Turkish Airlines Macedonia’s only regular carrier

The Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency has confirmed that Turkish Airlines has been given the status of a “regular carrier”, thus granting it numerous privileges over other airlines operating to the country. Experts believe that the regular carrier status is another step towards Turkish becoming Macedonia’s national carrier. Turkish Airlines, which operates daily flights to Skopje, will now have exclusivity over other airlines in selecting destinations as well as landing and handling fee exemptions at Skopje and Ohrid airports. Turkish Airlines is the only to have been granted the status of a regular carrier in Macedonia, with Mat Airways having the status of charter airline until June. TAV has been lobbying since 2010 for Turkish to become Macedonia's national airline.

The former head of Macedonia’s two airports says that the country must have a national carrier because every serious state does. Macedonia has so far had two national airlines, Palair Macedonia and MAT Macedonian Airlines which replaced Palair following its bankruptcy. MAT ceased operations in 2009 upon the order of the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency under the pretext of a faulty aircraft. However, the airline was also high in debt. Skopje Airport handled the most passengers in 2000 when it saw over one million passengers and in 1999 when it handled 970.000 passengers. This summer B&H Airlines will launch flights from Sarajevo to the Macedonian capital while Jetairfly will operate seasonal flights from Brussels to both Skopje and Ohrid. The Civil Aviation Agency says there have been no other applications for new flights this summer. ČSA Czech Airlines will terminate flights from Prague on March 24.

Meanwhile, the former head of the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency, Zoran Krstevski, who was instrumental in the grounding of MAT, is under investigation on suspicion of corruption. It is believed that Krstevski misused the Agency’s funds and is accused of reckless spending on mobile phone bills and car petrol.

Mat Airways considers name change

Mat Airways is currently seeking a license from the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency as it plans to commence flights from Ohrid to Belgrade this summer. However, recent reports from the Macedonian media are linking Mat Airways with the controversial management of MAT Macedonian Airlines (grounded over a year ago). The Serbian tour operator Kon Tiki, which is the owner of Mat Airways, is now considering changing the airline’s name, the “Makfax” news agency reports. Kon Tiki has recently denied that Mat Airways has any links with the previous management of MAT Macedonian Airlines. “Please note that the old company has nothing to do with the new one and that Zlatko Petrovski (former MAT CEO) has no stake or ownership and he is not in the management structure of the newly found company”, a statement from Mat Airways, to the Macedonian media, reads. “Serbian companies are the sole owners of the new Mat”, the statement continues. The statement also said that the airline is considering changing its name so it wouldn’t be brought into connection with MAT Macedonian Airlines.

The Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency is currently performing checks on the airline’s Boeing B737-500 in Belgrade. It is believed that the Agency could soon decide whether the new Mat (or whatever its name may be) can fly. Recently, it too voiced concerns about the airline’s name.

If only MAT had more of these

Courts in Macedonia will begin bankruptcy procedures for the country’s grounded national carrier on January 18. The airline recently lost its Air Operations Certificate (AOC). The bankruptcy motion was filed by the Civil Aviation Directorate. It is believed that since the airline’s status as a national carrier is set to expire in September 2010 other airlines were reluctant to takeover the indebted MAT.

MAT Macedonian Airlines owes millions to various companies. It is indebted 6.5 million Euros to Jat Airways, a lump sum of 3 million to Skopje and Ohrid airports, 2.5 million to EUROCONTROL, 2.1 million to both Bombardier and the Macedonian fuel supplier (although the latter could be written off by the Government) and 2 million to the CIT Group. The airline is also in court for selling tickets to various destinations even though it had already ceased operations. The total sum of that court process could cost another 300.000 Euros. The airline also owes unknown sums to unpaid former employees as well as spare part suppliers.

If the Macedonian Civil Aviation Directorate issues necessary licenses MAT will be relaunched under the name Mat Airways this summer. The project is headed by the Serbian tour operator Kontiki and the former management of MAT Macedonian Airlines.

