Air Serbia plans to retain wet-lease capacity in its operational planning until at least the start of the 2027/28 winter season, which begins in late October next year. Both airBaltic and Bulgaria Air will continue providing ACMI support over this period. Under a wet-lease arrangement, the lessor supplies the aircraft along with crew, maintenance and insurance to the contracting airline.
Air Serbia concluded a two-year wet-lease arrangement with airBaltic in October last year, initially for two Airbus A220-300 aircraft, which will grow to four over the coming summer. At the same time, the airline inked another two-year wet-lease partnership with Bulgaria Air for the provision of four Embraer E190 jets. The deal, reached in October last year, marks the third wet-lease arrangement between the two companies since 2024. Last year, the Bulgarian flag carrier began recruiting Serbian cabin crew members, which now operate on the airline’s E190 fleet on its Belgrade services.
Air Serbia will deploy wet-lease capacity on roughly 20% of its scheduled flights during the upcoming summer season, which begins on March 29 and runs until October 25. The Serbian carrier previously said it is working towards reducing its dependence on wet-leased equipment but noted that a growing number of airlines are bringing in capacity operated by other carriers due to the current state of the aviation industry. Last year, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, hinted that the airline may place on order for aircraft next year, “While we’re certainly examining future fleet renewal, I wouldn’t expect any firm decisions before 2027. And even then, deliveries will depend on availability. We are working hard to be able to have sufficient capacity to grow on our own”.
