manufacturer, could be a simpler solution due to the longer time required to deliver newly ordered aircraft.
Russian plane manufacturer Sukhoi and the Japanese Mitsubishi have both approached Air Serbia in regards to its future regional fleet operations. Late last year a delegation from the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company, which manufactures the SSJ 100 commercial jet, visited Serbia where they held talks with representatives from the country's aviation sector including Air Serbia, aircraft maintenance company Jat Tehnika and the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate. Vladimir Lavrov, the Chief Designer at the Sukhoi Company, said at the time, "It is safe to say that talks with our Serbian colleagues were very successful. We found a few ideas that we will develop jointly and received a number of interesting proposals from our Serbian counterparts". The SSJ 100 has the capacity to seat between 87 and 108 passengers, depending on cabin layout and seat configuration.
The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), which will be able to seat between seventy and ninety passengers, will begin deliveries in 2017 following several production delays. Last year, the company said it hopes to secure Air Serbia as its customer. "The last thing we need to achieve for the time being is to get an order from a European nation. Air Serbia is a core target for us. It has strong backing from Etihad and is looking to expand its network", the manufacturer's President for Europe said.
Air Serbia inherited part of its ATR fleet from JAT Yugoslav Airlines, meaning some of its turboprops will turn 26 this summer. They were delivered new to the carrier in 1990. Last year, Air Serbia leased an additional ATR, stating it was a "logical step". "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", the carrier noted. Etihad Airways' equity partners operate a mixed regional fleet. Alitalia utilises Embraer jets, while ATR is preferred by Jet Airways. Virgin Australia operates both ATRs and Embraers, while Etihad Regional uses ATRs and Saab aircraft. On the other hand, Air Berlin has opted for the Bombardier Dash 8s.
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I would not go for Sukhoi. I've seen photos of the Mexican airline flying them and while they are nice the planes are already showing wear and tear in the cabin just a few months after delivery. Mitsubishi sounds interesting but we know little about them and it would probably take a few years to deliver them. So I think it is best sticking with the ATR which your crew knows. Just get newer ones. I think they could start replacing the older ATRs as soon as next year.
ReplyDeleteObrati se onda Italijanima za to trosenje kabine.
DeleteAnon April 18, at 9:05 AM
DeleteI entirely agree with you.
70 seats is more than enough for regional routes.
Turboprop ATR72-600 is the best option.
Their ATRs are in relatively good shape especially after they refurbished them to match the Airbus cabins. I think they should just replace oldest ATRs with newer ones. It's the simplest option.
ReplyDeleteThe MRJ will be a super cool option. Looking forward to a double daily SOF-BEG and daily all-year around VAR-BEG to compete with FB/TK/OS! Good luck AirSERBIA! Pozdravi!
ReplyDelete+1!
DeleteThere is a bit of stigma attached to turboprops. A lot of people do not like flying with them. A good example of that is Montenegro-Serbia market. Many people choose to fly Montenegro Airlines simply because they will fly either Embraer of Fokker.
ReplyDeletePotpisujem! Kada nemam drugog izbora letim sa turboprop! Ali kada mogu da biram letim drugim avionima zato sto mi je prijatnije i ako su atr jako sigurni!
Delete@9:16 da li ste leteli sa Atr72-500, velika je razlika, buka je mnogo manja
Deleteda leteo sam sa air serbia i sa yu-alu i sa yu alt! Naravno ima razlike
DeleteMany people don't recognize the types, however the impressions it leaves afterwards isn't the best.
DeleteI find the ATR a good aircraft and don't mind flying on it, however I think its necessity in the JU fleet is not what it once was.
Da ,razlikuje se 200 od 500 atr. 200 su bucniji!
DeleteRazlika jeste ali atr nije komforan!!! Uostalom sletanje po velikoj magli isto predstavlja veliki problem, a nazalost je magla tokom hladnog perioda cesta pojava u aerodromu beograd!
