Big drop

Not busy at Jat reservation offices

With the absence of a major international event, like Eurovision in May 2008, Jat failed to replicate its record May passenger figures from last year and instead reported a passenger decline of 30%, one of the worst for any national European carrier. The airline has published its May results as June draws to a close. Jat transported a total of 81.577 passengers, 189 tonnes of cargo (down 26%) and 49 tonnes of mail (up 6%) in May 2009. In May this year the average cabin load factor (CLF) amounted to 55% compared to 68% in May 2008. Despite the drop in the CLF, Jat still records the highest figures in this field out of all the other ex-Yu airlines.

Jat seems to have largely given up on one of its most important markets – Montenegro. It has decreased flight to the country by 52% which has resulted in a 61% drop in passengers in May 2009 when compared to May 2008. Jat has handed over most of its passengers to rival Montenegro Airlines which now often performs flights with its new Embreaer to Belgrade from Podgorica and Tivat. Due to the charter wars between Turkey and Serbia during May 2009, the number of charter flight operations was decreased by 47%. This has been normalised as of June this year. This summer there are a few standout destination performers which are reporting outstanding results for Jat. They are Dusseldorf in Germany and Larnaca in Cyprus.

Jat will hope that this 30% passenger drop is the lowest point of its passenger transportation this year. This June it expects that it will see passenger growth thanks to the 2009 Summer Universiade Games which will continue through July.

Fourth Dash

Croatia Airlines’ newest fleet member - 9A-CQD

Croatia Airlines has received its fourth Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The aircraft arrived in Zagreb a few days ago and has received the Croatia Airlines livery as well as the registration 9A-CQD. The aircraft has been named Dalmatia, after the Southern coastal region of Croatia. The aircraft was built during 2009 and has already entered scheduled service for Croatia Airlines. The national Croatian carrier now has a total of 4 Bombardiers and a further two orders for this type of aircraft. It also has a further 4 options for the Bombardier.

The delivery of the Bombardier was made under an agreement Croatia Airlines signed with Bombardier Aerospace on May 31, 2007. The fleet of Bombardiers has replaced the airline’s short haul fleet of ATR aircraft. The Bombardiers operating for Croatia Airlines have a capacity of 76 seats and is organized in an all economy class layout. 9A-CQD which recently arrived is the last Bombardier to be delivered this year to Croatia Airlines. The other 2 orders will be delivered during 2011. The airline now operates 13 aircraft (which includes the leased Adria Airways CRJ200 for the summer). Together with the 2 Bombardier orders it has another 4 Airbus A319s on order.

Universiade hope

Will the 2009 Universiade mascot “Srba” bring Jat much needed passengers?

In 3 days the world’s largest sporting event of the year and the second largest sporting event after the Summer Olympics will begin in Belgrade. The 2009 Summer Universiade Games will bring 10.000 athletes to Belgrade and over 15.000 visitors. The event which Belgrade has been preparing for the last 4 years will be officially open in the evening hours of July 1. Jat Airways is the official carrier of the 25th edition of this sporting event. It hopes that the sharp rise in passengers resulting from Universiade could finally end its continual passenger decline. The rise in passengers is expected to have occurred in the last 2 weeks of June. The second wave of passengers will occur in mid July when Universiade ends which is good news for the airline’s July results. The rise in passenger flow has certainly been felt by other airlines operating to Belgrade with most sending larger aircraft to operate during the week including Russia’s Aeroflot which sent its 4 engined Ilyushin Il-96.

Jat will be the official carrier of Universiade for a second time, after it held the same title in 1987 for the Universiade in Zagreb. Over the years Jat has also been the official carrier of the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo in 1984. Universiade will be the largest sporting event ever to be held in Belgrade and Serbia.

The start to Jat’s pre-Universiade passenger rise has not gone too well. On Thursday the Serbian carrier’s B737-400 had problems with starting up one of its engines and therefore the pilots decided to wait for spare parts to arrive from Belgrade to Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt). The aircraft finally departed 24 hours later on Friday evening. The trouble continued when one of Jat’s B737-300s operating from Tripoli to Belgrade had to land in Malta after a passenger felt very ill. As a result of these two aircraft being extremely late on their arrival into Belgrade, many of Jat’s flights have been delayed and some even cancelled. The schedule is expected to be normalised by Sunday morning.

Jat has also announced that it will bring forward its services to Dubrovnik. The flights which will resume to the Croatian coast town after more than 18 years will be Jat’s second in Croatia after Pula and will begin on July 2, rather than July 6 as previously announced.

Ready for takeoff

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport terminal

Despite the passenger decrease at Adria Airways, Slovenia’s largest airport, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport has recently announced that its major development plan has begun. Recently, the CEO of the airport, Zmago Skobir said that this renovation is overdue. “it’s been 15 years since the airport’s tarmacs were last improved. However, what is most important is that the airport will be able to offer new spaces for aircraft parking, which are now lacking. If we want to build a new passenger terminal, we will first need enough space to accommodate all the aircraft. The investment is worth 15 million Euros”, Skobir said. Answering to the questions from the media, Skobit said that large sums of money have been invested over the years in the upgrade of the airport’s facilties. “During the 2002 - 2008 period, we invested 86 million Euros in the upgrading of the airport’s infrastructure. We still have ambitious plans, but we have had to postpone some investments because of the economic crisis. Construction of a new passenger terminal was supposed to start this year, but that won’t happen. Our investment plans also include a new cargo terminal and a parking garage. We are confident that we can pull off these investments, worth around 120 million Euros, in the next six to seven years”.

Ljubljana Airport has also suffered a passenger and financial decrease due to the crisis. Looking at the figures for the first three months of 2009, it can be seen that the number of passengers is down by 23%, while the number of takeoffs and landings decreased by 16%. Cargo traffic, however, has taken the most serious battering, with throughput 30% lower than in the same period last year. Recently low cost Spanish airline Click Air and the Finnish national carrier Finnair ceased services to Ljubljana.

