30

Tuesday, 26.05.2009.

09:44

Jat Airways to become Air Serbia?

Jat Airways' management has decided to change the company’s name, most probably to Air Serbia, writes daily Večernje Novosti.

Izvor: Veèernje novosti

Jat Airways to become Air Serbia? IMAGE SOURCE
IMAGE DESCRIPTION

30 Komentari

Sortiraj po:

veki

pre 14 godina

I vote for "Serbia Airlines".
Everything is better than JAT which has a very bad reputation and a well deserved full name :"Joke About Time".

Milos Ka

pre 14 godina

Re-branding and renaming is just a distraction from the real problem - JAT has a monopoly on air travel to and from Serbia which allows them to keep prices high, provide bad service and squeeze out competitors. The monopoly needs to be dismantled and low-cost airlines allowed to operate; otherwise the average Serbian consumer will not be able to travel as far and wide as they deserve to.

Vuk dlaku menja ali ćud nikako.

Daveo Dinkum

pre 14 godina

Nobody else wanted to have anything to do with Jugoslavija why should the Serbian people have to identify with it? About time to bury all reference to that name. Are Serbs not proud of identifying with their true nationality? Especially being such an old nation (much much much older than Jugoslavija ever was and ever will be). Disgraceful...

Most of the comments about keeping brand integrity are dumbfounding. What brand recognition does JAT have besides being the airline to travel with to and from Belgrade and having an extremely old fleet of Boeing planes??

I think for the airline to move forward these drastic changes are required. Fresh branding, fresh staff, new fleet. It's the difference between being a good airline or forever being a mediocre national carrier.

FreeThinker

pre 14 godina

I welcome this change. JAT was great but even its time must come to a end.

Horrendous proposals from the article however, nothing against mentioning Serbia in the new name, its just that its been over done. Nearly every national airline mentions the countries name. Its boring and tasteless.

Follow the Germans example with lufthansa - great name, distinct and thoroughly German.

My proposals.

1. Sky Serbia

2. Aeroput (pre-JAT name until 1947)

3.And my personal favorite - Avion BRE!!! :)


I hope the management opens public competitions for the new name, the number of comments here shows the level of interest and buzz its created.

Richard Z

pre 14 godina

Alex I was also thinking about bringing back the name AEROPUT if they must change the name.
However I don't see the need to retire the Jat brand. It doesn't just refer to an old country, but to the region of south slavs where Serbia is.

Serbia aerotransport perhaps?

bganon

pre 14 godina

Actually I'm quite impressed with alternative names being proposed here and that food and rakija buffet sounds good to me. Certainly they are better than proposed names.

I don't deny some attachment to the old name but if there is a better name than JAT then perhaps it could be changed.

But the key question is - what is wrong with the current name? Its not like there has been a plane crash or that everybody is complaining about very poor service (ok JAT's service used to be better, but isn't that the case on all airlines?). A company should move to change its brand if something big is happening (good or bad) but like this, what is the point?

Alex

pre 14 godina

NOOOOOO!!! No way!! Jugoslavijoo will be gone like that forever! Please don't change the name!! JAT was and is an airline with so long tradition..since i was a Child there was JAT!! And IF they change name..why not into AEROPUT!?

Mike

pre 14 godina

"At least they are not discussing naming it after someone like we do all the time in the US. I still refuse to call the Triboro Bridge the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. It serves 3 boroughs. Triboro made perfect sense. How about Rakija Air?
(Patrik, 26 May 2009 15:05)"

Right on Patrik, we Americans have a tendency to either name something after a dead figure (as some way of commemorating the memory someone by naming a rest stop after them), or worse, naming it after the corporation that bought it - Continental Airlines Arena, PNC Bank Arts Center (sorry, but my intense NJ pride forces me to call it Garden State Arts Center now and forever), or my personal favorite the "PapaJohns.com Bowl" I mean a website in a title???

I've got mixed feelings over changing the JAT name, and I can imagine many will still refer to it as that after the name change in the same way people still call it Ulica Narodna Fronta instead of Ulica Kralja Natalija or something like that.

However, having a rakija bar and full kafana on every plane is something I'd completely support.

Lenard

pre 14 godina

Has anyone heard of Air Serbia?
(Aleksandar, 26 May 2009 16:59) It sounds like a some decrepit airline in the middle of no where. You take it at your own peril if you have no alternative.

