51 million Euros for Jat

Jat holds press conference
Jat will seek a 51.5 million Euro loan from a bank in order to pay off outstanding debt and purchase new aircraft, the airline said at a press conference in Belgrade on Tuesday. The Government of Serbia has given guarantees to the banks which make the process of obtaining the loan simpler. "We have received state guarantees and by April we will pick a lender", Jat Airways CEO, Srdjan Radovanović said. "These should be long-term loans with good interest rates and grace periods". The CEO said that the airline was in debt but that the number was slashed in 2009. He went on to say that the airline is still carrying the burden of mass debt from the 1990s era. Since the start of the Yugoslav wars in 1991, Jat has lost a cumulative total of about 180 million Euros, the CEO said. However, that figure was not equal to the company's total current debt, he said, as all six Yugoslav republics had a share in the company, making the subsequent accounting tangled. “We are not thinking about bankruptcy. Instead, we believe our time is yet to come”, Radovanović said. He confirmed that Turkish Airlines has expressed interest to commence strategic partnership talks with the airline but that no decisive action has been taken by either side. Serbian Government minister Sulejman Ugljanin confirmed that a Turkish Airlines delegation will arrive in Belgrade today. Radovanović also revealed that Jat Catering has won a recent tender to provide meal services to the airline from March 28. As a gesture of good will the media were distributed sandwiches which will be offered on Jat’s short haul flights.

The 51 million Euros will be divided into 49 million for debt payment to Jat Catering, Jat Tehnika, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Serbian Air Control. The money will also be used for the overhaul of jet engines on aircraft. The rest will be used on the purchase of 2 Boeing B737-700 aircraft.

At the conference, the airline also promoted its 2010 summer timetable. The media noted the absence of flights to Croatia. Radovanović said that Jat has been offered flights to Dubrovnik from its airport authorities and that the airline is “thinking about it”. Radovanović did not wish to clarify the reason why Pula has been cancelled, saying only that he believes that the flights are profitable and that the situation with those flights is out of Jat’s hands for now. Speaking about the lack of flights from Serbia’s second international airport Niš, Radovanović said that it isn’t economically viable for the airline to operate from the city.

Comments

  1. Anonymous10:16

    Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous02:06

    @Anonymous

    I think that 'father' should forgive you as apparently you don't know what you are saying! I think some people here will never be happy enough when it comes to jat

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous05:33

    Lets take loan to pay loan.Thats what got America in big trouble, how will be little Jat exempt????

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  4. Anonymous09:01

    EUR 51 Million. have any one seen the news conference? they even haven t made a proper business plan. just shut them down!

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  5. Anonymous09:28

    Amen to that! Something batter than will at least have a chance to grow up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous14:30

    Just look at their screen in the back displaying the title "Reforma JAT Ervejza". For God's sake either write "Reforma JAT Airways-a" or translate the word into Serbian (maybe Reforma JAT Avio-Linije)and don't make yourself look stupid by trying to write english words using our letters. What a shame for a company that once used to be a symbol of innovation and success in ex Yugoslavia.

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  7. Anonymous15:16

    Not only in exYU. They played important role in the whole aviation industry. Better to disappear. The sooner the better.

    ReplyDelete
  8. frequentflyer07:06

    Radovanović also revealed that Jat Catering has won a recent tender to provide meal services to the airline from March 28. As a gesture of good will the media were distributed sandwiches which will be offered on Jat’s short haul flights.

    The same Jat Catering who were whinging about almost closing due to lack of payment by the same airline in a recent post on this forum??

    How things go full circle so quickly in the exYU!

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  9. @ frequentflyer

    lmao...sad, but soo true...

    @ anonymous

    Airways is Aviopromet, not Aviolinije ;) and as Jat Airways isnt a Serbian name, it stays as Jat ervejz (Јат ервејз). And what does them writing Jat Airways or Jat ervejz have anything to do with reformation of the company? I would think brining in newer aircraft and shrinking the amount of staff more important than their logo.

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  10. Anonymous14:43

    @ JATBEGMEL

    Znam da je ovo avijacijski forum, ali tesko je mimo ovakvih gluposti pokusaja pisanja engleskih rijeci u nasem pismu, jos posebno kad znamo, da Engleski jezik ima zvukove, koji nemaju identicnog zapisa ili slova u nasem jeziku. Zamisli da na JAT-ovim avionima pise "JAT Ervejz". Oni koji pricaju samo nas, ne bi imali pojma sta to znaci, kao ni Amerikanac ili Englez, koji bi se vjerojatno prekrstili kad bi vidjeli sta su im Srbi uradili od vlastite rijeci. Ovaj ispad je tipican primjer nase ekonomije i politickog sistema koji su izvan doticaja ne samo sa stranom, nego i sa domacom scenom. Sve je bez ikakvog plana i doticaja sa realnoscu. Mozda se ova polemika oko JAT "Ervejza" nekima cini sitnica, ali cinjenica je da male stvari cine velike i sa takvim pristupom se ne leti daleko.

    Pozz svima

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  11. @ anonymous

    У Србији се користи "ервејз" и "ерлајнс", а видим како пишете да нисте из Србије. Не кажем да је то неки проблем, далеко било, само кажем да је стандард писање код вас другачије него нас. Пример ради, у Хрватској се пише Munchen а у Србији Минхен, затим Bruxells у ХР а Брисел у Србији. А какве везе има да ли се на пише ервејз или авио промет са успехом ваздушне компаније? Погледајте пример "България Ер", шта њима фали? И кад би енглези и американци видели нашу писму, највероватније не би ни могли да читају, ћирилица или латиница. Ма чак и американци не знају да читају свој писмо а камоли нашу.

    поздрав.

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  12. Anonymous15:50

    @ JATBEGMEL

    Nisam iz Srbije, ali to jos ne znaci, da mi trebaju podnapisi kad gledam neki srpski film.

    Imena gradova koje ste naveli su podomacena imena i u Hrvatskoj takodje pisu Minhen, Bec, Rim itd. Takodje Englezi ne kazu Hrvatska, nego Croatia i kazu Belgrade i ne Beograd, sto je u redu, jer su podomacili neka imena drzava i gradova.

    Rijec "airways" ili po tvoje "ervejz" je opca imenica stranog porijekla, koja ne postoji u Rijecniku Hrvatskog/Srpskog/Bosanskog Jezika, stoga sa stajalista jezikoslovaca, absolutno neprihvatljiva. Mislim, da imamo jako bogat jezik i ne pada mi na pamet, da se ugledam na Amerikance, jos manje na Bugare i taj tvoj "България Ер" :)

    Pozdrav

    ReplyDelete

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