Air Serbia outlines rollout plans for second A330 jet

Air Serbia will lease its second Airbus A330-200 aircraft from Aircastle Limited with the frame having previously operated for South African Airways. The jet is due to arrive in Belgrade this October and will be put into operation to Tianjin, New York and European destinations. The aircraft will temporarily replace the airline’s current A330-200 which will undergo scheduled maintenance during the winter season, after which both twin-aisle jets will be utilised. This winter, the Serbian carrier plans to deploy its newly arrived wide-body jet once per week to China, three times per week to New York, as well as to popular European destinations. “In addition to serving future flights to China, which we plan to launch this autumn, this plane will also be deployed on flights to important European destinations that are in high demand”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said.

The CEO described taking on its second A330 as a “big deal” for a regional carrier. “We are very satisfied with the performance of our A330-200, because flying just to one long haul destination with just one aircraft is quite challenging. The new addition will be vital to our further expansion, launching new routes and increasing the frequency of flights in our existing network of destinations”, Mr Marek noted. Speaking separately to “Aviation Week” he added, “Our New York JFK operation is profitable and, combined with the new opportunities in China and expansion in the US, it was an easy decision to go for the second aircraft”.

During the next summer season, which begins on March 26, 2023, Air Serbia will have two A330-200s in use, which will enable it to launch two weekly flights to Chicago. “The new aircraft will be adorned by the image of Mihajlo Pupin, one of the other all-time greatest Serbian scientists”, Mr Marek said. The aircraft will complement the other A330 featuring Nikola Tesla’s image. Although the exact frame of the incoming A330 is unknown, South African Airways has recently returned both ZS-SXX and ZS-SXV to Aircrastle and both are stored, although the lessor has provided up to six of the jets to the South African carrier over the past decade, however, most have new operators now. Both of the aforementioned jets are eleven years old.

EX-YU Aviation News

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