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Air Serbia plans to offer passengers the same product across its two wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft and is in discussions over a cabin reconfiguration for its short-haul Airbus fleet. According to the “TangoSix” portal, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, attended the recent Farnborough Airshow where he held talks with both Airbus and ATR over the reconfiguration of the carrier’s passenger cabins, as well as cabin commonality for the airline’s second A330-200. The company recently inked an agreement with AJW Technique Interiors to replace seat coverings across its narrow-body Airbus fleet with its sustainable, manmade material offering “significant weight savings” over natural leather. The covers will be produced in Serbia. “This innovative product will bring significant fuel savings and also contribute to Air Serbia’s commitment to introduce sustainable products wherever possible across the organisation”, Mr Marek said.
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| Air Serbia's A330 business class seat |
Air Serbia will take delivery of its second A330-200 soon. The jet previously operated for South African Airways which features 222 seats, with 36 in business class and the remaining 186 seats in economy. On the other hand, Air Serbia’s A330 is fitted with 257 seats, with 21 in business and 236 in economy class. Unlike its South African counterpart, Air Serbia’s business class cabin offers a more generous layout of mostly 1-2-1 seating, compared to the classic 2-2-2 configuration. Air Serbia has inherited the cabin on its wide-body aircraft from Aeroflot, which was the previous operator of the jet, replacing only the seat coverings.
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| Air Serbia's new ATR72-600 seats |
Air Serbia has opted to install the slim leather Privilege Class seats on its incoming ATR72-600 fleet, which provide baseline features such as recline, a high literature pocket and eighteen inches in width. In 2017, the airline installed Recaro seats across its narrow-body Airbus fleet and removed its dedicated business class cabin, opting instead for the eurobusiness class. The Recaro BL3520 seats increased capacity on the A319 aircraft from 128 to 144 seats and on the A320s from 155 to 174 seats, growing by more than 12% in total across the narrow-body fleet. Despite the capacity increase, the seats offer passengers more space by having a leaner backrest and a higher literature pocket. Recaro has since rolled out newer seats that are even slimmer and weigh less.
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| Air Serbia's short-lived dedicated business class on A320-family fleet, 2013 - 2017 |
Interesting. The question now is will the arriving A330 have a new cabin which will then be installed on YU-ARB or will YU-ARC get the same cabin as the one currently on YU-ARB.
ReplyDeleteI hope for completely new cabins :D
DeleteSame!
DeleteSame!
DeleteWhat sort of reconfiguration can they do on the A320 family aircraft?
ReplyDeleteThey are probably going to change the seats. Some are in poor shape.
DeleteTrue. On some of them they have broken or missing parts on the seat handles. Not a good look.
DeleteThere are torn seats as well..
DeleteThat business class on the narrow body fleet really was something.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. They were among rare airlines in Europe with a true business class hard product. I wonder if they could use these seats as some kind of premium economy on the A330 family?
DeleteIndeed. Was very comfortable with fantastic service. Probably one of the best short haul business classes in Europe at the time.
Delete@Miroslav, not sure if there is enough of a market for premium economy. I mean, I'm sure there would be passengers but would their be enough to justify getting rid of a number of economy class seats?
DeleteHaving 124 seats in an A319 was absolutely crazy.
DeletePremium economy would be a great compromise between old business class and current economy on the narrow bpdy fleet
Deletetrue dat
DeleteNice to see they want to improve their product.
ReplyDeleteSome here are bragging all the time, but actually AirSerbia is working and improving. Sometimes it takes time or right moment to come, but it always comes.
DeleteI'm hopeful the incoming A330 will have wifi and that they install it on ARB while it is in maintenance. I've heard quite a few people complain about the lack of wifi that have flown to New York.
ReplyDeleteYes wifi is much needed! Shame they got rid of it on the narrow bodies too. It set them apart from many airlines.
DeleteThe wifi that JU had was amongst the most expensive in the skies, if not the most expensive. Not many people were using it.
DeleteWifi installation is expensive and I doubt JU ever got a return on investment from it.
If JU can get a better deal, why not. But I doubt they would with the small amount of aircraft in their fleet.
They already have the antennas on the A319s. Can't they just find a different provider?
DeleteWhen did they stop providing wifi?
DeleteAfter someone from the company found a way around and used it on those covid cargo flights to China and made over half a million € of debt.
DeleteWhy not have the same seats in economy on the A330 and A319s?
ReplyDeleteSitting in slimline seats with little padding on a 10 hour flight isn't very comfortable. I really hope they don't get that idea.
