Adria Airways anticipates for a successful 2017 after it made headway last year both in terms of revenue and expenditure. Speaking to the daily "Delo", the airline's CEO, Arno Schuster, said, "The operational results for 2016 are currently being audited so I cannot disclose them. However, I can say that we saw progress when compared to 2015 both in terms of expenses and revenues. The first year of restructuring is understandably challenging for both employees and the company itself. Last year was very challenging and our main goal has been to stabilise the company". He added, "Adria's operations are very cyclical - divided between the summer and winter. In the winter we have lower revenue and in the summer it is higher".
Commenting on the year ahead, Mr Schuster said, "We believe in the sustainability of the existing business model and financing through higher revenues, which are mostly generated in the summer. In general, we will focus on two areas of our business - both regular and charter flights. We will generate enough revenue in the high season to secure liquidity throughout the year. This is the plan we are pursuing. We have already increased the number of passengers during the low season. Given the demand we are already seeing on our charter and scheduled flights, we expect a successful year". The CEO noted that the airline is exploring new markets as well. "We are always exploring possibilities for new destinations and new markets. Currently, we are more focused on improving existing services. We have added flights to Amsterdam, Sarajevo, Podgorica and Vienna".
According to Mr Schuster, since the first year of 4K Invest's takeover of Adria, emphasis was put on the restructuring effort, as well as stabilising the business, while this year will be devoted to growth and improvements in service quality. "Of course, the restructuring cannot be completed overnight but we are on the right path", the CEO said. Adria Airways handled 227.588 passengers during the first quarter of this year, an increase of 8.3% compared to the same period in 2016. It anticipates for that growth to continue throughout the year after it boosted frequencies on key routes this summer.
Nice to see things finally improving at Adria.
ReplyDeleteIs Adria the Ex-Yu airline with the highest increase in passengers this year?
ReplyDelete8.3% seems excellent.
Probably. JU was 7%, not sure about OU, and Montenegro probably declined after the problems they had with that silent pilot strike
DeleteIt would be interesting to see OU's figures. They didn't have additional flights this winter when compared to last and if you look at Zagreb Airport's performance during these few months it hasn't grown too much. By the end of the year OU will have big growth because of new routes but just wondering whether that was the case in the first three months.
DeleteI also think that by the end of the year OU will be the airline with the biggest increase in pax.
DeleteThey have added a lot of flights this Summer in both new and old destinations.
We will see by the end of the year whether this includes Nordica figures or not. My bet is on yes...
DeleteThe figures listed here do not include Nordica (JP is no longer associated with them).
DeleteQ1 numbers in 2016 eith Nordica included were much higher then these ones.
DeleteIs 4K in it for the long run with Adria? Or will they sell it when it turns a profit?
ReplyDeleteThey are staying put for now.
DeleteThere is a rumor going on that they might purchase another airline.
Delete4k invest I mean, not Adria
DeleteOU?
DeleteI wonder what the internal situation is at Adria. If there is someone working there would be nice to hear. Besides that good to see some positive developments.
ReplyDeleteTough is all I can say.
Delete2016 was a terrible year for all employed at Adria. Lay offs, pay cuts...
DeleteThere were layoffs but not pay cuts.
DeleteThere were not that many layoffs, either.
DeleteWhat was the financial result in 2015?
ReplyDelete-4 million EUR.
DeleteThanks. So judging by the CEO's comments, in 2016 they improved but I assume it was still a loss, otherwise he would have said they were back in profit.
DeleteThere was some unofficial number in Slovenian newspaper of -2 million.
DeleteTo bad they didn't introduce that service to Tehran...
ReplyDeleteHopefully they reconsider. I think it would work well for them.
DeleteI think competition at LJU will become bigger and bigger now. The management there is trying to attract new airlines so Adria will have to deal with this too. They now have to compete against Transavia to AMS. As soon as Easy jet started its new London flights Adria decided not to resume their seasonal London flights this year.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAnd it seems Ljubljana Airport is close to finalizing a deal with more LCCs.
DeleteMy guess is, Ryanair will soon introduce flights to FRA. They were hiring cabin crew not so long ago in Ljubljana.
DeleteWhy to FRA? You think there is a lot of P2P traffic?
Delete@AnonymousApril 23, 2017 at 5:40 PM:
DeleteProbably not P2P, but I'm sure they could manage to compete with Adria for the evening wave.
They hire cabin crew throughout the whole Europe, and they base them wherever they want. They prefer multi-national crew, so there are not only German cabin crew operating from Germany...
DeleteI still think JP giving up on LHR was a mistake. I'm sure they could fill an A319 daily. 2 Easyjet flights to London take off practically at the same time on some days ...
