Air Serbia’s second Airbus A330-200 jet, which is to replace its sole aircraft of the same type in its fleet, is set to enter revenue service for the airline on Monday, April 26, on the carrier’s flagship route to New York. Registered YU-ARB, the twelve-year old aircraft will replace YU-ARA, which is to operate its last scheduled flight for the airline out of Belgrade on Saturday, April 24, although dates are subject to change. Compared to its predecessor, Air Serbia’s latest fleet addition features Rolls Royce engines and will boast a new business class hard product with three additional seats in the cabin, for a total of 21.
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| Business class layout on Air Serbia's latest A330-200 |
The airline will no longer offer herringbone seating in its premium cabin, but will instead have staggered fully lie-flat seats, with two in the middle, and direct aisle access for over 95% of seats. Despite the aircraft being previously operated by Aeroflot, it will not feature the Russian airline’s hard product. The new cabin will most closely resemble that of Aer Lingus. In economy class, the aircraft will feature 237 seats. As a result, the jet will have four seats more compared to YU-ARA. Passengers in both cabins will have access to personal in-flight entertainment screens with on demand movies, TV shows and music. The soft product will also remain unchanged, with business class passengers having access to a la carte dining, amenity kits and sleepwear, while economy class passengers will continue to be served two complimentary meals and have access to the airline’s Sky Au Pairs nanny service - cabin crew who are specially trained to take care of children throughout the duration of the flight.
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| Air Serbia's new long haul business class is expected to be similar to that of Aer Lingus (pictured) |
Air Serbia currently operates three weekly rotations between Belgrade and New York. This will increase to four weekly from late May and five weekly from mid-June. A total of 121 flights will be operated between the two cities in each direction this summer. Starting June 3, the Serbian carrier will be moving from New York JFK’s Terminal 4 to Terminal 1, which is used exclusively for international flights. Its main customers are Lufthansa, Air France, Korean Air and Japan Airlines. It is primarily utilised by SkyTeam and Star Alliance member carriers, which include the likes of Alitalia, Aeroflot, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others.
Pity they didn't put in premium economy
ReplyDeleteWhat for?
DeleteSo they could offer another class of service and attract some additional passengers.
DeleteI'm not so sure Air Serbia's passengers, mostly from ex-Yu countries and Balkans would care much about premium economy. More likely it would stay empty while you would reduce economy class capacity.
DeleteMy friend this is Balkan you're talking about.. Either you're very ritch or you are poor.. Premium economy as much as I'm all for it, does not work here, just like there is no really middle class here
DeleteAgree with comment above. It would not work from Balkans.
DeleteBUT I think it would be used by a lot of passengers originating from the US (diaspora) and I believe this the main source of passengers on this route.
Delete1-2-1 seating on an A330 is great
ReplyDelete1-2-1 isn't so uncommon anymore but it is certainly a comfortable ride. What is completely uncommon on an A330 is the 1-1-1 seating Air Serbia currently has. It's a bit crazy honestly.
DeleteHope to see YU-ARC soon.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that a former Aeroflot A330-200 also arrive in the Netherlands where YU-ARB is now. Any chance this could be Air Serbia's second A330?
DeleteWhat's the registration?
DeleteVP-BLX
Deletehttps://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/VP-BLX
DeleteIt's also twelve yrs old
DeleteI doubt that one is for Air Serbia. If it were it would mean they would be introducing long haul routes and if they were these routes would already been advertised and on sale because if the plane is already in Europe getting prepared for service it would mean it would arrive in Belgrade soon.
DeleteAgree with anon above. Would be nice but I doubt it as well.
DeleteIt's a shame they won't have 2 A330s in the fleet.
DeleteIt will happen sooner or later.
DeleteAir Serbia needs two Airbus A330s
Deleteat least we won't have the Serbia Creates livery anymore.
Delete@Anonymous 09:12
Deletewell, not necessarily. it can take time to refurbish the plane. and we may never know what JU have up their sleeve. maybe they decide to announce something major tomorrow
@9.12 considering airlines are putting tickets on sale for new routes just weeks before they start because of covid, nothing would surprise me anymore.
