Airbus trumps Boeing in Jat’s fleet renewal push
Jat Airways’ management board has decided for the airline to lease 2 Airbus A319 aircraft in the first step to modernise its rapidly aging fleet in years. Original plans, which stem from 2 years back, anticipated for the Serbian carrier to lease 2 Boeing B737-700s. However, with the prospect of settling a 10 year old feud with Airbus, which has costed the airline millions, the European plane manufacturer was given the thumbs up. Since Jat has never had Airbus aircraft in its fleet, its pilots have already been booked for training. The lease of new aircraft has been made possible by a 51.5 million Euro loan from two leading banks. The government approved its backing for the loan while the Serbian Parliament discussed it on Tuesday. It is expected that the parliament will approve the credit by the end of next week, which will finally allow Jat to use the much needed cash.Once the parliament approves the loan Jat will immediately issue an open call for all interested in offering 2 Airbus A319s for lease. The Tender Commission will then choose the best offer. Tender procedures were scheduled to begin on November 3 but were delayed because the parliament hadn’t approved the loan yet. According to the airline’s CEO, Srdjan Radovanović, the new aircraft will be in Jat’s fleet by January 2011.
It's nice that they are going to train the pilots but who is going to service the planes and who is going to provide for the spare parts?
ReplyDeleteIf I had to guess then I would say Airbus?
Actually who cares, as long as they arrive.
Does this mean that Dubai is going non-stop?
Yes Dubai will be non-stop.
ReplyDeleteStupid!
ReplyDelete@ anonymous
ReplyDeleteShould make a diffence in regards to maintance, except the major works will be done by foreign workers. As far as i know, Jat Tehnika anyway has a licence for work on Airbus aircraft.
If DXB does go nonstop, i hope it doesnt come with weight ristrictions.
Surely, surely, that down payment Jat had with Airbus could've been transferred over to someone else wanting Airbus'. This seems just a matter of convenience and hasn't taken into account the longer term ramifications for an airline that isn't exactly swimming in cash!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to crew and maintenance training, it doesn't matter which aircraft type they eventually choose. The A319 has more in common with the 737-700 the 737-700 have with the old 737 types in Jats fleet. Even if they decide on the 737-700, they would still have to retrain engineers and crew to operate the aircraft.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that Jat had to go down the Airbus route, this is because of the previous deal done with Airbus and the fact that shopping around for 2 aircraft would have hardly raised any eyebrows over at Boeing, so it would have been pretty hard for Jat to get any reasonable deal on the Boeings which could have swayed the decision despite the previous history with Jat and Boeing.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see if the Serbian gov does endorse the loan or if we will be talking about this topic again this time next year.
So pilots will go to training now and fly passengers on new 319s in January? Scary. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, there we have it, my accurate prediction that JU wouldn't be getting two new 737-700s.
ReplyDeleteWhether they can find 2 planes on such short notice (they want them in service in January? - 60 days only) and on the right leasing terms (they could pay too much for the leasing for such short notice) is still to be seen, as is the passing through parliament.
@ Anonymous #1
DXB is in range non-stop both directions, avoiding a stopover in Cyprus.
Well it's not like they havent looked at the Airbuses until now. There has been a lot of talk and speculations for some time now. I am sure that they have looked at the options a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteI think that airbus is a better company than boeing and thus I agree with JAT's decision. I had predicted that this would be the optimal deal for JAT due to political reasons and its deal with Airbus. As much as two planes don't really suffice the rest of the fleet, it's good that JAT has begun to modernize itself. I mean it's about fucking time.
ReplyDeleteLufthansa has new service from S11:
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Good deal for JAT, finally ;)
Only two more A332... :D
From what I understand, Sarkozy is expected to visit Belgrade before the New Year, and it is said that part of his visit will be he confirmation of the Airbus deal. If JAT is expected to purchase 8 Airbus aircraft, will they all be A319, or will they be A320, A321, etc?
ReplyDeleteSOURCE SOURCE SOURCE?
ReplyDeleteThis article is just complete and utter nonsense without a source.
Jat Tehnika have no approval to do the Airbus 319 maintenance.
ReplyDeleteOnly few ground engineers have Airbus 319 or 320 personal licence, but they have no experiance at this a/c type.
Probable JAT in start will hire engineers from Croatia or Slovenia.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI too thought that JAT Tehnika only had a license for Boeing planes. Apparently other people are saying that it also has an Airbus license. But I don't think that they will start hiring people from Slovenia and Croatia just yet. Don't forget that they are still government-owned and that giving jobs to Croats and Slovenes when the unemployment rate in Serbia is like near 20% will be perceived negatively by the public. they might temporarily hire them, but effectively Tehnika workers will probably get training before the aircraft come in.
New "AIR Serbia" should have its own line maintenance Part 145 technical department with aprox. 10 academic and 50 ground engineers(LAME), hired like contractors.
ReplyDeleteNormaly, if JAT Tehnika controled by SPS political party (Dacic&Mrkonjic), agree with this compromise and acceppt base maintenance only.
Engineers will be Serbian nationality and school plus onjob training should be provide in very near future...
Najveći kapital JAT-ervejza danas, kao i u prošlosti, bili su kadrovi i - verni putnici. Kad god je, naime, kompanija bila prizemljivana, bivala je spremna i da poleti odmah nakon što bi joj bilo omogućeno. Istovremeno, njeni putnici koji su u pauzama koristili druge prevoznike, vraćali se JAT-u. Ovo se odnosi na sve zemlje, a posebno na Australiju. To ističu predstavnici srpskog avioprevoznika koji su proveli dva dana u Sidneju, a zatim odlaze u Melburn na međunarodni sastanak.
