Air Montenegro

Air Montenegro
To Montenegro a.d.
Air Montenegro, 4O-AOA, Embraer ERJ-195LR
Air Montenegro Embraer 195
IATA ICAO Call sign
4O MNE MOUNT EAGLE
Founded8 February 2021 (8 February 2021)
Commenced operations
10 June 2021 (10 June 2021) (as Air Montenegro)[1]
HubsPodgorica Airport
Secondary hubsTivat Airport
Fleet size4
Destinations15
Parent companyGovernment of Montenegro
HeadquartersPodgorica, Montenegro
Key peopleVukadin Stojanović, CEO
Websiteairmontenegro.com/en Edit this at Wikidata

To Montenegro a.d. (stylised as ToMontenegro and 2Montenegro), is the flag carrier of Montenegro, which is branded and operates under the name Air Montenegro (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Ер Монтенегро), a new company opened in early 2021 by the government of Montenegro.[2] Air Montenegro officially launched operations in June 2021.[3]

History

Background and origins

The predecessor airline company Montenegro Airlines was founded on 24 October 1994, by the government of the Montenegro Republic. The first aircraft, a Fokker 28 Mk4000 (nicknamed "Lovćen"), was purchased almost two years later in 1996.[4] The first commercial flight took place on 7 May 1997, at exactly 10:30 between Podgorica and Bari, Italy.[4] In April 2000, its became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).[4] In June 2000, the first of five Fokker 100 aircraft was delivered to Podgorica Airport.[4] The airline joined Amadeus CRS on 5 March 2003.[4] In 2004, Montenegro Airlines' pilots were the first in the region to be granted the IIIA certificate. In August 2016, it was reported that accounts belonging to Montenegro Airlines had been frozen after the airline failed to comply with a court ruling regarding the payment of debts to the operator of the country's airports. Montenegro Airlines owed the company more than US$15 million.[5]

In December 2020, the Government of Montenegro announced the shutdown and liquidation of the Montenegro Airlines a.d company in the forthcoming weeks stating mismanagement and accumulating losses for several years.[6][7] Shortly after, it was announced that the airline would suspend all flights from 26 December 2020 marking the end of its operations.[8]

Airline foundation

On 29 December 2020, it was announced by Minister Mladen Bojanić that the Montenegro Airlines would be reorganized and replaced with a new company the To Montenegro (2 Montenegro), as the new Montenegrin flag carrier airline.[9] The liquidation procedure of Montenegro Airlines would cost about 50 million euro but it is inevitable, as the country's competition authority has ruled that the law for public investment in the flag carrier adopted in 2019 was illegal, the government said in December 2021.[10]

The new company was officially introduced on 2 March 2021 by the government. In April 2021, it was reported that the Montenegrin government made Air Montenegro the official name for the ToMontenegro project and that the airline would start up using two Embraer 195 aircraft, transferred from former Montenegro Airlines.[11] On 10 June 2021, then Minister of Economic Development of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, paid a visit to the neighboring Republic of Serbia, being one of the passengers at the first commercial flight of the new national airline Air Montenegro to Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade.[12][13]

Origin of "Air Montenegro" company name

Despite being formed in 2021, the name "Air Montenegro" had existed beforehand. In 1990 a private start-up airline with name Air Montenegro was formed. Air Montenegro operated for about two years until was shut down due to war in ex Yugoslavia region. Company had an Airline Operator Certificate and used a single YAK-40 jet aircraft registration LZ-DOB on a wet lease contract from Bulgarian airline Hemus Air.[14]

It operated flights to Bari Italy with the flight number 9901/9902 inherited for Adria Airways which operated the same line before the war

