Adria considering Copenhagen suspension

Loss making routes to be cut

After announcing that it will shed its route network by suspending flights to Paris, Istanbul, London and Warsaw, Adria Airways is now considering terminating flights to the Danish capital Copenhagen in an attempt to cut costs. “The decision to suspend certain destinations is yet to be adopted but we will cut all unprofitable lines”, Maks Tanjikar, the head of the Supervisory Board said. Tanjikar added that these cities are likely to disappear from Adria’s destination network in late October, at the start of the 2011/2012 winter season, although no firm timeframe has been given. This decision will be made once the state aid for the airline is approved. For the first time, Copenhagen has been mentioned as a potential city to be cut from the network. Adria currently operates 5 weekly flights to the Danish capital, code-shared by SAS Scandinavian Airlines, and is reporting losses on the route.

Adria is in the red, just like every other national airline in the former Yugoslavia. The Slovenian carrier has been reporting an increase in passenger numbers this year thanks to improving figures at the beginning of the year and a strong charter flight network. In the 7 months so far, Adria carried 678.203 passengers, an increase of 5%. However, latest figures show a worrying trend. In July the airline welcomed 148.931 passengers, a decrease of 4%. Its average cabin load factor also slumped to 72%, 5 points less than the same month last year.