Adria unveils six new routes

Adria Airways will grow its destination network next summer season with the Slovenian carrier to focus on the Balkan and Western European markets. The airline will launch services from Ljubljana to Brač, Bucharest, Dubrovnik, Hamburg, Sofia and Geneva starting March 25, 2018. It will mark the carrier's  return to the Croatian coast and will see it enter the Bulgarian market after initially scheduling flights to Sofia in 2009, prior to dropping them ahead of their launch. All operations will be maintained by the fifty-seat Saab 2000 turboprop. Ticket are already on sale. Adria's Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Schneider, previously said, "We are always looking into interesting markets. The recent launch of flights to Ukraine is the first step towards many other destinations that should come in the future and we are always evaluating. We are looking into Western Europe and also into the Balkans. That is something we should expect for next summer. For Slovenia, this is a perfect fit and I'm looking forward to the future".

Route	Launch date
Ljubljana - Sofia	25.03.2018
Ljubljana - Bucharest	25.03.2018
Ljubljana - Hamburg	25.03.2018
Ljubljana - Geneva	26.03.2018
Ljubljana - Dubrovnik	27.04.2018
Ljubljana - Brač	28.04.2018

Click on links for flight details

Speaking to Slovenia's "Planet TV", Mr Schneider noted that the carrier's future growth forms part of the its strategy to develop Ljubljana Airport into a hub. "The new strategy Adria has implemented over the past twelve to eighteen months has generated and positioned Ljubljana into a hub. That means that people are coming from Western Europe to travel via Ljubljana to the Balkans. We have a two-wave system, meaning we have two periods during the day where people can travel and connect via Ljubljana", the Chief Commercial Officer said. The carrier recently noted that in addition to growing its network it is also looking into expanding its fleet.

Following a year of downsizing in 2016, Adria began adding frequencies on existing services this summer and launched flights to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev last month. "It was a decision we based on the incoming market because of the [EU] visa liberalisation [for Ukrainians]. We have seen that the flights are already nicely booked and the service is also ideal for Slovenian citizens to visit Ukraine ", Mr Schneider said. Flights have been scheduled so as to fit into Adria's departure waves at Ljubljana Airport. "We have a good schedule and good prices on the market. Consumers who choose us as their airline say they are pleased with us. We will definitely build on this strategy in the future", Mr Schneider concluded.

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Darwin Airline, operating under the brand name of Adria Airways Switzerland, has entered reorganisation under Swiss insolvency regulations yesterday, just four months after the airline was purchased from Etihad Airways and other minor shareholders by Adria Switzerland, a subsidiary of 4K Invest. Despite a “promising” start to the restructuring process, Darwin “has encountered several unfavourable market impacts” that led to the decision to enter insolvency proceedings similar to US Chapter 11 protection, according to a statement by Darwin. The company said, “Darwin has been challenged with the termination of all business contracts by Alitalia, which filed for insolvency proceedings in May 2017. Furthermore, the unexpected insolvency of Air Berlin in August 2017 led to significant negative impacts such as bad debt, loss of existing business and future business opportunities”. Darwin said it is seeking to save as many jobs as possible and will continue flying under its existing Air Operator’s Certificate “for the time being”. As previously reported, it will offer wet-lease services to other airlines and “offer maintenance services for own aircraft and third parties”. “These operations will require between 100 and 120 employees at Darwin Airline. The company believes these steps will provide foundations for the continuation of its business activity and future operations”, Darwin concluded. The Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation has since temporarily suspended the airline's operating license, grounding all of its aircraft.