Carriers from the former Yugoslavia are re-evaluating their fleet development plans in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with Air Serbia cancelling the lease of additional ATR turboprops, Croatia Airlines negotiating with Airbus to terminate its A320neo order, FlyBosnia retiring its sole jet and Trade Air acquiring its fourth aircraft.
Air Serbia has returned an Airbus A320 jet (registered YU-APG) and one ATR72 (registered YU-ALV) to their owners this summer as their lease with the company has expired. Two former Adria Airways A319 aircraft (pictured above), which were originally expected to join the fleet at the start of the 2020 summer season, continue to sit on the tarmac in Toulouse awaiting delivery. One of the remaining three Boeing 737-300 aircraft in Air Serbia’s fleet, and Europe’s oldest jet of the type, has not been in operation since the pandemic started and is unlikely to return to service. The Serbian government previously said it was the “right time” to acquire aircraft for the company. “We are thinking about starting negotiations for the acquisition of some aircraft. This is the right time, because there will never be an opportunity like this where prices on the market will be as low”, the Ministry for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure said in May.
Croatia Airlines will soon resume negotiations for the cancellation of its four Airbus A320neos which were due for delivery in 2022 and 2023. Based on the company’s five-year business development plan, up to 2025, the carrier now intends on renewing its fleet with mid-age A319 and A320 aircraft, as well as replace wet-leases with long-term dry-leases. This year, Croatia Airlines cancelled its planned seasonal summer lease of one CRJ1000 aircraft from Air Nostrum, as well as the planned long-term dry lease of a Dash 8 Q400 turboprop, previously operated by Austrian Airlines. In May, Croatia Airlines took delivery of a newly leased Airbus A319 aircraft, as the contract for the jet had already been signed and was impossible to terminate.
Over the weekend, FlyBosnia retired its sole aircraft - an Airbus A319 jet (registered E7-FBA). The plane was flown from Sarajevo to Marana Airport via Reykjavik and Bangor for part out. The aircraft last operated for FlyBosnia on a repatriation service to and from Kuwait City in June. FlyBosnia will now exclusively rely on wet-leased equipment and crew. It is currently wet-leasing an Airbus A320 from Lithuanian carrier GetJet Airlines. The company has laid off the majority of its flight crew with the remainder kept on to return its A319 to the United States in order for it to be scrapped.
Croatian carrier Trade Air, which operates Public Service Obligation flights and ACMIs, as well as charter flights from Ljubljana, is acquiring its fourth aircraft, an Airbus A320. The jet, which is sixteen years old, was formally operated by Air Malta. It will join the carrier’s two other A320s and one Fokker 100 jet within the next week.
Feature photo credit: Eurospot
Is it possible that Trade Air is buying the plane so it can open a base at LJU?
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed
DeleteIt is going to single type, Fokker 100 will go into retirement. It is a cost optimization move not an fleet expansion.
DeleteAre they even interested in operating scheduled flights?
DeleteNo, it is not because of Ljubljana base.
DeleteFokker 100 will not go to retirement and will not be sold. It will remain in fleet for another few years. Your presumption is not right.
They are not interested in operating scheduled flights.
Guess I had out of date insights. Thanks for correcting me.
DeleteFly Bosnia now officially dead without a plane.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad they kept some of the flight crew just so they can fly the plane out to the desert.
DeleteYep.
DeleteMarana Airport
https://www.airportspotting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Marana.jpg
The sound decisions that they made are displayed in the fact that they have to retire the plane a year after they took it.
DeleteAnonymous 09:38
Delete+1
How many ATRs did Air Serbia pan to get?
ReplyDeleteTwo I think
DeleteApparently they were supposed to come from Air New Zealand from what I heard.
DeleteYes that is correct, from NZ.
DeleteIn all honesty they were lucky they didn't get those planes. They would have to pay for them now while they wouldn't use them. An extra cost they wouldn't need.
Delete*don't need.
Delete
ReplyDeleteI think charters and the normalization of flights to both Montenegro and Switzerland will immensely help JU and BEG. I noticed that since the quarantine suspension LX has been sending A320 to BEG. At least some markets are recovering nicely.
JU has been severely impacted over last month because of entry bans unfortunately. Charters help but it's far far away from any sort of recovery.
DeleteCharters are helping in the recovery process but they will not recover everything the airline lost over the last few months. They certainly provide a much needed lifeline for the airline.
Delete"immensly" SMFH .... charters will end September. what then?
DeleteOk, I am sick and tired of all these nasty attitudes towards JU. Are you implying charters didn't help them immensely during this economic downturn? Do you think it made no freaking difference to them? God it's getting to be so exhausting to always read your disillusioned and hateful comments.
