Centavia (Central European Aviation) was a short-lived

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n low cost

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

. Its hub airport was

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Аеродром Никола Тесла Београд, Aerodrom Nikola Tesla Beograd, separator=" / ") or Belgrade Airport ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Аеродром Београд, Aerodrom Beograd, sep ...

in Serbia while its technical base was in

Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne Bonn Airport () is an international airport in north-western Germany. It serves the country's fourth-largest city Cologne, as well as Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. With approximately 12.4 million passengers passing through i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The airline declared bankruptcy on 8 November 2006.

History

Centavia was established in 2005 and received its first aircraft, a

BAe 146-200 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manu ...

, on 15 June 2006 from

Meridiana Meridiana Fly S.p.A., operating as Meridiana (formerly named ''Meridiana S.p.A.''), was a privately owned Italy, Italian airline headquartered in Olbia with its main base at Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport. It operated scheduled and charter flight ...

. Its founder and CEO, Predrag Vujović, had previously attempted to set up an airline company called Air Maxi, but those plans had been abandoned due to a lack of funding. Centavia's first (charter) flight took place on 8 July 2006, to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

from

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. For the initial period, only charter flights were operated. The airline's second aircraft arrived on 17 August 2006 and was registered as YU-AGM. Centavia was to be the first airline to operate flights from Belgrade to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

since the

dissolution of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

. However, the Croatian Authorities rejected the airline's application, saying that no bilateral agreements existed between the two states and that the European Open Skies Agreement, ratified by Croatia, would not be applicable in this case. Similarly, the Montenegrin government denied the airline landing rights due to Serbian withdrawal of the AOC of Montenegro Airlines' daughter company, Master Airways, rejection dramatically deteriorated the economic ties between the two former Yugoslav Republics. The airline's demise was seen as collateral damage of the unresolved issues and disputes between the Republics of former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Only

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

approved Centavia's operations request without any difficulties. Centavia was to code share on the Belgrade to Ljubljana flights with Adria Airways of Slovenia. Centavia had received permissions and landing rights from Slovenia, Germany, Italy and Switzerland and planned to start flights to these states in the winter of 2006. Centavia also held informal talks with

Wizz Air {{Infobox airline , airline = Wizz Air Holdings Plc. , IATA = , ICAO = , callsign = , aoc = , hubs = , focus_cities = , frequent_flyer = {{ubl, class=nowrap , Wizz All You Can Fly , Wizz Discount Club , Wizz Privilege Pass , ...

of Hungary to jointly operate certain flights. Centavia's two leased aircraft were returned to the lessor,

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

, on 9 November 2006.

Fleet

BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manu ...

(2)Centavia
at rzjets.net, retrieved 13-12-2014

External links

Centavia fleet details

Ovog leta počinju jeftini letovi

Centavija dobila dozvolu za letenje

* ttp://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-bae146-2210.htm BAe 146-200 msn E2210(

br>I-FLRE

BAe 146-200 msn E2210 YU-AGL. First comercial [sic] flight of new airline! Charter flight from Corfu. Landing on Rwy 12. Belgrade - Nikola Tesla (Surcin) (BEG / LYBE), Serbia, July 8, 2006

Centavia's BAe 146-200 YU-AGL landing at Warsaw-Okecie - EPWA, September 4, 2006

(

Club Air Club Air was an airline based in Verona, Italy operating domestic flights within Italy and international flights to Albania, France, Moldova, Kosovo, Romania and Ukraine. It had a hub at Verona Airport. Another European-based airline operating Bo ...

br>I-FLRI
- last BAe 146 series 200s built before production switched to the

Avro RJ85 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manu ...

)
Centavia's BAe 146-200 YU-AGM at Norwich - NWI (Second Centavia BAe 146 ready for delivery), August 15th 2006

First photo of YU-AGM on Belgrade (Surcin) Airport - BEG, August 23rd 2006

BAe 146-200 msn E2220 YU-AGM. Still all white - arriving from Belgrade. Kerkyra (Corfu) - Ioannis Kapodistrias (CFU / LGKR), Greece, September 16, 2006

References

{{Airlines of Serbia Defunct airlines of Serbia Defunct companies of Serbia Airlines established in 2005 Airlines disestablished in 2006 Serbian companies established in 2005