The Embraer E195 aircraft, whose purchase has caused various reactions in the public, should arrive in Montenegro on June 20th if everything goes according to plan, said Vukadin Stojanović, executive director of the company To Montenegro.
"The aircraft is in Poland at a workshop certified by Embraer for the maintenance of this type of aircraft. It has been there for almost twenty days, the work being carried out on the aircraft is nearing completion and according to the data we receive from the workshop, the aircraft is in very good condition and we expect the so-called CRS to be issued for the aircraft on June 19, i.e. proof that all work has been completed and that the aircraft can fly to Montenegro the following day," said Stojanović, a guest on "News at Half Past 7" on TV Vijesti.
He said that the owner of the aircraft is a Danish company that operates in a group that also includes DAT Aviation, an airline and aircraft operator that is on the list of prioritized carriers of the European Union.
There was public speculation as to why To Montenegro was acquiring the aircraft it was interested in, but which Serbian airline Air Serbia had abandoned. Stojanović said that he did not know why the aircraft did not end up in the Serbian registry, but that he knew that there were no problems related to the safety of flying with that aircraft. When asked how much the acquisition of this aircraft would cost, Stojanović replied that it was a long-term lease, and that the price would be determined by how much traffic the aircraft would carry out in three years.
"Let's say that the fixed lease of an aircraft for one month is about 115 thousand dollars, and all other costs of payment to the lessor are related to the number of hours worked during the accounting period. Some plan is for the aircraft to fly 2000 hours during the year, which will bring the total costs of leasing the aircraft and investing in its engines to the level of, say, three million dollars annually. That is, it can go up to four and beyond, but if that is the case, it means that Montenegro Air did a good job and utilized the aircraft in the best possible way," explained Stojanović.
He said that it is true that Giuseppe Renga, a member of the board of directors of Air Montenegro, is currently in the executive management of the Swiss company AMROS, but that that company did not maintain the disputed aircraft nor does it engage in such business.
"What that company did was just a check, for which they were hired by the Serbian airline. Is that in some way a conflict of interest? Personally, I don't think so, although I'm not a lawyer and can't deal with that, but Mr. Renga is certainly exempt from decision-making when the board of directors approved the start of further negotiations regarding that aircraft."
"We considered 11 aircraft in the period from December last year to March this year. There is a huge shortage of aircraft of this type on the market and a good part of the aircraft that were available were in China, Vietnam, Brazil, which was a problem for us, because these aircraft were not equipped with all the equipment according to EU standards. The procedure was carried out properly and in the end, our technical service assessed based on the documentation that this aircraft was absolutely suitable... In the end, I personally, with the support of the technical team, proposed that this be the aircraft with which we will start further negotiations," Stojanović emphasized. He also said that he was ready to be heard at the Prosecutor's Office at any time regarding this procurement.
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Stojanović also emphasized that he completely rejects claims that Milan Knežević has anything to do with the purchase of the aircraft.
"And not with that, but with anything that has been happening at Air Montenegro since I've been there, and that's not a short period. Except for one of our meetings when he told me to check if that aircraft was what we needed, because he told me that although he believed in my abilities, he had certain information, to which I pointed out that we would do everything according to standards and procedures," added Stojanović.
When asked whether the acquisition of the disputed aircraft could be a reputational risk for Air Montenegro, the company's CEO said that what is currently happening is a reputational risk.
"What has been happening in recent weeks regarding aviation in Montenegro, I am sure that nowhere on the planet could it happen without serious consequences for the people who are creating this without a single document, without a single foundation and without relevant addresses from where they are getting something. It is a real miracle that none of the parties that were interested in the plane have contacted the relevant addresses to indicate that something is wrong with this aircraft and to provide evidence. When there is speculation about what is coming from Belgrade, I do not know why Air Serbia or the Civil Aviation Directorate do not warn their citizens not to travel with Air Montenegro, if this is how we do things in some inappropriate and unsafe way, because a large number of their citizens travel on our planes every day," concluded Stojanović.
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