19 years later

Adria Airways will touch down at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport today at 15.05 CET, almost 19 years after it operated its last flight to the Serbian capital. The airline ceased operations to Belgrade in 1991. Just before the outbreak of war, Adria Airways accounted for 15% of domestic passengers and 5% of Euro-Mediterranean passengers in Yugoslavia. The passenger flow between Serbia and Slovenia in 1990 stood at 10% (compared to 34% between Serbia and Croatia and 21% within Croatia itself).

Adria’s 6 weekly service to Belgrade will be in direct competition with Jat Airways’ 4 weekly flights. However, cooperation between the 2 carriers is likely after the managements of both airlines met in Belgrade last week. Adria will operate the service with a Bombardier CRJ200. Adria Airways becomes the 22nd scheduled carrier operating out of Belgrade this 2009/2010 winter season.

All 2010 summer schedules for EX-YU airlines will be available for view here in mid March. They will be published simultaneously unlike last year. The 2010 summer season begins on Sunday, March 28.

Soon in Niš

After several delays, Montenegro Airlines will commence flights from the Montenegrin capital Podgorica to Niš, located in Eastern Serbia. The airline will operate 6 weekly flights in hope that it will attract transit passengers via Podgorica. The news comes as the airline signs a strategic partnership agreement with the city authorities of Niš. The Montenegrin carrier is also planing to set up an airline in Niš by the 2010 summer season. Gaining an air operators certificate from Serbia would also allow it to operate flights from the more lucrative Belgrade.

Montenegro Airlines had anticipated to commence flights from Niš to Zurich in November 2009, however the airline was turned down by Swiss authorities. Montenegro Airlines regularly operates seasonal summer flights from Tivat to Niš. Niš Constantine the Great Airport is currently served by 1 airline - the low cost Wind Jet.

All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

To Dubai from February 09

Jat Airways has moved forward the launch of its Belgrade – Dubai service as reported on Friday. The flights were to be launched on April 01 and substitute the existing Belgrade – Abu Dhabi service. The flights to the capital of the United Arab Emirates are to be terminated on February 04. This would have left an almost 2 month gap between the termination of the Abu Dhabi flights and the launch of Dubai. As a result, Jat will now begin services to Dubai on February 09. There will only be one weekly flight until April 01 when another is to be added. On May 10, a third weekly flights will commence. It has also been revealed to EX-YU Aviation that a fourth weekly flight will be added in June if preliminary bookings show a need for it. The flight up until April will operate with a Boeing B737-300 while the rest will operate with the airline’s new B737-700, if the order for the aircraft is finalised within the next month.

Bookings and reservation for the new Dubai service begin today. With the launch of the new flights, Jat ticks off one of its aims from its 2010 recovery programme. Jat is the only EX-YU airline to offer flights to Dubai. The only two other Middle Eastern destinations in its network are Tel Aviv and Larnaca.

From Skopje to Rijeka with Skywings

On December 25, 2009, Skywings International Airlines, which has taken over the bulk of MAT Macedonian Airlines’ passengers since its collapse, has begun scheduled services from Skopje to Rijeka in Croatia. The service operates twice per week, every Monday and Friday. The flights are scheduled to run all through 2010 and are operated by the Boeing B737-300.

A spokesperson from the “GAT Executive” company, which is organising the flights said, “These are charter flights, but they will operate on a regular basis twice per week while the ultimate goal is that they become a regular service. If the need for more flights is shown we are ready to introduce an additional weekly line, and I must point out that so far there has been great interest”. He continues by saying that businesspeople and tourists are expected to be the main customers on these flights. The service will also help boost passenger numbers at Rijeka Airport during the winter months when travellers are almost non-existent.

The GAT spokesperson said that the company’s aim is to establish regular services from Rijeka to all capital cities of the former Yugoslavia. He says that flights from Rijeka to Belgrade are on the verge of being established and that the future flights would operate daily.

Belgrade's latest customer

The Greek based Aegean Airlines inaugurated daily flights from Athens to Belgrade on January 1. Aegean adds further competition to the route which is currently served by both Jat Airways and Olympic Air. From January 11, Olympic will be increasing the number its frequencies to Belgrade from 1 daily to 11 weekly. Aegean Airlines is Greece’s largest scheduled airline. In total, 23 weekly flights will now be available for passengers to choose from on this route.

Meanwhile, a Russian airline named Yamal will begin scheduled services from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. Flights will commence on February 3 and will operate 2 times per week. This will bring the total number of flights between Belgrade and Moscow to 16 per week. Belgrade will now also be connected to Domodedovo Airport as both Jat and Aeroflot operate flights to Sheremetyevo. Yamal Airlines is the third Russian airline to operate flights to Belgrade after Aeroflot and Gazpromavia.

