EX-YU airlines prepare for fleet expansion
The three national carriers from the former Yugoslavia will all be expanding their fleets this summer season in order to support their growing networks.
Air Serbia will lease two former Adria Airways Airbus A319s. The first (pictured), has been painted in Tolouse with the second to follow shortly. They will be registered YU-APL and YU-APM and are due for delivery around March 20. The aircraft, both manufactured in 2010, are owned by Carlyle Aviation Partners. One of the A319s is tipped to replace an existing member of the fleet which will be returned to the lessor. The Serbian carrier is also expected to lease two ATR72 turboprops, with the airline’s mechanics recently dispatched to inspect the aircraft. At the same time, the carrier is expected to return one ATR72 it has been leasing over the past few years. A CRJ900 aircraft is still being sourced for a short-term wetlease over the summer months starting from June. The type, which was previously visible on a number of routes in the booking system, has now been removed until a lease contract is finalised.
Croatia Airlines will introduce two additional aircraft to its fleet this summer when compared to last year. Despite initial reports it would lease an easyJet Airbus A319, the carrier has instead opted for an eight-year lease of an A319, which was most recently utilised by charter carrier HiFly. According to the “Avio Radar” portal, the eight-year old jet, which has the capacity to seat 150 passengers, is due for delivery just prior to the summer season, in late March. It will be registered 9A-CTN. A fifteen-year-old Dash 8 Q400 turboprop will also be added to the fleet this summer. The aircraft is believed to be currently registered OE-LGJ and operated its last flight for Austrian Airlines ten days ago. It will have a low utilisation rate at Croatia Airlines and will be primarily used as a spare, so as to limit network disruption, by supplementing any aircraft which may go out of service due to technical reasons. Its delivery is due in late April. A Bombardier CRJ1000 will again be wetleased from Air Nostrum and will operate on behalf of the Croatian carrier until the end of summer.
Montenegro Airlines will add a fourth Embraer 195 jet to its fleet from April. The carrier’s CEO, Živko Banjević, confirmed the dry lease of the jet at a recent summit of industry professionals in Zurich. A fifth E195 will eventually replace an outgoing Fokker 100, which is due to leave the fleet at the end of the 2020 summer season. “The plan is to have a fleet of five Embraer E195 jets, while a sixth plane, of the same or greater capacity, would be wet-leased through an ACMI over the summer season”, Mr Banjević previously noted.
Image credit: Dan Raistrick
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