Malaysian low-cost airline Air Asia is in talks with Belgrade to buy the Serbian national airline Jat Airways, Milutin Mrkonjic, Transport Minister of Serbia informed. Mrkonjic refused to reveal details, but said he expected positive results from the ongoing
negotiations, Tanjug news agency reported.
The Malaysian company, which plans to make Belgrade its regional hub for flights from Europe to the Far East via Kuala Lumpur, is expected to make its bid for the Serbian carrier by the end of the week, according to local media. Following two failed attempts to sell Jat, the Serbian government made a public appeal for a strategic partnership to create a new national airline that would replace Jat. That bid also failed however after the only potential partner, Latvia's Air Baltic, withdrew.