The year that was

2009 was a difficult year in aviation due to the persistent global financial downturn that affected passenger numbers and income. This is a short recount of how the national carriers in the former Yugoslavia performed:


Adria entered the year knowing that it would be difficult to reproduce results achieved in 2008, particularly in the first half of the year. In 2008 Slovenia was overseeing the presidency of the European Union and thus business travel was significantly increased. Adria’s passenger figures fell on average by 18% in 2009, but Tadej Tufek, Adria’s CEO said it would be more reasonable to compare the 2009 result with that of 2007. Slovenia was the first country of the former Yugoslavia to enter recession forcing Adria to cancel planned services to Sofia. Nevertheless, in February the airline received a new CRJ900 and announced a fleet renewal programme which will see the airline receive up to 3 Airbus A319s by 2013.

As 2009 drew to a close, Adria announced that it will commence 6 weekly flights to Belgrade in March of 2010 and posted its first profit of the year in the third quarter of 2009. On January 1, 2010 the airline became a full member of Star Alliance.


B&H Airlines started the year off optimistically. Being purchased by Turkish Airlines in late 2008 the airline announced a new fleet and new destinations. The national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina received its first jet engine aircraft, a Boeing B737-400, on May 10. With enthusiasm the airline announced new flights to Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Dusseldorf. However, this hasty expansion led to the termination of flights to Prague and Berlin due to poor interest. Similarly, newly introduced flights to Podgorica were also cancelled.

On the other hand, B&H Airlines managed to secure an increase in passenger numbers. In November it was announced that B&H would return the Boeing B737-400 in exchange for 2 Boeing B737-700s, one expected to arrive later this month and the other in March. The airline also announced it would begin services to Amsterdam in 2010.


Once again, Croatia Airlines ended 2009 as the airline with the most passengers handled out of all the EX-YU airlines. Its passenger figures did decline but not as much as expected. Still, the airline’s finances are far from positive and Croatia Airlines ended 2009 with the greatest financial loss out of all of the EX-YU carriers. In June the airline welcomed its 3rd and 4th Dash 8 Q400 jets. Near the end of the year Croatia Airlines listed flights to Belgrade in its 2010 summer season timetable. In spite of this, shortly after the flights disappeared and the future service to Belgrade, expected to commence on May 1, is under question. Croatia Airlines will inaugurate flights between Zagreb and Athens in 2010.

During 2009, Croatia Airlines celebrated its 20th birthday. Yesterday the airline became a full Star Alliance member.


Jat did not get an easy ride in 2009. From the beginning of the year the airline began recording immense passenger declines. Despite fleet renewal announcements the airline so desperately needs, Jat’s management was dismissed in July and a new one brought it. The previous management was blamed for signing damaging agreement with Montenegro Airlines that saw Jat practically disappear on the lucrative services to Podgorica and Tivat. The airline’s new CEO drafted a 2010 recovery plan which will see the airline order 2 Boeing B737-700 aircraft. In October, Jat was paralysed for a week by a strike by its technical division, Jat Tehnika, which was resolved with the help of the Government. The airline was battered by the press in the summer when photos of unscrewed bolts on one of Jat’s aircraft appeared.

In 2009 Jat began services to Abu Dhabi and began refurbishing it’s on board cabins. The airline stumbled on a major hurdle when it announced it would resume flights to Dubrovnik after nearly 2 decades but in the end decided to back away from these plans. Jat has announced that it will begin flights to Portorož in April of 2010 and offer free travel insurance to all its passengers travelling to countries of the European Union. Jat faces extreme competition from other airlines in 2010, with many announcing new flights to Belgrade.


The Montenegrin national carrier had been the quiet achiever of the year. The airline managed to increase passenger numbers, largely thanks to its domination on services heading to Belgrade. During the first few months of the year the airline was constantly plagued by smaller safety incidents reported by the local media. In 2009, the airline redesigned its website and began services to Copenhagen and Skopje. On May 23, Montenegro Airlines received its 2nd Embraer E195 jet and modified its final order for this aircraft to an E175 jet.

Talk of Montenegro Airlines’ privatisation began in 2009. A tender to find a privatisation advisor has been opened while El Al Israel Airlines seems to be the most interested candidate for the purchase. In July, power abuse chargers were laid on the airline’s CEO for grand corruption. The airline celebrated 15 years of existence and announced plans of creating a Serbian based airline in 2010.


