Air Serbia, the national airline of Serbia and also a partner of UAE's Etihad Airways, has reported solid progress after the five months since its launch in October 2013, outlining network and fleet growth and the creation of over 300 new jobs in Serbia.

CEO Dane Kondic said that he was very pleased with the progress made in establishing Air Serbia as the leading airline in the region.

"In a very short time we have reconnected the Balkan region, introduced new fleet in the striking Air Serbia livery, raised the standards of our onboard dining, and created new and challenging roles for Serbian nationals," he remarked.

“These initiatives, combined with strong ethos of customer service, have fundamentally changed the way we operate. Air Serbia exists to provide a remarkable service to our guests and that we will never forget,” stated Kondic.

With a focus on comfort, Air Serbia leased eight modern Airbus A319 and two Airbus A320 aircraft to replace the ageing fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. The two Airbus A320 aircraft will begin service in early April 2014 to complete the interim fleet renewal program.

“The Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft have been completely refurbished and reconfigured into a two-class cabin and have been extremely well received by our guests,” he said.

In November Air Serbia announced that, in a deal valued at more than $1 billion at list prices, ten next-generation A320neo aircraft were confirmed for its fleet between 2018 and 2020.

“These Airbus A320neo aircraft are best-in-class and key to Air Serbia’s strategy to continually lift its standards of service and comfort,” observed Kondic.

“Our onboard service has been completely overhauled and is complemented by a contemporary new uniform. Perhaps the most dramatic change in our onboard service has been in our food and beverage service.

“We now serve convenient, fresh and tasty meals and snacks in the Economy Class and Business Class cabins. The meals we serve in Business Class are designed by our chefs for Air Serbia, made using Serbian ingredients where possible, and matched with a selection of Serbian wines,” he added.

The airline chief pointed out that the changes were not restricted to the fleet. Air Serbia was reconnecting the Balkan region, he said, adding that over the past five months the network had grown rapidly to include close neighbours of Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Bucharest, Podgorica, Tivat, Skopje, Budapest, and Sofia.

“Some of these cities have not had the benefit of an air link for more than two decades and I am very proud that we have brought our neighbours together. This is an important part of the value we can deliver," he added.
 
Air Serbia provides connections to many destinations worldwide in cooperation with its 10 code share partners.

Cooperation with strategic partner Etihad Airways provides excellent connections via Abu Dhabi to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth in Australia, Seychelles and Kuwait. Also, Etihad Airways provides beyond connections to the Middle and Far East, India and Africa, said the airline in its statement.

"Air Serbia’s network, serviced by its own fleet, will grow from 29 destinations at the end of 2013 to 38 destinations by the end of this year. From June Air Serbia will fly to Varna, Beirut and Warsaw," he added.-TradeArabia News Service