Jat Airways
Jat Airways was the national flag carrier and largest airline of Yugoslavia and later Serbia and Montenegro and finally Serbia. Founded in 1927 as Aeroput, the airline ceased operations during World War II. After resuming flights in 1947, the airline was renamed Jugoslovenski Aerotransport on 1 April 1947. The airline was renamed again on 8 August 2003. Jat Airways and their predecessors were one of the oldest airlines still in operation. Flight operations were based at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, and the airline operated scheduled services to 72 international destinations, outside the areas formerly part of Yugoslavia, as well as charters and wet leases. Jat Airways was owned by the government of Serbia and had 1,250 employees.
On 1 August 2013, the Government of Serbia and Etihad Airways entered into an agreement that reorganized the operations of Jat Airways, and renamed it Air Serbia after the transitional period ended. Certain assets, such as the ATR 72 aircraft, would be transitioned to Air Serbia, while other assets would remain in JAT Airways branding until retired. The change marked the end of 66 years of the JAT brand.
History
Aeroput
JAT traces its heritage back to 1927 when Aeroput, the first civil airline in Yugoslavia was founded. Their first international flight was in 1929 between Belgrade and Graz. In 1937, the expansion of international routes and an increase in passenger numbers enabled Aeroput to acquire the Lockheed Model 10 Electra. Aeroput continued to operate until the start of World War II. JAT Yugoslav Airlines was launched on 1 April 1947 and replaced Aeroput in 1948. the name was changed to Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, then to JAT Yugoslav Airlines and finally to Jat Airways on 8 August 2003.JAT – Yugoslav Airlines
In 1946, it was apparent that the Yugoslav Air Force could not be involved in the nation's post-war build-up of civil aviation. Consequently, preparations were made for the formation of an air transport company. Three Douglas C-47 Skytrain and three Junkers Ju 52 were converted to carry passengers. The airline was officially renamed to Jugoslovenski Aerotransport on 1 April 1947.In 1949, Yugoslavia was faced with a dire international position: isolated both by the West and the East. This caused further rationing of fuel, difficulties in procuring spare parts, and the cancellation of all flights to Eastern European destinations. JAT was forced to survive on six domestic lines. When Yugoslavia turned to the West, an agreement was made with Swissair to open the Belgrade-Zürich route, which was inaugurated on 24 August 1949. Company stagnation marked operations in 1949 because the traffic volume was well below fleet potentials and transport needs in the country. However, 1954 was in many ways a turning point. Convair CV-340 and Convair CV-440 Metropolitan aircraft were purchased for short-haul and medium-haul routes, after which the Douglas DC-3 was used only on domestic routes. Multiple international and domestic routes were opened soon after. In 1957, six Ilyushin Il-14M aircraft were purchased. JAT purchased several Douglas DC-6Bs for long-haul routes in 1959.
Jet age
In 1963, the first Sud Aviation Caravelle joined the JAT fleet. In 1969, the first McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 arrived, followed by Boeing 707 in 1970, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1971, and in 1974 by the first two Boeing 727-200s.1970s
Long-haul routes to North America, Australia, and the Far East were flown by Boeing 707s, introduced in 1970.In 1975, Belgrade was connected with Karachi, Singapore and Sydney. Same year three brand new Boeing 727s were introduced. In 1976 fleet consisted of 4 Boeing 707, 13 McDonnell Douglas DC-9, 3 Boeing 727, 5 Caravelle and one Convair.
In 1976, two more Boeing 727s joined the fleet, for a total of five. The same year, Belgrade was connected with New York City, Malta, Baghdad, Kuwait City and Damascus. All Caravelles were withdrawn from the fleet, while the line to Karachi was terminated. That year JAT had almost three million passengers.
In 1977, new routes to Madrid and Lyon were introduced.
In 1978, a wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 was purchased to succeed the Boeing 707s on longer-haul routes, although the 707s remained in service into the 1980s on ad hoc charters and as scheduled-flight replacement aircraft. The purchase of a DC-10-30 was followed several years later by the purchase of a medium-range aircraft. The same year, a new route to Beijing was added.
In 1979, JAT carried almost 4 million passengers.
1980s
In 1980, the route Belgrade–Chicago was established. Two more brand new Boeing 727s were added to the fleet.In 1981, Cleveland was added as a stopover on route Belgrade–Chicago. The same year the JAT fleet counted 28 planes 2 DC-10, 13 DC-9, 4 Boeing 707 and 9 Boeing 727.
In 1983, Jat introduced new routes to Alger and Thessaloniki and ceasing route to Beijing.
In 1984, the Belgrade–Toronto route was established. Jat was the official carrier and sponsor of the 1984 Winter Olympics.
In 1985, JAT was the first European airline to purchase Boeing 737-300s. During those years, the company carried five million passengers annually and served 80 destinations on five continents. JAT also constructed a large hangar to accommodate wide-body aircraft and a jet-engine test stand at their Belgrade hub. The same year, Bombay and Calcutta were connected with Belgrade.
