The year ahead for EX-YU airlines

Following on from a busy year for the national carriers of the former Yugoslavia, 2019 is shaping up to be another eventful one for the aviation sector. The following are some of the highlights which have been confirmed and scheduled to take place over the next 365 days.

Adria Airways will introduce a brand new aircraft type to its fleet with the first of fifteen Russian-made Superjet 100 aircraft scheduled to arrive in April. Prior to this, the Slovenian carrier will firm up its order for the jets with the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company during the first quarter. Adria's owner, 4K Invest, is also set to recapitalise the airline with at least ten million euros during the first three months of 2019. The carrier will put an emphasis on returning to profitability next year following a difficult 2018, which is expected to result in the airline's worst financial performance in decades. Adria will further grow its lucrative ACMI business with plans to wet-lease additional aircraft to Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Luxair and Lufthansa next summer. In addition, it will continue expanding its operations outside of Ljubljana, due to limited opportunities on the Slovenian market. "We see huge potential in the company, with our priority being to stabilise our operations and restore the trust of our passengers. There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are confident that we will succeed", Adria's CEO, Holger Kowarsch, said recently.

Air Serbia will enter the New Year with part-owner Etihad Airways ending its Management Services Agreement with the airline. This will result in the departure of Etihad-appointed staff from key management roles, which will coincide with the transfer of the airline's revenue management and network planning departments from Abu Dhabi back to Belgrade next month. A number of high-ranking positions at Air Serbia are currently held by Etihad employees, including the post of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer. Etihad Airways will continue to own a 49% stake in Air Serbia and will play a role in the carrier's future network expansion plans which will take place in 2019. Air Serbia still hasn't taken delivery of ten Airbus A320neo aircraft ordered by Erihad which were due to begin arriving in November. The future of this order will depend largely on the Emirati carrier. As of November, the ten jets are still listed in Airbus' order books for Etihad.

Croatia Airlines will bring forward the resumption of its growing list of seasonal summer routes by several weeks and plans to lease two aircraft during peak travel months to maintain its schedule. During 2019, Croatia Airlines will begin tender procedures for the procurement of financial advisory services to seek out the appropriate module to recapitalise and find a strategic partner. The government has conceded that a future partner is necessary in order to fund the airline's order for four Airbus A320neo aircraft, the first two of which are set to arrive in 2021. EX-YU Aviation News will bring you an extended insight into Croatia Airlines' plans for the coming year over the next few weeks.

Montenegro Airlines will continue its recovery in 2019, following solid results achieved during the year. The carrier is again expected to lease a larger aircraft during the summer months. "Leasing an aircraft for a longer period of time during the peak summer months, which we did for the first time this year, proved to be extremely successful and efficient so we will likely do the same next year", the company said. The Montenegrin carrier has made some tentative changes to its 2019 summer season network including the launch of a new seasonal service between Tivat and Hannover, additional frequencies on flights from Podgorica and Tivat, as well as a move from Moscow's Domodedovo to Sheremetyevo Airport from March 31. The Montenegrin government has said it will make a final decision on the airline's privatisation process in early 2019.

Photo courtsey of Nikola Kovačević/Pixsell