UPDATE
Etihad “fully committed” to Air Serbia


Etihad Airways says it is “fully committed” to its 49% stake in Air Serbia following reports the Emirati carrier was considering reducing its share in the airline. “Speculation about a change to Etihad Aviation Group’s investment in and support for its equity partner, Air Serbia, is totally inaccurate and wholly unfounded. Etihad is and remains fully committed to Air Serbia and to the strategic partnership with Air Serbia’s majority owner, the Government of Serbia”, the Etihad Aviation Group said in a statement. It added, “Since its relaunch, just over three years ago, Serbia’s national airline has been transformed into a profitable, sustainable, and best-in-class, airline”.

The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport, Construction and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, said yesterday that the government had no knowledge or information concerning the alleged withdrawal of Etihad Airways from its Europen equity investments, including its 49% stake in national carrier Air Serbia. Questioned on the matter, Ms Mihajlović said, "That's speculation. The Serbian government has not been informed of any plans that would involve Etihad decreasing its ownership stake in Air Serbia and neither has the Supervisory Board advised us of such plans, or Air Serbia itself for that matter". She added, "Whether there will be some managerial changes, I am not sure, and we will see in the days ahead. However, continued development and cooperation is important because Air Serbia has generated significant benefits for us". The Minister for Transport noted that the government has contingency plans in place. "Any sort of information we receive is discussed, be it positive or negative. It is important for us to always have a plan in place for the future. We have all possible strategies prepared concerning Air Serbia", Ms Mihajlović said. She added, "We have a very straightforward agreement with Etihad and clear rights and obligations of each shareholder". The Serbian airline is believed to have added $1 billion to the country's economy this year by providing 13.230 people with employment (both direct and indirect). Furthermore, Etihad is supporting 3.900 jobs through its operations in Serbia this year, which equates to an economic contribution of $45 million.

Over the past week, company and industry sources have said Etihad is reviewing its strategy of investing in European airlines in a shake-up that could lead to the departure group CEO James Hogan. It comes following investments in Air Berlin and Alitalia which continue to struggle financially. On the other hand, Air Serbia has posted two consecutive years of profit, while the Serbian government has proved cooperative with the Gulf carrier. Earlier this month, Etihad Aviation Group President and CEO, James Hogan, said the company was pursuing further investment opportunities in the Serbian aviation sector, while last week Air Serbia's Supervisory Board Chairman, Siniša Mali, said this could involve a stake in aircraft maintenance company Jat Tehnika. Etihad and the Serbian government signed a five-year investment and management agreement for Air Serbia in 2013.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Apparently Etihad will make an announcement about its divestment in Europe in January. I still don't think Air Serbia will be affected in terms of a reduction in shares but let's wait and see

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Admin, interesting how you haven't posted this statement from the article on B92:

    "Ona je, gostujući na RTV rekla da država od sredine 2015. godine ne namiruje nikakve dugove.

    Upitana kako se kompanija Er Srbija našla u budžetu za 2017. godinu Mihajlović odgovorila je: "Moguće da je to nešto od ranije, ali ja zaista imam pouzdan podatak da je sve što je bilo u odnosima između Nikole Tesle i Er Srbije već regulisano".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Nešto ovde ne štima... kako može da bude nešto od ranije kada je budžet napravljen pre dva meseca?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:35

      Pre 15 dana usvojen

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    "Whether there will be some managerial changes, I am not sure, and we will see in the days ahead...'

    Does it mean that Dane or some other people might lose their job? I wouldn't be shocked if he leaves, he is pretty much hated by everyone here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      She wouldn't have mentioned it for no reason. There will probably be changes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      She was talking about Hogan not Kondic

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:23

      I watched the interview and its not really clear whether she was referring to Air Serbia or Hogan personally. All I did get from it that she could not put a single sentence together and make it coherent. Its like 20 little statements cut into one and she moves from one thought to another in a matter of seconds.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:24

      you never know what she was talking about, she probably didn't know it herself.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:26

      Actually she was constantly trying to move the discussion towards Belgrade Airport because she is obviously not involved in the entire Air Serbia project and knew little to say about it.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:38

      That woman is extremely clueless when it comes to aviation. Remember when she proposed for the JFK line to be extended to Mexico City. :D :D

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:03

      She is clueless about almost everything regarding infrastructure..

