Airbus wants to start negotiations with Jat

The Vice President of Airbus, Andreas Kramer, said that that European airplane manufacturer intended to start the negotiations on changes in the contract with Serbian airliner Jat Airways soon.

- Our wish is to meet with Jat's representatives and consider the possibilities of adapting and changing the contract in order to enable the delivery of airplanes in the end - he said to Serbian press in the headquarters of Airbus (www.airbus.com) in Touluose.

Kramer, the Vice President of Airbus for East Europe, reminded that Airbus and Jat had signed the contract on purchase of eight airplanes in 1998. These planes were supposed to be delivered in the period 2000 - 2005.

The time changed and that contract, as Kramer pointed out, can be activated and renewed only if it is adapted to the current needs of Jat and Airbus.

- We have presented the proposal to Jat and we hope that the negotiations on that will start soon - said Kramer and added that big number of terms from the contract should be adapted and changed as well.

- We believe that eight airplanes are more than Jat needs at the moment. The number of airplanes must be adapted to the current situation in Jat, as well as prices since the prices from 12 years ago do not fit in current market conditions - said the Vice President of Airbus.

According to the information announced by the Jat's management in early 2007, the contract on purchase of airplanes from Airbus had the value of about 580m USD, and Jat paid the deposit of 23.5m USD.

Kramer pointed out that the only way for that money to be used was that the contract between Jat and Airbus be modified.

- We have tried to start a dialogue with Jat over the last few years in order to find a solution to the problem of the contract. There were always various obstacles such as privatization and elections in Serbia. Now we hope that we can move from the phase of talks to the phase of negotiations - said the Airbus' Vice President.

According to his words, Airbus does not plan to negotiate with the representatives of the Government of Serbia, which is the owner of Jat Airways.

Kramer estimated that Serbia had huge potential for development of air transportation.

- The airport in Belgrade has a strategic position since it is situated in the center of the region. Visa regime is abolished, so that we see great opportunities for market development and we want to reach some agreement with Serbian airliner - said the Vice President of Airbus for East Europe.

According to the data from the website of Serbian air transportation company, Jat Airways has the fleet of 16 airplanes, 11 of which are the aircrafts made by U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing, while 5 are the airplanes made by European ATR.