Open call for Jat bids this summer
The Serbian State Secretary for Aviation, Miodrag Miljković, announced yesterday that the Serbian Government will call for bids for the purchase of the national carrier Jat Airways in August. It was originally planned for the tender to open in June. The call for bids should last until the end of September. The new owner would set up a new national carrier which would take possession of Jat’s aircraft, routes, international agreements and employees. The Serbian Government would also retain some shares in the airline.The government tried to sell Jat during the summer of 2008, however, not a single airline expressed interest. It is expected that the same will happen this year. Asked if Turkish Airlines was still interested in purchasing Jat, Miljković answered the media, “I hope so”. At the beginning of July, Turkish Airlines CEO, Temel Kotil, said, “There’s no progress in talks to buy a controlling stake in Serbia’s Jat Airways. There are several carriers in Europe and the Balkans that are seeking partners but our board hasn’t made a strategic decision to look for a partner at the moment”.
If the tender fails, the government has said it will provide the finances for Jat to purchase new aircraft. In 2008 it offered a 51% share of the airline for 51 million Euros.
I think this sale will fail big time. Nice to see that the aviation secretary is rooting for Turkish. Having in mind what they have done to B&H, I would stay right away from them.
ReplyDeleteWell,
ReplyDeletewith passenger orientation of Jat staff it will be hard to establish a customer friendly airline!
OMG...nearly all comments from yesterday are deleted..
ReplyDeleteYesterday je bio Sramota....
ReplyDeleteWhat means jebio sramota?
ReplyDeleteje bio sramota = was a shame
ReplyDeleteJust a side note, can we explain the following link? http://www.airliners.net/photo/Boeing-767-238-ER/1957264/L/&sid=c071c347f35b2ae8827ad1ccbc65b5bf
ReplyDeletethe photo is taken on the 10th of July 2011 and the caption is "Operating for Swift Air" isn't that the carrier that was operating the flights to Chicago from Zagreb and Belgrade, I was under the assumption that airline had its rights revoked?
Only way to do it is to throw in the airport.
ReplyDelete@AirKoryoTU-204,
ReplyDeletevery good. yes, that is strange. makes one doubt the "official" reasons they provided. Unless it is possible for an operator to fix their safety manuals and /or safety procedures in order to be provided with the licence to operate.
'the government has said it will provide the finances for Jat to purchase new aircraft'
ReplyDeleteSo all the problems will be gone with a new airplane? Lol..
I really hope JAT doesnt go onto sale. I wonder what happened with that loan that JAT got totaling 50+ million US dollars.
ReplyDeleteBoeing 737NG's im sure is not hard to get on lease. JAT has insufficient regional fleet and euro med fleet, which is nicely shown this summer with alot of delays on flights, cancellations...
As for the US flights, Safety manuals and procedures should be the least of the worries for the airline, its crew should always have their manuals updated and all documentation necessary for flying. The airline, however, should be responsible for making sure their aircraft are safe for flying. As for the organisers of the flights, they could of done a much better job at it than what they did, organisation was horrible, ticket sales were bad, the whole operation wasnt stable as it is.