VINCI takes over Belgrade Airport


France's VINCI Airports officially took over the 25-year concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport at midnight. The company satisfied all the conditions precedent in the contract covering the airport’s financing, operations, maintenance, extension and upgrade. To complete this transaction, VINCI Airports raised loans amounting to a total of 420 million euros and maturing over a maximum of seventeen years from four multilateral institutions – IFC (a member of the World Bank Group), EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Agence Française de Développement (via its subsidiary Proparco) and DEG (KfW Group) - as well as from six merchant banks (UniCredit, Intesa, Erste, Société Générale, Kommunalkredit and CIC). The loans will complement the equity that VINCI Airports is investing in the operation and cover the 501 million euro upfront concession fee paid to the Serbian government, as well as the airport extension and upgrade works set out in the contract. These financing arrangements constitute one of the largest financial transactions ever carried out in Serbia.


In a statement, the company said, "VINCI Airports will be in a position to harness the expertise it has built as a world-class operator to grow Serbia’s main airport into a major hub for South-eastern Europe and to drive its development". VINCI Airports, a top five global player in the international airport sector, manages the development and operation of 45 airports located in France, Portugal (including the Lisbon hub), United Kingdom, Sweden, Cambodia, Japan, United States, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Chile and Brazil. Served by over 250 airlines, VINCI Airports' network handled more than 180 million passengers in 2017. "VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and operates airports, leveraging its investment capability, international network and know-how to optimise the management and performance of existing airport infrastructure, facility extensions and new-build construction projects", the company added.


Belgrade Airport's largest customer, Air Serbia, welcomed the takeover. "On behalf of the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, I would like to express my immeasurable gratitude for the cooperation we have had with the incumbent Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport team led by General Manager Saša Vlaisavljević. Consequently, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the new team, which will pursue the management of this important airport from now on. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is our home and an important air transport hub. In this regard, our strong, constructive and dedicated partnership can only benefit all of the involved stakeholders", Air Serbia's CEO, Duncan Naysmith, said. Air Serbia's Executive Director, Branislav Malović, added, "The arrival of VINCI Airports as the new airport concessionaire provides a strong impetus for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport's further development, modernisation and advancement of business operations. As Air Serbia makes up almost half of Belgrade Airport's traffic, we are looking forward to working with the new partner with whom we will be able to continue strengthening established relations and cooperation. I am certain that further interconnections and collaboration of all relevant parties would yield improved results in the realms of the Serbian economy and tourism".


The outgoing General Manager of Belgrade Airport, Saša Vlaisavljević, recently said, "Belgrade Airport, with the planned investments which will in large part be utilised during the first five years of the concession, will look nowhere near to what it does today. I am fascinated by what is planned but it is not my place to reveal this information. At this point, all I can say is that Belgrade Airport will look entirely different in five years time". Speaking at the Airport Security Convention and Exhibition in Belgrade earlier this week, Mr Valisavljević touched upon the airport's accomplishments over the past five years. "We have added an extra million passengers, ten new scheduled airlines and seventeen new routes. We've increase the airport's value by over 100 million euros, invested seventy million euros of our own funds into infrastrucutre, capacity growth and the latest technologies", the outgoing General Manager noted. The airport is due to post a net profit of some 25 million euros this year.

Comments

  1. AirCEO09:01

    Without new terminal or complete expansion of the existing terminal Belgrade airport will not be able to provide competitive regional hub experience needed primarily by Air Serbia.  Reconfiguring and renovating existing terminal will increase the revenue and fix some issues but will not be able to resolve intrinsic flaws of the current terminal infrastructure. Coupled with fundamental error of building inserted runway instead of a complete, separate second runway buries the long term chances of Belgrade airport becoming a serious regional hub.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Postovani AirCeo, slazem se sa vasim tekstom u vezi gradnje treceg terminala i piste. Ipak oni koji su doneli odluku tako su odlucili... Tako da gradnja treceg (novog) terminala i druge piste, (ne insert piste) ce ocigledno graditi buduci koncesionar. Ili VINCI Airports ukoliko produzi koncesiju... Do tada ce se Aerodrom NikolaTesla mnogo preobraziti i izgledati veoma prihvatljiv i pristojan aerodrom. Uporediv sa savremenim do dvadeset miliona putnika godisnje. Nada ne umire. Do nas je da verujemo. Ko zeli i ima snage.
      Radovan, Kraljevo.

