Tripoli, Libya

Jat Airways has suspended services to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, as a bombing campaign against the country continues. During the weekend a no fly zone was implemented over the North African nation. Jat carried out its last service to Tripoli last Thursday. The airline planned to introduce another weekly flight to the city from next week, which would have brought the total number of weekly services to the Libyan capital to 2. Jat, along with Air Malta, was the only European airline not to suspend scheduled services to the country until the implementation of the no fly zone, despite widespread violence.

According to the daily “Politika”, during the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, 4 of Jat’s aircraft were safe guarded at Tripoli Airport. The daily also reports that on Jat’s final service to Tripoli last Thursday there were few passengers on board. Jat operated 5 special evacuation flights several weeks ago for Serbian citizens.

Flights to Tripoli operated via Malta. Services to Malta have also been cancelled until May when they are expected to restart twice per week.

Recently, flights between Tunisia and Serbia resumed after several months. Tunisair has been forced to join its Vienna and Belgrade service due to poor loads. The airline currently operates flights to from Tunis to Belgrade via Vienna. Starting with the 2011 summer season, Tunisair will operate scheduled flights from Tunis and Enfidha to Belgrade, while Jat will operate service to Monastir.

New Priština Airport terminal postponed

The takeover of Priština Airport by the Turkish-French consortium Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon has once again been delayed upon the request of the consortium itself, the daily “Koha Ditore” reports. A 30 day delay has been requested by the consortium. The airport’s new owners were supposed to begin the construction of a brand new terminal in late January, to be completed by June 2012. However, no work on the new terminal has begun. The price tag for the new terminal is estimated at 140 million Euros, together with supporting infrastructure. The planned investments foresee a 27.000 square meter terminal building, a 77.000 square meter apron and runway, a new traffic control tower, car park facilities with a capacity for 1.750 vehicles and fuel tanks and the refurbishment of airport access roads.

Meanwhile, low cost Albanian airline Belle Air, faced with mounting debt, has suspended services to Priština. As a result, Priština no longer has a scheduled service to the Albanian capital. Montenegro Airlines also suspended flights to Priština recently as it faces its own financial problems. However, it’s not all bad news. Jetairfly will commence 2 weekly flights from Brussels to Priština on June 10. Flight details can be found here.

Unpaid debt forces cancellations

Montenegro Airlines unexpectedly operated its final service to Priština and Skopje on Wednesday, after it was revealed the airline owes thousands of Euros to both. Montenegro Airlines’ aircraft was stranded in Priština for seven hours after it failed to receive necessary clearances from local authorities. Radio station Antena M has reported that Montenegro Airlines owes 500.000 Euros to Priština Airport and was allowed to depart only after it deposited 50.000 Euros into the airport’s account.

Montenegro Airlines has denied the claims, saying that the aircraft was delayed due to the late arrival of incoming connecting passengers. However, no airline was late in arriving that morning into Priština. Furthermore, the national airline of Montenegro explains that it has suspended flights to Priština and Skopje due to poor loads. Late last year the airline’s CEO, Zoran Djurišić, said that the airline was doing particularly well thanks to flights from Priština and Niš.

This winter, Montenegro Airlines operated daily flights from Podgorica to both Priština and Skopje. There are currently no plans for the flights to resume in the summer.

Evacuees unite with their families as all flights to Tunisia are suspended

Services to Tunisia have been suspended until further notice from the only EX-YU airport which offered regular flights to the North African country – Belgrade. Jat Airways operated its last service to the country last week when it chartered two special flights from Belgrade to rescue stranded tourists following the violent overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has ruled Tunisia for the past 23 years. The special service saw Jat aircraft land in both the capital Tunis and the city of Monastir. Some 200 Serbian tourists and a dozen Macedonian holiday makers were flown back to Belgrade, while Serbian construction workers and embassy employees were also returned home following an outbreak of violence in the normally peaceful and stable country. Tunisair, which operates flights from Tunis to Belgrade, has also suspended the service until further notice while all tour operators in the EX-YU region have shelved sales of Tunisian holiday packages.

Tunisia is an extremely popular holiday destination for Serbs and lately Macedonians, Croats, Bosnians and Slovenians. During the 2010 summer season flights to Tunisia were operated not only from Serbia but from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia as well. During the winter, regular weekly flights operate out of Belgrade to Tunis and Monastir.

Within the next 48 hours Jat will charter a special flight to either Hurghada or Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to evacuate 120 Serbian tourists as violent political demonstrations hit the second most populous African nation, the Serbian diplomatic mission in Egypt told state media yesterday. There are no regular flights between any EX-YU country and Egypt although Jat operates all year round charter flights and numerous Egyptian airlines operate flights to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Serbia during the summer.

