Croatia Airlines plans fleet expansion

Croatian carrier looks to add three 100 seat aircraft

Croatia Airlines plans to expand its fleet in 2015 its CEO, Krešimir Kučko, has said. The national carrier plans to add up to three new aircraft after it completes its restructuring process in two years time. The airline is looking at adding aircraft with up to 100 seats since they would be best suited to operate not only during the summer but also during the winter months. In addition, the airline says the aircraft would not be too small like the Bombardier Dash 8 or too large like the Airbus A319/A320 aircraft it currently features in its fleet. Croatia Airlines has four A319s on order, however, the carrier has delayed their arrival by several years and is looking at completely cancelling the order. Originally, the new Airbus jets were to be delivered from this year onwards. During the year the carrier cut down on its fleet size by leasing out one of its Airbus A320s, leaving it with twelve active aircraft.

The fleet renewal plans come despite the airline’s ongoing privatisation process. However, Mr. Kučko says the airline has a clear development plan regardless of whether it gets a new part owner. Potential investors have only another three days to express their interest in Croatia Airlines. Mr. Kučko says his airline’s advantages include a highly skilled workforce, developed route network and market potential. “Despite some of our neighbours unwilling to admit it, we are still the busiest airline in the region and the seventh largest Croatian exporter since two thirds of our passengers are foreigners”, the CEO says.

The airline’s CEO sees the Croatian carrier as part of Star Alliance in the next two years regardless of whether it is sold or not. “Croatia Airlines will maintain its continuity and EU airline status. This will not change. The only exception would be if we are taken over by an airline belonging to another alliance which might have different plans for us”, Mr. Kučko says. “Currently Etihad’s takeover of Jar Airways has not affected us in the slightest. We only competed with Jat on a few routes. I suppose Air Serbia will have the aim of carrying transfer passengers from the region to Abu Dhabi. However, I don’t expect this will have an impact on us. We have our own plans and will begin our expansion in 2015. If we are taken over by another airline, our restructuring plans will be shortened and we will launch our development earlier”, Mr. Kučko concludes.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    "...or too large like the Airbus A319/A320 aircraft...".
    A319 is too large for them. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The nerve of some people.

      Don't worry, soon the Arabs will buy you some ATR72s because the A319s will be too big.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:34

      It seems they didn't grt the memo, they already bought A320s. :(

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:45

      10 plus two A320s coming in a few months. :/

      Q400,

      I don't think he meant it in a bad way. He was probably referring to the fact that an airline like Croatia Airlines should not consider an A319 as a large aircraft. They are shrinking and if they continue like this they will end up a fleet of Dash-8 and Embraer jets. Also, what makes you think he is a Serb? Why are you constantly hostile towards Serbia and the Serbs?!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:42

      There are chances that Qatar Airways might buy stake in to Croatian Airlines, but I think its likely new minority steak owners might be from far east.

      But this is a lengthy process and we won't know till mid to late 2014 who bought 49% steak in OU.

      As to OU buying more aircraft, I think CS100s would be best option for OU, I'd sell remaining 2 A320s and replace them with new CS100s and as Dash 8s have served well in OU service, and OU technicians are well versed in the aircraft I see no issues for OU in that department.

      4 A319s will be delivered as they were already paid for, half paid, so there's no talks of them being canceled. They'll just be delivered in 2017/18 and that will be that. Remaining 4 A319 will serve on for foreseeable time, these are very good aircraft most delivered in 2000-2003 and have plenty of flying to do.

      OU should have been more aggressive in its expansion and have dedicated routes, so it can draw on large passenger base, you can't be a national airline and a holiday airline company, just doesn't work.

      Croatian Airlines should expand its fleet for 20-25 aircraft with best combo being 8 A319, 6 Dash8, 10 CS100.

      CS100s doing pan European scheduled destinations throughout the year, A319s on increased frequencies, London, Paris, Amsterdam. Munich, Frankfurt and Rome, but in summer times be used heavily to prop up coastline destinations, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Pula and Rijeka.

      Dash 8 could be used for internal and regional destinations.

      Croatian airlines should be handling 3-3.5 million passengers not 2 million.




      Delete
    5. @ Anonymous 1045

      Please give examples of when and where I have been hostile towards Serbs or Serbia. I am however hostile sometimes towards fools.

      Also, you may note that I am most critical about Croatian aviation based news when I comment.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:41

    “Despite some of our neighbours unwilling to admit it..''

    I seriously hope he is not referring to Air Serbia. No one here in Serbia even gives a damn about Croatia Airlines nor do we speak about it. However, I find it cute how he believes Air Serbia's business is to solely offer connecting flights to Abu Dhabi. lol

    On the other hand, switching to a smaller plane makes absolutely sense. I suppose they will go for the E190 or the E195- it would make the most sense. Even in summer, Airbuses could be mostly operating from the coastal cities while the smaller jets could fly out of Zagreb with higher frequency. Them again, it's the Balkans so we should wait and see what they have in mind.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'I seriously hope he is not referring to Air Serbia.'

