Tough times for B&H Airlines
After more than a week, B&H Airlines is expected to resume services this afternoon. The carrier has been forced to suspend all flights after its ATR72 experienced technical problems and had to undergo maintenance. B&H’s other turboprop, which is in Germany, is also in maintenance and is expected to return to the fleet during the 2013 summer season. As a result, the airline has been forced to cancel flights to Istanbul, Zurich, Banja Luka and Copenhagen. “We are expecting to hear from our colleagues from aircraft maintenance and I can’t give any further information. One aircraft is in Germany while the other is in Sarajevo which has to undergo small scale repairs”, Edin Hrapović from B&H Airlines says.
However, the Minister for Transport and Communication in the Federation government, Enver Bijedić, said yesterday the airline is grounded because its account at the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank is blocked. B&H has accumulated significant debt towards the bank, mostly during the time it was run by Turkish Airlines. The Ministry for Transport and Communication says it is negotiating with the bank in order to solve B&H’s problems. Late last year several airlines expressed interest to purchase a minority stake in B&H, however, Mr. Bijedić says, “Once their delegations payed a visit to B&H Airlines, they never came back”.
B&H Airlines’ suspensions couldn’t come at a worse time for the airline. Its signature Istanbul service is in big danger following the successful launch of Pegasus Airlines’ flights between the city and the Bosnian capital. Pegasus now plans operate a sixth weekly flight between the two cities during the summer. Despite its problems, the Bosnian national carrier is sticking to plans to launch flights to Skopje from April 1. Whether it will lease a jet engine aircraft by the end of the month, as was previously planned, remains to be seen.
Who in their right mind would book B&H Airlines? I'm sure the service is excellent when you are actually in the aircraft, but most of the time they cancel flight's, new routes only last for short periods before being withdrawn, the website contains incorrect information. I think this airline will be finished before long!
ReplyDeleteOn airplane is in maintenance in Germany? Again? Last year both planes were in Germany for maintenance for several weeks... Come one who can be so stupid to believe in that.
ReplyDeletefor your information, E7AAE aircraft is grounded in Monchengladbach for overhaul of one engine and it will last at least one month more under ideal conditions. The problem is in one that is parked at sarajevo airport. What is the reason for grounding, financial or technical matters ?!? As seen today at mostly all BH web portals , minister Bijedic emphasize very hard financial relations with Hypo leasing, owners of the aircrafts. So what be expected in the future... It is a worst period as the summer season is almost here. Maybe it is time to act against Turkish airlines who caused all this shits that happened in last 8 months and still keep BH Airlines funds.
DeleteOf course it is engine... sure... and it is normal that today for one problem you have plane grounded for one month... I am sure that's the way Lufthansa, British and others are doing their maintenance... and have planes on ground for more than one month... and if it would be financial problems with Hypo you will tell as? Sure you will!
DeleteNow Turkish is guilt for everything! Sure they are... same logic as politicians have when they take a government. Last one is guilt for at least another 3 years!!!
If it is to take another whole month for the engine overhaul then why does BH Airlines show a normal timetable from March 18.
DeleteThis is either unprofessional from Planning/Ticketing department or Maintenance..
Because one plane is more than enough for those 18 weekly flights! :-)
DeleteThis is when an airline is part of the nation-building process. Because BH is a state it "needs" a national airline. If we are honest, the only two states in ex-yu that really need an airline are Croatia and Serbia. All other countries are too small markets and could be under one roof. I suggest that Adria Airways takes over the aviation markets of BH, Montenegro, FYROM and Kosovo.
ReplyDeleteWhy Adria has to do that ??? Why not Montenegro that has very good organization, fleet and market.I dont give a shit for Adria Airways. They dont belong here.
DeleteThe guy first to the last shouldn't have looked down on the markets in other states formed on the pieces of the former YU. JAT and Adria have tried to fly from Banjaluka in the recent years. Even though the flights were subsidised they both failed. BH Airlines' flights are not subsidised but always almost fully booked with passengers travelling from Sarajevo and Banjaluka to Zurich and vice versa. If the markets in Croatia and Serbia are so strong, why then do Croatia Airlines and JAT waste their airliners flying to Sarajevo? Both companies are shy of the aircraft, aren't they?
DeleteThis is where the B&H marketing team should put their forces together and start aggressive PR campaigns with the message PIPL MAST TRAST AS! Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic is rumoured to have been asked as the company's new media voice!
ReplyDeleteGreat time to repaint the aircraft with the new slogan while it's undergoing engine maintenance...
DeleteSpeaking of grounded planes: any chance that Jat's DC9 or B727 ever fly again? It entered my mind when we taxi-ed for take off yesterday past Jat's hangar. If not they could be shown off in the museum - Caravelle is getting boring...
Alitalia prebookings for TGD catastrophic....
ReplyDeleteRome – Podgorica Planned 3 weekly service starting 26MAR13 has been postponed until 01JUN13. Service will also switch from Airbus A319 to smaller Embraer E190 aircraft
AZ558 FCO0850 – 1020TGD E90 146
AZ559 TGD1110 – 1240FCO E90 146
That's of a surprise. I wonder however why AZ had to drop MXP-BEG.
DeleteWell, Easyjet will fly from Belgrade to Milan, so that's really the best solution.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't look that they will take off this time:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.klix.ba/biznis/news/hypo-banka-blokirala-racune-bh-airlinesu/130305137
Although today's flight to Istanbul has taken off and is about to return to SJJ, it remains to be seen what happens tomorrow..
DeleteMr. Jazic and Mr. Bijedic should have an urgent meeting with HAA Bank..
Jat will have the same problems as B&H in not so far future!
ReplyDeleteThe leasing of new aircraft wil also never happen,because neither the Bosnian nor the Serbian government have the money for...
and the bank will give no loans.
No wonder ,who wants to give them money...you can not trust them
a second because of their incompetence.
Thankfully Adria and Croatia are doing much better… if they have any destinations left to fly to by the end of the year.
DeleteBtw Hypo Alpe Adria is the bank that bought the Croatian premier Sanader...which led to his arrest.
ReplyDeleteThe bank lost a lot of money because of risky deals.
And they are investigated for buying politicians in the whole former Yu and in Austria self...
Times are gone for lending money without securities any more!