Air Serbia to stick to mid-age aircraft to retain profitability
Air Serbia does not plan to acquire brand new aircraft for the time being, with its CEO, Jiri Marek, noting that staying profitable is the company’s immediate goal. Speaking to “Bloomberg Adria”, Mr Marek said, “Our aim was to transform the company and secure profitability, which we did in 2022. Now the goal is to continue down the path of profitability and look for long-term sustainability”. He added, “Acquiring new aircraft might look interesting, but it is currently not on our radar because we can still take advantage of a volatile market with very good [leasing] deals”. Air Serbia added eight aircraft to its fleet last year through long-term dry-leases, and a further two so far this year, with more to come.
The carrier’s CEO has not ruled out the acquisition of new aircraft in the future. “We have to reach a fleet size of between thirty and 35 aircraft to consider such options. Currently, we are better off looking for middle-age aircraft”, Mr Marek said. The airline has noted it plans to dry-lease a further two ATR72-600 aircraft this year and is considering the possibility of leasing two Airbus A321 jets. Furthermore, the airline is sourcing a third and fourth wide-body aircraft. Since the retirement of its ATR72-200 and -500 turboprops earlier this year, Air Serbia no longer has any aircraft in its ownership in its fleet, with all aircraft being leased.
In early 2019, Etihad Airways cancelled its order for ten A320neo aircraft which were to be delivered to its Serbian equity partner. Deliveries were initially due to begin in November 2018. They were set to completely replace Air Serbia's fleet of A319s and A320s at the time. The Serbian carrier secured the narrow-bodies as part of a major fleet order by Etihad at the 2013 Dubai Air Show, for up to 117 Airbus aircraft. The delivery of the neos to Air Serbia was originally slated between late 2018 and 2020. However, they were due to arrive at a time when the Serbian carrier was undergoing significant cost cutting measures in the aftermath of its failed boutique business model and transition into a hybrid carrier. In 2019, Airbus returned a 23.5-million-dollar deposit to Air Serbia for eight A319 aircraft ordered by the carrier’s predecessor JAT Yugoslav Airlines in 1998 that were never delivered. It was later negotiated for the funds to be used towards Air Serbia’s A320neos.
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