From Aeroput to JAT Airways

The first Yugoslav airline company – AEROPUT, was founded on June 17, 1927. The first line - Belgrade-Zagreb - became operational on February 15, 1928. The following year - 1929 - the company joined the International Air Traffic Association (IATA). By 1930, "Aeroput" airplanes had regular flights from Belgrade to Gratz and Vienna (via Zagreb), and to Thessaloniki (via Skoplje). Thus the shortest air link between Central Europe and the Aegean area was formed across the Yugoslav territory. Initially the fleet consisted of three Potes-29 biplanes with five passenger seats. In 1932 "Aeroput" broadened its fleet with Farman "F - 306" aircraft, and in 1934 the company purchased three "Spartan" planes. In the company bought two "Coudron-Geland" planes one "De Havilland Dragon", and six mid-range "Lockheed Electra - 10" aircraft. Relying on its renewed fleet, the company greatly expanded its list of destinations in 1937 and 1938. Regular flights to Sofia, Tirana, and Budapest were introduced, as well as a seasonal-tourist flight Dubrovnik-Zagreb-Vienna - Brno - Prague. In cooperation with Italian and Romanian companies, the Bucharest - Belgrade - Zagreb - Venice - Milan - Turin line was introduced.

The impressive development of the company and of the newest transport sector was interrupted by World War Two. Exhibits from this period can be found in the can be found in the Yugoslav Aviation Museum (it has a collection of over 200 planes, gliders and helicopters).Thanks to the enormous efforts made by pre-war Aeroput flight staff and technicians the company begun flying again on April 1, 1947 under its past name "Yugoslav Airlines" (JAT). Dedicating the greatest possible attention to flight safety - just like Aeroput - JAT equipped its fleet with latest-generation western technology aircraft. With 3 German three-engine "Junkers JU-52" planes and 8 American "Douglas DC-3", JAT immediately established flights to all domestic destinations, as well as international flights to Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest and Tirana.

Still, the 50's marked the turning point for the company. After the economic and political isolation imposed upon Yugoslavia by the Eastern block (1947-1949) with its fleet of 14 "DC-3" aircraft, JAT made ambitious steps on the international level. In 1950 it introduced flights to Zurich, Munich and Frankfurt, in 1951 to Thessaloniki and Athens, and in 1952 to Paris. That same year, the company opened representative offices in all the foreign cities its planes were flying to.The expansion of the JAT destination network and the growing number of passengers on certain destinations made the modernization of the fleet indispensable. Thus, in 1954 JAT made an important move in company history - three new American "Convair CV-340" aircraft were introduced. As the fleet grew the number of flights followed - the flight to Frankfurt was extended to London, and Cairo and Beirut (via Athens) became new destinations as well.

In the early 60's JAT quickly adapted to the growing tourism demands both in the country and abroad. Having added three new Convairs to the fleet, the company managed to intensify the traffic on given international lines. But, the real change in company development was brought by jetliners. When it purchased 3 "Caravelle" jet aircraft in 1963 - representing the latest technology in mid-range jet aircraft at the time - JAT increased it domestic capacities by 59% and its international flight capacities by 75%. New scheduled flights to Warsaw and Copenhagen were introduced. Between 1969-70 the fleet was expanded with 6 Douglas DC-9 new generation planes with lower nose levels and operation costs. In that same period the booking system was modernized. Belgrade finally got a new telecommunications center linked to the network operated by the SITA, and the work of the central reservations department was greatly improved. Having carried 1.200.000 passengers in 1970, JAT became one of medium size airlines. Long range flights were then tackled.

The first step in the direction of intercontinental flights was made in 1970, when JAT purchased its first four-engine Boeing B-707 long-range airplane. It first organized charter flights to Australia, Canada and the US (1970), and then to Beijing (1971). Gradually, along with the expansion of its long-range fleet, regular flights were added to the timetable. To Australia and the Far East: Karachi-Singapore-Sidney, to Baghdad and Malta (1975), to USSR - Moscow and the US - New York (1976), Damascus and Kuwait, Lion and Madrid (1977), Canada (1984)...  Starting in 1978, JAT gradually purchased three wide body DC-10 jetliners and thus greatly accelerated the development of its intercontinental traffic. Only ten years later on the North American market JAT had a daily flight to New York, four flights a week to Chicago, one weekly flight to Detroit and Cleveland, two flights to Los Angeles and three weekly flights to Montreal and Toronto. In its record years, before the introduction of UN sanctions, JAT had regular flights from Yugoslavia to 61 destinations on five different continents, serving the needs of 4.5 million passengers and 43 thousand tons of cargo annually. The extraordinary resources JAT has been developing ever since it was founded, and which allow the company to have a comprehensive service and market approach, are the fruit of decades of investment.

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