Adria Airways has seen its passenger numbers decline 6.7% during the first half of the year according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. The carrier handled some 537.700 travellers during the January - June period, down from 576.400 in 2018. During H1 of last year, Adria launched a number of new routes from Ljubljana, which were discontinued by the end of the summer season in late October. They included Geneva, Bucharest, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Dubrovnik and Brač. The carrier subsequently suspended services to Kiev, Warsaw and Moscow as well. Furthermore, this February, the Slovenian carrier shut down its short-lived base in Paderborn in north-western Germany, from which it operated flights to Vienna and Zurich, that were jointly maintained a total of fifteen times per week.
During the first half of the year, Adria was forced to either cancel or modify a number of its flights due to operational reasons. In total, 2.6% of its operations were cancelled, contributing to the overall passenger decline. The Slovenian airline is unlikely to reach its 2018 traffic figures during which it handled 1.23 million passengers, an increase of 1.5% on the year before. In June, Adria's CEO, Holger Kowarsch, noted, "Last year we handled 1.2 million passengers, and only 400.000 of those were in and out of Ljubljana, the rest were transfers". The airline's busiest year to date remains 1987 when it welcomed 1.740.000 travellers on board its aircraft.
Meanwhile, Adria Airways is continuing negotiations with potential strategic partners. Despite recent media reports that interested American investors, which have been identified as Mesa Airlines, have walked away after undertaking due diligence of the Slovenian carrier, Adria has denied the claims, noting that the potential strategic partners were still reviewing the business. For its part, Mesa Airlines refused to either confirm or deny its interest in Adria, noting to EX-YU Aviation News, "As a public company, we are unable to comment on any involvement in potential corporate transactions". Earlier, Adria said it needed a strategic partner in order to expand its operations.
Considering all the trouble they went through and all the cuts I though their numbers would have gone down much more, so this isn't that bad.
ReplyDeleteIt goes to show that those new routes they launched last year probably didn't have too many passengers,
DeleteThat can also be seen from 2018s passenger result. Numbers grew only 1.5% with 8 new routes. That's terrible.
DeleteSorry to say but they still haven't gotten their house in order. There are still ongoing flight cancellations.
ReplyDeleteAny cancellations today?
DeleteNot yet for today. Vienna has been cancelled for tomorrow. Yesterday Sofia was cancelled.
DeleteOk, so we are down to one cancellation a day. Not too bad. Are flights still linked?
DeleteYes from time to time. It depends on the day. The fleet is stretched to the maximum so if there is a technical glitch with one plane it has an impact on the whole schedule.
DeleteSo what next for Adria? Will we see any new routes any time soon?
ReplyDeleteNo, we will just see them doing more and more ACMIs and leasing planes to other airlines. I expect them to further downsize scheduled ops from Ljubljana.
DeleteThey might have an issue with Swiss which is leasing 2 Saabs from Adria. Apparently Swiss is considering ending Zurich-Lugano where these planes are used. That would be the end for a significant source of income for JP.
DeleteWe will see how many aircraft they manage to lease in winter.
DeleteI don't think there will be any new routes any time soon unfortunately.
DeleteI agree with anon 9.04. Wet leasing their equipment to other airlines brings in nice money.
DeleteBut which serious airline in Europe is doing ACMI?
DeleteThey are crying how they need government support, yet half of their fleet is leased out.
Avion Express is serious airline in Europe doing ACMI . Fleet of 22 Airbus 320/321. The World's biggest narrow-body ACMI operator. Operating for United Nations, Thomas Cook, Condor, Norwegian, Transavia, Royal Air Maroc, Sun Express and Onur Air in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Jordan and Turkey. In winter also operates in Chile, Cuba and Cambodia. Recently opened Maltese branch with aim of going long-haul with A330. If you don't mind, I would call it a serious airline. From Europe.
DeleteairBaltic is doing ACMI. Two A220 for Lufthansa, at the moment YL-AAO and YL-AAQ. And from Riga are flying 20+ year old 737s. And one 737 is flying for TUI fly Nordic.
DeleteAvion Express is an ACMI operator, not an airline.
DeleteDo they have any schedules flights under their own flight number?
"Last year we handled 1.2 million passengers, and only 400.000 of those were in and out of Ljubljana, the rest were transfers"
ReplyDeletetells you everything of how big the marlet is
Tells you more about Adria's incompetence rather than market size. The market is big enough, as is evidenced by success of foreign airlines and growth of passengers at LJU.
Deleteforeign airlines have only 200.000
DeleteLjubljana airport had around 1.8 million passengers last year. Adria had around 1.2 million passengers. Simple math then tells me other airlines had roughly 600.000 passengers. And that was only last year. This year will be even better.
