TRIP REPORT: Montenegro Airlines, Copenhagen - Podgorica

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

SAA sold

South Africa agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm, ridding the government of an entity that has long been a drain on state finances. A consortium comprised of Johannesburg-based Global Airways, which owns recently launched domestic airline Lift, and private-equity firm Harith General Partners will take a 51% shareholding in South African Airways (SAA), Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said. The government will retain a minority stake. The grouping named Takatso will invest as much as 3.5 billion rand ($258 million) over the next three years, Lift co-founder, Gidon Novick, and Harith Chief Executive Officer, Tshepo Mahloele, said in an interview. “Government will have no further financial obligations to the company, outside of the existing liabilities that they will settle”, Novick said. He added, “Route networks we are still working on, and it will be a phased roll-out based on demand re-emerging post Covid”. The sale of SAA comes about six weeks after the airline emerged from lengthy bankruptcy proceedings, having reduced its workforce by almost 80% and cut liabilities to about 2.6 billion rand. The next challenge is to resume international flights, though South Africa remains cut off from much of the world due to pandemic travel restrictions. A longer-term goal is to list the carrier on a stock exchange, Gordhan said. In the meantime, the government will retain special voting rights to ensure the airline remains in the country, among other national priorities. The deal represents a triumph of sorts for Gordhan, who has argued for the revival of SAA with the help of private investors while others were calling for it to be liquidated. While SAA is now “solvent and liquid,” business-rescue practitioners said when handing over the aircraft, subsidiaries including low cost arm Mango and maintenance firm SAA Technical remain under financial strain and are in the process of being recapitalized. The Department of Public Enterprises and the new consortium will together assess the future of the divisions as part of the due diliegence process, Gordhan said.
Source: Bloomberg

TRIP REPORT: Montenegro Airlines, Copenhagen - Podgorica

TRIP REPORT | INDEX

Written by Claus

I flew Montenegro Airlines in the summer and realised that there are not so many reviews on this airline, so I decided to put down my impressions about them here, for people who might be thinking of flying this fine little airline.

I flew Montenegro Airlines from Copenhagen to Podgorica and they were using an Embraer plane for that flight. It was very comfortable, compared to most planes I have flown on similar distances. The seats were 2 by 2 seats, so we had no one getting stuck in a middle seat and the leg space was considerably better than on an average plane doing a 3 hour flight. There was only one toilet at the rear of the plane, but it was more spacious than an average plane toilet and was quite clean.

The flight from Copenhagen to Podgorica was 2 hours and 40 minutes and we were given a sandwich, a muffin and free soft drinks during the whole trip. I was not overly excited about the sandwich, but the muffin was surprisingly good, even though I am not much of a muffin fan. There is no alcohol being served on Montenegro Airlines and according to the flight attendant, they had stopped it after some incidents in the past where people had gotten drunk onboard and caused trouble. I really like having a glass of red wine when I am flying, but I can see their point and it was a short flight, so no worries from me there. The cabin crew were very nice and service-minded and I could not have asked for any more there. They were happy to answer my quirky questions about the airline and happy to bring me another cup of coffee when I asked for it. They did a very good job.

Upon arrival to the tiny Podgorica Airport, the luggage was delivered swiftly and I was stamped in to Montenegro, by a smiling lady who welcomed me to Montenegro. Flying to Montenegro with the national carrier was all in all a very pleasant experience, even if I did not get a glass of red wine during the flight.

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Comments

Anonymous09:43
Nice report. MGX seems like a nice airline.
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Anonymous11:05
I like that they serve the sandwich on a tray :D
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Anonymous11:05
The catering is more than you would get on 98% of European airlines on sector of that length. Well done MGX.
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Anonymous11:12
Interesting that they don't serve alcohol.
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Anonymous18:04
Fantastic airline with style.
Excellent!
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