Air Serbia is expected to double its wide-body fleet by May of this year, the country’s Finance Minister, Siniša Mali, said. Speaking in an interview for the Tanjug newsagency, Mr Mali noted, “We are in the process of acquiring two wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft. I expect for both to arrive in Belgrade by May. We will launch flights to Shanghai and Guangzhou this year, complementing Tianjin, New York and Chicago. A small country such as Serbia has a successful national carrier that flies both to the east and west”. The announcement comes after the airline’s management confirmed it reached an agreement to lease additional wide-body capacity.
Commenting on Air Serbia’s operational performance, Mr Mali noted, “Air Serbia handled 4.1 million passengers in 2023. I expect that it will post a net profit of at least 35 million euros for 2023. So, we have a profitable company that pays dividend into the state budget, with a record number of passengers, new routes and is in the process of acquiring additional aircraft. It is an example of a successful company. It is obvious that if a state-owned company has a professional management, it can produce good results to the benefit of the state and its people”. The Serbian carrier is expected to have surpassed 500 million euros in revenue in 2023.
Prior to their arrival in Belgrade, the two incoming wide-body aircraft are expected to undergo maintenance and will be repainted in the airline’s livery. Last year, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, revealed the airline’s plans for a four-member wide-body fleet. “During this past summer, we secured traffic rights to Guangzhou and Shanghai in China. Regarding China, ideally, we would start each destination with two weekly flights. However, this depends on many factors, and since we are committed to our Chinese development, we might start gradually. The remaining aircraft capacity most likely will be added to New York JFK, growing beyond daily flights.
That would mean that for some days of the week, we will introduce a second daily rotation to JFK. It depends on many factors, for example, the availability of slots and terminal space, which is an issue that is becoming more and more serious, especially at JFK”, Mr Marek explained. He added, “Having the four A330s in the fleet will enable us to plan spare capacity to overcome any unscheduled maintenance or spare parts issues as the market will continue to be volatile for several years ahead”.
Source: ex yu aviation
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