Air Serbia to wet-lease half a dozen aircraft this summer
Air Serbia is finalising plans to wet-lease aircraft for the peak of the summer season with at least six expected to be operated on behalf of the airline by foreign carriers. Air Serbia is in the final phase of arranging the wet-lease agreements, the number of which could further grow, with the planes expected to start arriving in Belgrade from next month onwards. It comes as the airline embarks on a wide-scale expansion, with another nine new routes to be added to its network next month alone. Furthermore, the carrier is adding frequencies on existing services. Air Serbia previously said it is using wet-leases to add capacity over the seasonal summer peak, as well as cover the period before securing dry-leases under favourable terms. A wet-lease is a leasing arrangement whereby the lessor provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline.
Air Serbia is no stranger to wet-lease arrangements and is currently utilising several aircraft operated by foreign carriers, mostly on a short-term basis. They include a Trade Air Airbus A320, a Dan Air A319 (pictured), an ETF Airways Boeing 737-800 and an Air Connect ATR72-600 turboprop. Earlier this year, Air Serbia advertised a job opening for an expert in wet-leasing agreement. Last year, the carrier's CEO, Jiri Marek, noted, “Currently, we are looking into the longer-term strategy because leisure demand is from mid-June until mid-September, and whatever calculation you do, a dry-lease option with the additional crew for three months of operations, that mathematics doesn't work. We are looking either to make some capacity provider agreement on a long-term basis, five-plus years or trying to enter into some Joint Venture agreements with reverse-seasonality operators. We would like to have a constantly available shortlist of aircraft with pre-negotiated commercial terms and technical reviews to be able to act promptly”.
Despite the multiple wet-leases, Air Serbia has also been growing its own fleet through dry-leases. The airline took delivery of an A320 last week. “This is the second addition to our fleet since the start of 2023 and we are very proud of it. Continued modernisation of our fleet, management system, technical support, and crew training are the Serbian national airline’s strategic goals. In the past year, we expanded our fleet by adding eight new aircraft. Our turbojet fleet saw an addition of one A319 and A320, our regional fleet was rejuvenated with the addition of five ATR72-600s, and as of December, our second A330-200 has taken flight”, Air Serbia; s Chief Operations Officer, Marijan Kocić, said.
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