DeleteMaybe it went to Bergen op Zoom to get the interior at the same time YU-ARB is and then it will go to Shannon to get pained. Just seems kind of odd the second plane from the same lessor has been flown to the same village YU-ARB is getting its interior.
DeleteMožda namerno odugovlače sa najavom ORD,YYZ,PEK..,.da ne bi dali konkurenciji vremena da reaguje. Ne bi me iznenadilo da i drugi A330 stigne ovog leta,pogotovu ako uspeju da dogovore lizing na osnovu sati letenja.
DeleteАман људи будите реални. Какав други 332 ове године.
Delete"анон 10.50, Не разумем у чему је проблем, ако планирају Торонто и Шангај или Пекинг, онда је све ово реално. то је будућност која чека Ер Србију.
DeleteЧека је али не ове године. Као прво, летњи ред летења је већ почео што значи да се ништа од тога неће реализовати ове године. Да је у плану већ би поднели захтев Канађанима а то би сазнали.
DeleteДруго, ни у Канаду а ни у Кину се не може ући без озбиљних рестрикција. Њујорк је друга ствар почев од чињенице да улазак у САД никада није био блокиран Србима.
Nice
ReplyDeleteJU has been the shining star of ex YU aviation the past year. Congratulations
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see this beauty enter the fleet.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the need for the extra two seats on the side. Why not make all seats with aisle access?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful
ReplyDeleteI like the new business seats. They are more convenient than the herringbone seating which was turned away from the windows.
ReplyDeleteFinally some goods news for ex-YU!
ReplyDeleteDoes the plane get the new registration in Belgrade or before it arrives?
ReplyDeleteThe ex Adria jets that arrived last year got them after they arrived in Belgrade.
DeleteI see, thanks
DeleteLooking good
ReplyDeleteI really hope they install wifi on this plane. It is needed on a long flight like New York.
ReplyDeleteAlso would be good if they refreshed their IFE system and added more choices.
DeleteThey will probably install wifi in BEG.
DeleteDefinitely. A little upgrade to their entertainment system would be welcome. I mean greater variety of movies and TV shows.
DeleteYes Wifi is installed in Belgrade.
DeleteWhen can we expect it to arrive in Belgrade?
ReplyDeleteI assume next week. Then it will be there another week before entering service.
DeleteI know there is no demand nowdays, but it would be nice if they make few promo flights in region or elswere, like thay did with ARA.
DeleteNot necessary this time around. ARA was a bigger deal. Plus, crew is already familiar with the A330.
DeleteFinally! Time to retire YU-ARA. It was starting to show its age because it was so badly maintained while it was flying for Jet Airways in India. Looking forward to flying with this A330.
ReplyDeleteTrue but the plane has been extremely reliable. Very few technical problems during its 5 years of service.
DeleteThat has more to do with Air Serbia's maintenance than the plane itself.
DeleteWas maintenance on the A330 done in Belgrade?
DeleteAll but D check.
DeleteI think one C-check was done in Abu Dhabi.
DeleteWhat plane did they use for JFK, while ARA was undergoing its C-Check?
DeleteI hope they got the jet at a better rate than the last A330.
ReplyDeleteThey got a 60% discount.
DeleteIn these circumstances it is highly likely.
DeleteIs the aircraft leased directly from Aeroflot?
DeleteNo, it is from leasing house. AerCap I believe.
DeleteHow on earth do people know if and how much they got a discount?
DeleteFrom list price
DeleteGood. This further shows their commitment to the JFK route.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteAn airline managing to acquire a plane (even a replacement one) deserves praise in these sorts of times.
Delete+1
DeleteGreat. Can't wait! :)
ReplyDeleteThis special livery is such a nice change compared to the Serbia Creates one which was soo poorly designed.
ReplyDeleteI like it but I'm wondering how much did it cost to paint it. This is a genuine question, not just relating to JU. How much does it cost to paint a plane?
DeletePainting an aircraft usually takes around one to two weeks and the costs can vary greatly.
DeleteIt all depends, of course, on the size of the aircraft and the complexity of the design.
