Air Serbia plans to further grow its fleet in 2025 with the carrier expected to add seven aircraft this year alone. Speaking to Euronews Serbia, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “Logically with the growth in passenger numbers and the network, the fleet will grow as well. Over the past two years we completely renewed our ATR fleet and this year a further three joined so now we have ten ATR72-600s. Currently, we have two Embraer E195s in Belgrade, and we are waiting for some administrative procedures to be completed in order for them to begin commercial operations as well. We will also add two wide-body aircraft. One A330-200 is currently in Lisbon in the delivery process. We think it will be in Belgrade within August. Another one will come in October or November, depending on the maintenance. We will continue growing our fleet next year, but I won’t share in which segment”.
According to the CEO, the carrier’s existing ten-member ATR72-600 fleet is big enough to meet its current needs for regional operations. The carrier will look to further grow the number of Embraer jets, in addition to the incoming two, while it plans to replace existing Airbus A319s with A320s once their lease agreements come to an end. Mr Marek did not want to put a limit on the number of aircraft the airline may have. He noted, “I don’t want to stick to any number because the fleet is constantly growing. Saying a number might cause confusion. Currently we have 25 aircraft in the fleet, we will have 27 and soon we hope 29”.
In addition to its own fleet, Air Serbia currently has three wet-lease partners providing the airline with its aircraft and crew. These include four A320s operated by GetJet Airlines. From time to time, depending on operational needs, the A320s may be exchanged with Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Fly2Sky operates one A320 on Air Serbia’s behalf, while Bulgaria Air wet-leases two of its E190 jets. Mr Marek recently noted, “If you look across Europe, wet-leasing has become inevitable for the time being. We are sometimes criticised that we are using too much wet-leased capacity. It is something that we would not like to do, but it is what it is at the moment due to the state of the industry. We are working hard to be able to have sufficient capacity to grow on our own”.
"We will continue growing our fleet next year, but I won’t share in which segment”.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is A330a and E195s
*A330s
DeleteA minimum of 5 A320's is needed just to replace wet lease capacity, without any or next to no growth and not factoring in the beginning of the A319 replacements. YU-APH will also need replacing as well seeing it is reaching 19 years.
DeleteŠto veli uvaženi "analitičar"? Krah AirSerbie?
DeleteI think they would have enough of A330 for a time being. A319 though should be replaced, most likely with a mix of E195, A320 and maybe A321. Maybe even some newer generations, but I would hope for that.
DeleteIf someone shall proclaim himself as "analyst" he shall have at least one day of expirience in some big company in branch. Unfortunatelly, this is not a case...
DeleteAnalitičar sounds like they rejected him and now he is an angry boyfriend.
Delete95% journalist attribute herself analiticar till most of them do not have finished faculty. Like Misa Brkic.
DeleteDid they ever have so many aircraft coming in such a short period of time?
ReplyDeleteSo the Embraers are late to enter service because of Directorate or because issue between Marathon and aircraft owner?
ReplyDeleteSeems like no more ATRs for the time being.
ReplyDeleteLogic would say more ATRs, E190-195 and A320s in 2025.
ReplyDeleteHe said they don't plan more ATRs for now.
DeleteI don't think all ATRs are in service at the moment. One is parked. But it might be on purpose as reserve for the summer.
DeleteAll 10 ATR's are in service. They have intentionally left more flexibility in the fleet this summer so up to 9 is being used per wave.
DeleteOf course, you are often criticized for using wet leases, and you know very well why. Choosing the most expensive leases to patch up your fleet is not very wise. It's fortunate that you have strong government backing, otherwise you would have gone under long ago.
ReplyDeleteThe airline does not get any financial support. Stop talking nonsense and take care of your own loss making airline.
DeleteIf it's so unwise why is JU profitable then? Lol
DeleteYou referring to OU, right?
Delete@annon 09:11 I don't know why you assumed I'm from the neighborhood. I have to correct you: I'm not interested in any Croatian airlines or other companies. I pay taxes in Serbia, and Air Serbia is as much mine as it is yours, so I have the right to comment on it
DeleteYeah sure :)
DeleteYes, but you don’t have right to write lies. All wet leases are contracted earlier and for whole season, so they can not be expensive
DeleteIf you had a bit more understanding of aviation and weren't so biased, you would know that wet lease is always much more expensive than dry lease, which I advocate for. This means that route planning must align with capacities and not be done at any cost.