Meanwhile, normality has returned to Podgorica Airport, which was closed due to heavy snowfall earlier in the week. Some 1.500 passengers were stranded at Montenegro’s hub as only Jat’s flight to Belgrade left the airport and Montenegro Airlines’ incoming flights from Priština, Skopje and Niš were able to land. Over the past week, Sarajevo Airport has been closed several times due to thick fog while Skopje was also forced to close its doors earlier in the month due to poor weather conditions.

Portorož Airport

The Portorož Tourism Board has said it will take legal action against the Serbian carrier, Jat Airways, for failing to commence planed flights from Portorož to Belgrade and Rome. The service, which was meant to commence on December 9, has now been delayed until February 20. Jat Airways says it does not fear a lawsuit, saying that a total of only 14 tickets have been booked for all of the planed flights, thus making it financially unviable to operate the service. “We have no intention of allowing our aircraft to fly empty”, a Jat statement reads.

The Portorož Tourism Board says that Jat, at first, claimed it had technical problems resulting in the delay of the service launch and only later said there was no interest. “On January 20 at least 30 passengers are scheduled to travel on Jat’s flight from Rome to Portorož”, the Board says. The passengers are part of a group of gamblers planning to visit the Portorož Casino as well as casinos in Croatia.

No flights to Portorož but Jat gains Belgrade – Sarajevo monopoly

Jat Airways has once again delayed its flights from Portorož to Rome, which were supposed to be launched today. The 2 weekly service was originally planned to be inaugurated in November 2010 but the airline has been regularly delaying the service each week. Although the flights are now set to commence on January 16, they are unlikely to operate. There has been no passenger interest for the service and little marketing. A return Jat Airways ticket from Portorož to Rome will set passengers back just under 150 Euros (all taxes included). Jat employees have called on the management to cancel the route which it says is financially unviable.

Meanwhile, Jat has received some good news. In 2011, the airline will no longer have competition on the Belgrade – Sarajevo route. B&H Airlines, which commenced 6 weekly flights to the Serbian capital last year, will be terminating the service from March 25. The news comes after B&H announced that it will also terminate flights from Banja Luka to Frankfurt in March.

More passengers flying with Jat

Despite management wrangling last week, Jat Airways has posted an impressive 23% passenger increase in November 2010, compared to the same month last year. The airline carried 70.108 passengers compared to 56.800 last year. Since September, the Serbian carrier has also seen an increase in revenue by 18%. Jat’s media centre has reported that the airline kept a 40% share of all departures out of Belgrade despite competition from 32 airlines. Until the end of November, Jat Airways has carried 988.639 passengers in 2010.

Meanwhile, Jat, which was supposed to commence flights between Portorož and Rome yesterday, has delayed the service until January 13, although it is believed that the route will be cancelled. Jat employees have said that the route is unprofitable and have called on the new management to cancel the planned flights. There has been some good news for employees as most are returning to the airline’s headquarters in central Belgrade, a week after they were moved to neglected buildings near the airport which have not been used in 20 years. This week, the airline withdrew the first 2 million Euros out of a 51.5 million Euro credit, Serbian media report.

Jat to decide about Macedonia, employees want Portorož suspension

Based on the events witnessed in the past 2 weeks, it is more than obvious that Jat Airways has no development strategy. Even more concerning is that the Serbian Government openly admitted it had no idea what it wanted to do with its frayed carrier. The question now being asked is what the new acting CEO, Vladimir Ognjenović¸ and his management team will do with Jat.

Ognjenović spent all of Thursday and Friday locked in meetings with the government, according to the “Danas” daily. Employees at Jat are calling for the suspension of the planed Belgrade – Portorož – Rome service which was supposed to begin this week but has been delayed until next. They say the service is not economically viable. Furthermore, employees have expressed outrage at the news that former CEO, Srdjan Radovanović, might be named as a Jat Airways advisor. Employees have said that Radovanović’s ludicrous business plans and autocratic leadership should bar him from ever setting foot in the company again. Another major problem the airline is facing is the planned lease of 2 Airbus A319 aircraft. There has been uproar amongst pilots who haven’t been named as part of the group that will be undergoing training for the new aircraft. As a result the president of the Jat Airways pilots union stood down last week.

Next week the airline’s management board is expected to decide what to do with its Macedonian offspring Aeromak. The airline, which is supposed to be based in Skopje, was denied a license by the Macedonian Civil Aviation Directorate earlier this year. It is expected that the management will decide whether to pursue the idea or end it once and for all.