In 1987, Belgrade was connected with Melbourne, Perth, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. Profit that year was $205 million.
1990s
In 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke apart, resulting in the Yugoslav Wars. JAT was forced to stop all domestic services. The United Nations imposed sanctions on 20 May 1992 against Yugoslavia. For the first time since World War II, international transport was forcibly terminated in Yugoslavia. This was preceded by the decisions of Germany and Italy to interrupt any traffic with Yugoslavia: on 21 December 1991 — Germany, the largest market for JAT in Europe, with seven flights daily and 40& million German marks gross annual profit, followed by Italy on 10 January 1992. The United States imposed an embargo on air traffic with Yugoslavia on 2 May 1992: the last JAT flights to the United States were to Chicago and New York. JAT management decided to re-route North American long-range flights to Canada. However, Canada quickly followed and banned all JAT flights entering the country, terminating all JAT operations across the North Atlantic.During that time, JAT operated only domestic services between Belgrade, Podgorica, Tivat, Niš, Priština and — for a very short time — Užice–Ponikve Airport. In 1994, JAT resumed some of their international services. In 1998, JAT ordered eight Airbus A319s. This was seen as a political stunt by the president, Slobodan Milošević. The original delivery date was June 2000, but this date had been postponed until a total of $23.5 million was paid off to Airbus while JAT was hoping to divert the deal to another airline. Soon after, all flights were canceled as Europe introduced a new ban and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was bombed for 78 days during the Kosovo War.
In April 2000, director general Žika Petrović was gunned down in front of his home in Belgrade.
2000s
International sanctions were lifted in 2000, and JAT resumed regular flight services. To celebrate the move that coincided with the country restructuring from FR Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro, JAT Yugoslav Airlines changed their name to Jat Airways on 8 August 2003. In 2004, Belgrade based Intair Link Airlines was merged into Jat, one year after Intair Link had begun service. Jat sold its last DC-10-30 on 24 June 2005 to France-based company TAT Industries. During 2005, the company also phased out all remaining Boeing 727s and DC-9s. The last airworthy DC-9-32 was leased to the United Arab Emirates company Eastern SkyJets.By then, Jat Airways was not a member of any alliances or partnerships but did code share on some routes with Adria Airways, Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, B&H Airlines, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines and TAROM.
Jat Airways introduced their online booking system in September 2006 and electronic tickets in April 2007. Jat Airways celebrated 80 years of service on 17 June 2007. In 2007 and 2008 the airline received an award as one of the five best brands from Serbia. They also received an award for their television advertisements celebrating 80 years of service. On 3 July 2008 the Jat Airways reestablished air links with neighbouring Croatia after a 17-year absence.
In 2012, Jat celebrated their 85th birthday and began refurbishing their cabins in both business and economy class, at the same time introducing a new frequent flyer program.
Privatization attempts
The government of Serbia made two unsuccessful attempts to privatize Jat Airways, in 2008 and 2011.On 16 January 2008, the government of Serbia announced it would sell a 51% stake in the airline. The starting price for the airline's 51% share was €51 million, decreased from the earlier announced €150 million in order to increase interest. The tender was canceled after no company had submitted an offer following the deadline.
In 2011, the Serbian government announced that it would create a successor to Jat Airways with a strategic partner. The new airline would assume all of Jat's healthy assets, codeshare agreements, aircraft and airport slots. Baltic Aviation Systems was the only company to purchase the tender documentation but decided not to pursue the partnership further. The tender was again canceled due to a lack of interested buyers.
Strategic partnership with Etihad Airways
In March 2013, Serbia's Minister of Finance Mlađan Dinkić traveled to Abu Dhabi to propose that Etihad Airways take a stake in Jat in order to renew their fleet. In April it was confirmed that Etihad added Belgrade to their summer timetable as a part of the initiative to become a co-owner of Jat alongside the Serbian government. A purchase of a 49% stake in Jat by Etihad is widely suggested by observing media, which is dependent on whether a memorandum of understanding is signed with the government of Serbia, possibly in May 2013. On 17 June 2013, an MoU was signed with Etihad and the Serbian government on exploring the possibility of an equity investment in Jat Airways.On 1 August 2013, the Serbian Government and Etihad Airways formalised an agreement which will see a reorganisation and rebranding of the airline's operations to Air Serbia, an entity in which the Serbian Government will have a 51% stake and Etihad Airways will own 49%. Etihad Airways was also granted management rights over the carrier for an initial five-year period.
By then, Serbia had only one airline carrier, Jat Airways shareholding, a company with its own statute, Board of Directors and management bodies. Air Serbia is the result of a strategic partnership agreement between the Etihad Airways and Jat Airways, making the company to fulfill regulatory requirements, and got registered with the Business Registers Agency. Subsequently, Jat Airways changed its name to Air Serbia and everything else was kept unchanged, continuing to be a joint stock company, the commercial entity registered in the APR, and with all the rights and obligations of Jat Airways. At that moment, Jat Airways was working at full power and fulfilling the obligations of regular and chartered passenger transportation, as agreed in its business plan for 2013.