    Of course he is talking about Air Serbia. All we have been hearing these past few months is how awesome Air Serbia is and really they have not had the chance to prove anything yet. All the media attention has been on Air Serbia, even the BBC did a story on it so he has every right to state the fact that OU is still the most successful and modern airline from the former Yugo.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24915846

    I don't know much about Kucko, many negative things have been written about him by contributors on this site but you have to give him some credit as he is producing positive results.

    I agree with your second paragraph on how 100 seat aircraft could give the airline more flexibility.

    In terms of aircraft choice, with Croatia already having a good business relationship with bombardier I can see them opting to stick with them with either the CRJ900/1000 or better still the new CS100 instead of Embraer E190/195.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      No one from Air Serbia ever said anything about Croatia Airlines. The media attention was generated because the press was interested in the project. You know, because of THE Etihad's involvment. JU hasn't "shown" anything (except the best product in former Yugoslavia) because they just happened to launch. Except that $1b plane purchase.

      And what are these results you speak of? One quarter of (highly questionable) results? LF increase? Fleet modernisation? Auxiliary revenue increase? Cost cutting? Where are these "results"?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:58

      The whole problem with Kucko's statement is that he makes it sound as if Air Serbia and its management are constantly saying how we are the best and the biggest. What they did is that they said that they will eventually become that- in other words they are not there yet but they will be soon enough. I would also like to point out that both Tarom and B&H Airlines have come forward and offered cooperation to Air Serbia. In less than three weeks from now Air Serbia will launch flights to Banja Luka, Prague, Bucharest (two daily thanks to Tarom) and Ljubljana. What is OU doing? Nothing. It is just thinking about downsizing. I still fear that OU's greatest problem is that it lacks a concise business strategy. Is it a real legacy carrier operating a hub and spoke model? Is it primarily a charter airline operating from the cost? It keeps on adding, then removing coastal destinations out of seasons and so on...

      No matter what some say, Croatia Airlines is under attack and it is very vulnerable. Air Serbia has already announced the return to the coastal destinations while Etihad Regional will launch flights from Rome and who knows what other destination is in the works. Their future fleet structure will be also a problem. They will have Airbuses, 100 seat jet engined aircraft and finally the Bombardiers. The problem is that they will have a few planes of each manufacturer further increasing their costs.
      That's the whole problem. Croatia Airlines might have recorded a profit but it is still far from being safe. I am still not sure how they plan on fighting off increased competition. I would like to be proven wrong but...

      Delete
    3. ^ Adria Airways is also codesharing with Air Serbia on the Ljubljana - Belgrade route.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:08

      AAA,

      Are you sure? Amadeus doesn't show any codeshares between Adria and Air Serbia. If they do then Ljubljana-Belgrade would be 13 weekly.

      Delete
    5. Makes me now wonder too.
      It is the Belgrade airport website that list them as codeshares.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:13

      AAA,

      It is strange indeed but I think if Amadeus is not showing them then they really are not there. Belgrade airport website is not to be trusted.
      If it is true then it is a real shame for Adria and it makes me wonder how much longer they can keep the route with their gas guzzling CRJ.

      Delete
    7. Agree.What also is strange is that they do not show the codeshares with Air Berlin.
      Beside of these flaws i think their website is very good.

      Delete
    8. @ Anonymous 10:40 and 10:58

      No one from Croatia has ever said anything about Air Serbia except Purger and also the media report of the takeover.

      Also, I don't see why you find the comment made here by Kucko about Air Serbia negative towards Air Serbia at all. All he said is that the take over has not effect OU yet and that he believes they will mainly feed Etihads network.

      Again, he was right to point out the OU for now at least is still the top airline in the former Yugo in terms of product, service, fleet, passenger number, revenue and maybe even profit.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:28

      Q400,

      Actually, Air Serbia is currently the best airline in terms of service.

      Delete
    10. Not yet but they are heading that way.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous11:51

    Croatia Airlines should focus their business on the coast (Split and Dubrovnik) and not Zagreb. Zagreb is currently in the process of stagnation and that's because Zagreb is not a really good place for transit. They are focusing their flights to big western airports that already have connection to other big western cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:01

      The problem is that there is no market on the coast in the winter time. Such a shame that Croatia has not done a better job attracting older people from northern parts of Europe.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous12:07

    Take note that OU Airbus A319 has 144 seats and A320 164 seats. Also take note that Croatia has brand new Airbus A319 from 1998. and Air Serbia from 2013.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:12

      What's your point, I don't get it.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous14:29

    First of all I am not Croatian. Just so the dezurni dushman Serbs wouldn't refere to that immediately.

