State eliminates direct Air Serbia subsidies from budget in 2023


The Serbian government has not listed Air Serbia as a recipient of direct state subsidies in its draft of the 2023 budget for the first time in nine years. Although the exact amount of funds the airline has received on an annual basis from the budget over the past years has never been specified, the national carrier was always one of over sixty companies “of special importance”, which would divide a lump sum among themselves. In the 2022 budget, these amounted to a total of eighty million euros to be shared between them. According to the company's financial reports, the airline was the beneficiary of 20.8 million euros "from premiums, subsidies, grants and donations" on an annual basis over the past few years. The figure has been significantly decreased from 41.8 million euros in 2016 and is in line with the transaction agreement between the Serbian government and Air Serbia’s minority shareholder Etihad Airways.

The Serbian government has maintained that the funds destined for Air Serbia from the state budget were to pay off old debt owed by the carrier’s predecessor Jat Airways, however, the accuracy of these claims have been contested. Last year, the Serbian Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić, noted, "The Government of the Republic of Serbia did not give a single dinar, euro, dollar or any other currency to subsidise Air Serbia. What you see as income from premiums is to pay off the debt accumulated by Jat, which we have taken upon ourselves. Their [Air Serbia's] financial reports will display these payments until 2023 because this is debt owed by Jat".

The Prime Minister has vowed the government would stand by the carrier in the years to come. "The government of Serbia will maintain its strong support for Air Serbia. This support will be in line with European Union regulations, as it has been so far, however, no one can prevent us or limit our support for Air Serbia", Ms Brnabić said. She added, "Air Serbia plays an important role in the development of tourism, improves our economic ties with numerous countries and strengthens our country's brand. It has been an important driver of economic growth and I am certain that we will see even better results ahead since there are good prospects for further growth". The government has forecast that Air Serbia will post a profit of seven million euros at the end of the year. In September, the state purchased 1.82 million newly issued shares by Air Serbia valued at a total of 15.5 million euros, increasing its ownership stake in the flag carrier by 1.6 points to 83.58%.

Commenting on state subsidies last month, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said, “In no case do we want to rely on the state. Our job is to be profitable and build long-term sustainability. We may be owned by the state, but we really operate as a commercial company”. In its 2022 progress report on Serbia, the European Commission noted that in the field of air transportation, “Serbia still needs to further align its secondary legislation on state aid with the acquis and provide a solid track record in the implementation of laws on protection of competition and state aid control”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Interesting. I'm sure they will be getting the money somehow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      I'm sure you know it all.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:31

      You think they will no longer get any funds from the state? Get real.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:33

      That is what all airlines across Europe are doing. Getting hidden incentives from their governments, airports, tourist boards, regions etc.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:55

      Except in Slovenia. :)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:55

      Didn't SLO gov give subsidies/incentives to a number of airlines last year? In the tune of 5m€.

      Delete
    6. JATBEGMEL21:57

      @13,55

      They did. They even awarded LX subsidies in the first round (of 3) even though they didn't meet the criteria to receive subsidies.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous05:19

      I knew it. Those Slovenes.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Instead of direct they will get indirect subsidies :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:22

      Is that how OU circumvents EU rules?

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    So in the end it seems the government was right and that they really were paying off Jat debt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Which would also indicate that people's calculations of what was their real profit or loss was completely off since they just subtracted whatever was listed in the budget.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      ^ Not really because the financial report shows how much money they got on annual basis in subsidies.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:03

      20 million in subsidies is not that much.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:30

      It is not much if we really get a company which transfers us securely at reasonable price as JAT used to do. We do live in "golden age" but we are really not market for 500eur tickets in high season for 1h flights. Especially not with "national carrier"

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:31

      Something tells me you have never bought a ticket with them.

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

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:06

    Good luck

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    Ouch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      Hope you actually read the article past the headline.