MAT’s demise in 2009 was imminent as the airline’s debts mounted. MAT was officially grounded in April and criminal charges were laid on the airline’s management for continuing to sell tickets. That same management, together with the Serbian tour operator Kontiki, is now hoping to open Mat Airways in March 2010. It will take over the Boeing B737-500 aircraft previously operated by MAT.

MAT Macedonian Airlines is expected to begin bankruptcy procedures in a few weeks.

2009 poll results

Top 3

· Most convenient airport

1. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik (37%)

2. Belgrade Nikola Tesla (33%)

3. Sarajevo (13%)

· Will MAT be flying by the end of 2009?

1. No (61%)

2. Yes (39%)

· Best 2009 summer schedule

1. Jat Airways (56%)

2. Adria Airways (17%)

3. Croatia Airlines (11%)

· Should El Al take over Montenegro Airlines?

1. No (67%)

2. Yes (33%)

· Best solution for MAT

1. Jat Airways takeover (55%)

2. Takeover by an airline other than Jat (21%)

3. Takeover by Macedonian Government (11%)

· Which airline will be most affected by financial crisis?

1. Croatia Airlines (35%)

2. Adria Airways (35%)

3. Jat Airways (14%)

· Which airline should be first to fly to US/Canada?

1. Jat Airways (60%)

2. Croatia Airlines (20%)

3. B&H Airlines (10%)

· Best website

1. Jat Airways (45%)

2. Adria Airways (23%)

3. B&H Airlines (17%)

· Should Macedonian Government create new national carrier?

1. Yes (55%)

2. No (45%)

· Will Jat’s recovery plan be successful?

1. No (67%)

2. Yes (33%)

· Which airline had the most successful 2009?
1. Jat Airways (25%)

2. None of the EX-YU airlines (23%)

3. Adria Airways (17%)

Mat Airways will be using former MAT B737-500

The new MAT under the name Mat Airways, headed by the Serbian tour operator Kontiki Travel, will be using the Boeing B737-500 previously operated by Macedonia’s grounded national carrier. Since the airline’s demise the aircraft has been in Belgrade and is now being repainted. The news was revealed last week at the opening of the first Kontiki Travel office in Skopje. Its Macedonian branch is named Kontiki Sky. The initial investment Kontiki has made in Macedonia amounts to 5 million dollars. For the time being, anyone who wishes to travel with this agency from Macedonia will receive free transportation to Belgrade and from there will travel to their desired destination. This will change in late March when Mat Arways is expected to be launched from Skopje. However, the airline must first be granted a license by Macedonia’s Civil Aviation Directorate (ACV). Ironically, the Boeing the new Mat will be using was grounded by the ACV due to security reasons and even after repairs in Belgrade was not given authorisation to fly. Without any new repairs done to the aircraft in the meantime, it will be interesting to see whether the ACV looks the other way.

Mat Arways will not only be taking over the MAT brand and employees but also former CEO Živko Gruevski, who is heading the project from the shadows. Mat Airways will at first offer charter flights to popular holiday destinations in Egypt and Spain. Later it will introduce scheduled flights.

History

As reported earlier, one of the leading Serbian travel agencies Kon Tiki Travel will set up an airline in neighbouring Macedonia that will fly under the brand name of grounded Macedonian flag carrier MAT. “What we take from MAT is a brand that is already known in Europe and abroad, as well as a part of its experienced personnel. We recognised MAT’s potential, which was crucial for our entry into Macedonia”, Kon Tiki Travel owner, Darko Milačić, said to the Macedonian broadcaster Sitel yesterday. Kon Tiki’s “Mat Airways DOO” will offer charter flights from Macedonia to tourist destinations such as Egypt, Morocco, and Spain’s Tenerife. Flights from Skopje and Ohrid to Belgrade are also planned, Milačić says.

MAT Macedonian Airlines was grounded earlier this year due to its failure to repay more than 20 million Euros in debt. The airline is still to officially declare bankruptcy and its assets are yet to be written off. Kon Tiki Travel has announced a 6.6 million Euro tourism investment in Macedonia, particularly focusing on the lakeside resort of Ohrid. “We plan to open an office in Ohrid, as we see great opportunities there. It is a traditional destination for tourists from Serbia and the region”, Milačić said. Kon Tiki is one of Serbia’s first privately owned tour operators, established in 1990. It is the country’s largest tour and travel operator.

