Wizz Air set for Bosnia expansion

Wizz Air expected to launch new flights to Tuzla and Sarajevo

Over the past few days Wizz Air has successfully launched two new destinations from Tuzla, recording strong passenger numbers on both flights. Wizz Air’s new service from Basel and Gothenburg join the existing flights from Stockholm to Tuzla. The inaugural service from Basel was sold out while the flight from Gothenburg saw 168 passengers onboard. Ticket sales are also indicating strong numbers for the future. Wizz Air’s presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s third largest city is already being felt. Despite the fact the low cost launched flights from Tuzla on May 29, the airport managed to handle 455 passengers during the month, a five digit passenger growth of 22.650%. With only one passenger handled prior to Wizz Air’s arrival, the airport has welcomed 456 passengers so far this year.

Tuzla Airport CEO, Enver Januković, says the low cost airline is set to launch new flights from the city. “It is important that both arriving and departing flights are full. On Saturday’s service from Basel we welcomed not only Bosnian passengers but also those heading to Serbia and Croatia”, Mr. Januković says. He adds Wizz Air is considering launching flights from either Dortmund or Eindhoven to Tuzla. The airport’s CEO believes Eindhoven is the better of the two as it would target overseas diaspora passengers and allow them to connect via Amsterdam and Eindhoven to Bosnia. “I cannot comment on their behalf when the service will be launched but it most certainly will”, Mr. Januković concluded.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Sarajevo Airport, Ivica Veličan has announced that talks with Wizz Air are entering their “final phase”. Several months ago Mr. Veličan admitted the two sides failed to reach an agreement over fees warning that slashing handling prices for Wizz Air would cause a “domino effect”. However, such issues no longer seem to be the problem. “Since I began working at this airport in 1977, Sarajevo has never been better connected with Europe and the rest of the world and that is something I constantly repeat”, Mr. Veličan added.

Ryanair requests swift Adria investigation

Ryanair vs Adria

Ryanair has requested for the European Commission to swiftly act and conclude its investigation into whether Adria Airways accepted state aid and benefits from the Slovenian government to the tune of up to 85.5 million euros from 2007 to 2011, contrary to European Union competition laws. Europe’s largest low cost airline has asked for end to the delays in the Commission’s ruling. In a letter to the Commission from Ryanair’s legal department, the airline says, “State aid was provided to Adria despite its inefficiencies while Ryanair has to develop its own market and is losing revenue”. Ryanair, which has a tense relationship with the Commission, has itself been the subject of investigations for subsidies received from various airports.

The European Commission opened an investigation into Adria’s state aid payout last year. It is expected for a ruling to be made by the end of this year. The Commission is investigating whether one or more of the capital injections within the past four years have procured an economic advantage to Adria Airways over its competitors in the EU Single Market. Latvian flag carrier airBaltic is also under investigation for acquiring state aid. The European Commission can order Adria to pay back the aid it received if it considers the payments from the government to the national carrier were illegal. Last year, both the Hungarian national carrier Malév and the Barcelona based Spanair went bankrupt after the Commission ordered the airlines to pay back state aid received by the Hungarian and regional Catalan governments respectively.

Adria insists it played by the books. Commenting on the issue, the Slovenian carrier has said, “We would like to stress that it is in the interest of Adria to prove that all the measures so far were carried out in accordance with the applicable legislation” Meanwhile, Mark Anžur, who has led the company on a temporary six month basis from January to June has been re-elected as the airline’s CEO. Adria has embarked on an aggressive plan to reduce costs which have so far proved successful as losses have been reduced. Furthermore, recently, Adria’s passenger numbers have begun to rise after over a year of constant reductions.

UPDATED Etihad announces possible equity investment in Jat

Etihad to submit Jat offer in thirty days

Etihad Airways and Jat Airways have held a press conference today, during which the CEO of the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates announced the airline’s equity investment in Jat. The conference was preceded by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Etihad and the Serbian government to explore equity investment opportunities in Jat.

Details of the development were unveiled by Etihad CEO James Hogan and his Jat counterpart Velibor Vukašinmović. Mr. Hogan began by saying, “We are excited about the future and look forward to exploring the possibility of a much deeper strategic commercial partnership with Jat Airways”. He added that Etihad will put forward a proposal to the Serbian government and Jat within the next thirty days. “As we have demonstrated with our minority equity investments in other airlines, significant ongoing savings can be achieved through joint initiatives. These include pilot and crew training, fuel, insurance and procurement and maintenance agreements for common engine types”. Mr. Hogan added that Etihad will now conduct interviews in Serbia with potential employees. “As the partnership between Etihad Airways and Jat Airways deepens, and new codeshare destinations are added, we will see greater numbers of travellers being fed across the two networks. This will increase further with the codeshare between Etihad Airways’ equity parner, Air Berlin and Jat, which will link Belgrade, via Berlin, to Chicago, which has a strong Serbian community. Jat is an airline with a strong history and Serbia is a country with a big diaspora and major tourism potential. That forms the market base. We would not enter discussions if we knew that through restructuring Jat could be successful. We are focusing on returning Jat to profitability", Mr. Hogan concluded.