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:32

      Changes in management are being considered and anticipated by the government for some time. That's not in question any more, and yes, most probably Kondic will leave soon. That might be a blessing for JU.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous17:39

      Sorry to disappoint you, but EY will decide if kondic or any of the other Etihad people stay or leave - not the govt.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous23:24

      Not really. The prime minister has a say in that matter.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    I wonder what those "contingency plans" are. Say they do withdraw completely, which I doubt, would they try and sell the company again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      If Etihad is decreasing their share or even leaving, Etihad would have to sell those shares to someone.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      Lufthansa

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:23

      No, government.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:12

    Something is cooking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:46

      Why is that ? Because it was reported in 1 newspaper (from germany), which was then picked up by everyone else ? Oh ofcourse, how stupid of me, it must be true because it was in the papers ....

      Delete
  6. AirCEO09:16

    Etihad has two contracts regarding Air Serbia. One is for management of Air Serbia, the other related to investment in Air Serbia. They can choose to cancel one and keep the other one, or cancel both etc. Either way continency plans do exist, read Mali T6 interview for details.

    It is extremely unlikely Etihad would pull out altogether. You ditch bad performers, not good ones like Air Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      It would make sense to suspend the management contract, after all they are paying the CEO about €25.000 each month. Giving him a low, JU style salary would be a wise cost cut.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      +1 last anon

      plus 18000€ to all high management positions

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      We have Karl Marx commenting here, wow! Why don't you call boards of Fortune 500 and tell them to save money by cutting CEO compensation?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:32

      Its not about Marx but its immoral to have such high salaries when the airline is in a bad financial position. It's because of them, no?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:43

      What are you smoking, what bad financial position? It is not immoral to get rewarded for executing according to the plan.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:21

      A man who destroy the moral of the employees and by failing to fix ASL should not get thta much money. Why are boing still flying? What are people leaving? Where is dutina? Where are the hundred employees who have left?

      Everyone goes, Dane stays.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:06

      You don't get to decide how much money CEO makes. Communism is dead.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:10

      Well I won't but we'll see how much longer he stays. Funnily enough Dane would love if Communism was around, he could rely on state protectionism

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:21

      That has nothing to do with Communism. Airbus and Boeing are constantly exchanging accusations over illegal state/government aid, that's all happening in capitalism.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:10

      Anonymous at 9.19am - Under the TFA between Etihad and the Govt of Serbia, Etihad appoints the CEO, CFO and COO - these are all senior executives from within Etihad earning Etihad salaries, which has nothing to do with Serbia or the Govt of Serbia, in terms of what they earn. If it wasn't Dane as CEO, it would be another Etihad person earning the same/similar salary - whatever it is.

      Not sure what his or anyone else's pay has to do with anything. He and the other Etihad people are Western executives earning Western salaries, no matter where their company sends them to work

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:49

      "Modest" salaries for top executives are ok, as long as you turn the blind eye on systemic corruption and waste that necessarily follows, when executives realize that hypocrisy, not results are the only thing that count.

      Serbia already has a similar self-defeating populist model in health services. Doctors earn "modest" salaries officially, and compensate that with bribes. If you stop that, they will go abroad and in a few years, you will be treated by Megatrend doctors, that bought their degrees. Good luck!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous14:51

      Etihad decides how much it pays its people - not the airline or the government.

      They are there to protect its investment.

      To the point made by AirCEO - if Etihad decides to cancel the mgt contract, then it will also withdraw frm the airline as well.

      Do you honestly think that they would stay with their investment if the govt put in its people to run the airline ?

      We have been there before and that is what brought Etihad to the table in the first place.

      The govt proved incapable of running the airline and would do the same again if it was allowed to put its people in to the positions currently held by Etihad executives

      Delete
    13. Anonymous15:31

      Etihad can still put it's people in charge but their salaries would be much lower, in line with what JU pays. It's fair and it makes sense.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous16:26

      Yeah, it is fair... on the surface. It is just a populist smokescreen for a systematic corruption.
      Spolja gladac, a iznutra jadac.

      Delete
    15. AirCEO16:40

      Etihad officially confirmed they are staying with Air Serbia as I expected. I hope partnership will continue to flourish and I wish both companies best of luck in 2017.

      Executive compensation is fair as it continues to prove effectiveness for investors around the world. That discussion is not specific to airline business and is better suited elsewhere.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous16:55

      Anon @ 3.31pm .... if you believe that, then you live in Disneyland .... No Etihad executive - or executive from any other international global airline - would come to Serbia for a Serbian salary.

