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| Government to settle B&H Airlines’ fate |
The Federation government of Bosnia and Herzegovina will settle on whether B&H Airlines should maintain operations or be shut down at a meeting next week, the outgoing Minister for Transport and Communication, Enver Bijedić, has said. The airline, which has been left with a single operational aircraft and mounting debt, has submitted its rescue plan to the government. “The proposal comes down to B&H Airlines requesting funds from the state budget to solve its problems”, minister Bijedić says. He adds, “We sent them back their proposal and ordered the airline’s management and Supervisory Board to draft a new proposal which will feature several alternatives for the company’s salvation. The fate of B&H Airlines will be known only after the government meets”.
B&H Airlines has outstanding debt towards HETA and the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank for the financial lease of its two ATR 72 aircraft, one of which has been grounded in Germany since the carrier is unable to pay for its maintenance. Furthermore, the airline owes money to Sarajevo Airport, several local and international suppliers, as well as its staff which haven’t been paid in months. In addition, the company is to repay 800.000 euros in passenger taxes to the Federation government which were initially intended for the carrier’s development. Last week, B&H Airlines’ acting CEO, Amir Jažić, said he feared it was “too late to save the company”. However, the Minister for Transport believes the airline could reprogram its debts, reduce its 100-strong workforce and launch new routes in order to recover. Furthermore, Mr. Bijedić believes the airline should become a true flag carrier, which would encompass both entities which form Bosnia and Herzegovina, rather than just the Federation.
Meanwhile, local media have suggested the newly established Bosnian Wand Airlines (BWA), has been set up with the intention of replacing B&H Airlines once it suspends operations. BWA, founded by the Al Wand group from Iraq, has been operating flights between Sweden and the Middle East for the past month. The airline was to commence operations from Sarajevo last week but has delayed its launch for a third time. Services are now set to start on February 20. BWA does not hold, nor has it applied, for an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company maintains operations with a Greek license instead. Commenting on BWA, B&H Airlines’ CEO says, “They are not an airline at all. They have aspirations to become one. However, there is a long way from aspirations to reality. They employ other companies to do their job and that is unlikely to be sustainable”.
Such a sad story for BH Airlines, incapable government, bad management!
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for the honest and hard working people that will lose their jobs if this company is shut down, but overall I think closing the company is best because it is a drain on the national budget, and the money could be used elsewhere, perhaps creating more jobs.
ReplyDeleteIt would be fair for BWA and Wizz take their pilots, cabin crew etc.
DeleteThank you for that honest and hard working as those people really are. Just one thing, the issue here is not about the money from the budget. The money comes from the airport taxes and it has already been payed in the budget for this specific purpose. It just never reached it's intended user as the government spent it elsewhere. Instead of giving BH Airlines 5,2 millions in 2014 as decided in budget plan in 2013, minister Bijedić managed only to pay 1,6 millions and then he ordered this to be returned to him as well. In the mean time he gave money from the same budget to Wizz Air in unknown amount.
DeleteNow he is blaming Management who he personally kept in place last three years.
Every statement he now makes serve only to divert blame on someone other than him. Further more he was very proud of himself as he ''chased away'' THY as he said on numerous occasions.
After years of neglect, and than they want to solve all acummulated problems in just one week. Typical Balkans politician mindset.
ReplyDeleteIf they do declare bankruptcy, how exactly are they going to repay their debt?
ReplyDeletePrivredni sud imenuje stečajnog upravnika koji ima za cilj da štiti interese poverilaca. Organizuje se vanredni popis imovine po likvidacionoj vrednosti (cena po kojoj može da se proda). Na osnovu toga sačinjava se likvidacioni bilans koji pokazuje koliko trentno vredi ukupna imovina. Stečajni upravnik nadgleda prodaju imovine, a posle završetka prodaje od tih prihoda prvo se namiruju poverioci. Ukoliko ti prihodi nisu dovoljni za pokriće svih dugova, poverioci moraju da otpišu deo potraživanja i gube deo novca, a sve u dogovoru sa stečajnim upravnikom. Inače, uslov za pokretanje stečajnog postupka je prolazak 45 dana od zadnjeg plaćanja. Ukoliko se postupak pokrene tada, većina preduzeća može da se spase i nastavi sa poslovanjem u manjem obimu, a otpušta se samo deo radnika. Međutim, ukoliko se sačeka, kao što je nažalost praksa, da se dugovi nagomilaju toliko da prevazilaze ukupnu vrednost imovine onda nema spasa. Stečaj, sproveden po zakonu, u kapitalizmu je prvenstveno kazna za vlasnika preduzeća jer mu se to vlasništvo oduzima da bi se vratili dugovi. Na primer, Aston Martin je u proteklih 30 godina imao 2 stečaja čiji je rezultat bio samo promena vlasnika, dok je većina radnika nastavila nastavila posao i proizvodnju skoro neometano.
DeleteTo me this airline still has so much potential. I feel sorry for the people working there.
ReplyDeleteThe Bosnian market itself does have a lot potential, but that doesn't go for this airline.
DeleteHaving three destinations, of which one is to a neighboring country, one is the longest ATR route in the world and one is going with a stop, doesn't seem like a potential to me...
