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| EC investigation part of Lufthansa's "war" with Etihad |
The Serbian government says it is unfazed by the recent investigation by the European Commission (EC) into Air Serbia’s ownership structure, noting it is primarily aimed at Etihad Airways’ stakes in Germany’s Air Berlin and Switzerland’s Darwin Airline. Last week the EC launched a formal investigation into Etihad Airways’ shareholding and control of several European airlines, including Air Berlin and Air Serbia. The Commission has doubts whether Etihad’s investments are in line with European Union rules on ownership and effective control of EU airlines. Speaking to the Frankfurt based “Vesti” newspaper, Siniša Mali, the economic advisor to the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, who was also the chief negotiator of Etihad’s takeover of Jat Airways, says, “We recently met with representatives from the European Commission and they asked us the same questions they did in August last year”. Following Etihad’s takeover of Jat in the summer of 2013, the EC requested Serbia to clarify the airline’s new ownership structure.
Mr. Mali also adds, “I have to say that none of the agreements signed between the Serbian government and Etihad Airways are contrary to the European Common Aviation Area agreement, including those concerning corporative control. The most distinguished lawyers from London drafted these agreements and they wouldn’t make an oversight”. According to other sources cited by “Vesti”, Lufthansa played an instrumental role in the EC's decision to investigate Etihad’s investments in Europe, irked by the carrier’s plans to increase its capital in Germany’s second largest airline Air Berlin and its investment in Alitalia. As a result, Air Serbia has found itself in the crossfire of Lufthansa’s dispute with Etihad.
Other airlines can influence the Commission to open formal investigations into cases concerning fair competition. Low cost airline Rynair has made it no secret it played a major role in the EC’s decision to investigate Adria Airways over state aid and went as far as to publicly criticising the Commission for being too slow to rule on the case. Last Friday, the EC warned Italian authorities to be “vigilant” over the imminent tie-up between Alitalia and Etihad. The warning came on the day the Abu Dhabi based carrier was expected to make a formal offer to buy as much as a 40% stake in its Italian counterpart. In early February, Lufthansa called on the EC to halt Etihad's planned investment in Alitalia, alleging the use of state aid in disguise to break competition rules.
This is clear. But who or what is behind JU 30 min. late departures in the morning? Checkin problems?
ReplyDeleteorganizacija - nebriga - nesposobnost da se ista promeni posle 5 meseci vodjenja avio posla! "inshallah" tomorrow will be better!
DeleteSo why did this happen?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-change-nationality-of-air-serbia-director
The author of the article, Bojana Barlovac, is an LDP propaganda machine. She has a personal vendetta against the current regime and she has devoted a lot of time and energy to trash the reforms in Air Serbia.
DeleteIt is not important who she really is. But is that true or not?
DeleteIt actually is because the article is biased and lacks key information which goes in favour of the Etihad-Air Serbia deal. It's unprofessional above everything else which can make us believe in the authenticity of the rest of it.
DeleteWhat is the problem? He is of Serbian decent as a result he can have Serbian citizenship.
Delete"It actually is because the article is biased and lacks key information"
DeleteWhat key information are you referring to?
Hmm how about any kind of proof? Where did she get this information from? Where is the copy of his citizenship and a date of its issuing? That's how real journalism works, this is just slander and she can get sued by Etihad.
DeleteHmm, I think you need to re-read the article, she says where she got the info and when. And she never said he was granted citizenship now, only that his nationality was switched to Serbian in the Serbian business registry, presumably to show that Air Serbia complies with majority serbian representation on the board.
DeleteThey changed his nationalty when he obtained Serbian citizenship. Don't see the fuss.
DeleteShe claimed that it was changed so as to prove that they complied with the rules and regulations. She doesn't have the proof of that.
DeleteSo you think they changed it for another reason?
DeleteProbably not but that's not my problem. My problem is that her article was very one-sided and it portrayed a twisted image of the situation.Also, I do not see why it's even worthy of being written as news. Especially since BIRN rarely wrote on Air Serbia.
DeleteWTF? How on earth is it one-sided and twisting the situation? How should she have written it? And then you say its not even news? Seriously!!!
DeleteAll thats left is to label her a jealous hater, full of pure hate and we're done here.
Well, she is a member of the LDP party. That says it all, really.
DeleteWhat is LDP have to do with this? I mean if that is true it is not relevant from which party it came. That is politics, whan you see something wrong it is your job to react.
DeleteSo, if it is true, it does not metter that she is from LDP
Yeah, sure. Ok. The same way it doesn't matter if someone is from URS. People from that part are never corrupt and they led all sectors with 100% transparency and justice.