Mat Airways awaits license

As was reported earlier this year, the defunct national carrier of Macedonia will be revived under a new name, Mat Airways, in a combined Serbian-Macedonian business venture. As the Macedonian website “Total” reports, the new owners will allegedly be Serbia’s largest tour operator Kontiki Travel, as well as the Belgrade based Metropolitan Investment Group and Gomeks Financing from Skopje which would take care of finances. Gorgi Čačkirov, a former MAT pilot, has been named the CEO of the airline.

The Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency (ACV), which had been in constant war with MAT Macedonian Airlines until it finally grounded the airline, has not confirmed whether Mat Airways registration papers had been handed inn but warns that any start up airline in Macedonia must have at least 51% of its shares owned by a Macedonian company. The ACV also says that when registration papers are handed inn a commission will have to rule whether r there is a connection between the defunct MAT and Mat Airways.

Reportedly, several former MAT employees are working on the new Mat Airways project. “It has not been decided when the airline will begin operations. Mat Airways is an independent airline and is not associated with MAT”, Čačkirov says.MAT Macedonian Airlines has still not begun bankruptcy proceedings. When this process commences it ill be determined who exactly will receive the airline’s property, including a Boeing B737-500. Mat Airways is the latest in a string of companies trying to register airlines in the country following the demise of MAT.

The good old days ... MAT Macedonian Airlines

MAT Macedonian Airlines has now officially been left without a single aircraft after the Macedonian Civil Aviation Directorate (ACV) removed the airline’s single Boeing B737-500 aircraft, currently located in Belgrade, from the country’s aircraft register. While the airline has still not been shut down, its end is expected to be near. The airline still has pilots employed with valid licenses, meaning that the airline could fly again only if it acquired at least one new aircraft. MAT’s management did not hand in its 2008 financial report to the ACV, as it was required to do so by September 1. Macedonian media speculate that the management is purposely shutting down MAT so it could launch a new airline called Mat Airways by the end of October. However, the ACV did not issue a license to Mat Airways which is registered in Cyprus with its offices in Macedonia registered as being Jat Arways’ Skopje office.

Meanwhile, Jat Airways is stepping away from Mat Airways which it planed to launch with MAT Macedonian Airlines’ managment. Instead, Jat is now looking into launching Aeromak. Aeromak was registered by Jat during the late 1990s but was never launched. Since MAT cannot repay the millions in debt it owes to Jat it is believed that the Macedonian government will allow Aeromak to launch flights from Skopje and become the country’s largest airline. MAT’s management wouldn’t play a role in Aeromak’s management.

Skopje Airport terminal building

Since Macedonia’s national carrier MAT was grounded, the country’s commercial aviation sector has been in chaos. Most affected by the disorganisation are passengers. Although some Macedonians did not have a favourable opinion of their national carrier, the airline did have schedules, destinations and aircraft. Since the demise of the national carrier many airlines, particularly EX-YU national carriers have significantly increased services to Skopje in hope of attracting Macedonian passengers to transit through their hub airports on route to other European destinations. Adria Airways and Jat Airways hold the greatest share of departures from Skopje at the moment. Recently, a new airline called Skywings International from Germany began services from Skopje to some European cities however they have not proved much relief. Passengers are complaining that the airline often delays its flights by more than 5 hours and destinations are dumped without announcement. The downfall of MAT has not seen air fares decline with Skopje Airport having some of the highest passenger taxes in Europe.

Meanwhile, MAT is expected to officially declare bankruptcy by the end of the month despite the fact that the airline has not been operating for some time. Macedonia becomes the only European country (that is not classified as a micro state) not to have a designated national flag carrier.

Good news for Jat's passengers?