    Yeah we see that Croatia Airlines is shrinking, that's true. But let's get reminded, CA fleet of relatively new airbus fleet (def. newer than Jats Boeings from the time of the good old Yugoslavia) was formed with sole Croatian management. No Arabs nor other oilrich countries national company bought CA in order to get these aircraft. Croatia Airlines had no aircrafts once it started business, unlike JAT and Serbia that stole(!) the whole fleet including both longhaul and shorthaul aircraft, slots, equipment etc. This was payed with tax money of all Yugoslav tax-payers. Therefore it wasn't a Serbian airlines, hence Jat as a property is stolen by Serbia. And even though they could've never had a better start for a company (free aircraft+slots+etc.) they managed to fuck it up and bring the company to what it was before Etihad takeover. Nothing. Begging for someones takeover. That is what the Serbian management had brought Jat to.

    So a message to you haters, this ain't no Serbian achievement, as a matter of fact the biggest achievement is that you actually managed to sell the airline on its knees. As of the takeover day, I consider this airline to be a property of Arab-Muslims. Check out who controls the money in the company ;)

    Now you can bring the hating in how jelaous we all are. Just one thing more, I love the fact that Etihad took over Jat. The more muslim influence we have in the Balkans, the better for us. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:42

      First of all before your triad about stolen aircraft and slots you should refer to international relations, section on movable and unmovable property. Just like Croatia received all the hotels Jat built or all the office space Jat had in Croatia, Jat, which was based in Belgrade retained its aircraft in Belgrade. Simmilarly, Tivat and Podgorica airport were built by Jat and managed by Jat but did not stay in Jat’s ownership and so on. Also you should note that Jat was banned from flying almost anywhere for 10 years unlike Croatia Airlines. You didn’t get money from oil rich countries, instead you were donated planes from Germany (ie Lufthansa) and used their entire booking and organization system and even slots for years.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:45

      And to add Croatia Airlines, which has a massive tourism market, started off with a clean slate in 92 and is now on the brink of bankruptcy. Jat started with baggage from the communist times (lots of debt comes from that time) and couldn’t fly for 10 years so your comparison is funny to say the least.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:46

      How delusional of you. JAT was formed from Aeroput, a purely Serbian company. JAT's management, HQ etc was in Serbia all the time. In the 1990s, despite the total international sanctions, the company still functioned. Considering the barely existant market in Serbia at the time, it's a miracle the airline even survived.
      Now, compare that to Croatia Airlines which had unlimited state credit, complete market access and tourist money. And what happened? It's on the verge of bankruptcy.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:05

      Also, what Muslim influence? One of the planes is called "Emir Kusturica" for crying out loud.

      Delete
    5. Jat's fleet and assets were subject to succession talks between all 6 countries that once made SFRJ, and they reached the succession agreement, so nothing was stolen.

      Further, your offensive language towards Arabs, muslims in general, and Serbs, is the language of hatred and schovinsim. Concealed to certain extent, but still schovinist language. Those Arabs you are trying to humiliate, have in the past decade shown the entire world how the airline business is successfully run, so I would suggest you try and learn from them instead hitting at their deals on a racist and nationalist base.

      Air Serbia is the least of OU's problems and if you think accepting CEO's invitation to point the finger at JU will resolve anything, then you better start preparing for Malev v2. But hey, at least you will have some companies, nations ans races to spit on while your local guys who buried OU transit to another well-paid-by-taxpayers job.

      Delete
    6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    7. Admin, podsecas me na Sonju Biserko....

      Delete
    8. Anonymous18:34

      anonymous at 3.05 .. you are talking through your arse ... only 1 aircraft has been named to date and that is the first one - Novak Djokovic. No other planes have been named ... I suggest if you want to make any comments with substance, you should check your facts first, then you might have some credibility

      Delete
    9. Anonymous21:04

      Mesa Selimovic would be a better name option,indeed...

      Delete
  7. Anonymous14:48

    +1

    Well said!

    ReplyDelete
  8. JU520 BEGLAX15:01

    Offtopic: For the pilots among us: Cargolux is looking for 90 pilots. Application check their website
    Fleet 20 Jumbo Jets (747-8F and 747-400F)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How are they in terms of their finances these days. They had a few of their new 747-8Fs parked in the desert (brand new) because they couldn't pay for them.

      Delete
    2. I think it was not because they couldnt pay them but for the global recession,when there is no demand for cargo load as much.
      All cargo airlines park their ac in the desert if capacity is too much.
      The ac still get maintenance that costs a lot of money.

      Delete
  9. 9A-CRO16:31

    THIS IS WHY we will never get out of Yugoslavia... Damn you people, is all this neccessary?!?!

    I'm sick of this... Aviation blog that turns in inter state fight... FFS...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If only we were able to be Yugoslavia on this blog... That country was prosperous and promising for open-minded people, and it preferred to build friendship with all races and religions over narrow-minded humiliations. What occasionally happens on this blog is exactly what you have when you remove Yugoslavia and allow all hell of butt-head nationalist ideologies to break loose.

      Delete
    2. Only in the former Yugo people with opinions are referred to as 'nationalists'.

