B&H finally receives international safety approval

The Bosnian national carrier, B&H Airlines, has for the first time fulfilled international standards of air safety. In the last 2 months the Bosnian carrier was subjected to checks by three international organisations. One was from the European commission, the other from the European Union and the third from IATA. The three organisations completed checks of over 1.000 documents, regulations during flights, aircraft maintenance and company organisation. By fulfilling all international safety standards B&H Airlines now joins other carriers from the EX-YU region which have already fulfilled such obligations – Adria Airways, Croatia Airlines, Jat Airways, MAT Macedonian Airlines and Montenegro Airlines. B&H Airlines has never had a fatal incident. The approval is a boost for the airline’s new strategic partner Turkish Airlines. Read more

B&H Airlines winter 2008/09More flights to Turkey

On October 25, 2008 B&H Airlines, the national airline of Bosnia and Herzegovina will begin with its winter schedule. With as small amount of destinations and a fleet of only two aircraft (ATR72’s) there won’t be many changes however some lines have been rerouted and some reduced while others increased.

B&H Airline has recently been purchased by Turkish Airlines. The exact amount of shares purchased is still uncertain (49% or 51% - to be announced in the following days) however B&H Airlines is increasing its frequencies to Turkish Airlines’ base – Istanbul. Flights will be increased from 4 per week to 6 flights per week. The Sarajevo to Frankfurt service will increase from 2 weekly to 3 weekly flights.

Furthermore B&H will replace the nonstop Sarajevo – Stuttgart service with a stop via Mostar from October 26. Flight JA214 will be operated twice a week. Frequencies to Zurich will remain as they have been operated during the summer – 4 times per week and the same goes for Cologne which will continue to be operated twice times a week. B&H’s only destination within the EX-YU region, to Skopje, Macedonia, will be decreased from 2 flights to 1 flight per week. The airline will maintain its code share agreements with Jat Airways from Sarajevo to Belgrade and Croatia Airlines from Sarajevo to Zagreb. B&H Airlines will continue operating from Banja Luka to Zurich via Sarajevo.

This is BH Airlines’ last timetable before the privatisation process is officially completed. The 2009 summer season should offer a greater variety of services with new aircraft expected.

Any related updates will be posted. Any question our readers might have regarding the new schedule can be posted by using the “comments” option or contacting us using our e-mail address. Soon the Adria Airways, Montenegro Airlines and MAT Macedonian Airlines 2008/09 winter schedule will be published on the blog. Read more

B&H Airlines privatisationTurkish Airlines wins bid

The strategic partner for the Bosnian B&H Airlines will most probably be Turkish Airlines. The news will be officially confirmed within the next 10 days. Bosnian media state that the Turkish offer is the most promising with Turkish Airlines prepared to provide B&H with 2 short to medium range aircraft however they are requesting a majority stake in the airline – 51% (compared to the 49% currently offered under the terms of the tender). Turkish has also, as a part of its purchase, promised to provide 2 short to medium haul aircraft, employee training, servicing of aircraft and hiring new employees while all currently working at the airline will keep their jobs.

In 2007 B&H Airlines transported 70.000 passengers and has two ATR72’s operating on 11 destinations. The airline has had financial troubles as it went bankrupt when it operated under the name Air Bosna. The biggest value of B&H is its potential in the local aviation market in which it only has a 14% share. Turkish Airlines is one of the largest airlines in Europe with 106 aircraft, 123 destinations and 12.000 employees. It is a member of Star Alliance.

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Who gets the most air traffic?

Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Created in 1963 by six founding members, this civil and military intergovernmental organisation now counts 38 Member States from across Europe. It is based in Belgium with specialised offices in six other European countries. Not only does it keep Europe’s skies safe, it also compiles information on air traffic. These are the results for countries of the EX-YU:

Bosnia and Herzegovina: In August the total number of departures from Bosnian airports amounted to 698 arrivals and 700 departures while 23.471 aircraft flew over Bosnian airspace. These results are an improvement compared to last year when there were 644 departures, 649 arrivals and 22.804 overflies. Overall Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen an increase in air traffic every month with the number of overflies increasing the most, meaning more aircraft are flying over the country’s airspace.

