Air Serbia Agrees to Expand Fleet of Widebody Aircraft

DALLAS — Serbian flag carrier Air Serbia (JU) has recently agreed to add to its existing fleet of Airbus A330s, providing the carrier with more options on routes to East Asia.

The Belgrade-based carrier expressed interest in purchasing an additional Airbus A330-200, which was supposed to be delivered in the summer of 2023. However, the plan was scrapped due to supply chain problems. Now, JU has finalized an agreement leading to a replacement A330-200 that should help to smooth out capacity issues and expand its long-haul route network. This additional aircraft is now expected to be delivered to the company's hub in Belgrade in 2024.

The A330 isn't necessarily the only aircraft entering the JU fleet, with the Serbian flag carrier having reportedly been eyeing more Embraer E-Jets to expand its Southern European operations. These would then be operated by Greek charter airline Marathon Airlines (O8). This comes after the nearly-97-year-old airline retired its aging fleet of ATR 72-500s and 72-200s in January of last year.

Air Serbia retired its fleet of early model ATR-72s, keeping the ATR 72-600 for short-haul flights. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

Air Serbia's Proposed A330 Operations

The reasons for JU's decision to add to the fleet are clear, Air Serbia's current Airbus A330-200s have an average fleet age of 13.5 years. Both aircraft are routinely used on the carrier's few long-haul routes, mainly to Tianjin, Chicago, and New York.

With the new aircraft, JU now wants to delve further into routes in eastern Asia, operating flights to Guangzhou and Shanghai. It also plans to use the aircraft on existing routes but increases the frequency of them.

Air Serbia's A330s are currently deployed on long-haul routes to Asia and the Americas. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

In a message written to Air Serbia employees, the company's CEO, Jiri Marek, stated, “We have taken a number of steps and recently made agreements thanks to which, in the coming months, our fleet of wide-body aircraft will be expanded. We are delighted by this development. The new aircraft will give us an opportunity to expand our presence in China, and we are actively working on introducing nonstop flights to new destinations in China, but also increase frequencies on routes we already serve.”

Featured Image: Luca Flores/Airways