From Rijeka to Niš

Soon flights from Rijeka to Niš

Those that believed that there would be no flights between Croatia and Serbia this summer might be surprised to learn that the Croatian charter airline Adria Wings will commence flights between Rijeka and Niš as early as May. The news comes after Niš’s recent tourism fair where the city authorities and the management of Rijeka Airport agreed on the terms of the new service. Rijeka Airport’s management hopes that passengers from Niš will not only visit Rijeka but will also use the airport as a transit point towards Western European destinations.

Adria Wings was once known as Air Adriatic, which was Croatia’s first privately owned airline. Air Adriatic lost its operating license in 2007. The city authorities in Niš have come under fire for large subsidies it has given to low cost airline Wind Jet and Montenegro Airlines for their operations from the city. According to a report by “Balkan Insight”, Niš is obliged to cover the cost of 40 seats on each Montenegro Airlines flight and 100 seats on every Wind Jet flight. Critics say that tax payer’s money should be spent on more pressing issues as the city suffers from underdevelopment and unemployment.

B&H cancelations

No go for Banja Luka and Zagreb

According to exclusive insider information, EX-YU Aviation News has received word that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national carrier will not commence services to either Banja Luka or Zagreb. The airline had plans to commence services to Banja Luka with 11 weekly flights from Sarajevo, starting May 01. Flights JA002 and JA006 bound from Sarajevo to Banja Luka were to have various departure times, including 12.00, 12.30, 18.45 and 21.45. The flights have been cancelled without explanation although it is believed the airline has failed to secure rights. Despite the setback, B&H is still negotiating with authorities in the hope that flights could soon begin.

Meanwhile, even more puzzlingly, the carrier will not commence its planned 6 weekly service to the Croatian capital Zagreb. The flights were to depart Sarajevo at 18.45 from May 01. According to our sources there is a possibility that the airline will resume services to Macedonia’s capital Skopje. These flights were cancelled last summer and at one point some services were operated via Podgorica.

The only new service for the summer, which seems to be confirmed, is to Belgrade. Flight details can soon be found in the new route launches section.

Big passenger slump

That empty feeling ... Croatia Airlines

Croatia Airline started the year off with a big slump in passenger numbers. It took the Association of European Airlines (AEA) to reveal Croatia Airlines’ figures. In the first month of the year, January, Croatia Airlines reported a 10.9% passenger decrease. This is a big slump for the leading carrier in the EX-YU region and the airline which seemed to sale through the global financial crisis mostly unharmed in comparison to other European airlines. In January, Croatia Airlines had 91.100 passengers and its load factor stood at 51.5%.

Meanwhile, Adria Airways was breakeven in January, neither recording an increase or decrease. Its cabin occupancy index stands at 57.7% and is the highest out of the 3 leading EX-YU airlines.

In sudden reversal of events, Jat Airways, which has for month’s been reporting a big passenger decline, has managed to become the only major EX-YU carrier to report growth in January. The growth has continued throughout February and results for March are expected to be announced in 2 weeks. Jat carried some 4.000 passengers more than Adria in January but still trails Croatia Airlines by a hefty 23.000 passengers.

Summer begins

New flights on the horizon

The 2010 northern hemisphere summer season in aviation begins today. Together, EX-YU airlines Adria Airways, B&H Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Jat Airways and Montenegro Airlines will offer over 1.000 weekly flights.

Adria Airways will be offering its services to 25 destinations. It will resume seasonal summer flights to Barcelona, Dublin, Manchester and Stockholm. The airline should receive 2 new Airbus A319s next month in order to replace its single Airbus A320. B&H Airline will also await the arrival of the long announced Boeing B737-700 this summer. The airline plans to introduce flights to Belgrade and Zagreb in May and connect Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city, Banja Luka, with the capital, Sarajevo, 11 times per week. Croatia Airlines will receive 2 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s in the next 2 weeks in order to replace one of its Airbus A320s. The airline will commence seasonal flights to Athens, Lisbon, Lyon and Tel Aviv. Jat Airways faces privatisation this summer and the possible arrival of its 2 Boeing B737-700s. By June 1, the airline’s grounded fleet should be operational. Jat will introduce seasonal flights to Portorož, Gothenburg, Thessaloniki and Ohrid and will significantly increase its frequencies in the region to destinations such as Ljubljana, Skopje, Sarajevo, Podgorica and Tivat. Finally, Montenegro Airlines will be introducing flights to Dusseldorf and Copenhagen. The airline will accept its new Embraer E195 jet in June. Montenegro Airlines also plans to launch a Serbian subsidiary in Niš.