Montenegro spreads its wings

Montenegro Airlines has given up trying to secure a license to operate flights between the Serbian city of Niš and Zurich. Even though the airline received necessary licenses from Serbian authorise, their Swiss counterparts refused to do the same. Despite this setback, the Montenegrin national carrier will go ahead with the planed 2 weekly Podgorica – Niš service operated by the airline’s Fokker F100. After establishing flights from Niš to Zurich, Montenegro Airlines hoped to commence services between Niš and Paris and Budapest.

Montenegro Airlines is now planning to create an airline which would be registered in Serbia and based at Niš Constantine the Great Airport, using 1 aircraft. The airline already tried to do the same in 2006 when it infamously set up Master Airways in hope of reinstating flights from Niš and Belgrade to Zurich, which it lost rights to when the state union of Serbia and Montenegro dissolved and Montenegro Airlines was considered a foreign airline in Serbia’s skies. In 2009, a Montenegrin court accused the CEO’s of Montenegro Airlines and Master Airways of corruption concerning illegally leased aircraft.

Nevertheless, the city of Niš supports Montenegro Airlines’ future plans. The new airline is expected to be set up by the 2010 summer season which begins in late March. Registering and starting up an airline in Serbia would allow it to operate flights out of Belgrade as well.

Recently, the low cost Italian airline Wind Jet began flights from Forli to Niš. It is the only airline currently serving the airport which has the capacity to handle 100.000 passengers per year.

Adria heading to Belgrade

Only a few weeks after Zagreb Airport’s newly named CEO, Tonči Peović, called upon low cost airlines to use Zagreb Airport, Wizz Air has announced that it will begin flights from Dortmund in Germany to the Croatian capital. Wizz Air already operates flights from London to Zagreb and together with Germnwings is the only low cost airline operating out of Zagreb. Flights will begin March 8, 2010. All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

On Friday evening, Slovenia’s Adria Airways officially announced that it will resume services from Ljubljana to Belgrade on March 1, 2010. Adria will resume services to Belgrade after nearly 20 years of absence. The airline’s representative in Belgrade stated that Adria would operate daily services to the Serbian capital but will seek partnership with Jat Airways on the route.

Meanwhile, for a second time in a row Swiss authorities have rejected Montenegro Airlines the right to begin services from Niš to Zurich by Swiss authorities. Montenegro Airlines has applied for yet another license and now plans to begin services from Niš on January 23, 2010.

Jat in Banja Luka ... been there done that

Jat Airways has finally terminated services to the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jat’s off-again on-again flights from Belgrade to Banja Luka were suspended in late October although it was expected that the line was on hiatus and would be resumed in January as was listed in global reservation systems. These have now been removed. Jat has blamed low interest for the closure of this route.

After many years, Serbia’s Jat resumed services to Banja Luka in 2007. Flights were operated by an ATR72 and during 2008 were subsidised by the Government of Republika Srpska, which covered all the losses the airline had on this route that year. Speaking to a Belgrade newspaper, a spokesperson from Jat said that in 2008 the airline carried 2.678 passengers on 170 flights. The average cabin occupancy index on these flights amounted to 26%, meaning that there were approximately 17 passengers on each flight. Results for 2009 are even less impressive. “In October we transported a total of 45 passengers", a Jat spokesperson said. The CEO of Banja Luka Airport said that the airline did not terminate flights due to low interest rather due to the fact that it did not have any available aircraft.

This year Jat suspended flights to Banja Luka for 4 months, however they were resumed. It is not clear whether Jat will resume the service some time in 2010. The suspension poses as a predicament to Jat Airways’ CEO who recently estimated that the airline would carry 50.000 passengers out of Banja Luka in 2010. Ticket prices on this service amounted to 90 Euros.

Belgrade is no more and Banja Luka has been left with 3 weekly flights to Zurich, operated by B&H Airlines. Jat is a supporter of the stalled Sky Srpska project.

Podgorica ... take two for B&H

Almost 2 months ago B&H Airlines suspended flights from Sarajevo to Podgorica, only 4 months after they were launched. The airline’s justification for the suspension were poor loads but it has also been revealed that the airline only had a temporary license which expired at the end of the 2009 summer season, in late October. Flights from Sarajevo to Podgorica were resumed after 20 years and the service continued on to Skopje. However, a return ticket between the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro on B&H Airlines amounted to over 150 Euros. Flights operated 3 times per week, with the airline’s regional ATR72. The 3 weekly flights to Skopje have also been suspended this winter.