DeleteWhoever the fuck she is, doesn't matter one bit - what matters here is very much around how the facts have been presented. No one has "switched" citizenship - the bloke had old SFRJ passport and simply took out Serbian citizenship, which is his right and entitlement to do - as it is for anyone of Serbian nationality - meaning he is now a dual national, as many other people are. It has no bearing on his job or his right to be employed by anyone in Serbia. And, it certainly has no impact on whatever the fuck it is that the EU feels they need to investigate. What is the real issue and concern here, is the matter of "effective control" and on this point it is crystal clear. The Govt of Serbia is the majority shareholder in JU with 51% and the Govt of Serbia has a majority of members on the Board of Directors with 5 persons - incl the Chairman - while EY has 4. The Board is THE decision making authority of the company. The citizenship of anyone in the mgt team is irrelevant. As the LDP would say, "to je posao i tacka"
DeleteWe read so often how Etihad is controlling and managing Air Serbia and how good that is. Well, for European Union it is not important if that "looks like" by papers of documents but if de facto something works right or not. And here only thing that is crystal clear is that Etihad has 40% of Air Serbia but still control and manage company by 100%.
DeleteAnonymous at 1.42am - I suggest you take a crash course in English, because you have no understanding of the difference b/w CONTROL and MANAGE. Etihad has a management contract to manage an airline which is owned and controlled by the Govt of Serbia. No different to hotel management companies which run and manage assets owned by completely different companies. Look at the Hyatt and Crowne Plaza hotels in Belgrade as 2 such examples. Both are owned and controlled by different companies to those who run and manage these assets. Don't be such an idiot that a simple concept as this is so difficult to grasp... Having said that, you probably won't understand a word of what I have just written ...
DeleteYU-APA arrives in BEG today from MUC
ReplyDeleteIt should enter regular service by the end of the week. This is great news, to say the least. The A319 is the perfect aircraft for JU's current needs.
DeleteLet's hope the two Atr-72s return soon as well.
So by the end of the month JU should come close to having 20 aircraft in its fleet. That's not bad at all.
By the way, two days ago, the airport was so busy that they had to park YU-AOV on C7. It was the first time I saw it happen. :)
Dusan, any news on YU-APB and YU-
DeleteAPD and will there be any more a/c coming soon (this summer season) besides the A320 YU-APG?
Thank you.
Today DUS and CDG parked at B5 and B6 during the mid-day wave of arrivals, 17 aircraft in total.
DeleteI think AirSerbia will lease only one more A319, it would be ex F-ORAJ, and one more A320 from (not APG which is in MUC) Jetstar....maybe later would be possibility to find another decent A319 and 2 ATR 72-500.
DeleteWhat happened with YU-APD (VT-VJM), the famous Kingfisher A319CJ/LR bird?
DeleteSeems to be delayed arrival of YU-APA for tomorrow,http://www.skyliner-aviation.de/regdb.main?LC=nav4
Deleteit just landed a few minutes ago; was marked YUAPA (no flight number)...let's hope it is better maintained that SAA
DeleteIts very clear that Lufthansa is very scared of the ME3 + TK. They have some inherent advantages that make it tough for the european legacy carriers to compete with.
ReplyDeleteWhats also clear is that they are absolutely right in saying that Etihad is the one actually running things even though they are minority shareholders. Thats beyond dispute. The question is whether Lufthansa can LEGALLY prove that beyond reasonable doubt?
Personally I dont want any one company dominating the market, cos its been proven all that leads to is sloppy service and overpriced tickets!
LH wanted all Eastern European airlines go bust and than take evertrhing without cent, but suddenly....sorry, too late
DeleteI dont think LH is afraid of TK. TK is taking advantage of Turkey not being an EU member so the state subsidized em a lot for years before it became profitable. How long would it take them to survive i wonder, as Turkey got the most expensive fuel in whole Eurasia.On the other hand, the ME3 take advantage of extremely cheap fuel on their base airports and its something no European carrier would bear for a long, at least not without state subsidies which is now banned in the EU. Another threat for the old europe might come in the next few years from Russia, it is Transaero which have orders on Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-800s.
DeleteTo anonymous @ 10.26 am ... you are right. EY is RUNNING things. The Govt signed a mgt agreement with EY to run the company - no arguments there. BUT, running the company and CONTROL of the company are 2 entirely different things. The Board of Directors is the absolute authority of control of any company in the world. And, who controls the Board ? The Govt since they have majority members with 5 people, incl the Chairman, while Etihad has 4 members. Why is this such a difficult concept for everyone to grasp ? Added to this, is the fact that the Govt owns 51% of the company. Once again, meaning majority ownership AND majority control with 5 members of the Board of Directors. LH is clutching at straws, but hey, why not try and kick up some dust if you can ?
DeleteWe read so often how Etihad is controlling and managing Air Serbia and how good that is. Well, for European Union it is not important if that "looks like" by papers of documents but if de facto something works right or not. And here only thing that is crystal clear is that Etihad has 40% of Air Serbia but still control and manage company by 100%.