Croatia: Not only is August one of the busiest months for air traffic in Croatia but the country is also seeing improvements across all months when compared to last year. In August alone there were 4.527 commercial departures, 4.396 arrivals and a total of 38.324 overflies. However the August 2008 results did not see a large improvement in traffic figures as some previous months. In August 2007 there were only 51 departures less nevertheless this number was made up by the large increase in arrivals. A total of 197 more arrivals took place in August 2008 then in 2007.

Macedonia: Despite MAT being banned from Greece, causing a large decrease in charter operations, Macedonia is recording a big improvement compared to last year over all months. August was particularly successful this year when there were 645 departures compared to 527 in August 07, 643 arrivals compared to 527 the same time last year and in August there were a total of 16.107 overflies compared to 14.385 last year.

Serbia and Montenegro: Serbia controls Montenegro’s airspace until further notice and as a result all data is combined with no separated information available. Similarly Belgium takes care of Luxembourg’s airspace. Nevertheless Serbia and Montenegro are recording the largest increase in operations. In August 2008 there were 3.479 departures compared to last year’s 2.787, 3.492 arrivals compared to 2.800 and 50.285 overflies compared to 42.687 in August 2007. The increase in overflies can be thanked to Serbia’s ideal geographical location. The largest increase in passenger operations was seen in May 2008 which can be largely thanked to the Eurovision Song Contest that was held in Belgrade seeing an increase in air traffic.

Slovenia: Slovenia is also seeing an increase in operations particularly in January and February. In August 2008 Slovenia saw 2.054 departures, 2.057 arrivals and 31.134 overflies. This compared to August 2007 when there were 1.930 departures and 1.970 arrivals. However Slovenia has seen a slight decrease this year in overflies when compared to 2007. In August 2007 Slovenia has a total of 31.253 overflies.

When all data is calculated the leading countries in August 2008 are:
1. Serbia and Montenegro
2. Croatia
3. Slovenia
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina
5. Macedonia Read more

B&H Airlines privatisationTurkish Airlines confirms bid

It came as a surprise when in late August it was revealed that the much publicised bid by Turkish Airlines for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national airline – B&H Airlines was not. The Bosnian Privatisation Agency only received a joint bid from the Islamic Bank of Reconstruction and Development and Royal Jordanian Airlines, the national airline of Jordan. However the agency did announce that any offer which arrives by mail within the next 2 days would be accepted as it might have travelled for a longer time. There was one bid sent by mail and it was from Turkish Airlines, already a favourite for the purchase. Tukey and Bosnia and Herzegovina have extremely close economic and diplomatic ties for more than a decade.

There have been documentation problems with the bid from the Islamic Bank and it is now being considered not allow the bid to be accepted as a result. The Bosnian Privatisation Agency is now determining who has sent in the best offer and this should be revealed on September 29 after which formal talks between the winning bidding company and the Bosnian government will commence with the deal to be finalised in late October. The new owner which will control 49% of the airline will be required to keep the name of the company, its seat in Sarajevo and purchase at least one aircraft with a minimum 100 seat capacity.

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Montenegro Airlines and Sky Srpska hold talks on future cooperation

The new found airline of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entity Republika Srpska, Sky Srpska, is expected to launch flight next year with the help of the government and Serbia’s Jat Airways. Montenegro Airlines will now join the two. Following a meeting between ministers from Republika Sprska and Montenegro Airlines’ CEO the two agreed that flights between Banja Luka and Tivat should be established which would operate at least 4 months per year, since there was satisfactory aircraft occupancy between the two cities when flights were operated on a continual basis in 1999 and 2000. The management of Sky Srpska also spoke with Jat Airways a few days ago regarding potential flights to Tivat, if all necessary licenses could be received. Currently Sky Srpska, with its base in Banja Luka, plans to open services to Belgrade, Pula and Tivat – all of which would be in code share opeartion (once operated by Sky Srpska the other time by a partner airline). It is expected that Sky Srpska would bring back life to Banja Luka Airport. For a few years Republika Srpska had its own airline under the name of Air Srpska, operated by Jat Airways. However when Jat decided to return the two aircraft given to Srpska back to its own base in Belgrade, operations ceased. Read more

