Final A320 leaves fleet

Adria Airways A320, S5-AAA, 1989 - 2010

Adria Airways has farewelled its final Airbus A320 which operated its last revenue flight on September 11, 2010 from Tirana to its hub, Ljubljana. The 21 year old aircraft, registered S5-AAA, was delivered from Airbus to Adria on May 16, 1989 under the registration YU-AOA. It was the 43rd A320 to be made by Airbus and the first to be powered by the new IAE Engines. Over the years, the aircraft was leased to several airlines, most recently the Libyan Afriqiyah Airways. The aircraft returned to the Adria fleet for the last time in November 2009. The aircraft has now been stored at Ljubljana Airport and is waiting to be scrapped.

Adria now has a fleet of 13 aircraft (six CRJ200s, four CRJ900s, two A319s and one CRJ100), with one order each for the CRJ900 and Airbus A319, which have replaced the aging A320s. Adria chose the A319s as a replacement for the A320s because the aircraft belong to the same category as the Airbus A320, which means the pilots, the cabin crew and the technical personnel needed no additional training. Furthermore, Adria explains that the new aircraft are more economical and environmentally friendly and are consistent with the carbon dioxide emission standard that steps into force in 2011.