Recently, the Montenegrin aviation authority announced that it has extended B&H Airlines’ flying permit. The license has been extended to January 14, 2010. Soon, a new bilateral air agreement could be signed between the two countries which would regulate air traffic between the neighbours. It remains to be seen if B&H Airlines will give Podgorica a second chance or if Montenegro Airlines would claim the route.

They take you home

Yesterday, December 1, a newly established low cost airline called Tafa Air, began operations from Priština to the Albanian capital Tirana. The airline will be carrying out services with 2 leased Airbus A320s. Tafa Air will initially connect Priština to Berlin, Neubrandenburg, Dortmund and Friedrichshafen all of which will operate on a daily basis (starting December 5). Flights to Tirana will operate twice per day which will add competition on the line, currently dominated by the Albanian low cost airline Belle Air. Tafa Air also plans to lease 2 Ilyushin IL-76TD freighters "by the start of January" in order to operate charter cargo services from the Balkans to mainly Middle Eastern destinations.

The airline has been set up by Albanian businessman Taf Tafa, who has interests in construction and other sectors. It is financially backed by Albanian and Kosovan businessmen. Ova Sami, an assistant at Tafa Ar told “Flight Global” that Tafa Air aims to extend its network to include Austria and Switzerland, with services to Geneva due to launch next summer. It also aims to begin services to London in summer 2010 and is currently negotiating with several London airports - although not Heathrow, which Sami says is "too expensive". Sami says that fares are being set at a level typically around 30% of those charged by existing carriers for next-day services between Western Europe and Albania. Sami adds that the airline's backers are prepared to accept small margins to facilitate travel for the Albanian and Kosovan diaspora. "The major point of our airline is very simple", he says. "It's an ethnic airline and will be a cheap means for Albanians and Kosovans to travel back and forth to their home".

Meanwhile, Air Berlin which last month began serving Priština from several German and Swiss airports announced that by the end of March its passengers will be able to connect in Dusseldorf to US bound flights with an hour brake. Priština Airport has also notified that ČSA Czech Airlines has put Priština on its list of new markets the airline is considering entering.

Yet another déjà vu

Just a month after Jat terminated services from the eastern Serbian city of Niš, the national carrier announced its return. Jat’s CEO, Srdjan Radovanović, announced yesterday that the airline will operate flights once per week from Niš to Zurich. Radovanović said, “we terminated flights to Niš because they were unprofitable. However, we have reached an agreement with the city authorities and we will jointly share the risks of this new service. The city of Niš will cover half of the operating costs and Jat would cover the other half. We will look into launching flights to other cities from Niš only if there is a need for them”, Radovanić said.

Montenegro Airlines which hoped to begin flights from Niš to Zurich has been denied the right to do so by Swiss authorities. The airline is also expected to shelve plans for a Podgorica – Niš service.

The resumption date for Jat’s service to Zurich is still unknown, although it has been announced that it will commence before the end of the year. It is expected that flights will operate just after midday every Saturday.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia received good news yesterday as the European Union abolished visa restrictions that the 3 countries have endured for the past 18 years. Experts predict a rise in air traffic and passenger numbers in all three countries. Citizens will be able to travel visa free from December 19.

No easy ride for Niki

Austrian and Jat Airways have united forces in order to protect their monopoly on the Vienna – Belgrade – Vienna service which they have held for years. The 2 will face tough competition from the Austrian based low cost Niki, which will begin services from Vienna to Belgrade on February 1. Austrian has negotiated with Jat and decided to launch 4 extra weekly services. The airline’s new flights will depart from Vienna in the evening and depart from Belgrade at 4.40 in the morning. However, Jat is negotiating to shift the departure time from Belgrade to a more suitable morning hour. Jat Airways will code share on all 4 additional flights.

On the other hand, Jat Airways will increase capacity on services to Vienna. The airline will upgrade 4 of its weekly flights from an ATR72 to a Boeing B737-300. Austrian will also codeshare on these flights.

The 2 airlines will have 31 weekly flights from Belgrade to Vienna from February 1, 2010 when the extra frequencies commence. Austrian and Jat are hoping to extinguish the competition they face from Niki. A return ticket with Austrian/Jat will set passengers back 107 Euros including all taxes.

Meanwhile, Romania’s TAROM will begin services from Bucharest to Belgrade soon. Jat Airways will codeshare on the service.

Soon in Niš

On Thursday, after weeks of negotiations, the Italian low cost airline Wind Jet confirmed that it will commence services from Forli to Niš Constantine the Great Airport in Serbia. The agreement was signed between the airport’s and airline’s management in the Serbian city. Wind Jet will operate flights every Thursday, once per week. This excludes the inaugural flight which will operate on Saturday, December 26. A return ticket from Forli to Niš will set passengers back between 83 and 200 Euros (depending if the passenger decides to choose greater flexibility with ticketing) – all taxes included. Fares above or below this price range won’t be found until June next year as the prices have been fixed during the promotional trial period.

