Croatia Airlines denies “creative accounting”

Croatia Airlines says 2013 profit is justified

The CEO of Croatia Airlines, Krešimir Kučko, has said the airline’s first profit in five years is not a result of creative accounting. Two weeks ago the national carrier posted a profit of 87.450 euros in 2013 after five years of continual losses and a record loss the year before. Some have suggested the results have been fixed so the national carrier could be made more attractive to potential buyers in the year the Croatian government is looking to sell a stake in the airline. “There are no tricks. We are a company that abides by the law, especially when it comes to finances. The restructuring has proven successful, especially if you consider that we had to deal with industrial action at the airline, strike action at the airport and had to operate without one aircraft for two and a half months”, Mr. Kučko says.

According to the CEO, the airline reduced its expenditure by 11% in 2013, while the retirement of one of its Airbus A320s lowered operational costs. Mr. Kučko adds Croatia Airlines has also made cost cuts when it comes to airport services, handling agents and on board service. A reduction in fuel prices compared to 2012 also aided the Croatian carrier in achieving a positive result last year. Mr. Kučko criticised the airline’s previous management teams for not doing enough to reduce costs. “My predecessor did not care for the future of Croatia Airlines. That’s 100%. I can guarantee it”, he says.

The Croatian national carrier handled 1.796.885 passengers in 2013, a decrease of 8% on the year before. Its average cabin load factor stood at 68.8%, just down from 69.1% in 2012. In 2014 the airline anticipates passenger growth of 4.6% and an average load factor of 70%. Commenting on Zagreb Airport’s recent ultimatum to Croatia Airlines to get its business in order in the next six months otherwise it will start brining low cost carriers to the Croatian capital, Mr. Kučko responded that if no frills airlines operate on the same routes as Croatia Airlines does “everyone loses except for the low costers”.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:19

    Don't make me laugh this Ceo is a walking joke .especially when he says his predecessors didn't care about Croatia Airlines future. What they didn't care was about his future as what I understand is that was going to get fired due bad management and intimidation of his working staff at his stations where worked Zurich and Amsterdam .Lucky for him his friend in the government saved him .And the prove is all the staff that he had problems with are fired and they were all good professionals . So please don't come with this just check what he has in the Netherlands for example you cannot buy what he has just with salary from Croatia Airlines .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:28

    I like when he says , the previous management didn't do enough to reduce costs. That's true because when they were going to do so .For example by firing Mr.Kucko ( +/- salary 80.000Euro yearly ) he ran to his friend in the government what I understand from Croatian new papers .So please this is cheap publicity even from him just says a lot about his ego .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:02

    Fire Kucko, he's an incapable idiot!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:20

    I have been a loyal OU customer for 20 years, but I will never fly again with them while Kucko and his communist friends in government remain in charge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr.Kucko has a mortgage of 328.000 in Holland and bought the house in february 2007!!!!

      Delete
  5. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2014 at 9:19 AM
    What does he have in the Netherlands?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:49

      Didn't you read the croatian newspaper a few months ago to start what I understand for starters a house in the value of +/- 380.000.00 Euro

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:54

      You are forgetting private trips to and from Amsterdam under the motto business trips this is all private .how can a CEO of a company have home address in another country and profit from all the social benefits of that country

      Delete
    3. I live in Amsterdam, if he bought a house of 380k in A'dam, then he bought a small house, not a luxery villa as you would think for that price. Even a small apartment in Adam is 250k.

      Delete
    4. A wife and 3 children who are going to school. And a house with a mortgage!!

      Delete
    5. Love the registered name Anonymus ;)

      Haha excellent

      Delete
  6. Anonymous10:59

    Their LF went down? I thought they made cuts to non-performing routes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:09

      Then the question aquire if so Why are cuts not made Brussels route

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:11

      They made cuts on Amsterdam route which was a profitable route. Can you explain this one

      Delete
    3. Purger12:49

      BRU can not be cut, because politicians must travel to Croatian capital every day. And they can not take one stop on that.

      Just thing why BRU flight is the only one to departure at 6:45, not at 8:10 where it can have connections from SPU, DBV, ZAD, PUY, OSI, SJJ, SKP, PRN. But politicians must be in their offices in Brussels till 9, so flight has to arrive in BRU at 8:30.