DeleteEmbraer would be perfect for air serbia!!
ReplyDeleteWith Adria CRJ900 coming this summer it's a good opportunity to test that plane as well.
ReplyDeleteMRJ wld be good, also to attract more Japanese FDI in Serbia
ReplyDeleteCS Series probably too expensive but nice too
The Cseries is also too much airplane for those regional routes. The CS100 isn't very competitive it seems (almost all orders are for the 300) and the 300 is nearly the size of a A319.
DeletePersonally I think that they should have ordered 10 ATR72-600s quickly after Etihad entered into Air Serbia. If they didn't have cash, they could have signed up for a lease or maybe taken up a credit.
That would be the smartest choice but as we've seen on many occasions brains weren't the №1 thing that the JU's managament would demonstrate in their choices, however things seem to be slowly improving (at least from the outisde).
DeleteAt the end it'll come down to where they want to fly to. If they want to keep a core Jat's network + TATL they should keep the ATR72 and upgrade to -600. Could have been done earlier. If they want to change their route structure and open new routes in Caucasus, Eastern Europe, North Africa, obtain more flexibility on existing mid-range routes then the regional jet is a no-brainer. My 2 cents.
MRJ is pursuing both Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines. It will be interesting whether either of them will go for it. But as someone wrote, it will be some time before those planes are delivered even if you order them tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteEven Red Wings have abandoned SSJ100.
ReplyDeleteThey are now looking for somebody to buy they grounded unsold planes.
Russian build quality and reliability...
DeleteMore than 50% Western components...
DeleteAgain whats up with the hate on the Sukhoi? Has someone flown them and give a concrete reason why it has such a bad reputation?
ReplyDeleteCrashing on a demo flight probably didn't help their reputation.
DeleteEven Russian companies are refusing to buy them. Are you seriously asking what is wrong with the hate on Sukhoi?
DeleteWhich Russian company is "reufusing" to buy them and which other russian company has the $$$ to buy anyhing at this moment? The only one that does, which is Aeroflot, has 50 ordered and operates 20 as of already. You can see them in your neibhourhgood at Pleso. Besides, you might want to phone-in the CityJet managament and warn them about what trash they're taking. Sure as hell the Brazilian half-plane would be much better.
Deletesvaka opcija je bolja od SSJ, taj projekat je definitivno blizu gasenja. porudzbine se po pravilu otkazuju. ideja sa ubacivanjem ruskih motora ce biti poslednji wkser u kovceg.
DeletePusti ih. Znaju oni sve bolje od EASA.
Delete@ Anonymous April 18, 2016 at 10:58 AM
DeleteRed Wings have dropped their order of 5 new SSJ100. They already operate 5 I think.
Aeroflot are also considering to drop their SSJ100 order. They are not sattisffied with the current Jets that they are operating.
How do YOU know that?!
DeleteRead the Russian forums and you will know as well.
DeleteRight...and what do you propose for the industry to improve - if that's the case, to stop producing aircraft altogether, or to improve the model financed by the expansion of its home-carrier???
DeleteEmbraeri su u trenutno u modi pa ne bi bilo iznenadjenje. Ako SWISS i DELTA uzimaju C seriju, mislim da bi mogli i mi. SSJ zaboravite to je tuzna prica, a MRJ je malo verovatan. Dobro je da ASL razmislja o RJ floti, a odluka o turbo prop ili jet floti su pitanja za menadzment i postavljene ciljeve.
Delete@AnonymousApril 18, 2016 at 3:31 PM
DeleteI almost missed this discussion. Mind posting me the link?
I wonder do they realy have the money to buy any kind of airplane or this is just a communicative bay,just to attract the attention?