The MAT affect

The Macedonian charter airline Skywings International (operating under the name Airlift Service), which took over the bulk of passengers from MAT Macedonian Airlines following its demise, has suffered a similar fate. The airline owes some 133.000 Euros to the Macedonian Flight Control Agency, the “Kanal 5” network reports. Gzime Asani, a spokesperson for the country’s Flight Control Agency, said that they took passengers into account when they made the decision to ground the carrier, “We offered Skywings various arrangements to pay off their debt in the past year but the airline has not made any contributions”.

Many Skywings passengers due to fly out of Dusseldorf and Zurich have been stranded at the airport as their flights have been cancelled. Skywings believes that they will be able to resume flights next week. Until then, Mat Airways is the only Macedonian based airline operating flights out of Skopje.

In a pickle – Srdjan Radovanović

The soon to be replaced CEO of Jat Airways, Srdjan Radovanović, has taken vacation leave in order to prolong his exit date, the B92 biz portal reports. Over the weekend, Serbian media have reported that the Serbian Government will vote to replace Radovanović on Thursday. However, CEO’s of publically owned companies in Serbia cannot be fired while they are on vacation leave, which should give Radovanović more time at the airline’s helm. Similar tactics were used by the previous CEO, Saša Vlaisavljević, who is still part of the company’s management board.

Rumours of who will replace Radovanović have begun with Vladimir Ognjenović, the deputy CEO, being the most likely contender for the top spot. Ognjenović, member of the ruling Democratic Party was part of Saša Vlaisavljević’s disastrous management team which included signing a damaging code share agreement with Montenegro Airlines and claims of corruption. Ognjenović has been at war with the current CEO as the two come from different factions of the Democratic Party.

On Sunday, a spokesperson from the Serbian Government reiterated the government’s stance on Jat saying that the country needs a national carrier and that it will do all in its power to transform Jat into a successful company. Over the weekend, the President of the airline’s pilot union resigned.

Meanwhile, away from management wrangling, Jat will begin its announced two weekly service from Portorož to Rome on December 9. Flights, which are to be operated by the ATR72, will originate in Belgrade. It should be noted that the flights will not substitute the existing nonstop service between the Serbian and Italian capitals. Flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

Illyrian Airways to be based in Priština and Skopje

A new Priština and Skopje based airline, Illyrian Airways, will commence scheduled flights from December 18 to several Italian cities. The airline recently received a Boeing B737-300 and an Embraer E145 jet, with which it will operate its initial route network. The airline also plans to introduce a Boeing B737-500 and another E145 at a later stage.

Illyrian Airways will inaugurate services with flights from Priština to Brescia and Treviso in Italy and from Skopje to Treviso on December 18. On December 24, the airline will commence flights from its two bases to Rome. On December 24, Illyrian Airways anticipates to launch 1 weekly flight to Antalya. Most other flights will operate twice per week.

Yesterday, Illyrian Airways arranged a promotional flight between Priština and the Albanian capital Tirana. Whether Illyrian Airways will be successful or not remains to be seen. Several previous airlines based in Priština, such as Kosova Airlines and Air Prishtina, suspended services over the past few years.

* Photo curtsey of Skyliner Aviation News Magazine

Amsterdam awaits B&H

B&H Airlines has delayed the launch of its much publicised Sarajevo – Amsterdam service. The flights, which were supposed to be inaugurated on December 02, have been deferred until December 16. Flight times have not been altered. However, the Bosnian national carrier will operate the service every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday instead of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The route will operate with an Airbus A319. All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

Bookings for the new route have been going well in the lead up to the holiday season. Schengen zone visa restrictions for Bosnian passport holders will come to an end on December 15, which could be one of the reasons for the delay, although no official word has been given as for the reason behind the deferral. B&H is no stranger to cancelations and delays.

Soon in Brussels

As promised at its 16th birthday bash last month, Montenegro Airlines will commence flights from Podgorica to Brussels and Milan in the following months. Although the exact dates were not specified, services to Brussels now appear to be commencing in December. The flights are yet to be listed in reservation systems, however, “Luchtvaart Nieuws” reports that the airline will commence 4 weekly services from Podgorica to Brussels National Airport. When the route is eventually launched, B&H Airlines will be the only EX-YU national carrier not to operate services to the self proclaimed capital of Europe.

Meanwhile, as if Adria’s and Lufthansa’s planned flights from Germany to Priština were not enough, the Albanian low cost airline Belle Air will commence flights from Priština to Munich on December 14. The service will operate once per week. Along with Adria, Belle Air will compete with Germanwings and Air Berlin on the route. Flight details can be found in the new route launches section on the right hand side.

