Jat’s Airbus saga deepens

Airbus offers Jat four A320s
Airbus is threatening to take Jat to court after its offer to the government to finally settle the dispute with the airline went unanswered. Airbus is looking to resolve a 14 year old quarrel with Jat. In 1998, the Yugoslav government ordered eight Airbus A319s for its national carrier, a highly unfavourable and politically motivated deal worth 560 million dollars at the time. Despite a deposit of 23.5 million dollars, the aircraft were never delivered. The latest problem came last week after a draft Airbus proposal to the Serbian government was publicised. Airbus is now offering four A320s to Jat for delivery until 2015. Under favourable terms, the European plane manufacturer would be inclined to even deliver all four aircraft immediately from its stockpiles. However, even after eleven attempts to contact the government, the State Secretary for Aviation, Miodrag Miljković, member of the United Regions of Serbia Party, didn’t bother to answer.

The Serbian government formed a task group two years ago to resolve the issue. However, they have never even met up. The TangoSix portal reveals that Miljković, instead of bothering with the Airbus deal, is hard at work lobbying in the interests of Wizz Air and is actively seeking for the low cost airline to be granted a bigger share of the Serbian aviation market.

Since, the latest row hit the media, the government has been in damage control saying at first that such pressure from Airbus is unnecessary ahead of parliamentary and local elections which are to take place in the country this May. Later the government said it needs more time to study the draft proposal. It seems that once again a complete disinterest in Jat on the part of the ruling elite has been shown. Airbus has given the government until March 30 to respond, either it will take Jat to court.

Comments

  1. Anonymous10:19

    They need a new banana country from the balkans to buy that German pile of hunk.

    Go Boeing or go home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:42

    Lol hahahahahahaha^^^^^^^^

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:15

    4 Airbus 320 instead of 8 319 for the same price? How does that makes sense?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tupolev16011:27

    http://www.tangosixblog.com/ for the entire news.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well, if they can get those 4 planes imediately that makes sense to some extent, however, those 4 150 seaters can hardly be utilized by Jat.

    They are in urgent need of 100 seaters and additional ATRs...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous14:23

    Go to court, sue them and bring that goddamn airline to its knees already.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous17:16

    They should get at least one A321 for sure if they're already introducing Airbus jets.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous18:09

    OK now we have it official:
    the Serbian shit government blocks Wizzair to open more routes from Belgrade !

    Otherways that Milkivic would not have to lobby for Wizzair...hasnt Serbia signed Open Skies?

    No more Wizzair flights this summer and winter and no more international airlines to Belgrade anytime soon because of the shitty government boycotting this!

    Vueling was denied flying to Belgrade by the government and Easyjet wanted to fly to Belgrade already last year but...denied by the government!

    Everybody asks why all those airlines dont fly to Belgrade?

    Well ever heard about protectionism of the Serbian government?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:28

      then how come Air One is coming from Milan? FlyDubai came from Dubai?

      Delete
    2. "Shitty government" should, on the contrary, revoke foreign companies all the rights that our companies are denied abroad. When Jat receives rights to fly from Budapest to the most lucrative destinations, Wizzair would receive the same rights in Belgrade in my book.

      Also, that "shitty government" should prosecute bribed officials that gave Wizzair better conditions in Serbia than the ones that domestic airline has.

      Delete
    3. Well that guy sounds shit but he is right..

      Air One is a daughter company of Alitalia and the deal is Jat/ Alitalia to Rome and Milan and no other airlines are allowed to open routes to/from Italy.

      Especially not Wizzair/Easyjet.

      Also you have to allow Flydubai coming to Belgrade when you fly to Dubai(as Jat did in that time).

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:25

      Sta kaki ovaj na pocetku? Kakav Vueling i Easy Jet..

      Delete
  9. Anonymous19:23

    @ admin

    what is the main picture on the ex-yu aviation page? is that Swift Air 767 @ Rockford?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous19:56

    dude dont talk shit plz!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous20:34

    Hey guys it is not nice to call a government shitty even if your arguments have value!

    But it is true that Serbia signed the Open Skies treaty and has to allow Wizzair to base as much aircraft in Belgrade as they want which obviously is
    blocked in order to protect monopoly of Jat.

    People in Serbia waited enough time to have
    alternate choices of airlines especially LCC!

    If Wizzair and Easyjet(Vueling?) are blocked by
    Serbian authorities to open that new routes
    then Open Skies will be in not so far time revoked
    by the members of the EU.

    EU will not let itself get fooled much longer
    by this childish behaviour!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is incorrect, ECAA agreement (i.e. "Open Skies") is not currently in force since Germany and Greece still did not ratify it, and if it gets ratified it will oblige Serbian authorities to allow some of these kinds of traffic rights to foreign airlines only once 2nd phase of acquis legislation adoptation gets finished (let's say in 3-5 years time).

      Therefore, rights given to Wizzair and Norwegian are a matter of good will from our Government (and perhaps some corruption too).