      Why would they ? They can go elsewhere to earn their salary which is driven by forces of supply and demand.

      Serbian salaries are for Serbian public servants. That's what Jat Airways had and they proved how incapable they were of running the airline

      Delete
    17. Anonymous17:44

      Does anyone here think that all the foreign companies in Serbia with their own expats - Coca Cola, Pepsi, Delhaize, BAT or Telenor to name but a few - pay them Serbian salaries ?

      Who are you kidding ?

      None of them would be in Serbia if that was the case.

      Delete
    18. I agree with the expat salaries. What has Etihad and Dane done that is so bad for Serbia? There are double daily flights between UAE and Serbia when JU could barely manage 4-5 a week to Dubai. They couldn't do 2 a week to China. Then you have connections with the US without going through Europe. You're getting recognition globally for YOUR airline that carries YOUR name. And no I don't want to hear about this tax-payer excuse that keeps getting thrown around either.

      Be proud and happy that your airline is on the map as a success story for one of the world's leading airlines - as well as an affiliate of that same airline and it's other partners.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:24

    Well it happened before. TK cut its 49% share in BH Airlines. Yeah I know it was different circumstances and primarily because of government inaction.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:26

    JU should consider reducing AUH to 4 weekly flights. Two days ago AUH-BEG was barely 50% full.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Check what date it was 2 days ago and consider how many people travel on that day. Yes even with Air Serbia where the bulk of passengers on the Abu Dhabi flight are transfers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:32

      For Serbs it was an ordinary day and this flight is mainly for them and for their connections.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      EY and FZ are full FYI

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:34

      No, check where the bulk of passengers come on the Air Serbia flight. The majority using connections with their city of departure being Belgrade use the Etihad flight.

      Delete
    5. Ti onda retko letiš na toj liniji..AUH je skoro uvek krcata

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:35

      Er Srbija nije, Etihad jeste. Prosecna popunjenost je veca samo tokom leta.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:37

      Love how people make conclusions on a certain route's performance based on one day results of which they have no proof is the actual LF. For all you know the return flight could have been overbooked.

      And this is not just concerning Air Serbia but other airlines from ex-Yu where commentators here give their 'expert' opinion on routes based on the load of their own flight.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:39

      Many on here who travel on staff travel have said the same. Check before spreading hate.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:52

      Without EY JU will have little hope and unlikely any other airline will pick it up. How many planes does Wizz have on order?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:17

      Like a lot? All those incentives and excessive milking is paying off I guess lolz

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:33

      I reckon Wizz are hovering right now. Call it excessive milking if you like although I'm sure Wizz call it smart management and strategic negotiation

      Delete
    12. Anonymous12:35

      I like Wizz Air, do you think they might buy JU and save it?

      Delete
    13. Anonymous12:36

      Save it from what exactly?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous12:39

      An uncertain future.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous12:41

      And you think an airline that already has a base in Belgrade and can station another 50 aircraft there if it wants to would bother buying anything or anyone? JU still has a much more certain future than Croatia Airlines which is selling slots at Heathrow Airport to cover the cost of servicing an aircraft engine.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous12:56

      But we are not talking about OU here, I don't care about them because I live in Belgrade man. I care about what happens here.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous14:40

      Future is always uncertain.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:43

    yesterday press, in otherwise standard malicious article by miša brkić, mentions that etihad is already drafting contract to lower their share in JU.


    "Već mesec-dva u Beogradu među poznavaocima avioprevoza ozbiljno se spominje izlazna strategija Etihada iz Er Srbije koja bi trebalo da bude operativna u januaru 2017. godine. Prema tim izvorima, pravni stručnjaci u Abu Dabiju dobili su zadatak da pripreme novi ugovor i, navodno, u njemu će Etihad predložiti Er Srbiji drastično smanjenje svog vlasničkog učešća u srpskoj aviokompaniji koje se graniči s faktičkim izlaskom iz zajedničke firme."

