Jat Airways – UpDaTeD InFo

Ok, instead of opening a new thread everytime I think of something interesing concerning ‘my’ airline, Jat Airways, I’ll open this thread for everything on Jat, and I will update it whenever there is interesting news about the Airline.

But first, all you want or have to know on how the airline was created, grew, was practically devastated and started to grow again:

( FOR NEWS & OTHER SCROLL DOWN 🙂 )

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I N T R O D U C T I O N – H I S T O R Y & D E V E L O P M E N T
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1923.
– March 25th, Belgrade became part of the international civil aviation system. Airplanes of the Compagnie Franco-Romaine started making stopover landings in Pancevo (near Belgrade) on their Paris-Istanbul flight.
– Compagnie Franco-Romaine inaugurated the first scheduled night flight in aviation history: Panèevo-Bucharest.
1927.
– June 17th, the “Aeroput” airline company was officially established.
1928.
– + 4 x “Potez-29” planes added to the “Aeroput” fleet.
– First scheduled Belgrade-Zagreb flight.
1929.
– First international flight: from Belgrade to Graz and Vienna via Zagreb.
– Belgrade-Skoplje
– “Aeroput” joins International Air Traffic Association (IATA).

1930.
– Belgrade-Skoplje route extended to Thessaloniki.
– Belgrade-Sarajevo-Podgorica and Zagreb-Sušak.
1931.
– Belgrade-Split and Zagreb-Split
1933.
– The flights to the isle of Susak renewed and a new Zagreb-Ljubljana-Sušak route opened.
1934.
– “Aeroput” included Klagenfurt (Celovec) in its route network.
– + 2 x Spartan-Cruiser planes purchased.
1935.
– Belgrade – Niš and Bitolj.
1936.
– Belgrade-Sarajevo-Dubrovnik.
1937.
– + 7 x Lockheed Electra-10 purchased in the US.
1938.
– Belgrade-Sofia & Belgrade-Podgorica-Tirana ; Turin-Milan-Venice-Zagreb-Belgrade-Bucharest route opened. Dubrovnik-Zagreb-Vienna-Brno-Prague seasonal route also introduced.

1940.
– Belgrade-Budapest ; Belgrade-Podgorica flight extended to Bar.
1945.
– November 6th, the first plane bearing New Yugoslavia insignia took-off on a regular Belgrade-Prague international flight.
1946.
– April 8th, the first scheduled flights in new Yugoslavia were introduced: Belgrade-Sarajevo and Belgrade-Podgorica.
– Belgrade-Zagreb-Ljubljana.
– Belgrade-Tirana.
1947.
– April 1st, JAT planes took off on their first regular flights. This date is considered the founding day for JAT. At the time JAT had three JU-52 and three DC-3.
– May 4th, the first JAT time-table was published together with the Yugoslav Railroads Schedule by the Transport Publications Department of the Ministry of Transport of FPRY.
– Belgrade-Prague-Warsaw and Zadar-Zagreb-Bratislava-Prague.
– By the end of the year, JAT had the following passenger lines: Belgrade-Zagreb-Ljubljana, Belgrade-Titograd, Zagreb-Sarajevo, Belgrade-Prague and Belgrade-Titograd-Tirana. Since JUSTA did not have sufficient planes, JAT also covered its routes: Belgrade-Zadar-Zagreb, Belgrade-Sarajevo and Belgrade-Bucharest.
– In 1947 JAT had a fleet of:
– Three JU-52 (YU-CCA; YU-CAB; YU-CAC),
– Five DC-3 (YU-ABA; YU-ABB; YU-ABC; YU-ABD; YU-ABE) and
– One C-47 (YU-ACA).
– Belgrade – Warsaw.
– Zagreb-Rijeka-Ljubljana-Rijeka-Zagreb.
– JAT fleet included DC-3 planes only. During this year, other four airplanes of this same type were added.
1949.
– Yugoslavia faced an extremely difficult international position, and JAT abolished all international flights to eastern block countries.
– Belgrade-Zagreb-Zurich flight.
– + 1 x DC-3.