MikeC

pre 14 godina

"Unfortunately Serbia is labelled by its recent history"
Bob

Ok, Milosevic didn't improve the view of Serbs around the world but how many people today assosiate Germany with the Nazis or white America with the mass killing of natives and slavery? We live in the past by refering to Yugoslavia and calling us Yugoslavs.

Aleksandar

pre 14 godina

JAT is a brand. It is an airline without a plane crash, it was the first airline to operate Boeing aircraft in Europe, it is a reminiscence of Yugoslavia, which was a state to be proud of, not ashamed of...

Has anyone heard of Air Serbia?

Patrik

pre 14 godina

At least they are not discussing naming it after someone like we do all the time in the US. I still refuse to call the Triboro Bridge the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. It serves 3 boroughs. Triboro made perfect sense. How about Rakija Air?

Dragan

pre 14 godina

Air Serbia is not bad. However, why not be unique and call it 'White Eagle Airlines'? It is catchy, and it will prompt people to ask why such a name, and delve into the proud history of Serbia, which few know about.

Olf

pre 14 godina

People

are you scared from identifying yourself with Serbia.
Guys, Serbias recent history is not bright at all and it can only be brightened if you accept the wrongs and fix them - simple maths.
JAT should cease to exist for sake of very proud Serbs who identify themselves as Serbs of modern Serbia.

Vuk

pre 14 godina

# It is about time that Serbia stop hiding behind Yuogoslavia name/brand.
Time for Serbia to create it's own name/brand. Difficult task to remove all the stains but once it has to start.
(Olf, 26 May 2009 11:55)

How bitter some are, Jugoslavia is not a stain it is something to be proud of, a time of unparalled prosperity for all south Slavic nations.

Air Serbia, bad name anyone will agree, Serbian wings?

bganon

pre 14 godina

On balance not a good idea.
It is not a question of whether Jugoslavija still exists, rather a question of brand indentity.

JAT has a brand identity among all its former customers and a fair few (non customers) besides, who remember the name from world airports.

This 'smells' of a move by management to show that they are doing something. I also think it has something to do with the old debate on creating a low cost airline out of JAT. If there was money they might even try to create Serbian Airlines etc etc alongside JAT similar to how GO was created out of British Airways. In this scenario the new low cost airline could keep the current fleet and JAT would purchase a new fleet, or complete that deal with Airbus.

Now since there is no new money for investment, they are tinkering with the name. I think this will encounter opposition from within managment, from former management, from airline analysts and from political parties.

Only a couple of years ago JAT deliberately exploited the brand sentimentally in an advertising campaign...

Do they know what they are doing?

Raska - Srbija

pre 14 godina

I'm glad to see that the history of Serbia and the greater region is understood and discussed with such gusto - so be it if the catalyst for such discussion is JAT Airways.

If only this was the disposition of Western politicans in the 90's, there might still be a case for keeping the name "JAT Airways".

Where are all you guys from?? Sweden, USA....

What maked you take such an interest in Serbia. Diaspora from Serbia?

Interesting.

Pozdrav,
Vukasin

Bob

pre 14 godina

The name Yugoslavia does survive - it is still used to name the region.

Few outside of the region care about the national and nationalist fragmentations.

Despite the fragmentations, it is understood quite well that the ethnicity of the region is essentially homogeneous. The separation is far more based on religious prejudices.

Nearly all in the region are Slavs, and the area describes where those Slavs live.

Jugoslavia persists and continues as a name and I think will fully resurrect itself in the (distant) future as the current nationalism becomes just a (distant) bad memory.

Jugoslavia is still remembered with honour by the outside world and there is no loss of marketing prestige in maintaining that name.

Unfortunately Serbia is labelled by its recent history and by the publicity surrounding the possible arrest of Mladic. Does that association promise anything much for 'Serbian Airlines'?.

Niall O'Doherty

pre 14 godina

Not a day too late! Jugoslavia doesn't exist anymore exept in Serbia and amongst some of its people. Often I hear people in Sweden say they are going to Jugoslavia this summer etc. When are we going to realize that we are Serbs, and that Jugoslavia doens't exist anymore?
Tanjug should change name to.
(MikeC, 26 May 2009 11:56)

Disagree with you there MikeC. JAT like Tanjug and the .yu internet domains are brand names. Its a bit like 'Jif' coming 'Cif', 'Opal Fruits' becoming 'Starbursts' and most absurd namechange of all, 'Marathon' becoming 'Snickers'.

