Schiptar
Geek
From Serbia to the world for a handful of euros
For prices starting at 9 euros, Belgrade students will soon be able to visit family in Cologne, take in the sights of Venice or see why Budapest is nicknamed "the Paris of the East". Small business owners will be able to afford a trip to the West to promote their products or sign deals. Low cost airlines are coming to Serbia, challenging the dominance of the national carrier JAT and opening up new horizons for travel. For most Serbs, however, visas and lack of Internet access still pose an obstacle.
By Georgi Mitev-Shantek for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 03/07/06
The open skies agreement recently signed in Salzburg by transport ministers from several Balkan countries and their Icelandic and Norwegian counterparts will bring tangible benefits to Serbia. The very first discount airline to do business in Serbia, Germanwings, plans to inaugurate a Belgrade-Cologne flight on 2 September, and a domestic low-cost airline, Centavia (Central European Airlines) has filed for a license.
The Germanwings service will cost between 9 and 49 euros, making it several times cheaper than the national airline, JAT. Centavia, meanwhile, plans flights to Athens, Frankfurt and Istanbul at half the cost of the big airlines. The Serbian company is registered in Belgrade and its pilots are already undergoing training in England.
Internationally, low-cost companies are increasingly taking a bigger slice of the pie. Ryanair's profits last year amounted to 268.9m euros, while Easyjet brought in 99.8m euros. The US carrier Southwest Airlines boasted no less than 435.1m euros.
It has taken time for the phenomenon to gain traction in Serbia. A venture by Serbian tycoon Miroslav Miskovic and his firm Delta Holding, Air Maxi, ended infamously last year before the company managed to purchase even a single aircraft. A key figure from that venture, former JAT general manager Predrag Vujovic, is also involved in Centavia. However, prospects for the new airline look more promising. It has secured a bank guarantee of 400,000 euros for insurance and is already renting a British plane.
Although discount flying remains at an embryonic stage, it is already a source of worry to JAT and its director, Nebojsa Starcevic. That is only to be expected, considering the national carrier registered a loss of 19m euros last year. It is hoping to bring the amount down to 3.7m this year, but that achievement would not exactly be cause for euphoria. Meanwhile, JAT's long-awaited service to Canada and the United States has been stymied by denial of a license.
JAT also faces competition from Montavia, a subsidiary of Montenegro Airlines. Registered in Nis as a Serbian firm, it is already registering profits with flights to Zurich.
Starcevic believes the conditions are not yet in place for a low-cost airline market in Serbia. Nevertheless, JAT no longer has the luxury of doing business as usual. Increased competitive pressure is a matter of "when" rather than "if".
For ordinary citizens, affordable travel is a more than welcome development. However, joy at the prospect of flying to Europe for 30 euros is marred by two things -- politics and inadequate technology. It remains hard to get a visa to the West if you have a Serbian passport. While there are hopes of an eased visa regime for students and businesspeople in the near future, the average person will have to wait longer for the situation to improve.
Another problem is the Internet. Low-cost firms sell their tickets exclusively via the Web, but business use of computers in Serbia is still well behind the curve.
Still, Serbs can take comfort in the fact that the process has begun. Once started, it will not be easy to stop. That much is clear from looking across the border, where dozens of companies are now operating. Romanians, for instance, can fly cheaply from Bucharest to Palermo via WindJet, or with Cimber Air to Copenhagen, while Croatians fly from Zagreb to London on WizzAir for just 40 euros, which is the price that Albanians pay to fly from Tirana to Venice on Alpi Eagles.
Gaps in domestic air service could also be filled by discount competitors. The city of Nis, with help from the Norwegian government, has poured money and effort into reconstructing Serbia's second largest airport -- one which JAT has tended to overlook. According to airport director Radisav Radojkovic, the state-owned airline is reluctant to develop transport between hubs within Serbia. As a result, Nis Airport is relying more and more on charter services, such as the Thomson Ski flights carrying British tourists to Kopaonik Mountain.
Indeed, just as low-cost flying promises more international mobility for Serb citizens, it could also help draw tourists from around the world to Serbia. In the near future, charter companies serving foreign visitors could begin serving the Ladjevci airfield, located near two prime tourist destinations -- Zlatibor mountain and the Vrnjackabanja spa. The local authorities are already looking to the capital investments ministry to open the military airfield to civilian use.
Another military airfield, Ponikve, is situated near Mokra Gora and the famous folk village created by film director Emir Kusturica. Ponikve has one of the longest runways in the Balkans, enjoys fog-free weather most of the year, and can handle all types of aircraft.