      Delete
    2. AirCEO19:13

      "u prvih pet godina izvršiće se sanacija i rekonstrukcija glavne poletno-sletne staze, izgradnja umetnute poletno-sletne staze, izgradnja novih rulnih staza i rekonstrukcija postojećih, izgradnja brzih izlaza sa piste, rekonfiguracija terminala, izgradnja novih objekata i unapređenje sistema."

      Vinci plans to triple anual pax numbers to 14-15 mil and double ops from 60k to 120k, meaning average number of pax is expected to grow by 50% which is in line with growing trend (increased LF, more widebodies from ME3 and JU, upgauge from A319->A320->A321 etc). However new terminal seems to be completely out of the picture, with only addition of widebody gates, renovation of old A gates and "reconfiguration" of other areas being certain. That will increase retail and F&B streams but will not come close to elevated experience new terminal build would provide.

      Inserted runway (probably new RWY 12R) is a complete waste of resources. It's functionality is limited, capacity increase is marginal and displaced threshold will have potential to elevate the risk of Gatwick-style runway incidents. What should have been insisted on during tender process is a separate second runway on the other side of the airport right away, with updates to current runway much later. Missed opportunity that will not be rectified in decades.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Congratulations to Belgrade and Serbia. This is a game changer as BEG was already an important regional player. With Vinci's help they can reach at least 6.5 million next year.

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  3. Anonymous09:04

    Bad news for airports in the region.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      And bad news for JU - now there will be no more debt write-offs !

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      dare to explain maybe?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:11

      Joke's on you, JU has not had any write-offs for a few years now so this is just bad news for airports in the region.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:11

      The last "debt writeoff" was 5 years ago when Etihad took over Jat.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:17

      Now that the airport is no longer in Govt hands, it will be impossible to manouvre any write-offs for JU - irrespective of the fact that it has been a few years that it last happened. This door is now firmly shut. Additionally, it should also hopefully mean that other airlines get a much fairer hand against JU than they have in the past.

      If there is a much more level playing field, this fairer competitive landscape should benefit everyone.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      A fairer competitive landscape would be bad for ASL.
      A company with almost 2,500 employees carrying just 2,6 million passengers can not compete with LCCs and restructured European legacy airlines.
      Competitor airlines for the same number of employees carry 6,7 and 8 times more passengers!

      Just my2cents

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:45

      Why should JU worry? Concession agreements can be changed to favour one side, look at what happened in Zagreb. Also people always speak about JU in BEG but forget the treatment airlines such as Wizz Air get in places like Tuzla or Skopje or even OU in Zagreb.

      Delete
    8. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    9. Vinci will be focusing on making back the money it invested. Offering massive discounts to just one carrier will not be business wise.
      I would guess attracting as many new passengers, airlines and routes will be its main focus.
      So JU will just have to become a lot more competitive than it currently is.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:21

      Anon at 9.41 - you speak to my point exactly ...

      There is a reason why JU with almost 2500 employees, carries 6,7 and 8 less than competitor airlines of the same number of employees. There has been no incentive to restructure like other European legacy carriers, fundamentally, because they have been protected and been the recipient of significant state aid (and continue to receive it). This has meant an inefficient and operationally unprofitable business, which has had no reason to implement hard and necessary restructuring to create a healthy and sustainable business.

      The privatisation of BEG airport creates the first real dynamic that will hopefully see JU embark on real and necessary changes in order to see itself have a future. Otherwise, the future competitive pressures that will arise as more LCC's fly to BEG and eat JU's market share, could have serious consequences for JU.

      Delete
    11. Nemjee10:38

      Vinci already said they will work with JU and help them grow. They will not make any moves that will harm them or that will put their existence and stability into question. That said, Vinci is surely working on bringing in more customers so as to make sure they get the best of the two worlds. A good example of this is Air France. A new airline that will bring in more passengers but will cooperate and work with JU.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:16

      We are yet to see that concession agreement. I can bet that JU and its number of passengers will be at the heart of future developments around this "deal". We can reasonably expect that most of the money paid upfront will be returned to concessionaire once JU situation becomes more complicated.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous11:24

      'once JU situation becomes more complicated.'

      Huh?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous11:35

      Basically, Vinci is marrying JU for the next 25 years and no signs of divorce. By the time the concession expires, JU will be celebrating its 116th birthday and maybe its 116th route or 116th aircraft as well.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous11:36

      It is getting more and more complicated every day. Pressure from competition is becoming stronger and will intensify as VINCI will try to bring new companies to BEG. They have a lot employees compared to fleet size. Finally their fleet is ageing. Six planes owned by the company are 30 years old on average. I am not happy about this, but let's face the reality.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous11:44

      Jesus Christ, people are obsessed with JU on this blog. JU (unlike some other airlines in ex-YU) have been faced with extremely strong competition since 2010. They have managed to deal with them over the past 8 years and they will do just fine for the next 25 years. Vinci will not shoot themselves in the foot.

