Montenegro Airlines plans 2016 expansion

Montenegro Airlines plans for new routes and better finances

Montenegro Airlines is considering expanding its operations in the region with new flights to Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, its CEO, Daliborka Pejović, says. New destinations could include Zagreb, Skopje and Pristina, among others, with the carrier also looking to strengthen its cooperation with airlines from neighbouring countries. Furthermore, the Montenegrin carrier is considering introducing charter flights to Prague next summer, as well as additional charters to Germany, namely to Hamburg and Munich. "In regards to existing scheduled services, there is a possibility that, as a result of encouraging trends, we could boost operations to Ljubljana, London and St. Petersburg", Ms Pejović says.

Montenegro Airlines suspended its daily service from Podgorica to Skopje Alexander the Great Airport in February 2011, without prior notice, when it was revealed the carrier had several thousand euros in unpaid debt towards Macedonia’s busiest airport. The airline denied such claims, maintaining the service was instead cancelled due to poor loads. Similarly, the carrier terminated flights to Pirstina on the same day after its aircraft was held up at the airport due to unpaid debt. However, it recently settled the outstanding sum. Previously, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s B&H Airlines operated flights from Sarajevo to Podgorica but the service was cancelled shortly after due to poor loads. Within the former Yugoslavia, Montenegro Airlines currently runs services only to Ljubljana and Belgrade. Recently it was announced that the airline would operate charters to Zadar to cater for Chinese tourists visiting Montenegro.

Commenting on the airline's poor financial state, Ms Pejović said the carrier is recovering and there is no fear of bankruptcy. "We are not even thinking about it [bankruptcy], but we are doing everything to minimise risks, and we have successfully done so. Cost cutting, optimisation, and maintaining a fair business relationship with our partners, while meeting our financial obligations, has boosted trust in our company", the CEO says. Montenegro Airlines recorded a net loss of 6.5 million euros during the first half of the year. Its net loss for the whole of last year amounted to 9.5 million euros, making it the least profitable national carrier in the former Yugoslavia. The airline’s debt currently stands at 71.5 million euros, which is down from the 82 million the current management inherited from its predecessors in mid-2013. Last year it was found that Montenegro Airlines had falsified financial reports and recorded smaller losses for several years leading up to the summer of 2013. No one has been held accountable, nor questioned in relation to these claims. Ms Pejović says some sixteen million euros in losses were covered up by the previous management. "It is important to note that all our financial reports are now genuine, balanced and objective", the CEO says.


The Montenegrin carrier handled 409.906 passengers during the first eight months of 2015, up 3.4% compared to the same period last year. Passenger numbers improved on most markets. Its service to Copenhagen saw the greatest passenger increase, up 41% on last year, followed by Ljubljana at 38% growth, London at 27%, Dusseldorf at 22% and services to Paris which improved 17%. The airline handled an additional 4.400 passengers during the January - August period on its busiest route, to and from Belgrade. However, passenger numbers on its flights to and from Russia have declined by 20% this year. The Russian economy has been hit hard by tumbling oil prices and sanctions, imposed on Moscow by western countries. The ruble has slumped 44% against the dollar in the last twelve months, making foreign travel more expensive for Russians.

Montenegro Airlines' CEO has made no comment on the airline's strategic tie-up with Etihad Airways which she announced in February. Instead, Ms Pejović now says, "We are constantly in talks with several airlines which have expressed interest in a strategic partnership with us, which would open up new markets for Montenegro Airlines". The CEO says that it is ultimately up to the government to decide whether it will privatise the carrier in the near future. The Montenegrin government has listed the airline for privatisation this year.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    lol this is gold

    "It is important to note that all our financial reports are now genuine, balanced and objective", the CEO says.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:06

    I don't get what their plan is exactly. They are opening a bunch of low yielding routes for what exactly. Point to point? Transit... to where?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:48

      When they use to fly to Nis they had a whole load of transit passenger through Podgorica and offered really good prices with a good schedule. I presume they would try the same with Pristina and Skopje. While Skopje has a lot of flights, almost all of them are to some second hand airport served by Wizz.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:06

    Dajte ljudi nemojte da nas od ranog jutra...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jets on 25 minute low yield flights. Sounds like a recipe for extreme loss making.

