Air Serbia registers €21.3 million loss in 2021


Air Serbia has reported a loss of 21.3 million euros during the pandemic-stricken 2021, an improvement on the year before, when the loss amounted to just over 77 million euros. Revenue generated from scheduled flights amounted to 145.9 million euros, while charter services generated a further 37.7 million euros. The carrier’s biggest expense was aircraft maintenance, amounting to 42.4 million euros, followed by handling costs, which set the airline back seventeen million euros. During the year, Air Serbia repaid in full its second and final loan to Etihad Airways Partners BV, a special purpose vehicle set up by Etihad Airways in September 2015 to raise funds for itself and its equity partners. The loan amounted to 63 million US dollars. The airline did not take out any new loans last year.

During 2021, Serbian nationals were restricted from entering many European markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic, impacting the airline’s performance. In its 2021 financial report, the carrier said, “Following the complete suspension of commercial operations during the first quarter of 2020, demand for travel in the Republic of Serbia began to gradually recover in May 2020 and continued to do so throughout 2021 but is still limited, which is why full recovery is dependant on the stabilisation of air travel in Europe and the world”. It added, “The company’s management focused on reducing risks through restrictive cost management, optimising capacity in the face of a historic decline in demand, cash conservation by reducing planned investments, negotiations with suppliers for improved payment terms, implementing initiatives to reduce working capital and optimising human resources”.

YearNet profit / loss (million €)
2013 73
2014 2.7
2015 3.9
2016 0.9
2017 16.0
2018 12.3
2019 9.5
2020 77
2021 21.3

From January 1, 2021, until December 31, 2021, Air Serbia was forced to cancel 4.933 flights because of the pandemic, which resulted in reduced revenue. In comparison, during 2020, the carrier cancelled 23.079 flights. As previously reported, the Serbian airline achieved solid operational results in 2021, with its figures above the European industry average. It carried 1.586.665 passengers last year, representing an increase of 83% on the year before, with the airline’s average annual cabin load factor standing at 64%. The carrier’s traffic volume grew 39% compared to 2020 but was down 35% on the pre-pandemic and record-breaking 2019. Its best performing routes in 2021 were New York, Moscow, Tivat, Paris, Podgorica, Zurich, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London and Athens. During 2021, Air Serbia Cargo registered its best results on record with its performance surpassing the pre-pandemic period by as much as 55%.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    That's actually great - if you take into account the number of aircraft, and that covid was there for half of the year

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      A bit more than half the year, especially at the end of the year when many European countries were closed again,

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      First five months of last year were very difficult.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee09:16

      Don't forget that up until a few weeks ago many key European markets were off limits for Serbian tourists. I think Germany removed all restrictions about three weeks ago.

      I am not sure but I think Italy and France still have them.

      Delete
    4. Vlad10:23

      No restrictions in Italy.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:34

      ^ From recently, but there very much were restrictions for several months this year.

      Delete
    6. Vlad12:58

      Serbian tourists couldn't enter Italy by air for almost two years, I'm just saying there are no restrictions at the moment.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:23

      Covid is still here...

      Delete
    8. Anonymous21:14

      I expect positive results for 2022

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    Better than I expected

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      How much did you expect?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:36

      I expected it to range between 30 and 50 million.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    "The carrier’s biggest expense was aircraft maintenance, amounting to 42.4 million euros"

    Fleet renewal would help bring those costs down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      It is possible that more maintenance work was done than usual since many planes were on the ground. I know many airlines moved forward big checks and works.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:35

      Also getting planes in flying state after spending months in storage probably would have increased costs.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL11:51

      JU didn't have aircraft grounded for long periods in 2021. A couple of aircraft were sent back to lessors leaving JU with a smaller fleet. B733's were also retired. I'm sure that these 2 alone saved them from spending much more on maintenance. Plus with the ATR fleet being renewed, that number will go down.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Out of curiosity, what was OU's result last year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      Loss of 38 million and just 788,000 passengers

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/02/croatia-airlines-posts-38-million-loss.html

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:09

      To be honest, this is then great compared to how Croatia Airlines performed.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:17

      This says more about their disastrous business than about others' success.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:19

      Now we are only waiting to see how much money Air Montenegro lost and then we will have everyone's results.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:36

      Knowing this is Montenegro, I doubt we will see their results.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:45

      No final results until Adria being considered.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    This year's results will be interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      It will be interesting to see if they manage to have a profit.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      I doubt it, particularly because of the fleet expansion.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:14

      What fleet expansion? They just replaced older leases with newer ones. If anything they will save money.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:19

      What matters is how many passengers they get to carry this year. That will be key in bringing them closer to profitability. JU needs volume and without boosting their network and adding more frequencies and destinations they will never manage to reach profitability. That is why I hope most of these new routes will survive the winter.