Sale is on the cards

Another year – another promise

Serbia is considering ways to make its loss making national carrier Jat Airways attractive to investors, such as taking on its debt and paying for redundancies, the prime minister said on Friday. Mirko Cvetković told Reuters that the current situation at Jat was so dire that "not only will no one give you a single penny, but you will have to pay someone to come in". Serbia has long sought to find a buyer or partner for Jat and, earlier this week, the government said it would launch a tender next month to find a partner to revive its national carrier. Cvetković said the plan is under discussion and is modeled after that used recently to sell Greece's Olympic Airlines. "This model basically means that you create a new core and the new core is (taking over) the activity of the existing company while the government takes care of the redundant workers and the assets of the existing companies and obviously the credit" he said. "If we are paying, which we will probably have to do, then why don't we start at the very beginning and (with) this payment ... resolve the inherited problems in the area of creditors and redundant people".

Serbia, which is Jat's largest creditor, is seeking a partner to take a 51% stake, although any carrier not party to the open skies agreement could get a 49% stake and Serbia would sell off another 2% to another firm to retain only a minority stake, Cvetković said.

This is yet another in a line of promises when it comes to the sale of Serbia’s national carrier. So far, politicians have said that various companies have been interested in purchasing Jat, from Air Berlin to a former chips factory owner, but none of them came true. Less than a month ago Cvetković himself said that Jat shouldn’t be sold in 2010. Now it seems his tune has changed. What happens next remains to be seen.

Embraer arriving soon

Soon in Podgorica

The CEO of Montenegro Airlines, Zoran Đurišić, signed a final agreement for the purchase of an Embraer E195 jet. This will be the third Embraer in Montenegro Airlines’ fleet and the first to be actually owned by the airline, with the others on financial leases to the carrier. At the singing in Paris, Đurišić said that the E195 in question is in the final stages of production and should be in Podgorica by June 25. The aircraft is being financed from a loan the airline received from the Brazilian National Bank.

The arrival of the newest Embraer will be Montenegro Airline’s 9th aircraft and the airline’s 8th operational aircraft. If the airline carries out its plan of setting up an airline in Niš, 2 aircraft would be leased to its subsidiary Master Airways. Montenegro Airlines has an option of ordering another Embraer.

New aircraft arriving soon

Two more Dash8s in Zagreb soon

Croatia Airlines will accept new aircraft in the following days. The Croatian ministry for sea, transport and infrastructure reports that the national carrier will receive 2 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s within the next 2 weeks finalising the acceptance of the 6 aircraft order. The airline received its first Dash 8 in May 2008. All of the aircraft are new and are on a 6 year financial lease to the airline. This aircraft type now becomes the most predominant one in the Croatia Airlines fleet. The Croatian national carrier also has an option of ordering a further 4 Dash 8s.

Meanwhile, the airline will farewell one of its Airbus A320s. The aircraft, registered 9A-CTM, will leave the fleet following the arrival of the Dash8s. The interior of the A320 in question has already received a new look for its next customer. The aircraft bore the Star Alliance livery which has now been transferred to an A319, registered 9A-CTI. Croatia Airlines has 4 Airbus A319s on order which should start arriving in 2 years. It already has 4 aircraft of this type in its fleet.

SUMMER 2010

It's time for summer

The 2010 summer season in aviation begins on Sunday, March 28 and will last until October 30. It will be the second summer season overshadowed by the global financial crisis which has hit the aviation world, no exception being the EX-YU region. Adria Airways, B&H Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Jat Airways and Montenegro Airlines will be increasing frequencies, introducing new destinations and, as it stands now, all airlines are expected to introduce new aircraft to their fleet sometime during the summer season.

In order to view the modifications that the abovementioned airlines have made for the 2010 summer season, click the name of each below.

Adria Airways · B&H Airlines · Croatia Airlines · Jat Airways · Montenegro Airlines

Fleet changes

Grounded fleet soon in the air

In the lead up to the 2010 summer season, Jat Airways is making changes to its fleet with grounded aircraft expected to be in the air by June. Most of the grounded fleet needs engine overhauls. These problems are now expected to be sorted. Currently, Jat Airways has a total of 17 aircraft (5 ATR72s, 1 Boeing B737-200, 10 B737-300s and 1 B737-400). As it stands now, a total of 4 aircraft are grounded, 1 ATR72 (registered YU-ALN) and 3 Boeing B737-300s (registered YU-AND, YU-ANF and YU-ANH). A fifth grounded aircraft, an ATR72 (registered YU-ALR) has resumed operations as of early March. The airline had plans to return its sole B737-400 to its owner in May, however Jat has managed to extend the lease on the aircraft, the airline’s CEO Srdjan Radovanović said at a press conference last week. The aircraft has left the fleet for regular maintenance but will return in April. The airline’s grounded fleet has posed major problems for the carrier in the past year and, as a result, has been forced to reduce operations. Two of the grounded Boeing B737-300s will be repaired by a foreign company by June 1. The other 2 aircraft will be repaired by Jat Tehnika by May 1, which will lead the airline to increase frequencies on most of its services from that date.


