Turkish confirms Jat interest

Turkish Airlines CEO verifies Jat interest

The CEO of Turkish Airlines, Temel Kotil, has confirmed that his airline is interested in taking over both Jat Airways and LOT Polish Airlines. The, much talked about, possible Turkish takeover of Jat has been confirmed for the first time by a high ranking official from the carrier. In Warsaw, Kotil said, “We are not interested in any other carriers in Eastern Europe aside from LOT and Jat”. Meanwhile, Jat’s CEO, Srdjan Radovanović told the “Beta” news agency that the airline is in constant contact with the Turkish carrier. It is believed that Turkish Airlines has requested the Serbian Government to create a successor to Jat. This way the new Jat would take over the fleet, brand, destinations and international agreements minus the multi million Euro debt. Analysts predict that the new national carrier could be created in the first half of 2011.

Speaking to the “Biznis” newspaper, an official from B&H Airlines said that Turkish’s takeover of Jat could lead to rationalization and development of air travel in the entire EX-YU region. Turkish Airlines owns 49% of B&H Airlines.