The airport’s CEO also says that he hopes there will be a railway link between the airport and the city. “I think the railway link could be built in eight to ten years. In any case, the sooner, the better. Slovenia is a small market and logistics companies usually choose bigger over smaller markets as their base. Zagreb, for example, is quickly catching up, so we must act now”, Skobir said.

Recession bites

Airbus A319 - soon in the Adria Airways livery

The CEO of Adria Airways, Tadej Tufek, has recently told a Slovenian newspaper that this year will be one of the most difficult in the airline’s history. Although he hopes for a better outlook he says the airline will not be opening any new services during the 2009/10 winter period. The airline’s CEO said that he is reasonably happy with the 2008 result. “The Slovenian EU presidency in the first half of 2008 was an important factor for the passenger increase. This means that we have had 15% less passengers and revenue in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous one. We are trying to increase the number of passengers and the frequency of our flights to and from the Western Balkans to make up for what we have lost on services to and from Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich and Brussels”, Tufek said. Asked about what measures Adria Airways has taken to fight the crisis, Tufek said, “The most important process is fleet optimisation. We have introduced the fourth 86-seat Canadair CRJ900 which allows us to adapt to market situations more efficiently. We also fly 160-seat Airbuses, but it is hard to fill the seats on these outside of the charter season, which only lasts four months a year. We have therefore leased one of our Airbuses to a Libyan airline (Afriqiyah Airways). Two of the remaining three will be sold during this fall and two smaller A319 Airbuses will be introduced. I think that this way we will be able to utilize our capacities to a greater extent. Long-term leasing is the best way to finance the fleet change, because prices today are 40% lower than a year ago. We have also cut our operating costs by 11% in 2008, focusing on suppliers’ costs. We have postponed investments that are not necessary at this time. However, the introduction of five new planes in our fleet mandates the employment of new resources, so we are quite constrained when it comes to lowering labour costs”.

The first man of Slovenia’s national carrier has also said that he is happy with the cooperation with Ljubljana Airport and that the airline will not introduce any new services during the 2009/10 winter season which begins in late October. In 2008, Adria increased the number of transported passengers by 27%, largely because of the Slovenian EU presidency. In the first quarter of this year, Adria registered a 14% decline in passenger numbers. However, because of Slovenia’s EU presidency in the first 6 months of last year, Tufek believes that 2009 should be compared to 2007. When compared to 2007, Adria has recorded more passengers in the first 4 months this year.

It should be noted that almost all airlines in Europe have been affected by the global financial crisis. The only airline which is reporting passenger and profit growth in 2009 is Turkish Airlines. The Turkish national carrier announced yesterday that the airline has ordered 7 Airbus A330s and 7 Boeing B777s. Another airline reporting relatively good passenger figures is Swiss International Airlines. On the other hand, Malev Hungarian Airlines will end services to Ljubljana and Podgorica starting from the 2009/10 winter season due to cost cutting which will see off unprofitable lines.

New look for 23-year olds

Jat's Boeing B737-300s get interior change

In late May, Jat began refurbishing its Boeing B737-300 fleet, which are beeing renewed for the first time since 1994, when the airline received a new visual identity. Although the actual seats in the aircraft have been replaced now for the first time since the aircraft arrived. The refurbishment was carried out on the aircraft registered YU-ANJ, which received new look seats, new lighting and new carpets. The outside of the aircraft also received fresh paint while the engines were also changed. By the end of August a further 5 aircraft will receive the new interior. The new seats are of the same configuration as the previous ones although they have been revamped with leather from the United States. The business class section has also received a new look. The refurbishment of YU-ANJ amounted to 100.000 Euros.

Jat's revamped economy class

Jat was the launch customer of the Boeing B737-300 series aircraft in Europe. Its first B737-300, still operating for the airline, entered service on August 15, 1985 (registered YU-ANF). The majority of Jat’s B737s arrived during 1988. According to Jat’s technical division, the aircraft can serve for a further 5 years before they become too expensive to maintain and operate. Despite being with Jat since they were produced, many of the airline’s Boeings have operated around the world. YU-ANJ, which has been the first to receive the revamped cabins is the most memorable. It was the first aircraft to receive the “flying dots” livery in 2003 under the new name Jat Airways. YU-ANJ also memorably flew within Australia during 1989. This was the year when Australia’s pilots strike took place. The Boeing was leased in Jat colours with Jat’s cabin and flight crew to Australian Airlines and Ansett Airlines. Neither of the two exists anymore.

Love is in the air

Croatia and Montenegro sign new air agreement

Representatives of the Croatian and Montenegrin governments have signed a new air agreement between the two countries which should regulate air traffic. The agreement will allow Montenegro Airlines to introduce a 2 weekly service from Podgorica to Zagreb from this fall. Previously, air traffic between the two countries was regulated based on old and out of date documents. Croatia Airlines already serves Podgorica from Zagreb three times per week and will continue to do so during the 2009/10 winter season, without decreasing existing frequencies. The new agreement will allow airlines from Montenegro and Croatia to receive a license to operate to the other country with more ease.

Meanwhile, another Croatia Airlines Dash 8 Q400 aircraft has been involved in an incident, this time however the incident was minor and through no fault of any mechanical failure. The aircraft was hit by a bird which flew in the propeller of the aircraft as it was landing at Split Airport from Vienna. No one was aware of the strike until ground handling staff noticed blood on the wing of the aircraft and found the birds’ remains in the engine. The aircraft’s next flight, to Zagreb, was cancelled as a result. Despite the fact that there was absolutely no danger to passengers, some Croatian tabloid newspapers did not hold back in dramatizing the event. The aircraft in question is the brand new Dash 8 called Istra which began operating for the airline less than a week ago.

Fleet renewal gains momentum

Jat's ATR72

Jat Airways’ fleet renewal which is scheduled to begin in early 2010 is gaining momentum as the company’s management decides on some firm dates for making the decision of which aircraft manufacturers will be chosen. It has been so far decided that the company will choose three different types of aircraft for its fleet. There will be aircraft with 75 seats, with 90 seats and aircraft with over 125 seats that will be chosen. At the recent Paris Air Show Jat’s team has held talks with 8 different aircraft manufacturers. It has been decided that on July 9, 2009 the company should decide which type of aircraft it will peruse to lease or buy. On that day it will also be decided what will happen with Jat’s current fleet of 1 Boeing B737-200, 10 Boeing B737-300s, 1 Boeing B737-400 and 5 ATR72s.

