 |
| France’s Vinci still interested in Belgrade Airport concession |
French concession and construction company Vinci has reaffirmed its interest to vie for a concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport following talks between French investors and the Serbian government in Paris last week. Serbia’s Economy Minister, Željko Sertić, met with representatives of French companies and confirmed Vinci’s interest in the country’s main international airport. Representatives from Vinci are expected to visit Belgrade next month as part of a wider French delegation which will feature various transport-oriented companies. The Serbian government has announced plans to launch a state-run company to manage up to 25 of the country’s airports, including Belgrade, by April. The public company running Belgrade Airport will be renamed to “Airports of Serbia” with more than twenty smaller airports to be added under its wing. The move is believed to be in relation to the upcoming concession of Serbia’s busiest airport, through which the future operator will also gain control to the rest of the country’s airport infrastructure.
In November last year, Vinci signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Belgrade Airport for the development of joint projects. The MoU was also co-signed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić. Vinci Airports Chairman, Nicolas Notebaert, has said, "Vinci Airports have an ambition to cooperate on the development of Belgrade Airport and other Serbian airports. We are interested in long-term partnerships". Serbia’s Prime Minister has previously said that his government will decide on whether to give Belgrade Airport up for concession in June, noting that the future operator will have to invest in infrastructure such as a new terminal, runway and hotel. “Nikola Tesla Airport is experiencing problems as a result of increased traffic, in particular with baggage sorting and aging technology”, the Prime Minister said. Belgrade Airport is estimated to handle between 5 and 5.5 million passengers this year.
Last year, Vinci lost out in a bid to acquire a majority stake in Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport. The concession company has also expressed interest in establishing a partnership with Airports of Montenegro, the state-owned company that runs the country’s two international airports - Podgorica and Tivat. However, the Montenegrin government has since ruled out a concession or privatisation of its airport operator. In case of a tie-up with Belgrade Airport, two major French companies would have control over the former Yugoslavia’s two busiest airports. Zagreb Airport is managed by a consortium led by France’s Aéroports de Paris. Vinci runs a total of 23 airports across France, Portugal and Cambodia. It employs over 179.000 people and is the world’s leading construction company by revenue. It profits total almost two billion euros per year. The company’s subsidiary, Vinci Construction, has also been involved in the recent expansion of Abu Dhabi Airport’s terminal three.
Last summer, two companies from the United Arab Emirates, one of which is Arabtec Holding, the Persian Gulf’s largest construction company, expressed interest to take part in a potential concession of Belgrade Airport. However, it is believed that awarding control of the country’s main airport to a company from the Middle East, in addition to Etihad Airways’ part-ownership of Serbia’s national carrier, would not be looked upon kindly by the European Union which Serbia hopes to join. Documents signed between the Serbian government and Etihad Airways, for the latter’s minority takeover of Air Serbia, show that the Serbian national carrier is to be given a dedicated terminal at its hub.
let's say again, maybe someone will hear/read, it's proposterous to include all grasslands called airports into AoS. only should be included: LYBE, LYKV, LYNI, LYUZ and LYVR (those that have pax potential). all others should be left out
ReplyDeleteI am afraid the interests of the airport and Air Serbia aren't always the same.
ReplyDeleteLet's for example think about potential Wizz route to Moscow. The demand is there, but those flights won't be commenced because it is no good for both Air Serbia and Aeroflot... And I am sure this line would not just make Air Serbia and Aeroflot lower their fairs but it would bring an additional portion of passengers. More than those two companies combined...
I don't think Wizz can start Moscow because of a bilateral between Russia and Serbia which restricts flights to national carriers only.
DeleteYeah well that has been arranged between the governments. And that's not good...
DeleteNo, the bilateral between Russia and Serbia was revised in 2013 so now any airline that has the Russian or Serbian AOC can start flying.
DeleteThe only countries that have the national airline clause are those between Serbia and Israel and Albania.
Nice. That makes even worse the fact that we don't have any Wizz flights to Moscow..
DeleteBut do they have AOC?
DeleteIsn't there also the strict reciprocity clause in the Russia-Serbia bilateral? There should be the same number of flights covering the same destinations, or smt like that?
DeleteNo. All of that was dropped in 2013.
DeleteWizz Air has a Hungarian AOC so they can't fly between Serbia and Russia.
No serious company will be interested in BEG as long as the deal between JU and the airport is in place. ;)
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThe government can take over the subsidy payment effectively rendering the "problem" void.