      Night flights to IST should also provide them with a great deal of transfer passengers. That is why they will need more A320s in the future. With so many new transfer passengers being added, there might be a shortage of capacity out of BEG in the morning.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:56

      The new routes will probably generate loss which is normal.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee10:05

      Not necessarily, at least not in summer. Demand is big and JU didn't really dump fares.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:36

      And in winter I don't think many of those routes will be maintained. Most are seasonal.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:45

      Do keep in mind that ticket prices have gone significantly up this year which will help airlines.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:47

      Yes but prices of everything have gone up, for airlines included, starting with fuel.

      Delete
    10. JATBEGMEL11:53

      I think a headache for the company will be the amount of compensation they will need to pay passengers for the flight disruptions this summer.

      Delete
    11. Vlad11:56

      That will be a tough battle for consumers, because the airline can plausibly claim force majeure and people will probably have to pursue compensation through courts, which means the latter will get swarmed with cases and it'll take years to clear the backlog.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous08:15

      I don't think JU will struggle that much, they planned accordingly and in line with what was realistic. They didn't cancel much. I was a bit disappointed by what they planned for this summer but now I realize they were right not to rush too much. Delayed flights is much better than cancelled ones. Just look at BA which announced a new round of cuts for July.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    Why don't they publish quarterly results?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      They are not required to.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:46

      How come Croatia Airlines is?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:48

      Because it is a publicly listed company on the Zagreb stock exchange. Air Serbia isn't.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:13

      Thanks. Still I wish we could see their results each quarter.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:17

    Could have been much worse

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:23

    And how much were the state subsidies?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      Without state support, Air Serbia would go bust

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:35

      National carrier is vital for the economy. It is contributing immensely.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:38

      Really?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:41

      Yes, you only need to look at Slovenia.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:45

      At least some companies like JU could show profit or small loss no matter it includes certain financial support.

      We have air companies in the neighbourhood that have losses no matter they have the best Adriatic coast + financial support from Government + PSO + udruzeno oglasavanje...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:46

      All is good, typical national air carrier, serving a bigger purpose than making money unfortunately, JU carries Serbs through Europe year round and is a vital link for Serbs ...look what happened to Slovenian travel after Adria failure

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:07

      Cmon, Slovenian economy is the only developed economy in exYu

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:10

      And in exYu only Slovenia has underdeveloped aviation.

      Delete
    9. Croatian economy was at least as developed as Slovenian until Adeze destroyed everything

      Delete
    10. Anonymous22:49

      LoL. Looks like adz uses same macroeconomic books as you do. Both inaccurate.

      Delete
    11. Lol is only for Adeze using books. They don't. They use theft and crime, and we all witness consequences of their theft and crime, we do not create them, with or without books

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:23

    Getting better.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:23

    Will Etihad sell remaining 18% stake in JU?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      Doubt it. They have nothing to loose now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      Who would have thought this would be Etihad's last remaining investment.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      My guess is Etihad will leave if Serbian government finds another investor to replace them. Let's see how the new found love with Turkish Airlines develops.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:29

      If Etihad were to leave, does anyone knows what happens with the Air Serbia - Etihad Guest program?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:33

      It would be replaced with something else.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:37

      EY will keep its 18% on paper for time to come.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:27

    Air Serbia will be fine and is doing fine all things considered.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:35

    Hopefully things keep improving.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:37

      They already are.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:42

    Jat's loss in 2013 is best proof why Air Serbia was needed. So much money wasted on an airline that barely operated six planes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:44

      The result in 2013 is deceptive. It wasn't generated by Jat but by Air Serbia in the last 4 months - leasing new planes, cabin reconfiguration, huge expenses paid to Etihad... Etihad even brought its photographer from Abu Dhabi to take photos of employees for their IDs just so you understand the scope of the money that was wasted.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:52

      Jat's main issue was debt.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL11:45

      @09,44

      Absolutely. Alot of money was wasted during the initial phase of Air Serbia. 2013 losses were quite noticeable. But the years before we're not great either.