ReplyDeleteATR is the most rational choice. For 26 years it's proven reliable with great economics and safety record. I think -600 is a better choice, both cost and passenger wise, than the -500, even with inferior range, it's not like they're flying it to CPH (:
ReplyDeleteI personally would choose Embraer over anything everytime, especially E2 cause it looks so awesome with those bulky engines, although that'd take quite some time to enter the fleet
+1
DeleteI agree with the ERJ part. Not due to looks but due to the possibilities in ordering say 2 variants of the type, keeping a fleet commonality, and the flexibility to send it on various routes ie SJJ, PRG, SOF, LCA, MLA, OTP etc. unlike the ATR.
DeleteWell, the looks are the icing on the cake, it is a great aircraft. I think I wrote this before, but with such a huge gap between ATR and A319, ERJ would fit in perfectly and would pay off quickly. With JU's business model extra frequencies would come in handy. In the summer to free up larger aircraft and to avoid overcapacity on certain routes. Over winter time it can be used on routes with lower demand while keeping frequencies up and avoiding drastic cuts like W16.
DeleteWith fleet of 20+ aircraft there is enough space for ATR and RJ. For Air Serbia option (2018-2020) would be:
ReplyDeleteA330 2x (1x today)
A320neo 10x (2x A320, 8x A319)
ATR 72-500 6x (3x ATR 72-200, 2x ATR 72-500)
CRJ900 6x (1x today)
Aviolet
A320 2x (4x 737-300 today)
Till than present fleet is OK with short lease like Adria CRJ900 in top season, and one more A330 till next summer. But till 2018 they should remove 737-300 and ATR 72-200 which would be 30-years old.
True that cat.
Deletepostovani kolega Purger, potpisujem sve sto ste rekli. kao i do sada vrlo kvalitetna i argumentovana analiza. pozdrav iz BEG.
DeleteATCO
+1
Delete+1 Purger,this is by far the best and most realistic scenario for future expansion.
Delete+ 1 good and real analysis like always.
DeleteThe ATR is good in some aspects, but there is issues with weight restrictions which is quite common, unable to take a full load of pax. SJJ is an example where at times it cannot take more than 60 pax. VIE is another route.
ReplyDeleteThe ERJ E2 would be a good option to replace both ATR72 and A319, as well as finally bring in similar capacity to the DC9 which never was replaced but is needed. The type will allow a 2 class config unlike the ATR. The ERJ already operates for AZ. Payload is important to JU as a lot has been done to improve cargo capacity which has grown significantly and continues to do so.
- ERJ175-E2 (SJJ, TGD, TIV, SKP, OHD, LJU, ZAG etc)
- ERJ195-E2 (PRG, SOF, OTP, KBP, VIE, MXP etc)
The ERJ fleet would allow a mixture of capacities whilst keeping a fleet commonality.
FB are using them for years.
DeleteMali mentioned regional fleet in the interview, but more importantly he said Air Serbia is building new leadership team in case Etihad pulls out after 5 year contract. When you look at that possibility together with plans to renew regional fleet "in the coming years", to expand long haul in USA and Canada "in the next 2-3 years", to get NEO "from 2018 on", it's clear that major changes are postponed past JU/EY contract end. Route expansion this summer is done using commitment-free short term lease from Adria. Not committed in the long term is starting to look like a policy.
ReplyDeleteEr Srbija se nije odlucila da li da uzme Terminal 1 ili Terminal 2. Mozda ce uzeti pred istek ugovora tako da imaju vlasnistvo ali nemaju vremena da ulazu velike pare u prosirenje.
DeleteEtihad is setting up exit strategy
DeleteI ako se SSJ dobro pokazao kod 4O cisto sumnjam da ce doci i kod ASL a i licno bi vise voleo E90.
ReplyDeleteDa se ja nesto pitam ja bi ovo napravio od flote :
6 ATR 72-600 , 6 E90 E2
8 A319 , 2 A320 zadrzati i nabaviti od EY partnera 1 A321 .
10 A320 neo
1 A321 Neo
4 A330 Neo
INN-NS
just 38 planes? Why not 100? And some A380 immediately into fleet!
