Macedonia to get new flag carrier

Macedonia to invite foreign airline to become its new national carrier

Five years after the demise of MAT Macedonian Airlines, the Macedonian government has agreed to invite an established foreign airline to become the country’s new flag carrier. On Tuesday night, the Macedonian government adopted plans to first examine interest by foreign carriers to effectively become Macedonia’s leading airline. Similar plans were made several years ago when it was suggested Turkish Airlines could become the country’s national carrier. “In collaboration with a consultancy firm, which will handle the process, the first step will be to survey the market and test the interest of world famous companies to set up base in Macedonia”, Mile Janakieski, the Minister for Transport and Communication, said. He added, “It is necessary for the government to list all it can offer to a foreign partner, including subsidies. Once the analysis is completed and the conditions are set, we will offer them to several well established airlines”.

Last month, TAV Airports Holding, which runs both of Macedonia’s international airports, said the country is in need of a national carrier which will help develop its aviation industry. “What is lacking is a national airline. ”Macedonian Airlines" must be established. We have invested in airports and Macedonia should invest in its own carrier. Every country should have an airline. I'm sure it will happen soon and, with it, the number of passengers will rise significantly”, the co-founder and CEO of Turkey’s TAV Airports Holding, Sani Sener, said. Wizz Air is currently Macedonia’s busiest airline. The no frills carrier set up base in Skopje as a result of generous subsidies offered by the government. Last year, almost half of all passengers using the airport travelled with low cost airlines, a rise of 200% on the year before.

Currently, the Macedonian government offers 40.000 euros for each new destination launched by low cost airlines and pays a further seven to nine euro for each ticket purchased on these new flights. “This year, we plan to spend 4.9 million euros on subsidies for new flights. We plan to keep this policy as data show it has produced significant results in the short timeframe since it was introduced”, the Ministry for Transport and Communication said. The government is now looking to maintain the massive passenger growth achieved over the last year, through the establishment of a national airline. Over the past twenty years, Macedonia had two national carriers, both of which subsequently declared bankruptcy.

Comments

  1. JATBEGMEL09:10

    Sooo, if the government of Macedonia wants a foreign airline to set up base in Macedonia, why did they reject Jat from setting up Aeromak?

    If they had allowed Aeromak to operate, today it would be under Air Serbia = Etihad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:53

      Because JAT was a shitty Airline...

      Macedonia needs someone like Qatar Airways, Etihad, Emirates, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss and so on...

      A National carrier sounds nice but i dont think macedonia is in need of one...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:09

      It is nice to wish MEB3, KLM, LH or TK to step in as the national carrier but what separates wishes from reality is the fact that no major global airline would bother to invest and develop in a market of 2-3 million people. They generously leave such projects to smaller players. If not even TK would not enter such project in Macedonia - and they are literally next door - then it is a clear sign for the government not to expect major global players. Not even with incentives they offer.

      This should go to a regional carrier such as Adria or Air Serbia. Not sure if Bulgaria Air has regional aspirations but they might be considered as well.

      Delete
    3. Nikola10:17

      i think that in the end, JU will restart AeroMak

      Delete
    4. JU would hurt itself by starting AeroMak. The entire business model of Air Serbia is about transit passengers, and Macedonia is one of the crucial markets that Air Serbia relies on. Air Serbia wants to funnel all that traffic through BEG.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:21

      +1 Aleksandar Stojanovic.

      Delete
    6. @Aleksandar

      hm, JU transports (only) around ca.150-70 pax a day between SKP and BEG (in one direction) which is not that much.Openinig a base means several flights a day to various major destinations => there will be way over 150-170 pax a day (and more money)

      P.S does Adria hurt itself with those PRN and TIA flights? I dont think so(Adria also relies on transfer passengers)

      Delete
    7. Purger16:21

      AeroMak (fleet of 737-300 and ATR 72-200)

      1st 737-300
      SKP-BEG-WAW-BEG-SKP-BEG-OTP-BEG-SKP

      ATR 72-200
      OHR-BEG-PRG-BEG-OHR-BEG-PRG-BEG-OHR

      2nd 737-300
      SKP-FRA-SKP-AMS-SKP-LHR-SKP

      The end! Win-win for Air Serbia (2 planes dedicate for Air Serbia) and for Macedonia (5 direct routes + 4 via BEG)

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL16:53

      @ Purger

      LHR slots are next to impossible to be found, and even still, JU would need them to increase its precence there. I think the Aeromak story is history when the Macedonian government declined JU the licences and with the Air Serbia story happening, with the focus shifted on BEG and funelling in pax through BEG as Aleksandar mentioned above. However, there was some talk of some regional aquisitions, and the B733 is set to leave the fleet...eventually. How much longer will the B733 be able to operate is another question, as it is getting more expensive to operate the type however lower cycles the frames have had. I expect JU to add a 3rd flight to SKP as the JU network ex BEG expands. As well, there is a chronic lack of ATR's in the JU fleet for its BEG opps. Your idea would be an interesting suggestion had Air Serbia not come out of Jat Airways.

