Jat Airways executives and shareholders give green light for merger with Etihad

The Executive Board and shareholders of Jat Airways gave the green light on Tuesday (30 July 2013) for the signing of documents to allow for a strategic partnership with Etihad, people at the Serbian flag carried told Beta news agency.

Jat Airways Acting CEO Velibor Vukasinovic said that the future arrangement would provide Etihad with a 49-percent stake in Jat Airways that would then be renamed to Air Serbia. Vukasinovic said that Jat Airways shareholders had authorized him to sign a transaction agreement and six accompanying documents related to the arrangement with the airline from the United Arab Emirates.

- This is a beginning of strategic partnership with Etihad - he said and noted that the Serbian government would keep a 51-percent stake in Air Serbia.

Jat currently has 1,250 employees and a fleet consisting of ten Boeing 373-300 and four ATR aircraft.