Montenegro joins AEA

Montenegro Airlines joins the club

Montenegro Airlines has joined the Association of European Airlines (AEA), becoming its 36th member. Its inception into the association was expected as early as October 2009, when it was announced it would officially join the AEA at its annual meeting in Dubrovnik. However, for unknown reasons, its entry was delayed until January 11, 2010. The AEA brings together 36 European established scheduled network carriers. These collectively carry 374 million passengers and 7 million tonnes of cargo each year, operating 2.689 aircraft serving 662 destinations in 162 countries with 11.934 flights a day. They provide around 394.200 jobs directly, and generate a total turnover of 80 billion Euros.

Montenegro Airlines joined together with Greece’s Aegean Airlines and Latvia’s Air Baltic. On January 11, it was also announced that the association would be led by British Airways’ CEO Willie Walsh, ending Ivan Mišetić’s reign who is also the CEO of Croatia Airlines. Adria Airways, Croatia Airlines and Jat Airways are the other members from the EX-YU region. David Henderson, an AEA spokesperson, said that “Montenegro Airlines is a smaller airline, with seven aircraft, but is growing strongly with links from Europe’s newest sovereign state to the EU’s major hubs”. B&H Airlines could be the next contender to join the association but will need to grow its fleet and destination network beforehand.