      Delete
    2. Vlad09:10

      Came into the comments to see how fast the hate brigade was. 09:02 and 09:03, I'm not disappointed.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:03

      Don't worry! Air Serbia are experts at creative Accounting!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:04

      They also seem to be experts at launching new routes, renewing their fleet, strengthening commercial agreements with other carriers... unlike some.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:23

      Ahahaha bravo Anon 12.04

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    I'm always confused by these statements. Does this mean at the end of this year Air Serbia is fully profitable and no money will be given to them to finance loss in operations?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      They were listed a recipient of subsidies from the state budget this year. This is about next year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      It just means that they will not get money directly from the budget. They will probably get it from different means and this was likely done to appease EU concerns.

      Delete
    3. Vlad09:12

      The discussion is about the 2023 budget.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:22

      Nothing to do with the EU, it has to do with JU finally growing a pair and started growing. If Serbia wanted to appease the EU then they would have suspended flying to Russia. Luckily JU and Serbia are rational enough not to shoot themselves in the foot.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:10

    Thankfully indirect subsidies will increase.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:10

    I think this actually means that the government will probably renationalize the airline next year. Or at least increase its stake past 90%.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Yes, that's a possibility.

      Delete
    2. Vlad09:17

      What is the logic? If they decide to buy off Etihad's stake, that money goes to Etihad, not to Air Serbia. What could happen instead is that the company issues more shares, but I don't think it's very likely.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:20

      Money is not going to Etihad. Air Serbia emits new shares which is bought by the government, increasing its stake and decreasing Etihad's. Like they did this year and 2 years ago.

      Delete
    4. Vlad10:24

      My comment was referring to the potential for renationalisation. If anything, I think it's more likely that another airline (such as TK) buys off the Etihad stake.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:15

    It would be interesting to see what the airline's revenue was this year. If you look at their annual report from last year, it shows that yields increased by a lot on all key markets. I also think the JFK route is now bringing them quite a bit of money. Yesterday there were 29 passengers in business class on the BEG-JFK route. Economy was full.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      Considering how expensive their fares are, and how much they charge for flights to Russia, I’m really not surprised their yields are up.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      They are also charging a fortune for the new Tianjin flights, and tickets are selling out!

      Delete
    3. Nemjee09:27

      Keep in mind that fares were high because they were mostly full this summer. By switching to A320s they will have additional room to arrange a more competitive pricing strategy.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:33

      Nemjee tickets to Russia are average 3.5x more expensive compared to what they used to be. Do you happen to know when are they going to load flights into the system for April- June 2023? Flights are still not available for sale.

      Delete
    5. Nemjee09:38

      Costs related to Russian operations have also skyrocketted, starting with insurance premiums. All carriers flying into Russia are expensive.

      They are probably waiting for the Russian authorities to issue permits. They usually take their time with it.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:55

      Oh I am sure that costs didn't triple or quadrupled; I am sure they are using the opportunity just because they don't have fair competition.

      Delete
    7. У економији имате нешто што се зове понуда и потражња.

      Delete
    8. Nemjee17:17

      Flights are full as is so why change it? Furthermore, it's not like they are passive. They could have flown to SVO daily and charged crazy fares. They expanded their Russian network by quite a bit which is a long-term investment... an investment that is obviously paying off.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:17

    The only viable ex-YU airline.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nemjee09:20

    Congratulations to JU! This goes to show that all of the subsidies the last couple of years were justified.

    Seems like growing was a step in the right direction which led them to being self-sustainable. With more passengers their revenue will finally grow so they will be able to pay their bills without the government's help.

    I flew LCA-BEG yesterday (YU-APK). The flight arrived with 76 passengers and returned with 127 with 4 in business, that's a LF of 91%. There were a lot of transfers onboard. I saw a group of French, Slovenes and Spanish. Lot's of Cypriots onboard while Russians were maybe around 15-20.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:52

      Good to hear. Especially in November. The deadest month of the year.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      This LF BEG-LCA was only 50+ % so not that great

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:04

      In the middle of November for a flight in the middle of the week, it's fine, especially if the return flight that same day is full.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee17:18

      Don't forget that BEG-LCA departed at 10.30 so there were barely any transfer options. There was Moscow, Kazan and Podgorica. Hardly enough to fill LCA in the middle of November. Flight back made a killing especially since there were 4 passengers in business class.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:26

    From Milan they are asking almost 300 euros one way and they carry Air I guess.
    I can get to San Francisco with less money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Flight is probably full.