The arrival of 2 Boeing B737-700s has been delayed until later this summer, Jat Media Centre reports. The delay has been caused because the airline's failure to secure necessary funds for a financial lease. With a 51 million Euro loan expected to be granted to the airline within the next few months, the new aircraft will be leased for a period of just under a year. At last week’s press conference Radovanović noted that 3 of Jat’s Boeing B737-300s have received a new look interior with new economy class seats and that a further 2 will be refurbished by June. The airline plans to refurbish its entire Boeing 737-300 fleet. It also hopes to end its 12 year feud with Airbus over an order of 8 Airbus A319s this summer.

Unhappy Adria

From Maribor to the world

From April 07 – 21 Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport will be off limits to all airlines as the airport plans to carry out its major runway overhaul. Some airlines have decided to cancel services to Ljubljana for the 2 weeks, some will reroute to Trieste, some to Portorož, while the majority will be heading to Maribor. This is where the Slovenian national carrier, Adria Airways, plans to carry out operations but its CEO, Tadej Tufek, is less than happy with the arrangements. According to Adria, Maribor Airport is too small for its needs with only 2 gates and limited parking stands. Furthermore, the airport is said to be completely unprepared for the large scale traffic that is about to head its way. Making matters worse is Ljubljana Airport’s refusal to pay compensation to Adria for the 2 week nuisance. Tufek went as far as saying that he would prefer for the airline not to operate during the 2 week reconstruction. The airline had plans to relocate to the Italian boarder town of Trieste however the costs were too high.

The Adria Airways CEO is now requesting for the Slovenian Government to postpone the runway reconstruction project for 12 months. According to the airline, its hub airport could carry out reconstruction during night time. However, nigh time work would be more expensive, the airport says. Now, 13 days before the works at the airport commence, it remains to be seen who will win this battle.

Special thanks to Alex Stare for his contribution to this article. If you have suitable news that should be published on EX-YU Aviation News, write to exyuaviation@mail.com

Terminal 360

Current Zagreb Airport terminal

Tonči Peović, the CEO of Zagreb Airport, announced on Friday that the price tag for the construction of the long awaited, and endlessly delayed, new terminal will most probably amount to a hefty 360 million Euros. According to Peović, the airport would have to buy a nearby parcel of land, which is privately owned, in order to build the terminal. The owners of the nearby land stand to gain millions. The daily “Novi list” has reported that Peović said that the purchase of the private property would cost a total of 50 million Euros, meaning the whole project would amount to 360 million Euros. A public competition for the terminal building concession should be announced in the near future. Tonči Peović remains optimistic that Croatia’s largest infrastructure project will commence soon. He said that the airport authorities are waiting for the green light from the Government. The previous terminal project, which was supposed to be under construction since last year, was cancelled due to its high costs.

Belgrade records passenger boost

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport

The CEO of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Velimir Radosavljević, told Radio Television of Serbia that the airport is experiencing an 8% passenger increase so far in March. Although he did not comment on figures for January and February, growth is predicted to have hovered at around 5%, less than the airport authorities originally predicted. Radosavljević believes that growth in April will be in double digits. According to the CEO, the Belgrade – Vienna route recorded “spectacular growth” in February of over 50%, compared to last year. The line is served by Austrian Airlines, Jat Airways and Niki which brings the total number of weekly frequencies to 37. Services to London and Moscow recorded the same passenger numbers as last year while numbers to Tivat and Podgorica declined. The CEO said that the airport will expand its transit zone and that new air bridges will replace old ones at Terminal 1 in order to match those at Terminal 2.

Belgrade Nikola Tesla is currently served by 22 scheduled airlines. This number will increase to 27 during the summer. Recently, Norwegian Air Shuttle announced the resumption of seasonal summer flights from Stockholm to Belgrade. The all year round Oslo to Belgrade service continues as normal.

Macedonian aviation struggles

Vintage Ohrid had more flights than today

The “EU Observer” has named Macedonia as the black hole of European aviation. It says that the former Yugoslav republic lacks a national carrier and its population of 2.1 million people is too small to lure international airlines, which have also been discouraged by the high fees charged by the country's two commercial airports, Skopje and Ohrid. The portal notes that the airport lacks regional connections to Sarajevo but also suggests that the majority of those flying out of Skopje transit either via Belgrade, Ljubljana or Zagreb, making the trip much longer and costly. “Poor air links are preventing Macedonia from developing its tourist industry” the Observer notes. "Expenses for airport fees and fuel are 15 to 20% higher than in neighbouring countries, they rose by 25% during the last month alone", says Nikolas Kuemmerle, a former MAT Macedonian Airlines manager.

