JAT plays down linking possibility with Air India

Serbian flag carrier Jat Airways is seeking a strategic airline partner as it looks to privatise and join a global alliance.
Aeroflot and Air India have been cited as prospective suitors but Jat is playing down the possibility of linking with either. Serbia's new government intends to form closer ties with European Union countries and commercial vice-president Zoran Hudak says this is being reflected in its business policies. "There will be a strategy of privatisation of public enterprises - and one of these is Jat," he says.
Hudak adds that the mechanism for and extent of Jat's privatisation has yet to be determined. Jat Airways deputy commercial vice-president Ilija Todoric says: "We would definitely opt for an airline as a strategic partner because we speak the same language and have common interests."
The political changes in former Yugoslavia demand a different set-up and this, in turn, is linked to potential alliance membership. Jat has ruled out oneworld, opting to concentrate on Star Alliance and SkyTeam with which it has codeshare agreements.
26/06/07 David Kaminski-Morrow/Flight International

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