      Delete
    4. Hmm of course they can. Currently Bratislava and Nicosia (Larnaca) lack direct flights to Brussels. Until recently Vilnius used to be on the list. There is absolutely no need to keep the route if it is loss manking.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:39

      I normal conutries shure they can... But in Balkans...

      Delete
  7. Anonymous11:38

    today it is 26th February, what about contract Etihad-Air Serbia? It was 20th, now 26th....?

    And what about LF for December?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:53

      lol you got the lf for January. Maybe you should write to Air Serbia and ask them these questions. BTW No one said that the contract will be published they said they would discuss the possibility of publishing it lol. And who cares honestly

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:46

      If you don't get that contract or LF numbers you won't be able to enjoy Air Serbia's superior in-flight service, increased number of destinations, low fares, improved customer service, better planes... LOL what a loser!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:51

      BTW how is your job search doing? Looks like you have too much time on your hands to worry about other people's problems not that you don't work for JAT any more (and with that attitude it's better that you don't work for them)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:06

      The purpose of making the contract public is that we see who pays and who will pay for JU's superior product, increased number of destinations, low fares and better metal. You guys need to realize that 7 million people of this country are not obliged to pay so that you and the likes of you can show the finger to Croatia (or whoever). People simply have the right to know how the national carrier is financed and who owns it. Countries where governments that hide all such information do not even qualify as bananas. And you may ask yourselves how sustainable is your current joy about JU? Will it still be there in 2018? And who will pay for it?

      When it is your private airline you can hide everything you wish and burn all the money you have in order to show off in front of neighbours. Meanwhile the damn thing belong to ALL CITIZENS and they damn have the right to ask questions about it.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:09

      Yeah and I don't think this blog is owned or financed by the citizens of Serbia so that's why I told you to ask the December LF from Air Serbia or write an email to admin and stop polluting non-Air Serbia related articles with Air Serbia stuff.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:21

      1. My post was in line with the rules of the blog.
      2. It was another Anonymous who asked about LF and the contract.
      3. You and your brethren polluted today's article 3x more than that guy who asked about LF. His single post triggered a triple response so the pollution is all yours.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:28

      The fact is that exYU promise to publish those data.
      - as January LF is not good (53%) December one has to be even worst than January figures as there was no Orthodox Christmas so one can understand why JU management does not want to publish it

      The fact is that Government promise to publish contract on 20th February, on 26th February....??????
      - something smell very bad here, and as fast as you find that out you can react and protect Serbia property
      - I am afraid that JU project is just one of Vučić election promotions and that we all will pay for it

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:39

      lol ex-Yu promised you December numbers. If it wasn't for that person (or people) you wouldn't know any Air Serbia numbers from the day it was launched. Thanks to him/them we have a lot of numbers. And if he/they published January numbers I don't think they are protecting someone from publishing other numbers. Maybe they have some problem or don't have all the numbers so they chose not to publish it.

      And I'm not sure you understand English very well. The government never promised to publish the contract. They said they will discuss the possibility of publishing the contract when the supervisory board sits. Don't get me wrong. I will be voting against this government on 16 March but you are asking the admin of this blog to give you information absolutely no one has,

      Delete
    9. I don’t know why everybody is so eager to have this contract published. There were so many similar deals the past that are still secret, why this one should be any different. I know you “own” it as a taxpayer and rest of the blah blah but at some point you have to show some trust (I know the track record sucks). This is a highly competitive business with razor thin margins. If I was an airline executive in Europe I’d be all over it just to try to figure out what their next steps are. Etihad knows this so in my opinion at most you’ll get heavily redacted or stripped down version of it.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous16:27

      "And if he/they published January numbers I don't think they are protecting someone from publishing other numbers. Maybe they have some problem or don't have all the numbers so they chose not to publish it.”

      And you really thing that they have “problems” to calculate number of passengers in December? That number must be sent to al least 10 addresses and, thrust me, number is known next day.

      So, it is not that they can not, but they don’t want. And why they don’t want is more than obvious.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous16:31

      And yes ExYu promised December number, what more he said he has that number. So here are questions:

      1. If he has them why he does not want to publish them?

      2. Was he asked by Air Serbia not to publish them because those numbers are so bad?

      3. Is it true that December LF is just 48%?

      Usually ExYU answer with logical answer. In this case he just ignores his promise? Why?