      This is normal the world over, The Yanks back the Yanks, the English do the same as well as every other country I have ever visited. But as soon as you have a favourite of anything in the former Yugo than your a 'nationalist'

      I will agree that I don't like the tone in some of the comments as if for some reason a former Yugo country does not have the right to succeed and that they are inherently better than others.

      Delete
  10. I am sure that Air Serbia will buy 49% stake of OU, i got information from very good informed people who are working abroad.All management would appointed by Etihad.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous16:40

    Does anyone have any info about privatisation of Croatia Airlines, is there anyone interested in purchasing minor stake, any insider info?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just posted info..OU will not be privatized, it will stay national , state airline but 49% stake would be taken by Air Serbia and management appointed by Etihad ( Air Serbia) this is 100% true

      Delete
    2. Etihad ordered more than 20 ATR 72-600 for Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:06

      That would be great, but I doubt it... Honestly, I think it will fall apart! Best regards from Croatia!

      Delete
    4. Money makes the world goes around...so it will happen, Etihad wish to ruin LH operations in Balkans so they have Etihad regional soon as a feeder and Air Serbia and Croatia airlines like strong national copmpanies who would make profit.But, they couldnt buy 49% stake of Croatia airlines directly so they will use Air Serbia to do that in their behalf...Etihad had more than 900 billion USA dollars prifit this year!!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:36

      Dušan, stop fooling with people, someone will think you're serious. :P

      Delete
    6. CEO of Croatia Airlines would be a Serb, born in Canada, parents from Vukovar, so he has double citizenship, Canadian and Croatian

      Delete
    7. So OU will be really political correct company, Serbs, Arabs, Croatians...nice future indeed

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:27

      Dusan Stop trolling !!!

      Blog Admin, please delete all nonsense posted by Dusan, clearly here to troll and create a fight.

      Delete
    9. JU520 BEGLAX22:26

      Etihad made 42 mio USD net profit in 2012. 2011 it was 14 mio USD
      revenue last year was almost 5 bln USD

      But these are alibi financial repors. the real picture will def not go public

      Delete
  12. Anonymous17:16

    Well I think it's time to get some numbers from Air Serbia like passenger increase or LF. It's been a month since they started operations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LF is 87%, 75% transit passengers

      Delete
    2. Planes from Athens, Thessaloniki and SAW are 100%....packed

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:00

      dusan, so your saying that only 12 percent of the passengers go to belgrade and the rest are all transit??? That doesnt make sense

      Delete
    4. I meant passengers from SAW mostly, sorry, i wasn't clear

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:12

      Please stop trolling, Dusan.

      Of course JU is having more P2P then O&D passengers, and of course JU is not considering investing in OU....

      Delete
    6. Ja ovde dizem pritisak braci Rvatima jer mi je admin obrisao post u kome objasnjavam zasto mi je pun kufer hejtera Air Serbia i svega sto ima predznag srpskog....zato trolujem a on neka obrise sve ove gluposti sto sam napisao o kupovini OU. Ko ce da kupi to djubre od aviokompanije????

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:55

      Ja kao Hrvat nemam problema s Air Srbijom, iskreno, većini uopće nije stalo do OU, ne opterećujemo se time toliko, pa što ako ne budemo imali nacionalnu aviokompaniju? Uvijek može doći netko drugi, zašto ne i Air Serbia ako to kvalitetno odradi? Smanji malo frustracije i sjeti se s vremena na vrijeme da dolaziš iz izrazito siromašne zemlje, kao i ja, pa bi nam avio prijevoz svima trebao biti najmanji problem. Pozdrav!

      Delete
    8. Nisu u pitanju frustracije vec cinjenice da se na ovom blogu javljaju ljudi koji mrze sve sto je srpsko pa makar to bila i jedna aviokompanija a admin ne brise takve postove zato sam i izmislio ovu pricu o kupovini OU.Izvinjavam se ako sam preterao sa izrazom "djubre". Iskreno bih voleo da Croatia Airlines nadje kupca i resi probleme ali se iskreno nadam da ce svaki uvredljivi post biti obrisan. Ja sam Jevrejin a ne Srbin sto me cini jos osetljivijim. Hvala.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:14

      Of course nobody will buy OU because Etihad hs come to this region.
      It would be very good for OU if the company survived as a regional company.
      So they shouldn't think about more planes but reduction in the number of employees.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous19:51

      Dušan, you're retired Jat pilot, right? What's your opinnion on future fleet? Is A320 NEO an OK choice? And do you think possible long haul fleet would be something like A330 (near term) --> A350-900 (long term)? Also, do you think narrow body will be A320 NEOs & ATRs only or will they add something else to the mix as well?

