Jat in negotiations with Turkish company

Jat Airways Director Srdjan Radovanovic said that Jat’s negotiations for a strategic partnership with Turkish Airlines are “heading in a good direction.” He said that a good model of a strategic partnership could be similar to the one between Fiat and Zastava—if Turkish Airlines and the government could be the owners of the national air travel company—adding that the details will be confirmed during the negotiations. Jat in negotiations with Turkish company Radovanovic said that there were more companies interested in a strategic partnership with Jat, including companies from Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, but that talks with the Turkish company have been the best, adding that “99 percent of the further steps are up to the government.” He said that Jat will end this year with losses of about EUR 15mn, which is less than the earlier predicted EUR 20-25mn and half of what was lost last year. “Of course, that is not great, but it is better than we had hoped for. Jat Airways, like a majority of airlines in the world, suffered losses this year. Turkish Airlines is one of the few that made a profit in 2008 and 2009,” Radovanovic said. He said that next year’s plans to fly 1.5mn passengers will not be easy to achieve, adding that “one reason is because Jat, as a public company, has to lead conservative business policies because it is on the market.” “We are one of the few public companies that are on the market, so our situation is made twice as difficult, and we cannot ask the government to increase our prices like other public companies can and we cannot cover our losses in that way,” Radovanovic said. “We must cut costs, increase business, and decrease prices at the same time, and in the entire situation, there are also the existing procedures that must be followed as a public company,” he said. Regarding the safety of Jat’s fleet, he said that “the airplanes that are flying are super safe, and we at Jat are proud of the fact that we are among the best in the world as far as safety and security is concerned, which the needed international certificates we have prove, along with the rigorous international control which we always go through without any shortcomings in the strictly regulated international standards,” he said. Regarding the expected arrival of low cost companies to Serbia once visas are abolished, Radovanovic said that they cannot endanger Jat’s business because the large air travel companies are Jat’s real competition. (FoNet)

Jat in negotiations with Turkish company

Radovanović said that there were more companies interested in a strategic partnership with Jat, including companies from Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, but that talks with the Turkish company have been the best, adding that “99 percent of the further steps are up to the government.”

He said that Jat will end this year with losses of about EUR 15mn, which is less than the earlier predicted EUR 20-25mn and half of what was lost last year.

“Of course, that is not great, but it is better than we had hoped for. Jat Airways, like a majority of airlines in the world, suffered losses this year. Turkish Airlines is one of the few that made a profit in 2008 and 2009,” Radovanović said.

He said that next year’s plans to fly 1.5mn passengers will not be easy to achieve, adding that “one reason is because Jat, as a public company, has to lead conservative business policies because it is on the market.”

“We are one of the few public companies that are on the market, so our situation is made twice as difficult, and we cannot ask the government to increase our prices like other public companies can and we cannot cover our losses in that way,” Radovanović said.

“We must cut costs, increase business, and decrease prices at the same time, and in the entire situation, there are also the existing procedures that must be followed as a public company,” he said.

Regarding the safety of Jat’s fleet, he said that “the airplanes that are flying are super safe, and we at Jat are proud of the fact that we are among the best in the world as far as safety and security is concerned, which the needed international certificates we have prove, along with the rigorous international control which we always go through without any shortcomings in the strictly regulated international standards,” he said.

Regarding the expected arrival of low cost companies to Serbia once visas are abolished, Radovanović said that they cannot endanger Jat’s business because the large air travel companies are Jat’s real competition.