Montenegro Airlines applies for JFK codeshare

NEWS FLASH

Montenegro Airlines has lodged an application for a foreign air carrier permit with the United States Department of Transportation (DoT) in order to codeshare on Air Serbia's flights between Belgrade and New York. In its request, submitted last Friday, the carrier says, "Montenegro Airlines requests the issuance of a foreign air carrier permit and exemption permitting it to engage in scheduled air transportation of persons, property and mail from Podgorica via Belgrade to New York on all scheduled flights of Air Serbia on the route Belgrade - New York - Belgrade. Montenegro Airlines intends to be only the marketing carrier on this service in accordance with its codeshare agreement with Air Serbia". Montenegro Airlines and Air Serbia initiated a wide-ranging codeshare deal in late 2016, with the Montenegrin carrier placing its designator code onto its counterpart's flights from Belgrade to over thirty destinations.

It is the second time Montenegro Airlines has lodged a request with the DoT. In March 1999 the carrier applied to operate nonstop passenger and cargo flights between Tivat and New York. At the time, the airline concluded a wet-lease of a Boeing 767-300ER from Italy's Air Europe, which suspended operations in 2008, in order to run the transatlantic service. However, within weeks, the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia commenced and the application was rejected.