      Delete
    2. Vlad10:27

      MXP flights are regularly packed, with many Russians on the flights.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:26

    It would be interesting to see which route makes them the most money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:35

      Moscow, Sochi , St Peterburg and Kazan without a doubt. Prices are crazy around 1000e for a return and they are set accross the board so there are no days with cheaper options.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:31

    Good

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:33

    Without state support, Air Serbia would go bust.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:05

      Good morning, it was quite obvious since the birth of the new, boutique airline inline with Etihad. An elephant never forgets.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:16

      And the old one was self sustainable with a grand total of 6 functional planes? Ok

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:35

    "Poreski obveznik" na aparatima 🤣

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      Huge! Ne kajgotarite!

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:44

    It's a question of how they will cook the books in 2023.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:28

      Whether they do or they don't, you will still be a sad little hater on the sidelines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:15

      Anon 09:44 was probably the same guy who, in 2013, said "Airbus planes are not coming to Air Serbia". Then in 2016 he said "A330 will not be coming". His prophecy keeps failing.

      Delete
    3. And I believe it's the same one writing Bravo Hrvatska every day on every topic concerning Croatia, even negative

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:35

      Agree with @anonymous 09:44 . And of course I wonder if and when they are gonna publish their real financial results .

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:35

      Oh because they are not real? You also have proof Earth is flat, don't you?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:07

      They have an auditor who reviews the books. A very large company that won’t be risking their reputation over making Air Serbia look profitable. This isn’t communist Yugoslavia and you need to finally get into the 21st century and forget about this book cooking.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:45

    Congratulations to JU. Seems like they are becoming more sustainable.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:51

    They have had a lot of big investments this year and the subsidies haven't been huge. I also believe they are becoming more profitable and finances are definitely improving.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous09:54

    Wonder what the lump sum is of the amount Air Serbia has gotten from the state since 2013.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:56

      100s of millions of euros.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:58

      Not much different from other airlines in the region. At least they got something to show for it.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:56

    Good work

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous09:57

    Hefty hefty government aid since 2013, let's see how it goes now with 7 million net profit especially with ORD and China coming along.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:01

    Natural progression. Subsidies have been decreasing year on year.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:02

    They were playing with fire with these subsidies in the past. Now they are more careful.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:02

    Good. JU seems to be on the right track to completely recover from Covid.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:04

    It is not the only company in the world to receive subsidies this way or another...

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:11

    Actually I agree with the Prime Minister... Air Serbia's contribution to the economy is much broader than as the airline business itself. I don't think it would be a waste of many adding more subsidies if it is pushing the company in the right direction.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:12

    This company is not profitable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      Definitely more profitable and with some kind of a growth plan compared to the rest in the region.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:17

    One revenue stream Air Serbia are yet to address which Etihad benefits from is the loyalty scheme. Would like to them bring back in house and then work with like Turkish and other airlines who have better loyalty programmes. Loyalty schemes can be a good source of income for airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vlad10:30

      Fully agree. If they don't want to join an alliance, at least they should work on accrual and redemption opportunities. Etihad's FFP is a dead-end at the moment.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous10:25

    How is the "development for tourism" donation Air Serbia gets each year accounted for?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:27

      The same like "udruzeno oglasavanje" fund

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:44

      So it is not considered a subsidy. Hidden incentive I guess.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous11:07

    I can see that JU will be more than profitable in 2023

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:10

      How can a company be 'more' than profitable?