    - See more at: http://www.danas.rs/ekonomija.4.html?news_id=335403&title=Direktor+Etihada+D%c5%beejms+Hogan+dobija+otkaz%3f#sthash.aitEqIGa.dpuf

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      He also wrote 6 months ago that Air Serbia won't get permits to fly to New York.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:54

      He also wrote that airlines from Turkey will stop flying over Serbia in order to retaliate against JU request to move back to IST. He also wrote... wait, he obviously doesn't know a thing about aviation.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:47

      With official statement from Etihad, Brkic was proven wrong yet again.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:48

    All ex-yu airlines seem to be in quite a pickle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      Except for Air Serbia, that is.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:22

      yupp. air serbia is in giant, massive cucumber of problems.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:16

      No problem, Aeroflot might be interested in the 49%share of Air Serbia. In case you haven't noticed Serbia and Russia are now getting very close and soon you will not be able toto tell where one ends and the other starts.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:33

      our russian brethern will save us same way they did in 1999!

      Delete
  11. Dane is a professional, and know very well this industry. So what happened is, lot of people in Serbia don't like professionals because they lost they private benefits! Everybody know that not only the salary is important in Serbia, important is also they way how to get best benefits without efforts! But Dane and every educated manager know this and they doing business where only the company get benefits and all employees together, or lose together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      haha yes, one Dane is right, 7 million people were wrong. Great logic. AS is not the only professional company in here.

      Delete
    2. I wrote : every educated manager ... of course we have in Serbia more successful private company's with a professional management and business model for future market.
      If 7 million are right, please tell me why economic situation in Serbia was and is bad?
      And why are 4 Million People in Finnland or Singapore are wrong?

      Don't forget that the government of Serbia owns 51% and of course they put pressure on Dane and Air Serbia. So still government influence in the company, but still better then in Jat Time!

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:23

    Air Serbia has what Air Berlin and Alitslis don't have and that is low labour costs. I highly doubt that the fligh attendant makes the same on JU as the one AZ or AB. So Etihad will probably stay but eirh some assurances to keep wages low and maybe even cut out the things that were provided for free. Ie drinks and sandwiches

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:28

      In summer an f/a makes €1.200 which isn't too bad but probably less than what they make in AB or AZ. In winter it varies between €700 and €850.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:23

      It's going to take more than this comparative labour cost differential to maintain the sheiks interest in JU?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:35

      Proven turnaround record and solid business plan for the next couple of years should complete the package.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:45

      I like your thinking but I guess Hogans strategy was to transfer pax via AUH and they can do this best on their own aircraft, bit like QR. I suspect EY will be looking for simplicity moving forward especially after this debacle which is not confined to Europe. Look at It's investment in Virgin Au. Another financial disaster. Good move NZ getting out of that investment.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:37

      A complete nonsense. Similar cuts are happening in the Emirates without all these foreign investments. UAE just realized that cheap oil is probably there to stay for a longer time and that they need to go more modest.
      AZ and AB possible disinvestment is a consequence, not a cause of the crisis.

      Abu Dhabi emirs panicked because they realized that they might not have enough money to pay for all these ordered airplanes.

      They try to blame Hogan, but the fall of oil incomes is due to circumstances beyond their control.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:28

      Hogan is partly to blame because there is no sign of a healthy ROI

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:43

      to blame plunge of oil for hogan's ridiculous investments is laughable

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:13

      No one said that

      Delete
    9. Anonymous16:20

      The problem is that UAE is bleeding millions in the stupid Yemen war, in a futile solidarity with Saudis. It would be much smarter to invest this money in Etihad and Emirates.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous11:04

    Hogan - not a hero after all. Let's face it his tirelessly repetitive airline strategy to turn airlines around by painting new liveries and introducing pretty new crews uniforms seldom works. Let's reflect on his accolades; BMI, Gulf Air, AZ ..... Which airline will be the next victim?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:10

      Wizz, I hope!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:13

      Problem sa AZ je veci od promena uniformi. Pokusavali su da lete i Milano i Rim za Ameriku i leteo sam obe opcije primetna je bila kurcobolja kabinskog osoblja za putnike dok je pice bilo izvrsno hrana tako i tako. Kada osoblje bole patka za putnike oni to osete i pri biranju karte na internetu prevagne najniza cena, a ne dobra veza i usluga.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:14

      Ha - good try. Wizz will only go from strength to strength. No load factor problems on Wizz and strong management

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:23

      Bill is old. He dies, Wizz is screwed.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:25

      Joe, however, is not. Neither is Wizz. Cheers.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:28

      You don't think Wizz have a formidable replacement? Wake up - Wizz is only warming up

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:39

      And so is Ryan.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:26

      And so is YM

      Delete
  14. Anonymous12:04

    If they started denying then it's coming...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:13

      Why shouldn't the Serbian government take back its shares since it is now a profitable airline?
      Or are we not getting all the real information?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:22

      Agree. Just a PR stunt to prevent any ticket sale loss

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:24

      Sure, or just your dissapointment after initial thrill.

