"Jat" and "Airbus" agreed to begin new negotiations - Serbian carrier is ready to cooperate for updating of its fleet

(Srdjan Radovanovic and Andreas Kramer)

The company "Jat Airways" announced yesterday (20 July 2010) that it signed with "Airbus" a letter of intent and that it expected continuation of negotiations regarding the Contract from 1998 about the procurement of "Airbus" aircraft for the Serbian air carrier.

The document was signed at the international air show in Farnborough in London, by the General manager of "Jat", Srdjan Radovanovic and by theVice president of "Airbus" Andreas Kramer.

"Jat" people consider that signing of the document "opens the way for eventual modifications of existing contracts," as it said in a statement, adding that negotiations will begin again soon after the events in Farnborough.

According to "Jat", the agreement between the company and "Airbus" from May 1998, of the total value of USD 520 million, determined a procurement of eight aircrafts type A319.

During the upcoming negotiations they will also work on finding ways to use the advance of 23 million USD, which was formerly paid by the Serbian side.

- We believe that the Balkan region will in time play a more significant role in the system of European air routes. As part of our strategy of consolidation and development, our goal is to become the leading air carrier in Southeast Europe, and it will, inter alia, contribute to the modernization of our fleet with the most efficient aircrafts on the market - said Radovanovic.

He pointed out that "the willingness of the company "Airbus" to negotiate with "Jat Airways" was a serious positive signal for the continuation of reforms and for solving of the existing problems in the national airline."

- "Airbus" is ready to support the strategic development of "Jat Airways" into a leading airline company - said Kramer, who added that Eastern Europe represents 20.6% of the European population, and it will have an average annual traffic growth of 6.4% over the next 20 years, which is much more than the world average during the same period, which amounts to 4.7%.