What next?

Following yesterday’s announcement that the tender for the privatisation of Jat Airways had failed, there are a series of talks that must take place in order to secure Jat’s continuation of operations. Unions and workers in Jat are blaming the Serbian government for already determining the failure of the privatisation from the very begging by not signing work agreements with people employed in the company, not creating a social programme for workers and for making Jat Tehnika, Jat Catering and Jat Hotels independent from the company in turn decreasing the airline’s value significantly. The next step that should take place is a meeting between the Serbian Prime Minister and Jat’s current CEO Saša Vlaisavljević (pictured above). At the meeting ways in which the company should be restructured will be discussed including the purchase of new aircraft within the following few months. Vlaisavljević will request 350 million Dinars (EUR 4.560.000) from the country’s budget which will be distributed as a payoff to 400 workers that would voluntarily leave the company, decreasing the number of employed to some 1.400. Vlaisavljević will also demand an immediate creation of a work group which will be able to make larger decisions without the approval of the government. However Vlaisavljević’s time could also be counted. If the government, which determines the airline’s CEO, starts the restructuring process, the CEO position could be the first to be restructured. There are increasing calls from Jat unions for Vlaisavljević to step down due to his inability to deal with the new reality in aviation.

Meanwhile the failure of the tender did not send large shockwaves through Serbia. Unlike in Italy where Alitalia is a major political tool in Serbia Jat does not have very big political influence which has caused an often uninterested attitude on behalf of the government towards their national airline. However one parliamentary opposition member (whose party was in power before the May 2008 parliamentary elections) is calling for the government to immediately revive talks with Aeroflot regarding possible strategic partnership.