Turkish plans B&H shake up

More investment and new flights planned for B&H

Following the resignation of Nudžeim Rečica as the CEO of B&H Airlines, its Turkish owner plans to make some changes to the way the company is being managed. Turkish Airlines Chairman, Hamdi Topcu, has said his company is planning on making further contributions to the Balkans, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Speaking at a dinner organised by Turkish Airlines in Sarajevo last week, Topcu said that following the launch of Turkish’s flights between Istanbul and Podgorica, they now fly to every country in the Balkans. “We provide our friends living in the Balkans the opportunity to reach every corner of the world via Istanbul, which is an important transit point. We will continue to invest in the Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular”, he said. Topcu emphasised that Turkish Airlines is transferring all its knowledge and expertise to B&H Airlines in order to transform the Bosnian carrier into a leading airline in the region. He said their success has been confirmed by B&H’s increasing number of passengers. The airline carried 78.600 passengers in the first seven months of this year, a 107% jump over the same period last year. Topcu also noted that the airline’s market share rose to 25% this year, up from 14% prior to the Turkish takeover.

Turkish is also hoping to make managerial changes to the airline. Amir Jašić has been named the airline’s acting CEO. B&H’s fleet will shrink this September when its Boeing B737-400 is returned to Turkish Airlines as agreed. B&H will continue operating with its new Airbus A319 jet and two ATR72s. The airline is also expected to launch services to Amsterdam this winter in order to provide its passengers with a quick transfer to the United States. A service to Skopje or Podgorica is set to replace the recently terminated flights to Zagreb.