Air Pink (Belgrade Nikola Tesla) has been rebranded to ImperialJet following the acquisition of a 68% stake by companies affiliated with German businessman Abed El Jaouni, ch-aviation research has revealed.
Serbian business register data shows that at some point after early June the dormant business charter specialist was registered under the new name, corresponding with the change in ownership. The company's majority shareholder, with a 58% stake, is currently Cypriot fund Icron Investments Limited. Serbian online news website Nova.rs reported that the fund's beneficial owners are El Jaouni, Aleksandar Ilić, an existing co-owner of Air Pink, and Vladimir Petković, an associate of the operator's founder, Željko Mitrović.
A further 10% stake in ImperialJet is owned by ImperialJet Europe (JTI, Munich), El Jaouni's German operator with a fleet of one Challenger 605 and one Challenger 850.
Ilić owns the remaining 32% of ImperialJet. Until the changes, the carrier was 50%-owned by Mitrović and his Pink Media Group.
Air Pink has been grounded since late February 2024, when it was stripped of its permits reportedly after failing safety audits.
The Serbian operator's fleet comprises two Citation Jets, one Citation Jet 3, one Citation XLS, seven Citation XLS+, and two Legacy 600s.
El Jaouni owned Lebanese business aviation specialist ImperialJet. In 2015, he lodged an international arbitration lawsuit against the government of Lebanon, seeking USD981.9 million in compensation for the alleged "expropriation and unlawful revocation of aviation licenses by the Lebanese government". In 2021, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes awarded USD218.2 million to the owner of the carrier, although legal proceedings are ongoing.
Lebanon's Imperial Jet is no longer active, with all of El Jaouni's aircraft operating through the German AOC.