      Delete
    4. Croatia Airlines today reminds me ofJat Airways 2013, more and more, day by day

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:51

    What was the total revenue in 2021?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:52

    Congratulations Air Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:53

    Considering it was a year many airlines did poorly, these are quite good financial results. Operational results are very good in light of Covid.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:54

    How many employees does Air Serbia have?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      Just over 1,000.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:46

      Still a lot for an airline Air Serbia's size.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL11:36

      Their employee size is ok, not the best and not the worst. It used to be more than double. I believe at one point it was around 2.400 employees.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:20

      They got a rid of workers when they shut Air Serbia ground handling and all employees were transferred to Belgrade Airport handling.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous08:17

      Now most are with Sky Team or whatever they are called. Airlines are fleeing from BEG Ground Handling as they are useless. A few weeks ago LH Group sacked them as well, they are with Sky Team now.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:55

    JU had 8 interesting and intense years with many changes and more will probably be seen in the near future. The aviation market is extremely dynamic and airlines need to act fast to adapt to the needs. I think they are acting reasonably and trying to find more markets.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:30

    Wondering what the punctuality posting will be at the end of the 2022 summer season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:45

      Punctuality posting?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:47

      I think he means on time performance.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:50

      It's not going to be very good for most airlines, and for the most part, through no fault of their own.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:31

    How much is this loss adjusted for the subsidies this company receives from Serbian taxpayers?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:44

    Seems like their consolidation measures worked during Covid. JU is growing again this year and we will probably get second long haul route in winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:45

      Toronto?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:16

      Već ovog leta bi trebalo da polete za Kinu, sa 1 nedeljnim letom

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:58

      Kog leta i sa cime kad jos nisu nabavili drugi avion a leto vec u punom zamahu i polako prolazi.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:50

      Hainan se vec najavio.

      Delete
  22. Don't worry, taxpayers will cover for that. And Etihad will again just take their piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:04

      Taxpayers are happy to cover bigger losses in Croatia and Montenegro.

      Any source for that info about Etihad again taking their piece? Other than your imagination? I didn't think so.

      Delete
  23. EX-YU could you please include the amount of state aid JU has declared in the report?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:36

      No state aid was declared.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:49

    Nije loše s obzirom na okolnosti. Da u prva 3 meseca ove godine nije bilo ogranicenja možda bi ponovo bili u plusu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:01

      Riječ je o lajnskoj godini.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous12:59

    No wonder they did not bad when they are gauging their passengers with astronomical prices. I purchased a tkt SVO-BEG-SVO 6 months in advance and I had to pay 1159e (economy standard) ... that is a true rip off for a 2 1/2 hrs flight (that got delayed by 2+ hrs as well both ways). Once competition is back in the sky and due to their ingratitude I plan on never stepping in one of their planes again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL13:12

      - Russia limited the amount of flights between the 2 countries last year, not Serbia. Both JU and SU increased capacity, where possible, to go around this problem.
      - this year, with sanctions, high demand and a limit on capacity and aircraft that can be used, there isn't much JU can do. Supply and demand. TK has BEG-VKO for 1.600€ the cheapest for the next few weeks.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:21

      Yes indeed this year is even worst price vise! Russia allowed JU to fly two daily and they did so for a while but then our "god" decided that it had to be cut back to one flight a day so NO blame on Russia for this measure.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:20

      What a dumb comment. Air Serbia reacted to increased demand and wanted to increase frequency and started sending A330 to SVO but was under constant anonymous threats and political pressure being accused of war profiteering, so it had to reduce operations. That's the reason for increased prices, demand is high and planes are full. If you don't like those prices, check TK pricing for connecting flights.

      Based on history of sanctions in case of Cuba and North Korea, Aeroflot won't be allowed to overfly EU/NATO countries for decades.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:06

      If you didn't make that suggestion on how to reduce the ticket cost I would have been at a loss. Thanks a lot and FYI also one can and fly SU + JU/TK on separate tickets or through Yerevan on a combination SU/AU; both of these options are cheaper than JU / TK.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:39

      Looks like you dont want comfort of a nonstop flight? In that case Air Serbia should stop flights so you can enjoy flying Moscow - Yerevan - Istanbul - Belgrade :D

      Delete
  26. yeaaaaaaah
    nothing on APR, so it is impossible to check how much government subsidy there was for this to be only €21 mil loss

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous20:13

    Not bad at all. It's important they paid off those Etihad loans and didn't take out any new ones.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous20:41

    From the table we can conclude that the biggest amount of subsidies came in 2017.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous22:12

    Za razliku od British Airways-a, Lufthanze(nastavite niz…) koji vežu samo “uspehe” i nemaju uopšte gubitke 🤮🤮🤮. A pri tome su drzavne (većinom) bar Lufthanza. Kako je to moguće da ti “blaženi” zapadnjaci imaju iste probleme kao “prljavi i odvratni” Balkanci…more sve te Švabove treba….

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous14:03

    For comparison, Air Serbia lost 21.3 million euros during all of 2021, Croatia Airlines lost 15.2 million in the first quarter of 2022.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OU - no subsidies
      JU - yes subsidies

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      Have you been living under a rock? Do you know Croatia Airlines got over 30 million in state aid last year?

      Delete

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