DeleteGood to see them growing again.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the pilot strike didn't affect them too much.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not passenger wise but financially most certainly.
DeleteGreat news Adria! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteIt is not easy jusy to reset company like this. They will need some time to do it.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. And things seem to improving.
DeleteReturn to Maribor and base a plane there.
ReplyDeleteYes because MBX-SEN turned out to be such a success...
DeleteMaribor doesn't need Adria anymore. They have VLM owned by Chinese who will fly all around the world :D
DeleteThey fly from Poland, Kosovo and Albania but they can't fly from another Slovenian city where they would get subsidies....
DeleteWhy would they fly from MBX? They tried it in the past and it was always a stupid idea.
DeleteThe way they tried with LON was a failure from a beginning. It was JP who did it wrong not MBX.
DeleteMBX should provide subsidies to a LCC and problem solved.
DeleteMBX will soon be filed with A330s flying all over the world and become a hub for central and eastern Europe.
DeleteMaybe Adria should depart from the LCC model. It hasn't produced profits.
ReplyDeleteThey are not low cost or even hybrid at all with their prices. They are very high unless you book a bloody year in advance!
DeleteYes Anon 12:12.
DeleteAdria should go for the "boutique airline" concept that proved so profitable for JU.
Don't forget the metal cutlery too!
LCC model... Nice joke.
DeleteHow much did they loose by ending the Nordica contract? And better yet why did it end? When the new owners came in they said they wanted to capitalise on this deal.
ReplyDeleteIt's always good if numbers went up. Does anyone know the load factor?
ReplyDeleteSeems like Arno knows what he is doing if expenses are down and passenger numbers are up.
ReplyDeleteStill too early to judge.
DeleteI think they are moving in the right direction. They have added new planes last year and added more frequencies this year. If they managed to do that while decreasing their losses then that is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange he didn't mention fleet renewal.
ReplyDeleteHe said "expects" to make a profit. Most things on here never come to fruition
DeleteEverybody knows SSJs are just around the corner and Adria is the most inovative and the smartest airline for taking them.
DeleteOT: Now that Sabre is in place, Air Serbia will charge 30 eur for airport check-in for lowest eco fares. That charge is only for BEG airport. However there is no info on Air Serbia site that customers who check-in online for flights from Belgrade will NOT be charged for baggage drop desk use. Please update the info to remove any confusion about baggage drop charges for online users.
ReplyDeleteDuring Amadeus times I experienced failure to check-on line in Belgrade and had to use check-in desk. I also had a case where I had to use the mobile phone to the point where batteries were drained and I could not show email (with another ariline). For those cases airport self-serve kiosks where boarding pass can be reprinted free of charge are essential. Unfortunately Air Serbia released this charge before Air Serbia kiosks are available at BEG. Check-in desk charges are great, but not having kioks at BEG is a minus.
Seat selection for a fee is also available, awesome news! Not sure why they set age limit to 18 for exit row as some other airlines allow 15 year olds in the exit row, but otherwise fantastic addition to Air Serbia portfolio!
I only see this move as backwards and cant wait to see how they will explain older people that they need to pay 30eur as they didnt check-in home. This only can be good if they put lower 20/30% the cheapest prize which i dont think will happend. Goodbye ASL it was good while it lasted (had over 70flights with them). Now is time to use other airlines.
Delete"Old" people will manage same as they do when travelling with other airlines who have the same practice
DeleteWhat happens in the case you fly to a destination in North America or any other destination? Would you still have to pay?
DeleteAnyhow I dont see why you are so cheerful about this as it clearly a downgrade.
Goodbye ASL? Reminds me of comments when American Airlines became first US legacy carrier to introduce checked baggage fee in 2008. Passengers revolted, vowing to never fly AA again. Soon all other legacies followed, and paying for baggage became norm almost overnight. Ironically, only the "original" LCC Southwest still doesn't charge baggage fee!
DeleteIf other carriers like Ryanair or Air Baltic charge the check-in fee, so can Air Serbia. You DON'T have to pay it, just check online. It's cheaper and faster than waiting in line. However lack of self-serve kiosks at BEG must be resolved quickly.
I'm guessing the point of these charges is to alleviate the pressure ground services are under during rush hours, particularly in the morning. They face constant delays due to that, not by much, but it obviously stacks up.
DeleteBut introducing check in charges and not providing at least 20-30 kiosks and 10 or so automated bag drop machines is missing a step. Makes it look like they're after 100-200 euros extra per flight from people who forget to do OLCI or for some other reason don't do it.
You can checkin online with your smart phone - which is something that the vast majority of people own.
DeleteSo what's the issue ?