      It is good to have competition, however people often fail to realize that LCCs won't fly routes that are not highly profitable as is the case with most flag carriers. So there would be no Skopje, Sarajevo or Montenegro off season, and also half of current Jat's European destinations. If Jat would cease to exist some day, most of Wizzair's fare prices would probably double due to less competition.

      Personally, I do not prefer Wizzair because I cannot book flights 6 months ahead to get cheap tickets and also hate to go through the complete booking process to see the real final price as it gets incremented with some various levies till the end. It is also NOT cheap, in 3 week advance time (which is fairly ahead) legacy carriers like Jat or LH have better prices in most cases...

      Delete
  12. Feniks21:38

    All those Serbs calling Croatia Airways the bitch of Lufthansa...
    at least our government allows Easyjet,
    Vueling and now even Iberia Express to commence flights to Zagreb !

    Even with all this competition Croatia Airways is number one in Ex Yu airline business !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our Government is far more lenient (for good or bad) towards European LCCs as it granted every single LCC that asked approval to operate although it was not legally obliged to do so, whil Croatia most probably adopted complete transportation acquis legislation and was in obligation to grant those flying rights. Wizzair was even allowed to open a hub in Belgrade.

      In my opinion this is not in the best interest of the people though...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:26

      Actually, it's probably not in your best interest, since you're probably affiliated with JAT. But please don't speak of the best interests "of the people" -- sounds rather communist. I for one prefer having a choice of airlines and hope that EasyJet, RyanAir, and other LCCs will initiate flights to Belgrade soon.

      Delete
    3. Not true anonymous, I work in a completely different industry (IT), but am not sure about affiliation of various anonymous posters on this blog...

      Delete
  13. aleki22:27

    As much as I want the govenment go go through with this order, there are two problems:

    1) A batch of 4 A319s is much more of an attractive option for JU than 4 A320s (easily fixable, Airbus can recognize this without getting angry or losing out)

    2) It is much cheaper to our government to get sued by Airbus than to go thorugh with the order. The threat of getting sued by Airbus is a threat of a total of 50 million euro whereas buying the REVISED order of, not 8, but 4 A319 or A320 would cost at minimum three times the money that is at risk of suing by Airbus. Unfortunately, our government is probably more willing to pay 50 million in legal damages (for nothing) than to pay 200 million and actually get something back for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:29

      http://vukajlija.com/zabava/posteri/462403

      Delete
  14. Anonymous22:30

    Every person has the right to choose what is good for him/or her.

    MD you have your opinion but there are also a lot of people who have a totally different opinion!

    These people would always prefer to fly LCCs but are HINDERED TO!

    A government should not favourize a single airline
    and discriminate all others which is the case now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True about opinions, that is why I clearly separated facts (i.e. flying rights legislation or fare price comparisons), conclusions (value of having flag carriers) and my opinion (that I do not prefer Wizzair due to them making it difficult to see final fare prices).

      It can also be easily concluded that if Serbian Government (amongst other things) DISALLOWS Jat's management to fire employees due to social welfare issues, signs damaging agreements like this one with Airbus due to 'higher interest', basically forces it to service many of the destinations not being heavily profitable, indirectly forcing it to the verge of bankruptcy, while on the other hand without legal obligation, in good will (without protecting Jat's interest in asking for reciprocal measures) allows LCCs to cherry pick and service only the most profitable destinations then LCCs are obviously the ones being favoured by the Government. There are also several examples how Wizzair gets favoured by Belgrade Airport - it would be really interesting to see some serious investigation about potential corruption related to that BEG-Wizzair cooperation.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous22:35

    Serbians should be thankful the government for allowing lowcoast to Belgrade ?

    What a shit !

    Actually lowcoast like Wizzair are not allowed to open new routes !

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous22:40

    Jat and Airbus again that story... every few months you open this story. I think that we never see Airbus aircraft in Jats colors. sory

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous22:47

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Tupolev16000:24

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous01:05

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  19. Tupolev16001:20

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Robbie M.02:14

    Hmmm...pay for eight aircraft but get only four?
    Seems like a bad deal to me...

    And when this guy really makes lobbying for Wizzair
    then i wish him all the best!

    Are Easyjet and Wizz really such a threat to Jat Airways?
    Obviously they are.

    But i always had the impression that Jat really made progress in competing with the others.

    I guess i was wrong.
    : (

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous02:36

    Dear MD ,

    you write as if Wizzair success would be the cause of the bad shape of Jat!

    But Jat was even in bad state long time before
    Wizzair arrived in BEG.

    Not only Wizzair..every airline would profit by this situation!

    Wizz success is not the cause but much more the result of very mismanagement of Jat and certain government officials.

    Wizzair should not be punished for
    solely being successful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Preferential conditions given to Wizzair by the Gov. in Serbia are only helping a lot in worsening the bad situation in Jat, itself also resulting from Gov's mismanagement - the guy at Tangosix explained fairly well about the relations resulting in this situation.