1950.
– Belgrade-Zagreb-Munich-Frankfurt.
– + 3 x DC-3 added.
1951.
– JAT becomes a regular IATA member.
– Belgrade-Skoplje-Thessaloniki- Athens.
1952.
– Belgrade-Munich-Paris flight.
– Belgrade-Zagreb-Graz-Frankfurt.
– During the year, the Worker’s Council adopted the decision to send representatives and open branches in Frankfurt, Munich, Athens, Paris and Zurich, which marked the beginning of organized JAT appearance on the European market.
1953.
– Belgrade-Zagreb-Graz-Frankfurt route.
– Belgrade-Skoplje-Istanbul.
– Belgrade-Skoplje-Ohrid, Belgrade-Sarajevo-Dubrovnik-Herceg Novi.
– JAT starts using flight codes in its time table. For example the Belgrade-Zagreb-Ljubljana was coded YU-720, and the return trip YU-721.
– Last 2 x DC-3 planes added to the fleet (YU-ABK and YU-ABM).
1954.
– + 3 x Convair CV-340
1955.
– January 8th-10th, on his visit to Burma, during one of the first peace and friendship flights, President Tito had a Rangoon-Heho-Mandeley-Rangoon flight on a JAT Convair 340 (YU-ADA).
– Belgrade-Vienna.
– Belgrade-Athens-Cairo.
– Belgrade-Istanbul-Beirut.
– Belgrade-Vienna-Frankfurt-London.
– Belgrade-Žabljak line.
1956.
– Belgrade-Rome flight inaugurated. JAT briefly had flights to Milan as well.
– Belgrade-Sofia.
– Ohrid-Skoplje-Dubrovnik route became operational and flights to the coastal town of Zadar were re-introduced.
1957.
– Reopening of the Belgrade-Tirana line.
– + 6 x IL-14 (YU-ADE, YU-ADF, YU-ADG, YU-ADH, YU-ADI and YU-ADJ)
– + 2 x Convair 440-Metropolitan.
– April, the first JAT cargo line: Belgrade-Sarajevo-Titograd.
1958.
– Belgrade-Prague.
1959.
– January 14th-19th, on his voyage of peace and friendship, to India, President Tito had a Madras-Delhi-Hayderabad-Madras flight JAT DC-6B (YU-AFA).
– JAT introduced another DC-6B (YU-AFB) into its fleet.

1960.
– Belgrade-Berlin.
1961.
– + 3 x Convair 440-Metropolitan from Alitalia
– Belgrade-Ivangrad.
1962.
– Belgrade-Mostar.
– April 28th, President Josip Broz Tito opened the new Belgrade Airport near Surèin in the outskirts of the capital. This marked the closure of the previous airport near Bežanijska Kosa.
– June 10th, ceremonial opening of the new Dubrovnik Airport in Æilipi. The old “Gruda”.
1963.
– + 3 x Caravelle (YU-AHA)
– Flights to Warsaw renewed. The line was extended to Copenhagen.
1964.
– Belgrade – Amsterdam.
1965.
– + 1 x Caravelle.
– Belgrade-Pristina.
– Belgrade-Vrnjacka Banja.
– Belgrade-Warsaw-Moscow.
1967.
– Flight to Budapest re-opened.
– + 1 x JAT Caravelle
– Lines to Sofia and Graz were reintroduced.
1968.
– + 1 x Caravelle.
– JAT re-opens the flight to Bucharest.
– + 1 x Convair CV-440 (YU-ADO) from Lufthansa.
– Belgrade – Stockholm.
1969.
– + 2 x Convair 440 from Lufthansa (YU-ADP and YU-ADR).
– Belgrade – Brussels.
– Belgrade-Tunis & Belgrade – Tripoli.
– + 1 x Caravelle (YU-AHK) (7 in total).
– July 31st, Air Yugoslavia – YUGAIR was formed as an independent JAT Dept. with independent financing and management. Along with charter flights in Europe, Air Yugoslavia organized the first charters to the US and Canada.