Well I think it has much more potential than BWA. It was on the right path when Turkish brought in jet engine aircraft.
Delete^+1 now it has 0 potential, but at the time Turkish was in it had DEFINETLY more potential than this BWA thing. How on earth do they think they can fill an airbus 321. Does anybody want to bet on a free lunch/drink that on a long run BWA has zero potential to succeed. So even if they start flying I am betting that by the end of this year they will be no where to be found.
DeleteB&H Airlines is so small that its bankruptcy would mean nothing. Swiss will take over Zurich - Sarajevo, Air Serbia could boost their BEG-SJJ service and only Copenhagen would be left unserved.
ReplyDeleteCopenhagen is served by Norwegian (during the summer).
DeleteAh yes forgot about them. There now they could go yearly.
DeleteAnonymous January 29, 2015 at 11:18 AM,
DeleteBH Airlines isn't as small as you'd like it to be.
Bribery and corruption which has gone to such extent in this country have destroyed all the other state-owned companies and so BH Airlines. It seems as if everything must belong to owners from abroad and nothing to the people of this country.
ReplyDeleteSame case in most ex-Yu countries as well.
DeleteDoes anyone know what's stopping Wizz from flying to SJJ? Is it airport taxes or is it the weather in Sarajevo and how that could affect their flights during the winter.
ReplyDeleteMay be, the majority owner will one more time clear the way for the company to pay its debt. I can't believe the politicians will let down their relatives, friends, mistresses, companions.. . Then they will cut the company's corners booting some employees out, try to imagine whom.
ReplyDeleteProblems are not employees. Company itself is a problem.
ReplyDeleteDo they intend on changing opening hours of Sarajevo airport?
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous January 29, 2015 at 1:01 PM,
ReplyDeletehow could a company itself be a problem? Please enlarge on it?
National company with only turboprops?
ReplyDeleteO.T: AIItalia will lease 2 ATR from Etihad Regional. Can we see 2 others to be leased by AirSerbia?
ReplyDeleteAlso Adria could step in. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteYes they could. They seem to be developing this out of Slovenia business strategy. If thy focused on ex-Yu some time ago they could have really made something of themselves and their neutral name is a bonus.
DeleteGood for them they will bankrupt faster.
Delete@2:08
DeleteAgain this meaningless "neutral name"!
The title of today's topic is somewhat misleading.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous January 29, 2015 at 1:32 PM,
ReplyDeleteHow to have a few more A319 or something working from a small and ruined country? Turkish Airlines, Austria Airlines, Lufthansa,... have hundreds of such or much bigger airliners used on more than enough lucrative flights all over the world. It is an easy thing for them to lose write off some money in the Balkans. A local airline can't afford such things at all.
OT - Zagreb airport in January recording 17% growth.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure, that would be great!
Delete22% growth of a/c operations.
DeleteGo Zagreb, keep up the good work!
Deletemeanwhile BEG?
Deletedoes anyone have any info?
Ja mislim da je negde oko 25 % steta u zadnje vreme nema nesto vesti iz Srb.
DeleteINN-NS
so it's still above ZAG, nice to hear that. It was so funny to see that Germanwings reduced Hamburg line in summer. I thought that only happens in BEG with all this forum talk lately. Seriously though, with sarcasm off, these things happen and shouldn't be a thing that starts flaming here.
DeleteJA nikad nece biti nazalost u profitu bez makar 1 A319.
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
TK planira da naruci 10 A380 za billiona $4 bice zanimljivo na Balkanu =D
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
To je vec 3 godine stara vijest. Naime toliko Turkish "pregovara" sa Airbusom oko tih A380. I svako toliko i Airbus i Turkish podgriju tu vijest i izađu van da si naprave reklamu.
DeleteNe znam u Engleskim i Turskim novinama pise da je 748 izgubio u trci sa A388
DeleteINN-NS
Ti ne znas ni engleski ni turski zato cuti. Pokusaj da barem srpski naucis. Dete predskolskog uzrasta pise bolje od tebe. Sramota! Nemas nikakvog opravdanja za takvu nepismenost.
DeleteTK does not need the A388.
DeleteOT
ReplyDeleteSkyGreece announced its flights to Canada and there is no mention of Zagreb.
Flights should start on May 17 with three weekly rotations between Athens and Toronto. May 21 the airline will also offer a weekly flight between Thessaloniki and Toronto.
From 24.05 there will be a weekly flight between Athens and Montreal.
In the period November 2015 - March 2016 there are going to be two weekly flights.
Odma sam reko da nece nista biti od toga .
DeleteNeko je juce objavio da je postignut dogoor sa ZAG.
INN-NS
Ко зна, можда ће и бити летова на крају. За сада још ништа нису објавили.
DeleteDa postoji toliki potencijal kako se ovde predstavlja 100 % bi AC imala codeshare na liniji za YYZ sa OU. :)
DeleteNe znam mozda gresim :)
INN-NS
Pa znaci ni linija za Beograd nema potencijal posto AC nema codeshare za Beograd
DeleteMUC-BEG AC 9334
DeleteFRA-BEG AC 9166
Izvinjavam se, nisam znao.
Delete:)
Delete