Air Serbia is in talks with Turkish Airlines to create a joint venture with its subsidiary Turkish Technics, which would include a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Belgrade that would primarily look after the Serbian carrier’s fleet. The airline’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said: “Once our fleet reaches the size of more than 30 aircraft, that’s the time you need to look at options to have your hangar at your base. Currently, we carry out our basic maintenance tasks on several installations across Europe. As already mentioned by Turkish Technics, we are discussing a possible joint venture with them and the development of such an option on our basis. However, this is not the only option and we are investigating other possible solutions. These things don’t happen overnight – they take time and negotiation.”
The Serbian carrier is currently outsourcing the maintenance of its base after problems arose with its previous supplier, Jat Tehnika, based in Belgrade. “At the moment, all base maintenance is outsourced. In the spring we used mainly Turkish techniques in Istanbul. During the winter season we use the Atitech facilities in Naples, Italy. For our ATRs, we use maintenance by Aero Technic BG in Sofia, Bulgaria. We are completely changing our current approach and reserving maintenance slots for the next three to four years, instead of relying on slot availability from season to season,” the CEO said.
Commenting on his relationship with Jat Tehnika, Mr. Marek noted: “In the past, we used Jat Tehnika next door here in Belgrade. But they are already booked and without reserving slots we cannot count on the availability of resources. Last winter we had a lot of delays caused by Jat Tehnika. However, we are continuing our discussions and finding synergies on how we can also establish a strategic partnership – which would make sense, with close cooperation with a supplier on your base.”
Over the summer, Turkish Airlines President Ahmet Bolat said the company was considering opening an MRO subsidiary in Serbia. “We are working there (MRO subsidiary) with investors, for example in Belgrade, Serbia. We will make a decision accordingly. We are always open to opportunities and evaluating future prospects. That’s the important thing.” » said Mr. Bolat.