Adria Airways to expand fleet

Adria Airways plans to add two Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to its fleet, the "Uporabna Stran" portal reports. The aircraft are expected to commence operations on Adria's behalf during the first half of the year. Two CRJ900s, one previously operated by SAS Scandinavian Airlines, and the other by Iberia Regional (Air Nostrum), have been parked at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport for some time and are likely to be destined for Adria. The aircraft are believed to be owned by Regional One, which acts as Adria's existing lessor. The Slovenian carrier has recently been advertising job openings for pilots and first officers on the aircraft type. The airline presently operates seven CRJ900s, three CRJ700s and three Airbus A319s. One of its CRJ700s is currently being wet-leased to Luxembourg's Luxair.

Adria plans to expand its operations this summer by introducing six new routes out of Ljubljana and boosting frequencies to seven destinations, including Copenhagen, Paris, Prague, Podgorica, Skopje, Tirana and Warsaw. Much of its planned growth has been based on the usage of Saab 2000 turboprop aircraft, operated by its subsidiary Adria Airways Switzerland (also known as Darwin Airline). However, the regional carrier declared bankruptcy last month, which is a subject of an ongoing probe by Swiss authorities. The aircraft have been grounded ever since with liquidators planning to sell them following interest from a leasing company. "Austrian Aviation" reported yesterday that Adria has invited former Darwin cabin crew to apply for jobs through Swiss-based aviation employment agency Growing.Aero, who will then be assigned onto Adria-operated flights from places such as Geneva, Milan and Trieste on the Saab 2000s. This is despite the fact that the airline does not maintain operations to any of the three cities, although will commence services to Geneva in March.

The Slovenian carrier has been steadily expanding its fleet over the years, adding its seventh CRJ900 in 2017. As a result, the airline has been able to venture into the lucrative ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance lease) business and has operated flights on behalf of Eurowings, Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines, to name a few. Adria recently extended the leasing terms of its existing fleet. Therefore, one of its Airbus A319 jets is now on lease until 2021, while the other two until 2024. Four of its CRJ900s will remain with the airline until at least 2022, while the other two are on lease until 2026 and 2027 respectively. Finally, the lease of three CRJ700s has been extended until December 2019.