The airline already has 3 scenarios of what should happen with their existing fleet. By July 9, the Serbian national carrier should have a clearer picture if it will go ahead with the takeover of MAT Macedonian Airlines. If the takeover is finalised, some of Jats B737s will be deployed to Macedonia in 2010. The other plan is to lease the B737s to Air Ivoire, the national carrier of the Ivory Coast while the third scenario is to sell 7 B737s. For example, by selling 7 aircraft of this type, whose age amounts to 23 years, the airline could receive enough money to lease aircraft for the next 2 to 3 years. Jat will also pursue to upgrade its ATR72s however whether it will do so depends on upcoming talks with Airbus regarding the purchase of 8 Airbus A319s.

The company’s management has announced that with the aircraft which have a capacity of 70 seats the airline will carry out regional services. The airline would use aircraft with a capacity of 90 seats to destinations in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Turkey while larger aircraft with over 125 seats would be used to London, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Moscow and Abu Dhabi. This way the airline would significantly improve its cabin occupancy index. An airline spokesperson said that the carrier finds it difficult to fill aircraft on services which should be served with aircraft with a capacity of 90 seats.

Today Jat’s new CEO should be named.

No improvement at Croatian airports

Split Airport

After some relief in April, airports in Croatia have recorded a big decline in passengers in May. Except for Zadar and Osijek, no other airport in Croatia reported growth in passenger figures when compared to May 2008. The most affected airport was Pula, which has until now had mostly positive results.

Croatia’s largest airport, Zagreb, reported a 6.7% decline in passengers, from 195.817 in May 2008 to 182.342 in May 2009. The airport saw a sharp decline in transit passenger which fell by a hefty 78%. Split Airport reported even worse numbers. Passengers declined by 11.6% and transit passengers waned by 23%. In May 2009, a total of 108.351 passengers passed through the airport, compared to 122.567 last year. Dubrovnik Airport continued its negative run of results with passengers declining by 5.3%. However, the airport did report an increase in transit passengers by 11.45%. Pula Airport recorded the largest decline in passengers. Its results worsened by a total of 17.9%. This is despite the fact that the number of aircraft operations increased by nearly 6% when compared to May 2008. A similar trend can be seen in Rijeka where passengers decreased by 11.65% while aircraft operations increased by nearly 7%. A total of 10.885 passengers used Rijeka Airport in May 2009, compared to 12.320 during the same period last year.

As reported earlier, Zadar continued its impressive results with a passenger increase of nearly 17%. Even more impressive is the fact that transit passengers at Zadar increased by 136.8%. The only other Croatian airport that managed to report growth in May 2009 is Osijek, with an increase of 1%. Most of the results have been affected by the global financial crisis. There is fear that the tourism industry in Croatia may be heavily impacted by the crisis. Interestingly, Croatia Airlines seems not to be affected as much as its hub and secondary airports.

Passenger figures at Croatian airports:
· January
· February
· March
· April

Adria’s figures decline

Bad news from Adria

With a delay of over a month, Adria Airways has finally published its traffic statistics for the month of April. The Slovenian national carrier reported the largest drop in passengers since the beginning of this year. Its passenger numbers declined by 21.3% compared to the same month last year. With this statistics, Adria also performed the worst out of the other two largest Ex-Yu carriers – Croatia Airlines and Jat Airways. Adria’s traffic was down 17% while capacity was cut by 13% compared to April 2008. In April, many European carriers saw a sharp decline in their cabin occupancy index. Adria had an average 58.9% load factor (a decrease of 1% compared to last year). Overall, in the first 4 months of the year Adria has seen a passenger decrease of 17.1%.

The European airline performing worst in the first four months was Icelandiar which saw passengers decrease by more than 22%. TAROM Romanian Airlines reports the worst cabin occupancy index of only 48% followed closely by Ukraine International Airlines and Croatia Airlines. The airline performing the best so far this year, in Europe in terms of passengers, is Turkish Airlines. Spain’s Iberia is reporting the best load factor in Europe of over 78%.

Current data shows that May will be even worse for European carriers while in June airlines should expect to see the worst figures so far this year.

Mat Airways?

Still grounded

MAT Macedonian Airlines is still grounded by the Macedonian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and is unable to use its only aircraft due to safety concerns that the CAA has expressed. One of MAT’s owners, Živko Grueski, recently told the Macedonian press that the CAA has set out to destroy the national carrier of Macedonia and that this grand scheme has been in the making for the past few years. Gruevski said that the head of the Civil Aviation Agency, Zoran Krstevski “pursues a mega project to destroy MAT”. During a press conference in Skopje, Gruevski said this project kicked off long before the CAA ordered an overhaul of MAT's Boeing B737-500 aircraft. He further says that the CAA has made moves to discredit the company's reputation. Gruevski told reporters that the authorities are pressing ahead with the theory that Macedonia doesn't need a national carrier and that other companies should be given priority to carry out flights. Such a theory, according to Gruevski, aims to push the country back into the early 1990s when Macedonia’s aviation sector was in chaos.

Meanwhile, Jat Airways, Serbia’s national carrier has proposed for MAT Macedonian Airlines to change its name and reregister as a new airline called Mat Airways. The name change would also finally settle a dispute between Greece and Macedonia in terms of air service. Greek authorities have banned MAT from flying to Greek airports due to the fact that the airline holds in its name the words “Macedonian Airlines”, which, according to Greece, displays territorial advances. The Greek government has been pushing Eurocontrol to pressure MAT into changing its name. Gruevski did not directly comment about the name change and a future with Jat, saying only that the management’s top priority is to rescue the existing company.

