Jat sees passenger increase

Charter competition impacts Jat figures

In August, Serbia’s Jat Airways recorded a 4% passenger increase on scheduled flights when compared to the same month last year, according to company statistics. This is despite the fact that the number of operated flights decreased by 3%. However, Jat was hit badly by competition from charter airlines. If passengers on charter flight are included, the airline saw an overall 5% passenger decrease in August. In total, Jat carried 145.933 passengers, while its average cabin load factor stood at 74%, an increase of 3%. The airline carried 25.233 passengers to and from Montenegro, 6.525 passengers more than in August 2009. However, there was a 37% passenger decrease on charter flights. The number of charter operations plummeted by 49%. Jat faced competition from Aviogenex, Koral Blue Airlines, Lotus Air, Nouvelle Air and Atlasjet on charter flights out of Belgrade this summer.

The airline recorded the biggest passenger increase on flights to Amsterdam and Podgorica, at 69% and 68% respectively. The greatest passenger decrease was reported on flights to Thessaloniki and Trieste. The biggest average load factor per flight was recorded on services to Stockholm (97%), Frankfurt (95%) and Zurich (92%).