DeleteSlim seats enable flight attendants easier and faster cabin cleaning, lost & found and security checks...
DeleteFlight attendants don't perform cabin cleaning after long haul flights.
DeleteVery few airlines use slimline seats on long haul flights because they are uncomfortable for sitting in for prolonged periods of time.
DeleteI recently flew with the new ATR and wow what a difference compared to their -200s and -500s. Seats are almost the same as on the A319/A320 but it is all much more comfortable than what they had until now.
ReplyDeleteNot only are the cabins better but the plane itself is so much more comfortable. There is more space for carry on baggage. Them finally introducing slimline seats in the ATR gives you more space. And the plane is quieter than the other versions.
DeleteLater this month I fly TIA-BEG on an ATR, I do hope it's one of the new ones
DeleteThere is a 50% chance you will get them now :)
DeleteThey got a rid of a lot of stuff they used to have which is a bit of a shame. Apart from wifi, they used to have Elevate play, the streaming service on planes which was good and had a lot of shows. In business class they used to give out ipads on all flights longer than an hour with a lot of shows and movies on them.
ReplyDeleteIt was back in the day when Air Serbia was trying to position itself as the best airline in Europe with a lot of expensive perks and then realized there was no market for that. They also used to have pillows on each seat in economy (regardless of duration). Then people started stealing the pillows en masse and they got rid of it.
Delete^ It was the wrong strategy from the very beginning that cost them a lot of money and negatively impacted on their reputation and image later on when got rid of all of those extras.
DeleteThey also used to offer a choice of two hot meals in economy with printed menus on all flights longer than 1.30 minutes :) This was better than Turkish Airlines.
DeleteAnd in addition to all of that, their prices during the first few years were dirt cheap. No wonder it didn't work out.
Delete^ Because the idea was to get people flying with them and to try them out.
DeleteElevate play had a few selections of shows and movies both in Serbian and English, I wouldn't call it alot. They even had a section for their destinations which didn't even have the full selection of JU destinations, however they also included some destinations they codeshared with EY. When streaming from a mobile device, it wasn't that user friendly. There were alot of improvements that needed to be made. Not to mention that no seat had plugs to charge your device in flight leaving your battery pretty much drained by the time you landed from AUH for example.
DeleteJU really need to improve the IT side of things. The app is pretty much useless as it doesn't really work. Booking tickets didn't work for me, nor did online check in. I had to finish my ticket reservation by calling the call center (who were really helpful and polite) while online check in I had to complete via their website with a laptop.
Anyone know who is going to manufacture the seat covers in Serbia?
ReplyDeleteIt says AJW Technique Interiors
DeleteIt's a company that purchased production facilities in Serbia.
DeleteAjw seems to be in Montreal
DeleteYes but they bought a factory in Bojnik where they are producing the seat covers.
DeleteWith them introducing more and more long haul routes they are going to have to become more competitive so need to offer a good product so people choose them over other airlines, especially on flights towards the east.
ReplyDeleteAre the former Adria planes still flying with the Adria interior?
ReplyDeleteThey changed the seat covers as far as I can remember.
DeleteYes.I flew with YU-APL few days ago and seats are still gray, and the rest of the interior is nort in the best condition with some plastic that vibrates and makes noise.
DeleteWhat would people like to see on their A330s?
ReplyDeleteTheir A330 is good as it is. I would like to see wifi and improved entertainment options (more variety).
DeleteHow about 34-35 inch seatpitch, free small amenity kits in economy and 3 meal choices in Y class. Food kiosk or pantry in the economy galley with snacks would also be a good idea.
DeleteAgreed
Delete- IFE definitely needs improvement. More content - movies, TV shows, music, documentaries from Serbia.
Delete- Business amenities bags featuring products from local Serbian companies.
- Small kit bags for economy class.
- Small improvements to their catering. Perhaps a local craft beer in the selection for business class would be nice as well rather than just Heineken and Zaječarsko.
- Safety video could be made together with the tourism board to feature locations around Serbia.
- better without wifi unless streaming speeds are available one day such as Starlink
Delete- improved food presentation.
- HD or better screen resolution for seatback IFE.
- IFE showing BEG airport animated map for main transfer destinations (TIA - go to gate C11, TGD - go to gate A2 etc) in the final 10-15mins before landing at BEG. Also showing map to car rental companies, public transit etc.
- Chest-level USB charging ports on every seatback.