      If anything people should be worried about Wizz Air which is losing its competitive advantage in Belgrade.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous11:52

      No, darling. Wizz Air wants to grow in Belgrade but Vinci will not allow them to do so by maintaining high airport taxes. They have a huge Airbus order.
      JU is nothing but the offspring of this FrancoSerbian marriage. The baby will grow in safe hands.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous11:53

      Of course we are worried about our national carrier. It is costing us lot of money. I see similar comments from Slovenia and Croatia on this blog.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous11:54

      Belgrade is probably not in Wizz and Indigo focus at the moment. They are preoccupied with expansion in Western Europe as it seems.

      Delete
    20. Anonymous12:04

      Excuses about Wizz. Belgrade is a BIG city and there is room for at least 6 more Wizz Air Airbuses based. I mean come on mate, take Sofia as a comparison. Almost same population and geographical size as Belgrade. Wizz have 7 machines there, Ryan has 3. So why not Belgrade?
      Why not lower the fees and stop protecting the flag carrier?

      I wish Vinci negotiates with the Hungarians and reconsider adding more metal in LYBE.

      Delete
    21. Nemjee12:13

      Absolute and utter nonsense about Wizz Air being restricted. Wizz Air is simply not interested in fighting for its market-share in BEG. Look at what happened when easyJet launched Basel flights. They completely ignored the change and kept their horrible schedule where the return flights arrives to BEG at 00.25. How do they expect to compete with easyJet? They just don't care and that's the reality. Their BEG operation is on autopilot mode...

      As for Vinci, they are not the Messiah we have been waiting for primarily because BEG has been open to everyone for a long time now. Competition is on a high level, airport is profitable and JU has been more or less stabilized. Also, don't forget that Vinci will most definitely cooperate with Etihad regarding JU's future. I am certain Vinci encouraged Etihad to finally increase BEG to double daily next summer. EY is a great partner for them because they are flexible with their fleet.

      I looked at some numbers for this year and they are more than great and I am sure this trend is the reason why Vinci thought that paying 501 million was worth it.

      BEG-ZRH
      Q1 2017 - 73.839
      Q1 2018 - 74.934

      Q2 2017 - 100.713
      Q2 2018 - 110.051

      BEG-MUC

      01-07 2017 - 74.468
      01-07 2018 - 80.327

      BEG-AMS

      01-08 2017 - 86.454
      01-08 2018 - 120.386

      And so on and so forth. Vinci understands that they can further fuel the airport's growth by attracting passengers from the airport's catchment area.

      Delete
    22. Anonymous12:14

      Anonymous22 December 2018 at 12:04

      Why should they lower their charges for Wizz Air when other airlines are expanding without complaining about fees?

      Delete
    23. Anonymous12:28

      Serbian citizens can primarily afford Ryan and Wizz prices. Government should have worked to provide us this opportunity.

      Delete
    24. Anonymous12:34

      If that were true foreign airlines would not be adding flights to BEG. I think you can only afford those, not the rest of us.

      Delete
    25. Anonymous12:59

      Sorry guys, but Belgrade ain't no low-cost haven.
      Should the taxes go down, things will improve. You can see Ryanair entering, Volotea, Air Arabia Maroc, etc.
      The LCC havoc is already taking place in the airport giving ground for transfer and charter traffic. Which is a pity...a real pity.

      Delete
    26. Anonymous13:03

      Yes, I wish BEG was a LCC haven like BUD so that the airport could be losing millions every year. Which is a pity... a real pity.

      Delete
    27. Anonymous13:10

      LOL anon 13:03

      I wanna try your weed.

      BUD has posted a serious revenue last year.

      https://www.avialliance.com/avia_en/31.jhtml

      So, is it better to have 189 Ryan passengers paying 7€ or is it better to struggle filling a flight from China with 100 paying 17€? You tell me.

      Delete
    28. Anonymous13:14

      You obviously don't know the difference between revenue and profit.

      https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-hungary-airport/budapest-airport-expects-first-significant-profit-in-10-years-idUKKBN1F024N

      'Over the past 10 years 2016 was the only year in which the company posted a small profit, helped by a one-off gain from tax changes.'