The Macedonian CAA has grounded MAT’s Boeing B737-500 for safety reasons until further notice although the aircraft seems to have been safe enough to transport Antonio Milošoski, Macedonia’s minister for foreign affairs to Corfu yesterday. Despite airlines from Macedonia being banned from Greece, the flight received special permission to land in Corfu as Milošoski was attending a special meeting by the OSCE.

Zadar defies trend

Zadar – Croatia’s most successful airport in 2009

As Croatian airports begin reporting their May passenger figures, most of which continue the negative decline trend, one airport in Croatia has defied the negative drift. Zadar Airport, in May this year, reported a growth of around 20% compared to the same month last year. A total of 19.161 passengers passed through Zadar this May while last year the figure stood at 15.850. The most responsible for this sharp rise is the low cost airline Ryanair which began seasonal services from Edinburg and Stockholm to Zadar this summer season. The May growth is not as impressive as April’s figures when the airport reported a 64% increase in passengers. The airport’s management said that the growth in May was lower than in April due to the fact that charter services to Lyon have ceased. In the first five months of this year Zadar is reporting growth of 28% compared to the same period last year with some 42.255 passengers passing through its terminal.

June and July are looking good for the airport as well. Ryanair will commence services from Pisa, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf during the summer months while the Slovakian low cost carrier Danube Wings will also begin new services from Bratislava to Zadar. For the first time since World War Two services between Ancona and Zadar are scheduled to resume his year. Ryanair is now the dominant airline at the airport accounting for over 30% of all traffic. Airport authorities believe that there is significant interest on behalf of passengers for direct services to begin between Zadar and Paris, Barcelona, Oslo, Milan and Marseille. Zadar Airport is currently also home to one of Lufthansa’s pilot schools.

Niki eyes Serbia

New hub in Belgrade?

The Austrian based low cost airline Niki, created by the legendary formula 1 driver Niki Lauda, has set its eyes on the Serbian aviation market, hoping it will be able to begin services from Nikola Tesla Airport to several European cities. The final decision will rest on the government of Serbia, which last year rejected Niki which hoped to begin flights between Vienna and Belgrade. This is because Austria and Serbia have a bilateral agreement which only allows one airline from each country to operate between the two cities (Austrian and Jat Airways). Niki has applied for a license from the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate.

The airline’s management successfully completed talks with Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport which has promised the low cost airline cheaper handling. The airline’s management is optimistic that it could, if it receives a license, have many passengers after it was announced that from January 1, 2010 Serbian citizens will no longer need visas to travel to countries from the European Union. Although the airline’s management hasn’t decided which destinations would be served from Belgrade, Niki Lauda says that the most probable are Vienna (currently operated by Austrian and Jat), Munich (operated by Lufthansa), Hamburg (not operated) Stockholm (operated by Jat and Norwegian Air Shuttle), Palma de Mallorca (not operated), Milan (operated by Jat) and Palermo (not operated). These would be scheduled destinations rather than charters.

The major problem low cost airlines face when flying from Serbia is the extremely high airport taxes at Nikola Tesla. From June 1, after months of negotiations Jat Airways has been able to secure for all its passengers taxes of only 4 Euros, rather than the 16.5 payed until now. However, foreign carriers still have to deal with the high taxes although it is believed that they will be lowered to 4 Euros soon.

Meanwhile, Jat Airways’ new CEO should be named today. According to media reports it is Srđan Radovanović, a surprise choice by the government as he has neither any experience in aviation nor has he ever worked in Jat. He has a law degree and worked for a few state owned companies.

After 20 years

Sarajevo - Podgorica

From today B&H Airlines will connect Sarajevo and Montenegro’s capital Podgorica. The two cities will be connected by air with scheduled flights for the first time in 20 years. The flights will operate 3 times per week, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday while the flights will continue on to Macedonia’s capital Skopje every Wednesday and Friday. Bosnia’s national carrier will operate the flights with the 66 seat ATR72. The approximate flight time between Sarajevo and Podgorica will take some 35 minutes. B&H Airlines has placed its flight times from Podgorica to Sarajevo so passengers can quickly connect onto its flights from Sarajevo to Istanbul, giving passengers the quickest possible solution to fly to the largest Turkish city from Podgorica.

Passengers will have to pay approximately 124 Euros for a one way ticket between Podgorica and Sarajevo while a return ticket should amount to 152 Euros. The ticket price between Podgorica and Skopje is somewhat cheaper (approximately 122 Euros for a return ticket). The airline’s management announced there will be no special celebration on today’s maiden flight due to the conference of the Association of European Airlines taking place in Dubrovnik where many airline representatives will be present. Therefore, a promotional flight between the two cities will be held on the 24th or the 26th of June.

Meanwhile, B&H Airlines’ hub Sarajevo Airport should receive an upgrade. The Italian company SEA, which manages Milan Malpensa Airport, has been given the job to make Sarajevo Airport’s new masterplan a reality. The masterplan includes the expansion of the current terminal, the upgrading of the runway as well as an upgrade for taxi ways and lighting. Also planned is the construction of new roads to access the airport. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide 15 million Euros for the project while other companies will also invest.

Airbus and Jat – round 2

Soon in Jat's fleet?

The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has accepted another round of talks with the Serbian government after last week’s negotiations in Belgrade. The government wants to settle the agreement the national carrier Jat Airways, the Serbian Government and Airbus signed in 1998. The damaging order for 8 Airbus A319s will now be discussed under “new principles”, according to Airbus. The Serbian government has vowed that it will fund Jat’s new fleet. The funding will be provided through Serbian exports, according to the government. The government will reset talks with Airbus regarding the A319 order although the order is still in force. The Serbian government will head the negotiations with the line of argument that the order from 1998 is “damaging to Serbia and that it must be adjusted to the new economic and international circumstances”. Due to the fact that Jat has Airbus aircraft on order it will hold talks with the European manufacturer first however says it will talk to other manufacturers as well regarding its 2010 fleet renewal. Airbus last week accepted the terms of the Serbian government. It will not allow Jat to cancel the multi million Euro 1998 order however it will allow for it to be adapted. The government has said if an agreement with Airbus is not found it will turn to its traditional partner Boeing.

