Montenegro Airlines hit by poor results

Montenegro Airlines’ true results reveal gloomy outlook

Montenegro Airlines will record losses of over seven million euros and a decline in passenger numbers this year. Following a marathon nine hour session of the newly formed Board of Directors, the Montenegrin carrier has decided to lease some of its aircraft to the Kosova Reisen tour operator to sure up capital. The aicraft will be used on the busy Pristina - Zurich service. The decision comes after Montenegro Airlines increased its losses from 3.9 million euros last year to over seven million euros in 2014 under the leadership of its newly appointed CEO Daliborka Pejović, who took office last summer. The numbers represent the carrier’s worst financial performance since it began operations. The Board of Directors put the losses down to the spring floods in Serbia, the crisis in Ukraine and its own policies.

Late last year, the airline began a series of cost cutting measures which now seem to have been unsuccessful. It shut down its sales offices in Frankfurt and Zurich this year, while it previously closed its offices in London and Rome. Furthermore, it laid off its Serbian staff which included over twenty pilots, as well as mechanics and engineers. With a shortage of pilots, the carrier is now looking for new ones. At the time, Ms. Pejović said,”I can say with confidence that Montenegro Airlines has a future following the measures undertaken in the second half of 2013. I expect the new management will better handle the commercial sector of the business than was the case up until now”. However, the cost cutting has been selective. Late last year the carrier approved bonuses for various employees, all of which proved to be members of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) or family members of government officials. Furthermore, a significant number of party faithfuls have been employed at the airline over the past year.

Montenegro Airlines recently reported it was performing well in 2014, in face of tough competition, and announced plans for a busy 2015, during which it should launch several new routes. It selectively published passenger results for certain markets during certain timeframes, avoiding showing its figures in full. However, the airline’s former CEO, Zoran Djurišić, who led the carrier for nineteen years until his dismissal last summer, recently warned that Montenegro Airlines had recorded a decline in passenger numbers, revenue and safety standards in 2014, a claim denied by the management. The carrier is expected to handle some 570.000 travellers this year, down from 588.241 last year and 611.000 in 2012. Montenegro Airlines recently announced it was selling two of its Fokker 100 jets. The airline was planning on having seven operational aircraft in 2015 in order to accommodate its growing route network, however, this now seems unlikely with the Board’s decision to lease out jets. Montenegro Airlines has outstanding debt of 68.980.608 euros.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:06

    What's up with Montenegro Airlines and lying and withholding their actual results? o.O

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:02

    How much does it owe SMATSA ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:05

    What a performance !!! Having recycled their mgt, to no avail, perhaps they now need to turn to the goat herders from the mountains ..... They surely can't do any worse than this nepostistic lot

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:14

    I wonder how much longer this joke will go on, especially now when ASL has increased its capacity to MNE.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:18

    I think that certain members of an airline's top management should be careful what they post on their social media, especially as their profile picture. It damage his and the airline's image. Especially since that person is present in many pictures from events. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:40

    We have serbs as pilots, we need to fire them so we can cry that we have lack of pilots. And obviously we will have to hire foreign pilots, because montenegro ones are not available, so we can fire their foreign ass all over again. What a racist company.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:59

    Nacionalisticka ne rasisticka ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:07

      Шовинистичка и дискриминаторска.

      Delete
  8. Off topic but I just noticed that Wizz Air has added additional flights to Larnaca around the Christmas holidays. Additional flights will be operated on Wednesdays. Wizz Air to Larnaca was the best thing that happened to all of us who have links with Cyprus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:53

      Namjee do you know anything waht is going on with A320 (APG)? any comments?