DeleteYes but the government has no money and they surely can't demand the cash from the IMF.
DeleteProper investors are interested in being in charge of commercial terms. That deal has several levels of market freedoms being overridden.
DeleteAir Serbia made a profit - a nice one at that - 2,7 million EUR. What was the target 1 million?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/srbija.php?yyyy=2015&mm=03&dd=02&nav_id=963653
An appropriate comment from that thread:
DeleteNa nalog Vlade Srbije (Odluka Vlade br. 40-15095/2014-1 od 11. decembra 2014) aerodrom "Nikola Tesla" u Beogradu otpisao je dug Air Serbiji za izvršene usluge u periodu 1. januara 2014. do 30. septembra 2014. u iznosu od 1,5 milijardi dinara (oko 15,7 miliona evra).
---
This is on top of all the exclusive discounts.
That's because the government doesn't have the necessary cash to cover its expenses as a 51% shareholder.
DeleteIt doesn't matter. AirSerbia still made a 13 million EUR loss.
DeleteNo, Air Serbia made 2.7 million profit. EUR 13 million you are talking about was thaks to the ingenious management of JAT - before Air Serbia was even formed. Let's cut the trolling and stick to the facts, even when they are not music to your ears...
DeleteNot really. You can't turn profit into loss or vice versa by dismissing write-offs. If you have a large liability written off, and after that you end up profitable, then that's it - you are profitable. If the liability stayed, you would not be profitable.
DeleteBtw, that write-off is the part of the government investment in ASL until the end of 2016. They don't have cash so they will invest their part from BEG revenues (which they own). It is all in the Serbia-Etihad agreement.
The post above is a reply to Anonymous 12:19
DeleteAnon 12:40, you are wrong. JAT management losses ended in October 2013, not October 2014. This 2014 write-off is a pure subsidy to ASL. But as I said, it is defined by the Serbia-Etihad agreement as the non-cash investment that will occur every year until the end of 2016.
Let's align -
DeleteAir Serbia is profitable.
It's Serbia that's at loss.
Well you can't turn a dying carrier into a goose that lays golden eggs that quickly. Serbia was at loss with Jat, Serbia would have been at loss if Jat went bust, Serbia is at loss with ASL but at least there is some chance that one day Serbia can profit from it as well. In the other two scenarios that chance would not have existed and loss would be the only option.
Delete>> In the other two scenarios that chance would not have existed and loss would be the only option. <<
DeleteThis is a great illusion.
Hmm I wonder why there wasn't so much hate on here when a certain other ex-YU airline used creative accounting to reach profitability. ;)
DeleteWhat I'm interested in was what was their operating profit, meaning revenue-operating (not one-time) expenses. That would be the only valid measure of their 2014 performance.
DeleteAccounting is very funny business. Depending how you book these unpaid airport charges which count towards your cash reserves, you can make the final result go in many different ways.
I agree with you SM - you can put figures left or right in the balance sheet. Operating profit would be THE indicator weather company did it well or not.
Delete@ Anon 1:58
Delete1. Jat was a money burner with hundreds of millions of liabilities.
2. Jat was on the verge of (finally) going bust.
Where do you see illusions in the above?
Not taking into account scenarios beyond JAT / Air Serbia provides for a considerable blind spot.
DeleteAny such scenario you'd share with the rest of us?
DeleteWish I could. Business confidentiality etc.
DeleteTaj vaš premijer Vučić, stečajni upravnik Srbije, zbilja nije normalan.
DeleteJU in 2014
ReplyDelete2.3 passengers and a profit of 2.7 million.
Second day of QR via Sofia and it's the A321 :)
ReplyDeleteyea I just realized flights go via Sofia now! Does anybody know loads from both BEG and Sofia?
DeleteYes, BEG goes via SOF from yesterday and they also changed ZAG flights which go direct now but decrease in frequency
Deletehttp://exyuaviation.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/qatar-airways-modifies-ex-yu-operations.html
I guess it bad LF was reason in ZAG frequency decrease? Another instance where BEG is doing better than ZAG
DeleteCould it be because of FlyDubai? It has recently started flying to ZAG
DeleteNo, ZAG loads are much better for Qatar than BEG. It operated daily because it went via BUD. Now that it goes nonstop there is no need for daily flights so it's five weekly.
Deletelol "Another instance where BEG is doing better than ZAG". How is it doing better in this particular case if ZAG gets nonstop flights and BEG gets a tag via Sofia. And just to note I am from Serbia, but seriously ....