Jat has sent a delegation to the Paris Air Show where it is hunting down regional jets. All manufacturers are in play especially Bombardier, Embarer and the Russian Sukhoi which secured an order from Malev yesterday. You can read about last week’s meeting between the Serbian government and Airbus here. There, you can also find more about the 1998 order. Jat should receive up to 4 aircraft in 2010 as part of its fleet renewal. The airline currently operates 10 Boeing B737-300 aircraft (although one is leased to Air Ivorie), 5 ATR72s, 1 Boeing B737-400 and 1 Boeing B737-200, a gift from Aviogenex for the decades of debt owed to Jat. Jat has struggled this year with a fleet shortage. The airline’s dominance at Belgrade Airport has, as a result, declined dramatically. From a 75% share in 2003 to 42% today. The airline’s services to Montenegro have strugled the most due to the reduced capacity. Jat has handed over most of its passengers to competitor Montenegro Airlines on lines to Tivat and Podgorica. Jat is operating 3 daily flights to Montenegro from Belgrade this summer compared to 7 daily flights by Montenegro Airlines.

Third Dash

Croatia Airlines adds another Dash 8 to fleet

Yesterday evening, a few minutes past 19.00, Croatia Airlines received its third Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The aircraft arrived to Zagreb from Montreal, Canada via the Scottish city of Aberdeen. The aircraft, the third of its type in the Croatia Airlines fleet, is registered 9A-CQC and has been named Istra, after the West Croatian region. The aircraft will enter regular service from today. A fourth Q400 is expected to arrive in a month while a further 2 Bombardiers on order will be distributed next year. However, the Croatian carrier has a further 4 options for this type of aircraft. The fourth Bombardier will be registered 9A-CQD.

The delivery of the Bombardier was made under an agreement Croatia Airlines signed with Bombardier Aerospace on May 31, 2007. The fleet of Bombardiers has replaced the airline’s short haul fleet of ATR aircraft. The Bombardiers operating for Croatia Airlines have a capacity of 67 seats and is organized in an all economy class layout. The airline now has a total of 11 aircraft (with 2 aircraft leased for the current summer season not included). The airline has a total of 6 aircraft on order with 2 Bombardiers set to arrive next year and 4 Airbus A319s to be delivered from 2012.

Ljubljana Airport project begins!

100 million Euro project begins at Ljubljana Airport

Despite the recession, the mass project which will see the transformation of Ljubljana’s Jože Pučnik Airport has begun. The project begins with the overhaul of the airport’s runway and the widening of the existing apron. On June 11, 2009 when the work on the runway began, the airport announced that it will be disabling the ILS landing system. The work on the runway is carried out from midnight until the early morning hours so there is no disruption to air traffic. However, in case of fog (rare at this time of year), the airport announced, airlines will be rerouted to Maribor or other nearby airports. The runway project will be carried out in 3 phases with the first one already underway. The first phase began on June 11 and will last until June 23. The second phase will last from June 30 to July 15. The third and final phase will take place in the second quarter of next year. During the first and second phases, the runway will be shortened. This will not endanger the safety of air traffic. The airport announced that during some of the later stages of the runways overhaul, evening flights might be rerouted to Maribor (Slovenia’s second international airport), although a bus shuttle services will be provided to Ljubljana. Another major project, the widening of the apron, is also currently taking place. The total cost of these two projects amounts to 14 million Euros.

The two projects mentioned above are only a small part of the massive 100 million Euro development at Ljubljana’s Airport. The greatest portion of this sum (over 50 million) will be spent on a new terminal, scheduled to be opened in late 2011. The new terminal, which will have a capacity of 3 million passengers annually, will form the core of Ljubljana’s Airport City. Airport City will be opened in 2015. The business and logistics centre will offer infrastructure for tourism, warehousing, logistics and other commercial services. Airport City will also feature a business hotel with more than 150 rooms. It will be operated by the Residor Group, a renowned hotel operator. The hotel will open its doors in autumn of 2010. At the moment the airport has no railway link to the city but Ljubljana Airport management expects that in a few years time, passengers will be able to travel by train from the capital directly to the airport. The only other city in the Ex-Yu region which has its own Airport City is Belgrade, with most of the multi million Euro project already complete. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is used by a total of 10 scheduled airlines (only 1 of which is low cost). Except for Zagreb, the airport is connected to all former Yugoslav capital cities by air.

Recession hits Slovenia

Adria Airways CRJ900 cabin empty as recession hits Slovenia

On Tuesday, the Slovenian government officially announced that the country was in a recession due to the global financial crisis, following the trend of nearby countries. The recession in the first quarter saw gross domestic product (GDP) had dropped 8.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, following a 0.8% fall in the last quarter of 2008. "These figures are worse than expected, this is a catastrophe", said Peter Stanovnik of the Economic Research Institute in Ljubljana. The importance of these results in terms of aviation is the impact it might have on the national carrier Adria Airways, which is still recovering from the high fuel prices which hit the aviation world early last year. The difficult economic situation has seen Slovenians abandoning air travel, with a 9% drop in passengers in the first quarter of this year recorded by Adria Airways. The airline is hoping it will see more passengers in the near future however the carrier goes from one economic difficulty to another. Adria has, like most European carriers, just felt the impact of last year’s high fuel prices. While the impact of the current global financial crisis is felt immediately in passenger terms, it will be a few months until it will hit the carrier financially. Adria’s management previously calculated a drop in revenue of 5% by the end of the year, although this is now set to increase. The Slovenian carrier has cancelled its plans to begin flights to Niš although there has been no official word about the fate of the airline’s fleet renewal. While the arrival of the NextGen CRJ1000 is certain (to enter the fleet early next year), an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of 3 Airbus A319s is not concrete. A letter of intent for the purchase of the 3 Airbus aircraft was signed earlier this year, to replace the airline’s ageing fleet of Airbus A320s. Adria will not pursue the purchase of Montenegro Airlines. Despite the airline exploring the possibility to purchase 30% of Montenegro Airlines’ shares, the current financial situation has forced the carrier’s management to concentrate on their own airline.