QUELLE
For prices starting at 9 euros, Belgrade students will soon be able to visit family in Cologne, take in the sights of Venice or see why Budapest is nicknamed "the Paris of the East". Small business owners will be able to afford a trip to the West to promote their products or sign deals. Low cost airlines are coming to Serbia, challenging the dominance of the national carrier JAT and opening up new horizons for travel. For most Serbs, however, visas and lack of Internet access still pose an obstacle.
By Georgi Mitev-Shantek for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 03/07/06
The open skies agreement recently signed in Salzburg by transport ministers from several Balkan countries and their Icelandic and Norwegian counterparts will bring tangible benefits to Serbia. The very first discount airline to do business in Serbia, Germanwings, plans to inaugurate a Belgrade-Cologne flight on 2 September, and a domestic low-cost airline, Centavia (Central European Airlines) has filed for a license.
The Germanwings service will cost between 9 and 49 euros, making it several times cheaper than the national airline, JAT. Centavia, meanwhile, plans flights to Athens, Frankfurt and Istanbul at half the cost of the big airlines. The Serbian company is registered in Belgrade and its pilots are already undergoing training in England.
Internationally, low-cost companies are increasingly taking a bigger slice of the pie. Ryanair's profits last year amounted to 268.9m euros, while Easyjet brought in 99.8m euros. The US carrier Southwest Airlines boasted no less than 435.1m euros.
It has taken time for the phenomenon to gain traction in Serbia. A venture by Serbian tycoon Miroslav Miskovic and his firm Delta Holding, Air Maxi, ended infamously last year before the company managed to purchase even a single aircraft. A key figure from that venture, former JAT general manager Predrag Vujovic, is also involved in Centavia. However, prospects for the new airline look more promising. It has secured a bank guarantee of 400,000 euros for insurance and is already renting a British plane.
Although discount flying remains at an embryonic stage, it is already a source of worry to JAT and its director, Nebojsa Starcevic. That is only to be expected, considering the national carrier registered a loss of 19m euros last year. It is hoping to bring the amount down to 3.7m this year, but that achievement would not exactly be cause for euphoria. Meanwhile, JAT's long-awaited service to Canada and the United States has been stymied by denial of a license.
JAT also faces competition from Montavia, a subsidiary of Montenegro Airlines. Registered in Nis as a Serbian firm, it is already registering profits with flights to Zurich.
Starcevic believes the conditions are not yet in place for a low-cost airline market in Serbia. Nevertheless, JAT no longer has the luxury of doing business as usual. Increased competitive pressure is a matter of "when" rather than "if".
For ordinary citizens, affordable travel is a more than welcome development. However, joy at the prospect of flying to Europe for 30 euros is marred by two things -- politics and inadequate technology. It remains hard to get a visa to the West if you have a Serbian passport. While there are hopes of an eased visa regime for students and businesspeople in the near future, the average person will have to wait longer for the situation to improve.
Another problem is the Internet. Low-cost firms sell their tickets exclusively via the Web, but business use of computers in Serbia is still well behind the curve.
Still, Serbs can take comfort in the fact that the process has begun. Once started, it will not be easy to stop. That much is clear from looking across the border, where dozens of companies are now operating. Romanians, for instance, can fly cheaply from Bucharest to Palermo via WindJet, or with Cimber Air to Copenhagen, while Croatians fly from Zagreb to London on WizzAir for just 40 euros, which is the price that Albanians pay to fly from Tirana to Venice on Alpi Eagles.
Gaps in domestic air service could also be filled by discount competitors. The city of Nis, with help from the Norwegian government, has poured money and effort into reconstructing Serbia's second largest airport -- one which JAT has tended to overlook. According to airport director Radisav Radojkovic, the state-owned airline is reluctant to develop transport between hubs within Serbia. As a result, Nis Airport is relying more and more on charter services, such as the Thomson Ski flights carrying British tourists to Kopaonik Mountain.
Indeed, just as low-cost flying promises more international mobility for Serb citizens, it could also help draw tourists from around the world to Serbia. In the near future, charter companies serving foreign visitors could begin serving the Ladjevci airfield, located near two prime tourist destinations -- Zlatibor mountain and the Vrnjackabanja spa. The local authorities are already looking to the capital investments ministry to open the military airfield to civilian use.
Another military airfield, Ponikve, is situated near Mokra Gora and the famous folk village created by film director Emir Kusturica. Ponikve has one of the longest runways in the Balkans, enjoys fog-free weather most of the year, and can handle all types of aircraft.
QUELLE