1970.
– + 5 x DC 9-30.
– The first Boeing 707-320 (YU-AGA) landed at Belgrade Airport. JAT leased it from PAN-AM.
– Belgrade-Karachi-Singapore-Australia ;three flights weekly: two to Sidney and one to Melbourne.
– Belgrade-Toronto charter flight.
– November 10th, for the first time in its history JAT reached the figure of million passengers in one year.
– During the year, JAT had 1.106.000 passengers on scheduled flights and was rated 51st among 122 world airlines.
1971.
– + 3 x DC-9.
– 2 other B-707 leased from PAN-AM. They were in the fleet for less than a year.
– New Tivat Airport became operational and was given international rating.
– B-707 flight to China organized by Air Yugoslavia.
1972.
– January 26th, a bomb exploded on the JAT DC-9 (YU-AHT) flying over Czechoslovakia. Twenty seven passengers and crew members died and, while stewardess Vesna Vulovic survived miraculously after a fall from an altitude of nearly 10 kilometers and was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
– + 2 x B-707 planes were leased from PIA.
– + 6 x DC-9.
– Belgrade – Nis.
1973.
– Flights Lyon and Manchester.
– Air-taxi service opens with Cessna 402-B planes.
1974.
– + 2 x B-707 from NWA.
– + 3 x B-727-200
– Pristina Airport re-opens after being reconstructed and modernized.
– Belgrade – Kiev & Gothenburg.
– Belgrade – Mostar.
– DC-9 YU-AJN is leased from Inex Adria; on September 23rd it suffers an accident.
– JAT’s first round-the-world flight, using a B-727 on the route Belgrade-Beirut-Bombay-Singapore-Tokyo-Honolulu-Los Angeles-New York- London-Belgrade.
1975.
– + 2 x B-727.
– Belgrade-Karachi-Singapore-Sydney.
– Belgrade – Baghdad.
– Belgrade – Malta.
1976.
– Belgrade-Leningrad.
– Maribor Airport opens.
– Belgrade to New York via Zagreb opened.
– JAT lands in Kuwait en route for Australia.
– December 31st, last Caravelle flight, on the Belgrade-Skoplje-Belgrade route.
1977.
– Belgrade – Damascus and Kuwait.
– Titograd Airport reopened after reconstruction & modernization.
– Scheduled JAT service between Belgrade, Zagreb, Lyon and Madrid.
1978.
– Air Yugoslavia started charter flights to Beijing.
– JAT’s first DC-10, YU-AMA, lands at Belgrade Airport. At the welcoming ceremony, dubbed “Nikola Tesla”.
1979.
– Belgrade – Melbourne.
– February 16th, the first-ever picture auction in world aviation history is held in JAT DC-10 YU-AMA on a scheduled Belgrade-Zagreb-New York flight.
– Belgrade-Beijing service starts.
– + 1 x DC-10, YU-AMB, lands at Belgrade Airport, and is named the “Edvard Rusjan”.
– New Belgrade Airport international flights terminal opens Features include “fingers” for plane-docking.