      So maybe you should do some research before trying to be funny. ;)

      Delete
    29. Anonymous13:39

      Anonymous at 11:35:
      "Vinci is marrying JU for the next 25 years and no signs of divorce. By the time the concession expires, JU will be celebrating its 116th birthday and maybe its 116th route or 116th aircraft as well"

      Ι need the phone number of your drug dealer.
      This is some wild LSD he is selling you!
      Hvala.

      Delete
    30. Anonymous14:50

      Nemjee, it is you who is talking utter nonsense. Current airport incentives - put in place by the former mgt - very clearly favour JU and by inference, work against ALL other airlines. It is fine for them to keep in place what they already have for JU, but they need to provide an incentive scheme for ALL other carriers to grow. Otherwise, it simply "locks" in and protects JU's dominant position at the expense of other airlines.

      If they do that, it will be good for JU who will be forced into making genuine restructuring efforts. Moreover, it is consumers who will ultimately benefit from greater choice than we have today and the country will benefit from more tourist arrivals

      Delete
    31. Nemjee15:21

      JU is BEG's main customer, it only makes sense for these two to have a special relationship. Why should the airport give a preferential treatment to Wizz Air when they are not serious about the local market?
      It's better to stick to easyJet which is obviously ready and willing to pay what the airport is asking for. easyJet's Tegel flights are far more beneficial than Wizz Air's Baden Baden or any other shack in the middle of nowhere they fly to.

      BEG for its size is competitive enough and no airline has walked away because of high charges. Heck, no one besides Wizz Air has complained about them... that said, higher charges have not deterred them from bringing back a second A320.

      Let's be realistic, Wizz Air doesn't care about BEG. All they care for is to make a profit from their two aircraft which fly to secondary and tertiary European airports. You keep on repeating how you would have more choices if JU was treated differently. I fail to see what exactly would change. JU isn't the most competitive airline out there, that's true. However they haven't limited the local market and cases such as IST or WAW or best proof of this.

      In the end I think what you want is for Ryanair and Wizz Air to be subsidized (directly or indirectly) so that you could fly for €20.

      Delete
    32. Nemjee15:24

      'but they need to provide an incentive scheme for ALL other carriers to grow. Otherwise, it simply "locks" in and protects JU's dominant position at the expense of other airlines.'

      Oh and this is pure gold btw. Foreign carriers have been growing at BEG while JU's share at the airport has been steadily declining. Obviously there is no extortion here no matter how hard you try to prove otherwise.

      Delete
    33. Anonymous16:21

      Nemjee, JU is NOT growing and has NOT been growing relative to the growth of other carriers. This says everything as to how (in)effective the current incentives to JU are. Infact, if other arlines were afforded similar or better incentives to grow, they probably would. And that is where the choice factor comes into play. JU is doing nothing with their incentives, other than banking them, together with the state aid that they have been receiving and continue to employ an excess of workers and are doing nothing to expand the choice of routes from BEG. They remain operationally unprofitable (as opposed to the accounting profits they register), with no end in sight.

      This is why the airport needs to provide better incentives for other carriers to grow or for new carriers to enter the market. Otherwise, JU will not change.

      If no carriers respond to such incentives were they to be implemented, then what has been lost ? Nothing. So there is everything to gain and nothing to lose.

      And just for the record, nowhere did i mention WIZZ (you did). I said ALL other airlines

      Delete
    34. Anonymous16:51

      @Nemjee
      Actually it is far better to have Ryan subsidised and opportunity to fly from 20 EUR RT than 120 RT.

      Delete
    35. Nemjee17:15

      We can't blame JU for not growing when all key decisions were made by Etihad. The airline was literally run by people in Abu Dhabi who were not familiar with local trends and who were living in a self-inflated bubble. How could JU be an efficient airline when it couldn't even decide how much to charge its customers? Remember the Happy Friday sale to BUD for €169?

      Special treatment or not, JU was handicapped by EY's management contract.

      I am still waiting on you to give me an example of when an airline stayed away from BEG because of high charges? Also, I repeat once again, no one besides you and Wizz Air have ever mentioned this. If charges were so bad would easyJet have added 11 frequencies this year? Would Lufthansa, Swiss and Aeroflot add an additional daily flight? The other day someone posted that foreign airlines will be adding close to 50 weekly frequencies next summer.

      I am failing to see what concrete evidence you are presenting to back your argument. Look at the AMS numbers I posted above. Transavia launched its own flights and numbers rose by 34.000. They went up against JU's 10 weekly flights. If your argument was correct then they would have failed but they didn't, they actually did really well.

      And finally no, it's not better to subsidize FR's cheap tickets because then you are still contributing to an unhealthy economy. Flying by plane is not a right, it's a privilege and not a cheap one. That said, I believe JU should not be receiving subsidies but at the same time I think they need to slowly transition to become a self-sustaining business.