Some things just should not be changed. Its just doesnt go. Its the brand name.

They will regret it, the same Cadbury's did when they ditched Star Bars for Moro Peanut. It was a disaster and they had to bring Star Bars back just like Wispa.

R Burns

pre 14 godina

OK, they desparately need some rebranding, efficiency savings and lower fares but I think the name change is bad business.

Surely their main target market is being a hub for regional airports in the former Yugoslavia. Keep the name, it's all they have going for them! It's a known name - take advantage of that. Air Who?

FRANK

pre 14 godina

Srb Air
SRB AIR

Airsrb
AIRSRB

AIRSERB
Airserb

AirSerbia

Don't call it Serb Airways, it is boring, not unique and reminds me of British Airways, a company that would fall apart taxpayers money.

Be unique and spread your wings, viva la Serbia.

Olf

pre 14 godina

It is about time that Serbia stop hiding behind Yuogoslavia name/brand.
Time for Serbia to create it's own name/brand. Difficult task to remove all the stains but once it has to start.

MikeC

pre 14 godina

Not a day too late! Jugoslavia doesn't exist anymore exept in Serbia and amongst some of its people. Often I hear people in Sweden say they are going to Jugoslavia this summer etc. When are we going to realize that we are Serbs, and that Jugoslavia doens't exist anymore?
Tanjug should change name to.

Niall O'Doherty

pre 14 godina

No way. JAT - Yugoslav Airlines is a great name. I remember flying JAT as a child in the 1980s and it was a great airline. Bad move. JAT sounds alot better than Air Serbia. Its a brand name.

Dragan

pre 14 godina

Air Serbia is not bad. However, why not be unique and call it 'White Eagle Airlines'? It is catchy, and it will prompt people to ask why such a name, and delve into the proud history of Serbia, which few know about.

Vuk

pre 14 godina

# It is about time that Serbia stop hiding behind Yuogoslavia name/brand.
Time for Serbia to create it's own name/brand. Difficult task to remove all the stains but once it has to start.
(Olf, 26 May 2009 11:55)

How bitter some are, Jugoslavia is not a stain it is something to be proud of, a time of unparalled prosperity for all south Slavic nations.

Air Serbia, bad name anyone will agree, Serbian wings?

Niall O'Doherty

pre 14 godina

No way. JAT - Yugoslav Airlines is a great name. I remember flying JAT as a child in the 1980s and it was a great airline. Bad move. JAT sounds alot better than Air Serbia. Its a brand name.

Aleksandar

pre 14 godina

JAT is a brand. It is an airline without a plane crash, it was the first airline to operate Boeing aircraft in Europe, it is a reminiscence of Yugoslavia, which was a state to be proud of, not ashamed of...

Has anyone heard of Air Serbia?

Bob

pre 14 godina

The name Yugoslavia does survive - it is still used to name the region.

Few outside of the region care about the national and nationalist fragmentations.

Despite the fragmentations, it is understood quite well that the ethnicity of the region is essentially homogeneous. The separation is far more based on religious prejudices.

Nearly all in the region are Slavs, and the area describes where those Slavs live.

Jugoslavia persists and continues as a name and I think will fully resurrect itself in the (distant) future as the current nationalism becomes just a (distant) bad memory.

Jugoslavia is still remembered with honour by the outside world and there is no loss of marketing prestige in maintaining that name.

Unfortunately Serbia is labelled by its recent history and by the publicity surrounding the possible arrest of Mladic. Does that association promise anything much for 'Serbian Airlines'?.

R Burns

pre 14 godina

OK, they desparately need some rebranding, efficiency savings and lower fares but I think the name change is bad business.

Surely their main target market is being a hub for regional airports in the former Yugoslavia. Keep the name, it's all they have going for them! It's a known name - take advantage of that. Air Who?

Patrik

pre 14 godina

At least they are not discussing naming it after someone like we do all the time in the US. I still refuse to call the Triboro Bridge the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. It serves 3 boroughs. Triboro made perfect sense. How about Rakija Air?