ReplyDeleteZanimljivo je da su putnici iz Australije izuzetno verni JAT-u. Vaše predstavništvo ovde je dugo bilo i najrentabilnije u inostranstvu. Je li to i sada slučaj.
- Jeste, predstavništvo je odlično i australijsko tržište je odlično i upravo zbog toga želimo da pojačamo konekcije.
JAT je u fazi privatizacije, a gospodin Radovanović, inače. kaže da je način kako je pre dve godine prodavan bio pogrešan.
- JAT ipak prodaje država i o tome mogu da govorim kao neko ko je upoznat, ali mi smo menadžment, i mi smo takođe predmet prodaje. Mene kao pravnika, generalnog direktora, možda verovatno neće zadržati, ali saobraćajne inženjere sigurno hoće. Pokušaj prodaje avionske kompanije na način kako se htelo pre dve godine bio je unapred osuđen na propast. Ne prodaju se avionske kompanije tako, na takvom tenderu kao recimo fabrika nameštaja. Za njih ima veoma mali broj kupaca na svetu. To bi mogle biti postojeće velike kompanije koje se šire i koje se ne javljaju na ovakve tendere. Drugi pokušaj će ići preko zajedničkog ulaganja, odnosno dokapitalizacije preko neke velike avio-kompanije. Ovih dana se otvaraju ponude za savetnika pri vladi o načinu privatizacije JAT-a.
Kako je bilo u svim ovim vremenima, sačuvati jezgro JAT-a, uprkos tome što su vas prizemljili, pitamo Miodraga Markovića.
- To je uspeh svih zaposlenih, da tržište bude prisutno, da ne zaboravimo naše putnike ni u Americi ni u Australiji ni širom Evrope,da sačuvamo flotu koju smo imali. Evo podatak: kad god je JAT imao problem, i prestao da leti i kad god se vraćao nazad, naši avioni su bili spremni za poletanje i bili bezbedni za putnike. I putnici su se uvek vraćali JAT-u i bili radosni kad dođu u naše avione. Ja prevashodno mislim na ove putnike iz Australije koji su nam stvarno ostali verni i kad god bismo krenuli da povežemo preko Dubaija ili Larnake, oni su se vraćali nama.
JAT je takođe sačuvao i svoje kadrove, najpre pilote, zatim tehnički kadar, pa kadar koji se bavi prodajom. Naši kadrovi su školovani kadrovlI. I pored svih problema s kojima smo se suočili, pobedu su izneli kadrovi i to verno tržište, naši putnici.
Dakle, nije bio problem vratiti se kad bi nas puštali, već vratiti se na onaj nivo na kome smo bili. Svesni smo da je tržište drugačije i kad god se menjalo, mi smo se snalazili da vratimo svoju poziciju i da ona opstane. Sada puno ulažemo u marketing, želimo i nove avione i država će nam pomoći u tome. I mi smo prepoznatljiv brend, jer uvek je bio JAT i mi smo taj brend zadržali. I znamo da kažemo da, kad nas se u svetu neko seti kao zemlje, kao naroda, on se seti Divca, Đokovića i JAT-a.
Direktno do Dubaia
Da li, u vezi sa Australijom, postoje neki drugačiji planovi od današnjeg programa, pitamo ga.
- Nemamo ambiciju da letimo direktno za Australiju. Poznato je da nijedna evropska kompanija osim Britiš ervejza ne leti direktno. Naš saobraćaj ide za Dubai i mi imamo nameru da pojačamo te linije do proleća, prvenstveno zbog putnika iz Australije.
Preko Larnake?
- Ne. Direktno, Beograd - Dubai. Kupićemo dva "erbasa 319" koji će leteti i na toj relaciji.
Počelo je u Australiji
JAT je od početka Srpskog filmskog festivala u Australiji, pre deset godina, bio generalni sponzor. Sada se kompanija još aktivnije uključuje u tu saradnju kaže gospodin Radovanović.
- Mi ćemo s tim i nastaviti. To je do sada bilo uglavnom zahvaljujući predstavnicima koji su bili u Australiji, a sada je to što su oni promovisali i afirmisali postalo generalna politika JAT-ervejza.
@ Peter Popovic
ReplyDeleteWhat Air Serbia? Since when did SPS do anything constructive?
@ anonymous
Одакло ти ово? Претпостављам да је то само исеци и убаци.
would be interesting if JAT could do a codeshare agreement to Melbourne and Sydney, and increase the DXB flight to at least 5 p/w.
JAT could and should have a code-share agreement on Australia flights. If I'm not mistaken the flights to Dubai are very popular only because of that connection. First however, I would like to see it privatized and starting flights to North America. On the 2 Dnevnik on November 11, 2010, the director for the Serbian Aviation Industry said that by next year it is very likely that JAT or another company would launch flights from Toronto to Belgrade. He also said that representatives from NYC and Chicago were "very interested" in doing business with JAT and already came to Belgrade on negotiations between flights to America from Belgrade. I don't want to say anything now, but it looks like JAT is slowly coming back.
ReplyDelete@ Jeebusman
ReplyDeleteWith what will JAT operate the N. American flights with? If A319's do come, I highly doubt they would go for N. America. Leasing B767's is another cost. Starting the flights is another cost. JAT lacks proper equipment for good regional connections, lacks frequencies to its current regional destionations and lacks regional destinations.
@ Anonymous (#15)
ReplyDeleteTehnika needs to move with the times, and perhaps is one of the things holding JU back. Sure, they've kept one of Europe's oldest fleets in the air all these years, that doesn't stop them from making progress.
@ JATBEGMEL
Codesharing would be a far cheaper and more practical method of expansion for the airline for intercontinental flights. All they need to do is find a decent partner or three...
@JATBEGMEL
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that the airlines that privatizes JAT will think of something. But I was just saying that before JAT thinks of flights to and from Australia it should look closer to N.America.