      Delete
    11. I prefer Boing aircrafts because i get used to them but i must admit that A320 Neo is the perfect plane in every aspect.Regarding turboprop planes in future fleet i reminde you that Mr Hogan said Air Serbia would need at least 6 ATRs, so it would be ATR 72-600 Etihad ordered 26 i think, for Air Serbia and Etihad Regioanl......mz information from ex Jat told me that there are still talks about leasing 2 A330 till the end of 2014. Personaly i would like Air Serbia to have long haul fleet of 2 -3 Dreamliner. But i am sure Etihad will buy A350-900 because of better offer and line maintaince...Etihad is buying planes for Air Serbia and it would be some kind of credit line with very low interest

      Delete
    12. Anonymous20:22

      So, 2 x A330 until the end of next year for BEG-JFK and BEG-ORD and then most likely A350 in the long term, right? That's what I was thinking. Do you think they'll stick with A320 NEOs exclusively for the narrow body fleet or maybe they'll go with A321 NEOs and/or something from the CS100/CS300 series as well for A319 replacement?

      Delete
    13. A320 NEO will stay, contract is signed and sealed...plus 6-8 ATR 72-600 plus 2-3 A350-900, it will be Air Serbia Fleet from 2018,Bombardier is not in the game

      Delete
    14. Anonymous20:38

      That's a pretty awesome fleet either way.

      Delete
    15. It is reality because Mr Hogan is the best CEO in world aviation.900 billions US dollars profit in 2014. can you imagine such success!

      Delete
    16. Anonymous21:02

      Surely not 900 billions...thats too much,hehe...
      And you also mix up profits with turnover which is not the same my dear friend!

      Delete
    17. Sorry i am not an economist, i am just an old retired pilot....who loves aviation from my childhood

      Delete
  13. Anonymous17:41

    Air Serbia can not buy 49% of Croatia airlines...

    ReplyDelete
  14. JU520 BEGLAX17:44

    87% for a month like Nov would be nice ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous18:26

    It is obvious this is nothing but a fear!
    Croatia Airlines was the company that had a leading role in Ex-Yugoslavia due to the mostly very organized domestic traffic, but this becomes history now and CEO of OU recognizes this. This kind of reaction actually shows clearly that:
    1. No company showed interest in CA so it will remain to be undsold.
    2. The story about fleet increasing is the very last attempt some of the potential investers to be attracted, but t is more than clear it is in vain. It is known the fleet needs to be decreased and it is slowly being done
    3. CA certainly does have huge fear of Air Serbia otherwise new national air company of Serbia would not have been mentioned here at all! Why hasn't he mentioned for example Monetenegro Airlines? We all know why.
    So the real situation needs to be recognized and accepted. Air Serbia will be the ruler of Ex-Yu sky no matter how difficult it might be for people from Croatia to accept.
    And Mr. Kucko, the reality will deny you very soon that Air Serbia willmostly transport passengers to AUH. Very soon it will be main airline for pax on the routes from east to west and opposite (for ex. ZAG-BEG-OTP or ZAG-BEG-KBP or ZAG-BEG-BEY etc...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:05

      air Serbia and Croatian airlines aren't in the same market, for a start.

      Croatian airlines sees its markets in the EU, and has very few destinations further east of Skopje, I think if flies to Pristina and Skopje and Sarajevo. This is as east as it gets for OU.

      Croatian Airlines main problem is, that is didn't take its role seriously, it didn't know what i wants to be, an holiday airline or an national airline, reason why airline is now in bit of a mess.

      Croatian Airlines has to change its tune, increase its fleet but also commit to scheduled destinations year round, only than OU can start to call itself an serious airline.

      Air Serbia will do exactly same stuff Croatian Airlines did for Lufthansa, i/e feeder for Ethiad.

      Air Serbia has little chances of getting anywhere in the EU or beyond Serbia in terms of real passenger numbers, for it has to compete against all major established airlines

      What I am seeing is that Belgrade becoming an hub for Air Serbia, to bring passengers from Bosnia, Serbia, perhaps Montenegro and Macedonia (highly dubious about that one) and transfer them on to Air Berlin and Ethiad destinations.

      Sure it can play a role in Ethiad's future growth and Abu Dhabi as another important hub in ME, but I simply don't see how in long term this thing can play. The ME is highly responsive to political and economic turbulences, I question the wisdom and entire strategy in way whole Arab world operates.

      I/E being most repressive, ignorant and intolerant region on face of the earth, with hostile, autocratic and dictatorial regimes in place with egos to boost.

      I simply can't fathom how these regimes can remain in place beyond mid 2020s, as we speak Bahrain is on fire, Qatar showing signs of similar happening, Saudi already has full grown internal civil strife that is testing internal security apparatus to the extremes and UAE suffers from same problems.

      Its only matter of time before whole region collapses like house of cards on itself, especially once the EU and North America become less reliant on fossil fuels as renewable sources of energy become ever increasing segment of energy generation. IE Germany is expected to generate 50-55% of all its energy needs from Wind and Solar alone.

      The UK around 40%,France already generates around 70% from nuclear and Scandinavia and Benelux to go totally off fossil fuels by 2025, its their 2025 agenda.

