Etihad outlines Montenegro Airlines recovery plan


Etihad Airways has presented its plans to return Montenegro Airlines to profitability and improve the carrier's overall business. The two sides held talks in Abu Dhabi during the week where Etihad's Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Kevin Knight, Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy, Francois Oberholzer, and Vice President for HR Operations, Sinead Kilkelly, discussed in detail ways in which to improve Montenegro Airlines' finances. The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Commercial Cooperation in November last year, which could lead to an eventual equity investment on Etihad's behalf. Over the past few months, the Emirati carrier has been screening Montenegro Airlines' business operations.

Etihad's plans outline for Montenegro Airlines to significantly boost frequencies on profitable routes and improve its overall fleet efficiency. Furthermore, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates has identified potential codeshare partners which would give Montenegro Airlines access to an additional fifty destinations. The new partnership is also set to boost synergies between the two carriers, providing Montenegro Airlines access to benefits enjoyed by Etihad and its partners on the market. The measures are expected to increase passenger numbers, support the local tourism industry and generate a profit for the carrier in a relatively short period of time. In a statement, the Montenegrin airline said, "This will promote Montenegro in the international arena as an attractive tourist and investment destination, which will stimulate the country's overall economic development".

The talks in Abu Dhabi were attended by Montenegro Airlines' CEO, Daliborka Pejović, the Vice President of the Board of Directors, Predrag Marković, and the Director General for Air Transport at the Montenegrin Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs, Nebojša Krstajić. Montenegro Airlines emphasised it continues to be in state hands. However, Montenegro's Privatisation Council has listed the country's national carrier for sale in 2016. The state has offered to sell a minority stake in the airline. It is the third consecutive year the carrier has been listed for privatisation. Montenegro Airlines handled 557.000 passengers in 2015, up 4% on the year before, and recorded a net loss of 6.5 million euros during the first half of last year (full year financial results are yet to be published). It has accumulated 71.5 million euros in debt.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:07

    Why doesn't Etihad buy Montenegro Airlines? What's behind all this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      They cannot buy more than 49.9%.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      I'm wondering that too. Then again it has been reported they are in the final stages of buying Air Malta and still nothing has happened. I assume they don't want to draw too much attention from the EC and that is why I think at the end of the day YM will be purchased by either JU or AZ.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:11

      If JU was to buy YM I think the two would have to give up some slots between Belgrade and Podgorica/Tivat. That would probably mean a third player finally being able to tap into that market.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:07

      there could be no 3rd player, since none of them is in EU

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:15

      Neither Belgrade nor Podgorica/Tivat are slot restricted.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:26

      Anonymous 12:07 PM
      Montenegro wants to join the EU and both countries are members of the European single sky agreement.
      That's why EY could only get 49% of JU and not more.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:08

    wow this is actually moving along

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:17

    haha good photo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:22

    "for Montenegro Airlines to significantly boost frequencies on profitable routes"

    And what would those be? I am honestly asking not spamming here. Does anyone know what are Montenegro's profitable routes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      Good question.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      LJU

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:09

      Let's see if they will also include BEG among the routes that should be boosted... however that would harm EY's baby. Then again, if they do not mention it then they are proving how unprofessional and impartial they are.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:12

      If they do boost BEG then I assume we will see a codeshare between Air Serbia and Montenegro. My assumption is that this could very well happen in order to free up aircraft for Air Serbia to operate these new regional routes which are being planned.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:59

      I'm with Anonymous @ 10:12AM... YM can do the Podgorica/Tivat flights in/out of BEG on a codeshare, and free up planes for new JU routes. Especially during peak summer periods that will put a lot of cash YM's way ("returning it to profit").

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:49

      BEG-MNE would become a monopoly and this would not be allowed by competent authorities... they would need to bring another player into the game... which wouldn't be bad, Ryanair, Wizzair...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:32

      Jeste kao Rim Beograd.

      Delete
    8. Nemjee20:10

      You can't compare BEG-FCO to BEG-MNE because the former is not restricted by a bilateral as is the case with the latter.Any airline can launch flights between Belgrade and Rome while this is not the case when it comes to flights between Serbia and Montenegro.

      If this deal does go through, which I hope it doesn't, then the authorities might allow Wizz Air to launch flights. Would be fun to see what they do in summer, I wonder if they could pull off a triple daily A320 to TIV.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous23:22

      It is not correct that any airline could launch flights between BEG and FCO. Only an EU or Serbian registered airline can do so.

      Delete
    10. Nemjee23:48

      Non-EU airlines can operate as well if they are granted 5th freedom. ;) Look at Air China's MUC-ATH, Emirates' LCA-ATH or LCA-MLA or even LAN Chile's MAD-FRA route.

      For EU/Serbian carriers it would be easier but it wouldn't be impossible for non-EU carriers to get the rights as well.

      Remember that YM applied for flights from Serbia to Zurich but they were turned down by the Swiss authorities.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous09:27

      It is not correct that any airline could launch flights between BEG and FCO. Only an EU or Serbian registered airline can do so.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:38

    Will these recovery plans be as successful as the ones they presented to Air Berlin and Alitalia? It's not like Etihad has a good, respectable track record when it comes to turning around failed airlines.