DeleteFYI last year charters used to run until mid-November. SMFH
Delete@ 11,07
DeleteCharters are a good source of additional revenue for JU, however they dont need 18 aircraft for charters. Out of 35 flights today, 3 are charters. Yesterday, out of 33 flights, 5 were charters. Nothing nasty, its just the realism of the current situation.
Those ex Adria birds look nice. Unfortunately I doubt they will come to JU in the end.
ReplyDeleteIs JU paying monthly lease payments for them and parking fees at Toulouse airport?
Delete^^^
DeleteI think the contract was signed before Corona lockdowns reduced demand for flights so they probably paid for painting and are now paying lease rates and parking fees.
JU said they are not paying leases for planes that are not flying at the momeny
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/08/air-serbia-looks-to-soften-covid-blow.html
"The airline said it has rationalised its fleet and renegotiated leasing terms for its aircraft, with power by the hour contracts concluded, where leasing costs are accounted based on the number of hours the aircraft has been utilised rather than a fixed rate. The carrier has returned one Airbus A320 and one ATR72 turboprop to their owners following the expiry of their leases, while planned new leases have been put off for now."
Oh no I hope they fly YU-AND one more time so it gets a proper farewell :(
ReplyDeleteYU-AND has operated its last flight (BEG-BRU) and is now stored. It will be placed in the aviation museum so you can visit it there.
DeleteWe will see. YU-AND is still listed in their fleet in their flight magazine, while they removed 1 ATR and 1 A320.
DeleteWow well done Trade Air on getting another plane!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey were lucky as they made a ton of money flying out of Israel.
DeleteSurprising that they are growing at such a time.
Delete@9.12 I would imagine they are making nice money out of LJU too.
DeleteWhy doesen't OU replace the neos with new ceos? Why "mid age" planes? :(
ReplyDeleteBecause money
DeleteIn the long term those mid age planes will burn more money than getting the neos.
Delete@09:25
DeleteNot if their lease rates are cheap and the price of oil does not go near 100$ a barrel.
Long term costs are only worth considering, if you can afford it. OU is broke.
DeleteIt's like telling a somebody on minimum wage that an electric car costs less in the long term than their €500 30-years old car and that they should buy one now.
So much for the government's announcement of how they are going to get planes for JU.
ReplyDeleteWell they have to pay back the bond to Etihad partners. So any money for expansion of fleet and network will be tight for a while.
DeleteThey didnt say they will get them tomorrow. They're back to almost all destinations, however frequencies are still down, while winter is approaching. Plus, the planned new routes for June never launched. Most likely, additional capacity will not be needed before May.
DeleteMarkets will bounce back, the only question is how fast it will take.
ReplyDeleteTourism and travel sectors will take years to bounce back to 2019 levels. Most international analysts estimate no sooner than 2023.
DeleteYears.
DeleteDepends on the market. Serbia wasnt a big tourist destination to begin with, so it could bounce back faster. Same could be said for JU. If recovery continues, they COULD be back to full capacity as early as summer 2021.
DeleteJU is flying most of their routes, however frequencies are down. Saying that, only a few destinations had multiple daily flights.
Split airport proved opposite...
DeleteIt sure did, with 76% decline in passenger numbers in July alone.
DeleteSo JU currently operates 18 planes in total?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteThanks!
DeleteBel Cielo, according to flightradar24 JU currently operates 16 aircrafts, not 18: 7x 319s (APJ stored), 1x 320, 1x 332, 2x 733s and 5x ATRs.
DeleteThe Sukhoi jet is and will remain the best option for JU. However they pass the situation, it perfectly fits its needs...
ReplyDeleteThe only advantage of SSJ over its competitors is the price. Everything else though...
DeleteGetting the Suckhoi lemon is the surest way for JU to go bankrupt.
DeleteKeep it all to yourselves Vladimir. ;)
It actually looks very good with the current livery.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/03/russia-serbia-to-resume-ssj100.html?m=1
Talks are expected to resume by New Year's.
JU Will be the next Sukhoi SuprtJet operator.
There is always the Comac ARJ21 :D
DeleteAnd there is always the same guy who pushes this story.
DeleteFortunately with no success at all. Only Russian wet dreams.
Anon 09:44
DeleteOf course it will be Ivan! In fact they will join JU fleet at the 30th of February.
That Putinbot is so funny. Keep posting dude!
DeleteEven if you are getting an SSj for free you are paying too much!
DeleteYou are not backing any argument on why you think Сухой is the perfect fit got JU.
DeleteWestern planes are expensive and maintenance too.
SSJ will fit nicely to the Balkans capitals, CIS and North African charters.
Sukhoi can give a discount up to 10℅ for 5+ orders.
Ask SU about their positive and improved situation.
