Adria network cuts decision in September

Key decisions to be made at Adria

Slovenia’s Adria Airways will announce reductions to its destination network in September, which will take effect from the 2011/12 winter season which begins on October 30. Due to its financial woes, the airline is expected to terminate several destinations. Short listed for the cut are the biggest loss making routes such as Paris, London, Istanbul, Warsaw and Copenhagen. According to the Slovenian daily “Delo”, the airline’s only profitable flights are those to Frankfurt, Zurich, Munich and Brussels, mostly feeder flights for the Lufthansa Group of airlines. According to the same newspaper, Adria is reporting big losses on its charter flights this year. Last year the airline did not make a profit on any of its charter services, making the decision to lease 2 Airbus A320s this year incomprehensible.

The next few weeks will be of great importance for Adria with a decision on its future financing and shareholder structure to be made. Furthermore, a decision on how to distribute state aid and bank loans, as well as implement cost cutting measures will be made on August 31. The extent of Adria’s financial problems were made public late last year which was followed by a complete change in management. The Slovenian Government has stressed the importance of Adria to the Slovenian economy. Passenger wise Adria had a good start to the year with solid growth. However, passenger numbers have begun to slip over the summer.