      Delete
  15. Mr. Hogan's gambling his post! Huge losses in Europe for Etihad.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous12:44

    Does anybody know something about T2 expansion on BEG ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:46

      permits have been secured but doubt they will start the project until the airport is put up for concession.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:49

      Yes,i think so,and do you know something about new control tower?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:28

      Info on the new control tower is in the last paragraph here
      http://www.exyuaviation.com/2016/12/belgrade-airport-begins-terminal.html

      Delete
  17. Anonymous13:39

    Gde ima dima ima vatre. Da je sve u redu, ne bi sada ovde pricali o izlasku Etihada 2018 godine, odnosno ne produzenju ugovora.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pricaju o tome jer su nemacke novine javile o mogucem povlacenju Etihada iz Evrope prevashodno misleci na AB i AZ kao velike gubitase

      Delete
  18. I think Air Serbia will probably be the only one to survive Etihad mayhem. Tough times ahead though, that's for sure.
    Can anybody tell me what is, at least approx, condition of the company atm?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous14:23

    When EY invested,oil was two to three times more expensive than today. They don't have enough money for aggressive growth any more. Plus tens of millions lost on Yemen adventure. Simple as that.
    Has nothing to do with Hogan / AB / AZ and other conspiracy theories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:29

      Emirates go through similar cuts at the moment, which would indeed suggest that the crisis has little to do with European investments, and much more with the general crisis in the Middle East because of plunging oil prices and the fiscal hole it created in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:26

      yes, but exactly investments like these were supposed to prepare UAE economy for post-oil world. so this only shows that these investment were all wrong and it is only normal that person responsible take the axe.
      otherwise, what? airline business is something that sheikhs use for fun and past time?

      hogan approach, although very innovative, didn't work due to different reasons (i am not sure that one of the companies besides jet air are profitable?) and now we will see a downscale in EY, while emirates and quatar will have by far less cuts with no change in management and little change in strategy.

      let's just hope they will not leave JU

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:07

      No, they don't show that they were "all wrong".
      They show that you cannot prepare for a post-oil world in 10 or even 20 years and that with low oil prices the transition will be longer than expected.

      Hogan is not responsible for lower oil prices. It is beyond anyone's control.

      His strategy was not stupid. Instead of putting all eggs into one box (Etihad), it invested throughout the world, decreasing risk.
      This is obviously not the right strategy for the risk-averse sheiks of Abu-Dhabi. Unlike their poorer Dubai cousins, they were much more cautious in diversifying their investments. And they seemingly go easily into panic mode. Not very smart.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:25

      haha, what the actual hell? if they are losing money (i am not talking even about modest returns here, but money losing investment), they are wrong.
      strategy itself was not stupid at all, but the execution was all wrong and ant the baskets were all wrong.

      and to blame falling oil prices for this bad investments is c.r.a.z.y.
      if nothing, they were supposed to make them even more profitable.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:34

      Utter nonsense. If oil prices were not to blame, than why there are cuts in the Emirates?
      Indeed, at the end the investments were supposed to make Etihad, safer, not necessarily more profitable (airlines are not casinos, and while you are still there please report ROI for LH, AF, KL and TK). But AB and AZ required tons of additional investments, and Abu Dhabi emirs are obviously not ready to go along with it.
      They have no problem in loosing millions in a stupid Yemen adventure however.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:05

      when making decision to invest some excel was presented to emirs that showed they will make money. that didn't materialize. on the contrary, they saw that they are losing some serious money. so now they are changing the guy who made the business case for them - hogan, while fixing that money drain hole by selling the assets below the value (if there is any).

      it is not the case these ventures required additional investments, because more money burned wouldn't solve their structural problems. simply, they were failed business in which somebody would invest only by mistake.

      now, if the oil prices stayed high, those business would lose even more money and hogan would get fired anyhow. yes, the emirs would be less anxious to do that, but those business wouldn't turn profitable in another 10y. they were stubbornly losing money each year.

      thirdly, hogan got fired precisely because of these non-performing investment made in europe, which are not connected with oil prices.
      emirates are on the other hand profitable and are cutting because the oil plunge lowered the travel demand from the gulf region. they will not change their management or will have major strategy changes. etihad will have to rethink its position completely.

      fourthly, i am not talking about modest industry ROI (the industry is ridiculous and has probably negative or 1% historical returns), but serious 1.2 mil€/d drain from berlin and 0.5mil€/d loss from AZ. nobody in europe is losing that much money.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:36

      It's not just about low oil prices, there is much more happening in the global economy that is affecting ALL airlines - from Turkish, to Lufthansa to Etihad and Emirates.

