Jat Airways informations and photos

Jat Airways (stylized as JatAirways; Serbo-Croatian: Jat ervejz / Јат ервејз) was the national flag carrier and largest airline of Serbia, and formerly Yugoslavia. Founded in 1927 as Aeroput, the airline ceased operations during World War II. After resuming flights in 1947, the airline was renamed Jugoslovenski Aerotransport (abbreviated JAT, pronounced [jât]; "Yugoslav Air Transport") on 1 April 1947. The airline was renamed again on 8 August 2003. Jat Airways and their predecessors were one of the oldest airlines still in operation. Flight operations were based at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, and the airline operated scheduled services to 72 international destinations, outside the areas formerly part of Yugoslavia, as well as charters and wet leases. Jat Airways was owned by the government of Serbia and had 1,250 employees.

On 1 August 2013, the Government of Serbia and Etihad Airways entered into an agreement that reorganized the operations of Jat Airways, and renamed it Air Serbia after the transitional period ended. Certain assets, such as the ATR 72 aircraft, would be transitioned to Air Serbia, while other assets (such as the 737-300s) would remain in JAT Airways branding until retired. The change marked the end of 66 years of the JAT brand.

JAT traces its heritage back to 1927 when Aeroput, the first civil airline in Yugoslavia was founded. Their first international flight was in 1929 between Belgrade and Graz. In 1937, the expansion of international routes and an increase in passenger numbers enabled Aeroput to acquire the Lockheed Model 10 Electra. Aeroput continued to operate until the start of World War II. JAT Yugoslav Airlines was launched on 1 April 1947 and replaced Aeroput in 1948. the name was changed to Jugoslovenski Aerotransport (abbreviated JAT; "Yugoslav Air Transport"), then to JAT Yugoslav Airlines and finally to Jat Airways on 8 August 2003.

In 1946, it was apparent that the Yugoslav Air Force could not be involved in the nation's post-war build-up of civil aviation. Consequently, preparations were made for the formation of an air transport company. Three Douglas C-47 Skytrain and three Junkers Ju 52 were converted to carry passengers. The airline was officially renamed to Jugoslovenski Aerotransport (JAT) on 1 April 1947.

In 1949, Yugoslavia was faced with a dire international position: isolated both by the West and the East. This caused further rationing of fuel, difficulties in procuring spare parts, and the cancellation of all flights to Eastern European destinations. JAT was forced to survive on six domestic lines. When Yugoslavia turned to the West, an agreement was made with Swissair to open the Belgrade-Zürich route, which was inaugurated on 24 August 1949. Company stagnation marked operations in 1949 because the traffic volume was well below fleet potentials and transport needs in the country. However, 1954 was in many ways a turning point. Convair CV-340 and Convair CV-440 Metropolitan aircraft were purchased for short-haul and medium-haul routes, after which the Douglas DC-3 was used only on domestic routes. Multiple international and domestic routes were opened soon after. In 1957, six Ilyushin Il-14M aircraft were purchased. JAT purchased several Douglas DC-6Bs for long-haul routes in 1959.

In 1963, the first Sud Aviation Caravelle joined the JAT fleet. In 1969, the first McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 (of 16) arrived, followed in 1974 by the first two (of nine) Boeing 727-200s, followed by McDonnell Douglas DC-9 in 1969 (of 16), Boeing 707 in 1970, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1971 (of 7).

Long-haul routes to North America, Australia, and the Far East were flown by Boeing 707s, introduced in 1970.

In 1975 Belgrade was connected with Karachi, Singapore and Sydney. Same year three brand new Boeing 727s were introduced. In 1976 fleet consisted of 4 Boeing 707, 13 McDonnell Douglas DC-9, 3 Boeing 727, 5 Caravelle and one Convair.

In 1976, two more Boeing 727s joined the fleet, for a total of five. The same year, Belgrade was connected with New York City, Malta, Baghdad, Kuwait City and Damascus. All Caravelles were withdrawn from the fleet, while the line to Karachi was terminated. That year JAT had almost three million passengers.

In 1977, new routes to Madrid and Lyon were introduced.

In 1978, a wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (which was chosen over the Boeing 747-200) was purchased to succeed the Boeing 707s on longer-haul routes, although the 707s remained in service into the 1980s on ad hoc charters and as scheduled-flight replacement aircraft. The purchase of a DC-10-30 was followed several years later by the purchase of a medium-range aircraft. The same year, a new route to Beijing was added.

In 1979, JAT carried almost 4 million passengers.

In 1980, the route Belgrade–Chicago was established. Two more brand new Boeing 727s were added to the fleet.

In 1981, Cleveland was added as a stopover on route Belgrade–Chicago. The same year the JAT fleet counted 28 planes 2 DC-10, 13 DC-9, 4 Boeing 707 and 9 Boeing 727.

In 1983, Jat introduced new routes to Alger and Thessaloniki and ceasing route to Beijing.

In 1984, the Belgrade–Toronto route was established. Jat was the official carrier and sponsor of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

In 1985, JAT was the first European airline to purchase Boeing 737-300s. During those years, the company carried five million passengers annually and served 80 destinations on five continents (19 domestic, 45 medium-haul and 16 long haul routes). JAT also constructed a large hangar to accommodate wide-body aircraft and a jet-engine test stand at their Belgrade hub. The same year, Bombay and Calcutta were connected with Belgrade.

In 1987, Belgrade was connected with Melbourne, Perth, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. Profit that year was $205 million.[dubious – discuss]

In 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke apart, resulting in the Yugoslav Wars. JAT was forced to stop all domestic services. The United Nations imposed sanctions on 20 May 1992 against Yugoslavia. For the first time since World War II, international transport was forcibly terminated in Yugoslavia. This was preceded by the decisions of Germany and Italy to interrupt any traffic with Yugoslavia: on 21 December 1991 — Germany, the largest market for JAT in Europe, with seven flights daily and 40& million German marks gross annual profit, followed by Italy on 10 January 1992. The United States imposed an embargo on air traffic with Yugoslavia on 2 May 1992: the last JAT flights to the United States were to Chicago and New York. JAT management decided to re-route North American long-range flights to Canada. However, Canada quickly followed and banned all JAT flights entering the country, terminating all JAT operations across the North Atlantic.

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