    Should consider ATRs. Then it would only bring mild to heavy losses.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If Montenegro government give green light to privatising own flag carrier, than may be good opportunity for Air Serbia to over take that airline. Naturaly, previous losses must be belong to they ex owner. Till next summer season, Montenegro Airlines will facing own destiny. Be or not to be! Monte Negro is powerful state. Not too hard to decide direction to go. Time will say.
    Rodney & Son. ✈😊❇🌏. Near ✈MORAVA AIRPORT✈.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:31

      If previous losses must belong to they ex owner then the new owner must PAY real money for the airline instead of getting it for peanuts.
      And also guarantee by contract that it will develop the airline with routes to and from Montenegro instead of using it just for feeding it's own hub, for example BEG.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:09

      Some people still live in Tito times. Radovan, get real my friend. There is something called Market Economy these days...

      Delete
    3. Anon 3:09 PM,
      hvala sto Vam postajem stvarni prijatelj kroz gornji tekst. Sto se ostalog dela tice, stvar je kontrakta medju potencijalnim, buducim kupcima Crnogorskog avio prevoznika. Pa bila to i AIR SERBIA. Ukoliko ste Vi neki menadzer u Montenegro Erlajnsu, onda ste upuceni u perspektivu vasih interesa. Svaki svoje interese ima. Ostalo je do pregovora. ''Kom' opanci, kom' obojci''. U svakom slucaju, stvar je Crnogorske vlade. Dobra joj sreca. Time will tel.
      Rodney & Globtroters. Kraljevo✈Sydney.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous10:42

    Kreativni knjigovodstvo (Tango 6):

    "Etihad ervejz je tokom 2013. svoj frequent flyer program prodavao sam sebi kako bi predstavio profit.

    Osim toga, navodi se i da finansijski izveštaj za 2014. godinu, koji je Etihad nedavno predstavio u Hong Kongu, pokazuje da je kompanija te godine sama sebi prodala sopstvenu „cargo“ kompaniju kako bi prikrila državne subvencije."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:53

      podseca me na nekog iz regije, ne mogu se setiti ...

      Delete
    2. Narod lepo kaze: ''Pricajte usta da niste pusta''!. Hvala Vam na trudu Mr. Anon 10:42 AM. Sada vise znamo o vasoj - idei -.
      Prijatan suncani dan, ukoliko je suncano u vasoj sredini?. All the best, anyway.
      Rodney ✈😊 Co. Kraljevo✈Sydney.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:54

      Znate svasza se za pare pise ;).
      INN-NS

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:56

      Неко свашта пише за паре а неко за сендвич. ;)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:46

      Pa to mozda pojedini cobani na ovom Blogu rade za sendvic.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:56

      @10:42 kao možeš komentar anonimne osobe ispod nekog teksta potpisati kao Tango six?!
      Alo bre ASL mrzci.. Aj malo zaobidjite strucne blogove eto vam ga B92, Blic pa tamo bljazgerajte..

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:50

      Vest je u originalu napisao Tango 6.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous17:00

      Anon 15.56

      Posto lajes a nemas pojma, evo ti i link gde mozes da procitas... izgleda da si taj koj pre visi po B92 i Blicu.
      http://tangosix.rs/2015/01/09/americka-trojka-uzvraca-emirati-katar-i-etihad-priznali-drzavne-subvencije/

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:16

      @5:00 Izvinjavam se, nemam problem da priznam gresku.
      Sto se tice teksta, gledam ga kao cistu propagandnu pricu prepostenih americkih kompanija. Nemam iluzija za postenje svetskog kapitala. Stvari nisu crno - bele. Nemoj da ti je to jedina literatura, saraj malo..

      Delete
    10. Anonymous23:03

      Није проблем у томе што је ово америчка пропаганда већ зато што Етихад узастопно хоће да се представи да су добро вођена и профитабилна фирма. Сто пута би им било боље да су прихватили став Катара и да су свету рекли да не јуре профит... барем не још.

      Иста прича и са ЈУ. Да се мало мање фолирају по Србији, мање би иритирали народ. Ја још чекам да видим како ће Дане оправдати зимски ред летења.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous23:31

      Foliranje? Ne vidim nikakvo foliranje, makar ne od strane kompanije. "Opravdati zimski red letenja"?! Kome treba da ga "pravda"?! Abu Dabiju?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous01:02

      Možda to i je američka propaganda, ali sigurno se ne može izmisliti činjenica da je netko sam sebi prodao ff program 2013., te cargo kompaniju da bi postao profitabilan. Pa to su preogromne stvari, koje su lako provjerljive ili se lako demantiraju. A nisu.

