The Allplane Podcast #46 - aviation in the Balkans, with Petar Vojinovic
In this episode of the podcast we are going to zoom into a part of Europe that, over the years, has seen some interesting developments in its aviation scene: the Balkans.
Politics and conflict have often hampered the development and consolidation of the commercial aviation industry in a region that, nevertheless, had traditionally been an early adopter when it comes to air travel and fulfilled a connecting role between east and west.
Petar Vojinovic is the founder and CEO of Tango Six, Serbia’s main aviation media and events production company. In today’s episode he gives us an overview of the last 100 years of aviation in the Balkans, from the foundation of one of the first scheduled airlines in the world, to the interesting JAT airline of the Cold War era and all the way to the present.
In the last decade closer integration to the rest of Europe and foreign investment have propped up again air traffic flows in the region comprising the nations of the former Jugoslavia.
While national airlines in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Montenegro have been struggled to reach profitability, the Balkans have become a playground for low cost carriers and a vector of expansion for Middle Eastern airline investors betting on the attractiveness of the region as a tourist destination and the growing travel needs of the local population.
Tune in for an in-depth conversation about aviation in one of Europe’s most fascinating regions!
Download this episode from:
Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher
Things we talk about in this episode:
The historical background of aviation in the Balkans:
How Serbia had one of the first airlines in the world
The interesting story of JAT, Yugoslavia’s national airline during the Cold War
The breakup of Yugoslavia and JAT’s successor airlines
How Air Serbia reinvented itself after a deal between Etihad and the Serbian government
Why is it so difficult for national airlines to thrive in the region
The role of low cost carriers in the Balkans
Air traffic trends in the Balkans
The South East Europe Aviation Summit that Petar’s company (TangoSix) organizes
Resources
South East Europe Aviation Summit (SEAS)
My CNN article about the world’s oldest airlines, featuring Air Serbia
Article about Etihad’s past strategy of purchasing equity stakes in different airlines
The Belgrade aviation museum, just outside the airport (including some pictures I could take)
Two historical airlines:
The Europe-Asia air link passing through Belgrade
Other airlines that we talk about
Adria Airways (closed down in 2019)
Montenegro Airlines (recently bankrupt although a new Air Montenegro is about to launch)
FlyBosnia (the profile I wrote about them)
A scene from SEAS 2021, the largest aviation event in the Balkans (the 2021 was all digital with the expectation to return to presential format when circumstances permit)
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript
(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
Coming soon…