MikeC

pre 14 godina

Not a day too late! Jugoslavia doesn't exist anymore exept in Serbia and amongst some of its people. Often I hear people in Sweden say they are going to Jugoslavia this summer etc. When are we going to realize that we are Serbs, and that Jugoslavia doens't exist anymore?
Tanjug should change name to.

bganon

pre 14 godina

On balance not a good idea.
It is not a question of whether Jugoslavija still exists, rather a question of brand indentity.

JAT has a brand identity among all its former customers and a fair few (non customers) besides, who remember the name from world airports.

This 'smells' of a move by management to show that they are doing something. I also think it has something to do with the old debate on creating a low cost airline out of JAT. If there was money they might even try to create Serbian Airlines etc etc alongside JAT similar to how GO was created out of British Airways. In this scenario the new low cost airline could keep the current fleet and JAT would purchase a new fleet, or complete that deal with Airbus.

Now since there is no new money for investment, they are tinkering with the name. I think this will encounter opposition from within managment, from former management, from airline analysts and from political parties.

Only a couple of years ago JAT deliberately exploited the brand sentimentally in an advertising campaign...

Do they know what they are doing?

FRANK

pre 14 godina

Srb Air
SRB AIR

Airsrb
AIRSRB

AIRSERB
Airserb

AirSerbia

Don't call it Serb Airways, it is boring, not unique and reminds me of British Airways, a company that would fall apart taxpayers money.

Be unique and spread your wings, viva la Serbia.

MikeC

pre 14 godina

"Unfortunately Serbia is labelled by its recent history"
Bob

Ok, Milosevic didn't improve the view of Serbs around the world but how many people today assosiate Germany with the Nazis or white America with the mass killing of natives and slavery? We live in the past by refering to Yugoslavia and calling us Yugoslavs.

Olf

pre 14 godina

It is about time that Serbia stop hiding behind Yuogoslavia name/brand.
Time for Serbia to create it's own name/brand. Difficult task to remove all the stains but once it has to start.

Niall O'Doherty

pre 14 godina

Not a day too late! Jugoslavia doesn't exist anymore exept in Serbia and amongst some of its people. Often I hear people in Sweden say they are going to Jugoslavia this summer etc. When are we going to realize that we are Serbs, and that Jugoslavia doens't exist anymore?
Tanjug should change name to.
(MikeC, 26 May 2009 11:56)

Disagree with you there MikeC. JAT like Tanjug and the .yu internet domains are brand names. Its a bit like 'Jif' coming 'Cif', 'Opal Fruits' becoming 'Starbursts' and most absurd namechange of all, 'Marathon' becoming 'Snickers'.

Some things just should not be changed. Its just doesnt go. Its the brand name.

They will regret it, the same Cadbury's did when they ditched Star Bars for Moro Peanut. It was a disaster and they had to bring Star Bars back just like Wispa.

Alex

pre 14 godina

NOOOOOO!!! No way!! Jugoslavijoo will be gone like that forever! Please don't change the name!! JAT was and is an airline with so long tradition..since i was a Child there was JAT!! And IF they change name..why not into AEROPUT!?

Mike

pre 14 godina

"At least they are not discussing naming it after someone like we do all the time in the US. I still refuse to call the Triboro Bridge the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. It serves 3 boroughs. Triboro made perfect sense. How about Rakija Air?
(Patrik, 26 May 2009 15:05)"

Right on Patrik, we Americans have a tendency to either name something after a dead figure (as some way of commemorating the memory someone by naming a rest stop after them), or worse, naming it after the corporation that bought it - Continental Airlines Arena, PNC Bank Arts Center (sorry, but my intense NJ pride forces me to call it Garden State Arts Center now and forever), or my personal favorite the "PapaJohns.com Bowl" I mean a website in a title???

I've got mixed feelings over changing the JAT name, and I can imagine many will still refer to it as that after the name change in the same way people still call it Ulica Narodna Fronta instead of Ulica Kralja Natalija or something like that.

However, having a rakija bar and full kafana on every plane is something I'd completely support.

FreeThinker

pre 14 godina

I welcome this change. JAT was great but even its time must come to a end.

Horrendous proposals from the article however, nothing against mentioning Serbia in the new name, its just that its been over done. Nearly every national airline mentions the countries name. Its boring and tasteless.

Follow the Germans example with lufthansa - great name, distinct and thoroughly German.

My proposals.

1. Sky Serbia

2. Aeroput (pre-JAT name until 1947)

3.And my personal favorite - Avion BRE!!! :)


I hope the management opens public competitions for the new name, the number of comments here shows the level of interest and buzz its created.

