Serbian flag-carrier Jat Airways has revealed exclusively to FlightGlobal the livery designs it will adopt as part of the commemoration of its 80th anniversary.
Four pairs of Boeing 737 aircraft, the mainstay of Jat’s fleet, whose hub is at Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport, will carry liveries marking four eras in the airline’s history since it was founded as Yugoslav carrier Aeroput on 17 June 1927.
The two individual aircraft in each pair will carry different versions of their particular design.
Two aircraft will feature a design based on the ‘bird’ logo of Aeroput. (See below)
Two more will have the familiar ‘red egg’ ellipse of successor Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, a logo which was prominent during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. (See below)
Another two 737s will adopt the ‘flame’ design, in the colours of the Serbian flag, which was used by the airline around the time of the political upheaval in Eastern Europe in the 1990s. (See below)
Jat Airways, the name used by the airline since 2003, will retain its current livery on a fourth pair of 737s.
This livery, the ‘three dots’ design, emerged from a national competition and was the result of combining two entries on the final shortlist – a hybrid which, Jat admits, has not been universally popular.
Speaking to Flightglobal in Belgrade, Jat Airways commercial vice-president Zoran Hudak says that, as part of the 80th anniversary activities, the carrier was hoping to conduct a commemorative flight on the Belgrade-Zagreb route, the first connection operated by Aeroput.
Jat Airways does not presently operate on this route because, says Hudak, there is a good highway link between the Serbian and Croatian capital cities.
Over its 80-year history the airline has operated a wide variety of aircraft but is notable among Eastern European carriers for almost exclusively using Western-built types.
These have included Douglas DC-3s, Junkers Ju-52s, Sud Aviation Caravelles, Boeing 707s and 727s, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9s and DC-10s.
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Source: FlightGlobal.com
