I flew Air Serbia business class from Belgrade to New York for the final part of my trip.
There was a new angle to my review of Air Serbia business class. Air Serbia has only had one plane. Air Serbia got rid of its previous A330 and bought a former Aeroflot A330 with better lease terms. The 14-year-old jet that started flying in 2008 has a registration code that is called YU-ARB.
I wanted to see how the soft product was holding up and what Air Serbia's new business class product was like.
I used Air Canada Aeroplan points to book my flight. Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other airline loyalty program. Business class award seats are available on trans-Atlantic flights.
I booked the following for 80,000 Aeroplan points.
The flight from Belgrade to New York leaves at 7:50AM and arrives at 10:50AM.
Aeroplan points are easy to get, as the program partners with several credit card companies. The Aeroplan® Credit Card is a pretty lucrative card in the US.
In previous installments, I reviewed the Air Serbia Premium Lounge Belgrade, and I was frustrated with the transfer desk requirement.
Even though the Air Serbia flight to New York was scheduled to leave at 7:50 AM, there was no announcement about the delay. I was ready to board.
The new A330 has a staggered configuration in business class. There are either four or five rows in the cabin. I wonder where Air Serbia got these seats, they look like Aer Lingus' A330 business class.
The left side of the cabin had five rows and one seat per row. There were seats that were close to the window and seats that were closer to the aisle. If you sit on the left side of the plane, you want to be in an odd numbered row so that you can see the window.
Four rows were along the right side of the cabin. Rows two and four had a pair of seats, while rows three and five had a single seat in the middle of the seats.
There were five rows with two seats each in the center section. If you travel with someone and both want direct aisle access, you should choose one of the pairs along the windows.
I thought my seat was in the last row on the right. The seat didn't have a console on the left side, but instead had a larger aisle. I don't know why it's designed this way. Is it possible that Air Serbia didn't purchase the right number ofthrone seats when reconfiguring this plane?
My seat had a large console on the right side, which made it easy to store my laptop during the flight.
There was a storage compartment in the back of the seat.
The seat controls were located in this area. I accidentally bumped the controls with my arm several times because they were too easy to use.
There were also a pair of headphones.
If you wanted to recline the seat all the way, there was a seat underneath the console.
Along the armrest was a panel that could be raised to show the controller.
At the top of the seat is where the tray table folds out.
There was a literature pocket underneath the console.
There was a pouch underneath the monitor where you could keep your stuff during the flight.
Unfortunately there weren't any individual air nozzles, but there were some reading lights overhead.
There were two lavatories behind the cabin and one in front of it. The front of the cabin was used for business class, while the back of the cabin was used for economy. I don't know if that was the intent or if the rules weren't followed.
Air Serbia branded facial mist, hand cream, and antibacterial gel were found in the business class bathroom.
This was a fine hard product. I don't think anyone would complain about the seats. On the other hand, the rest of the experience.
There were pillows and blankets at each seat. It was decent but not as good as United's Polaris bedding.
The headphones that were waiting at my seat were better than nothing, but that's all I can say.
I was offered champagne, apple juice, orange juice, or water before I left. I decided to drink champagne.
There was a menu at the seat as well. There were meal orders taken.
That was the end of the amenities. Air Serbia used to have amenity kits and pajamas, but they weren't available anymore. The crew said they weren't available on the flight. It seems like some extreme cost cutting if you don't have an amenities kit on a flight.
The boarding was done in 15 minutes. Economy seemed to be mostly full, while only 12 of the 21 business class seats were occupied, and only five of those seats were occupied on the seat map.
The captain informed us of our flight time of 9 hours and 30 minutes and our altitude of 38,000 feet.
The safety video was screened after the main cabin door closed. We began our taxi at 8:20 AM.
The taxiway is right by a field and it was pretty.
We had a quick takeoff roll and a steep ascent out of the runway. The sign for seatbelts was turned off.
Air Serbia doesn't have wi-fi on its A330 It's not ideal to not have wi-fi on a plane. On a daytime flight, that is true.
The selection at Air Serbia is disappointing.
There were a total of over 60 movies. The selection was limited due to the fact that there were only limited new films.
The number of TV shows and the number of episodes of each show were both small.
I watched the map feature on the plane for most of the trip.
One of the major issues with entertainment is that. The coloring is off if you recline your seat and watch a show in bed. I think I captured that fairly well.
It is possible that Air Serbia has a dine on demand menu in business class. The menu and drink list can be found below.
The menu is usually designed so that you can eat breakfast after the flight and then have a snack before you land.
The crew explained the concept before taking orders. Since I remember Air Serbia having great espresso-based drinks, I tried to get a cappuccino. I was only able to get instant coffee because the espresso machine was broken.
Drinks were served 30 minutes after the service began. I decided to order a glass of wine after seeing that the crew was serving a lot of nuts. The Serbian white wine was dry and I liked it.
The meal service started after 50 minutes. Air Serbia doesn't serve meals on trays, but instead gives each passenger a tablecloth, and puts items directly on there That is a nice gesture. The meal service is not a good thing.
The greek yogurt with walnuts and strawberry sauce was small and had a lot of strawberry sauce. I had an instant coffee with an orange juice. The coffee had a cookie and a cup of milk.
The Spanish pie with potatoes and vegetables was the main course. It was alright, but not much else.
There was a dessert plate.
The crew was friendly and efficient. The meal wasn't great. Breakfast is usually the least exciting meal you can get on a plane. We were over Germany by the time breakfast service was over.
I tried to sleep but couldn't because I was so tired. I thought I had to use other methods to get some sleep because there was no entertainment or work left to be done. rakia, which is 40% alcohol and a fruity spirit, is a Serbian tradition. I asked if I could try the plum and apricot rakia, and the flight attendant brought them with me.
I enjoyed the rakia and the drinks helped me sleep. The cabin lights were to be turned on for the pre-arrival service about an hour before I woke up.
Breakfast and a snack are the main items on the dine on demand menu. I tried to order a meal about two hours before I got to the airport. The four things that weren't breakfast were on the menu.
“Could I have the Greek salad with grilled chicken?”“We are out, I’m sorry.”“Okay, then the ravioli with cheese and spinach and cream sauce?”“I’m so sorry, we don’t have any of those left either.”“Umm, okay, then I guess I’ll take a cheese plate?”“We’re out of those. Would you like the sweet omelet?”“Is there another option?”“We have some fruit plates left from breakfast.”
“Okay, I’ll take the omelet then.”
All Rights Reserved © 2024
