Air Montenegro has entered into a temporary wet lease agreement for a 31-year-old Boeing 737-400 from Turkey’s Tailwind Airlines. This decision comes in response to a delay in the delivery of a fourth Embraer E195, which has left the airline with insufficient capacity during the peak summer tourism season.
The wet lease arrangement means that Tailwind Airlines is responsible for supplying the aircraft along with its crew, maintenance, and insurance. This strategy allows Air Montenegro to increase its operational capacity without needing to train additional personnel on different aircraft types. However, utilizing wet leases during high-demand periods can be costly and may result in lower profit margins per seat for the marketing carrier.
The delayed Embraer aircraft was originally expected to be delivered by the end of June but remains under maintenance in Germany. In mid-June, Air Montenegro acquired another E195 that it had previously leased, increasing its owned fleet of Embraers to three.
The financial specifics of the lease agreement with Tailwind have not been publicly disclosed. The impact on Air Montenegro’s finances will hinge on various factors, including the lease rate, aircraft utilization, fuel costs, and whether this additional capacity can mitigate cancellations on lucrative routes. The older Boeing model is also likely to incur higher fuel costs compared to the more modern regional aircraft that form the core of Air Montenegro’s long-term fleet strategy.
As of early July, airports in Montenegro reported handling nearly 1.5 million passengers, marking an increase of approximately 17 percent compared to the same period in 2025. Airports of Montenegro anticipates a total traffic increase of about 18 percent for the year, reaching 3.63 million passengers, alongside a projected net profit of €13.37 million. This surge in demand reinforces Air Montenegro’s rationale for securing additional capacity while also underscoring the operational risks associated with maintaining a small fleet during peak traffic seasons.
The immediate focus for Air Montenegro is to ensure schedule reliability. In the long term, enhancing fleet resilience through ownership can reduce dependency on leases; however, operating with a limited number of aircraft increases vulnerability when delays in delivery or maintenance occur.
