Air Serbia has taken delivery of an Airbus A330-200 jet this morning, making it the third aircraft to be added to the carrier’s fleet since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The plane, registered YU-ARB, arrived at Belgrade Airport from the Netherlands just after 11.00 CEST, where it has been for the past few weeks receiving its new interior. The aircraft will replace the only wide-body jet in the airline’s fleet, the A330 registered YU-ARA, as its five-year lease comes to an end. The replacement plane features a special Nikola Tesla-inspired livery, as well as a new business class product (pictured below). The twelve-year-old aircraft is expected to undertake a test flight for the Serbian carrier this afternoon after 17.00 CEST. Its entry into commercial service is currently scheduled for Thursday, April 29, from Belgrade to New York. Last minute changes remain possible.
The new hard product features fully lie-flat seats, with two in the middle, and direct aisle access for over 95% of seats. The cabin resembles most closely that of Ireland’s Aer Lingus and each seat also has personal charging points and USB, as well as a dedicated personal stowage area next to each seat. It boasts a total of 21 seats in business class and a further 236 in economy. All seats 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. The airline is introducing a new in-flight dining menu inspired by Nikola Tesla’s diet regimen, which is based on three keyword that can be used to describe his work and patents - energy, frequency and vibration. The menu for economy and business class passengers was inspired by Tesla’s childhood, his student days and his life in New York. Passengers will be able to find the Tesla meals marked with the letter “T” for “Tesla’s way”.
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| Air Serbia A330 business class seat map |
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| Air Serbia A330 economy class seat map |
The incoming aircraft also features a special livery with Nikola Tesla’s portrait featured on the tail. The painting process, which took place in Shannon in Ireland, included the use of 22 different colours and approximately 250 litres of paint. It took eight days of non-stop work in three shifts to apply the livery with teams of around ten people per shift. The modification of Air Serbia’s existing design will only be applied to this aircraft, which also has dynamic lines symbolising movement and speed, while the main detail is on the tailfin, in the form of Nikola Tesla’s image. The distinctive blue colour, as a part of the national airline’s corporate identity, was chosen to be the main colour of Tesla’s image, which required nineteen different shades of blue to produce.
Manufactured in December 2008, the incoming plane is a year younger than the previous jet of the same type in Air Serbia’s fleet, and its previous operator was the Russian national carrier Aeroflot. Unlike Air Serbia’s first A330, the new airplane has Rolls Royce engines. YU-ARA, which served in Air Serbia’s fleet from 2016, operated 819 round trip flights to New York, carrying a total of 319.712 passengers on the route. Over the past year, Air Serbia has also added two A319s to its fleet. It has retired three Boeing 737 jets, which were over three decades old, and returned one leased A320 and ATR72 to its previous owners.
Nice! Good luck Air Serbia
ReplyDeleteThe cabin is literally the same as Aer Lingus. I think it is more functional than the current one in business.
ReplyDelete+1
Deletevery similar to the JetBlue Mint Suite, except it doesn’t have a door
DeleteThese seats have a storage area tight next to them which is very convenient. It can't be seen on the pics but something like this
Deletehttps://onemileatatime.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Aer-Lingus-Business-Class-A330-12.jpg
Does this plane have more seats than YU-ARA?
ReplyDeleteJust 3 additional seats.
DeleteThank you so pretty much the same
DeleteTaking on 3 jets during pandemic isn't bad.
ReplyDeleteBut they got rid of 5.
DeleteGetting rid of the B737s was a must.
DeleteAbsolute must.
DeleteThe disappointment is that this is a replacement plane and not the second wide body in its fleet.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the pandemic didn't happen weather we would have a second widebody now.
DeleteWeather?! - Hahaha.
DeleteПолиглото наш, баш смешно, љуби брат.
DeleteHoping there are some spotters in BEG waiting for the plane :D
ReplyDeleteYep. PlanespottingTV is on the move :)
DeletePlane is also escorted in the air so there should be footage of it arriving similar to what they did with YU-APC.
DeleteDoes it arrive with the Serbian registration in Belgrade or they will do that when it arrives?