Slovenia has been the most successful economy in the European Union, since it entered in 2004. The government believes that the sharp GDP decline will come to a stop within the following months as signs of recovery are seen across the world.

Air France incident in Belgrade

Arriving with a bang

Only a few weeks after the fatal Air France Airbus A330-200 accident on flight AF447 from Rio De Janeiro to Paris, another incident involving an Air France Airbus aircraft has occurred this time in Belgrade. As the Air France A319 aircraft landed yesterday at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport at 11.30 and taxied to the gate, the aircraft’s left wing hit an aerobridge, at gate A2, causing an engine failure. The accident was most probably caused due to the pilot who did not follow the markings on the taxiway. However, the pilot has since claimed that the accident was caused due to the lack of direction by Nikola Tesla Airport ground staff. The exact cause of the incident will be determined by the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate which has begun an investigation. There were a total of 70 passengers onboard. The return Air France flight from Belgrade to Paris Charles De Gaulle which was due to depart at 12.40 was cancelled and passengers have been transferred onto other flights. A spokesperson at Nikola Tesla Airport said that this was not a major incident and that, although the aircraft was damaged, passengers were never at risk. The only inconvenience passengers endured was the long time it took to disembark the aircraft and the 60 minute wait for their luggage. The spokesperson also said that the aerobridge in question, gate A2, has had minor damage and should in operation again soon.

It was a bad day for the Airbus aircraft manufacturer yesterday with many incidents involving its aircraft. First an Airbus A330-200 operated by Jetstar International from Japan to Australia had to make an emergency landing in Guam due to a fire which broke out in the cockpit. On the other side of the world, an Iberworld A320-200 from Las Palmas to Oslo with 180 passengers and 9 crew, returned to Las Palmas' Gran Canaria Airport after one of the engines failed emitting loud bangs, sparks andflames. The airplane landed safely 10 minutes after departure. The incident in Belgrade is the fifth Airbus incident in the last 5 days.

New Sarajevo service

Soon in Sarajevo

An unlikely airline has made Sarajevo Airport its first destination within the former Yugoslav territory. The airline in question is Albanian Airlines, the national carrier of Albania which will commence services from Tirana to Sarajevo and continue on to Frankfurt. The new service will begin on June 18 and the Albanian carrier has received full rights to sell tickets on the sector between Sarajevo and Frankfurt and vice versa, as well as from Tirana to Sarajevo and vice versa. The airline already operates 2 weekly direct flights from Tirana to Frankfurt. Albanian Airlines will be in direct competition with B&H Airlines’ service to Frankfurt. All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section. Because the flights Sarajevo – Frankfurt – Sarajevo and Tirana – Sarajevo – Tirana carry different flight numbers, the combined service has been classified as separate.

With 3 regional aircraft Albanian Airlines is a struggling carrier mostly due to the dominance of low cost Albanian airline Belle Air, which also operates from Tirana Mother Theresa Airport. While Belle Air has a 40% share of all flights from Tirana, the national carrier only has a 14.4% share while Alitalia comes in third.

Meanwhile, another airline which has recently commenced new services is Croatia Airlines from Zagreb to Barcelona. The flights between the two cities have resumed on Tuesday after 10 years and will operate 3 times per week using a combination of Croatia Airlines’ A319/A320 fleet.

The Turks are coming

Pegasus Airlines 3 times per week from Belgrade

After a long row with Turkish Aviation authorities the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has approved a license for charter carrier Atlasjet and Pegasus Airlines to commence services to Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport, in return for the 300 charter flights Jat Airways will operate to the Turkish coast this summer. Both airlines have received a license to operate 3 weekly flights from Antalya to Belgrade although both airlines have yet to disclose how they will organise their flights. Atalsjet will also commence flights from Serbia’s third largest city, Niš, from June 16. Another Turkish airline is also interested in commencing services from Serbia to Turkey. The airline in question is Tailwind, which has shown interest in flights from Niš. The spokesperson for the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has said that the airline will most probably receive a license if it requests one. Tailwind is a British/Turkish joint venture airline which has 3 aircraft in its fleet and began services a month ago.

However, Serbian tour operators, which have been determined to see Turkish carriers commencing services to Belgrade, are now stepping away from previous comments and sticking to the national carrier Jat Airways. Serbian tour operators are sceptical to use Atalsjet due to the air disaster the airline had 2 years ago where 56 passengers lost their life. Further scepticism comes from using Tailwind Airlines due to the fact that it is unknown and new. Tour operators have welcomed the news that Jat Airways will decrease ticket prices on charter flights by 5% but they are demanding a further reduction. A spokesperson for Jat says that tickets for charter flights on Jat Airways are significantly cheaper than last year and that ticket prices only account for 20% of the entire arrangement holiday makers pay to their tour operators.

Rijeka Airport facing financial collapse

Rijeka Airport passenger terminal - empty

Rijeka’s Airport, located on Krk Island in Croatia, is facing financial collapse and bankruptcy. The airport’s new management, as the previous one has been suspended, has pleaded with the Croatian government for emergency funds so that the airport can financially survive this summer. The future of the airport is uncertain if the Croatian government, which is the majority owner of the airport, does not approve 5 million Kuna (684.000 Euros) in funds. In recent months the airport is reporting a big decrease in passenger figures. The management says it cannot do much to save this year’s summer season as charter airlines, which could operate flights to Rijeka, decide about potential flights months in advance. The management also said that the funds from the government will be used in order for the airport to survive the global financial crisis and attract carriers for the 2010 summer season. Overall this year, from January until the end of April, Rijeka has reported a 11.1% decrease in passengers using the airport.

Rijeka is served by 5 airlines, all of which operate seasonal summer charters. Croatian airports are reporting a decline in passenger figures this year and the trend seems to have continued into May, with Zagreb Airport also reporting a significant decline although official data should be published within the next few days.