The Observer notes that Skopje is one of the rare European capital cities that does not have a direct air link with Brussels, the central city of the European Union. Although Skywings International began charter flights to the Belgian capital, the service has been terminated. There are no direct flights to Berlin, Paris, London or Madrid. "Flights to these cities are not profitable. The market is too small for the low-cost companies to come," Mr Kuemmerle said. Zoran Krstevski, the head of Macedonia's Civil Aviation Directorate says, “We are developing this sector in line with European standards and regulations for small markets. Improvement can be made only by regional approach, attracting foreign companies and permitting them greater freedom".

Although there have been various plans by other companies to set up an airline in Macedonia, none have materialised as yet. On Tuesday the CEO of Jat Airways criticised the Macedonian Aviation Directorate saying that the rejection of Jat’s planned Macedonian subsidiary, Aeromak, is unexplainable.

51 million Euros for Jat

Jat holds press conference

Jat will seek a 51.5 million Euro loan from a bank in order to pay off outstanding debt and purchase new aircraft, the airline said at a press conference in Belgrade on Tuesday. The Government of Serbia has given guarantees to the banks which make the process of obtaining the loan simpler. "We have received state guarantees and by April we will pick a lender", Jat Airways CEO, Srdjan Radovanović said. "These should be long-term loans with good interest rates and grace periods". The CEO said that the airline was in debt but that the number was slashed in 2009. He went on to say that the airline is still carrying the burden of mass debt from the 1990s era. Since the start of the Yugoslav wars in 1991, Jat has lost a cumulative total of about 180 million Euros, the CEO said. However, that figure was not equal to the company's total current debt, he said, as all six Yugoslav republics had a share in the company, making the subsequent accounting tangled. “We are not thinking about bankruptcy. Instead, we believe our time is yet to come”, Radovanović said. He confirmed that Turkish Airlines has expressed interest to commence strategic partnership talks with the airline but that no decisive action has been taken by either side. Serbian Government minister Sulejman Ugljanin confirmed that a Turkish Airlines delegation will arrive in Belgrade today. Radovanović also revealed that Jat Catering has won a recent tender to provide meal services to the airline from March 28. As a gesture of good will the media were distributed sandwiches which will be offered on Jat’s short haul flights.

The 51 million Euros will be divided into 49 million for debt payment to Jat Catering, Jat Tehnika, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Serbian Air Control. The money will also be used for the overhaul of jet engines on aircraft. The rest will be used on the purchase of 2 Boeing B737-700 aircraft.

At the conference, the airline also promoted its 2010 summer timetable. The media noted the absence of flights to Croatia. Radovanović said that Jat has been offered flights to Dubrovnik from its airport authorities and that the airline is “thinking about it”. Radovanović did not wish to clarify the reason why Pula has been cancelled, saying only that he believes that the flights are profitable and that the situation with those flights is out of Jat’s hands for now. Speaking about the lack of flights from Serbia’s second international airport Niš, Radovanović said that it isn’t economically viable for the airline to operate from the city.

Crisis continues

No relief for Croatian airports

Croatian airports continue to record decreased passenger numbers for a second consecutive month in 2010. In February 2010, Rijeka Airport recorded the greatest passenger decline when compared to the same month last year, while Osijek reported the greatest increase with growth of 8.1%.

Croatia’s largest airport, Zagreb, saw passenger numbers slide by 7.5%, handling a total of 113.042 passengers. Rijeka’s numbers were slashed from 88 passengers in February 2009 to only 26 in February 2010, thus recording a 70% decline. Underperforming as well was Pula whose passenger numbers fell by 36%. Split handled 20.387 passengers, a decline of 16%. Zadar and Dubrovnik also reported a decrease in numbers.

The only Croatian airport which managed to report growth in February was Osijek with 80 passengers, an 8.1% increase. So far in 2010, Rijeka and Osijek are the only 2 Croatian airports seeing passenger numbers rise compared to last year.

Below you can view February’s 2010 results for Croatian airports:

Airport	Passengers FEB 2010	Passengers FEB 2009	Change (%)
Zagreb	113.042	122.168	▼ 7.5
Dubrovnik	13.725	14.620	▼ 6.1
Pula	998	1.559	▼ 36.0
Split	20.387	24.525	▼ 16.9
Zadar	1.516	1.694	▼ 10.5
Osijek	80	74	▲ 8.1
Rijeka	26	88	▼ 70.5

Summer highlightsJat Airways

Seasonal flights to Gothenburg, Thessaloniki and Ohrid without Pula

Jat Airways will introduce several seasonal flights this summer and operate to a total of 38 cities in 25 countries with 208 weekly frequencies. Although the 2010 summer season begins on March 28, most of Jat's timetable changes are effective from May 1.