      Even Croatia is expected to generate around a third of all its energy from Wind and Solar by 2025 with another third from HE and with plans for build one Gen 3, 1600MW reactor by 2025, meaning it'll be totally off fossil fuels by 2025, exception being natural gas and domestic oil extraction (around 1.5 million tons).










      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:23

      I do not see what you are going on about. I know people who flew from Larnaca to Belgrade and the flights were sold out and filled with connecting passengers. A part of them were Cypriots while a part of them continued onwards towards Europe. So if Air Serbia managed to compete with Aegean, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines in Larnaca and with Turkish Airlines and Pegasus in Ercan, then why wouldn't it manage to do the same thing in other places? I think the whole argument that Air Serbia will feed EY's and AB's network can not stand any longer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:38

      If you create a demand and need there'll be always market for it, the fact that air Serbia is competing with some airlines on some destinations is just that, a market that no one else has taped in to,.

      Air Serbia flies to Belgrade, and even thought there are other airlines that fly to Belgrade they are not based at Belgrade, thus lack the market support.

      Air Serbia flies to Paris and London, doesn't mean it can compete on same level with air France or British air out of heathrow or CDG.

      Where air Serbia is strong, its its own market, i.e serbia, and can compete on routes to which Serbs out of Belgrade fly to get to, Belgrade has very few transfers, less than 60 000 per year, out of 3.5 million pax,. so don't rely on transfers to generate any major business revenue for air Serbia.

      Air Serbia has its niche, it might be able to generate some business through Ethiad but I don't see them doing well enough on regional markets, other than bring Serbian travelers and tourists and taking these back to Belgrade.

      the ever increasing arrival of low cost airlines to regional markets increases competition and choices for all who wish to travel, in the past you had a few choices, but now you have ever increasing number of choices, out of Sarajevo, Pristina, Skopje, Podgorica and for a long while you had same choices out of all Croatian airports especially during the summer season.

      At Zagreb largest steak currently hold foreign airlines, that steak will only increase now that Croatia is in the EU, so long as militants at Zagreb airport don't make things at Zagreb totally unworkable for anyone.

      Delete
    4. You forgot to mention the energy from biomass and pig and cows shit....

      Delete
    5. I would like to point out two things:

      1. Belgrade airport is home to two airlines, Air Serbia and Wizz Air. During the summer months Wizz Air increases its presence to two A320s. They have already announced the resumption of some routes like Oslo which were flown seasonally during the summers. Some of the routes launched during the 2013 summer were kept even during the winter season.

      2. The figure you used for transit passengers at Belgrade airport was for the period before Air Serbia was established. Jat Airways was a dysfunctional airline which could not compete in this business. I think November numbers will be a good indicator of where the airport is heading. If the figures provided here some time ago about the first six days of winter operations were true, then I think we can be happy.

      Belgrade airport has been attracting lowcost airlines since 2006 when Germanwings (or Norwegian, can't remember now which one was it) launched flights. Since then more and more airlines have entered the market. Also, the fact that there are more lowcost carriers in the ex-Yugoslav region doesn't mean that much. Look at all the European airlines in the west competing with carriers such as Ryanair or easyJet. They still get a fair share of connecting traffic. Also, if you have not noticed, Air Serbia is finally moving away from ex-Yugoslavia by launching flights to Bucharest, Prague, Varna, Sofia...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous00:05

      Only two?!? What about LH and os?

      Delete
  16. JU520 BEGLAX22:15

    Dusan when did they retire the 707? 1986? U were Captain there. Did u ever fly on the DC10 as co-pilot?

    ReplyDelete
  17. No, i was flying B727 and two years B707

    ReplyDelete
  18. My last flight with YU-AGA was BEG-DUB-BEG, summer 1983.But i was retired later.

    ReplyDelete
  19. JU520 BEGLAX22:49

    than u must be around 85 now...wowww
    there is a video on youtube on Capt Blagoje Stankovic last 727 flight BEG-TIV-BEG but this was around 10 yrs later

    after YU AMA entered service in Dec 1978 and later YU AMB and probably more and more took over the long hauls, where did they deploy 707s. Did u still fly to the States or more London, Karachi, Middle East and in Summer probably lits of flights to the Adriatic coast?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:57

      Hahaha he might not be 85, pilots have a privileged way of counting work year as they work in a high risk environment. So I guess he is in his 70s. :D

      Delete
  20. I am 65, i was instructor for B727, i was flying B707 cargo to Dublin 1983.I know that video, watched it million times.I was retired as instructor for B727. YU-AGA was cargo plane mainly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then I guess there is a possibility you could have piloted one of the B727 I was flying on from Belgrade to Larnaca. It was such a majestic aircraft to fly on. It was also very fast. A B737 does the trip in roughly 02.40 but I remember once we made it in just 02.05 (with a Boeing B727). :)

      By the way, what was the last flight of JU's B727?