DeleteYou really do not understand that finding pilots is not easy task. You are just silly with your tax claim.
DeleteYes, it is always more expensive if you use it and hoc. If you plan wet lease, like AirSerbia does, it may be even cheaper.
DeleteAnd yes, dry lease is cheaper per se, but you have to top it up with maintenance costs both regular and unexpected, staff costs , insurance etc...so, the difference maybe is not so high.
So, if you act as a airline expert, then try to be a bit more analytical, but not as the lovely one from Zagreb. :-)
Oh, thank you for opening my eyes and teach me about the aviation industry.
DeleteSince you are ignorant, read article again and take a look on every company in Europe. You will be surprised to see that every company you look uses wet lease, even your OU where you don’t pay taxes. And guess what? All because PW engines in Airbus Neo series. So don’t play smart, because you are not!
JU should just replace the whole fleet with wet leases :)
DeleteAgain, man do not pay tax in Serbia.
Delete@11.30 I am sure no one from Zagreb ever comes to this blog! This is typical troll behaviour from people who have no aviation experience. When they are wrong, they assert they you are this mythical guy from Zagreb who exists in their imagination.
DeleteMate, he is very real and not mythical at all...
DeleteSmart
ReplyDeleteFrom 2026 there will be another player in the Balkans for medium-long haul destinations. Aegean will get initially 4 brand new a321LR or XLR with at least another 2 options.
ReplyDeleteAnd they are very smart , because they are aiming in destinations that do not served until now in ATH like Nigeria , Kenya , India , Oman .
DeleteWow, capacity killers with 200 passengers. By the end of 2026, JU will have 6-8 widebodies and 12-15 long haul routes
DeleteAnd which are these routes?
DeleteLagos of Course.
DeleteSo much jokes about Lagos and in fact it would be smart choice some time in the future.
DeleteEthiopia, Nigeria and south Africa are the major hubs of the continent. People need to stop looking down on the opportunities of Africa. It would be great for JU to diversify away from the west
DeleteYes a great premium market for Serbian speaking Africa. The only reason those markets work for Western Europe is because they have links as former colonies and they speak English or French.
DeleteAlso they have big diaspora in some cities something that BEG doesn’t. Mind you Athens has one of the biggest Nigerian diasporas in Europe not weird at all that Aegean wants to fly to Lagos.
DeleteI am afraid that those A3 flights would be extremely directional. Not seasonal :-))
DeleteTurkish also have lots of connections to Africa to turn Istanbul into a hub, Qatar also growing there. you don't need diaspora just to start small and grow. There is growing connection between China and Serbia but that started from nothing. No diaspora and no history of colonization. yet here we are on track to have 3 long haul routes to China. same story with Portugal and Spain which are successful routes for JU. the a319 could reach most of africa without needing to use the widebodies also
DeleteHave in mind that A3 is 3-4 times the size of JU, not to mention TK and QR. Athens being much closer to the African continent shaves of at least 2 hours of flying time compared to what JU can do in BEG (ATH-CAI 1:50 vs BEG-CAI 2:55). JU has had a hard time with CAI despite ok O&D figures and decent loads, imagine other destinations further south.
DeleteChina is different. Economic trade between Serbia and China has grown immensely (~ 2 million Euros of exports in 2003, 20 million Euros in 2015, 1.24 billion Euros in 2023), free trade agreement has come into effect, Chinese tourists have massively increased aided as well by a visa free regime. In comparison, Egypt was Serbia's largest export partner in Africa in 2023 with exports valued at 41 million Euros. Morocco is Serbia's 2nd largest export partner in Africa at 28 million Euros, Tunisia 3rd at 27 million Euros. CAI, TUN and HBE would be a great start for JU. Once JU can successfully launch those 3 and keep them, then we can talk about other routes.
I agree. best for JU and Serbia to solidify the connections it has to north africa to then grow further. just like they did with china. in the meantime south africa could be a consideration for 1-2 weekly long haul. after they look at Toronto, LA, Tokyo ofocurse. it has a decent demand from the balkan region to south africa without current direct route available.