Jat Airways’ new management is determined at turning around the airline into a profitable, regional leader with strong support from its home base. In order for this to be accomplished a new strategy for Jat’s development will be presented in 7 days, firstly to the Serbian ministry for infrastructure and then to the Serbian people. According to Serbia’s infrastructure minister Milutin Mrkonjić, Jat’s CEO Srđan Radovanović will present short, medium and long term plans for the airline’s development. The minister once again made clear that the Serbian government will stand behind the national carrier. The new strategy will allow Radovanović to present his plans for the carrier for the first time since taking over as CEO. Jat’s previous CEO has been heavily demoted within the airline in the last 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, Radovanolvić has said that Macedonia’s non operational national carrier MAT Macedonian Airlines still owes Jat over 10 million American dollars. Jat’s workgroup which was set up to find out about MAT’s debt towards Jat noted that the Macedonian carrier has no assets that could become part of Jat and replace the current 10 million dollar debt. The issue could be solved next month when an important new aviation agreement is signed between Serbia and Macedonia. The aviation agreement was announced after the two countries signed landmark road and rail agreements yesterday. Macedonia’s transportation minister said that Macedonia’s sky is open to Jat. It is believed Jat might gain 5th freedom rights and operate flights from Skopje to various European cities.

Money is the root of all evil ... not so for the aviation industry

Nearly 9 months of the year have already passed and all airlines within the former Yugoslavia have been hit by the global financial crisis. There are now signs that the world economy is slowly recovering but signs also show that the aviation crisis will continue as oil prices are steadily but surely rising.

The three leading airlines of the Ex-Yu, Croatia Airlines, Jat Airways and Adria Airways have all been hit by the crisis. All three of them are part of the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which brings together 33 European carriers, mostly national airlines. In passenger terms Croatia Airlines has come out of the crisis mostly unscathed. Despite the fact that tourism figures have significantly decreased in Croatia, the national carrier is expected to keep its lead position in terms of passengers by the end of the year. However, the cabin load factor on Croatia Airlines aircraft has significantly decreased compared to last year, mostly due to the introduction of larger Dash aircraft. The airline is also expected to report a big financial loss by the end of 2009.

Jat Airways on the other hand has suffered greatly in terms of passenger figures. Its high scale passenger slump can largely be blamed on the massive reduction of capacity compared to the summer of 2008. The airline is serving far less frequencies and destinations, all in part of the airline’s cost cutting policy introduced in October last year. The airline is also operating with 4 aircraft less but has managed to fend off a big reduction in cabin occupancy.

Adria Airways, the only airline in the Ex-Yu which is serving a country in recession (officially) is also seeing a reduction in passenger figures and is recording massive financial losses. However, unlike its Serbian counterpart the airline is not seeing drastic reduction in passenger figures and is in a battle to take over the number 2 leading Ex-Yu airline position, passenger wise.

Other airlines in the Ex-Yu which are not part of the AEA are not doing any better. B&H Airlines, which has been developing intensely this year, is recording a hefty cabin occupancy decrease, namely due to the introduction of a Boeing B737-400 aircraft. It is also facing a financial loss as many of its newly launched services are yet to become profitable. Montenegro Airlines, which will became an AEA member by October, started the year of steady with similar results as last year. However it has been revealed that the airline is recording a large financial loss and the airline’s management has halved the value of the airline’s shares. Finally, MAT Macedonian Airlines is no longer flying although its problems can hardly be blamed on the financial crisis.

The AEA, which is yet to report its July results, says that it expects smaller passenger losses for airlines than previous months and expects that August might see more airlines reporting positive growth. It remains to be seen whether carriers from the Ex-Yu will follow the trend.

MAT - you ain't seen nothing yet

The management of MAT Macedonian Airlines demands that the Macedonian government and the Anti Corruption Commission set up an inquiry into why the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency (ACV) granted flight permits to Turkish Star Airlines last year and ignored the recommendations by the European Civil Aviation Agency which advised the ACV not to grant the licenses. The Turkish Star Airlines registered itself in Macedonia with 2 Boeing B747-200 freighter aircraft although it rarely operates out of Skopje. Furthermore, the airline was granted a license despite the fact that at the time it did not own an aircraft which is against Macedonian aviation regulations.

The grounded MAT says it can provide additional examples of ACV’s disrespect of European standards and civil aviation. The ongoing feud between MAT and the ACV, which began when the aviation agency grounded MAT’s aircraft has escalated since Mat Airways was not granted a license for operations. Mat Airways was to be a new airline set up by previous MAT Macedonian Airlines owners, however without the millions of Euros of debt the Macedonian national carrier has to its name.