      Delete
  21. B707 was even faster than 727, yes, you are right, B727 was majestic and very safe plane, still flying in Africa and South America.....i think the last flight was in 2005.but maybe i am wrong, and i know you from the flight to Larnaca, you were drinking too much.....:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahaha I never drank onboard BUT I did fly in the cockpit of the B727. I entered just as we were approaching Rhodes and they allowed me to stay there all the way until we parked at the old Larnaca terminal. It was a pretty amazing experience, especially since I was not required to fasten the seatbelt. :D
      Switching to the B737-300 was such a downgrade!

      Delete
    2. B727 cruising speed is 975 kmh at 39.950 ft, B733 speed is 810...sometimes 820 with the wind in the tail

      Delete
  22. JU520 BEGLAX23:11

    haha like probably the other videos with BEG-DXB-SIN-SYD-MEL. nice memories to the good old JAT times. I liked the 727 flew it several times with JU LH AF AA AV SAM
    707 only once LAX-MEX-BOG

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was not easy to fly B707 cargo full of dangerous stuff...you know what i mean.....especially to Africa

      Delete
    2. JU520 BEGLAX23:46

      YU-AGA was once involved in a incident in JFK Aug 13, 1972. take off abortion after V1. flight enroute to RJK (charter)

      Delete
  23. Purger23:33

    Kučko kaže da se ne boji Air Serbie i da ona nikako nije konkurencija Croatia Airlinesu. To je najveća glupost koju je CTN CEO izjavio do sada. CTN se mora bojati Air Serbije i to radi nekoliko razloga:

    1. Air Serbia je napala na i ovako slabo tržište koje se konektira na Croatiu Airlines. U proljeće ove godine Air Serbija će konkurirati CTN-u:
    - tri dnevna leta za SJJ, od čega dio sa A319; spram manje od dva dnevna leta sa Q400
    - jedan dnevni let za SKP sa A320 uz vrlo skoro povećanje na dva dnevna leta; spram jedan dnevni let sa Q400/A319
    - preuzimanje putnika iz Banja Luke obzirom na svakodnevni let, dobar dio ovih putnika letio je iz ZAG
    - brdo letova sa A319 i A320 iz TIV i TGD, a koji putnici su ozbiljno koristili DBV
    - letovi iz SPU i DBV koji će se u doglednoj budućnosti popečati

    2. Nemalo putnika će putovati iz BEG. Ja ću prvi koristiti liniju BEG-OTP za 109 EUR (dva dnevna leta), umjesto 510 EUR za ZAG-MUC/VIE-OTP. I ne samo nju. Znači manje putnika iz ZAG i okolice.

    3. Nemalo putnika iz Slavonije i Sjeverne Bosne odlučiti će se za BEG umjesto ZAG.

    4. Nakon što su poharali ostatak Balkana (već sada LJU, SPU, DBV, SJJ, BNX, SKP, OHR, TGD, TIV, SKG, ATH, SOF, VAR, OTP, BUD) sigurno je da će popečati broj frekvencija prema SPU i DBV na svakodnevne, te pokrenuti svakodnevne letove za ZAG, ZAD, RJK i PUY. Naravno, sada su zaobišli SAMO I ISKLJUČIVO Hrvatsku jer je CTN ipak najjači protivnik (za razliku od slabašnih JP, JA, YM...), no kada udare, udarit će jako, sa velikim brojem frekvencija i izvanrednim konekcijama, dumping cijenama i preuzeti dobar dio potencijalnih putnika.

    5. Tome će pripomoći i Etihad Regional koji već u prvoj fazi pokreče liniju FCO-ZAG, ali za očekivati je i udar Air Berlina (letovi prema DUS i TXL), a možda i samog Etihada sa letovima prema AUH.

    6. Iza njih je Etihad koji očito udara na Lufthansu i pulene (već je udario na Swiss i Adriju, a sigurno će udariti i na CTN), a koji ima gotovo neograničena sredstva. Pa ljudi, oni su im pribavili u roku od tri mjeseca 10 aviona A319 i A320, a već su im naručili potpuno nove A320, te ATR 72-600. Pa tko tome može konkurirati? O superiornosti proizvoda da i ne govorimo.

    I naš diša umjesto da to shvati i pod hitno poduzme mjere koje može (a koje sam nedavno napisao) uvjerava i sebe i nas da Air Serbia nije opasnost? Pa to je ravno veleizdaji! Sve me to podsjeća na izgovore poput "mi ne moramo raditi jer imamo najljepše more na svijetu, što je samo po sebi dovoljno". Uljuljavanje u vlastite iluzije i snove. Jel nam onda lakše? Možda i je, samo na taj način ćemo vrlo brzo propasti. Kao i čovjek koje probleme rješava drogom i nakratko pobjegne od realnosti u snove.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bravo za analizu! Ja sa to vec sve napisao ali su me optuzili da izmisljam....da, jedino sam izmislio da ce Air Serbia postati vlasnik 49% Croatia Airlines samo da bih izludeo one koji u svakom svom postu pljuju Air Serbia ne znajuci da je to zapravo Etihad sa silnim parama koje ce da ulozi u biznis a ne u sanjanje nedosanjanih snova

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:00

      Hvala na analizi, uvek je dobrodosla. :)
      A sta mislis o ova tri vazduhoplova o kojima je govorio? jel ce se to desiti ili ne?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous00:57

      Odlična analiza. Btw - da li ima novih informaciji o privatizaciji OU? Kapiram da bi trebalo već okvirno da se zna ko će učestvovati u tenderu.