DeleteRiiight. So decrease in frequence is meaning loads are great. Shouldn't they then fly 7 times per week directly?
DeleteYou are obviously playing dumb. They estimated that they could have healthy loads flying 5 times per week to ZAG nonstop. To BEG they fly 5 times per week via Sofia. If loads were better to BEG than to ZAG they would have started flying nonstop to BEG yesterday.
DeleteGenious
Delete7 1stop flights is 144 seats / 2 stops = 72 seats per destination so ZAG "part" was 504 seats per week
5 nonstop flights is 720 seats per week on nonstop flights
= Zagreb has 43% more seats on that route
Just ignore trolls, ZAG is doing much much better compared to BEG when it comes to Qatar( we can say partially due to 14 weekly flights ASL/Etihad). On average to BEG there are like 30 pax. Zag is probably around 100 so you decide who is doing better. Hopefully Qatar will stay in both ZAG and BEG for a long time since its prestige carrier.
Deletehad anybody ever traveled with Qatar to either BEG or ZAG from here? Can they share some info. Was there any service between BEG and Ankara before? Will there be now with Sofia since route is too short?
DeleteHonestly, who cares if QR does better in ZAG... the overall numbers at the end of the day speak for themselves.
Deletewith decrease in operations, you get more seat capacity and probably less workers, since it will be 2 less rotations per week, so it's good for qatar
DeleteI saw some post about flights Belgrade-Ankara-Doha, manly Belgrade-Ankara were empty, Ankara-doha-Ankara were the one who fill the aircraft.
DeleteOn the other hand, PRG seems to be becoming A319/737 more and more often.
DeleteGood news (more like "not bad news") : LF is 67%. I was expecting less than 65.
ReplyDeleteBad news: you can still find yourself booking a ticket in April-May 7 days before the trip to Warsaw and get it for like 130 euros or less.
Now pay attention.
In order to check my assumption I just went to sky scanner and realized that beg-waw return ticket 10-17 March is...
96 EUROS.
Okay I know JU competes with LO on that route. But on monopolistic routes, it's not a lot better. Because they insanely reduce prices for transit pax!
Ako treba neka daju i jeftinije BEG Vinciju samo da nadje koncesionara.
ReplyDeleteA kao sto sam jos rekao krajem DEC ASL je je profitabilna i sve pohvale Direktoru i svim zaposlenima.
INN-NS
Da, na papiru.. jer papir trpi svasta. Da servisiraju sve svoje obaveze na BEG onda bi bili profitabilni. Kapiram da se na taj način država kompenzuje sa Etihadom ali, zarad sitnih političkih poena ne možemo reći da je poslovanje pozitivno. Pritom ne želim da umanjim veliki uspeh ASL u protekloj godini.
DeleteTo je investicija drzave SRB i naravno da imaju profit.
DeleteINN-NS
INN
DeleteSrbija plača subvenciju koja je bitno viša od profita + "investiciju" kroz aerodromske takse
(ovdje ne spominjem otpisane dugove jer su oni iz proteklog razdoblja).
Kao sto pisu novine ukupan profit je bio 262 miliona evra, ali ja znam da vama to smeta i da mozemo do sutra da se raspravljamo i vi cete i dalje tvrditi da nije profit a jeste.
DeleteI takodje je Aleksandar Vulin reakao da postoji mogucnost da se YM preseli u BEG sto bi trebalo i ponuditi JA .
Sto bi bilo odlicno vise Regionalnih Aviona.
INN-NS
Sine, jel ti znaš šta je promet a šta profit?
DeleteTo je prihod pogresno sam napisao i sto vam toliko smeta sto su ostvarili profit to me zanima.
DeleteSta cete izmisliti kad dodje A330 da leti na bio fuel ili kad uvedu online check in .
INN-NS
A bio fuel za 330 se lako moze napraviti od onog sta ti ovde pises, i kolicina bi bila dovoljna, sasvim
DeleteINN
DeleteObjasni mi koji je NET BENEFIT ima ekonomija Srbije ako proda ili dadne pod koncesiju jedan kapitalan objekat kao sto je aerodrome. Za mene ne postoji ni jedan. Hoce li zaposliti vise ljudi – nista vise nego sto to zahtjeva trenutna potreba bez obzira ko je vlasnik. Hoce li oni na neki samo njima znani nacin privoliti nove putnike da udju kroz vrata aerodroma – opet isti odgovor. Avio kompanije isto tako.