No Transavia for Sarajevo

The Dutch low cost airline, Transavia, has cancelled its planned Christmas and New Year service from Amsterdam to Sarajevo. The Air France – KLM subsidiary intended to operate 1 weekly flight from December 16, with services increasing to two per week from January 3 until January 20, 2011, when flights were scheduled to end.

B&H Airlines will breathe a sigh of relief as the carrier is to begin its long announced Sarajevo – Amsterdam service on December 2. There have already been a significant number of bookings for the B&H operated flights. It will run the service 3 times per week but will not be in direct competition with Transavia, as previously expected, for the first month.

No explanation has been given as to why Transavia has decided to pull out.

Jat soon to commute between Portorož and Rome

Jat Airways has obtained approval to commence flights between Portorož in Slovenia and the Italian capital after the Italian Aviation Directorate authorised Jat’s request, a statement from the airline reads. As a result, Jat has gained fifth freedom rights which allow an airline to carry revenue traffic between foreign countries. According to sources close to the airline, Jat will primarily carry Italian gamblers from Rome to Portorož. The service will originate in Belgrade and operate with an ATR72. Bilateral air agreements between Serbia, Italy and Slovenia have made the route possible and Jat is set to commence the service in the following months. It is the first of several changes set to take place in Jat’s winter schedule, announced by Source : EXYU aviation news : http://exyuaviation.blogspot.com several weeks ago.

The Serbian national carrier resumed flights to Portorož after 18 years this summer with seasonal flights. Portorož is currently not served by any commercial carrier. Jat operates direct flights from Belgrade to Rome, Milan and Trieste in Italy. Last month, Adria and Jat signed a codeshare agreement on flights between Belgrade and Ljubljana. As a result, passenger numbers between the two cities have increased by 114% compared to the same period last year.

easyJet becomes number 2 in Croatia

The Croatian Ministry of Tourism is hoping to sign contracts with a number of tour operators and airlines by January 2011 in a bid to increase UK arrivals to the country, the “Travel Weekly” reports. The Croatian Minister of Tourism, Damir Bajs, said that a strong working relationship with tour operators was the key to success on the British market. Bajs also added that he was hopeful that low cost airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet will add more flights to the country next year.

Low cost carriers are developing an increasing presence in Croatia. easyJet has now taken over Germanwings as the second busiest carrier in the country while Norwegian and Ryanair have all added capacity in 2010. Two more low cost airlines, Vueling and Wizz Air, also rank among the top 10 carriers in Croatia, according to “Anna Aero”. easyJet has gone from operating just 3 routes in the summer of 2008 to 18 routes (10 to Split and 8 to Dubrovnik) this summer. Earlier this month, it commenced flights to Zagreb from Paris, which are being followed by London Gatwick flights next March. During the summer, Norwegian operated 44 weekly departures on 18 routes from its bases in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. In 2011 the airline will add flights to Croatia from its newest base in Finland. This summer saw Ryanair operate 14 routes to Croatia, 11 to Zadar, 1 to Pula and 1 to Osijek.

Most low cost airlines operating to Croatia on a seasonal summer basis are heavily subsidized which has led to anger on Croatia Airlines’ behalf. The national carrier had been content with low cost operations until recently when it was announced that low cost carriers are expanding towards its home turf in Zagreb with year round flights. With even more competition announced next summer, Croatia Airlines has a difficult battle to win.

Mat begins flights from Skopje base

The reincarnated MAT Macedonian Airlines, now known as Mat Airways, has begun scheduled charter flights from Skopje Alexander the Great Airport to Zurich and Dusseldorf. The airline, owned by Serbian tour operator Kon Tiki, is also offering flights from Ohrid to Zurich. It has been awarded the IATA prefix 6F. The airline is currently operating its flights with a single Boeing B737-500. Its other aircraft, a leased Aviogenex B737-200, has been returned to its owner and is now flying for Jat Airways. Currently, passengers can only book Mat Airways tickets at their offices in Skopje and Belgrade.

According to the Mat’s owners, the airline plans to commence flights to Rome, Barcelona and Prague in the near future. “Our plan is to expand our fleet and purchase another aircraft. We aim to be the best in the airline industry, slowly but surely reaching the top”, Zoran Milevski, the President of the board of the Metropolitan Investment Group (one of Mat’s owners) said.

Meanwhile, work on the new terminal at Skopje Airport is progressing although some changes have been made to the initial design of the terminal building. Currently, the runway is being lengthened. Skopje’s new multi million Euro terminal should open its doors to passengers in just under a year from now, on October 20, 2011.