DeleteGood to see Air Serbia's fleet expansion plans taking shape! Looking forward to hearing about the new destinations once those aircraft touch down in Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteAny chance to restore those plans for an A321?
ReplyDeleteAdding A321s would be a logical step for JU.
DeleteI agree A321 is very needed, however it would be only logical once the majority of their fleet becomes A320.
DeleteFocus should be on Ejets and A320 family. By wet leases, obviously there’s a shortage of these types in a fleet
DeleteAll seriousness, the best aircraft for JU is the A321neo and the A220-300. The ejets waste as much fuel as the A220 (they use the same engines) but far less capable cargo and range wise.
Delete@12,54
DeleteA220 is also 2-3 times the lease price of the ERJ195 at current lease rates.
A220 in JU's current fleet (minus the ERJ's) wouldn't provide much benefit for JU, if any. A320 is becoming the back bone to their Euro-Med operations, ATR for regional ops. ERJ's better fill that gap between the 2 compared to the A220. A220 capacity is between 125-150 seats, ERJ 70-120. A220-300 is stepping into A320 capacity, A220-100 is too large to use as a regional jet. ERJ's easily replace the A319 on longer, lighter routes, while replacing ATR's on shorter, heavier routes. There isn't alot JU can do in terms of cargo as BEG needs serious investment into their cargo facility. JU also doesn't need the range as most of the Euro-Med network is within 3 hours of BEG with the furthest routes already supporting A320 family capacity (LIS, OPO, KZN, MAD). A321 would be nice to have down the road, but JU needs more frequencies and not capacity.
I hope they will eventually add a 3rd daily flight to Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteLJU already has 3 flights a day on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays, the rest is 2 flights (17 pw in total). In fact, today you have 3 flights to LJU.
DeleteIt will be nice to finally see a third Air Serbia a330-200
ReplyDeleteI think they should consider A350s
DeleteA330neo or A350 would be the best for JU.
DeleteYou guys constantly saying how Air Serbia is now ready to get A330neos and A350s really are an interesting bunch.
DeleteDo you realise how much of a difference there is between the lease, let alone the operating costs of these aircraft compared to the older A332s? Do you remember how little money per passenger Air Serbia currently makes compared to airlines that operate A330neos and A350s? JU wont be ready for those planes before 2030 at the very least. Lets stick to what we know will work, i.e. the A332s
Until now they seemed that do not have the money to order nor a350/330neo nor a320neo .
DeleteA330-900 would fit great for JFK route. One plane would not kill the company
Delete@Anon10:28
DeleteOne plane actually could. ARA almost did with its extorsion leasing costs.
Not to mention that i think your logic for JFK makes no sense. This year will mark, if im not wrong, the ninth winter of JU operating to JFK, and JU still cant get JFK above a stable two weekly flights in the low period, which frankly is an embarassment
New York is scheduled at a minimum 3 weekly this winter season. So you are wrong.
DeleteA330-800 isn't popular so could have slots available and would be great for JU and could get good deal since its not getting orders. Same seating capacity but longer rage for better efficiency could easily make it to LAX and Perth
DeleteNo one wants the A330-800. It is a dud and it is made on the same production line so there are no slots available. And why Perth? That is a very small market.
DeleteIt's not a dud it just doesn't fit most airlines which want more capacity not longer range. But for JU it's good capacity and better range.
DeletePerth because Australia is an important unnerved market for JU and the balkan region. But the a330-800 can't make it to Sydney or Melbourne from BEG. And would have opportunity for code-share with the Australian airlines to cut out the need to use the middle east as a transfer hub that JU doesn't fly to anyway
Ma kakvi Perth LOL
DeleteYou have no idea. First of all Perth is 5 hours away from the rest of Australia. You would need to clear customs and passport control there. Australian domestic airfares are extortionate because there is no competition, it is cheaper sometimes to fly to Serbia from Sydney than from Sydney to Perth. Plus the International terminal at Perth is 5 km away from Qantas domestic requiring a taxi. The only reason Qantas is flying from there is because they have built a special gate to allow their domestic terminal to be used for international flights. That is only for them and no one else can use it. The a330-800 is not selling because it wastes as much fuel as the a330-900 and yet the a330-900 can fly virtually all routes non-stop with more passengers. The extra slight range is not needed.