Raska - Srbija

pre 14 godina

I'm glad to see that the history of Serbia and the greater region is understood and discussed with such gusto - so be it if the catalyst for such discussion is JAT Airways.

If only this was the disposition of Western politicans in the 90's, there might still be a case for keeping the name "JAT Airways".

Where are all you guys from?? Sweden, USA....

What maked you take such an interest in Serbia. Diaspora from Serbia?

Interesting.

Pozdrav,
Vukasin

Olf

pre 14 godina

People

are you scared from identifying yourself with Serbia.
Guys, Serbias recent history is not bright at all and it can only be brightened if you accept the wrongs and fix them - simple maths.
JAT should cease to exist for sake of very proud Serbs who identify themselves as Serbs of modern Serbia.

bganon

pre 14 godina

Actually I'm quite impressed with alternative names being proposed here and that food and rakija buffet sounds good to me. Certainly they are better than proposed names.

I don't deny some attachment to the old name but if there is a better name than JAT then perhaps it could be changed.

But the key question is - what is wrong with the current name? Its not like there has been a plane crash or that everybody is complaining about very poor service (ok JAT's service used to be better, but isn't that the case on all airlines?). A company should move to change its brand if something big is happening (good or bad) but like this, what is the point?

Daveo Dinkum

pre 14 godina

Nobody else wanted to have anything to do with Jugoslavija why should the Serbian people have to identify with it? About time to bury all reference to that name. Are Serbs not proud of identifying with their true nationality? Especially being such an old nation (much much much older than Jugoslavija ever was and ever will be). Disgraceful...

Most of the comments about keeping brand integrity are dumbfounding. What brand recognition does JAT have besides being the airline to travel with to and from Belgrade and having an extremely old fleet of Boeing planes??

I think for the airline to move forward these drastic changes are required. Fresh branding, fresh staff, new fleet. It's the difference between being a good airline or forever being a mediocre national carrier.

Lenard

pre 14 godina

Has anyone heard of Air Serbia?
(Aleksandar, 26 May 2009 16:59) It sounds like a some decrepit airline in the middle of no where. You take it at your own peril if you have no alternative.

Richard Z

pre 14 godina

Alex I was also thinking about bringing back the name AEROPUT if they must change the name.
However I don't see the need to retire the Jat brand. It doesn't just refer to an old country, but to the region of south slavs where Serbia is.

Serbia aerotransport perhaps?

Milos Ka

pre 14 godina

Re-branding and renaming is just a distraction from the real problem - JAT has a monopoly on air travel to and from Serbia which allows them to keep prices high, provide bad service and squeeze out competitors. The monopoly needs to be dismantled and low-cost airlines allowed to operate; otherwise the average Serbian consumer will not be able to travel as far and wide as they deserve to.

Vuk dlaku menja ali ćud nikako.

veki

pre 14 godina

I vote for "Serbia Airlines".
Everything is better than JAT which has a very bad reputation and a well deserved full name :"Joke About Time".

Olf

pre 14 godina

People

are you scared from identifying yourself with Serbia.
Guys, Serbias recent history is not bright at all and it can only be brightened if you accept the wrongs and fix them - simple maths.
JAT should cease to exist for sake of very proud Serbs who identify themselves as Serbs of modern Serbia.

Olf

pre 14 godina

It is about time that Serbia stop hiding behind Yuogoslavia name/brand.
Time for Serbia to create it's own name/brand. Difficult task to remove all the stains but once it has to start.

Bob

pre 14 godina

The name Yugoslavia does survive - it is still used to name the region.

Few outside of the region care about the national and nationalist fragmentations.

Despite the fragmentations, it is understood quite well that the ethnicity of the region is essentially homogeneous. The separation is far more based on religious prejudices.

Nearly all in the region are Slavs, and the area describes where those Slavs live.

Jugoslavia persists and continues as a name and I think will fully resurrect itself in the (distant) future as the current nationalism becomes just a (distant) bad memory.

Jugoslavia is still remembered with honour by the outside world and there is no loss of marketing prestige in maintaining that name.

Unfortunately Serbia is labelled by its recent history and by the publicity surrounding the possible arrest of Mladic. Does that association promise anything much for 'Serbian Airlines'?.