    By the way, did YM pay anything for these services?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Purger10:20

    Napisao sam jednu analizu koja će i te kako utjecati na razvoj zračnog prometa u našoj regiji.

    OGROMNA EKSPANZIJA LCC U VLASNIŠTVU EUB3

    Tri najveće kompanije u Europi (EUB3) Lufthansa grupa (Eurowings), IAG British-Iberia (Vueling) i Air France-KLM (Transavia) su krenule sa ogromnom ekspanzijom svojih LCC. Vidljivo je da te LCC jačaju svoje primarne baze, ali i napadaju na primarna tržišta konkurencije u EUB3, što je vrlo indikativno.

    VUELING (IAG British-Iberia)
    - 102 aviona
    - glavna baza u Barceloni, 7 od 10 baza je u Španjolskoj, ali otvara beze i u Belgiji, Francuskoj i Italiji

    Broj sjedala koje će imati Vueling u kolovozu 2016. (u zagradi je povečanje spram kolovoza 2015.)
    1. Barcelona 1.119.508 (+8,7%)
    2. Rim FCO 313.360 (+7,5%)
    3. Ibiza 195.900 (+3,1%)
    4. Paris ORY 192.356 (+4,1%)
    5. Palma de Mallorca 151.604 (+3,9%)
    6. Malaga 122.948 (+2,4%)
    7. Bilbao 105.372 (-2,6%)
    8. Alicante 105.048 (+21,1%)
    9. Menorca 103.016 (-0,8%)
    10. Amsterdam 98.880 (+48,3%)
    11. Seville 89.280 (+3,5%)
    12. Paris CDG 72.540 (+75,1%)
    13. Madrid 68.380 (+0,7%)
    14. London LGW 60.864 (+61,4%)
    15. Brussels 54.324 (-8,0%)

    Vidljiv je ogromna rast na tržištu Air France-KLM-a obzirom na udar na CDG (+75,1%), ORY (+4,1%) i AMS (+48,3%), te na još jednog SkyTeam člana Alitaliju gdje je u FCO povčeanje od 7,5%. Ukupno na ova četiri aeordoma Vueling će u kolovozu 2016. imati čak 677.136 sjedala. Daleko manji pritisak je na Lufthansinu grupu gdje je Brussels tek 15. destinacija sa bitnim opadanjem broja sjedala.

    TRANSAVIA (Air France-KLM)
    - 53 aviona
    - glavne baze Amsterdam i Paris ORY

    Broj sjedala koje će imati Transavia u kolovozu 2016. (u zagradi je povečanje spram kolovoza 2015.)
    1. Paris ORY 267.275 (+18,7%)
    2. Amsterdam 255.638 (+23,2%)
    3. Eindhoven 89.812 (+36,7%)
    4. Munich 78.820 (nova baza)
    5. Rotterdam 69.227 (+5,6%)
    6. Porto 46.294 (+18,5%)
    7. Faro 43.371 (+49,4%)
    8. Malaga 40.431 (+22,6%)
    9.Lisbon 39.726 (+36,2%)
    10. Lyon 34.398 (+73,3%)
    11. Barcelona 31.289 (-13,0%)
    12. Alicante 26.917 (+26,6%)
    13. Ibiza 26.067 (+25,9%)
    14. Palma de Mallorca 26.038 (+17,7%)
    15. Valencia 25.373 (+72,8%)

    Vidljivo je da Transavia bitno zaostaje za Vuelingom, pa tako Vueling i Transavia u Parizu imaju jednak broj sjedala, dok je u Amsterdamu Transavia tek nešto malo više od duplo bolja. Istovremeno prisutnost Transavia u Španjolskoj je zanemariva. Transavia je najavila ekspanziju baza izvan matične Nizozemske i Francuske, a indikativno je da je prva baza nakon te najave Lufthansin bastion Munich!

    EUROWINGS
    - 88 aviona
    - glavne baze Cologne, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg i Beč
    - jedini LCC EUB3 koji ima long-haul letove

    Broj sjedala koje će imati Eurowings u kolovozu 2016. (u zagradi je povečanje spram kolovoza 2015.)
    1. Dusseldorg 372.499 (+22,0%)
    2. Cologne 329.470 (+14,4%)
    3. Stuttgart 227.626 (+11,0%
    4. Hamburg 224.625 (+11,0%)
    5. Berlin TXL 153.125 (-6,9%)
    6. Palma de Mallorca 98.508 (+28,7)
    7. Vienna 76.946 (+63,3%)
    8. London LHR 70.257 (+5,3%)
    9. Zurich 44.866 (+9,4%)
    10. Barcelona 42.342 (+16,1%)
    11. Hannover 38.562 (-4,9%)
    12. Dresden 30.868 (+10,5%)
    13. paris CDG 30.754 (+17,0%)
    14. Milan MXP 29.136 (+28,6%)
    15. Budapest 27.384 (+15,4%)