      Delete
    36. Anonymous17:33

      Anon 13:39
      The truth hurts as much as other intercourses if you know what I mean.
      Just because someone decides to say the truth doesn't mean you have to be like this.
      JU has secured its future and will even restore its boutique model and everyone will end up with a full tummy and free mineral water, mind you.

      Delete
    37. Anonymous18:22

      "Wizz Air wants to grow in Belgrade but Vinci will not allow them to do so by maintaining high airport taxes"

      You must be talking about Zagreb then. Belgrade already has two out of three key LCCs (Wizz and Easy with only F6 being absent) while Zagreb has ZERO out of those three. Bring Ryan and Wizz to Zagreb and then you can have a starting point. No need for further discussion until then.

      Delete
    38. Anonymous19:00

      Belgrade barely has genuine LCC offers and we should have no illusions about that. Low cost is when people are able to buy tickets for as low as 9 eur. We never had that chance in Belgrade. It is unexplainable how it is possible to have Ryan in Rome, Milan, Bologna and not in Belgrade, Zagreb or Sarajevo.

      Delete
    39. Anonymous19:20

      €9 fares are not commercially viable from primary airports such as BEG the same way you don't have them frm ATH, VIE or FRA... unless it's on routes with massive competition.

      So what you want is not realistic, sorry. Even INI and TZL don't have them.

      Delete
    40. Anonymous19:48

      Nemjee, you keep banging on about airport charges. Don't you read the posts you respond to, probably because you only like to read your own posts.

      I wrote about airport growth incentives for airlines other than just JU - that's got nothing to do with airport charges, which you keep on repeating. Give it a rest.

      As for blaming Etihad and its management contract for JU's situation, well, you are also wrong there as well. Etihad is not responsible for the bloated number of employees - that's solely the Govt's doing. Moreover, the same group of people from Etihad will remain in place from 1 Jan onwards, so nothing will change. That's even more reason why Vinci need to broaden these airline incentives to encourage existing and new airlines to grow or to fly to BEG. Otherwise, JU will stay on the same downward trajectory at our expense.

      Delete
    41. Anonymous19:58

      BTW Nemjee - how can decisions at JU be made and run by people from Abu Dhabi ? That would be illegal under EU effective control/ownership rules. The EU had earlier closed out this investigation, with the conclusion that effective control was indeed in the hands of the majority owner. So you are also wrong on this point as well. JU is in the position that it is in, solely because of the decisions taken and made by the majority owner.

      Coupled with generous and favoured airport incentives, as well as copious amounts of state aid, JU has sadly done nothing with considerable home town advantages. Now is all the more reason to provide airport growth incentives to ALL carriers.

      Delete
    42. Anonymous20:26

      Remarkable statement Anon 19:58!! Simply incredible and brave enough to speak about the truth!
      Also, we can all see in the photo the clear message of supporting the flag carrier to please the GoS and protect their EY project.
      Just refer to the "fair play" simple mechanism in cricket:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_and_unfair_play

      ---and most importantly: ensuring that play is conducted according to the spirit and traditions of the game, as well as within its Laws.

      Therefore, give the other airlines (players) the opportunity to play and be part of this game. This way the audience (travellers) will be happy and the stadium (airport) full of clients.

      The BEG protectionism is just at its best. Even Niš suffered and you know it.

      Delete
    43. Anonymous20:42

      Your hate towards JU is making you delusional. Go ask Wizz why they are not adding two more planes to get the discounts.

      Delete
    44. Anonymous23:45

      "Coupled with generous and favoured airport incentives, as well as copious amounts of state aid, JU has sadly done nothing with considerable home town advantages. Now is all the more reason to provide airport growth incentives to ALL carriers. "

      Again, you must be talking about OU and ZAG. Have LH Group give up on influencing OU protection through airport fee policies, get at least 2 out of big EU3LCCs (FR/W6/U2) to operate dozens of routes from ZAG and then you earn the right to talk about protectionism and subsidies. It's all empty talk about BEG until ZAG gets LCC traction and LH loses grip on SEE influence. I will only get nastier from here, deal with it.

      Delete
    45. Nemjee08:23

      Dude, there is no point in arguing with you. I mentioned airport charges because that's the main incentive an airport can give. Maybe they can help out with some marketing activities but that's about it. You are going on and on about incentives but you never mentioned what you think they should be.

      As for the European Commission and the JU-EY report, don't forget that's the same institution that ruled Adria and airBaltic did not receive state aid which was a complete joke. EC rulings are extremely influenced by political circumstances and how obedient a country is.