Jat will upgrade its Sarajevo service to daily flights with services to Frankfurt, Vienna, Zurich, Moscow, Paris, London, Podgorica and Tivat also operated at least once per day. Skopje will receive a big boost with 12 weekly scheduled flights. The airline's newest destination is the Slovenian city of Portorož, to be operated twice per week. Jat will resume seasonal services to Ohrid, Gothenburg and Thessaloniki with a notable exception to the list being Pula, which has been suspended. The extremely successful resumption of services to Dubai earlier this year will also receive a boost with a 3rd weekly flight to be introduced on May 10 and a possible introduction of a 4th weekly flight could occur in July, Jat Media Center reports. The airline will also operate to a heap charter flights, mostly between 21.00 – 06.00 CET.

The arrival of 2 Boeing B737-700 is dependent on whether Jat Airways finds a customer that is willing to buy its headquarters in Belgrade. Jat will relocate to another building in the city and plans to use the estimated 11 million Euros from the sale to purchase new aircraft. According to the Serbian media, a deal is close with the telecommunication giant "Telekom Srbija" which is based in the same building as Jat.

Summer brings new flights

Soon in Copenhagen and Dusseldorf

Montenegro Airlines will launch new services from Podgorica to Copenhagen and Dusseldorf. The national carrier of Montenegro will connect the country’s capital with that of Denmark 3 times per week starting May 1. Flights will be operated by the Fokker F100. Flights to Dusseldorf will commence on the same day. Montenegro Airlines will operate 3 weekly flights to the city as well using the Fokker F100. Unlike previous years when flights to London-Gatwick Airport were operated from Tivat during the summer, the airline has decided for the flights to originate from Podgorica as they have during the winter. The airline’s loss over the monopoly it held on the Tivat – London route might be the reason it has suspended the summer service as Thomson Airways will connect the 2 cities from May 5, taking away Montenegro Airlines’ tourist clientele. However, passengers from Tivat will have the opportunity to travel to Paris with Montenegro Airlines, unlike previous years.

Meanwhile, Spanair has announced that it will introduce flights from Madrid to Belgrade, connecting the 2 cities via the air after almost 19 years. The airline also announced new flights from Barcelona to Belgrade recently. Flights from Madrid begin May 28, with the Barcelona service set to commence on April 15.

All flight details for the above mentioned flights can be found in the new route launches section.

Jat’s free cab ride

Free taxi ride for Jat passengers soon

Serbia’s Jat Airways will become the first airline in the world to offer a free taxi service to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport for all of its return ticket passengers. The news comes after the Serbian tender regulator found no misconduct in the tender procedure which began in November 2009 but came to a halt in December. The tender, which called on taxi companies to hand in their offers, was put on hold after a Belgrade taxi company cried foul, saying that the tender was being fixed. Two companies have applied for Jat’s “taxi revolution”, the Tanjug news agency reports. The taxi syndicate “Nezavisnost” and a joint bid by “Belgrade Taxis” and “Business Taxi” has been approved by the regulator.

The taxi service can be used by all Jat Airways passengers with a return ticket. The taxis will transport passengers to and from Nikola Tesla Airport to any location within Serbia’s capital city. The airline’s vice CEO Vlada Ognjenović said that this is the latest in a string of new services that Jat Airways is offering its passengers in a bid to improve its results. Starting with the 2010 summer season, all Serbian citizens flying with Jat will also receive free travel insurance of up to 5.000 Euros.

Would a free taxi ride entice you to fly with an airline? Send a comment.

Summer highlightsB&H Airlines

Banja Luka flights in doubt, Belgrade in May

With the announced delay of the arrival of 2 Boeing B737-700 aircraft, B&H Airlines won’t be making drastic changes to its timetable for the 2010 summer season. Still, the greatest difference, compared to the 2009/2010 winter timetable is the addition of Belgrade in its route network and its new commitment to Banja Luka, which should see it serve Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city 11 times per week. Speaking to “EuroBlic” newspapers, the CEO of B&H Airlines said that flights to Banja Luka will depart Sarajevo in the evening hours on a daily basis. The aircraft would stay in Banja Luka and depart in the morning in order to connect to B&H Airlines’ European flights. The other 4 flights will depart sometime during the day. However, B&H’s increased flight offer from Banja Luka is in jeopardy after the authorities in Banja Luka announced that they would not allow another airline to threaten its Sky Srpska project which has been delayed numerous times. The authorities should call on aircraft manufacturers to offer their price for 2 short haul aircraft by the end of the first quarter of 2010, that will be used by the Banja Luka based Sky Srpska.

Meanwhile, B&H Airlines’ flights to Belgrade will depart Sarajevo 6 times per week at 13.00CET. The aircraft will commence its return trip some 2 hours after landing in Belgrade. The airline will inaugurate services to Belgrade sometime between May 1 and May 15.