ReplyDeleteAs you can see from the photos it arrived with Serbian registration. YU-ARB :)
DeleteBeautiful livery
ReplyDelete+1 wish they had the blue cheatline on all the planes.
DeleteTables at the seat seem massive
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see it parked at the new terminal! It will look grand. New era of Serbian aviation is about to begin.
ReplyDeleteThese TV screens in J look quite old
ReplyDeleteBecause they are 13 years old.
DeleteTV has nothing to do with the plane's age. The aircraft didn't have this cabin when Air Serbia took it over. Air Serbia installed this cabin.
DeleteIt seems these aren't flat TV's but quite old
DeleteIf that's the most important thing for you... the screens in YU-ARA aren't flat either. They pop out of the backseat.
DeleteWell, they just changed the upholstery. These are indeed the Air Lingus business class seats and the economy ones are from Aeroflot.
DeleteNot the most important, but do not leave good impression
DeleteYou might want to first fly with them before passing judgment based on a few photos.
DeleteIt is enough to see them
DeleteNot really
DeleteMaybe for you
DeletePlane has just departed the Netherlands :)
ReplyDeleteETA 10.54
Deletehttps://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/yu-arb
DeletePoleteo
ReplyDeleteJU4021 from Bergen op Zoom to Belgrade https://fr24.com/ASL4021/278033c4
Smart upgrade, but why just one A330? Air Serbia started New York service 5 years ago. It didn't add new long haul destination since. In the meantime, Zagreb got two airlines from Canada and one from Korea. Dubrovnik got flights from the US. Romania got flights from Canada. Bulgaria now has more A330 aircraft than Serbia and they have approval to start New York service. Since Air Serbia brand inception Belgrade airport passenger numbers grew by more than 70% and number of destinations by more than 50%, allowing more passengers to connect to potential Air Serbia long haul flights. Economy and tourism also grew since. Leasing rates were less than half of what Air Serbia had to pay since 2016. Air Serbia New York service established solid reputation for connecting flights in the region. Bilateral with Canada is done. Tourist numbers from China grew by leaps and bounds. Belgrade airport is undergoing major capacity expansion. Serbia vaccination rates are among the highest in Europe and rates at key unserved long haul destinations are expected to approach herd immunity level during summer.
ReplyDeleteGiven all the above facts, reasons for delay of getting another A330 at Air Serbia started shifting from curious to mildly suspicious to indefensible.
There are two main factors in my opinion:
Delete1. In 2019 BEG was getting extremely congested meaning that it would be more difficult to schedule long-haul departures in the morning and at around 12-13. With the terminal expansion there is more room to add flights.
2. JFK was a bit premature and since then JU had to build its short-haul network by adding new destinations and boosting frequencies on existing ones. All long-haul expansion from the region was done by airlines that are not from here. They are all well established carriers with vast networks, something JU still lacks. For them our region was just one part of a much larger picture.
Great comment @Anonymous09:33
DeleteThere will always be excuses here in the Balkans blaming something or someone...
Unfortunately in a government run business, it takes someone from government to give a green light and then things happen. Until then JU management is steering on autopilot... It's too bad because there is so much potential.
JU might be many things but 'flying on autopilot' isn't one of them.
DeleteIf JU is steering on autopilot, OU is in free fall after all instrument failure, especially if we talk long-haul potentials and their zero engagement and interest about it
DeleteExactly, JU is fighting for every opportunity they can get, big or small.
DeleteHahahah I wouldn't say free fall.. But they are definitely not on A/P... However OU is another government run business that has was more potential then it uses
Delete.. Because of the same reason
@Nemjee
Delete1. In case of congestion gate priority is given to widebodies. Narrowbodies can use remote stands. When BEG had Air Mahan and Hainan there were three widebodies served at the same time. Congestion is not a reason for not getting 2nd A330.
2. Long haul expansion in the region had to be done by other airlines as local ones didn't have widebodies except TK but they are farther afield. Overseas airlines have vast networks on their side, but none of them have local Balkan network Air Serbia has. JU had no problems having JFK LF over 85-90% just months after initiating operations in 2016. JU network expansion after 2016 added transfer passenger options to JFK. Lack of network feed is also not a reason.