No easy ride in Ljubljana

The low cost airline easyJet has cancelled plans to commence flights from Milan to Ljubljana, which were scheduled to begin on December 9. The flights, which were to operate 3 times per week, have been dumped due to low interest. The airline’s plans to inaugurate services from Paris to the Slovenian capital on December 2 have been unaffected. The news comes as easyJet looks to expand into the EX-YU region, with the no frills airline starting flights from London to Zagreb early next year.

Over the past several years, many low cost airlines have failed in Slovenia, unable to attract passengers. Previous low cost attempts include Wizz Air’s flights from both Brussels Charleroi and London Luton. Both routes started in May 2006, but Luton was dropped the following February, while the Charleroi service lasted until March 2008. Ryanair shortly operated flights from London to Maribor from June 2007 until March 2008. As a result, Adria has managed to retain over 80% of both frequencies and shares from Ljubljana Airport in 2010.

2010/2011 winter season, October 31 – March 26

The 2010/2011 Northern Hemisphere winter season has begun. Most national EX-YU carriers will be decreasing their flight offering but foreign airlines are set to increase services. The low cost easyJet will commence new flights to both Zagreb and Ljubljana while Wizz Air will open its Belgrade base. The winter will mark the opening of Adria’s new base in Priština, with flights to Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt, while B&H Airlines commences new flights from Banja Luka.

The 2010 summer season was a period of recovery for most in the aviation industry. In the third quarter (July – September), Croatia Airlines saw a significant passenger decrease, Adria Airways saw a mild single digit increase as did Jat Airways. It should be noted that the Icelandic ash cloud drama affected all three airlines in April while Croatia Airlines was also hit by a cabin crew strike later on in the summer. B&H Airlines carried 55.177 passengers in the third quarter, an increase of 42.3% compared to the same period last year. So far this year the airline has processed 109.368 passengers, an increase of 66%. Montenegro Airlines has not made its passenger figures public, although it did report that it had a strong summer.

Care to predict what will happen this winter? Will Croatia Airlines’ negative trend change for the better? Will Adria beat Jat in the race for second largest EX-YU airline in term of passenger numbers and will Sarajevo’s notorious airport fog prove a headache for B&H and its passengers? Send your thoughts.

Croatia winter changes

The following are modifications Croatia’s national carrier, Croatia Airlines, will be making to its 2010/2011 winter schedule. In the table below you can see the cities the airline will operate to, the number of weekly frequencies and the change in frequencies compared to the 2010 summer season. Croatia Airlines will be using 13 aircraft this winter – 6 Bombardier Dash8-Q400s, 4 Airbus A319s and 3 Airbus A320s.

As usual during the winter, Croatia Airlines will be suspending its seasonal summer flights from various seaside cities. From Zagreb, the airline suspends its seasonal services to Athens, Lyon and Tel Aviv. Domestic flights from Zagreb will be significantly decreased. Notable in the winter schedule is the absence of a considerable number of nonstop flights from Dubrovnik and Split.

The winter season begins on October 31, 2010 and ends on March 26, 2011. The airline is entitled to change, add or reduce its destinations and frequencies. The table will be updated in case changes do occur.
From Zagreb

Destination	Frequency	Change	Notes
Amsterdam	7	-
Athens	0	▼ 3
Brač	0	▼ 1
Brussels	6	▼ 3
Copenhagen	3	▼ 1
Dubrovnik	30	▼ 8
Frankfurt	21	-
London-Heathrow	9	▲ 1
London-Gatwick	3	▼ 1
Lyon	0	▼ 1
Munich	14	-
Paris	7	-
Podgorica	3	-
Priština	5	▼ 2
Pula	7	▼ 10	Flights operated via Zadar
Rome	10	▼ 3	5 flights operated via Split, 2 via Dubrovnik
Sarajevo	14	-
Skopje	8	▲ 1
Split	21	▼ 10
Tel Aviv	0	▼ 1
Vienna	14	-
Zadar	7	▼ 7
Zurich	14	-

From Dubrovnik, the airline will operate direct flights to Frankfurt (3X per week), Rome (2X) and Zagreb as noted in the table above.

From Osijek, Croatia Airlines has suspended all fights. From Pula, the airline will operate to Zadar (daily) and Zagreb as stated in the table above.

From Split, the airline will head to Frankfurt (daily), Rome (5X per week) and Zagreb as stated in the table above.

From Zadar, the airline will operate to Pula (daily) and to Zagreb as stated in the table above.

To view the winter changes EX-YU airlines have made to their timetables, click on the appropriate link:

Adria Airways · B&H Airlines · Jat Airways · Montenegro Airlines