Forli is located South-East of Bologna and will take passengers an extra hour to arrive there by bus, if they choose to do so. The management of Niš Airport is hoping that Swiss authorities will issue a license to Montenegro Airlines so that it can begin services from the airport to Zurich. Although, this seems unlikely at this point. The CEO of Jat Airways, which terminated all services from Niš this winter, said that the Serbian national carrier is interested in restarting flights from the city if it is economically viable. After a meeting with the mayor of Niš, Srdjan Radovanović said that the airline will look into possible routes that could be launched during the 2010 summer season.

All flight details for the new Forli – Niš service can be found on the right hand side in the “new route launches” section.

The good old days at Niš Airport

The fairy tale ended before it even started. A month ago the optimistic CEO of Niš Constantine the Great Airport in Serbia announced the arrival of many new airlines which would see the revival of the airport as Serbia began applying the European Union’s open sky policy. Montenegro Airlines announced flights from Niš to Zurich while the Swedish MCA Airlines announced flights from Stockholm.

However, nether of the two airlines are set to begin services from Niš. The Swiss authorities have refused to issue Montenegro Airlines an operating license for all flights from Niš. Although Montenegro Airlines still hopes there is a possibility for the flights to begin, it is highly unlikely. The Montenegrin carrier will, as a result, also ditch the planned Podgorica to Niš service. There is even more bad news. The Swedish based MCA Airlines declared bankruptcy on November 11 and has ceased all operations. Its planned 3 weekly service to Niš was supposed to commence in mid December.

The management of the airport has not commented about these losses. Last month the airport’s CEO announced that the Italian based Windjet would commence services from Bologna some time in the near future although no firm dates were given and the airline has not released any information regarding possible flights to Niš.

Until further notice, Niš will be left without any flights and passengers. Serbia’s Jat Airways cancelled its only service from Niš (to Zurich) at the start of the winter season sighting low profitability.

Adria Airawys … soon in Belgrade

Slovenia’s Adria Airways has applied for a license to commence flights from Ljubljana to Belgrade on March 1, 2010. The Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate confirmed the news on Friday. It is expected that Adria will receive the license. It usually takes up to 90 days for an airline to be issued a license. For years Adria has tried to commence services to Belgrade. However, due to a bilateral agreement between Serbia and Slovenia, the carrier of each country is only allowed to operate flights to 1 city in the others country. Since Adria operates flights to Priština, the airline could not receive necessary permits for Belgrade flights, until now.

Jat Airways serves Ljubljana and has had success on the route as travel between the 2 countries has significantly increased over the past few years. Only a few weeks ago Jat signed contracts with Slovenian tour operators allowing them to transport Slovenian tourists heading to Belgrade during 2010. The airline is also negotiating with Slovenian hoteliers in order to bring Serbian tourists to Slovenia during the 2010 summer. Jat is also planning to begin charter flights to Portorož, in Slovenia’s west in 2010.

The waiting game ... Montenegro Airlines

Montenegro Airlines has delayed the launch of its flights from Podgorica to Niš and from Niš to Zurich by over a month. As reported earlier, Montenegro Airlines was to originally launch flights from Podgorica on November 13 and flights to Zurich, from Niš, on November 14. The flights are now scheduled to be launched on December 17 and 18 respectively. The CEO of Niš Constantine the Great Airport has said that the flights have been delayed as Montenegro Airlines is yet to obtain necessary licenses from the Swiss authorities. Montenegro Airlines has not issued any official statement on the matter. The airline has not put tickets on sale for either route.

Jat Airways suspended flights from Niš to Zurich due to a lack of interest, despite the airline lowering ticket prices and allowing 40 kilos of baggage per passenger (above the industry average). The Swedish airline MCA is expected to begin flights to Niš on December 14 with a return ticket amounting to 290 Euros. The airport’s management has previously announced that other airlines are planning flights from Niš to Moscow and Bologna, although no airline has to date applied for a license.

From Sarajevo to Tripoli

Foreign carriers have already announced the introduction of new services from various cities of the former Yugoslavia. Many airlines have announced their plans for new flights from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

Starting May 2010 Swiss International Airlines, through its subsidiary Edelweiss, will begin flights from Zurich to Split. Flights will operate every Saturday using the Airbus A320. It is the first service Swiss has introduced to Croatia after the bankruptcy of its predecessor Swissair in 2002. The airline used to operate flights from Zurich to Zagreb but never returned after its downfall. Norwegian Air Shuttle has confirmed its return to Croatia during the 2010 summer season from its Polish base. The low cost airline will operate flights from Warsaw to Split and Dubrovnik twice per week. Norwegian operated these services during this summer as well but terminated the flights before scheduled, due to low interest.

