Montenegro Airlines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Montenegro Airlines | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| IATA YM |
ICAO MGX |
Callsign MONTAIR |
| Founded | 1994 | |
| Hubs | Podgorica Airport | |
| Focus cities | Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport Tivat Airport |
|
| Frequent flyer program | Vision Team | |
| Fleet size | 6 | |
| Destinations | 12 | |
| Headquarters | Podgorica, Montenegro | |
| Key people | Zoran Đurišić (CEO), Čedomir Đurišić (Commercial Director) | |
| Website: http://www.montenegroairlines.com/ | ||
Montenegro Airlines is the national carrier airline of the country of Montenegro, and it is based at Podgorica Airport. It operates scheduled services in Europe, as well as charter flights throughout Europe during the summer months. Its second base is at Tivat Airport. All Montenegro Airlines flights are international, as Montenegro's two airports are a mere 80 km away from each other. [1]
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[edit] History
The airline was founded on 24 October 1994 by the government of Montenegro, but the first aircraft, a Fokker 28 Mk4000 (nicknamed "Lovćen") was only purchased in the autumn of 1996 and the first flight was made on 7 May 1997 at exactly 10:30 p.m. between Podgorica and Bari, Italy. Another Fokker 28 Mk4000 was purchased in July, 1998.
A temporary ban on flights within the European Union was lifted on 23 October 1999. New flights began to Frankfurt, Germany. At the end of that year, Montenegro Airlines established flights to Zurich, Ljubljana, Skopje, Istanbul and Budapest. In April 2000, Montenegro Airlines became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In June, 2000 the first Fokker F100 aircraft was delivered to Podgorica Airport. Montenegro Airlines purchased their second Fokker F100 in May, 2001, and their third in June, 2002. Their fourth Fokker F100 was purchased in the beginning of 2003. The airline joined Amadeus CRS on 05 March 2003. In 2004, Montenegro Airlines' pilots were the first in the region to be granted the IIIA certificate.
Montenegro Airlines carried its millionth passenger on 2 July, 2004. The same year they carried a record 370,000 passengers. Montenegro Airlines carried its two-millionth passenger on 14 June 2006.
After the Montenegrin independence referendum, Serbia became an international market for Montenegrin companies. Montenegro Airlines had to cease international flights from Serbia to countries other than Montenegro, thus losing the profitable Niš - Zurich line, due to the Serbian Government protectionist policies. In an effot to circumvent this, Montenegro Airlines registered separate airline in Serbia, Master Airways, yet it was denied of operating licence.
On July 23, 2007 Montenegro Airlines ordered 2 Embraer 195 in order to grow its fleet and destination network. The aircraft will be leased from GECAS for the period of 8 years. The first of the two Embraer E-195s arrived at Podgorica Airport on June 5, 2008. [2] The delivery of the first Embraer will probabily coincide with the introduction of regular flight to London Gatwick Airport.
[edit] Destinations
[edit] International
- Serbia
- Belgrade (Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport)
- Niš (Niš Constantine the Great Airport) [Starts June 16th]
[edit] Fleet
The Montenegro Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at June 2008):
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Business/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker 100 | 4 | 102 | Regional/Short haul | One aircraft is leased to Belle Air |
| Embraer 195 | 1 | 116 | London, Germany, might serve Russia and Scandanavia | First to be delivered on June 8, 2008 |
As of 3 June 2008, the average age of the Montenegro Airlines fleet is 17.6 years ([1]).
1 Fokker F28 is operated for Air One Nine
[edit] Code Share Agreements
Montenegro Airlines has code share agreements with:[citation needed]
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- On January 7, 2008, at about 9:30 pm a Montenegro Airlines Fokker 100 was shot at while landing at Podgorica Airport. A routine inspection of the aircraft led to the discovery of a bullet hole in the aircraft’s tail. The aircraft was carrying 20 passengers, but none were injured. The reason for the incident is unknown; however, reports indicate that it may have been inadvertent and a result of guns being shot during celebrations for Orthodox Christmas. (http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/7248/)
- On 25 January, 2005 at about 11 pm Fokker 100 nosegear collapsed after runway excursion. A Montenegro Airlines Fokker 100 (YU-AOM) jet ran off the side of the runway during a night landing in snowy conditions at Podgorica. The nosegear collapsed and the airplane skidded for about 700 meters before coming to rest, 1180 meters after touchdown. Two passengers, the pilot and copilot were lightly injured. The airline was sued by passengers, as it was the only airline to operate flights to Podgorica that evening (other airlines canceled flights due to insufficient ice clearance technology at Podgorica Airport).
[edit] References
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-10, p. 52.
- ^ http://www.embraer.com.br/institucional/download/2_083-Com-VPC-Montenegro_1st_delivery-I-08.pdf
- ^ http://www.montenegroairlines.com/eng/flota.php
[edit] External links
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