      I still don't know what is it that you want. From what I understood you want the government or the airport to hand out subventions so that you can fly around the world for €9? That's not commercially viable. Look at FR's fares to Stockholm from Nis and tell me how many €9 fares are there? Not many. These airlines have shareholders who want profits and they can't make it by perpetually offering free tickets.

      Finally, as mentioned a few times before, foreign carriers are the main factor of growth at the airport. If they were disadvantaged by JU"s privileged status then Air Serbia would have murdered them on all fronts... which did not happen, far from it.

      Finally, flying from BEG has never been cheaper. I suppose you didn't fly much when true protectionist policies were in place.

      Delete
    46. Anonymous13:28

      Nemjee - you don't need to argue with me or anyone else - except with yourself. I thought you were someone with even a basic knowledge of the aviation industry, but you clearly are not. Once you get your head around the difference between airport/aviation/aeronautical charges and airport growth incentives, you will see that they are not the same and they are treated differently... maybe then we can pick up the conversation again ....

      Happy studying !

      Delete
    47. Nemjee07:03

      I am still waiting on you to tell me what incentives you would propose because so far you have given us zero examples. All you do is 'correct' others without any concrete arguments, just hot air.

      And who mentioned aviation and/or aeronautical charges? I am speaking about what the airport can do and for the life of me I can't think of anything else besides what I wrote above. That said, I am still waiting on you to give me some examples of what you think should be done.

      Delete
    48. Anonymous16:11

      Go to the Serbian Poverenik for Information and ask for details regarding JU's airport incentive deal and you will be educated in one go. Then when you find out what it is it, that is the scheme that they should be offering to ALL carriers and not just JU.

      Happy fishing !

      Delete
    49. Anonymous17:50

      Anon at 16:11 why don't you go fish instead? Find out why Macedonia had to put 25 mil profit as one of requirements for the Skopje subsidy? It has absolutely nothing to do with opening new routes. That and a few similar requirements had no place in a tender other than to ensure win goes to Wizz. How come you are only interested in JU but ignore crap happening at ZAG, SKP etc? Boss told you not to mess with anything else but BEG?

      Delete
    50. Anonymous18:44

      Since you have the bandwidth and the interest, I'll leave you to ask those questions of ZAG, SKP etc etc. I've no interest or inclination for matters outside of Serbia. I trust that is a valid enough reason for you ??

      Delete
    51. Anonymous21:27

      LOL, I actually expected standard prescribed response "I pay taxes in Serbia". So you are confirming your job is to be active against the interests of Air Serbia and Belgrade Airport?

      Delete
    52. Anonymous22:31

      Are you for real ????? My interests are in seeing BEG realise its potential and grow uninhibited. JU has had 5 years to make all the covert and overt financial support count. Sadly, it hasn't done so. It is time to unhinge the airport from its parochial support of JU and give equal support to ALL carriers. They can continue to support JU as they should, but they will get a much better return in supporting ALL carriers in the same way they have been supporting JU these past 5 years.

      Why are you so against a levelling of the playing field ? Afraid that some good might come of it to BEG ? The govt can, will and should continue to support JU, but the airport has to show its hand in a much fairer way than it has been when under govt ownsership.

      A better and fairer competitive landscape will benefit everyone - the airport, tourism, consumers and yes, even JU

      Delete
    53. Anonymous01:26

      Why are you so against a levelling of the playing field ?

      Because you refuse to accept the fact there is no level field in the region: Tuzla (free for W6 monopolist), ZAG (protecting OU and LH Group by keeping ULCCs at bay), SKP (W6 basically writes the tender for them) etc. Level the field there if you want to have a point.

      Delete
    54. Anonymous08:32

      My friend - that's what happens when you post comments in the very early hours of the morning instead of sleeping as you should - incoherent and without rationale. Your only ally in the position you are taking, is to reference the situation at other ex-yu airports.

      I have no knowledge or background to the situation at other ex-yu airports (nor the interest to be honest) - that's why I don't care to make any comments or express any view - I am simply not familiar with what is happening there. On the other hand, I am very familiar, with intimate knowledge, of the situation at BEG and that's why I have expressed the views that I have.

      That's what more people should do - when you have knowledge and particular insights into a situation, you then make informed comments/views, rather than shoot from the hip as many people do here on this blog.

      That said, everyone is entitled to their point of view - right, wrong or off the planet !