Ask SU about what? How they have 10 sukhois grounded out of 60? Mainyenance is very cheap? Is that a reason why SU is just grounding them when something happen on them? Also it very interesting how you do not understand aviation at all when you say a discount of 10%. When you are ordering aircraft discounts are often 4 times bigger than that.
DeleteAnon 10:56
Delete"Sukhoi can give a discount up to 10℅"
Actually commercial aircraft are selling for close to 50% discount off their list price!
Sukhoi could have just donate the SSj to ASL, it would still be a terrible business choice for JU to operate it.
But thanks for trying Vladimir, you certainly gave us a good laugh!
SU did not ground any jets, this happened temporarily following the SU1492 crash.
DeleteSukhoi is still much much cheaper and affordable.
Ok then, put it in the JUs fleet and then we will se how much "affordable" is aircraft which is unwanted among almost all operators in the world.
DeleteAir Serbia also renegotiated the lease of A330 to a half and of the A319 by the hour.
ReplyDeleteJust that the A330 lease is a long-term contract, A319 isn't.
Delete@ anon 09,29
Deletewhere did you get that info from? It would be great if that is the case.
@ anon 11,09
A330 lease contract is supposed to expire in May next year, unless something has changed.
A330 contract was scrapped from near 500 000$ to a bit above 200.000$.
DeleteThanks fantastic in that case. Its a saving of over USD$2 million per year.
DeleteWhy are all the jets scrapped in the US?
ReplyDeleteThe best climate for scraping was always in Mojave desert or in Arizona...
DeleteThere is also a place in Spain.
DeleteIt took the coronavirus for JU to start getting rid of its B737s!
ReplyDeleteNot true, YU-ANJ was retired long before corona.
DeleteShould be very very easy these days to acquire new aircraft.
ReplyDeleteThe only issue is that you need money and ex-Yu airlines have no such thing.
DeleteVery easy if you are a state owned carrier.
Delete1. Get government to pay off your debt.
2. Get government to give you some more money.
3. Acquire new aircraft.
Sucks if you work in the real world though.
It also sucks if your taxes pay for all that.
DeleteAviation isn't even in the top 10 most preposterous uses of taxpayer money in the Balkans.
DeleteThe financial state of these airlines would be much easier if they owned more of their fleet rather than the majority of it being leased.
ReplyDeleteThey would have needed at some point of their history a few hundreds of millions of Euros to actually buy their fleets instead of leasing them?
DeleteWhere exactly would they have found that money?
This statement is not true as Trade Air owns all its aircraft and I guess they did not spend "hundreds of millions of EUR" acquiring them.
DeleteThey only have a CEO who is looking at long run and knows how to calculate corporate finances.
While others are looking at short run, as this was requested by the owners of the airlines.
and in short run it makes financial sense to lease instead of buy.
DeleteDo you even realize that you just compared apples with oranges? Trade Air has a fleet of only 4 aircraft. And they certainly do not own all of them!
DeleteBy jour logic it is harder
Deletefor a company that operates 20 aircraft to slowly go from leased aircraft to owned ones?
please do tell which of the aircraft is leased in TradeAir fleet
Good that OU managed to get out of the Nostrum and Q400 lease. Although it's an unpopular opinion, it's a savior for them to have cancelled the neos.
ReplyDeleteIf JU wants to use the situation to get new planes then they should do it now. I don't know what they are waiting for.
ReplyDeleteJU right now tries to renegotiate a 110 million Euro bond it got through Etihad partners.
DeleteThere are NO spare money to get new aircraft.
JU is waiting for a special discount from Sukhoi. As far as I know, the offer is much better compared to the previous one for the Mexicans from Interjet.
DeleteIs that goverment again doing something wrong in JU because of "national interests"?
DeleteNo amount of discounts will change the fact that this aircraft is a terrible choice for JU. Or any other airline for that matter.
DeleteSo just please go away tovarisch!
@Anonymous 11:00
DeleteOleg, you, again? :)
@Anonymous 11:08 &11:12
DeleteBe careful not to get an ulcer due Oleg / Sukhoi...
I still do nof understand why OU and JU are not taking regional jets for the fleet? Its perfect for their operations...
ReplyDeleteNo money, no honey!
DeleteSo at the end of the day Croatia Airlines' and Trade Air's current fleets are expended by one aircraft (speaking of dry leases only), while Flybosnia lost one aircraft and Air Serbia two.
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines' fleet was expanded by one aircraft because they could not terminate the lease in time.
DeleteToo bad for YU-ALV it was ATR in the best condition in JU's fleet. https://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/05/trip-report-air-serbia-belgrade-vienna.html
ReplyDeleteSo YU-ALV went to Air Corsica, does anybody knows where YU-APG goes?
ReplyDeleteWhat does 'part out' mean?
ReplyDeleteLike scrapping you know
DeleteThanks.
Delete