Etihad recently added its codes on to Jat’s flights to Sarajevo and they will soon be added to the Tivat service as well. Subject to regulatory approval Etihad will also place its own codes on Jat’s services to Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Rome, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Istanbul, London Heathrow, Larnaca, Milan, Moscow, Podgorica, Skopje, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Vienna and Zurich. Jat recently placed its own codes on Etihad’s service from Belgrade to Abu Dhabi as well as flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Late last week aviation authorities in Kuwait and the Seychelles also approved the codesharing arrangements between Jat and Etihad. The Serbian carrier will further place its codes on to services to Bangkok, Beijing, Chengdu, Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City, Islamabad, Johannesburg, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, New York, Chicago, Shanghai, Singapore, Toronto and Washington D.C.

Speaking at the conference, Jat Airwas CEO said, “It’s is our great pleasure to establish cooperation between Etihad Airways and Jat Airways. We are happy that Jat has been given the opportunity to develop a joint product with the aim of increasing passenger numbers and establishing closer ties between our countries”. Mr. Vukašinović added that Belgrade will become a regional hub thanks to the partnership between the two airlines. “I am extremely proud to be part of this important moment in Jat’s history.

Attending the conference was a group of Australian based tour operators who were flown in by Etihad this weekend from Sydney and Melbourne. Also present were reporters from Australia’s public broadcaster SBS who were interested to learn how the new partnership will better serve the Serbian community in Australia. Serbian media were more interested in the planned 49% takeover of Jat. Mr. Hogan noted that the airline has completed a screening process of Jat with due diligence noting that Etihad has delivered on every promise it has made up until now. “Two months ago we announced a codesharing partnership which is now in place. We announced daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Belgrade which have now been launched. Now we are ready for the next phase”, Mr. Hogan said. He denied claims by the Serbian media that Etihad was angry at the change in management in Jat adding, “The media often has something to say before we do”.

According to previous media reports, Etihad plans to take over Jat on July 15, a month away from now. The airline is reported to be eager to change Jat’s image, brand, introduce new destinations and aircraft. Mr. Hogan referred to Air Seychelles several times noting that by restructuring the carrier Etihad has turned it into a profitable business for the first time. Jat and Etihad will now intensify discussions on collaborative efforts to further integrate their network and help Jat achieve efficiencies, build revenue and reduce costs. Etihad Airways has for the first time today officially announced plans to invest in Jat.

Croatia Airlines and B&H top EX-YU airline safety

Croatia and B&H safest EX-YU airlines in latest review

A new website that lists safety and service ratings for 425 airlines around the world has rated Croatia Airlines and B&H Airlines as the best in terms of safety in the former Yugoslavia. Both airlines received the top seven star ranking for safety procedures while Adria Airways, Jat and Montenegro Airlines were awarded a five star ranking out of the possible seven. Geoffrey Thomas, AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief, says 43 airlines worldwide received very poor ratings of three stars or less. AirlineRatings.com uses international safety standard measures to assess the safety of each airline. An airline with a seven star safety rating meets and generally exceeds all international requirements that are put in place to prevent an accident happening. Furthermore, a seven star ranking indicates the airline and its country of origin have passed the most rigorous industry safety audits.

When it comes to service excellence, which is also assessed, EX-YU airlines are put on an equal footing. Adria, Croatia Airlines and Jat all received a four star ranking out of a possible seven. Montenegro Airlines and B&H Airlines were not assessed in this area. Only eleven airlines worldwide received a dual seven star ranking for safety and service: Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Korean Air, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

AirlineRatings.com is the first website to independently rate airlines on safety and onboard service product since the launch of the Skytrax website where Adria, Croatia Airlines and Jat hold an average three out of five star ranking. Skytrax, which boasts itself as the global leader in air transport research, awarded Croatia Airlines with a four star ranking in safety while Adria and Jat had to settle for three stars. B&H and Montenegro Airlines have not been reviewed.

Regardless of the rankings, no EX-YU carrier has had a serious emergency in decades. What do you make of these ratings and do you think they reflect reality? Send in a comment with your thoughts.