MAT facing bankruptcy

MAT vs. CAA

Since late last year the Macedonian national carrier has faced major difficulties. The airline is now grounded hopeful that flights will begin within a few weeks, however, any expectationof this happening is becoming slim. Once again the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) has come up with a new ultimatum for the Macedonian national carrier. The Agency originally grounded MAT due to problems with the front leg and wheel of airline’s Boeing B737-500. Now the Agency expects the carrier to pay up a total of 2.5 million Euros for outstanding debt and expects the airline to officially announce its bankruptcy as a result. The Agency is also considering freezing all assets owned by MAT. The biggest losers out of the entire dispute are passengers who have purchased tickets from MAT months ago and are now unable to fly. MAT has tried to accommodate these passengers by transferring them on other flights, although the carrier has also been blamed for selling tickets for its flights a few days after the CAA grounded the airline.

MAT’s management doesn’t seem to be concerned by the new demands and says that the carrier will be flying again by the end of this week. The Boeing B737-500 should be arriving in Skopje within the following few days after more repairs were done to the aircraft’s front leg. Even though the aircraft was serviced and repaired free of charge in Belgrade a few weeks ago, the CAA did not recognise that the aircraft has been mended.

News is circulating that certain individuals within Macedonia, mainly affluent businessmen, are already setting up a new airline which would replace MAT. Some argue that all the actions undertaken by the CAA are aimed at destroying MAT and allowing a new carrier to be created. If MAT declares bankruptcy it would be the third national carrier from the EX-YU to do so, after Palair which was also the national carrier of Macedonia until its demise in 1996 and Air Bosna which was the national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring bankruptcy in 2003. MAT’s status as the national carrier of Macedonia ends in 2010 according to an agreement between the Macedonian Government and MAT, signed in 2000. With the current situation it is unlikely that its flag carrier status would be extended.

Meanwhile, other foreign airlines are benefiting on the account of MAT’s troubles. Airlines are drastically increasing services to Skopje as passenger numbers rise. The latest airline to announce an increase in service is Turkish Airlines. The Turkish national carrier will increase services from Istanbul to Skopje from 5 to 7 weekly flights starting June 8.

Montenegro and Macedonia get connected

New flights to Skopje

The national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, B&H Airlines and Montenegrin carrier Montenegro Airlines will commence services to Macedonia from Podgorica and Tivat within the next few weeks. More precisely, B&H Airlines will begin flights to Skopje from Sarajevo via Podgorica from June 17. Using the regional ATR72 aircraft, the Bosnian carrier will operate flights to Skopje via Podgorica twice per week, every Wednesday and Friday. B&H Airlines already operates a direct service from Sarajevo to Skopje. On the other hand Montenegro Airlines will operate services to Skopje from Tivat every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from June 27 using their Fokker F100 aircraft.

The Montenegrin Embassy in Skopje said that this way the two countries will finally be connected via the air. This will allow greater business cooperation, especially in the sphere of tourism. The Montenegrin Embassy in Skopje has been greatly credited for the start of the new services between Skopje, Tivat and Podgorica. Due to an Embassy intervention, the Macedonian airport authorities significantly decreased their handling prices for Montenegro Airlines which has allowed the carrier to leave their aircraft in Skopje over night before commencing its return journey. The low handling prices should also decrease ticket prices.

Both B&H Airlines and Montenegro Airlines announced interest in commencing services to Skopje weeks ago.

Charter war comes to an end

Jat charters to Turkey get green light

The intense battle waged by Jat Airways to operate charters to Turkey has finally come to a close and the Serbian national carrier walks away as the victor. The airline has been granted the right to begin services from Belgrade to Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum with the first charter service leaving Nikola Tesla Airport this evening. The row with the Turkish Aviation Agency began when its Serbian counterpart declined to issue an operating charter license to airlines from Turkey which wanted to commence services to Belgrade. Instead, 3 of these airlines were given a license to operate to Niš, Serbia’s second largest city. Unhappy with this, the Turkish authorities revoked Jat its rights to operate 300 charter flights to Turkey during this summer season.

The breakthrough came yesterday after 9 hours of negotiating between the two sides in the Turkish capital Ankara. The row with Turkey seriously threatened Jat’s charter operations which have been the only sector recording big success for the airline this year. However, it has not yet been disclosed if the Turkish side has received something in return. The Serbian Directorate for Civil Aviation argued that the Turkish government should be happy with the fact that Serbian tourists are choosing to spend their summer in Turkey and therefore easing the financial crisis.

Meanwhile, after Jat’s Boeing B737-300 registered YU-ANJ received a new look interior, a second aircraft is to follow and expected to enter service during next week. During the fitting of Jat’s new cabin in YU-ANJ, the engines were also replaced with new ones. Another piece of news regarding Jat’s fleet includes a B737-300 registered YU-ANI, which is wearing the titles of Air Ivoire, the national carrier of the Ivory Coast. This is because the airline has been serving in Abidjan for the past few months and will once again be leased to the African carrier from July 1, 2009 until late October this year. The aircraft will replace Air Ivoire’s MD80s.

New York service to begin soon

Priština Airport awaits Scanderbeg Air

The New York based Scanderbeg Air Corporation announced that it will commence nonstop flights between Priština and New York City this month. The 8 hour service between Priština and JFK Airport will be operated by a 214-seat Boeing B767-200ER, with flights starting on June 16. The airline’s executive director Petrit Ujkaj also said that the airline will begin nonstop flights to the Albanian capital, Tirana, on June 14.The new services are targeted at the Albanian Diaspora in the United States. This will not be the first time an airline has ventured to commence transatlantic flight to Priština. In 2007, ATA Airlines began flights to Tirana via Priština from New York. The American airline declared bankruptcy in April of 2008 and therefore did not return to the two cities during the 2008 summer season. The new flights to New York from Priština will operate on a seasonal basis.

