5 years of Air Serbia / 5 years on the route Bucharest - Belgrade
The story of Air Serbia started 5 years ago, on a fall day. We remind you that Air Serbia is the descendant of the Serbian carrier Jat Airways.
In 2013, the Serbian national carrier, in the name of Jat Airways, was squeaking like any other national airline. Desperate to save the national airline, the Belgrade government decides to enter into a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways. And look, on 26 October 2013 started flying the new airline under the Air Serbia brand.
But let's detail a little. Following the partnership, which was concluded on 1 August 2013, the government of Serbia has sold 49% of Jat Airways shares to Etihad Airways. The rebranding decision was made in Air Serbia, plus some strategic decisions for the company's future.
5 years of Air Serbia
The strategic partnership included the acquisition of new aircraft, but also a new operational network. In addition to flights to Abu Dhabi, Air Serbia has opened routes to Banja Luka, Beirut, Bucharest, Budapest, Cairo, Kiev, Ljubljana, Prague, Sofia, Varna and Warsaw. Thus, on 10 December 2013, Air Serbia has started the flights Belgrade - Bucharest.
Here are 5 years from Air Serbia, during which time the fleet was upgraded and increased from 17 aircraft to 21. And the operational network has been expanded from 35 to 42 destinations.
Airbus A319 / A320 and A330 aircraft were brought. And in 2019 and 2020 they would receive 10 new aircraft of the type Airbus A320neo.
During this time, the new airline (ie the old Jat Airways under the new brand) carried approximately 12 million passengers and operated over 150 000 flights to 42 destinations.
In short, this is the story of Air Serbia, a success story. 2013 was a turning point for Jat Airways and the Serbian government, but it turned out to be a very good year.