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:05

      That was already mentioned on this blog so not something new nemjee. They are waiting for spare parts as the damage was big.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:13

      I flew Wizz Air to Larnaca this summer and they are an ok airline. Horrible departure time now.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:22

      Odakle tolika potraznja za letovima ka Larnaki? I to odjednom.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:33

      APG is scheduled to fly to CDG tomorrow morning

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:37

      Ajd i to cudo da vidimo, nama ovde na aerodromu nista nisu rekli sem da se skrsio i da cekaju rezervne delove iz AUH. Ovih dana je bas haos u saobracaju.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:41

      There were also some pictures of APG posted on a forum. I will try to find them.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:07

      @Nemjee... Avion su radili mehanicari air serbie, pa su dizali avion da urade probu trapa, i dok su ga dizali pao je sa dizalica i ona je probila rep aviona, onda im je Jat Tehnika to popravila, posto AirSerbia to ne radi.. 9 dana po 24h su radili.

      Delete
    10. Hvala! Znaci rep je bio u pitanju... Da ne znas kako je dizalica probila rep? I koj je deo u pitanju.

      Hvala! :)

      Delete
    11. Anonymous18:43

      APG enroute to Milan as of now.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous01:10

      Iskreno nemam pojma, ovo je info od druga koji radi na aerodromu to je jedino sto sam uspeo da saznam. Nisam dublje zalazio

      Delete
  9. Anonymous11:43

    Gotovi su... Jos malo pa mogu svakako da svi idu tamo kome su iznajmili avion i da se pokrste. Mozda ce onda biti bolje i svetlije doba.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous12:19

    They are as good as dead. Maybe ASL could take over them once they collapse?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:27

      Why should a Serbian airline save them after they fired all the Serbs.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:03

      Why shouldn't? ASL could do it just for money, if they estimate that it would be profitable.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:07

      How would it be profitable? It's a tiny market best served from Belgrade.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous12:51

    is that 69 mio euros?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous13:25

    What aircraft are they leasing Fokkers or Embraers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:28

      Well they will have some Fokkers left so probably the F100 but they have been wetleasing one of their Embraer for adhoc charters so far this winter so who knows.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous14:55

    Montenegro Airlines Fail

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous15:00

    Question for those commenting PROFITABILITY of Montenegro Airlines : What do you think, does Montenegro pay to Podgorica and Tivat airports for their services? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:39

      Typical troll/hater question. Here's one for you: how if Southwest not in 68 million EUR debt even though they pay airport services? Hint: Milo is not running the show at Southwest.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous15:11

    1 ode YM a za njim ostali u bankrot zbog nesposobnih managementa .
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous15:15

    "It selectively published passenger results for certain markets during certain timeframes, avoiding showing its figures in full."

    They learn that from Air Serbia. Same shit Air Serbia do with Load factor. Publish some good results on some routes but not LF for all routes together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:31

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:34

      Tako rade prave firme a samo nenormalna FIRMA moze da objavi gde lose posluje ;)
      INN-NS

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:48

      Anon @ 3:15

      Air Serbia officially shows off with the overall number of pax, number of new routes, increase in capacity etc. They don't reveal the LF but they also do not single out any specific route. Where did you see an official statement from them on the individual route performance?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:12

      Before you get hung up on load factors, YM has never even published total pax numbers. As for Air Serbia they only report total pax - like Croatia and Adria. YM chooses to report they had a 4% rise in passengers in August but you know nothing else.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:22

      Croatia and Adria publish LF.

      Air Serbia did publish LF on some routes and some part of year (during New Year for example)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:33

      Actually it didn't. Those were obtained by this site. That's why they used the word "exclusive". And as far as I remember ex-Yu before Air Serbia use to have all the results for Jat - lf, passenger numbers, numbers per route. Those were never officially announced by Jat (they didn't even have a PR department). They were obtained by ex-Yu. They were correct since in the annual report which is published the numbers all stacked up. But Air Serbia has never issued a press release with load factors for any route.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:07

      They did not publsh theat worldwide but I get those data and they usk some media to take those they want to be published.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous15:22

    OT: Air Serbia with A320 to Tirana again today. I guess this route is doing fine.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:32

      Would be great if someone could post the loads for today's flight!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:34

      Aegean also sent its A320 to Belgrade today.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:38