Lenard

pre 14 godina

Has anyone heard of Air Serbia?
(Aleksandar, 26 May 2009 16:59) It sounds like a some decrepit airline in the middle of no where. You take it at your own peril if you have no alternative.

Niall O'Doherty

pre 14 godina

No way. JAT - Yugoslav Airlines is a great name. I remember flying JAT as a child in the 1980s and it was a great airline. Bad move. JAT sounds alot better than Air Serbia. Its a brand name.

MikeC

pre 14 godina

Not a day too late! Jugoslavia doesn't exist anymore exept in Serbia and amongst some of its people. Often I hear people in Sweden say they are going to Jugoslavia this summer etc. When are we going to realize that we are Serbs, and that Jugoslavia doens't exist anymore?
Tanjug should change name to.

bganon

pre 14 godina

On balance not a good idea.
It is not a question of whether Jugoslavija still exists, rather a question of brand indentity.

JAT has a brand identity among all its former customers and a fair few (non customers) besides, who remember the name from world airports.

This 'smells' of a move by management to show that they are doing something. I also think it has something to do with the old debate on creating a low cost airline out of JAT. If there was money they might even try to create Serbian Airlines etc etc alongside JAT similar to how GO was created out of British Airways. In this scenario the new low cost airline could keep the current fleet and JAT would purchase a new fleet, or complete that deal with Airbus.

Now since there is no new money for investment, they are tinkering with the name. I think this will encounter opposition from within managment, from former management, from airline analysts and from political parties.

Only a couple of years ago JAT deliberately exploited the brand sentimentally in an advertising campaign...

Do they know what they are doing?

Dragan

pre 14 godina

Air Serbia is not bad. However, why not be unique and call it 'White Eagle Airlines'? It is catchy, and it will prompt people to ask why such a name, and delve into the proud history of Serbia, which few know about.

Alex

pre 14 godina

NOOOOOO!!! No way!! Jugoslavijoo will be gone like that forever! Please don't change the name!! JAT was and is an airline with so long tradition..since i was a Child there was JAT!! And IF they change name..why not into AEROPUT!?

Niall O'Doherty

pre 14 godina

Not a day too late! Jugoslavia doesn't exist anymore exept in Serbia and amongst some of its people. Often I hear people in Sweden say they are going to Jugoslavia this summer etc. When are we going to realize that we are Serbs, and that Jugoslavia doens't exist anymore?
Tanjug should change name to.
(MikeC, 26 May 2009 11:56)

Disagree with you there MikeC. JAT like Tanjug and the .yu internet domains are brand names. Its a bit like 'Jif' coming 'Cif', 'Opal Fruits' becoming 'Starbursts' and most absurd namechange of all, 'Marathon' becoming 'Snickers'.

Some things just should not be changed. Its just doesnt go. Its the brand name.

They will regret it, the same Cadbury's did when they ditched Star Bars for Moro Peanut. It was a disaster and they had to bring Star Bars back just like Wispa.

Aleksandar

pre 14 godina

JAT is a brand. It is an airline without a plane crash, it was the first airline to operate Boeing aircraft in Europe, it is a reminiscence of Yugoslavia, which was a state to be proud of, not ashamed of...

Has anyone heard of Air Serbia?

FRANK

pre 14 godina

Srb Air
SRB AIR

Airsrb
AIRSRB

AIRSERB
Airserb

AirSerbia

Don't call it Serb Airways, it is boring, not unique and reminds me of British Airways, a company that would fall apart taxpayers money.

Be unique and spread your wings, viva la Serbia.

Vuk

pre 14 godina

# It is about time that Serbia stop hiding behind Yuogoslavia name/brand.
Time for Serbia to create it's own name/brand. Difficult task to remove all the stains but once it has to start.
(Olf, 26 May 2009 11:55)

How bitter some are, Jugoslavia is not a stain it is something to be proud of, a time of unparalled prosperity for all south Slavic nations.

Air Serbia, bad name anyone will agree, Serbian wings?

MikeC

pre 14 godina

"Unfortunately Serbia is labelled by its recent history"
Bob

Ok, Milosevic didn't improve the view of Serbs around the world but how many people today assosiate Germany with the Nazis or white America with the mass killing of natives and slavery? We live in the past by refering to Yugoslavia and calling us Yugoslavs.

FreeThinker

pre 14 godina

I welcome this change. JAT was great but even its time must come to a end.