      Delete
    55. Anonymous16:32

      Aviation is not a local business where what's happening in TZL doesn't affect BEG. It does and if you want to have any credibility you will at least acknowledge it. Your claim to have no knowledge of what is happening at other airports in the region such as FR being subsidized in ZAD rings hollow. Your interests are completely in line with those who work against JU/BEG interests. Times will get tougher for them and you. As you have intimate knowledge of BEG, you may have heard Vinci took over with announcement they will grow traffic at BEG and will support Air Serbia expansion plans. There is nothing else you can do, pack your bags and come back in 25 years.

      Delete
    56. Anonymous18:00

      Seems to me that you like reading your own comments .... if you want to rebut any comment, then you need to do so with reason and rationale - perhaps you start with comprehending and understanding my point.

      I am NOT against supporting JU. I have many times that they should continue to do so. Please re-read my comments properly and all should be clear. Maybe English is the problem ??

      What I have said is that they shouldn't just do it exclusively to favour JU - ALL other airlines need to receive the same support as that provided to JU.

      Why ?

      Because other airlines - who now have more than 50% market share at BEG (and growing inspite of the pro-JU policies), have the ability to grow at a much faster rate than JU - as evidenced by JU's declining market share. Continuing on this path will not deliver the desired results to BEG or the tourism industry in Serbia.

      We need more tourist arrivals in Serbia and blatant policies which exclusively favour JU at the expense of other airlines is wrong.

      Delete
    57. Anonymous21:51

      Онда овако ако је језик проблем. Ко нормалан може да тврди да је инсајдер на аеродрому Београд и да жели добро том аеродрому а не разуме (и нису му у интересу субвенције и стање на околним аеродромима) иако то директно утиче на стање у Београду? Ко нормалан игнорише чињеницу да је Ер Србија убедљиво највише допринела расту путника у Београду у последњих пет година моделом регионалног чворишта и да управо то треба финансијски подржати (а не све авиокомпаније) да би се наставио овакав раст путника? Кога покушаваш да фолираш да си инсајдер а не знаш да ће Ванси наставити да подржава Ер Србију? Порука да се вратиш за 25 година је најбољи савет за тебе.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:07

    Congrats. Puts to rest the naysayers and those writing "if and when Vinci takes over". Waiting to see what they find next.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:54

      I still remember comments along the lines that no one would be interested and that the Chinese would take the airport as a "goodwill gesture to Serbia".

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:17

      @Waiting to see what they find next.
      At the moment we are waiting to see the small print in the agreement :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:19

      ^Ah I already saw your other comment. Your next line of argument after your predictions that the concession won't happen is that money from the concession will be returned to the concessionaire because Air Serbia will crash and burn... Ok... do you ever get bored? :)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:24

      Bored? I am more sad. :)
      And we do have experience with these kind of deals locally and in the region, so let's wait and see. Hoping for Zagreb scenario, fearing the one from Budapest.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:25

      Hahaha you are something different.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:25

      Zagreb is not a very good example considering the way things are going at the airport at the moment.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:50

      I hope we at least get a new terminal as Zagreb. We will see. Belgrade deal is extremely ambitious and based on assumption that company will have on average at least 63 mil eur net profit to break even.

      Delete
  5. Great news to ending 2018 year. Happy New 2019 to major Serbian air port Nikola Tesla!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:09

    First thing VINCI should do is change the website that these goofs that ran the airport for 5 years changed and destroyed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      What's wrrong with the website? It's not that bad.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:12

      It looks like it was made with microsoft paint and it was a big step back compared to the previous site.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:50

      +1

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:19

      @anon 9:09
      Destroyed airport? We had some very decent upgrading over past 5 years, and to that matter previous 15.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:24

    Well done Belgrade. I would have appreciated if they also considered the message in Cyrillic.
    The French usually do not have that much fame as being good concessioners compared to the Turks, Germans or UK.
    In MK we see that TAV did a great job with both SKP and OHD - both terminal wise and routes wise.
    In SLO we see that LJU has significantly improved with the new terminal soon to be built.
    In HR we see that ZAG now has a great terminal, but something is terribly wrong with the routes. There is room for improvement.