Jat Airways and Republika Srpska to launch Sky Srpska in 2009

The Government of Republika Srpska (RS), a Serbian entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina with its main base in Banja Luka is undertaking efforts lately to expand passenger volumes at Banja Luka Airport and launch new services with Jat Airways, the national airline of Serbia, being the main sponsor of its projects and initiatives. The RS transport minister Nedeljko Čubrilović held talks with the general director of Serbia’s national airline, Saša Vlaisavljević today, about the purchase of two aircraft for the recently formed carrier Sky Srpska which would be based in Banja Luka.

The Government of RS recently invited offers for this procurement deal. Čubrilović reminded that RS has had very good collaboration with Jat Airways so far, and the two will discuss the potential for its expansion. There are plans for Jat Airways to lease the two aircraft from Sky Srpska and operate both on their (Jat’s) behalf as well as the behalf of Sky Srpska. Jat Airways is further hoping to completely take over the aviation market in Republika Srpska by commencing new flights from Banja Luka to Pula, Croatia as well as to Tivat, Montenegro from March 2009 if all necessary licenses are gained. Currently Jat Airways operates daily flights from Belgrade to Banja Luka with its ultimate goal being to operate two daily flights. At present the load factors are average with 32 passengers on each flight with the aircraft having a capacity of 72 seats. All seats that are not sold are subsidized to Jat by the government of Republika Srpska. It is expected Sky Srpska will launch in 2009. On Wednesday, September 10, Čubrilović is scheduled to meet with representatives of Montenegrin airports.

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B&H airlines privatisation: Deadline closes - low interest

The agency for privatisation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has confirmed that it has received only one offer for the purchase of 49% of the national airline of the country – B&H Airlines. The tender for the submission of offers was closed yesterday at 16.00CET however the agency has stated it will accept offers sent by mail that arrive in the next 3 days as they could have travelled longer than expected and arrived late as a result. The Agency has stated it is disappointed as many announced they would compete in the tender including Croatia Airlines, MyAir from Italy and Turkish Airlines. It is expected that the offer submitted is a joint bid from the Islamic Bank of reconstruction and development and Royal Jordanian Airlines, the national airline of Jordan.

The best offer, which in this case can only be the one submitted, will be revealed in 30 days (September 29) while final talks between the purchasing party and the government will be held on October 30.

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Sky Srpska!

During the last year the government of Republika Srpska, an entity wihin Bosnia and Herzegovina, has announced the creation of its own airline to be named Sky Srpska. The project recently received the green light for the government and new developments have since occurred which could see the airline take off from its base in Banja Luka (pictured above) by the beginning of next year. Yesterday the government of Republika Srpska announced that Sky Srpska would soon receive 2 new, smaller, aircraft for which $24.5 million dollars (USD) will be allocated from the entity’s budget. The two aircraft will have a capacity of 50 seats and will be purchased via credit. The manufacturer of the aircraft has not been chosen however the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, a few months ago hinted they could come from the American “General electric”. There is no word on which destinations would be served by the airline although whatever destinations are chosen they will have to wait until next year as it will take time until the aircraft are dispatched to the airline. The CEO of Sky Srpska has announced that future development plan of the airline will soon be made public.

The government hopes to, by starting up Sky Srpska, bring life to Banja Luka Airport which despite its renovated runway, control tower and terminal has extremely low traffic – only served by Serbia’s Jat Airways (to Belgrade), Bosnia’s B&H Airlines (to Zurich) and Austrojet (to Salzburg).