      JP however seems to opening mini-bases, PRN and now TIA, I think that there wouldnt be an issue of Adria being a flag carrier to Macedonia, neutral name, plus in Star Alliance, and they have a CRJ9 which would fit SKP well. Lets see what happens.

      Delete
  2. It looks to me as a second attempt to lure Turkish, but im not sure TK will be bothered with our smal market (except there is some major politics behind it)
    Adria and Croatia (ill add Aeromak if that idea ever materialises) is a more likely scenario
    the good thing is they dont want to start a new airline from scratch, well for now.

    btw. Austrian cancelled all flights to ISTANBUL from next winter season

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:01

      Wow, Air Serbia seems to be hanging on really nice there, in comparison with other airlines flying to IST.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:16

      They cancelled IST over the winter, will resume flights, route not dropped...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:55

      Great for Air Serbia!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:58

      You mean great for Turkish!

      Delete
    5. JATBEGMEL16:37

      TK by all means should not be brought into creating anything in the exYU, and JA was is example enough.

      JP will be the most likely candidate, as they already have a presence in PRN and TIA.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous11:01

    Disneyland Airlines??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:11

      ha, you must be one of our lovely southern neighbours

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:14

      There's always one :)

      They add to the debate don't you think?

      Delete
  4. Anonymous14:20

    ADRIA could be old professional airliner that is already known in the region that used SKP and OHD already during the years.....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous14:36

    Their best bet is Air Serbia or some new subsidiary. They will do it if Etihad says so. I think Etihad itself is not interested because they have got this huge Alitalia deal now. Turkish said they prefer organic growth rather than acquisitions. Also I do not think ROT, LBZ, ADR or CTN have that kind of money for a venture like this. The Macedonian goverment seems to be a bit choosy. They would not like Air Serbia in the form of Aeromak to be their natinal carrier because its owned by a goverment of a foreign country. Whit that kind of atitude they will not get far because the whole ex-YU aviation market is just a small niche market compared to Europe and they are just a part of that niche.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:08

      you havent read the article at all, have you? ^^

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:40

      Yes, I have.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous16:07

    Air Serbia 12 planes currently in flight! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous17:04

    Adria will be the best option for SKP. Look at the PRN and TIA all flights from PRN to FRA and TIA to FRA are full every day with A319 (144 seats). Also MUC from PRN. Flights PRN to MMX are booked untill the end of september and I think that this route will become all year around. Average LF on all flights from PRN and TIA is 94 %.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:08

      I read that Adria will add CDG and BRU next year from TIA. How is with connection flight TIA and PRN via LJU? Is drop or?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous17:45

    WTF_???

    again???

    http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2014&mm=07&dd=17&nav_category=78&nav_id=877946

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:09

      Additionally, FR24 doesnt work, most likely due to bandwidth excession

      Delete
  9. JU520 BEGLAX18:03

    Anyone has todays JU loads again? Tx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:37

      yee give us loads

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:58

      I would, but admin erased previous loads, so why bother...

      Delete
    3. JU52023:26

      Erased? Hottest news are JU loads. Common ex YU....

      Delete
    4. Unfortunately, there are confidentiality issues which have been brought to my attention.

      Delete
    5. VasaDasa23:49

      maybe you could post loads on air serbia skyscrapercity page anonymous dude who posted it before

      Delete
    6. Anonymous01:07

      You are independent blog. WTF you take care of confidentiality. You must like whan you have something like that. Just if you have some deal with Air Serbia you will protect them. No other racional reason can justify deliting those data in indipendetn blog.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous01:10

      But sill we saw that LF was tragic for middle of July. One must understand why those data are confident!!! Whan something is so bad, and company is "near to profitability" than something is very fishy. Air Serbi tells us bulshits!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous01:37

