Air Serbia adds third Embraer jet to fleet
Air Serbia has added a third Embraer aircraft to its fleet wet-leased from Greece’s Marathon Airlines. The 88-seat Embraer E175 jet is expected to operate on Air Serbia’s behalf until October 15, after which it will be replaced by a 118-seat E195 aircraft. The jet complements the E190 and E195 already operating on the Serbian carrier’s behalf. Based on Global Distribution System availability, the second E195 is tentatively scheduled to join the fleet on October 16 during the morning wave of departures on either the Dusseldorf or Rome service, however, changes remain possible. Marathon Airlines has previously indicated the second E195 would join Air Serbia’s fleet sometime in September, although the smaller E175 aircraft seems to be a temporary replacement until the larger version arrives.
Air Serbia’s growing Embraer operations are in line with its plans to bridge the gap between its ATR72-600 and Airbus A320-family fleet. The E190 and E195 aircraft feature either Air Serbia titles or livery, with the second E195 expected to as well. The Serbian carrier is likely to eventually transition the wet-leases into dry-leases if it is satisfied with their performance. “We'll see how these planes perform. If it turns out that they perfectly fill the gap between ATRs and Airbuses, we will keep them”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said recently. The E175, which is set to operate on Air Serbia’s behalf until mid-October, is eleven years old and registered SX-ASK.
Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News recently, Pawel Skuteli, Embraer’s Regional Director for Airline Marketing EMEA, said, “Air Serbia launched over twenty new routes this year. Adding Embraer E-Jets to the fleet will help to further fuel this growth. Efficient regional jets offer more flexibility and can serve as route-openers on markets that would be too thin for a larger narrow-body or too far away for a turboprop aircraft. E-Jets also help to tackle seasonality, one of the key challenges for airlines in the region. Historically, capacity in January has been at only 40% of what it is in August. Efficient regional jets are a perfect tool to maintain connectivity by replacing larger aircraft in low-demand months”.
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