B&H Airlines

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B&H Airlines
IATA
JA		 ICAO
BON		 Callsign
BH AIRLINES
Founded 1994 (as Air Bosna)
Hubs Sarajevo International Airport
Focus cities Banja Luka Airport
Mostar International Airport
Member lounge Business Class passengers can use the lounge at Sarajevo International Airport
Fleet size 4(+2 on order)
Destinations 11
Parent company Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Headquarters Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Key people Nudžeim Rečica (Director), Beba Kasumagić (Sales)
Website: http://www.bhairlines.ba/

JP «B&H Airlines» d.o.o. is an airline based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina operating scheduled and charter passenger services. Flag carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its main base is Sarajevo International Airport[1].

Contents

[edit] History

The airline was founded on August 12, 1994 as Air Bosna.[2] In the autumn of 2003, the airline ceased operations due to an increased debt that it could no longer repay. It remained defunct until May 2004, when the Council of Ministers promised to revive it. In June 2005, they restarted operations as B&H Airlines, operating a pair of ATR-72 aircraft.[citation needed] The airline is jointly owned by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (51%) and Energoinvest (49%)[1].

There have been proposals presented that the airline might take on larger aircraft shortly so flights can commence to destinations currently not reachable with the ATR-72s such as in Scandinavia (where there is a large Bosnian diaspora due to the recent conflict). There are plans to fly to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenberg and other destinations[3]. B&H Airlines have 2 Airbus A319 aircraft on order (originally for Air Bosna), though is now looking for one medium-haul plane to expand their fleet[4].

The airline intends to increase flights from their secondary hub, Banja Luka (Banja Luka Airport), but this can only happen with increases to the fleet, and flights being well patronized. Flights to and from Mostar (Mostar Airport) have been reduced in recent times due to disappointing numbers, and thrice-weekly services have been suspended on the Sarajevo-Mostar-Zagreb route until further notice (operated by B&H Airlines, codeshared with Croatia Airlines).

Flights to Zagreb will increase from 14 to 18 per week commencing 9 May 2008 and flights to Belgrade from 7 to 8 per week commencing 30 June 2008.

[edit] Privatisation

The Bosnian government is currently seeking to sell shares in B&H Airlines.[2] On 23 February 2008 it was reported that Turkish Airlines were in negotiations to buy the airline [5], and on 30 March 2008 that Croatia Airlines was also interested in a stake.[6] The government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has also invited Comintel and MyAir (in addition to Turkish Airlines and Croatia Airlines) to recapitalise the airline.[7]

[edit] Destinations

B&H Airlines ATR-72
B&H Airlines ATR-72

[edit] Codeshare

The airline has been able to expand operations into key markets in the former Yugoslavia through codeshare agreements with other airlines flying into Sarajevo.

(note: Codeshare agreements do not operate on JAT flights to Banja Luka)

[edit] Previous destinations

Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Göteborg, Amsterdam, Vienna, Budapest, Madrid, Rome, Ljubljana, Munich, Berlin, London, Pristina, Djerba, Izmir, Zagreb, Belgrade

[edit] Fleet

As of March 2007 the B&H Airlines fleet includes [1] :

On order: 2 Airbus A319-100

As of 3 June 2008, the average age of the B&H Airlines fleet is 12.8 years ([1]).

[edit] Passenger Statistics and Income

  • Passengers
2005 2006 2007 2008
24906 59792 68222
  • Income
2005 2006 2007 2008
11.743.457 KM 19.623.342 KM 24.183.951 KM

The curency used in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Convertible Mark (KM) with fixed rate to Euro 1EURO=1.95KM

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Flight International 27 March 2007
  2. ^ a b Public invitation for expressions of interest in recapitalization of the Public Company „B&H Airlines“ d.o.o. Sarajevo. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  3. ^ Limun.hr - BH Airlines buying new airplane
  4. ^ Limun.hr - BH Airlines buying new airplane
  5. ^ "THY is in discussions with Air Bosna for possible acquisition", Hürriyet, 2008-02-23. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  6. ^ CH-Aviation - Airline News, Fleet Lists & More
  7. ^ "Partnerstvo Croatia i BH Airlinesa?", Vjesnik, 2008-02-29. Retrieved on 2008-04-10. 
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Airlines of Bosnia and Herzegovina
B&H Airlines tail
Arnoro · B&H Airlines · Bosnia Airlines · FlyBosnia
 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Defunct airlines: Air Bosna · Air Srpska