      I tend to occasionally 'advocate' for Jat because we need some of these routes that would never get operated by a LCC cause they are not super profitable, and more importantly, because I am fed up by cases where oversubsidized foreign companies replace the domestic ones in every single aspect of providing more technicaly advanced value added products mostly because of politicians and corruption. Don't think that Serbia should end up in producing solely agricultural products...

      Delete
  22. Anonymous02:59

    Actually i had nothing against the Croats before really going to that place and witnessing how they are in reality. That is how i understood why there was no way Yugoslavia was to survive, with Croatia in it. Those people can't stand anyone, very simply. Churchill told the Serbs "don't ever make a state with them", before WW2... As for Croatia's economic prosperity, common... I talked with a Croatian guy (a gay working for a Serbian pop-diva) yesterday in Belgrade and he said that Croatia was in an even "deeper sh*t" than Serbia cause of tremendous debts, 25% VAT (is 18% in Serbia) astronomical expenses of living that force everyone to take credits, that are at the end impossible to repay. He was frustrated saying he can barely survive with 450E a month, saying that with 200E he would be dying of hunger, that many people and their children have no what to eat, no jobs and that all the business were ruined or sold to foreigners, mainly Germans. He was ready to burst of anger and disappointment, saying Germany and the EU are controlling his country and rulling it into economic slavery... So i guess you can't eat tolls booths and highways...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL05:25

      At least Croatia went is going into debt because they did something, not like Serbia who is also going into debt and has nothing to show for it. The only place seeing proper change is Belgrade, which is why the city population keeps growing and is why the Serbian population is moving to Belgrade. Thanks to Dinkic, just about every domestic company is sold off to foreigners, so what is left in Serbia?

      You think that it is any better living in Serbia? The dinar keeps loosing value to the euro, and the buying power of the Serbian people isnt the same as a couple years ago. Back in 2008 i was able to easily save money from my wages when 75 dinars bought 1 euro, today it is nearly impossible and its 110 dinars needed for the euro. The kuna at least is more stable and doesnt show massive change year after year!

      Delete
    2. Tupolev16011:36

      Oh, absolutely true, for me Serbia has got the worst government in whole Europe, i was just forwarding what a CROAT was saying...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:34

      Dear Administrator,

      Tupko's posts should not be deleted. This blog is greatly improved by his contribution.

      Delete
  23. JATBEGMEL05:38

    What will JAT do with 4 A320's? it already has poor CLF with the B733's which have a smaller seating capacity.

    Maybe keeping the order of 8 A319's will do good, replace the aging 10 B733's currently in the fleet. As JAT tehnika is being prepared to cater to the Airbus a/c anyways, JAT wouldnt need to send it's a/c to foreign companies to do maintenace checks, rather will have it done at their hub. Both the A320 family and the B737NG's are economical aircraft the use and I believe that any choice between the 2 would do JAT better economically, as maintenance costs would come down.

    Having said that have 8 a/c replace 10, JAT will need to bring in a proper DC9 replacement, im suggesting ERJ190's and at least 5. Keep the ATR's on Balkan rotations and the ERJ's on longer routes. Doubt anything possitive will come from MafiJAT.

    I am sure JAT will find buyers for the B733 a/c as for a/c of that age it has got lower km's to it and still has some life left in them.

    Its depressing that the Serbian government doesnt value Serbian jobs and doesnt show interest in Serbian companies. JAT should better treatment at BEG considering it brings alot of revenue to alot of the companies based there - JAT tehnika, SUport, JAT Ketering etc, and stands to lose alot if it was to suddenly dissapear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ..and BEG airport itself, since they (together with Gov.) rob passengers with cca. 20e included in every ticket...

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL16:20

      20 euros isnt too bad in taxes, it might be high for an airport like BEG but seems like the revenue they have gained will go into improving the facilities to its users. A new business class lounge has opened and gates A1-A5 will be revamped with more works expected.

      Delete
    3. BEG airport is perhaps equally, or even more inefficient company compared to Jat, with all the same partocratic symptoms, they should be equaly under public scrutiny for not making more profits or some real expansion having in mind how are airports doing compared to airlines globally nowadays.

      It is a complete absurd that within a 100e roundtrip ticket to say Montenegro, airports get around 35e and airlines get 10e for covering everything else except fuel.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous06:49

      BEG airport should improve its appearance from warehouse style to modern style airport ASAP.
      In 2015, if it stays the same, it will be one of the ugliest airports in Ex You. LDZA design is already declared as one of nicest and most functional airports in the world.

      Delete
  24. Tupolev16013:39

    Airport is not art gallery, i don't care about appearance just functionality and staff attitude + i find modern fancy designs very ugly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:05

      Apology for OT
      Croatia Airlines dobila QUDAL, najviše priznanje korisnika za kvalitetu usluge.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous22:08

    Wow, Croatia is just sooooo soooooooooo great!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOW! GO CROATIA GO CROATIA GO!!! Croats and Germans brothers forever yeaaaaaaah!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Some of the people who comment on this blog are extremely brick-brained. Why do you people not put your ingenious comments on other sites like B92 or Aero Vesti? Why?

    ReplyDelete

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