      Delete
    4. Purger02:32

      Ma Kučko je u samo 6 mjeseci iznio nekoliko teza i to redom:

      1. Uzet će se od Adrije dva A319 koji su izuzetno jeftini jer Adrija ne zna što bi sa njima.

      2. Uzet će se CRJ900 jer CTN već ima Q400 pa je isto povoljnije za CTN.

      3. Uzet će se Embraeri 190

      4. Uzte će se Embraeri 195.

      Ovo sa 190-kama je demantirao na moje direktno pitanje na skupštini HSPP-a (iako je isto izjavio pred nekim pilotima), da bi samo mjesec dana nekoliko puta ipak najavio kupnju tih aviona (neki su već vidjeli Lufthansine 195-ice od bankrotiralog Augsburga u bojama CTN-a).

      Dakle, dok ne vidim ne vjerujem.

      Delete
    5. Ponašanje CEO-a gotovo je istovetno ponašanju i izjavama koje su stizale iz Jata tokom poslednjih par godina: ignorisanje stvarnosti, potpuno odsustvo bilo kakve konzistentnosti, smešna uveravanja da je sve u najboljem redu... U stvarnosti, čekalo se isključivanje javno finansiranih aparata za održavanje u životu... a onda se desilo čudo. Zbilja, ulazak Etihada u tu i takvu priču teško se može nazvati drugačije nego čudom. Pošto smo se, dakle, uverili da su čuda moguća, ja se iskreno nadam da će i OU dočekati svoj čudesni spas. Kad je već jasno da od stručne i odgovorne uprave nema ništa.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous08:09

      Purgeru, s obzirom na tvoje poznavanje stanja stvari u OU, čudi me da ne znaš je li itko zainteresiran za kupovinu udjela, inače svaka čast na izvrsnoj analizi! Pozdrav!

      Delete
    7. Purger09:21

      Bojim se da su to sve više-manje bajke oko 4 ponude. Jer ako se starno govori o 4 ponude među kojima i Garuda, to samo znači da je Garuda najbolja među njima, jer da ima bolji i jači igrač njega bi taksativno nabrojali da motiviraju druge. Bog te pitaj što je ministar radio do sada i kome je sve nudio CTN, no Garuda bi bila smrt za CTN. CTN bi se odhrvala Air Serbiji samo ako bi investirali možebitni investitori (prema koristi za CTN):
      - Singapore,
      - Qatar (ne ulaže u kompanije),
      - Cathay Pacific
      - Emirates (ne ulaže u kompanije),
      - ANA
      - Asiana
      - Koran (investirali u ČSA pa i nije baš najrealnije)
      - Thai,
      - Hainan

      Manje privlačni investitori su (prema koristi za CTN):
      - Air Canada,
      - Air China,
      - China Southern,
      - Malaysian,
      - Turkish,
      - China Eastern,
      - Shenchen
      - Transaero
      - IAG (tek su kupili Vueling, pa i nije baš realno)
      - Garuda
      - Saudia

      Iskreno bolje da ostanu sami nego da uđu u deal sa Garudom.

      I za kraj Kučko spominje nekakav domaći konzorcij i fondove koji bi investirali u CTN (najzvučnije ime je A-Z fond), što je njegova ogromna želja, tj. on ne podržava strance u CTN-u. Nevjerovatno da se direktnor i njemu nadređeni ministar ne slažu u budućnosti firme.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous00:32

    It seems that Belle Air from Albania is facing bankruptcy! These are really bad news for Pristina (and Tirana).

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous02:24

    Yup, their bank acount is blocked and all flight canceled. I see Adria and Air Serbia reacting really fast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous02:35

      Air Serbia in TIA and PRN? Not real!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous02:50

      In PRN of course not.. It is not even possible to enter Kosovo air space from Serian an Montenegrin airspace. But why not TIA? They were flying over there some years ago and as I know LF was not bad at all.

      Delete
    3. Nikola08:32

      yeah, in fact TIA's lf was pretty high. one of those idiots (Srđan Radovanović or Saša Vlaisavljević, can't remember which) ceased flights to TIA because of "cost cutting measures"

      Delete
    4. Jat Airways' loads to Tirana were catastrophic. They used to carry between 400 to 450 passengers per month.

      Delete

Post a Comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.