    2018 was definitely the Croatian year of aviation.
    2019 seems to be quite promising for BEG and especially Montenegro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:46

      In MK TAV did nothing regarding routes apart from offering incentives to Turkish carriers.
      It was the state that paid and continues to pay W6 for basing aircraft and starting new routes.
      TAV is just making profits from the large number of passengers state subsidies brought to SKP.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:48

      TAV is also providing incentives to W6. There is a transparent incentive scheme which every airline may apply according to their operations.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:26

    Bravo Srbija!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sada je i vreme da se osavremeni Logo, zastitni znak Aerodroma nikola Tesla. Da bude u duhu novog trenda vazdusne luke. I prikladnije samom imenu aerodroma NIKOLA TESLA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59

      Novi logo
      https://yt3.ggpht.com/a-/AAuE7mAk5nLzaazIUVeIH3AiLngQlOGlOp9zPubZ6w=s288-mo-c-c0xffffffff-rj-k-no

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:37

      Not bad, but why less red and more dominant blue ? According to the Serbian heritage, both colours must be equally present. The same as the current ASL logo.
      This is Serbia and not France.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:09

      That's not a logo. It's a combination of logos and typefaces.

      Delete
    4. kraspeed14:30

      The colours are like that to match the corporate identity of VINCI.
      And also, the thing about heritage and the equality of red and blue, it only takes a look at the Serbian flag or the flag of Belgrade to see that there's no equality of colours. One has red, and the other has blue as the predominant colour.
      If that's not enough for you, take a look at JU visual identity which is predominantly blue and BEG's former logo which is all red and no blue... So much for your colour equality.
      It's pretty impressive how some people find such stupid things to get mad about...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:31

      kraspeeed, just compare the new Belgrade logo with AF logo.
      I certainly don't spot any differences. Same dominant blue and less red. Typically for Frenchies. Ok, it will be their money but the Serbian hertitage and identity must be conserved.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:39

      And you saw Serbian heritage in a red "A"?

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:46

    Иако је ово велика вест за Београд, Србију и цео регион... мени је ипак жао што се овакве ствари морају реализовати са странцима. Имамо способних људи али како да се они докажу поред паразита попут Влаисављевића.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:21

    Why not. This makes perfect sense.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:46

    Great. Do we know who will become CEO?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:47

    Good. They managed to complete the transaction in less than a year since VINCI was selected as having the best bid. Looking forward to see what they will do.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:53

    Great news for Vinci and BEG.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:57

    We have the new logo
    https://yt3.ggpht.com/a-/AAuE7mAk5nLzaazIUVeIH3AiLngQlOGlOp9zPubZ6w=s288-mo-c-c0xffffffff-rj-k-no

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:04

      I think the logo stays the same, the 'A.'
      I think that's just a corporate presentation.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:20

    They should have given Nis Airport up for concession or to Vinci. It would develop more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:47

      +1000

      look how beuatiful is it:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s29hK95KMT4&t=25s

      INI = my airport <3 :*

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:02

      At this point giving INI to VINCI would be a reasonable option.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:32

    There is a greek saying: "I have sold my cow to by milk", that's all I have to say about this "deal"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:46

      What 'deal' are you talking about exactly? Have you actually read the agreement?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:56

      @anon 11:32
      Good saying! Tnx.
      @anon 11:46
      We hope to see and examine it at the earliest convenience.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:43

    What do you think the first new routes will be? Will they be French cities? Russia? India? Canada? Brazil? Morocco? Caucasus?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:58

      Belgrade has a relatively limited connectivity. Hopefully we get many more routes. It is incredible that we have only one destination in France.

      Delete
  19. Zagreb-Beograd, srijeda 19.12. u 20:40

    Air Serbia ATR 72-500 (YU-ALT)

    29/70 = 41,4%



    Beograd-Zagreb, petak 21.12. u 18:20

    Air Serbia ATR 72-500 (YU-ALO)

    61/66 = 92,4% =D>
    puno poslovnjaka, nešto obiteljskih putnika (pa i male djece), jedna grupa od 6 backpackera, nešto turista...

    Jasno je da je ovo udarni let zime pa ovaj neuobičani ogroman LF ima logike (petak navečer za meg-produženi vikend, obzirom da je u utorak Božić), tj. sa jednim slobodnim danom ljudi si spoje 5 neradnih dana, sa 5 slobodnih dana uz Novu godinu čak 11 neradnih dana (ne baš tako mali godišnji odmor).

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous13:19

    The Romanian prime minister is in Belgrade and she said that Romania will apply for some EU funds to build a highway from Belgrade to Timisoara. This is great news for BEG as even more passengers will be using its services. TSR is just 180 km away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:59

      Also Belgrade residents will be able to travel to TSR and catch cheap W6 flights in winter and lots of charter traffic in the summer by Blue Air and others.
      Great news for us but not so good news for JU.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:04

      TSR is not a threat to BEG or JU. It's an overrated airport, they are doing so well that their numbers crashed this year, so far 6% less than last year.This year they will barely have 1.5 million passengers.

      Delete

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