1980.
– JAT made a stopover at Dubai Airport on its services to China and Australia.
– Charter service to Cleveland and Chicago.
– Opening of Osijek Airport, and introduction of JAT services to Osijek.
– Belgrade – Chicago.
– + 2 x B-727-200s.
1981.
– Reopening of the older part of the Belgrade Airport terminal after reconstruction, to handle domestic services.
– September 21st-26th, while Belgrade Airport runway is being re-paved, JAT successfully operated its services from Osijek.
– September 26th, a JAT B-707 on the Dubrovnik-Titograd-Belgrade route is hijacked. The crew and passengers overcome the hijackers at Larnaca Airport on Cyprus.
– + last 2 B-727s arrive.
1982.
– January 27th, for the first time after the outbreak of the Iraq-Iran war, JAT resumed flights to Baghdad.
– Line to Beijing re-opens, but only three flights are made.
– Trans Adria merged with JAT.
– Belgrade – Amman, via Istanbul.
1983.
– Belgrade – Algiers and Thessaloniki ; flights are resumed to Beirut and Kuwait.
– Belgrade – Warsaw resumed.
– 2 x B-727 is sent to Africa.
1984.
– JAT is the official carrier for the 14th Winter Olympic Games at Sarajevo.
– Belgrade – Canada.
1985.
– + 1 x DC-10, TU-TAL, is leased from Air Africa.
– Airport at Banjaluka (Republika Srpska) opens.
– + 6 x B-737-300.
– Belgrade – Kuala Lumpur.
1986.
– Belgrade – Barcelona.
– + 1 x DC-10 JAT leased from SABENA.
– The giant new Hangar II at Belgrade Airport is ceremonially opened.
– The Nis Airport ceremonially opened.
1987.
– + 1 x DC-10 leased (until the end of May) from the Dutch Martin-Air.
– + 1 x B-737-300.
– + 1 x Fourth DC-10-30 (YU-LHA) arrived in Belgrade from Helsinki. It was leased from the Finnish airline FinnAir.
– + 1 x DC-10 (OO SLA) leased from SABENA arrived.
– + 2 x ATR-42.
– JAT finally decided to sell the last B-707 (YU-AGI) it owned.
– JAT reopened scheduled flights to Mostar from Belgrade and Zagreb.
– The decision was made to purchase the third DC-10, the fifth one in the fleet.
1988.
– Seven JAT employees died in a B-727 crash on Cyprus.
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– + 2 x B-737-300s (YU-ANV and YU-ANW) at the Belgrade Airport.
– Belgrade – Bangkok.
– The fifth DC-10 in the fleet lands at Belgrade Airport.
– + 1 x ATR-42.
– 1 x DC-9 (YU-AHL) sold to the North West airlines.
– Zagreb-Lyon and Nis-London.
– Adriatic Club Class introduced on all JAT flights to the US, Canada, Australia, China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
1989.
– Dubrovnik-Portorož line opens.
– The Company decided to replace the long-range fleet by introducing three MD-11 aircraft.
– JAT signed a lease contract with the Jordanian RY airline for a Lockheed Tristar L-1011-500.
– In a competition held Paris, involving 23 leading world airlines, the Yugoslav Airlines stewardess uniform was awarded first prize.

1990.
– The decision to purchase a fourth MD-11 was made.
– + 1 x ATR-72.
1991.
– JAT canceled the stopover in Dubai and re-routed the flights via Bombay.
– Flights to Damascus annulled and on January 12th those to Amman and Cairo.
– Third ATR-72 (YU-ALP) joins the JAT fleet.
– After the Gulf-War JAT re-established flights to Damascus and Amman, Cairo and Istanbul.
– Belgrade – Teheran.
– Due to the spreading war in Croatia and the increasingly difficult situation in Slovenia, in August and September JAT canceled all flights to airports in these two former republics.
– JAT had its last flight from Zadar on August 3rd, from Krk Airport near Rijeka on the 5th, and from Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split on August 6th. The last flight from Pula was on September 13th, and from Ljubljana on the 15th. On November 23rd, JAT stopped its service to Mostar.
– Belgrade – Larnaca.
– December, German government introduced the embargo on all forms of traffic to/from Yugoslavia. Officially the ban applied to the entire country, but in practice only Serbia and Montenegro were discriminated.
1992.
– May 21st, the US introduced the embargo on air traffic with Yugoslavia. The last JAT flights to America were to Chicago (May 17th) and New York (May 19th).
– May 30th, the UN Security Council approved economic sanction that had direct, evident and immediate effects on Yugoslav Airlines.
– June 1st, international services were stopped except for several flights.
– June 1st, last flights out of Skoplje and Stockholm.
– June 3rd, the last flight before the full blockade – from Moscow.
1993.
– June 9th, the Irish Government seized a JAT Boeing 737-300 which was being repaired at the Dublin Airport.
– December 27th, JAT promoted its new visual identity comprising a new company logo and symbol. Instead of the ellipse containing the Company acronym, a new symbol was painted on the tail of each plane based on the colors of the Yugoslav flag.
1994.
– September 23rd, the UN Security Council passed the Resolution which partially suspended sanctions against Yugoslavia.
– October 5th, an Aeroflot flight from Moscow brings Yugoslavia back into the international network.
– October 6th, with a flight to Moscow, JAT re-opened its international services after the partial suspension of the sanctions.
– Services to Athens, Cyprus, Timisoara, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Zurich, Bucharest, Dusseldorf, Milano, Amsterdam were re-established.
1995.
– Services to London, Kiev, Vienna, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Malta, Thessaloniki, Stuttgart, Berlin, Stockholm, Trieste were re-established.
– Ponikve Airport near Uzice was opened for civil aviation use. During the summer season, the Belgrade-Užice-Tivat route was active.
– October 31st, a Yugoslav delegation headed by Serbian President Slobodan Miloševiæ flew to Dayton (Ohio) to attend peace talks.
1996.
– The decision to renew the Euro-Mediterranean fleet (DC-9, B-727, ATR-72) was made.
– Services to Gothenburg, Brussels, Istanbul, Madrid, Barcelona, Skopje, Tunis, Prague were re-established.
– JAT leased two more planes: a B-727 to Tunisair, and a DC-9 to Tuninter. At the end of the season another B-727 was leased to Royal Nepal Airlines.
1997.
– Belgrade Sochi and Belgrade Bucharest.
– JAT started flying to Beijing
1998.
– Belgrade – Banja Luka.
– Agreement with Airbus Industries from Toulouse concluded for the acquisition of eight A319 type of aircraft with a defined delivery schedule from the year 2000 till 2005;
– Belgrade – Sarajevo.
– Banja Luka – Tivat.
– JAT was banned from operating to EU member states due to the sanctions imposed by the EU towards FR Yugoslavia.
– JAT organized via Skopje transportation of passengers to international destinations from Belgrade to seven European cities (Amsterdam, Rome, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stuttgart);
– Belgrade – Minsk;
1999.
– Greece decided to join the European Union in their decision to ban JAT flights to member states airports;
– March 23 Total suspension of all air traffic operations due to the aggression of NATO alliance against FRY;
– April 8 JAT organized transportation with its buses to Sofia from where passengers could continue their trip to destinations in Europe and the Middle East by Balkan Air;
– June 6 JAT arranged for the transportation of its passengers to Banja Luka who were to fly from Banja Luka Airport by Air Srpska to Zurich and Saint Galen in Switzerland;
– June JAT resumed its domestic air traffic operations and, on 25 June, international services, the first flight heading for Moscow. During the aggression, part of the fleet was dislocated from the country in order to preserve it, initially to Bucharest and from there to other airports;
– Services to Tunis, Bejing, resumed.
– July 19 The Council of Ministers of the European Union passed a decision on lifting the ban on JAT flights to EU member states;

2000.
– February 22 The Swiss airline Swissair was the first to open scheduled services on the Zurich-Belgrade-Zurich route upon the lifting of the EU ban on air traffic operations;
– March 26 German airline Lufthansa introduced services on the Munich-Belgrade route;
– JAT established a service to Dussedorf. Frankfurt, Milan, Athens, Thessaloniki, Prague, Paris, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Trieste, Amsterdam, London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Stuttgart, Brussels, Malmo, Banja Luka, Rome, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Damascus.
– April 25 Zika Petrovic, JAT General Manager, was murdered.
2001.
– JAT introduced three new international routes: Beirut, Sofia, Skopje, Moscow, Berlin, Hamburg, Tivat – St. Petersburg, TIvat – Dusseldorf.- June 20 JAT introduced direct flights from Tivat to St.Petersburg and Dusseldorf,
– September 21 JAT introduced a direct flight from Belgrade to Hamburg, once a week;

2002.
– After twelve years JAT resumed its flight to Dubai.
– Moscow – Tivat.
– JAT introduced in its fleet the aircraft Boeing 737-400 leased from the company Wells Fargo Benk Nortwest.

(Source : JAT )
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R E C E N T D E V E L O P M E N T S
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2003

– JAT Yugoslav Airlines changes name into Jat Airways and changes visual identity.
– Flights introduced to Tirana, Sarajevo, Tashkent and New York.
– Regional Low Cost airline, Intair Link founded, with a fleet of 5 x Atr 72 to serve regional cities.

Jat’s current fleet :

4 x ATR 72
10 x B. 737-300
1 x B. 737-400
2 x B. 727-200
6 x DC 9-30
1 x DC 10 30