Adria to terminate high profile routes

Adria to cut flights and fleet

While Adria Airways waits for the European Commission to clear its 50 million Euro state aid package and a further loan of 40 million Euros from the banks, it has started cleaning up its own backyard. First on the to-do list is the suspension of several loss making routes out of Ljubljana. The airline also plans to sell some of its aircraft.

According to the Slovenian media, Adria Airways is considering either suspending or significantly reducing its frequencies to high profile destinations such as Paris, London-Gatwick and Istanbul. Adria currently operates 10 weekly flights to the French capital, 5 to London and 9 to Istanbul. The Slovenian national carrier faces competition an all 3 routes with Air France and easyJet operating from Paris, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul and easyJet from London Stansted Airport. This is virtually the only direct competition the airline has from its Ljubljana hub. Adria is still waiting to gain some momentum on its recently launched flights from Priština to Brussels.

In order to gain some extra cash, Adria is planning on leasing its aircraft together with its cabin crew to other airlines, with the Airbus A319s being the likely aircraft to be leased or sold. The airline returned 2 Airbus A320s to its fleet this summer after retiring them last year. Adria currently has a fleet of 14 aircraft with 13 in operations as 1 Bombardier CRJ200 (registration S5-AAD) is grounded at Ljubljana Airport.