Someone needs to tell government Air Serbia has been avoiding getting second A330 for no reason. Not a single one.
1. priority is not given to anyone, it's all about negotiations with the airport. That's why in 2019 it was Wizz Air who had to move Dortmund and YM who had to delay one of its morning departures to a later time once some gates were free.
DeleteWe are talking about JU so the argument about Mahan and Hainan isn't relevant here. Both airlines used to operate flights during quieter periods of the day, not during the rush-hour. JU can't schedule JFK or ORD at 10.30 as was the case with Hainan. It would make no sense in terms of competitiveness of connectivity. Yes, BEG has remote stands but not enough bus gates from which to board passengers.
2. JU lost a lot of money on JFK until the route matured. It takes time for your brand awareness to reach a certain level where you can charge higher fares and until you build a loyal clientele. Air Serbia will most definitely expand its long-haul network in the future. However I think a more pressing matter is the issue of the ATR fleet. Those planes need to be either refurbished or replaced by younger models.
Btw just to add something, Mahan used to send the A310 which didn't need two gates. It was always parked at A1 since that's the only single gate that can handle larger planes such as the A310 or even the B767.
DeleteNemjee you started talking about JU lacking a network as a reason for not adding long haul destinations and your arguments were clearly defeated. Now you are talking about building a loyal clientele to make more money. That argument rings hollow as well, Air Serbia has built loyal passengers in the region, even Croatia and Albania for JFK flights. That's easy to demonstrate if you try to deny it.
DeleteAbility to lease A330 at such a low rate would allow them to start making money faster when opening a new service. As pandemic slows down lease rate will rise and Air Serbia must not miss this opportunity. ATR rates were not affected as much as A330 rates so A330 is a clear priority right now. Stop finding excuses for Air Serbia not getting second A330.
As for Mahan sending A310 to A1, here are videos of Mahan Air A340 at C6 bridge next to Air Serbia or Hainan A330. Stop talking about things you now nothing about, there is plenty of space for two Air Serbia A330:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irpjZH1Kj4U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgKySkB731M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe1eW7VGV5k
Ugh. I am talking of several factors which are working against long-haul expansion right now. You know, there is a reason why A330 leases are so cheap right now. Demand for air travel has collapsed and many airlines are struggling to fill seats. Are you aware that Finnair had 5% LF to JFK in March 2021? Lufthansa and others are not doing much better yet you think JU should start expanding its long-haul fleet. JFK performs ok at the moment, 160 to 190 passengers and even though those loads are ok there is no room for more flights. That is you could add more flights but it would trash the yields.
DeleteMahan launched BEG with the A310. The A346 was sent later on and as you can see it arrived as JU's JFK was being pushed back. In other words Mahan used to arrive at around 07.30 when the morning wave has ended. In order to have two JU A330s you would have to occupy four airbridges from 05.30 to 07.30. Before covid there was simply no room for that. I did not say that you couldn't physically fit two widebodies, I said that in 2019 terminal was at full capacity even with one widebody.
ATRs were a blessing now in covid and they saved JU in many markets. Air Serbia will keep on expanding its long-haul fleet but it's unrealistic to expect them to do so right now when they have a decent network only three days a week.
You have to understand that even if they get a heavily discounted A330 they would still have to pay around $200.000 a month. I don't think their management or the government would be too thrilled to absorb that extra expense.
TATL diaspora demand is slowly coming back just like EU diaspora demand is driving traffic at BEG. Projections for late summer see rise in TATL demand, perfect for JU new routes. First year of operations of a new long haul is a write off anyway, so it better be at $200k/month lease than at $500k. It will pay off in a couple of years. UA is launching DBV during pandemic and it's not just tourism driving it. Gullivair is expected to start regular TATL service during pandemic. It might be too late for Air Serbia to focus on ATRs and postpone second A330 by couple of years. What if in the meantime AC starts YYZ-BEG, some airline from China starts BEG nonstop and AA starts ORD-BEG? Air Serbia can kiss goodbye long haul expansion plans. Now or never for 2nd JU A330.
DeleteWith current reduced demand for gates at BEG compared to 2019 and C extension being ready in less than a year, your gate congestion argument is a moot point anyway. That is not the reason for Air Serbia not getting second A330.