Republika Srpska used to have a national airline from 1999 until 2003. Air Srpska was owned by Jat Airways and used two of its ATR72s for operations to Belgrade, St. Gallen/Altenrhein, Vienna and Zurich. However Jat withdrew its aircraft from the airline in 2003 and therefore all operations ceased. Although Air Srpska was not a large airline, it was extremely unique having major agreements with airlines such as Swiss Air as well as being part of IATA (unusual for a small regional airline) , however this was mostly achieved due to Jat’s lobbying and support. Read more

Big plans for Banja Luka as flights to Salzburg begin

On Thursday (August 21) from Banja Luka Airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina (pictured above) the first flights to Salzburg, Austria began, operated by Austrojet flying Banja Luka – Salzburg – Stuttgart. The line will operate 3 times weekly on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday using a Bombardier Dash 8 while the price of a one way ticket is 175 Euros (excluding taxes). The airport management is currently in talks with the world’s largest low cost airline Ryanair. It hopes that on October 2, when formal negotiations are held they will manage to attract the low cost airline to start flights to Banja Luka from Frankfurt. This line would be made possible by the Open Sky Agreement which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part of, giving airlines from the European Union limitless access to European aviation markets outside of the union. The airport’s management is also in talks with Serbia’s Jat Airways about the commencement of double daily traffic between Belgrade and Banja Luka. Austrojet’s line from Banja Luka to Tivat, Montenegro will conclude by the end of August as the tourist season comes to a close.

Banja Luka recently received an international license of operation which enables the airport to attract more international airlines. The airport is served B&H Airlines (to Sarajevo and Zurich) and Jat Airways and Austrojet to the lines mentioned above.

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New flights from Sarajevo

The first passengers yesterday arrived from Cologne/Bonn to Sarajevo on the low cost airline Germanwings with many passengers able to buy tickets for the first flight for only 19 Euros making it currently the first scheduled low cost airline to operate to the Bosnian capital. Flights from Cologne to Sarajevo will operate twice a week – Wednesday and Saturday. Officials from the airline said one way tickets will average the price of 70 Euros (including taxes) while one tenth of the tickets will be sold at the lowest price of only 19 Euros. All tickets can be purchased via the Internet however officials from the airline state that since the Internet is in its development stages in Bosnia and Herzegovina tickets will also be able to be purchased at the airport.

From October the airline plans to introduce flights from Stuttgart, Germany to Sarajevo while the line Sarajevo – Berlin will open in March 2009. The Germanwings jet was yesterday welcomed by a water cannon solute at Sarajevo organised by Sarajevo Airport’s firemen. The first flight from Cologne to Sarajevo was sold out.

Germanwings becomes the 11th scheduled operator to Sarajevo although this will decrease to 10 once British Airways withdraws from the Bosnian market in October. In the Ex-Yugoslav nations Germanwings currently operates flights to Duborvnik, Osijek, Pula, Split, Zadar and Zagreb in Croatia and Priština in Kosovo/Serbia and Belgrade in Serbia.

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British Airways to farewell Sarajevo

Due to the increase in the price of fuel British Airways, the national carrier of the United Kingdom, has announced that flights between Sarajevo and Belgrade are no longer profitable. From October 26, 2008 operations between the two cities will cease. British Airways’ representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina says the decision to cease flights was not easy but due to the current crisis in air transportation the airline has to focus on more profitable markets in Europe. She states passengers which have already bought tickets with British from Sarajevo after October 26 (when the airline winter season begins) will be able to receive an immediate refund. British Airways management on August 1 said the airline is in the worst trading environment it has been for a long time announcing that the winter schedule capacity will see a reduction of 3.1% compared to last year.

Sarajevo Airport has been served by British Airways from London Gatwick Airport using a Boeing 737-400 (3 times per week. From October 26 there will no longer be direct flights to London from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently Sarajevo is served by 10 scheduled airlines (including British Airways) although this will increase to 11 in mid August when low cost Germanwings begins flights. Along with the national carrier B&H Air the airport is served by Adria Airways, Croatia Airlines and Jat Airways from the EX-YU.