      ExYU?

      Delete
    12. Let me clear a few things up before some people's imagination goes overboard. Before forming conspiracy theories, as I have said numerous times in relation to the December numbers, they will be published when I have the full data. I currently don’t and it is as simple as that. The load factor was 60% and there was strong passenger growth. But I’m missing other information such as best performing routes etc and cannot write a 300+ word article based on one sentence.

      @Anonymous February 26, 2014 at 4:27 PM: You have a very wrong idea as to how these things work. Passenger results and other related data is not distributed voluntarily by absolutely any EX-YU airline. That is why you don’t see results absolutely anywhere else but here. I obtain them exclusively. Sometimes I manage to get it early in the month, sometimes partial results and sometimes I don’t get it at all (press releases and information the airline sends to the press you will see in all other media as well so these things are not sent around). I want to point out that I don’t work at Air Serbia or any other EX-YU carrier, I don’t have vested interests in any of them, am not their PR agent and while I do wish all the best of luck I honestly don’t gain or lose anything from their positive or negative numbers. Also, Air Serbia does not sponsor this site nor does it have any influence on its editorial policy. As another member here mentioned, do try to write an e-mail to them asking for their passenger results and see the response you get. I published the January numbers as soon as I got them as has been the case with all of Jat’s numbers the past two years – good or bad. I apologise if you have a problem with the way the data is reported but rest assured there is no conspiracy theory and I quite resent the implication.

      Now, I have said all of these things before and I really do not intend to repeat myself again.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous03:16

      No need to get all hot and bothered about yet another (or is it just the same one?) disgruntled employee or competitor (ab)using free social media access to create Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) about Air Serbia. Common FUD themes on the blog are Load Factor, foreign investment and contract, delayed or cancelled flights.

      Clearly the FUD campaign is not working, as customers are overwhelmingly embracing new product and positively reacting in the social media. Most of the readers on this blog are doing a fine job refuting false claims and exposing FUD posters for what they really are. Campaign is likely to continue as some former employees and competitors are clearly affected by seismic shift in attitude Air Serbia created in the region, so they will likely try to inject seemingly negative news on a daily basis.

      Their voices will eventually be diminished and overwhelmed by Air Serbia’s consistent product improvements and service levels, but it will take more than couple of months before they give up.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous04:14

      In modern economies, management of state owned enterprises is executed by appointed professional executives. While they are entrusted with heading “public/taxpayer owned” enterprise, they and their management teams are in no way responsible to share operational data such as Load Factors with taxpayers and ask every citizen for their opinion on running the company or for guidance on certain operational factors. It looks like some readers feel entitled to take over CEO functions just because company is state owned.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous04:42

      @Anonymous @1:06 PM

      “And you may ask yourselves how sustainable is your current joy about JU? Will it still be there in 2018? And who will pay for it?”

      Customers will pay for it in the long run. Based on what Air Serbia is doing so far, they are not just content with making improvements from JAT levels to levels others airline companies in the region are offering, they are going way beyond that. Aviation marketplace is becoming increasingly global and implementing industry wide best practices is becoming the norm for survival, even for regional players. With continued dedication to operational excellence and future focus on profit, Air Serbia has solid chances not only for survival in the next couple of years but also for significant growth.

      Delete
    16. @anon 4:14

      Well said, couldn't agree with you more. Everybody complained wanting professional mgmt. You have it now so show some trust and give them some time.

      Delete
  8. 9A-CRO12:40

    Like or not, Kucko and Sirac are doing rather good job at the moment.

    OU really is in profit (largely due to fuel cost to be honest!!!!!), existing lines are doing ok (could be better), OU Technical Services are getting a new hangar (or even two) around summer time, 2015. is planned to be a new stepping stone for OU, minimum of 3 aircrafts will be bought/leased (90% they will be Embraers from Augsburg, and Lufthansa Technik will sell parts for them at discount price so it shouldn't be a problem for 3 types of aircrafts in fleet).

    What would I improve?