      I can't wait to see the November numbers! They are going to be epic with all this extra capacity we have been seeing.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:44

      bg-tia 140, tia-beg 56

      Delete
  18. Anonymous16:02

    YU-APA made it from Sarajevo to Belgrade in just 27 minutes! From what I can remember the record is held by one of JU's B733s when it made the route in just 18 minutes!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous16:16

    For those interested here is a great video of Air Serbia's B737-300 (YU-ANJ) landing in Banja Luka.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKEsN8Orux4

    I can't wait for March and for this route to go 8 times per week!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous16:51

    So YM leases one of their aircraft to fly from Pristina...
    What if TAV confiscates the ac to get outstanding debts?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous21:43

    2015. will be fatal for YM. One day during that year we will just see announcment on grounding all planes and halting all operations. Months later JU will have some Embraers in its fleet to serve regional flights :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:54

      Maybe SMATSA should ground their planes due to unpaid bills. Two days should be enough to get them killed.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:57

      This fanaticism of closing down a company in which several hundred people work is amazing to say the least and disgusting at the same time.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:36

      ...while back on planet EARTH, the only people that already lost their job are those pilots, mechanics and engineers just because they are serbian citizens....is that even legal in a civilised country?

      Delete
  22. Ex you is too small of a market for 5 (and soon 6) different airlines. Sooner or later respective governments are going to have to cut the losses. There is a reason why investors are hard to come by, there is just not enough room for everyone. In my oppinion, two years from now we'll have only 2 companies left serving the rest via their own hubs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:58

      Wizz Air i ASL?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous02:28

    OT: Let me whet the appetite with something more interesting: what terminals will Air Serbia use at New York, Chicago and Toronto airports? My guess is:

    JKF: T4 (60% probability because of EY but JFK has many choices)
    ORD: T5 (Duh, like 100%)
    YYZ: T1 (80%... please don't go to horrible T3)

    What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know EY uses T1 bu I'm afraid T3 is more LIKELY YYZ being one of the most expensive airports to lend in the world I heard that T3 is somewhat cheaper to operate out of (I'm not sure that this is correct). Also, looking at the type of airlines operating out of T3 also makes me go this way. Even though you can't compare it to T1, T3 is not that bad. They renovated it extensively in last 5-8 years. The biggest knock against it is long walk to customs when you come back. It might be dependent on the airline but when we go to Cuba those airlines always end up at the furthest gate no matter when you arrive.

      Regardless, I'd be happy to see JU livery here no matter what terminal. I'd be at the fance that day for sure. Now, I'm still very doubtful it's going to happen and even more doubtful that it's a good move at this time for them.

      Delete
    2. One thing to add. I think that the big factor here is if JU manages to get local codes are. If that is Air Canada than I'd sat T1 for sure or in the case of WestJet T3. Now, I know AC is Ed's partner but considering their transatlantic exposure and existing codeshares I think WestJet is more likely partner (if they ever get one). as far as I know, WS has codeshares in place with BA, AF and KLM in Europe.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous05:10

      If T3 is a lot cheaper than T1 at YYZ then it's a done deal, T3 it is. It's good enough for Euro giants like BA, AF, KL and generally has shorter passport queues than T1.

      On the other hand T3 shows it's age and T1 would be a better choice for Air Serbia if they end up codesharing with AC as all Air Canada flights operate exclusively from T1. Terminal 1 has superior retail, restaurants and convenience features for passengers.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:41

      No way that's gonna happen given AC antagonism with Etihad.

      Delete
    5. I've never heard about any antagonism between EY and AC. They have a codeshare agreement after all.

      What i think you are referring to is the fight Canadian and UAE governments have over Emirate's long standing wish to introduce additional frequencies at YYZ.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous04:32

    Well, JFK-wise, the airline terminal map is not terribly sensible:

    T1 - mostly Star Alliance (minus UA) and SkyTeam (minus KLM)
    T2, T3 - Delta
    T4 - International
    T5 - JetBlue
    T6 - closed
    T7- UA and oneworld (minus AA)
    T8 - AA etc. (including AB)

    Still, there are really only two options - T4 (80% likely) and T8 (say, 15%, because of AB).

    ReplyDelete

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