B&H’s planned flights to Amsterdam have been dumped after special prorate agreement (SPA) negotiations stalled with an airline which should connect the Bosnian diaspora with Sarajevo via the Dutch capital.

New engines and food

Meals galore! Jat Airways judges future catering

It has been a week of tenders at Serbia’s national carrier Jat Airways. On Thursday, the airline revealed that 4 international companies have placed a bid to perform an engine overhaul of 2 Boeing B737-300 aircraft which have been grounded since the beginning of the 2009/2010 winter season. Among the four bidders are Lufthansa Technik from Germany, Badek from Israel, Snecma from France and Nex from Norway. The Serbian tender regulatory commission will choose the winner within the next 8 days and the overhaul of the engines must be completed by June 1. In a statement issued to the press, the airline said, “The addition of aircraft to our fleet will improve scheduling to the numerous destinations Jat Airways operates to”. The airline carried out its winter schedule with only 9 aircraft, despite the airline having a total of 16 in its fleet.

On Monday, Jat Airways revealed that Jat Catering and Airport Catering Nikola Tesla have applied to provide meals to the airline for the next year. Jat Catering, which has provided food to the airline since its formation in the mid 1960s, went on strike on January 14, 2010. The strike came to a sudden halt in early March and a new CEO of the company was appointed. Jat Catering was separated from Jat Airways in 2005. Jat Catering is a firm favourite in the race. It has also vowed to bring back hot meals on the majority of the airline’s flights. The catering company drastically decreased its food offering after cost cutting measures were introduced by Jat Airways in 2008. Jat Catering only offers warm meals on services to Dubai. Jat Catering CEO, Bora Kovačević said to the Studio B network, “We would like to bring back our popular cakes and our triangular sandwiches on board”. Other companies also applied to supply food to Jat but were disqualified by the Serbian tender regulatory commission due to the absence of licenses which would allow them to provide airline meals. Jat has the next 27 days to pick the winner although the airline announced it would do so before the start of the 2010 summer season. The winner will immediately commence with the production of meals once it is chosen.

Ryanair continues Zadar expansion

Soon from Bari to Zadar

Ryanair has drastically increased passenger numbers at Zadar Airport after commencing a string of services to the city last year. This year, the world’s largest low cost airline continues to introduce new flights to the Croatian city. After the recent announcement that Ryanair will begin services to Zadar from Bremen in Germany, it has now announced that it plans to introduce flights from Bari in Italy as well. Flights from Bari are set to begin on June 1 and will operate twice per week. Additionally, Ryanair will commence flights from Bremen on June 2.

Besides Bremen and Bari, Ryanair will be serving Zadar this summer from Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, London, Oslo, Pisa and Stockholm. The airline has received 984.000 Euros from the city authorities as a subsidy for the flights. Zadar Airport handled 144.708 passengers in 2009, an increase of 35% compared to 2008.

Croatia over and out

Jat dumps Pula

After 2 consecutive years of seasonal summer flights, Jat Airways will suspend services to Pula. The flights are to be replaced by the Belgrade – Portorož service which commences on April 15. Despite Croatia becoming a more popular destination with Serbian tourists each year, the airline has decided to remove the coastal Croatian city from its destination network. Instead it has opted for subsidised flights to Slovenia. The airline will focus on increasing its frequencies on regional services such as Skopje which will be served 12 times per week.

Services between Belgrade and Pula were resumed in 2008, after 17 years. The flights operated as summer seasonal flights in 2009 as well. There were indications that, due to the success of the service in 2008 and 2009, the flights could be extended all year round. During the 2010 summer season Jat will be operating flights to Trieste (3 times per week), Portorož (2 times), Ljubljana (6 times), Sarajevo (daily), Podgorica (21 times per week), Tivat (31 times), Skopje (12 times) and Ohrid (2 times) within the region.

Summer highlightsAdria Airways

Adria to resume seasonal flights

Adria Airways will be resuming seasonal flights to Barcelona, Dublin, Madrid, Manchester and Stockholm this summer. The news comes after the airline decided to dump its seasonal flights to Ohrid in Macedonia. The line up of seasonal routes indicates that there will be no further cut backs.

Flights to Barcelona and Madrid will operate every Thursday and Sunday starting April 22. A Bombardier CRJ900 is scheduled to operate these flights. Services to Dublin are set to commence on May 29 and will operate once per week, every Saturday, also using the CRJ900. The CRJ900 will be deployed on flights to Manchester which will commence operations on May 12, and will serve the city every Wednesday and Saturday. Finally, flights to the Swedish capital Stockholm will commence on April 25. The flights will operate every Thursday and Sunday also using the CRJ900. Adria will not be adding any additional new routes to its schedule this summer.