    1. Lines, there are a lot of Croatian diaspora in the world and to connect it better it would be a huge result. First steps were taken in connecting with United Airways, but everything is going rather slow. Until 2015. not much can be done in this field 'cause of EU regulations and restrictions regarding state aid OU received.
    2. Lay off more people, we live in capitalism, no more "socijalna komponenta".
    3. Sort out contract with INA/MOL for fuel price, it's robbery what they're doing with fuel prices!
    4. Lower prices of some tickets, altough I have to be honest that in a lot of cases OU has really fair prices! (despite what domestic people talking. I love watching how people buy tickes 2 days before trip and saying that OU is the worst company, but when you buy same tickets from, let's say, Air France the price is ok "because I bought it 2 days earlier, my fault).
    5. Expand Tehnical Services, but this is on going so it's ok.

    That's pretty much it!

    Pozdrav svim ljudima dobre volje!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:08

      What about Ceo private trips under the motto of business trips to and from Amsterdam I don't see any cut savings there at all .

      Delete
    2. Every weekend he is flying to Amsterdam!

      Delete
  9. 9A-CRO14:03

    Well, I don't see them either. Plus his house that OU (allegedly) pays utilites for, his family scolarships and stuff... I'll let some other institutions deal with that case.

    I'm not defending anyone, but in my 20+ years in OU, Kucko seems OK. When I remember that idiot Ivan Mišetić and his book "Menadžment zrakoplovne kompanije" I have a urgent need for a bathroom... The guy brings the company to the edge of a bankrupt and than writes a book on how to manage an airline hahahaha

    To be honest, I'm a little jealous on Air Serbia CEO...!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:34

      I can imagine but he has no political links with government like the Ceo of Croatia Airlines

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:59

      @AnonymousFebruary 26, 2014 at 2:34 PM


      All CEOs of OU are HDZ bastards, all spawned from HDZ school of economics, i.e steal as much you can, bring country to its knees and than blame the other side and if that fails blame Serbs, Slovenians and some other national minority, perhaps Jews and gypsies.

      Its just sick how most of these conman got their way in to Croatian politics only to steal.

      That being said, Croatia (the country) is facing some serious financial problems atm, so its harder to steal now and with USKOK looking for crooks things are made even more difficult.

      There is a hope yet!

      Delete
  10. Interesting to see similarities between some of the stories of the airlines from the former Yugo and the news story to the left of Qantas being in big financial troubles with a very unpopular CEO. Many in the Australian business community are amazed how he has managed to hold on to his job.

    In regards to OU, flying those Q400 pretty much everywhere I'm sure has also helped their bottom line.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous19:02

    Something has to change for OU, better or worse, I think people don't really care that much in Croatia, if it's not OU, someone else will step in, there is a market, at least for Split, Zagreb and Dubrovnik + tourists... Tax payers in Croatia have already payed too much money for OU's crap!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. WHHAAHAHAHAHA Kucko and creative accounting! Everything this man creates are lies. He is most qualified in telling big lies.....

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous20:22

    OT

    INI in talks with AGX to start services to ZRH, BSL and SVO with YU-ANP this summer season. There is also the possibility to operate a MGX-Fokker under the A.O.C. of AGX.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous20:28

    YU-APF back in service since today's LHR-flight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that is true. Hogan was on it.

      Delete
    2. So what Novosti reported that he is comming to finalize the agreement is true?

      Delete
    3. Seems so, I doubt he came to Belgrade for Sabre.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:19

      The takeover was signed yesterday. Hogan left for Amsterdam for talks with KLM

      Delete
    5. Anonymous23:22

      PS Hogan was not today's flight from LHR he was on yesterda's. He left BEG today

      Delete
    6. All I know is that my boss went to say bye to him shortly before he left for London Heathrow onboard YU-APF with 5 people in business class and 97 in economy.

      Delete
  16. Talk about an OXYMORON...
    Croatia Airlines denies "Creative Accountimg"
    Should have read...
    Croatia Airlines creates "Deniable Accounting"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you are right. Also I don't understand how he can get a mortgage if he has no Dutch permanent contract? And also is not paying taxes in that country? So somebody has to stand guarantee!!!

      Delete
    2. I don't understand, he is CEO in Zagreb, why he is living in the Netherlands? And as someone said that he is every week flying to Amsterdam and on monday to Zagreb......that means he doesn't even work a whole week!!!

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete

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