Horrendous proposals from the article however, nothing against mentioning Serbia in the new name, its just that its been over done. Nearly every national airline mentions the countries name. Its boring and tasteless.

Follow the Germans example with lufthansa - great name, distinct and thoroughly German.

My proposals.

1. Sky Serbia

2. Aeroput (pre-JAT name until 1947)

3.And my personal favorite - Avion BRE!!! :)


I hope the management opens public competitions for the new name, the number of comments here shows the level of interest and buzz its created.

Patrik

pre 14 godina

At least they are not discussing naming it after someone like we do all the time in the US. I still refuse to call the Triboro Bridge the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. It serves 3 boroughs. Triboro made perfect sense. How about Rakija Air?

bganon

pre 14 godina

Actually I'm quite impressed with alternative names being proposed here and that food and rakija buffet sounds good to me. Certainly they are better than proposed names.

I don't deny some attachment to the old name but if there is a better name than JAT then perhaps it could be changed.

But the key question is - what is wrong with the current name? Its not like there has been a plane crash or that everybody is complaining about very poor service (ok JAT's service used to be better, but isn't that the case on all airlines?). A company should move to change its brand if something big is happening (good or bad) but like this, what is the point?

Richard Z

pre 14 godina

Alex I was also thinking about bringing back the name AEROPUT if they must change the name.
However I don't see the need to retire the Jat brand. It doesn't just refer to an old country, but to the region of south slavs where Serbia is.

Serbia aerotransport perhaps?

Daveo Dinkum

pre 14 godina

Nobody else wanted to have anything to do with Jugoslavija why should the Serbian people have to identify with it? About time to bury all reference to that name. Are Serbs not proud of identifying with their true nationality? Especially being such an old nation (much much much older than Jugoslavija ever was and ever will be). Disgraceful...

Most of the comments about keeping brand integrity are dumbfounding. What brand recognition does JAT have besides being the airline to travel with to and from Belgrade and having an extremely old fleet of Boeing planes??

I think for the airline to move forward these drastic changes are required. Fresh branding, fresh staff, new fleet. It's the difference between being a good airline or forever being a mediocre national carrier.

veki

pre 14 godina

I vote for "Serbia Airlines".
Everything is better than JAT which has a very bad reputation and a well deserved full name :"Joke About Time".

R Burns

pre 14 godina

OK, they desparately need some rebranding, efficiency savings and lower fares but I think the name change is bad business.

Surely their main target market is being a hub for regional airports in the former Yugoslavia. Keep the name, it's all they have going for them! It's a known name - take advantage of that. Air Who?

Raska - Srbija

pre 14 godina

I'm glad to see that the history of Serbia and the greater region is understood and discussed with such gusto - so be it if the catalyst for such discussion is JAT Airways.

If only this was the disposition of Western politicans in the 90's, there might still be a case for keeping the name "JAT Airways".

Where are all you guys from?? Sweden, USA....

What maked you take such an interest in Serbia. Diaspora from Serbia?

Interesting.

Pozdrav,
Vukasin

Mike

pre 14 godina

"At least they are not discussing naming it after someone like we do all the time in the US. I still refuse to call the Triboro Bridge the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. It serves 3 boroughs. Triboro made perfect sense. How about Rakija Air?
(Patrik, 26 May 2009 15:05)"

Right on Patrik, we Americans have a tendency to either name something after a dead figure (as some way of commemorating the memory someone by naming a rest stop after them), or worse, naming it after the corporation that bought it - Continental Airlines Arena, PNC Bank Arts Center (sorry, but my intense NJ pride forces me to call it Garden State Arts Center now and forever), or my personal favorite the "PapaJohns.com Bowl" I mean a website in a title???

I've got mixed feelings over changing the JAT name, and I can imagine many will still refer to it as that after the name change in the same way people still call it Ulica Narodna Fronta instead of Ulica Kralja Natalija or something like that.

However, having a rakija bar and full kafana on every plane is something I'd completely support.

Milos Ka

pre 14 godina

Re-branding and renaming is just a distraction from the real problem - JAT has a monopoly on air travel to and from Serbia which allows them to keep prices high, provide bad service and squeeze out competitors. The monopoly needs to be dismantled and low-cost airlines allowed to operate; otherwise the average Serbian consumer will not be able to travel as far and wide as they deserve to.

Vuk dlaku menja ali ćud nikako.