TRIP REPORT: Flying Air Serbia's 32-year-old 737
TRIP REPORT | INDEX
Written by Veljko Marinković
Flight: Air Serbia JU 540/545, Belgrade- Milan- Belgrade
Aircraft: Boeing 737-3H9, YU-ANK
Age: 32 years
In October 2019 I flew from Belgrade to Milan Malpensa airport and back with Air Serbia. The departure flight was in the morning and the return flight in the evening. Both were operated by Aviolet’s Boeing 737-300, reg. YU-ANK. The return flight was scheduled to operate with an A319 but was changed to the B737 during the day. As I saw, most of Air Serbia’s flights to Milan are operated by B737s. I generally enjoy flying this aircraft. My first flight ever was on JAT’s B737, and most of them have been on this type so there is something that makes me feel great flying on these machines.
These flight to Milan was no exception. Friendly and smiling crew, seat pitch was fine, but Air Serbia needs to decide on the future of its B737 fleet, because they need an urgent cabin upgrade. The cabin looked very rusty, cracks were visible on some seats, the cushioning could be seen coming out of some seats and the handle on my seat went all the way back to the row behind me when it was lifted.
Both flights had a load factor of more than 90%. On the outbound flight there were only two seats empty in economy and I am not sure how many passengers were in business class (3-5). However, on the return flight business class was full, 8/8. Since I was seated in the row behind, I spied on the business class service 😊. They were offered champagne before take-off, and the main dish to choose from was between salmon and chicken. Also, cookies or cake, fresh fruits and wine was served after the meal. I would say pretty nice service. For us mortals in economy there was chips and water.
The return flight was delayed by about 25 minutes (we landed on time). Due to the chaotic boarding process and because there was no space in the overhead compartments, hand luggage of the last passengers who boarded was taken to the belly of the plane.
It seems that Air Serbia is really trying to get extra income with additional services. Even though I fly with Air Serbia several times per year, it was the first time I ever got several e-mails days before my flight to upgrade to business class by making a bid, and, if my offer was accepted, they would charge my credit card. For me, it was an interesting offer, but then I realized that the starting bid could not be lower than 50 euros, so I quickly gave up.
Milan Malpensa airport looks very nice. Large and comfortable with a number of premium and normal brand stores, lots of cafes, restaurants, shops; but the major problem was that after landing we had to wait for over two hours at passport control. Only two police officers were working, catering for one Emirates B777 and our flight. Therefore, it was very crowded. The experience changed my opinion of Greek passport control, compared to this, they are very, very fast.
It is nice to see that ExYu aviation is quoted in Air Serbia's in-flight magazine, Elevate 😊
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