      Delete
  32. Anonymous11:38

    What matters is that subsidies are going down each year.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous11:39

    Full privatization incoming

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:58

      Who would buy a 100% stake?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:00

      Turkish?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:28

      I can see Turkish buying in

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:21

      Non EU carrier can't buy more than 49% of the airline

      Delete
  34. Anonymous11:39

    Seems to me the Serbian government learned to give subsidies in a way not offend EU regulators and have a cover story. The same thing many EU governments are doing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:54

      Khm Croatia Airline khm

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:58

      True, and not just JU and OU. Many European governments and carriers.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:41

      No

      Delete
    4. Anonymous04:14

      Yes they are all getting support.. all around the world .. aspecially if they are Gouvernement owned

      Delete
  35. Anonymous12:03

    Croatia as EU carrier receives direct money injections from their Government and Air Serbia as non-EU carrier won't receive next year a single euro from Serbian budget.

    At the same time JU opens new destinations and introduce new wide body flights to China and Chicago and OU does nothing of it. And stll they get money. Terrible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:25

      OU is a dead airline on life support. Narcissism and pride are keeping it in a coma.

      Delete
    2. Not only narcissism and pride. That goes more for bots who Bravo Hrvatska here on daily basis. The main reasons are crime and theft, and Uhljeb sanctuary, those are two things why those who decide about OU are keeping it alive in a coma.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous13:27

    Otplaćeni su dugovi JAT-a i kredit Etihadu,vidi se očtgledan napredak kompanije u svakom smislu,vidi se svetlo na kraju tunela. Biće ovo isplativa investicija države.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous14:05

    Isn't the money JU gets for putting Tesla and Pupin on the tails of A330 a form of state aid?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:06

      No. That was for the "Serbia Creates" livery as it was part of that campaign which has finished. These liveries have nothing to do with it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:57

      Ok, thanks.

      Delete
    3. Nemjee17:22

      The fact they did not renew the Serbia Creates nonsense only goes to show how much JU's finances have improved. You can't shrink yourself into profitability, you need to grow in order to consolidate your business. JU is doing exactly that.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:42

      Dear NEMJEE can you please give any link for official numbers of their financial results ?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:06

      You have all their financial results on the APR website.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee06:12

      Indeed, APR publishes all financial reports in great details. You can check it out on their website.

      Delete
  38. Anonymous20:06

    I saw someone write that it doesn’t matter if they receive state funding, at least they get something from it. What do they mean exactly? I mean, obviously it’s great that people can travel, but what is the huge benefit everyone’s talking about if the company isn’t profitable without state aid? Someone please clarify

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL23:05

      You can check out this article.

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2016/07/air-serbia-tipped-to-add-1-bn-to.html?m=1

      JU as an employer pays salaries above the national average, which mostly circulates in the Serbian economy. Foreign currency used for purchasing tickets enters the Serbian economy. It's 2.5-3 million passengers will be making some form of purchases in BEG, INI and KVO (coffee, duty free, food, retail etc.) which requires additional people (again, Serbian nationals) to cater to them through other businesses. Not to mention foreigners visiting Serbia further stimulating local businesses. Local food and beverages and available on JU flights which means added business to local suppliers. JU fly to main airports providing Serbia with increased connectivity with the world, something you don't get with LCC (Macedonia is a great example of this, which has a decent Wizz base but ranks amongst the worst connected countries in Europe). Connectivity is important for trade and foreign investment. This is just an over simplified introduction to the effects JU has on our economy. Not to mention that the added competition has made air travel cheaper. In fact, transport is 1 of 2 sectors currently experiencing deflation.

      JU's losses are at a manageable level and do not burden the state budget. The small cash injection JU receives the government gets alot more back one way or another. JU's finances have shown great improvement since 2017 and are on a positive trend for profitability.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous04:18

      +1

      Delete
  39. Anonymous22:05

    I think they should first cut all substities to the Belgrade city bus system GSP, a black hole that is draining much more money in the country, where hardly anyone pays for using it, and they should redirect those savings into funds used to attrack big foreign investments that are estimated likely to increase the country’s GDP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee06:14

      Indeed, it was reported the other day that half of Belgrade's budget is wasted on GSP yet people generally don't care or don't mind, same with the railways. At least JU is useful.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous10:59

    The EU wants a monopoly, so air france/klm and Lufthansa are the only ones to rule the skies... Shame

    ReplyDelete

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