DeleteHow about getting some new aircraft?
ReplyDeleteThey have the youngest fleet in ex-Yu.
Delete@anon 09:34
DeleteUntill OUs A220 replace most of their Airbuses/Dashes.
They will certainly have it for another year or two. By then they may make an order for new aircraft.
DeleteJU should plan ahead and order new aircraft now. The backlog at both Airbus and Boeing is very long and even if they had ordered them today it would take years for the aircraft to be delivered.
DeleteLet's see about the actual execution of the plan
ReplyDeleteHopefully the number of ACMi aircraft in the fleet will go down.
ReplyDeleteAnd still not a member of an alliance, makes little sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI don’t see anything detrimental to their non-aligned status.
DeleteThey said that they would have more to loose from being an alliance member at this point of their development.
DeleteThank god they are not. It would be a total mess. Just pay closed attention to those that are part of one of those .
DeleteWorld's largest airlines who are members of an alliance are paying close attention to JU before taking the next step of leaving their alliance! 🤪
Delete^ Your comment makes no sense. It is a fact that alliances benefits the world's largest airlines at the expense of small ones.
DeleteSuper 👌
ReplyDeleteNice that they are expanding the fleet. Also would be nice if they took more care of the cabins on board their aircraft and unified the product
ReplyDelete+1
Delete+1000
DeleteWhat about giving the ATR-72 fleet names?
ReplyDeleteWe should named them all BEOGRAD :))))
DeleteCould be good timing and opportunities with a larger fleet with uncertainty around Tarom, so Romania could be an opportunity to expand to more cities there, alongside places like Trieste to feed more of the widebody fleet and to make Belgrade more of an airport of choice for connections.
ReplyDeleteTrieste would be good, but that’s more from my own selfish perspective as would make getting to Koper easier from Belgrade.
DeleteThey tried Trieste and they failed.
DeleteThey fly to Venice and Pula which covers the region.
DeleteBetter to boost VCE and PUY rather than adding another route with little frequencies.
DeleteOrder:
ReplyDelete10 new E290
10 A320
5 A321
5 330-800 with deliveries starting in 2026, as a replacement for A330-200
A330/800 is dead plane which have no orders. A330/900 would have a future though
DeleteOn google map, on the recent airport photo, we can see two AirSERBIA E195 in gate :)
ReplyDeleteCan you see registrations of those two aircrafts?
DeleteAnon 17:01
DeleteOne have SX-RMA but the other one, we couldnt see it
It's most likely SX-PTM
DeleteTnx! I can not find that photo. It was probably taken during A.S. contract with Marathon
DeleteWhat is the registration of the second A330-200 that is supposed to come. Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteARD
DeleteNo, I meant in the article there is a link to another article outlining where the next A330-200 is coming from (ex Air Belgium). I was wondering if anyone knew where the fourth one is coming from.
DeleteOE-LAC and OE-LCL
DeleteGrowing fleet in 2025 was expected based on earlier statements, but lack of new details make it one tasty Nothing Burger.
ReplyDeleteRealistically speaking, it will likely be another 1-2 E195 and 2-3 A320. No space in the budget for much more, and we certainly won’t see another A332 in 2025. It is certain that ASL will have 3-4 wet-leased A320 again in 2025. If they can at least try to unify the fleet by rehauling ARB and ARC, and dry lease A320’s in a way that we can hope for unified fleet, that would be great. I do not expect a huge expansion, likely Kairo, Baku, Manchester, Dublin, one more destination in Spain and 2-3 regional routes. As long as they do this, avoid operation-related delays, fix 2 existing A332 (very poor state) and remain profitable, it would still be a good year rhat would set them to for success in 2027. They have to develop in small steps…
ReplyDeleteHow about some cabin upgrades - both A330’s had broken tv’s, headphone plugs damaged, cabin was too hot, no phone chargers. Similar goes for smaller aircraft. Perhaps somebody can fly with competition and difference in creature comforts.
ReplyDeleteA350 - when?!
ReplyDelete