Air Serbia’s latest A330 to feature South African Airways product

Air Serbia’s latest wide-body fleet addition, an A330-200 registered YU-ARC, will boast cabin interiors utilised by its previous operator South African Airways. The Serbian carrier confirmed that the hard product, which differs from its other A330-200, will be used until the jet goes for its scheduled twelve-year maintenance check in early 2023, after which it plans to achieve product commonality across its wide-body fleet. The airline said there was insufficient time to install its own seats into the cabin now as it plans to put the aircraft into use as soon as possible, following its delivery earlier this week. The jet is currently undergoing technical and administrative procedures, after which it will be deployed on scheduled flights.

Commenting on the matter, the carrier said, “We are eagerly awaiting the moment when our new A330 will take flight. Having in mind the current needs of our network, it is very important for the new aircraft to start regular flights as soon as possible, and that is why it will be flying with the existing cabin and seat layout. Our plan is for “Pupin” [YU-ARC] to get a cabin which will be similar to the one in the current A330-200 “Tesla” [YU-ARB] in terms of quality. This will be done during the regular twelve-year airplane maintenance at the start of next year. We continue to renew our fleet in order to offer even more network flexibility and comfort for our passengers”.

In its South African Airways configuration, the aircraft features 268 seats, which is eighteen more than in Air Serbia's other A330. The latest fleet addition is in a two-class configuration and includes eighteen seats in business and the remaining 250 in economy. Premium travellers will enjoy a 2-2-2 cabin layout, with slightly angled seats when fully reclined, a shoe cupboard, touch-sensitive personal television screen, which can also be navigated via a remote control, seat massage function, a handle at the back of each seat for travellers to get up more easily, a power port and 74-inch pitch. On the other hand, the economy cabin is in a standard 2-4-2 layout with personal TV screens, which are slightly wider than in Air Serbia’s other A330, adjustable headrest and a 31-32-inch pitch.

Business class cabin