      Vidljiv je identičan petern ponašanja u ispostavi Etihada u Srbiji. Na isti "kreativni" način kompanija je profitabilna. I hajde da to i naprave (što nikako nije niti legalno, a niti moralno), ali onda se još sa time i kur*e kako su profitabilni i samim time kvalitetni, zaboravivši reči kako su postali profitabilni sa milijunima subvencije, te da to nisu dobili da bi bili u debelom minusu.

      Delete
    13. Дечко Тзар02:59

      Opravdati? Wrong word. That word is used when you made a mistake. They didn't make a mistake with winter schedule, they made a change worth a praise and recognition. Look at what US3 are doing. Captains of industry use capacity discipline including reduction to increase LF, yields and profits. Air Serbia is using the right tool for the circumstances.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous07:10

      Actually they are not. Air Serbia's business model is based on attracting and relying on transfer passengers to fill their seats. However, if you actually bothered to look at the connectivity you will see what a mess was created.

      The latest change was Bucharest which had the A319 replaced by the Atr. That means that on certain days the flight takes off at 12.55 meaning connections from Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Moscow... are impossible.
      You can add this to IST which doesn't offer ANY decent connections to Paris and several other major cities. Then there is ATH whose split schedule doesn't allow daily connections to Paris, Stockholm,Frankfurt, Moscow...

      So tell me, how will they increase their loads if they gave up on being competitive?
      Sure, every airline out there reduces its operations during the winter season but what JU did is to massacre it. So yes, Dane should justify this decision to all of us, especially to the citizens of our poor republic who are footing the bill.

      Oh, I forgot to mention Moscow which will have an A319 sit on the ground for 10 hours! Yeah, that will increase the route's performance.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous14:08

      I was just about to make reasonable response when I read this: "justify this decision to all of us, especially to the citizens of our poor republic who are footing the bill."

      No need to waste logic for someone with your state of mind.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12:13

    They will launch SKP definitely. They have already held talks with the Macedonian government. But they want subsidies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:14

      I think to PRN too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:10

      With subsidies I can also lunch flights... LOL

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:44

      If they get subsidies then there is something seriously wrong with mkd government. It is one thing to give subsidies to an airline which opens a hub, but to an airline which will open only one line... It would be more then ridiculous..

      Delete
    4. The thing is that they plan to open Tivat - Skopje too , the presidents of the two countries talked today about that .

      Delete
  8. Anonymous12:54

    Of course they are not going to sell MGX. A new owner won't hire half of the governing party's family. So of course MGX won't be sold.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous13:08

    ex-yu thanks for the news from yesterday and today ;-) Nice to know what these airlines are planning on doing. Whether they realize it is a different story.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous13:09

    Can someone explain to me this sudden fascination with Prague?

    Air Serbia launches Prague. Immidietly after Adria launches prague. Now Montenegro Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:12

      It has absolutely nothing to do with Air Serbia.Smart Wings has been flying seasonally to Podgorica this year from Prague and the flights have probably done well so Montenegro Airlines wants a piece of the cake for next year.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous13:13

    The one thing Croatia Airlines could learn from MGX are charter flights which bring lots of clean cash. I don't understand why they are running away from it as if it were the plague.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous14:52

    OT: Air Serbia testing Wi Fly on YU-APJ, flight JU112, BEG-SJJ

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous14:53

    I'm currently on board of Swiiss Beg-Gva flight and it's 100% full... I'm still wondering why they suspended this line during winter season. :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:13

      I also wonder why EZY canceled MXP, because the plane was full always...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:36

      This morning BEG-ZRH, A319 J: 8 Y:120 100% full

      Delete
  14. Anonymous15:51

    Umesto da se okrene saradnji sa ASL to bi im najvise pomoglo oni nesto pokusavaju sa istim nivom CTN.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sačuvaj me Bože INN-NS16:56

      Pa B&H Airlines se okrenula bliskoj suradnji sa ASL, i ne samo da su imali jednu dnevnu frekvenciju nego je ASL najavljivao da će JA letjeti za njih i neke linije iz BEG, pa eto kako su završili

      Poučeni tim iskustvom mislim da će svaki potencijalni suradnik ASL-a po onoj staroj "Čuvaj se Danajaca, čak i kad darove nose".

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:19

      Haha, sorry na ot, ali zadnja je rečenica top, podsjetila me je na moju profu iz latinskog; Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes!

