all flights to Eastern European destinations. JAT was forced to survive on six domestic lines. When Yugoslavia turned to the West, an agreement was made with Swissair to open the Belgrade-Zürich route, which was inaugurated on 24 August 1949. Company stagnation marked operations in 1949 because the traffic volume was well below fleet potentials and transport needs in the country. However, 1954 was in many ways a turning point. Convair CV-340 and Convair CV-440 Metropolitan aircraft were purchased for short-haul and medium-haul routes, after which the Douglas DC-3 was used only on domestic routes. Multiple international and domestic routes were opened soon after. In 1957, six Ilyushin Il-14M aircraft were purchased. JAT purchased several Douglas DC-6Bs for long-haul routes in 1959. Jet age In 1963, the first Sud Aviation Caravelle joined the JAT fleet. In 1969, the first McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 (of 16) arrived, followed by Boeing 707 in 1970, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1971 (of 7), and in 1974 by the first two (of nine) Boeing 727-200s. 1970s Long-haul routes to North America, Australia, and the Far East were flown by Boeing 707s, introduced in 1970. In 1975, Belgrade was connected with Karachi, Singapore and Sydney. Same year three brand new Boeing 727s were introduced. In 1976 fleet consisted of 4 Boeing 707, 13 McDonnell Douglas DC-9, 3 Boeing 727, 5 Caravelle and one Convair. In 1976, two more Boeing 727s joined the fleet, for a total of five. The same year, Belgrade was connected with New York City, Malta, Baghdad, Kuwait City and Damascus. All Caravelles were withdrawn from the fleet, while the line to Karachi was terminated. That year JAT had almost three million passengers. In 1977, new routes to Madrid and Lyon were introduced. In 1978, a wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (which was chosen over the Boeing 747-200) was purchased to succeed the Boeing 707s on longer-haul routes, although the 707s remained in service into the 1980s on ad hoc charters and as scheduled-flight replacement aircraft. The purchase of a DC-10-30 was followed several years later by the purchase of a medium-range aircraft. The same year, a new route to Beijing was added. In 1979, JAT carried almost 4 million passengers. 1980s In 1980, the route Belgrade–Chicago was established. Two more brand new Boeing 727s were added to the fleet. In 1981, Cleveland was added as a stopover on route Belgrade–Chicago. The same year the JAT