Inflight200 1/200 JAT Yugoslav Airlines Sud SE-210 Caravelle YU-AHA “Dubrovnik” (IF210JU1120P)

The French-built jet aircraft Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle was rolled out in JAT Yugoslav Airlines’ colours in an official acceptance ceremony at Paris-Orly airport less than four years after its first commercial flight. That date, 21 January 1963, 60 years ago, marked the beginning of the jet era in Yugoslav civil aviation history, an era that brought many historic records and moments to be proud of and is still ongoing. At a time when civil aviation in the former Yugoslavia was below the European average, JAT made a daring, risky, and huge move, ditching turboprop engines in favour of jet engines, becoming one of only twelve companies with French-made aircraft in their fleet. This decision would soon put JAT among the top European and global airlines and open a new chapter in the history of Yugoslav civil aviation, also thanks to the country’s developing network of new and modernised airports.

It wasn’t a simple task to introduce the Caravelle jet into the JAT fleet. First, there was political pressure to choose the Ilyushin IL-18, a brand-new Soviet aircraft at the time. After long and difficult talks, JAT finally decides in favour of the Caravelle, thanks only to General Milan Simović, the CEO of JAT, and his team. Second, the importance of bringing Caravelle jets into EX-YU aviation was reflected in the need for new maintenance facilities, practices, company organisation changes, expertise, and business philosophy. Finally, the delivery flight did not turn out as expected. Six of the eight tyres burnt during the landing roll during crew training at Toulouse-Blagnac, delaying the delivery flight for several days. The delivery flight from Paris was diverted to Frankfurt on January 21 due to a heavy snowstorms in Belgrade, the ice conditions, and temperatures 20 degrees Celsius below zero. JAT’s first jet aircraft (YU-AHA s/n: 139) made its first touchdown at the recently opened Belgrade Airport on February 16, 1963, about a month after it was scheduled to. It is interesting to note that this plane was second in the production line for JAT, but due to some issues, it was the first one to be delivered. The first Yugoslav jet-powered aircraft operated its maiden commercial flight to Paris (ORY) on April 1, carrying 19 passengers and 300kg of payload. The flight was followed on the same day by one to Rome (FCO) via Zagreb. On April 6, 1963, as JU210/211 on a flight from Belgrade to London (LHR) via Zagreb, the second jet aircraft and the second Caravelle (YU-AHB) entered in service, followed by flight Belgrade-Athens-Cairo (JU440/441) ten days later.

The Caravelle operated its last commercial flight on behalf of JAT on the last day of 1976, en route Belgrade-Skopje-Ohrid-Belgrade as if it were the first flight, and the last was performed by the first Yugoslav civil jet, YU-AHA. The retirement of the Caravelle fleet sparked considerable debate because the Caravelle had become a symbol of JAT’s development, as well as given that the fleet had generated an average of 20.000 flying hours, which was half of the aircraft’s expected lifespan. The company considered converting them into freight aircraft, however, the introduction of second-generation jets and rising fuel and maintenance costs forced JAT’s management to make the final decision. In the documents and testimonies of passengers, the Caravelle was frequently mentioned with the possessive pronoun “our”, which speaks volumes about the popularity of this plane in the region.