      The loads are the same as last year which is impressive when you increase capacity by 80%. You also have to learn english.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous01:38

      and end your obsession with Air Serbia.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous01:42

      a life or a girlfriend might help. At the end of the year you have financial reports with load factors and passenger numbers from each airline which is audited by a separate company. Than you can draw conclusions. This absolute obsession with Air Serbia, about how many passengers each flight has, how long a flight is delayed, whether a person had a magazine in their seat pocket is amazing and concerning to say the least. Drawing conclusions from 2 days of LF also shows you have absolutely no idea of aviation and how it works.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous01:49

      And I feel sorry for the admin that has to deal with nutcases like this.If he or she or whoever it is deletes something two days after someone posted something and for all we know it could be made up than he/she/it probably has some reason for that.What I find amazing is that its people like you who complain why there is news about Air Serbia and then spams each and every topic that has nothing to do with Air Serbia about Air Serbia. GET OVER IT! Its an average airline in the middle of the Balkans that is like all the other shitty airlines in the Balkans.The difference is it has a rich owner and obviously 1000 nutcases following its every move who need to know when Air Serbia's check in lady took a shit.GET OVER IT AND GET A LIFE!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous01:53

      And stuff like this is very confidental.That's why you don't see Lufthansa's, British's, Emirates'. Etihads's or any other airlines load factor for each individual route plastered over the internet.There's a reason for that!Use your brain to think about why is that.The person who posts LF for each individual route should be fired.I understand posting an average LF for the month but not for each individual route each day.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous02:40

      I am very disappointed ex yu admin, I swear those stats where more interesting and fun to observe than some of the articles posted. Overall your doing a great job, but please reconsider and let him post the stats

      Delete
    14. Anonymous02:41

      ^ were sorry

      Delete
    15. Anonymous10:06

      its not an indepenent blog anymore. Shame

      Delete
    16. To the last anonymous, and others commenting on this issue, you are quite in the dark at how these things work. When someone publishes confidential load factors for each single route it sends off alarm bells like it did and you get a call from the airline telling you what steps they will take for confidential business results, which can be misused by the competition, to be deleted. When you don’t comply to their request because you are an independent source another party is then involved, like the web host of this blog, asking you to remove confidential data or else. I do not know what you expect me to do. Or should I simply shut down the blog so Air Serbia’s confidential load factors can be published for two days and make your day? The person who posted it should work out the issue with his employer. I have no problem with Air Serbia’s load factors being published, hence I refused to delete them. What I do have a problem is when it is brought to my attention that it is a clear violation of company policy and that my blog could have repercussions as a result. I am getting tired of either being accused of publishing too much news about Air Serbia or not enough news about Air Serbia, or the other day being accused of glorifying Zagreb Airport and not glorifying Belgrade Airport. If you don’t like what you are reading and if you can’t respect the commenting policy and guidelines of this blog, which is one of the rare places which gives everyone a chance, under an anonymous nickname, to publish their thoughts, then simply don’t visit anymore. This blog didn’t achieve over two million unique visits because of Air Serbia’s load factors. I will repeat part of the commenting guidelines, “The administrator deletes comments with a reason, thus reposting a deleted comment will lead to further action”. Common courtesy would be to respect that decision. With this I am closing the discussion about Air Serbia’s daily load factors, which, like someone mentioned, you won’t find for any single airline anywhere.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous20:04

    ^ whom are they transporting? Military?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous20:14

    Gde su mudre glave koje su kritikovale JU zbog neletenja u Ukrajinu?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:43

      The Malaysian jet was shot over war area which is Lughansk and Donetsk provinces. The JU flight would not fly over them. The rest of Ukraine is safe to fly.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:00

      You think ?? read the below notice issued by US authorities on Apr 23 of this year -

      "The US Federal Aviation Administration on April 23 issued a "special notice" regarding Ukrainian airspace to US aviators and air carriers advising them not to fly in airspace around the Crimean city of Simferopol without special approval of the US government.

      The notice also warned US operators and pilots flying in other parts of Ukraine, including Kiev, Lvov, Dnepropetrovsk and Odessa, to "exercise extreme caution due to the continuing potential for instability."

      The warning remains in effect until April 23, 2015.

      International aviation agencies in April also had warned pilots and airlines to avoid the airspace around Simferopol.

      Agencies including the European Aviation Safety Agency and ICAO, a United Nations civil aviation agency, warned that airlines faced "serious risks" in the area and advised airlines to take alternate routes".

      JU mgt obviously knew something that the rest of us didn't - BRAVO JU mgt - keep up the good work !!!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:48

      *FACEPALM for you ,or are you some serbian bot

      Delete
    4. Anonymous21:49

      FACEPALM stvarno

      Delete

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