Delete"thing that is crystal clear is that Etihad has 40% of Air Serbia but still control and manage company by 100%."
DeleteSo if its crystal clear they own 40% but control 100% as you say, let me do the simple math: if the Etihad actually owns not just 40% but 49% as publicized, then their control would grow from 100% to amazing 122.5% control of Air Serbia! Amazing what simple proportions will do! It is crystal clear now to everyone Etihad controls 122.5% of Air Serbia! Dear troll, thank you for keeping us informed!
OK, just wait for EU to finish investigation.
DeleteYesterday you was so proud of Etihad managing Air Serbia, today it is not like it was yesterday because you read contract where it looks different.
BIZANTIZAM! Doing one thing on table, but totally different under the table.
"Yesterday you was so proud"
DeleteTomorow i was so praud too!
Welcome to 21st century, welcome to Anglo-American way of lobbyist capitalism. The slow times of cozy east-west divided Europe with strict rules and bilateral laws are over! Why did Germany support all the small eastern states on their runaway trip from communism? Why did they support Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine, the Baltic's? For human rights? Wrong. To create an area where Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Lufthansa, VW and others would dominate the market. Each in their domain. I don't think that LH is that much worried about Air Serbia, it's their daughter Austrian. LH is worried about Etihad creating a new pan-European giant, which (this is no rumor) will merge with AF/KM to the largest carrier on the continent.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThank you Captain Obvious!
DeleteGreat post, couldn't agree with you more. 20 years or so after it's obvious why we had the war - it was an invasion, jus this time an economic one.
Delete+1
DeleteBudapest Airport article about Air Serbia launch:
ReplyDelete"The new Air Serbia flight fills an
important white spot on Budapest
Airport’s route map both for business and
leisure travelers, since not only the
Balkan states, but important destinations
in Southern Europe and the Middle East have also become accessible via Belgrade.
Moreover, businness travelers
representing Hungarian and international
companies based in Budapest will now be
able to visit their partners in the region
not only via Vienna or Munich."
www.bud.hu/english/budapest-airport/media/news/air-serbia-launches-new-belgrade-budapest-flight-14448.html
This is quote of the day, even Budapest Airport indirectly points out Lufthansa and Austrian monopoly that causes problems in this part of the Europe. More choice to consumers!
DeleteWell, they paid the full price of it.
DeleteAny - really, ANY - EU national can submit a motion for investigating certain suspected unlawful practices in the European internal market. In this case it is Lufthansa. No problems here.
ReplyDeleteIf everything IS in fact legal and squeaky clean, then all the reactions of shock and surprise and disappointment various stakeholders have been feeding the media with are not really necessary.
Dabogda ME3 i Tk i AF;KLM unistili Lufthansu da nepostji. Uvek se mesaju gde im nije mesto.
ReplyDeletePozdrav iz Novog Sada.
Air Serbia pojacava letove ka Dubrovniku sa 3 na 6 letova nedeljno,uglavnom a319 ili b733,http://rs.seebiz.eu/air-serbia-pojacava-vezu-beograd-dubrovnik/ar-85310/
ReplyDeleteBrilliant move. This makes me hopeful that they might stick around for the winter season as well, at least with three weekly Atr-72 flights.
DeleteThey will not stay after summer, why would anyone fly via Belgrade when Zagreb is faster, cheaper and more convenient?
DeleteYES!! This is wonderful news! If OU won't recognize the potential of the market then let others do it!
Delete@Anonymous 3:07 pm: Zagreb is not "faster" and especially it isn't cheaper. From Dubrovnik via Zagreb to any EU capital you have to pay 250 € + during winter season and during summer 300 € + . OU destroyed Dubrovnik this winter.
DeleteOh people from Dubrovnik, do you do anything but complain?
DeleteWe work hard to welcome millions of tourists and make sure they will come back. We give enormous amount of money to the government budget so that other less developed parts of Croatia can have hospitals and kindergartens. As you can see we even contribute to the success of Air Serbia sales revenue :)) Greetings from Dubrovnik!
DeleteSo far the GDS are not showing any increase of JU flights to DBV:
DeleteTN01JULBEGDBV
** AMADEUS TIMETABLE - TN ** DBV DUBROVNIK.HR 01JUL14 08JUL14
1 JU 142 246 BEG 2 DBV 1335 1440 0 15MAY14 25OCT14 AT7 1:05
How reliable is this source seebiz.eu ?
@3:07PM
DeleteAll due respect to DBV natives, but I believe JU is looking at its transfer market and into bringing pax into DBV, which is a world class tourist destination all year round.