You are starting to look like an apologist for Lufthansa goals. It is in LH interest for Air Serbia to have as little as possible long haul flights so LH can feed their long haul flights from BEG via MUC/FRA. Try to be against LH goals and more supportive of JU long haul.
@20:28
DeleteThat Air Serbia tail!
I think it was the most beautiful A330 tail ever.
Actually, even without expanding the A330 fleet they could have used the current aircraft to launch ORD/YYZ at twice per week due to the reduced pandemic frequency to JFK.
DeleteThen get a second A330 next year when the route has already matured.
@22:26 - You forgot to mention that Gullivair also have a much newer ATR fleet which 3 aircraft are expected to be deployed to SKP, OTP and CLJ and the Bulgarian coastal airports.
DeleteThat said, Gullivair also received an official permission to operate to Canada. It took JU a long time not to work and launch YYZ in the past when it had an opportunity to do it.
Haha yeah because wanting JU to operate on a commercially viable basis is pro-LH advocacy. Now you are just trolling. As for gates, I was speaking about pre-covid times, not now. Now there might be room but not enough passengers to justify the introduction of a new long-haul destination.
DeleteOne thing JU has going for itself is that its network did not collapse and that they are operating at least some sort of a hub. In five days they are resuming Rome which will further help with their operations.
Many airlines won't recover by next summer but JU might. Leases on widebody aircraft won't be back to normal so they could still afford a second A330 then. ;)
As for Gullivair, let's first see them launch those ambitious long-haul flights and then we can compare them to JU.
"because wanting JU to operate on a commercially viable basis is pro-LH advocacy"
DeleteExactly. Both before Covid19 and now, Air Serbia could not and can't operate on a strictly profit basis given their size and scope. And it shouldn't unless regulation in Europe changes for the better for small national airlines, and that's something LH wants to prevent. Insisting on a profit is a tool airline cartels like LH use to drive small national carriers out so they can take over the market.
Sure.
DeleteIf I was LH advisor to Air Serbia, I would advise them to replace ATRs first. Once done I would suggest replacing ageing Airbus narrowbody fleet with aircraft equipped with more efficient and environmentally friendly engines; and better sized for Air Serbia needs. They will be busy with that for a while. Then, I would tell them A330 needs to be replaced with newer generation widebody. Any advice as long as it keeps Air Serbia away from long haul expansion.
DeleteBTW Nemjee Air Serbia can't be profitable at current size operating a small hub model while carrying current high costs. Ever. It needs to both grow massively and slash the costs; or change the model. Therefore lead growth with long haul expansion first.
DeleteI agree with you and that's why I always repeat that they need to build volume. However I believe they should start with regional and short-haul routes before expanding their long-haul network. There's so much room for expansion starting with boosting KRR to daily, launching ESB, bringing back BUD... boosting all regional destinations to at least 14 flights on a year-round basis and so on.
DeleteOnce they do that adding long-haul flights will be a breeze.
Кондић је на почетку рекао да ће регионалне дестинације повећати на 14 недељно пре него што лансирају Њујорк. Тај план је пропао, десила се реалност 2015 и регионалне фреквенције су срезане а Њујорк је најављен.
DeleteSo today we will have 3 A330s in BEG, YU-ARA, YU-ARB and the Aeroflot A330. Also today there are 7 flights from Belgrade to Hurghada! 6 by Air Serbia 1 by Air Cairo.
ReplyDeleteThree A330s but 4 widebodies if we could TK Cargo A313.
DeleteAmazing traffic with Hugrada. In one moment I saw plane that just departed, 2nd half way and 3rd already in Hugrada. Beautiful picture!
Deletehttps://ibb.co/ZM6xm71
DeleteCould they use the a330 to Hurghada on certain days?
DeleteThose business class seats do lack privacy at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd how would you know since you've never been on the plane or seen it live? The seats are staggered meaning you have an entire area around the seat towards the aisle on every second seat, as well as all middle seats which means you can't be seen from the other seat.
DeleteAnon above is right. This is a typical business class layout nowadays meaning every other seat towards the window is shielded from the aisle, as well as all middle seats. The only way you can get more privacy is with a door.
