Air Serbia celebrates its first year of successful operations

Air Serbia, the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, is celebrating its first birthday and its first year of successful operations.

It was just a year ago that Jat Airways officially became Air Serbia - an airline for the nation to be proud of.

This year has witnessed the airline's comprehensive transformation - from a lossmaking company with a troubled image, to one that is already moving towards profitability by the end of its inaugural year.

Improvements have been made across the board, and the product and services offered to guests by Air Serbia is incomparable to its predecessor - the inflight experience has become world class, with refurbished interiors in an upgraded fleet, improved catering services and increased options for guests.

Thanks to Air Serbia's equity partnership with the Etihad Airways, the support of the majority shareholder Government of Serbia and the professionalism of Air Serbia employees, the airline has already grown to become a leader in the region with ambitious plans.

Today Air Serbia flies to 39 destinations in 29 countries, as well as offering an additional 20 popular destinations worldwide through codeshare partners.

Speaking on the occasion of Air Serbia's first birthday celebration which was held at the Belgrade City Hall in the presence of the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and the President of the Air Serbia Supervisory Board Siniša Mali, Air Serbia CEO Dane Kondić said: "We have turned the business around with a clear vision and good leadership throughout the business. We are proud of the Air Serbia team, and what they have achieved together. The feedback from guests has been overwhelming and the first year has shown dramatic improvement, but we need to keep this improvement going, which will get even harder as we have now set much higher expectations."

James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Airways, congratulated Air Serbia on its success, noting that the Serbian national carrier is "on track to profitability and being a great airline".

Confirming Etihad's long-term support for Air Serbia, Hogan said: "We are committed to Serbia through our investment, talent building programmes, expertise sharing, knowledge building and employment. We are happy to be contributing to building a stronger Air Serbia."

Siniša Mali, President of the Air Serbia Supervisory Board, said that people of Serbia can finally be proud of their national carrier. "The brand of Serbia is being taken all over Europe and associated with a great product, service, and safety", said Mali, continuing: "Jat Airways lost €73 million last year and this year Air Serbia is on track to make a profit - thus relieving Serbian government and people from the debt burden. In terms of the direct and indirect benefits to our economy, the national airline is a true catalyst of development and a foundation for our expected economic growth in the years to come."

To mark this important anniversary, Air Serbia has launched a unique one month promotional campaign that will last until the end of November 2014. To find out more details about the promotional campaign guests are invited to regularly check our web site, Facebook account and other points of sale throughout the month.