    Eurowingsu će trebati još dvije godine da inkorporira Germanwings i postavi novi sustav u cijelosti. No, vidljivo je da je Eurowings u prvom redu napad na Air Berlin (enormno širenje glavna Air Berlinove baze u DUS, te veća ekspanzija u prvom redu na Air Berlinovim sekundarnim bazama poput VIE, HAM i PMI, kao i pokretanje long-haul linija iz TXL gdje Air Berlin ima glavnu long-haul bazu). Eurowings će uz to služiti udaru na MEB3 (Etihad, Emirates i Qatar), ali i na ostala dva velika LCC (easyJet i Ryanari) koji se rapidno šire u Njemačkoj. Udar na ostala dva igrača iz EUB3 nije prioritetan cilj Eurowingsa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Strucnjak12:03

      this is more or less copy and paste from an anna.aero article

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:05

      http://www.anna.aero/2016/02/24/eurowings-transavia-and-vueling-growth-airports-revealed/

      Delete
    3. Purger14:12

      Data is from there, observations are mine.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:35

      Onda se napise izvor podataka, a ne mlati se okolo sa trazenjem postovanja etc.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:12

      @2:35 +1 hehehe

      Delete
  7. Nemjee13:22

    Montenegro Airlines should be shut down. Much bigger markets are surviving just fine without a national carrier and YM's fate was sealed the moment Montenegro went independent- that is when they could no longer milk the Serbian market. There is no reason why they should get involved with Air Serbia, especially not since they would bring a lot of their luggage which JU can't handle given that they are facing their own difficulties.

    I agree with the Anonymous above. Etihad should first decide what it wants to do with Air Berlin and Alitalia before embarking on yet another adventure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:36

      Mozda ce da prave dodatak Etihad Regionalu? Darvin im je nedovoljan i cene njihovog rada su bas visoke.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee15:12

      Ја колико знам Етихад Риџнал је пред банкротом, ако се добро сећам чак су угасили и ону несрећну базу (ако је то уопште и била база) у Дрездену.

      Биће занимљиво пратити развој ситуације у Ер Берлину јер ће од ње доста тога зависити.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:15

      Oni lete samo valjda jos Regionalne letove za AZ i AB kolikoja znam .
      Ja se nadam za AB da ce se vratiti u plus.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    4. Nemjee15:28

      Ја мислим да за њих нема више наде. Сувише су дуго лутали без сврхе а мењали су пословну политику као динар вредност.
      Ситуација се драстично мења, не само у Немачкој већ и у целог Европи. Што се тиче унутрашњег немачког саобраћаја, сада ће морати да конкуришу са Рајанером. Једини проблем је што Рајанер може да извуче профит од карте која кошта 20 евра док АБ то не може.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:04

      Da kostalo ih je sto nisu znali jesu li LCC ili Hybrid ili normalna kompanija ali se ooet nadam da ce se vratiti u plus .
      A pogotovo sad u nemackoj bice im sve teze u njihovim bazama
      INN-NS

      Delete
    6. Nemjee20:17

      Па да, сада је већ касно да се спашава ситуација. Али ако АБ пропадне, то ће онда бити јако лоше за имиџ Етихада као улагача и спасиоца полупропалих авио-компанија. Руке им више неће бити одрешене када буду преузимали неке компаније. Ко год да је власник захтеваће гаранције у случај да Етихад не успе као што је то био случај са Ер Берлином.

      Али на крају крајева, можда је један од највећих проблема то што не постоји много синергије између чланица Етихад алијансе.

      Delete
  8. This article is a bit funny. If you don't read between the lines you'd think that Etihad is this a saint that just goes around solving problems. If i was then next would be world hunger LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:53

      +1000

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:46

      Indeed it is. EY hasn't managed to turnaround any of its acquisitions and is looking into additional airlines?! Look at Darwin, Alitalia, airberlin... even AirSerbia without the govt subsidies would be collapsing...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:17

      One does not turn around a troubled airline overnight. And is also allowed to make a mistake .

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:06

      How long has it been since they started turning AB around?

      Delete
  9. Anonymous14:04

    Jedina korist od kupovine MGX bi bila da bi ASL mozda dobila RJ i nista vise .
    Ali po mom misljenu MGX I CTN su trebali odavno prodati X3 mislim da bi vise dobili i zaposleni i pogotovu Drzave od turista vise Para.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous15:49

    OT:

    Des someone knows why JP is flying daily to Dresden or days every day now...?
    Im full of curiosity...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Training for CityJet's pilots...

      Delete
  11. OT : As per Skyliner

    Croatia Airlines will get two CRJ 900ER (ex Estonian Air)

    They are now in EMA for the paint. It says they that they'll operate from April until October 2016.

    Current registrations : ES-ACB and ES-ACC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:59

      Nice news, wish them good luck!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:22

      e to su avioni a ne onaj krs trade air-a

      Delete
    3. Danijel21:32

      And what with Foker? Will they take Trade Air plain too, or just this Estonian? And why only for half a year? This new routes are all sesonal?

      Delete

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