DeleteIt's a Thompson biz class seat available on many premier global airlines. Only need for privacy door is to shield us from your ignorance and arrogance.
DeleteWhy is there a seat missing in the middle row in the last few rows in economy?
ReplyDeleteIt is usual and normal configuration for all wide body aircraft, in all airlines. The plane cabin is getting little bit curved and narrower by its end, and full layout is not possible anymore, so on 767, there are usually 6 abreast instead of 7 in last few rows, on 330 it is 7 instead 8, 777 it's 8 instead of 9, which was the case in JAT DC-10 as well, and in 747 and 380 it is 9 instead 10. Simply less space and less width as you approach tail part
DeleteThank you pozdrav
Deletedon't mention :)
DeleteI'm very curious to see these Nikola Tesla meals :D
ReplyDeleteWhy is the plane constantly circling NW of Novi Sad? Check flightradar data, it's been circling for a while now.
ReplyDeleteBecause the cessna that is flying next to it is taking images/video footage of the plane.
DeleteThis footage is being taken for promo and safety video
DeleteThey should organize some promotional flight for fully vaccinated people, like Emirates or Qatar. I think that there is no better way for promotion, in this condition.
DeleteI actually spotted that Cessna just after I posted the comment, but it was too late. haha
DeleteVery cool!
Air Pink in action. :)
DeleteHope it is not DJ Zex in commands
DeleteWhat is the point of the two extra seats on the right window side in business class? I mean they could have just left the whole configuration 1-2-1.
ReplyDeletePeople flying together and wanting window seat? :)
DeleteArrived!
ReplyDeleteI love the title of the article featuring the word "latest A330" it almost sounds like JU has a dozen+ of these planes and that one more arrived and joined the fleet. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI assume it was written like that on purpose to avoid the word "newest" because then you would be the first here to spit and write that the plane is not new and that it's 12 years old...
DeleteAt least it looks and sounds better than either latest or newest Q400
Delete@13:03 I tried to put a bit of humor in the reply just FYI and I was very positive (re-read my last word). Your mind set is negative and you jumped for no reason with critisism. By the way I never spit as I was not raised to do so and I will permit myself to recommend you not to bite for nothing. Have a wonderful day!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous looking aircraft. Congratulations to JU from DBV.
ReplyDeleteKreće na probni let.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.flightradar24.com/ASL4010/27815390
So now we have ARA and ARB called Nikola Tesla?!
ReplyDeleteIt leaves the fleet in 5 days and ARB is not being used until ARA leaves.
DeleteJU is very creative with those names, they can't give every aircraft names because there are to many
DeleteA new era for JU? What can you do with just one widebody aircraft? Guys, time to land. JU has just 1 (namely ONE) widebody aircraft while two other carriers from our region: OS got 12 of them (6x763+6x772) and LO got 17 (8x788 +9x789). Feel the difference!
ReplyDeleteOS and LO are not from EX YU region.
DeleteSmall correction, Austrian Airlines has 4 B767 as they started retiring older models.
DeleteLOT has 15 wide-body aircraft.
DeleteBefore Covid, Emirates had over 200 widebody aircraft. United as well. Feel the difference.
DeleteNobody says that JU needs to be like OS or LOT. These comparisons are unnecessary. JU serves its purposes and OS and LOT serve their purposes.
DeleteAnd yes, OS is in the process of withdrawal from fleet of the older widebodies, but I expect they will replace them with newer ones when covid crisis will be nearing the end.
And yes LOT has 15 widebodies + 2 in storage awaiting delivery.
Loving the hater comments
ReplyDeleteWhat about the economy layout? Are the seats different color? I'm interested in knowing how it compares to the other A332
ReplyDeleteThey are the same like YU-ARA.
DeleteI hope they updated the inflight entertainment at least. I'm a fan of Air Serbia, and look forward to flying with them in June. For a long flight, they hardly have any choices and the ones they do have are boring.
DeleteAirserbia should replace 39 years old ATR72 which flies also to IST BER really disappointing
ReplyDeleteYou should stop writing absolute nonsense. There is no ATR older than 30 years in Air Serbia fleet.
Delete