For instance, painting a regular passenger plane costs somewhere in the region of $150,000 to $300,000, while the price for a smaller plane could be as little as $50,000.
However, the makeover of the UK's prime minister's RAF Voyager jet is thought to have cost over a million.
The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 with a Disney-Pixar "Toy Story" livery took IAC a whole 21 days to complete. This was because the elaborate design involved fine details having to be finished off by artists with paintbrush in hand, rather than the more conventional spray.
Another faster, cheaper technique sometimes employed to decorate aircraft with particularly complex designs is the use of large special adhesives, called decals.
These are, essentially, stickers (although produced to particular industry specifications) that can be printed and then stuck at the right spot on the aircraft.
Thanks Prepelica. Those are really huge prices in my opinion. How long did it take to paint the Nikola Tesla livery?
DeleteThe plane was in Shannon for painting for 10 days.
DeleteWill the economy class cabin be changed too?
ReplyDeleteI believe it stays the same. Maybe they put different color fabric on the seats.
DeleteWhat is the pitch in economy?
DeleteThe economy seats will be from Aeroflot, but they will change the upholstery.
Delete32 inch in economy.
Deletethat is not great.
DeleteI flew on SVO-DEL route which is roughly the same length as BEG-JFK (thanks to the fact all India bound flights have to go around Pakistan) on SU 332 and it did not feel great. The screen was also not good, touching hardly worked at all. Aeroflot has fantastic meals but the hard product isnt as awesome.
Pitch is exactly the same as in YU-ARA.
Delete13:12 It's not true that all India bound flights have to go around Pakistan. BEG-JFK is still much longer
DeleteGuys SU had to return the A330 with its original interior, they took out their seats. ARB will feature JU's interior including the more than generous seat pitch.
DeleteI was hoping they would send it around the region before it starts flying to JFK :(
ReplyDeleteWhat for? In current circumstances, I doubt there is barely demand for the ATR on regional routes.
DeleteIt would be a waste of money. The reason they did that with YU-ARA was for crew familiarization.
DeleteGood luck Air Serbia.
ReplyDeletewow looks great in that livery. Congratulations Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteVery strange seating map in business; never seen such a mix where 3H and 5K are missing. Why is it as such anyone knows?
ReplyDeleteAer Lingus and Swiss have the same seat map. 3H is a throne seat.
DeleteIt's an interesting concept
DeleteVerujem da je ovo prvi sirokotrupni avion u istoriji Er Srbije da ima Rolls Roys motore. Izuzev na vojnim,
ReplyDeleteMalo je komercijalnih aviona u Srbiji na koje su bili ugradjeni ovi motori.
Karavela, al to ne beše widebody...
DeleteLooking forward to another wide body to be added to the fleet. Flights to YYZ and ORD!
ReplyDeleteOr possibly China
DeleteCanada makes much more sense.
DeleteThan ORD?
DeleteFinally A330 will return to jet airways! Air serbia got benefits while operating a330 of Jet since Jet had luxurious Aircraft and Air serbia didn't opt for refurbishment
ReplyDeleteOnly thing that stayed from Jet was business class and that was hardly luxurious. It was ok product in an awkward layout.
DeleteFinally A330 will return to jet airways! Air serbia got benefits while operating a330 of Jet since Jet had luxurious Aircraft and Air serbia didn't opt for refurbishment
ReplyDeleteHow YU-ARA has almost the same number of seats as YU-ARB in business yet it has 1-1-1 seating.
ReplyDeleteWell obviously there were more rows of seating on YU-ARA.
DeleteWe might see this plane sent to Beijing and Moscow too since YU-ARA seems to be deployed there often too. Beijing for vaccine transport, Moscow because of frequency restrictions and good demand.
ReplyDeleteWill the plane also be called Nikola Tesla?
ReplyDeleteThat's what most people are saying. Would make sense considering the livery.
DeleteThat's what most people are saying. Would make sense considering the livery.
DeleteBeautiful livery
ReplyDeleteWill they ever bring back YU-ARA for their 3rd A330?
ReplyDelete