Deletene sanjaj. Ako uspe AS da finansiskih podnese nove 320neo onda im je potrebno i pametno forsirati samo ATR (6-10 komada). Flota na osnovi dva modela je sasvim dovoljna i broj od ukupno 20 aviona za tako malo trziste i vise nego dovoljan. Onaj 330 se skorije vraca vlasniku
DeleteOT: The number of passengers carried by Slovenian national flag carrier Adria Airways increased 34% on the year in the January-February period, the country's statistics agency said on Friday.
ReplyDeleteIn February alone Adria Airways transported 86,000 passengers, up 42% on the year, the statistics agency said.
Great results for Adria!
DeleteThats cause Estonia is counted as well
DeleteAs someone was giving us hints last week, there is a press conference on Wednesday, and it is expected that RYANAIR will announce flights!
ReplyDeletehttp://flyfromnis.blogspot.rs/2016/04/ryanair-najavljuje-svoj-dolazak-u-nis.html
All the news reporters have been invited!
After TSR, OTP, SOF and PRG, I really doubt they will open another base soon in Eastern Europe. Sole exception can be another Romanian city. But, lets wait and see...
Deletenobody said they will open a base right away. Realistically I expect they will announce 2 routes.
DeleteSomeone from another forum mentioned that London is the first route.
DeleteBrilliant news. They are entering Serbia through the backdoor! Looking forward to see what's going to be annouced.
DeleteRyanAir will also announce flights from Mostar!
DeleteMy guess is that BEG is not too far behind. Their goal is to destroy W6, not to make money so Belgrade will definitely come soon.
DeleteGood news!
DeleteMy predictions: Oslo Torp and Paris Beauvais.
Delete@Alex,
DeleteThey are pulling out of Norway.
I want to see the faces of the management of BEG & ASL in Wednesday after the press-conference.
DeleteAnon 6.30
DeleteMy thoughts exactly but I doubt they will care, they don't see Austrian or Aegean as competition so they won't see Ryanair either.
Well, I guess this is the end for SKP's hope of getting Ryanair.
DeleteWhen I mentionned ryanair on firday haters replied :
Delete"
AnonymousApril 15, 2016 at 6:42 PM
Yeah, Cathay Pacific.
AnonymousApril 15, 2016 at 7:27 PM
Probably Emirates lol
AnonymousApril 15, 2016 at 8:04 PM
Huh? Why not? I could see a two weekly INI-HKG work. They could attract connections to Australia from soutehrn Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
;)"
Did I get this right: Ryan will fly Mostar-Nis?
DeleteYou did not mention Ryanair, you mentioned that someone big will come. Huge difference.
DeleteRyan isn't big enough for you?
DeleteSeriously?
I'm not even the guy who posted the news first, I'm just fed up with your kind of people.
@Anon at 6:30
Delete"I want to see the faces of the management of BEG & ASL in Wednesday after the press-conference."
Why? Are Ryanair and politicians going to perform laying of the foundation stone at Nis airport for the second runway and a new terminal building? That's the only thing that would make them envious.
Anon 12.03
DeleteOh give us a break with your 'holier than thou' attitude.
not hollier, just not a hater.
DeleteIt's holier, not hollier.
DeleteMaybe you are not a hater but you are no better than the rest of them.
For a moment there, I thought this was English literature forum.
DeleteGood to have you Mr/Ms Uber Alles on the forum as a referee.
For the person posting the link about Ponikve, you have that article. That's my guess why your comment is being deleted.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/p/uzice-airport-terminal-nears-completion.html
Siniša Mali je predsjednik nadzornog odbora i njegov posao nije da izlazi u javnost sa ovakvim izjavama. To je posao CEO odnosno Dane Kondića. Politika se i dalje uporno petlja upravljanje Aero Srbijom, i sebi diže rep pred izbore.
ReplyDelete