SUMMER 2010

All 2010 summer season timetables for EX-YU airlines will be available for view here in mid March. Until then, updates regarding the timetables will be published in the “summer highlights” news items.

UPDATEDStrike cancelled

Jat Tehnika cancels strike

Jat Tehnika, which is in charge of the maintenance of Jat Airways’ aircraft, has announced that it has cancelled a planned strike which was to begin at 16.30 CET. The news comes after Jat Airways payed part of its owing debt to the company today. Jat Tehnika was separated from Jat Airways in 2005. The company staged a 3 day strike in October 2009 which paralysed the airline and brought on multi million Dinar losses. The strike ended after Jat payed part of its owing debt.

Last week, Jat Airways, said that Jat Tehnika's planned strike is of a different nature. As the B92 network reports, Jat has employed a foreign company to perform an overhaul of 8 Boeing B737-300 engines while Jat Tehnika will only do an overhaul of 2 engines (1 aircraft). Jat Airways says that Jat Tehnika does not have the capacity to perform an overhaul of all its engines and says that Jat Tehnika sends most parts needing repair to Germany and does not perform the job themselves as they lack professional and qualified staff. Jat Tehnika has denied the claims.

Meanwhile, the Serbian national carrier will today reveal the companies which have applied to provide catering services to the airline starting from the 2010 summer season for a period of 365 days.

Chinese want Zagreb Airport

The Chinese are coming

Chinese companies have formed a consortium that plans to compete for the construction of Zagreb Pleso Airport’s much anticipated and delayed new terminal, “Poslovni Devnik” writes. The yet unnamed Chinese consortium is also interested in participating in various other infrastructure projects across Croatia. The Croatian IGH company, which was considered a favourite in the running for the construction of the terminal building, will now face stiff competition for the job. The mayor of Zagreb believes that the construction of this project will finally commence in 2011.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Zagreb Airport, Tonči Peović, announced that the airport’s runway will be completely renewed. The 12.4 million Euro upgrade is necessary, according to Peović, as the runway can no longer handle the large aircraft it receives. The project is now awaiting approval. At a press conference, Peović also boasted his performance since becoming the airport’s CEO half a year ago saying that he has managed to attract various airlines after years of stagnation. He also announced that the airport’s balcony for aircraft spotting will soon once again be opened after many years, a treat for passengers and aviation enthusiasts.

Master Airways resurrected

From the courts to the sky

Four years ago, following the breakup of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, Montenegro Airlines created Master Airways, its Serbian offspring which would allow it to keep all its lucrative Belgrade – Zurich flights as well as charters from Belgrade. However, the airline was denied a license and the Montenegrin high court filed charges against Zoran Djurišić, Montenegro Airlines CEO and the CEO of Master Airways for the unlawful lease of aircraft which are not fully owned by Montenegro Airlines. The court proceedings are still ongoing.

Times have changed and Montenegro Airlines has once again sent in documentation to the Serbian Aviation Directorate for the registration of Master Airways. This time it is expected to receive all necessary licenses. Nebojša Stračević, the chief of the Serbian Aviation Director told “Blic” newspapers that all documentation has been received. Starčević, a former Jat Airways CEO who was run out of the company in 2008, was once a staunch opponent to the liberation of Serbia’s skies but now says that competition will do Jat good. Master Airways will have the same conditions as Jat Airways because it will be a Serbian registered company.

Montenegro Airlines plans to base Master Airways in Niš with 2 Fokker F100 aircraft. It plans on setting up flights from Niš Constantine the Great Airport to Budapest and Paris at first. Whether these flights would operate via Belgrade remains to be seen. The airline hopes to launch services in June. Master Airways has the full support of the city authorities in Niš which would allow the airline free handling of its aircraft at the airport and possibly subsidise certain routes. Montenegro Airlines and the mayor of Niš recently signed an agreement of cooperation.

B&H to Belgrade from May 1

Belgrade awaits B&H

After talks with the management of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, B&H Airlines will apply for a license to operate flights to Belgrade 6 times per week from May Day, the airport’s press service reports. The national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina would operate the flights 6 times per week. The service would not operate on Saturdays.

B&H will go head to head with Jat Airways on this route. B&H Airlines code shares on Jat’s Sarajevo service. As a result, Jat will also code share on B&H’s flights. The Serbian national carrier also operates flights to Sarajevo everyday with the exception of Fridays. To make the competition even more interesting, both airlines will be using their ATR72s on the route. In February, Jat recorded a 14% drop in passenger numbers on the Sarajevo round trip service compared to February 2009.