      Delete
    3. sacuvaj me boze idiota18:03

      BH Airlines propala zbog Air Serbie? Vecu glupost nisam cuo. Air Serbia im je ne odmogla vec pomogla sa letovima koje su radili za JU.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:14

      JA je propao iskljucivo zbog Federacije i nikog drugog ;)
      INN-NS

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:02

      Ma naravno, opako su im pomogli. Jednako tako će pomoći i Montenegru ako uđe sa njima u deal. Pomoći da ubrzano bankrotiraju i otvore prostor Air Serbiji za monopol na liniji i što više tranzitnih putnika.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:49

      @4:56 @7:02
      JA je od saradnje sa ASL mogao imati samo korist. Stavise za propast JA nije mogla biti kriva ASL jer JA i nije bila neka firma koju je ASL imao nameru da unisti niti je mogao imati koristi od njenog bankrotiranja.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous01:06

      A da... a to znaš jer imaš kristalnu kuglu? Ti znaš koliko je ASL plačala JA za svako mjesto? Kakvi su uvjeti bili, ograničenja, zabrane suradnji sa drugim firmama? Ti imaš ugovor u kojem je vidljivo sudjeluje li JA u dumpingu? Ti znaš kakve su konekcije bile, uvjeti konektiranja, cijene, ograničenja na trećim tržištima?

      Da JA je bila i sranje od firme prije suradnje sa JU, ali je činjenica da su sa tom suradnjom samo ubrzali nestajanje, da su bajkovite priče ASL-a bile samo priče i ništa drugo, a da je ASL jedina koja je mogla profitirati na micanju JA. JA nije bila konkurencija ni Tukishu, ni Adriji, ni Austrianu, ni Lufthansi, ni Croatiji jer na tim linijama nije letjela. Ali je zato letjela iz Banja Luke i time smanjivala broj putnika ASL-u iz Banja Luke via BEG, te je letjela na liniji SJJ-BEG, te je nestankom samo povečala LF ASL letovima na istoj liniji.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous16:45

    OT: Korean and Eva Air are interested in CTN.
    More news will be revealed in late September/early October.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:49

      Zar nije trebao biti vec kupljen od JL:
      INN-NS

      Delete
    2. Sačuvaj me Bože INN-NS16:54

      Odakle ti ta preglupa ideja? Ovo je prvi puta da se iznose neka konkretna imena. Nitko ni u kom kontekstu nije spominjao JL, kompaniju koja i sama ima ogromnih financijskih problema iz kojih se neće izvuči tako skoro bez obzira na nevjerovatan plan restrukturacije.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:09

      Ignore INN-NS.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:14

      http://www.vecernji.hr/hrvatska/korean-i-eva-air-zasad-pokazali-najveci-interes-za-croatia-airlines-1024741

      Korean Air, hopefully!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:21

      Je li ta tajvanska EVA Air opterećena odnosima između Kine i Tajvana? Bili se kupnja OU od strane EVA-e mogla na negativan način reflektirati na bilateralne odnose Hrvatske i Kine?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous18:13

      Nece je niko uzeti uzaludne price i ja sam moguci kupac.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:15

      Kupi ti sebi flaster za usta.

      Delete
    8. Ne znam kakva je Eva kao kupac ali ČSA se nije baš usrećila sa Koreanom. Blizu sam mišljenja da je bolje da kupac bude investicijski fond nego drugi prevoznik jer je pitanje da li bi neko stvarno jak i sposoban mogao doći.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:51

      Jeste doce da bacaju pare u tako jakom regionu.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    10. Sačuvaj me bože INN-NS01:09

      A kako objašnjavaš Etihadovo "bacanje para" u firmu koja je bila katastrofa, sa prelošim imageom, prastarom flotom, užasnim proizvodom...???

      Delete
  16. Anonymous19:52

    ovi su tuzniji od JU i OU zajedno

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous20:48

    The article forgot to mention the airline's expansion's plans around further efforts to falsify their accounts, as well as repeated BS such as expanding its strategic partnership with Etihad

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:19

      It mentioned both. But you actually have to read the article first.

      Delete
  18. They should think of increasing Russian-speaking countries, for god's sake, the only group of countries interested in Montenegro is RUS/UKR/BLR. Sorry, but nobody else needs it (apart from Serbia and neighboring countries). Stop shitting around and open yourself to Russia, finally.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous16:47

    You should try to reestablish route to Nis Airport. High pax potential and low airport fees - only 3 EUR per departing passenger...

    ReplyDelete

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