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B&H airlines privatisation: Deadline extends as Turks confirm interest

The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has agreed to extend the deadline of the tender for the sale of its national airline, BH, by 30 days. The new deadline has now been established to be August 29, 2008. The decision was made due to a new firm interested in becoming the airlines strategic partner – The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. Interest has also been declared by Croatia’s national airline and a company from Malaysia however Turkish Airlines has expressed the greatest interest so far.

The CEO of Turkish Airlines expressed an interest in bidding for a 49% stake in BH Airlines after meeting with the premier of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Nedžad Branković. “Turkish Airlines representatives have confirmed their already expressed interest in taking part in the process" he said in a statement. "They said the extended tendering was a chance for them to prepare a high quality offer... to bid for becoming a strategic partner”.

The federation government owns 99% of the company, with 1 percent held by regional engineering group Energoinvest. BH Airlines went bankrupt in 2003, but resumed operating in 2005 after a deal with Hypo Alpe Adria bank to settle most of its debt. The company employs 89 people and transported some 70.000 passengers in 2007.

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BH Airlines results and plans

The Bosnian national carrier BH Airlines this year has already made 13 million KM (Convertible Marks) in 2008. With an expenditure of 11.9 million the total profit of the company is 1.1 million which is around 560.000 Euros. Nudžeim Rečica the CEO of the airline said that this is an improvement compared to the same period last year when the airline had a loss of 3.5 million KM. BH Airline transported 32.100 passengers in the first six months of the year, an improvement of 3.5% with more than 500 flights operated. The airlines greatest frequency of flights was between Sarajevo and Istanbul on which the airline offers daily service. Other popular destinations include Frankfurt and Zurich, which the airline operates 3 to 4 times a week. The increase in global fuel prices increased the airline’s expenditure this year compared to last year.

BH Airlines, with a fleet of 2, is the smallest airline in the EX-YU. There is hope that the new strategic partner which should be found by the end of the year will make the airline grow with the airline’s CEO hoping that the purchase of new aircraft could enable flights to Scandinavia.

Currently the 6 monthly EX-YU passenger figure leader board looks like this:
1. Croatia Airlines
2. Adria Airways
3. Jat Airways
4. MAT Macedonian Airlines
5. Montenegro Airlines
6. BH Airlines Read more

New flights from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

A large interest in flights between Portugal and Croatia has resulted in the addition of another 2 weekly flights from Lisbon to Zagreb which will operate on Tuesday and Friday from July 22 to September 12. Flights from Zagreb will depart at 19.00 and arrive in Lisbon at 21.25 on Tuesday while on Friday the aircraft leaves Zagreb’s Pleso for Lisbon at 13.05 and arrives at 15.30. Flights are operated by TAP Portugal Airline with an A320.

Austrojet airlines, which is an airline specifically created to boost business between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria, have announced new flights. Adding to the already operational Banja Luka flights, the airline will extend its offer to Tivat, Montenegro. The flights will be operated from July 16 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. They will operate from Salzburg via Banja Luka. From August 6 the airline will also introduce flights from Stuttgart, Germany to Banja Luka every Sunday. AUJ871 will operate in the evening hours while it will return to Salzburg from Banja Luka as flight AJ872.

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Submission of offers for BH Airlines start today

The Bosnia and Herzegovina agency for privatisation has , from today, started to accept offers for the national airline in order for it to be privatised. The privatisation of B&H was approved by the Bosnian government on May 29 this year. It won’t be a classical privatisation but a certain amount of shares will be sold so a strategic partner can be found who would work closely with the Bosnian government and both should invest money in the airline. There have already been talks with investors from the United States, Turkey (Turkish Airlines is interested in the purchase) and Croatia (Croatia Airlines has also voiced its interest). The foreign investor would gain 49% of the airline, with the majority share still in the hands of the government. The first action the new part owner must accomplish is to purchase the airline a 100 seater aircraft. This way the airline would have 3 fleet members. Last year the airline carried 70,000 passengers, an increase of 14.1% compared to 2007 and had a profit of 7.3 million Euros, a 9.5% increase compared to 2007.

