Jat Airways
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| Founded | 1927 (as Aeroput) | ||||||
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| Hubs | Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | One flight more | ||||||
| Fleet size | 16 | ||||||
| Destinations | 43 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Belgrade, Serbia | ||||||
| Key people | Nebojša Starčević (Acting CEO), Nenad Petrović (Executive Director) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.jat.com | ||||||
Jat Airways is the national carrier of Serbia, former national carrier of Yugoslavia, and the sixteenth-oldest airline in all of Europe.
History
The company was founded on 17 June 1927 as Aeroput (Аеропут). On 1 April 1947 the name was changed to Jugoslovenski aerotransport - JAT (Југословенски АероТранспорт), then to JAT Yugoslav Airlines and finally to Jat Airways in January 2003.
After World War II Jat resumed its network with Douglas DC-3 and Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. Later Douglas DC-6 s were bought for long-haul routes, and Convair 330 and Convair 440 aircraft for short-haul routes.
In 1963, the first Caravelle jet aircraft joined Jat. In 1969 the first Douglas DC-9 (of 16) arrived and in 1974 the first two Boeing 727-200 aircraft arrived (of 9).
Long-haul routes to North America, Australia and the Far East were flown by Boeing 707s, introduced in 1970. In 1978 a widebody Douglas DC-10 was purchased to succeed the Boeing 707s on the longer-haul routes, although the 707s stayed in service into the 1980s on ad hoc charters and as scheduled-flight replacement aircraft.
In 1985 Jat was the first European airline to purchase Boeing 737-300s. During those years the company carried 5 million passengers annually and served 80 destinations on five continents (19 domestic, 45 medium haul and 16 long haul routes).
In 1992 the Yugoslavia broke up and Jat stopped all international services because of United Nations sanctions. During that time Jat operated only domestic services, between Belgrade, Podgorica, Tivat, Niš, Priština and for a very short time Užice-Ponikve Airport. Finally, in 1994, Jat resumed its international services with aircraft that had been repainted with a new livery.
In 1998 Jat ordered 8 Airbus A319s. The original delivery date was June 2000 but this date has been postponed until a total of $16 million is paid off to Airbus. Jat is expecting its first A319 in Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport by June 2007.
In April 2000 director general Žika Petrović (Жика Петровић) was killed in a mafia-style execution, in front of his family home in Belgrade.
Jat sold its last DC-10 on 24 June 2005. During 2005 the company also phased out all remaining 727 and DC-9 aircraft from its own routes. Some of its aging Boeing 737-300 will follow in a few years time. The last airworthy DC-9 is leased in UAE. The DC-9s are due to be replaced with leased CRJ-700 aircraft in the spring of 2006.
The company had plans to restart long-haul operations to North America (New York, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago) in June 2005 with two Boeing 767-200ER aircraft that it had planned to lease, but these plans have been postponed and changed. Jat Airways now plans to receive its Boeing 767s in late 2006. Previously it planned to start services to North America at the beginning of 2006 but there were problems with Jat’s categorisation. It now plans to lease 2 B767-200ER’s in September and start services in early October.
Jat Airways is not a member of any alliances or partnerships but does codeshare on some routes with Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Air France and Aeroflot. Jat Airways has recently started a campaign to join SkyTeam with Air France a major suporter of the campaign.
News
Extremly low prices on 2006 summer flights
Jat Airways will be able to travel in the period from June 1 to August 31, 2006 on two, three or four international flights and will have the right to buy tickets at price of 1 EUR in period from September 1 to December 15. For two one-way tickets bought during the summer season, the passenger will be able to buy one-way ticket in period from September to December 2006 at price of 39 EUR, while the passenger who buys two return tickets during summer will be able to buy the return ticket for 78 EUR in the aforementioned period. For three one-way flights, the passenger will get the ticket for 19 EUR, whereas for three return tickets, he or she will be able to buy the return ticket at price of 38 EUR. For four used one-way tickets, the price of the ticket in period from September to December will amount to 1 EUR, whereas the return ticket will cost 2 EUR. The concept of "low-cost" offer represents innovation in the extension of the promotive campaign of Jat for the summer season 2006. Also, the passengers who travel to the cities in the region will be able to buy tickets at more favourable prices. The biggest discount will be the privilege of the passengers who travel in couples. Families with children will have special benefits on most of the international and regional lines.
Highest traffic increase rate in Europe
In first one hundred days this year Jat Airways accomplished the highest traffic increase rate in Europe, states Jat Media Centre. It is the best result of our flag carrier since 1991 to date.
Services
Domestic
International
Africa
Asia
Europe
Former Destinations
Fleet
The Jat Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:
- 4 ATR-72
- 10 Boeing 737-300 (2 are leased out)
- 2 Boeing 737-400
- Fleet Details (Active Fleet)
- 4 ATR-72 (YU-ALN, YU-ALO, YU-ALP, YU-ALR)
- 8 Boeing 737-300 (YU-AND, YU-ANH, YU-ANI, YU-ANJ, YU-ANK, YU-ANL, YU-ANW, YU-AON)
- 2 Boeing 737-400 (YU-AOR, YU-AOS)
- Upcoming Aircraft
- 8 Airbus A319 (ordered - arriving 2007)
- 2 CRJ 700 (to be leased - arriving 2006)
- 2 Boeing 767-200ER (to be leased - arriving late 2006)*
- The Numbers
- Number of aircraft in fleet: 16
- Number of active aircraft in fleet: 14
- Ordered/future aircraft: 10
* As announced by Jat's general director. The B767's will be leased in September 2006 instead of May 2006.