Destinations

Air Montenegro Destinations[15][16]
Country City Airport Notes
Armenia Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport Terminated[17]
AzerbaijanBakuHeydar Aliyev International AirportTerminated[17]
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBanja LukaBanja Luka International AirportSeasonal[18]
Czech Republic Brno Brno-Tuřany Airport Seasonal
Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague Seasonal
FranceLilleLille-Lesquin AirportSeasonal
LyonLyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport Seasonal
NantesNantes Atlantique Airport Seasonal
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Seasonal
GermanyFrankfurtFrankfurt Airport
ItalyRomeRome Fiumicino Airport
MontenegroPodgoricaPodgorica AirportHub
TivatTivat AirportFocus city
SerbiaBelgradeBelgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
SlovakiaBratislavaBratislava AirportSeasonal
SloveniaLjubljanaLjubljana Airport
SwitzerlandZurichZurich Airport
TurkeyIstanbulIstanbul Airport
İzmirİzmir Adnan Menderes AirportSeasonal

Codeshare agreements

Fleet

Air Montenegro Embraer 195

Current fleet

As of July 2026, Air Montenegro operates the following aircraft:[20][21]

Air Montenegro fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Y C Total
Embraer 195 4[21] — var. var. 116 Both aircraft inherited from now-defunct Montenegro Airlines. Both aircraft owned.[22]
118 One aircraft owned.[23]
Total 4 —

Business class

In a 2026 review, airline commentator Josh Cahill criticized Air Montenegro’s business class product, arguing that the airline’s Embraer E195 aircraft feature a single-class cabin layout without business class seating. According to Cahill, business class is sold at a significant fare premium despite none of Air Montenegro’s planes being equipped with business class seats or service. Multiple passengers who have purchased business class seating are downgraded upon check in to an economy seat, with gate agents claiming a last minute plane change. Gate agents instruct passengers who are downgraded to reach out to customer support for a refund, and subsequently have their refund requests ignored. This has led to accusations of Air Montenegro scamming passengers by selling non existent business class seating. [24][25]

Historic fleet

Air Montenegro historic fleet
Aircraft In fleet Introduced Retired Notes
Embraer 190[16] 1

References

  1. ↑ Prvi let, Air Montenegro, 1 June 2021
  2. ↑ Predstavljena nova crnogorska aviokompanija, Al Jazeera Balkans, 2 March 2021
  3. ↑ Air Montenegro poleće, aviatica.rs, 28 May 2021
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Istorijat". Montenegro Airlines. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  5. ↑ ch-aviation.com - Montenegro Airlines accounts frozen over ACG debts 12 August 2016
  6. ↑ "Montenegro Closes Indebted National Airline". 25 December 2020.
  7. ↑ aerotelegraph.com (German) 25 December 2020
  8. ↑ "Montenegro's indebted state airline ceases operations". CTV News. 2020-12-26.
  9. ↑ Bojanić: Nova kompanija zvaće se "2 Montenegro", 29 December 2020, Vijesti
  10. ↑ Montenegro's new flag carrier starts regular operations, SeeNews, 10 June 2021
  11. ↑ Podgorica rebrands ToMontenegro as Air Montenegro - CH-Aviation
  12. ↑ First flight of national airline Air Montenegro will be to Serbia, Government of Montenegro, 9 June 2021
  13. ↑ Montenegro Airlines successor Air Montenegro reveals launch date Archived 2022-02-06 at the Wayback Machine, AeroTime, 3 June 2021
  14. ↑ Vise od vijeka - vazduhoplovstvo u Crnoj Gori, Boris Ciglic,Aleksandar Radic
  15. ↑ "Most Searched Flights on Air Montenegro". Air Montenegro. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  16. 1 2 "AIR TIME No. 7". calameo.com. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  17. 1 2 "Fuel, visas and Wizz push Air Montenegro into loss". In addition, he said the airline's revenues have been affected by the suspension of flights to Azerbaijan and Armenia this year after the introduction of visa requirements, whereas those routes operated last year.
  18. ↑ "Air Montenegro to restore Banja Luka service". 3 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Turkish Airlines and Air Montenegro Sign a Codeshare Partnership".
  20. ↑ "Fleet - Air Montenegro". Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  21. 1 2 "PHOTOS: Air Montenegro takes delivery of fourth jet". 20 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "State acquires two jets for ToMontenegro". 20 February 2021.
  23. ↑ "Air Montenegro acquires third aircraft for $11 million". 15 June 2026.
  24. ↑ Avijacijski jutjuber: "Air Montenegro" naplatio biznis klasu koju nijesam dobio
  25. ↑

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