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4th civilian airport for Bosnia and Herzegovina

With a population of 80,000 people in South eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina the construction of yet another civilian airport is on the horizon – Trebinje Airport in the town of Trebinje. The local authorities have given their approval for plans to begin to be gathered for the construction of the airport. The positive side of the area is its terrain and the ability for an airport to be built in Trebinje. Another plus is that the airport will be on the AdrAlthough Dubrovnik in Croatia and Tivat in Montenegro are nearby they do not have the ability to expand iatic Sea. The airport’s newly elected CEO says the airport could have a lot of potential. and cater for new incoming traffic. The CEO Zoran Okilj also explains that Podgorica is not an airport where tourists fly to although it is close to Trebinje. The city authorities are hoping to attract low budget tourists and low budget airlines as the cost for the use new facilities and services at Trebinje Airport will be the lowest in the region. The next stage of the project includes geographical studies of the area where the airport will be built as well as a comprehensive study of air corridors in the EX-YU region. Although the construction of the airport is still a distant reality Okilj states that there are various companies and businessmen interested in investing in the project.

Trebinje is located in the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina called Republika Srpska. If built it would become the fourth international airport in the country, following Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar while it would be the second in Republika Srpska after Banja Luka.

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B&H Airlines opens Tuzla International Airport

Tuzla International Airport, located in North Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina (the third largest city in the country) has been open for civilian use as up until now it was only a military air base. The airport was open when a promotional BH Airlines flights took off from Sarajevo to Tuzla early yesterday. More than 1.5 million convertible marks (KM) have been invested into the airport. The airport becomes the fourth international airport in the country after Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar. The biggest problem authorities will face will be how to attract airlines to the town and keep the airport profitable. Sarajevo itself has only 10 scheduled airlines operating, Banja Luka 3 and Mostar 1.

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Four airlines interested in BH privatisation

Four airlines are interested in purchasing the 49% share in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national air carrier B&H Air. The Bosnian government will soon invite companies to register thir offers for the carrier. Currently Turkish Airlines has shown the most interest although the national carrier of neighbouring Croatia, Croatia Airlines, has also shown interest. CEO of the BH Airlines Nudžeim Rečica said that the company won’t be able to make a profit if it does not have a strategic partner. BH finished 2007 in the minus by 100,000 KM (Convertible Marks) which is one of the best results in the last couple of years and is enabling the airline to slowly approach a positive zero. There is also one airline from Italy and one from Malaysia interested in the purchase of BH. B&H is set to be the third airline to have shares sold this year as both Montenegro Airlines and Jat Airways are also up for sale and their sale will be realised late this year. Read more

B&H heading to Belgrade

The Bosnian national air carrier B&H Airlines is looking to purchase at least one new aircraft. As the CEO of the airline Nudžeim Rečica said, the purchase of one aircraft is necessary for the airline this year. He said once the aircraft arrives the other ones in the fleet may be used for shorter distance destinations such as Zagreb (currently operated by Croatia Airlines in codeshare with B&H) and Belgrade (currently operated by Jat Airways in codeshare with B&H) while a strategic partner would be found for designations Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. “There is a possibility for us to open up services to Brussels and Amsterdam as well which would connect our passengers coming in from the US and Canada)” says Rečica.

Jat and BH airlines have signed a codeshare agreement on route Belgrade-Sarajevo in late 2006 which is operated by Jat however is sold as both a Jat and BH flight. “We have a really strong partnership with Jat Airways” says Rečica. He says that the BH team has analysed the profitability of this route and have concluded that there is room for another airline. The airline is 90% sure it will start services to Belgrade in September or October this year. Due to a special partnership BH could sell tickets to Jat’s destinations. It would transport passengers to Belgrade which will upon arrival be handled by Jat onto further destinations.

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