      Today, Emirates deferred 12 A380 aircraft which were due next year. This simply reflects softening demand across the globe and all airlines are responding accordingly.

      Time Clark a few months ago spoke about the structural changes happening in relation to demand and teh fact that premium travel is softening enormously, forcing them to start charging some economy passengers for seat selection. Moreover, they will be introducing a premium economy cabin to respond ot these changes.

      As more LCC's take to long haul travel, the longhaul legacy carrriers will be forced to make even more changes to their businesses - incl staff cuts as well as cuts to in cabin service - such as eliminating free alcohol and food ....

      Unfortunately, the winds of change are bringing dramatic changes to the existing busines models of legacy carriers ..

      Delete
    8. Anonymous18:33

      interesting post.
      here i o again with the oil prices, but the deferment is always happening in low oil cycles since the benefits of flying newer and more efficient planes is diminished due to lower savings on oil consumption. i believe every fleet planner is looking to defer the deliveries and prolong usage of existing fleets.

      as for other points, i completely agree. i see the future of industry as it is in all other transport branches - to be cheap, punctual and reasonably comfortable. this premium flying never made sense to me. for that money you can always get much better experience to wherever you are traveling to.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:51

      I think that future is for LCC to carry passengers from Europe to America and Australia in packed planes, but refuse to give them free water and food, to stay cheap, cheap, cheap. Of course, the travel should be subsidized heavily by taxpayers in both origin and destination countries, in accordance with Wizz/Ryan parasitic business model.

      Company owners would profit immensely, in that rat race passengers would get crappier and crappier service (sorry I mean "cheap and reasonably comfortable") and all would be subsidized from pubic purse. What is not to like!? Perfect Wizz/Ryan capitalism.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous21:09

      It does not make much sense anon. 18.33.
      Unlike in EU and in US, fuel price is not an issue for 3 ME carriers. While others had to pay high prices, 3ME profited hugely. I let you figure out why.
      Even if that was reason for deferments (and it does not seem so), it does not explain cuts and layoffs. Deferments saved a lot of money. Why downsize additionally?
      Again, first you make a conclusion, then you reach for arguments. It should be the other way round.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous00:05

      Partnership for open & fair skies published ey 2014 standalone report.
      2014 ey profit was about 70mil€, out of that they had 700mil€ revenue by selling their frequent flier program to a daughter company. meaning they actually had 630mil loss. So lets think again why ey needed to cut. UNPROFITABLE!

      As for other gulf carriers their cuts will come because of indirect effects. Less oil money = less travel.
      No changes in management.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous09:32

      Calling Wizz and Ryan parasitic in the face of hundreds of millions of Euros siphoned into the likes of EY 'investments' is the peak of irony.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous12:21

      That 20:51 comment looks like it was made by someone who tried to run boutique airline in the poorest region of europe, with most of his customers being gastarbeiters and 90+% of its flights a shorthauls.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous15:12

    Спрема се план Б за нову туру субвенција, стотињак милиона евра. Како оно беше.. 'incentives and excessive milking is paying off I guess lolz'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:47

      Upravo tako. Kaze Zoka, imamo mi plan B ako Etihad ode, samo ne znam sa cime ce da lete ako im Etihad ode, bojim se da ce im stotinak miliona biti malo

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:53

      Je l' se osećate glupo vas dvojica nakon apdejta članka svežim informacijama? Ja bih na vašem mestu.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:12

      Pogledaj predlog budzeta za 2017 godinu, pa ce ti sve biti jasno. Koliko je novca planirano za subvencije ASL? Budzet je usvojen pre 15 dana, dakle planirano je davanje iz budzeta i sledece godine!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:27

      Obecanje - ludom radovanje. Nema boljeg IQ testa od ovoga, lepo vidis ko se primi na corporate PR i odma je jasno ko je ovde .. malo sporiji.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:02

      Ima li neko link ka zakomu o budzetu? Nisam ga mogao naci

      Delete
  21. Anonymous16:12

    And there we go. Etihad confirms it is staying in Air Serbia. So much for plan Bs, conspiricies etc

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:18

      bad news for the hate brigade

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:22

      Ma nije moguće da Miša Brkić piše gluposti.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:18

      Zar moramo da trpimo te gluposti u ime slobode medija?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:25

      Ne verujem da je Miša Brkić "ne obavešten", on samo odradjuje svoju platu.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:09

      Could this be PR to prevent people who are worried from booking on other airlines until the official plans are announced in the new year.

