Airbus A320 bearing the registration code YU-APS, the latest addition to Air Serbia’s turbojet fleet, arrived in Belgrade on April 12. The new aircraft has 180 Recaro Slim seats, designed to take up less space and provide passengers with more comfort. The aircraft is 37.57 meters long and has a wingspan of 34.1 meters. It has two IAE V2527-A5 engines and it can reach a top cruising speed of 950 km/h, with a maximum range of approximately 6,100 km at full capacity. The aircraft received the Serbian national airline’s visual identity in the Netherlands.
Photo: Air Serbia
“With the arrival of the new Airbus A320 YU-APS, our company will have three planes of this type in its fleet. Continued modernization 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 Airbus A319 and A320, our regional fleet was rejuvenated with the addition of five ATR 72-600s, and as of December, our second Airbus A330-200 has taken flight, bearing the image of the famous Serbian scientist and inventor Mihajlo Pupin. This is the second addition to our fleet since the start of 2023 and we are very proud of it”, said Marijan Kocić, Chief Operations Officer, Air Serbia.
Photo: Air Serbia
The second Airbus A320, and the first one with sharklets, joined the Serbian national airline’s fleet on October 13, 2022. The aircraft bears the registration code YU-APO.
Air Serbia on April 6, 2023 added a new route to Tel Aviv, with flight JU812 at 1:30pm, Air Serbia re-established direct flights between Belgrade and Tel Aviv, after a hiatus of more than three years. The national airline will be operating flights to this city in Israel on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, while from 8 May fourth weekly will be introduced on Mondays.
The first Air Serbia flight received an official welcome at the Ben Gurion Airport, located 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv.
In addition, on April 7, 2023, Air Serbia’s flight JU808 at 12:30am marked the launch of scheduled Ankara service. Direct flights between the Serbian and Turkish capital will be operated four times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, by Airbus A319 aircraft.
The Serbian national airline’s inaugural flight between Belgrade and Ankara was welcomed at Ankara Esenboga airport, located 28 kilometres northeast of the city centre. It is the third biggest airport in Turkey, with an annual capacity of over 15 million passengers.
60% increase in traffic compared with the previous year
87 routes to four continents
Direct flights to Tianjin, Air Serbia’s second long-haul destination launched
Load factor averaged 72%
Premium lounge used by more than 54,000 passengers
After two difficult years for commercial aviation, the Serbian national airline achieved significant progress last year. In 2022, Air Serbia carried a total of 2.76 million passengers on scheduled and charter flights, which is a 73% increase compared with the previous year. From July to December, the company achieved record-breaking monthly results in terms of the number of passengers carried. The national airline operated a total of 31,420 flights from three international airports in Serbia – its hub in Belgrade, as well as the airports in Niš and Kraljevo. This represents a 60% increase compared with 2021. The average load factor was 72%, which represents an increase of 8 percentage points year on year. In 2022, Air Serbia expanded its network with 15 new destinations and reinforced its fleet with seven new aircraft.
In November, the long-haul fleet got its second wide-body airplane, the Airbus A330-200 bearing the image of famous Serbian scientist and inventor, Mihajlo Pupin. In addition to that, the jet fleet was enriched with an additional Airbus A319 and an Airbus A320, while four new ATR 72-600 type aircraft joined the regional fleet.
During the previous year, Air Serbia flew to a total of 87 routes across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa via scheduled, seasonal, and charter flights. Compared with 2021, direct flights to 15 new destinations have been launched, including Valencia, Malaga, Malta, Lyon, Bologna, Hanover, Nuremberg, and others. As of 9 December, the national airline resumed flights to the People’s Republic of China after a 22-year hiatus. The first destination in this Asian country is Tianjin, the fourth largest city and the largest port in northern China. As a result, Air Serbia managed to position itself on the market as one of the few European airlines that offer direct flights to the People’s Republic of China.
Last year’s results in charter transport were particularly good, with Air Serbia operating 2,663 flights on a total of 21 charter routes, achieving a 10% better performance than in 2021. From Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Niš Constantine the Great Airport, it operated flights on as many as nine routes in Greece, six in Turkey, three in Egypt, two in Italy, and one in Tunisia.
By carrying nearly 5,000 tons of cargo, Air Serbia Cargo achieved a 30% better result in the previous year than in 2021.
The services of Air Serbia’s Premium Lounge at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport were used by 54,000 passengers in 2022.
Additionally, in 2022 Air Serbia positioned itself among the European airlines with the highest number of weekly flights from Istanbul airport. The number of flights between Belgrade and Istanbul increased from ten to 17 flights a week. Passengers had access to up to six daily flights between these two cities, with three flights operated by Air Serbia, and the remaining three by Turkish Airlines, with whom Air Serbia has a code-share agreement.
Top Copyright Photo: Air Serbia Airbus A320-232 WL YU-APO (msn 6388) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 959845.