A cat has nine lives - will MAT be as lucky?

Macedonia’s MAT will be shut down in September if the carrier does not hand its financial reports to the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency (CAA). According to the agency the reports were due to be handed in on June but the CAA has given the carrier another 2 months. It is not expected that the grounded Macedonian carrier will follow through. The airline’s owners have already applied to register a new company named Mat Airways, with a leased Antonov 24 aircraft from an unknown airline called Airlift Service. The CAA has said that the airline cannot receive an operating license due to Macedonian aviation regulations which state that in order to be registered as an airline in the country the company must have at least one fully owned aircraft. If Mat Airways does not own an aircraft by July 30, 2009, its application will be terminated. Mat Airways is registered as a Cypriot company with its seat in Skopje. Another company, from Turkey, has also applied for a license.

Meanwhile, the demand in air traffic weakened in Macedonia, with passenger volumes falling 11%, the CAA director Zoran Krstevski said on Monday. "The drop is within the European air traffic decline and has been prompted by the situation on Macedonia's market", Krstevski explained. "As you know, MAT has had no aircraft for some time and it does not operate regular services, and it is also banned from flying to several countries due to debt issues in connection with Eurocontrol", Krstevski said.

In a poll conducted by this blog some time ago where a total of 56 people voted, some 61% believed that MAT would cease all operations by the end of the year. In a more recent poll in which 104 people participated, 55% said that the best solution for MAT would be a takeover by Serbia’s Jat Airways.

Engine problem

MAT Macedonian Airlines will not be flying anytime soon. The airline’s sole aircraft, a Boeing B737-500 has been grounded by the Macedonian Aviation Authority due to a faulty front leg of the aircraft. Now the aviation authority has said that MAT’s management has hidden from them the fact that an engine is heavily damaged. According to the Macedonian Aviation Authority, the technical division of Jat Airways in Belgrade found that one of the engines was heavily damaged and informed the management of the national carrier of Macedonia. However, the airline failed to mention this to the aviation authority.

MAT has asked the country’s aviation body to issue a flying license for the aircraft to return from Belgrade, where it has been serviced, to Skopje. The aviation authority responded to this by saying that it had contacted the engine manufacturer which said that the aircraft cannot fly with the current state of one of its engines. The Macedonian Aviation Authority has requested for the engine to be replaced. MAT has already replaced the front leg of its aircraft.

Macedonian media is speculating that MAT’s owners will register a new company, named Mat Airways, in partnership with Serbia’s Jat Airways. MAT Macedonian Airlines has been grounded since April this year.

Still grounded

MAT Macedonian Airlines is still grounded by the Macedonian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and is unable to use its only aircraft due to safety concerns that the CAA has expressed. One of MAT’s owners, Živko Grueski, recently told the Macedonian press that the CAA has set out to destroy the national carrier of Macedonia and that this grand scheme has been in the making for the past few years. Gruevski said that the head of the Civil Aviation Agency, Zoran Krstevski “pursues a mega project to destroy MAT”. During a press conference in Skopje, Gruevski said this project kicked off long before the CAA ordered an overhaul of MAT's Boeing B737-500 aircraft. He further says that the CAA has made moves to discredit the company's reputation. Gruevski told reporters that the authorities are pressing ahead with the theory that Macedonia doesn't need a national carrier and that other companies should be given priority to carry out flights. Such a theory, according to Gruevski, aims to push the country back into the early 1990s when Macedonia’s aviation sector was in chaos.

Meanwhile, Jat Airways, Serbia’s national carrier has proposed for MAT Macedonian Airlines to change its name and reregister as a new airline called Mat Airways. The name change would also finally settle a dispute between Greece and Macedonia in terms of air service. Greek authorities have banned MAT from flying to Greek airports due to the fact that the airline holds in its name the words “Macedonian Airlines”, which, according to Greece, displays territorial advances. The Greek government has been pushing Eurocontrol to pressure MAT into changing its name. Gruevski did not directly comment about the name change and a future with Jat, saying only that the management’s top priority is to rescue the existing company.

