Air Serbia beefs up fleet, adds more int’l routes

MANILA, Philippines - Serbia’s revitalized national airline took to the skies with new aircraft, new routes and new partnerships, setting Air Serbia on the way to its goal of becoming the region’s leading carrier.

Beginning Oct. 26, Air Serbia will launch a new route from its hub at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla International Airport to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, with routes to Banja Luka (Bosnia), Bucharest (Romania), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Prague (Czech Republic) to be launched by the end of 2013.  These new flights add to the 29 destinations previously served by the airline as part of its 2013 summer schedule.

Air Serbia also plans to launch another seven new routes between January and April 2014, in addition to rescheduling existing operations to optimize connections via its hub in Belgrade.  By June 2014, it will have doubled frequencies and capacity, to serve 43 destinations in 30 countries, with 73,000 seats on more than 670 flights a week.

Eight Airbus A319 and two A320 aircraft have been leased, the first part of a two-phase fleet modernization strategy which will give Air Serbia one of the most modern and efficient fleets in the region.

As a member of Etihad Airways’ ‘equity alliance’, which includes another five partner airlines (airberlin, Air Seychelles, Aer Lingus, Virgin Australia and Jet Airways*, subject to regulatory approval), Air Serbia will also be able to leverage revenue and cost benefits including new codesharing opportunities, joint procurement, and shared training and staff development.

Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić called the launch an important step in building a strong, right-sized airline and a new beginning for Serbia’s future economic growth.

Vučić noted that Serbia’s new partner, Etihad Airways, “is an airline that has grown faster than any other full-service national airline in the last decade.  Yet it has never lost sight of its commercial mandate, tripling its profits last year.  We are looking forward to that rigor being applied to our national airline.”

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will make available a $40 million loan facility which will be converted into a 49 percent equity stake in January 2014, subject to regulatory approval. This will be matched by an equal funding injection by the Government of Serbia.

Etihad Airways and the Government of Serbia will also each provide a shareholder loan of up to $60 million to meet working capital requirements and support network development for Air Serbia.

“We look for partners who share our vision of best in class service, working to a commercial mandate and delivering trade and tourism into their national economies. The team at Air Serbia is professional, enthusiastic and committed.  With the right focus, and working with Etihad and our many strong partners, we believe Air Serbia can become a force to be reckoned with in this region,” said President and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways.