A320

Serbia is to begin discussions with Airbus on a deal to buy and lease aeroplanes as a part of its efforts to turn its loss-making Jat Airways debt-free.

The Balkan country’s finance ministry said that the government was planning to purchase four A230s and lease eight more aircraft for the Jat Airways, reports Bloomberg.

Talks with the aircraft manufacturer are expected to be complete by spring 2013, the ministry added.

In October 2012, Serbian finance and economy minister Mladjan Dinkic said that they may sell a stake in the state-run carrier to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways for about $140m and this may also include lease of 12 new Airbus aircraft in order to modernise the ageing fleet of Jat Airways, which consists of ten Boeing 737-300s and four ATR72 aircraft.

"Talks with the aircraft manufacturer are expected to be complete by spring 2013."

Serbia placed an order for eight A319 aircraft for Jat Airways in 1998 and paid some $23.5m in advance to Airbus, but this deal was later cancelled.

The Serbian Government now plans to transform the failed purchase into a lease agreement and include $23.5m in its negotiations with Airbus.

For several years, Serbia has been intending to sell its troubled airline, which posted a loss of RSD3.2bn (€27m) in 2011.

In October 2012, the country held negotiations to sell Jat Airways to AirAsia; however, the deal failed to materialise.

Belgrade also failed to sell Jat Airways to Turkish Airlines and Latvia-based Baltic Aviation Systems two years ago; and in 2008, the government planned to auction the airline, but the attempt was unsuccessful due to lack of potential buyers.

Image: Serbia plans to purchase four A320s and lease eight more aircraft for the Jat Airways. Photo: Airbus SAS.