The Macedonian CAA has grounded MAT’s Boeing B737-500 for safety reasons until further notice although the aircraft seems to have been safe enough to transport Antonio Milošoski, Macedonia’s minister for foreign affairs to Corfu yesterday. Despite airlines from Macedonia being banned from Greece, the flight received special permission to land in Corfu as Milošoski was attending a special meeting by the OSCE.

MAT vs. CAA

Since late last year the Macedonian national carrier has faced major difficulties. The airline is now grounded hopeful that flights will begin within a few weeks, however, any expectationof this happening is becoming slim. Once again the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) has come up with a new ultimatum for the Macedonian national carrier. The Agency originally grounded MAT due to problems with the front leg and wheel of airline’s Boeing B737-500. Now the Agency expects the carrier to pay up a total of 2.5 million Euros for outstanding debt and expects the airline to officially announce its bankruptcy as a result. The Agency is also considering freezing all assets owned by MAT. The biggest losers out of the entire dispute are passengers who have purchased tickets from MAT months ago and are now unable to fly. MAT has tried to accommodate these passengers by transferring them on other flights, although the carrier has also been blamed for selling tickets for its flights a few days after the CAA grounded the airline.

MAT’s management doesn’t seem to be concerned by the new demands and says that the carrier will be flying again by the end of this week. The Boeing B737-500 should be arriving in Skopje within the following few days after more repairs were done to the aircraft’s front leg. Even though the aircraft was serviced and repaired free of charge in Belgrade a few weeks ago, the CAA did not recognise that the aircraft has been mended.

News is circulating that certain individuals within Macedonia, mainly affluent businessmen, are already setting up a new airline which would replace MAT. Some argue that all the actions undertaken by the CAA are aimed at destroying MAT and allowing a new carrier to be created. If MAT declares bankruptcy it would be the third national carrier from the EX-YU to do so, after Palair which was also the national carrier of Macedonia until its demise in 1996 and Air Bosna which was the national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring bankruptcy in 2003. MAT’s status as the national carrier of Macedonia ends in 2010 according to an agreement between the Macedonian Government and MAT, signed in 2000. With the current situation it is unlikely that its flag carrier status would be extended.

Meanwhile, other foreign airlines are benefiting on the account of MAT’s troubles. Airlines are drastically increasing services to Skopje as passenger numbers rise. The latest airline to announce an increase in service is Turkish Airlines. The Turkish national carrier will increase services from Istanbul to Skopje from 5 to 7 weekly flights starting June 8.

MAT’s future rests on front wheel

MAT Macedonian Airlines, last Tuesday, on May 26 officially announced that it has suspended all scheduled and charter flights. This is because the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency did not recognise as legitimate the servicing and repair of MAT’s sole Boeing B737-500 in Belgrade a few weeks ago. Thus, the airline’s aircraft is still grounded due to safety reasons. However, MAT authorities announced that the front wheel of the aircraft, which has been deemed unsafe, will be replaced within a month and that the Macedonian carrier will hopefully recommence services by the end of June. MAT is hoping that it will manage to begin charter flights by the beginning of July, which has been a big source of income for the airline in previous years.

Meanwhile, other airlines have been increasing frequencies and capacity to Skopje in order to deal with extra passengers. MAT is currently facing many criminal charges including those from EUROCONTROL for unpaid debt and from the Civil Aviation Agency, also for unpaid debt and selling tickets after the airline was grounded. Negotiations regarding a possible takeover by Jat Airways will be intensified in mid June with the Serbian national carrier still interested in purchasing the Macedonian airline.

Today is exactly a year since the first blog post. There have been a total of 367 news items and over 19.500 visitors. Thank you for visiting and reading.

More visits to Skopje - Austrian Arrows Bombardier Q400

Austrian Airlines will be adding an extra four services a week, on top of the existing Vienna to Skopje daily flights to be operated by Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. MAT Macedonian Airlines operated this service 4 times per week in a code share agreement with Austrian. As MAT has been grounded, the code share will now end and Austrian Airlines has committed itself to flying the route with its own services. The existing daily flights will remain the same, and as such the carrier will move to 11 services a week. “The new step represents a significant expansion in seating capacity. The Balkan region represents an essential and strong pillar of the strategy of Austrian Airlines”, the carrier said in a statement.