Zagreb braces for low cost airlines

Busier times ahead for Zagreb Airport

The CEO of Zagreb’s Pleso Airport, Tonči Peović, is in talks with Ryanair and easyJet who have expressed their wish to commence services from Zagreb. Both airlines operate flights to various Croatian cities but so far have avoided Zagreb for several reasons, including high handling costs and the government’s protectionist Croatia Airlines policy. “We have made some savings and realised that we could make our prices cheaper by up to 10%. In addition to the basic price list, we also offer additional incentives for companies that have never flown from Zagreb or are increasing traffic to Zagreb”, Peović told the “Vjesnik” newspaper. He also mentioned that the airport has slashed handling prices for international flights by up to 50%. Interestingly, none of the incentives apply to Croatia Airlines.

Joining Wizz Air and Germanwings as the only 2 low cost airlines operating out of Zagreb, Norwegian Air Shuttle will commence services from Copenhagen this summer. easyJet is likely to open flights to 6 destinations from Zagreb during the 2010/2011 winter season.

Peović said that low cost airlines, on average, account for 35% of the total turnover at European airports, and only 18% at Zagreb. “We plan to increase this figure to at least 30%. These low-budget companies are exactly what our airports need”, Peović says.

Growth in February

Mild February growth

Jat has recorded a second consecutive month of growth with a 2% passenger increase in February 2010 when compared to February last year. Jat transported a total of 122.923 passengers while its average cabin load factor stood at 47.5%, 3% less than in February 2009. More importantly, the airline managed to record high scale growth on services to Podgorica and Tivat. Jat’s Montenegro passenger numbers collapsed in the first half of 2009 and until now have not been able to recover. Jat transported 7.830 passengers to Montenegro in February (compared to 5.230), 45.384 passengers on Euro-Mediterranean services (compared to 49.453) and 1.376 passengers on charter flights (compared to 933 in February 2009).

The airline’s Brussels flights continue to report the greatest growth in its network in comparison to last year. The flights saw a 155% passenger increase. It is followed by Podgorica (+61%) and Tivat (+23%). Jat is reporting its greatest decline on flights to Athens, hit by fierce competition from Aegean Airlines. A similar decline can be noted on the airline’s Tel Aviv flights. Despite new competition from Niki and an increased flight offering from Austrian Airlines, the Serbian national carrier reported an 8% growth in passenger numbers on flights to Vienna. Whether this trend will continue in March remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, on March 1, Jat launched a new advertising campaign. The airline has introduced a daily “Jat bulletin” on a popular Belgrade based channel 3 times per day. During the bulletin Jat’s new PR manager invites passengers to use the services of the national carrier, advertising promotional tickets and destinations.

B&H’s EX-YU expansion

Soon in Belgrade and Zagreb

Speaking at a press conference in Antalya, Turkey, the CEO of B&H Airlines, Nudžeim Rečica, announced that the carrier is planning to commence services to Belgrade and Zagreb. “Soon we will commence services to Belgrade, Zagreb and Banja Luka. Particularly interesting is the line to Banja Luka which will be served to Sarajevo 11 times per week. The 20 minute flight will bring these 2 cities closer together and Banja Luka closer to the world”, Rečica told the “Dnevni Avaz” newspapers.

Rečica believes that the airline should have better finances after visa free travel to Schengen Zone countries for Bosnian citizens is available. Although no firm dates have been set, it is speculated that visas may be lifted during the summer, which would naturally increase passenger numbers.

Both Croatia Airlines and Jat Airways operate flights to Sarajevo. B&H Airlines code shares on Jat’s service to Belgrade. Jat’s Sarajevo service is one of the worst performing flights in its network. Croatia Airlines offers 12 weekly flights from Zagreb to Sarajevo.

Rečica did not mention new services to Amsterdam which are expected to be launched this summer. B&H Airlines is yet to publish its 2010 summer timetable.

Welcome back

19 years later

Adria Airways will touch down at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport today at 15.05 CET, almost 19 years after it operated its last flight to the Serbian capital. The airline ceased operations to Belgrade in 1991. Just before the outbreak of war, Adria Airways accounted for 15% of domestic passengers and 5% of Euro-Mediterranean passengers in Yugoslavia. The passenger flow between Serbia and Slovenia in 1990 stood at 10% (compared to 34% between Serbia and Croatia and 21% within Croatia itself).

Adria’s 6 weekly service to Belgrade will be in direct competition with Jat Airways’ 4 weekly flights. However, cooperation between the 2 carriers is likely after the managements of both airlines met in Belgrade last week. Adria will operate the service with a Bombardier CRJ200. Adria Airways becomes the 22nd scheduled carrier operating out of Belgrade this 2009/2010 winter season.

All 2010 summer schedules for EX-YU airlines will be available for view here in mid March. They will be published simultaneously unlike last year. The 2010 summer season begins on Sunday, March 28.