Ono sto politicari hoce da ti vjerujes je da oni kao nemaju para za razvoj aerodroma, neznaju raditi taj posao pa kao moraju dati nekome ko se vec tim bavi. A zar nebi bilo pametnije da dovedu nekog ili citav tim ljudi koji to znaju (pa makar bili to I stranci) i dadnu im odrjesene ruke. Aerodrom kao takav, sa jasnim biznis planom I profitom koji neminovno pravi nema razlog zasto nebi mogao da sam finansira svoj razvoj po trzisnom sistemu. Naravno, mozda ne u megalomanskoj razmjeri o kojoj politicari sada pricaju nego u onoj koja je zasnovana na razumnim prognozama i jasnim planovima.
Sve ovo o cemu politicari sada pricaju je ono sto zapadnjaci hoce da ja i ti mislimo a to je da smo jadni, nesposobni i da bez njih nema napredka. A kad potpisu ugovor oni ce da posalju svojih 5-6 gleavnih ljudi koji ce da urade sve ovo sto sam ja gore rekao ali i da nose profit u Francusku ili Njemacku. Zasto isto to nebi I mi mogli uraditi pa da profit ostane tu gdje je i napravljen pa da svi imaju koristi od nje.
@ Anon 4:24
DeleteNe radi se o "investiciji" več o investiciji koja stoji u ugovoru Srbije i Etihada. Nešto investira Srbija, nešto investira Etihad. Državna pomoč za ASL na osnovu te investicije jasno je precizirana i ima rok nakon kojeg če prestati. Nakon što prestane, ASL više neče primati pomoč od države niti u živoj lovi niti kroz oprost troškova na ZLB.
@5:09
Delete+1
Anonymous at 5:00 PM
DeleteSta vam smeta gospodin Presednik on je mnogo pomogao Planinskim selima po RS.
SM
Vi ste 100 % upravu ali to ce se tesko desiti.
I nisam za prodaju ali sve dok ne dodje covek koji voli taj i svoj posao kao npr Gospodin Kondic nece biti uspeha nikad , posto njima su prece druge stvari koje svi znamo a za to je odlican Aerodrom nazalost.
A BEG bi mogao lako da se sam finansira.
INN-NS
As expected, solid results for Air Serbia, but not too many details in that report. Things I would like to improve: Load Factor should be easy to get into more comfortable 70’s for 2015. On Time Performance (outside of standard 15 min) for a budding hub airline, while head and shoulders above parent Etihad, must get into solid 80’s to further improve airline image in the region. Next, I understand reasons not to directly address BEG airport debt write-off in official release, but would advocate separate media interview by a friend of an airline to specifically clarify this issue and point to TFA as a legal basis for discount/debt write-off.
ReplyDeleteBusiness Lounge is back on track, as is wifi (most likely the same as Etihad’s Panasonic). We still have to see if/how ASL plans to monetize wi-fly, and possibly even Lounge if they decide to sell access outside of FF and biz class.
Everything looking great, yet I have that creepy feeling as in the first minutes of Kubrick’s Shining. Air Serbia did not yet announce organic expansion (as previously hinted), no additional planes, no bilateral with the USA, no more mention of North America long haul: you know this movie might not end up well. Time is running out to get everything done for 2016 US and Canada flights. If those don’t start by summer of 2016, they are less likely to start at all. Whatever the obstacles are, there are multiple alternatives for those driven to succeed.
Chinese proverb explains why Air Serbia must continue to expand and go long haul: “Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back”. Others are learning how to compete against ASL and if Air Serbia does not go ahead of them it will become easier to compete against and eventually become an easy prey. Good job so far but looking forward to couple of gutsy, risky and bold announcements in the coming months.
Kondić did mention organic expansion this year, in his financial results communique:
Delete“While the 2014 results are a sure sign that we are on the right path, we must not rest on our laurels and, entering 2015, we are committed to accelerating our growth. We will do this by continuing to grow our route network both organically and through an expansion of our and through an expansion of our codeshare partnerships."
Noticed that, but no commitment yet. Hope for announcement before summer season.
DeleteWithout a fleet expansion, it would be difficult to open new destinations.
DeleteI don't understand why exYu tolerate such posts about ASL responsibility for Serbian state responsibility for bilateral agreement with USA?