      I for one will be hesitant to book this summers vacation on Air Serbia if there is a chance of the NY route being cancelled. I experience this before with unstable charter airlines and don't plan on being fooled again.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:18

      @anon at 8:09

      This is the worst admission of guilt I ever read. Shifting the blame doesn't work any more.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:49

      EY saying it is staying with JU. That was yesterday's news

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:50

      They announced it this afternoon

      Delete
    9. Anonymous21:32

      And you believe Santa Claus too?

      Delete
  22. To je bilo i za ocekivati kao sto sam i govorio u mojim postovima prethodnih dana.
    Izgleda da ce ova vest mnogima pokvariti vece :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:05

      Зашто би? Многи, то јест већина, је говорила да се неће повлачити из Ер Србије већ из Алиталије и Ер Берлина. Дакле твоји постови као и увек нису ништа посебно.

      Delete
    2. Nije vecina to govorila. U vecini su bili oni koji su se radovali izlasku EY iz JU.
      A zasto su se tome radovali, e to vec moras da pitas one koji su postavljali zlurade komentare, ne mene.

      Delete
    3. Muka mi je od tih koji samo pljuju... mogli bi ima platiti da lete JU-om i dalje bi samo kukali. Zavidan smo narod a najgore je to sto sami sebi smo zavidni!

      Delete
  23. Anonymous19:44

    OT "Gulf carrier Etihad Airways has rejected speculation it may offload its stake in Virgin Australia, saying it remains fully committed to its .." Today's news in Australia. Sounds familiar.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous21:31

    I Qantas je 15 dana pre zatvaranja linije za Frankfurt objavio da nema nameru da se povuce....tako da videcemo. Sto se tice plata u JU slazem se...cowboy Dane i ekipa ne zasluzuju to uopste..svi ljudi koji vrede nesto su napustili JU...ostali su samo praznoglavi roboti

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous23:59

    The opportunity for the stabilization of JU was missed in 2015 when kondic decided on drastic reduce of ASK and drastic increase of ticket prices. His priority switched to reaching 70% LF with high turnover growth, but the strategy failed. The bill for his arrogant strategy will be delivered to the state budget. He's moves were approved by hogan. Both started to sell the story about being boutique airline, but that's nonsense. JU had its chance for regional growth considering the level of investment, including being abolished of airport fees and state taxes on fuel. That chance is gone. Next will appear in the future if the government makes smart moves and brings clever and knowledgeable people at helm. EY will stay on board anyway, if no further investment is required.
    BTW, prime minister knew about hogan's future and because of that cancelled his appearance at the T6 "summit" in December

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous05:15

      My brain hurts from this nonsense.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:17

      Nice SF!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:47

      Nothing to do with SF. JU faces tough times due to EY investments restructuring and overall global situation.

      Chaotic leading of JU over the last two years will significantly contribute to the weaknesses when cooping with future challenges.

      Delete
  26. I'm reading all your posts with great interest. Some logical and some I must say a bit "out there". I think Etihad's commitment to Air Serbia will continue beyond the 5 years agreement with both management and investment. As for Air Berlin and Alitalia that's where the focus should be. It's interesting to note that Etihad Group have partnered with TUI to establish a European holiday airline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True. No point in pulling out of a deal where the other party is willing to keep on spilling $$$ into the well to keep the ducky afloat.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous16:35

    Interesantan komentar na linku:

    http://gulfbusiness.com/abu-dhabis-etihad-dismiss-group-ceo-james-hogan/

    Shirlene Adrn
    Has anyone read his ""trimming the tree"" news letter to the employees? He gave orders to his extermination squad to fire close to 10,000 staff. These are alll at the lower end of the employment chain. He has thrown so many poor families into turmoil because of his stupid investment policies. Etihad went broke because of his poorly informed investments. As the head of Etihad he should have accepted responsibility for the disaster,and resigned, not fire staff. Disgusting !!
    Like · Reply · 3 hrs

    ReplyDelete

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