Operating under the Austrian Arrows brand, the new 72 seat Bombardier services will be operational from June 2 this year. Macedonian Airlines (MAT) has run out of aircraft in the past three weeks following the misunderstandings between the carrier and the Civil Aviation Agency, which were triggered by the overhaul of MAT's sole aircraft, the Boeing B737-500.

From June 1, 2009, Adria Airways will have the greatest share of services from Skopje. It will have a share of 19.7% of all flights, Jat Airways will enjoy a share of 16.9%, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Austrian Airlines both with 15.4% of all flights from Skopje, Croatia Airlines with 11.2%, CSA Czech Airlines with 8.4%, Turkish Airlines with 7%, B&H Airlines with 4.2% and Bulgaria Air with 1.4%.

MAT’s Boeing B737-500 – grounded and empty

A month ago the Macedonian Aviation Agency (CAA) grounded the national carrier’s sole aircraft, a Boeing B737-500, deeming it unsafe for flight. The Agency grounded the airline saying that the aircraft’s front wheel is unsafe. The grounding of the aircraft has brought the airline to the brink of collapse as it is unable to fly to the few destinations it is not banned from. The Boeing aircraft has in recent weeks been flown to Belgrade where Jat Airways, MAT’s potential new owners by the end of summer, offered to fix the front wheel of the aircraft for free, which it did. However, the Macedonian carrier and its 180 employees have received yet another blow from the country’s aviation agency after it refused to re-issue an operating license despite the aircraft in question being repaired. "CAA informs the public that a partial servicing of the MAT plane in Belgrade does not meet the requirements for overhaul of the front leg, for which the deadline has expired", the agency released in a press release. Therefore, the CAA says, “we cannot issue the license until a complete overhaul of the aircraft is carried out”. On Monday, MAT stated that the CAA’s decision is a violent attack aimed at putting the company out of operation. MAT has notified the President, the Prime Minister, the Public Attorney's Office, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the diplomatic core, as well as international institutions such as the ICAO, JAA and ECAC on the issue.

MAT’s other aircraft a CRJ900 is still grounded in Ljubljana. This is because MAT has not payed the Canadian plane maker for the aircraft. If MAT does not provide the required finances to the aircraft manufacturer by the end of June, the CRJ will be leased to another airline. The MAT titles from the aircraft have already been taken off.

MAT’s CRJ900 – currently stored in Ljubljana

Despite MAT recently being grounded by aviation authorities in Macedonia, Jat’s CEO has confirmed that the Serbian carrier will take over shares and revive the national Macedonian carrier. Jat’s team of legal experts are currently in Skopje where they are checking MAT’s legal and financial documentation. These checks should be complete within a week. The findings will be presented to Jat’s management board, after which, the Serbian carrier will send MAT a proposal whether it will take over a majority of shares (over 50%) or less than 50% of shares. The documentation checks have taken longer than expected because MAT did not immediately provide all the necessary paperwork. Also, Jat’s legal team requested more information regarding MAT’s financial reports. Jat’s CEO confirmed that MAT has extreme debt but declined to comment further. He stated that Jat is primarily interested in the Macedonian aviation market which is covered 35% by MAT, while Jat has a share of 10% in the market. “We are also interested in commencing flights from Belgrade and Skopje to Priština through MAT”, Saša Vlaisavljević, the airline’s CEO says. Jat is currently banned from flying to Priština due to the unresolved status of Kosovo in which Priština is located.

Meanwhile, the airline’s inaugural flight to Abu Dhabi on May 5 was a great success with Jat’s Boeing B737-300 awaited by water cannons and Abu Dhabi Airport CEO upon landing. Vlaisavljević confirmed that one of Jat Airways’ Boeing B737-300s has returned to the carrier after a 5 month lease to Air Ivorie. The aircraft registered YU-ANV, has returned after serving in the Ivory Coast and is still wearing the Air Ivorie livery (titles). The Serbian Government has also said it will speed up the restructuring of the airline after it passes a major economic stimulus package, which should combat against the global financial crisis in Serbia, later tonight.