The Libyan based Buraq Air has commenced scheduled flights from the country’s capital Tripoli to Sarajevo. Flights are carried out every Wednesday. Various charter airlines have announced several special charter flights for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s upcoming football World Cup qualification game with Portugal. The Tuzla based Icar Air will be operating flights to Lisbon from Tuzla using its Boeing B737-300, while Dubrovnik Airline will also hope to profit from the game and its fans by operating flights to Lisbon from Sarajevo via Split.

Finally, the Egyptian charter airline KoralBlue has begun services from Hurghada (via Cairo) to Belgrade using its Airbus A320. Flights will be operated several times per month.

Busy times ahead for Niš

Serbia’s third largest city, and second international airport, has received some good news as foreign airlines plan to begin scheduled flights from Constantine the Great Airport. After Jat Airways announced its withdrawal from the Niš – Zurich service (and Niš itself), Montenegro Airlines announced the inauguration of flights between Niš and the Swiss city on November 14. Flights from Podgorica to Niš will be launched a day earlier, on November 13. Flights will operate twice per week with the Fokker F100. Montenegro Airlines promises that it will introduce more flights from Niš in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Swedish airline MCA will begin its 3 weekly service from Stockholm to Niš starting Monday December 14. A round trip will set passengers back approximately 300 Euros. Media reports state that the city authorities are negotiating with the Italian Windjet to commence flights from Bologna by the end of the year. A private, yet to be named, Russian airline has also apparently requested a license to begin flights to Niš. The Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has said that it now gives out licenses to any airline wishing to begin flights to Serbia.

As the “good times role”, Niš Constantine the Great Airport launched a new look website.

Do you think all of these flights are disasters waiting to happen or a potential financial goldmine? Send in your comment.

All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the “new route launches” section.

Skopje – Brussels and a hotel

The Macedonian based Skywings International Airlines, which has taken over the bulk of MAT Macedonian Airlines’ passengers, has begun operating 2 weekly flights from Skopje to Brussels. The service, which was inaugurated on Monday, will also operate every Friday using the airline’s sole Boeing B737-300. A return ticket will set passengers back 300 Euros. The airline operates scheduled flights to Istanbul, Zurich and Dusseldorf and plans to add another Boeing B737-300 to its fleet this December.

The airline has also unveiled a 500.000 Euro investment in the construction of a hotel near Skopje's Alexander the Great Airport. The chairman of the Skywings board of directors, Ajan Dzaferoski, announced the ambitious plan on Monday, during the inaugural flight to Brussels. Dzaferoski stressed that the construction of the hotel is set to begin March next year. Construction work is scheduled to be completed by June 2010. The project envisages a 20 room hotel, which will also accommodate the crew of Skywings International. The airline's headquarters will also be based at the hotel.

The airline will inaugurate flights to Rome this Sunday and flights to Bergamo will begin on November 10. Bookings are only available via the tour operator Airlift Service.

Early years, Montenegro Airlines' Fokker 28Mk 4000

Montenegro’s national carrier has celebrated 15 years of existence over the weekend.

Montenegro Airlines was registered on October 24, 1994. The airline’s founder and CEO Zoran Djurišić presented the airline’s plans to the government of Montenegro and Yugoslavia in 1993. However, it wouldn’t be until 1996 that the airline’s first aircraft would be purchased. Due to political and economic circumstances at the time, Montenegro Airlines took off to the sky on May 7, 1997 on route from Podgoica to Bari in Italy. The aircraft in question was a Fokker 28Mk 4000 and the second aircraft of this type was received the following year in 1998. In late 1999, Montenegro Airlines launched new flights, most notably to Frankfurt. The first Fokker F100, the airline’s signature aircraft, was purchased in 2000. In 2007, the airline purchased new Embraer jets in another wave of fleet modernisation.

Today, the airline is a member of IATA and soon to become the newest member of the Association of European Airlines. Despite a difficult year for the aviation industry, Montenegro Airlines is not reporting strong growth but has evaded any losses, passenger wise. The airline’s CEO, although a very controversial figure, announced on Saturday that Montenegro Airlines is the pride of Montenegro.

On Friday, the airline received permits to begin services from Niš, in Serbia, to Podgorica and Zurich. Serbia is Montenegro Airlines’ largest and most important market.