- Tons of very old TV shows from Yugoslavia - with titles (Bolji Zivot, Malo Misto, Pozoriste u kuci, Otpisani, Valter Brani Sarajevo, Obraz Uz Obraz etc). Got this idea when old Czech shows played on CSA A310 transatlantic and half of the cabin was laughing loudly while watching.
There is nothing new to be said about Recaro seats other than they suck big time for padding and respective comfort.
ReplyDeleteSlimline recaro seats are used by almost all airlines in Europe.
DeleteOk, they suck on all airlines in Europe, not just on Air Serbia.
DeleteGood move JU.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the second A330 to arrive. Any idea when we will see it in BEG?
ReplyDeleteOctober
DeleteFor anyone interested, this is what SAA's cabins look like on A330-200
ReplyDeletehttps://insideflyer.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/20170420-IMG_8282.jpg
https://thepointsguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20200103_South-African-Airways-A330-200-IAD-ACC-IAD_JTGenter-43.jpg
Business is nothing special, The one at Air Serbia looks better.
DeleteEconomy looks better on SAA because it has bigger screens.
But their A330-300s are great on the other hand
Deletehttps://liveandletsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/South-African-Airways-A330-Business-Class-1.jpeg
https://newsroom.aviator.aero/content/images/2017/06/SAA_A330-300_-Economy-Class-1.jpg
^ Actually the business class seat is the same as the one in JU here, SAA just has nicer seat covers (in my opinion).
DeleteEconomy looks almost the same.
DeleteIt is but it seems SAA has bigger screens. The ones JU has on the A330 economy are really small.
DeleteGet the overhead screens in the A319/320 fleet, remove or install the wifi antennas, so the whole Airbus 319/320/330 fleet is on the same standard, name the shorthaul fleet with city, mountain and river names of Serbia
ReplyDeleteTipizacija sedista u floti Er Srbije je osnov za unapredjenje standarda i savremenih uslova prevoza buducih putnika.
ReplyDeleteUz uvodjenje prikljucaka za zabavu i efikasno odrzavanje kabine i sedista, obezbedice Er Srbiji respektabilno mesto.
Sa povecanjem flote moguce je povecacnje razmaka sedista. Mada to zavisi od finansiske mogucnosti korisnika
usluga. Uz rast Er Srbije i vise nego dvostruko uvecanje Aerodroma Beograd, temelj buducnosti comercijalne avijacije je ne samo izvestan. Vec i realan put kretanja u prvoj polovini dvadeset prvog veka.
Rodney 😀🇷🇸✈🌐🛫
Tako je. Bravo Čika Rodney.
DeleteZa sve letove uvesti besplatne kašice za decu do 2 god. kao i besplatan sokić za decu od 2-7 god, Mali trošak a umnogome bi im podiglo reputaciju.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI can understand the baby food on a long haul flight, but for short haul, no. Parents should be bringing supplies for their baby. Airlines do allow parents to bring supplies for their babies, including JU.
DeleteFor the free drinks, I agree, maybe a seasonal fresh juice/drink would be nice to offer for free onboard to all passengers and not just children.
Wow I’m impressed with business class seats in A320. Why did JU remove them? It would be amazing if they install them again....
ReplyDeleteThey were on the A319s too. While very comfortable they weren't bringing in money. The current eurobsuiness model allows you to change capacity in business class based on the number of tickets you have sold by simply moving the curtain. Something you can't do with a dedicated business class product.
DeleteOn a typical flight how much more expensive is the eurobsuiness model seat as compared to economy class?
DeleteEssentially it is the same seat, only in biz the centre seat is remove.
Exciting developments at JU
ReplyDeleteGood. I was worried they might have two different products on the A330 and thhat would have been a disaster.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it!
DeleteWhy would they have two different products ??
DeleteHe is menadjer as Pantic and fly often around and he does not like to change J class cabin.
DeleteMy two cents on this topic. It is not only important to renew upholstery and install new seats / panels but to maintain, clean and keep in good order these. Air Serbia does periodically install or refresh but cleaning and maintenance of the cabin is a week point. I have seen duct tape in use, hanging oxygen panels, dirty armrests, dirty carpets to just name a few. It definitively doesn't give a good picture of the airline.
ReplyDeleteThe cabin is really in a poor condition, check the psu's below the hatracks, where its written life vests below seats, several differences on the same aircraft, even seen the seat positions with letters upsidedown...
DeleteAnyone knows if they removed Wi-Fi antennas from APG, APJ, and API before returning them?
ReplyDeleteAll airplanes returned with Wi-Fi antennas installed
Delete