DeleteAccording to some earlier comments Air Serbia is not responsible for the lack of bilateral. However "Serbian state" is not responsible either. Apparently it is US State Department's responsibility to propose mutually acceptable workaround for definition of Serbia/Kosovo in the agreement. US businesses want that air link, John Kerry wants more influence and closer relationships with Serbia. Ball is in his court now, if the story is true.
DeleteUAE investor and VINCI should jointly form 49/51% company to operate Serbia and Montenegro airports under concession. EBRD Tivat investment should fit well into this. Montenegro Airlines should "merge" with Air Serbia under single management with some EU concessions. If Milo remains defiant, sweeten the deal with UAE investment in luxury resort development. Everyone wins.
ReplyDeleteYea everyone wins on the other side since we become arab and EU bots, yay! btw I am not pro russian, they also have same policy for Serbia as EU.
DeleteAnonymousMarch 2, 2015 at 6:39 PM,
DeleteDo you have some other proposal besides foreign investment? Our domestic leadership has very well proven that they cannot successfuly lead a company, and also there is not enough capital domestically for such projects
I am responding to original comment. Good luck in becoming an arab colony, ottomans all over again. Man selling agricultural land to Arabs is worst decision possible. I agree that foreign investments are important in a way by allocating small piece of land for them to create a factory or property development. Selling land is completely different thing. Why not put a UAE flag on that land?
DeleteI do!
DeleteHave the government treat the airport as a business it is, hire professional mgmt., let them get rid of excess staff if they have to, have them come up with realistic plans for the future and you'll have no problem financing it through capital markets. Heck, this thing is making money as it is, can you imagine how much it could make if all the conditions above were satisfied.
Now, I know that this is rocket science for any politician in Balkans so the easiest solution is to sell it for political favors and kiss the profit it brings every year good bye.
SM,
DeleteHaha, let me change my question to "do you have any REALISTIC proposals".
What you propose should have happened years ago... Unfortunately.
Sorry my friend I'm not a magician LOL. I know it's a utopia but I refuse to accept that the only way something can work in these countries (I'm using plural on purpose because it's the same in BiH, Croatia, Montenegro etc.) is by giving up and selling to someone else (I'm sure you know who I have in mind).
DeleteThere was a anon post in thread around 8:05pm that rightfully ended up being deleted by the moderator. Even though I generally don't like to give lectures to anyone, I'm compelled to reply this "gentleman". Hopefully, you'll see this whoever you are.
DeleteWho Aleksandar is and what he stands for I don't know. What I do know is that unlike you he signs his comments. More importantly I do know as well that he is fully entitled to his opinion no matter how different it is from mine or yours. You and many others should learn how to respect others and focus that energy towards something positive. Love yourself and yours but don't hate others just because they have different opinion, different ethnicity,skin color or whatever else might be that ticks you off these days. Thank you.
Thanks for the backup, SM. Didn't read the post but I have a good idea who the perpetrator is. :D
DeleteBelgrade airport statistics total number of passengers by route)
ReplyDeleteBEG-GSE-BEG
2013. 48.773
2012. 42.135
2011. 22.233
BEG-NYO-BEG
2013. 43.827
2012. 31.670
BEG-MMX-BEG
2013. 62.676
2012. 60.086
2011. 42.559
BEG-ARN-BEG
2013. 84.032
BEG-MMX-BEG
ReplyDelete2014. 57.679
Please, do you have the QR and BEY numbers?
DeleteThank you.
Unfortunately I don't have info for QR and BEY.
DeleteAh, ok, you have mostly the Wizz Air ones, thank you anyway.
Deletewhat other numbers you have Flying Bosnian?
DeleteI have numbers for most flights from BEG to EU. How about Split.
DeleteMay 2014. 1043 pax
Jun. 2014. 3541 pax
Jul. 2014 5454 pax
Aug. 2014 6319 pax
Sep. 2014 3909 pax
Oct. 2014 1582 pax
Departing BEG to SPU 10587 pax
Departing SPU to BEG 11270 pax
Really good numbers for BEG-SPU, it should put to rest any discussion regarding the loads on that route.
DeleteDo you have numbers for BEG-ZRH?
DeleteAko nekog zanima nesto vise od politickih prepucavanja, Er Srbija ce u avionima imati servis za mobilnu mrezu, pozive i SMS. Wi-Fi ce imati internet pristup ali i streaming sadrzaje sa lokalnog onboard servera kao sto su filmovi, tv serije i muzika.
ReplyDeleteA on line check-in? Self check-in?
Delete