By Ivana Sekularac
BELGRADE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Serbia's flag carrier JAT is seeking licences to fly out of Macedonia and Bosnia in a bid to turn a profit in 2011, its chief executive said on Thursday.
'We already have registered a company in Macedonia that is called Air Mak and we hope to get the licence to fly to other countries soon and start flights next spring,' Srdjan Radovanovic, JAT general manager, told a news conference.
Radovanovic also said that next spring the airline planned to start flights from the Bosnian Serb town of Banja Luka.
JAT already has flights from Belgrade to both Banja Luka and Skopje, but with additional licences it would be able to fly to other countries.
'That will enable us to have 1.5 million passengers next year, which will allow us to stop making losses next year and even make a profit in 2011,' he said.
In socialist Yugoslavia JAT was a thriving national airline with a domestic market of more than 20 million people and a loyal following among the expatriate community.
It was badly hit by United Nations sanctions imposed on Serbia for its role in the wars of the 1990s, and was banned from flying to international destinations during that decade.
It last bought new planes in the early 1990s.
Its estimated 2009 loss is less than 20 million euros, due to savings measures, while in 2008 it lost 80 million euros, Radovanovic said.
As carriers such as Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa entered the Serbian market, JAT's market share slipped to 45 percent of all traffic through Belgrade last year from around 60 percent in 2002.
'We have asked the government to provide guarantees for a 40 million euro loan that will be used to lease new planes,' Radovanovic said.
A $558 million deal signed in 1998 with Airbus to buy eight planes was a burden on the company, Radovanovic said.
'We want to use the $23 million deposit to get a new plane from Airbus, and to negotiate the cancellation of the remaining seven planes,' he said.
Radovanovic said the company also planned to introduce new services to attract more passengers, including a voucher for a free taxi ride from Belgrade airport to the city centre.
'This year we plan to sell a building in Belgrade and get 20 million euros,' Radovanovic said. 'That will be enough to pay for spare parts we need for planes.'
(Editing by Adam Tanner/Will Waterman) Keywords: SERBIA JAT/ (ivana.sekularaca@thomsonreuters.com; +381 11 30 44 930; Reuters Messaging:ivana.sekularac.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
BELGRADE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Serbia's flag carrier JAT is seeking licences to fly out of Macedonia and Bosnia in a bid to turn a profit in 2011, its chief executive said on Thursday.
'We already have registered a company in Macedonia that is called Air Mak and we hope to get the licence to fly to other countries soon and start flights next spring,' Srdjan Radovanovic, JAT general manager, told a news conference.
Radovanovic also said that next spring the airline planned to start flights from the Bosnian Serb town of Banja Luka.
JAT already has flights from Belgrade to both Banja Luka and Skopje, but with additional licences it would be able to fly to other countries.
'That will enable us to have 1.5 million passengers next year, which will allow us to stop making losses next year and even make a profit in 2011,' he said.
In socialist Yugoslavia JAT was a thriving national airline with a domestic market of more than 20 million people and a loyal following among the expatriate community.
It was badly hit by United Nations sanctions imposed on Serbia for its role in the wars of the 1990s, and was banned from flying to international destinations during that decade.
It last bought new planes in the early 1990s.
Its estimated 2009 loss is less than 20 million euros, due to savings measures, while in 2008 it lost 80 million euros, Radovanovic said.
As carriers such as Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa entered the Serbian market, JAT's market share slipped to 45 percent of all traffic through Belgrade last year from around 60 percent in 2002.
'We have asked the government to provide guarantees for a 40 million euro loan that will be used to lease new planes,' Radovanovic said.
A $558 million deal signed in 1998 with Airbus to buy eight planes was a burden on the company, Radovanovic said.
'We want to use the $23 million deposit to get a new plane from Airbus, and to negotiate the cancellation of the remaining seven planes,' he said.
Radovanovic said the company also planned to introduce new services to attract more passengers, including a voucher for a free taxi ride from Belgrade airport to the city centre.
'This year we plan to sell a building in Belgrade and get 20 million euros,' Radovanovic said. 'That will be enough to pay for spare parts we need for planes.'
(Editing by Adam Tanner/Will Waterman) Keywords: SERBIA JAT/ (ivana.sekularaca@thomsonreuters.com; +381 11 30 44 930; Reuters Messaging:ivana.sekularac.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