Scanderbeg Air was established earlier this year by Albanian tour operators in the United States. The airline has a total of 2 aircraft (Boeing B767-200ERs) and will operate its maiden service by commencing flights to Tirana on June 14. The average return ticket price to Priština amounts to 1.200 American dollar (approximately 845 Euros), all taxes included. Ticket prices to Tirana are somewhat cheaper. Therefore, Priština will once again be the only city in the region to offer direct flights to New York.

All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

Dubrovnik service gets approval

Busy apron at Dubrovnik Airport

After a total of 18 years Serbia’s Jat Airways will inaugurate services to the Croatian seaside town of Dubrovnik on Monday July 6, 2009, after the airline was given approval by the Croatian Aviation Agency. Flight JU720 will operate from Belgrade to Dubrovnik every Monday and Thursday using the 66-seat ATR72. The flights will operate throughout July and August. This will be Jat’s second destination in Croatia after it resumed flights to Pula last year. Jat is hoping that the Croatian Aviation Agency will grant Jat the right to fly to Pula on a year round basis. According to sources this is also the wish of the management at Pula Airport. This is because the airport can only count on Croatia Airlines with its scheduled flight to Zagreb during the winter. Pula has turned out to be one of Jat’s most profitable services with an average cabin occupancy index of 98%. The agreement which allows Jat to fly to Croatia also allows Croatia Airlines to begin services to 2 Serbian cities of their choice although so far Croatia Airlines has shown no interest.

Meanwhile, the enlargement of Dubrovnik Airport continues. Construction work on the 147 million Euro reconstruction of Terminal B at Dubrovnik Airport is in the final phases.

Jat begins fleet renewal

fAirbus and Jat Airways negotiations begin

Today, Jat Airways will begin talks to renew its aging fleet of Boeing B737s and ATR72s for the first time since 1998. The delegation from Airbus will be arriving in Belgrade today to discuss the order made by Jat more than a decade ago for 8 Airbus A319s. In 1998 the Yugoslav government made the order which was extremely damaging to the Serbian carrier. This was revealed after the fall of the government in late 2000. The aircrafts were extremely expensive and although Jat has already paid millions for the aircraft it owes much more. Jat no longer wants the aircraft, which were never delivered and in 2006 tried to offer the order to another carrier. No airline was willing to accept and Jat has been left with the order for many years. Now there is hope that the Airbus deal can be resolved. Jat’s management also named the 3 member team which will, in June, travel to the Paris Air Show to carry out negotiations with aircraft manufacturers. The team will be made up of pilot and instructor Nenad Petrović and vice presidents of Jat’s board of directors Tanja Jovanović and Mića Jovanović. Jat will receive a total of 4 new aircraft in 2010.

On Monday, June 1, the airline’s management officially passed the plan for a new visual look as well as a new name for the Serbian carrier, to be applied in 2010. The airline’s management also announced that all sectors of Jat will have younger employees replacing current ones, something which will not go down well with the unions within Jat, especially cabin crew. From tomorrow evening Jat will have a new CEO. The Serbian government will, during its usual Thursday afternoon ministry meeting, select and name the airline’s new CEO.

Meanwhile, a resolution to the war between Jat Airways and Turkish charter companies is nowhere in sight. The Turkish government will not issue a licence to Jat to begin charter flights to Antalya while the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate will not issue licenses to a total of 6 Turkish charter companies wanting to begin flights to Belgrade. Many Serbian tourists travelling to Turkey with Jat this summer are anxious to see a resolution to this problem. Jat’s management has said that if the airline does not receive a license for charter flights to Turkey it will apply for a license for regular flights between Belgrade and Antalya. Reports also suggest that the Serbian national carrier has received the green light from the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency to commence flights to Dubrovnik from July this year.

B&H’s big plans

B&H staff at the launch of the Sarajevo – Dusseldorf service

The CEO of the national airline of Bosnia and Herzegovina, B&H Airlines, has announced that the carrier has big plans which include doubling the current number of passengers and opening new services. Nudžeim Rečica says that the carrier overcame many difficulties, from being a failed airline called Air Bosnia to becoming a strategic partner of Turkish Airlines. B&H Airlines has recently received a Boeing B737-400, the third aircraft in its fleet, and as a result has begun services to many new cities. The airline’s management has ambitious plans for the carrier. During 2008, a total of 70.000 people travelled with B&H Airlines but the airline only held a 17% share of passengers from its hub Sarajevo. With the new aircraft the carrier expects to take over passengers from other airlines, particularly to Scandinavia and Germany. The airline’s management expects it can have a 30% share of all passengers departing from Sarajevo by the end of the year. Rečica says that the carrier could transport 250.000 passengers per year. B&H should receive another B737-400 by the end of the year while a third jet engine aircraft will be considered.

Yesterday, B&H Airlines’ management held talks with the Montenegrin minister for transportation as the Bosnian airline plans to commence services from Sarajevo to Skopje via Podgorica. The service would operate in form of a charter flight with 3 weekly flights. The service would operate with an ATR72. The Montenegrin minister said flights could begin within 2 weeks. B&H Airlines operates flights to Skopje but does not fly to Podgorica.

MAT hopes for June restart

MAT’s future rests on front wheel

MAT Macedonian Airlines, last Tuesday, on May 26 officially announced that it has suspended all scheduled and charter flights. This is because the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency did not recognise as legitimate the servicing and repair of MAT’s sole Boeing B737-500 in Belgrade a few weeks ago. Thus, the airline’s aircraft is still grounded due to safety reasons. However, MAT authorities announced that the front wheel of the aircraft, which has been deemed unsafe, will be replaced within a month and that the Macedonian carrier will hopefully recommence services by the end of June. MAT is hoping that it will manage to begin charter flights by the beginning of July, which has been a big source of income for the airline in previous years.

Meanwhile, other airlines have been increasing frequencies and capacity to Skopje in order to deal with extra passengers. MAT is currently facing many criminal charges including those from EUROCONTROL for unpaid debt and from the Civil Aviation Agency, also for unpaid debt and selling tickets after the airline was grounded. Negotiations regarding a possible takeover by Jat Airways will be intensified in mid June with the Serbian national carrier still interested in purchasing the Macedonian airline.

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