NOOO!!! How can this be?!?!?! easyJet is keeping all of its lines in winter from Belgrade!!! They were supposed to seriously reduce their presence in Belgrade after Wizz Air reduced their own since the airport is so damn expensive. lol
ReplyDeleteWizz Air behaved like a spoiled brat and they're gonna regret it.
DeleteZašto ne postuješ link sa kog si pročitao tu vest? Kakav bezobrazluk i nepoštovanje tuđek truda.
Deletehttp://www.aviokarta.net/vesti/2395-easyjet-ce-leteti-iz-beograda-i-tokom-naredne-zime/
Not a single airline complained but them, low-cost or non low-cost. In the entire region all the ME3 fly only to Belgrade, that tells enough.
DeleteNot true, Qatar flies to Zagreb in the region. They even started the route before Belgrade. That tells enough.
DeleteEmirates doesn't fly to BEG, but FlyDubai is close enough to ME3
DeleteКога брига за линк и откуд ти знаш где га је пронашао, Драгане?
Delete@3:40 - True. BEG is the only airport where all the three Middle-Eastern airlines fly in the region. Zagreb is far from that.
DeleteДечаче, ти си за свој труд плаћен тако да немаш права ником да уводиш цензуру! Бок.
DeleteWizz Air's claim that they are withdrawing from BEG due to airport fees is the biggest bullshit story of 2014 so far. Airport fees are the smallest part of an airline's cost in flying to a destination. the reason they fly - first and foremost - is because they are in the business of carrying passengers and freight. if you don't have this, then you don't have reason to fly. if that was the case, then no one would fly to Heathrow or Frankfurt - yet how many airlines fly to these and other high cost airports ? The fact that Wizz is still flying to/from BEG to it's other destinations, is proof that there is another reason why they have pulled out of BEG to Oslo and Brussels. And what might that be ? Competition from JU - pure and simple. They have in fact lost at least 5 pts of load factor to JU over the past 4 mths and THAT is the real reason for pulling off. They are getting creamed and can't compete against JU's superior overall offering - based on price, on board product and the fact that JU flies to Brussels proper - not some place 100km away. And that is the story behind their withdrawal. I can't believe that so many people swallowed their bullshit hook, line and sinker ...
DeleteAnd, to add further weight to this argument, they were offered ZERO fees to fly to/from Nis and have said no. Why ? because there is NO market to/from Nis. Again, airlines fly to a destination because there is traffic on the route to justify flying to a destination - not because of airport fees. What a load of horseshit from Wizz Air ....
DeleteDanas je za Istambul SAW poslat A320 YU-APH,izgleda da linija dobro funkcionise
ReplyDeleteSta mislite dali ce Air Srbija leteti ove godine za Ameriku.
ReplyDeletePoz iz Novog Sada.
Sigurno. Imaju cetiri tipa aviona za dugolinijski saobracaj, FAA kategoriju 1, pola miliona americkih turista godisnje a i drzavljanima Srbije ne trebaju vize za SAD. Dakle, letovi pocinju prekosutra ! ATR-om !
DeleteBas si duhovit.
DeleteJa sam pito dali ce.
Puno Poz iz Novog Sada.
@6:15PM,
DeleteBas si me nasmejao hahahahahahah
Pozdrav iz Basela!
leteli ne leteli, nude najbolju cenu ubedljivo...letim za par dana iz bgda za njujork, air serbia/virgin a povratna karta samo 419 evra...prijatno sam iznenadjen
DeleteAnd liftoff, YU-APA heading to home base, BEG. Welcome !!!
ReplyDeleteYU-APA has landed to BEG.Welcome!
ReplyDeletenow Kondic (CEO) will be telling the truth that we have 6 A319 (if they keep all flying and not being constantly under repairs like SAA .... Welcome # 6!
DeleteVlada kinderlada, you can leave me your e-mail?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Sure.
ReplyDeleteVlada, here is my e-mail: aeropole@rambler.ru
Delete'See' you!
From Air Serbia web page:
ReplyDelete"Air Serbia currently operates a fleet of 15 aircraft comprising 10 Boeing 737-300s, 4 ATR 72s and 1 Airbus A320.
We will take delivery of six Airbus A319 aircraft by the end of 2013, with another four new aircraft in 2014."
Hahahaha... what unprofessionalism and dilettantism. Bravo Air Serbia good promo: on your own page you don't know what status of your fleet is!!! Hahahahaha!
Nothing like a happy troll!
DeleteSo, I am troll, but that is still on Air Serbia web page!
DeleteNormal person will say «I am shame for this dilettantism» and try to react on Air Serbia. But in Serbia that is not dilettantism, but who find this fact is troll. You are blessed. «Blago siromašnima duhom jer njihovo je cartvo nebesko».
Delete«I am shame for this dilettantism»
ReplyDeleteLOL + ROFL