Air Serbia, in which Etihad Airways has a minority stake, is buying new planes for the first time in a quarter of a century as it builds and modernises its fleet.
The national airline announced at the Dubai Airshow that it had ordered 10 Airbus A320neo aircraft, which are expected to be delivered between 2018 and 2020.
Under an agreement signed in August, Etihad helped to relaunch the loss-making Jat Airways as Air Serbia and made a financial pledge of US$40 million, which is to be converted into a 49 per cent equity shareholding in January. The agreement also requires Etihad to make up to $60m available to meet Air Serbia’s operational requirements and network development.
Sinisa Mali, an economic adviser to the Serbian government, which is the majority shareholder in Air Serbia, said the new planes had been a long time coming.
“The last delivery of a new jet to Jat Airways, the former national carrier of Serbia, was in 1988,” he said. “We understand the importance of Air Serbia to the economic development of Serbia. These modern, well-equipped aircraft are vital to the development of a reliable, customer-oriented and profitable airline.”
Air Serbia said it would soon launch flights to Banja Luka, Bosnia; Bucharest, Romania; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Prague, Czech Republic.
The Belgrade-based airline currently has 25 destinations but aims to reach 39 destinations in 30 countries by June.
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