The twelve year old saga between Jat Airways and Airbus might finally be coming to an end after the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of new aircraft in London, yesterday. “I’m certain that this is a step forward in Jat entering the family of European airlines which are renewing their fleet through the purchase of Airbus aircraft”, Srdjan Radovanović, the CEO of Jat Airways said. Andreas Kramer, Airbus’ deputy vice president for sales in Eastern Europe, was also upbeat about the signed agreement. “Serbia as a country and Jat as an airline are one of our priorities and we are certain that the Serbian aviation industry has a bright future”, Kramer said.The “Tanjug” news agency reports that this memorandum includes an outline of the way in which the acquisition of the new Airbus aircraft will be handled. In 1998, JAT Yugoslav Airlines ordered eight Airbus A319 aircraft. Although the carrier paid 23.5 million Dollars, the aircraft were never delivered. While the order was more of a political statement, many have also criticised Airbus for the overpriced aircraft (the entire order amounting to 580 million American dollars) and the fact that Yugoslavia was about to be hit by a fresh round of United Nations economic sanctions, thus forbidding Airbus to deliver the aircraft to the country.
It is believed that the Airbus order will be revised in order to suit Jat’s current needs. It is also believed that the airline recently signed a lease for two Boeing B737-700 aircraft from a North American airline, although exact details will be revealed closer to the aircraft’s delivery date in late September.
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