DeleteActually even more because around 100,000 of Adria pax were from Pristina routes. Plus they had some from Tirana.
DeleteGreat partner they have planned
ReplyDeleteMesa Air Group Stock Crashes 32% on Operational Problems
"One year ago, eight years after filing for bankruptcy, Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ: MESA) returned to the public markets, completing an IPO at $12 per share. The regional airline has taken investors on a bumpy ride since then, with the shares losing nearly half of their value.
The latest turbulence struck near the end of last week. The company reported disappointing results for the third quarter of its 2019 fiscal year and its guidance raised the possibility that things could get even worse. Let's take a look at why Mesa Air Group stock plunged 32% on Friday and what the company would need to do to bounce back."
The fairy tale with Mesa will not materialize.
DeleteHave a feeling they will arrange and announce the sale just before they release their catastrophic financial results for 2018.
DeleteSale to whom?
DeleteDo you think potential buyer would buy Adria without reviewing its financials?
The fact that results are not published does not mean that Adria themselves or the potential misterious investors don't know the real picture.
Why didn't they expand in Pristina and did a deal with the tour agencies instead of letting Eurowings do it? That would be a nice source of passengers and income.
ReplyDeleteAnd we are STILL waiting on their financial results for last year.
ReplyDeleteI think they usually release it in September.
DeleteI'm also very interested in their financial results for last year. I don't think there was much to sell so we should get a clear picture of how healthy the business is.
DeleteLet me fix that for you
Delete*get a clear picture of how unhealthy the business is
They are obliged to publish them till the 30.8.
DeleteThanks
DeleteAny info about load factor?
ReplyDeleteThey reduced some (among the unprofitable) unprofitable routes. So it's logically to expect the load to go up.
DeleteIf they can combine flights like MUC and ZRH and still do it with CRJ9... That tells you everything about the LF.
DeletePeople have stopped booking flights with JP, which is a disaster for cashflow. ACMI and the banana CAA are the only two things keeping them in the half-dead state.
They will say 'bad press' is to blame for the passenger numbers.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth do they plan on surviving the upcoming winter season?
ReplyDeleteThey hope to find a partner that will pump some cash in.
DeleteAnd what happens if they don't?
DeleteIt really is a 'do or die' situation. Because if they don't raise money for the winter they will have to liquidate the airline and that would be bad for everyone involved.
DeleteI think Adria's liquidation would not be bad for everyone.
DeleteSuppliers would not get into even more debt. Passengers would not have even more unpaid claims for delays/cancellations. Passengers would eventually get a more variety of choice of airlines to fly with from LJU.
Yes, people would lose jobs in the short term. But anybody that has worked in Adria for the past couple of years is surely ready for that?
Adria now has a bad reputation and communication with its local market. This is something that is a problem and will become an even bigger problem.
ReplyDeleteMaybe time to refresh the brand?
DeleteIt's a brand worth preserving.
DeleteYes, Adria's brand is really platinum quality. Everybody knows it to be a reliable airline with good customer support when things go wrong.
DeleteSo how many passengers could they have by the end of the year?
ReplyDeleteJust above 1 million in my opinion.
DeleteThe amount of charters they are doing this summer will help with limiting the passenger decline in the second half of the year.
ReplyDeleteI like Adria. Fingers crossed they manage to get out of the problems they are having,
ReplyDeleteHope they will have more luck in 2020. Don't forget that Slovenia is surrounded by countries from which there are many cheap flights (Trieste, Klagenfurt).
DeleteMany cheap flights from Trieste and Klagenfurt? Are you serious?
DeleteTrieste
Eurowings - Cologne
Ryanair - Bari, Catania, Stansted, Valencia
Volotea - Naples
Klagenfurt
easyJet - Gatwick (seasonal)
Eurowings - Cologne
Transavia - Rotterdam (seasonal)
Maybe you meant Treviso...
That's still a bigger LCC presence then in Ljubljana for example.
DeleteThat is minor LCC presence for countries like Austria or Italy and it is surely far from "many cheap flights".
DeleteAnd surely not more than in LJU
Ljubljana
easyJet - Berlin, London- Gatwick, london - Stansted
Transavia - Amsterdam
Wizzair - London Luton, Charleroi (seasonal)
Klagenfurt has barely a flight!
DeleteWell, the point is that Slovens during summer season fly from Venice Marco Polo, Treviso, and even Pula (which btw, during summer have much more LCC flights than Klagenfurt, Triest or Ljubljana). But all in all, the market is not that big.
DeleteNobody claimed Slovens do not fly from the airports you mentioned (therefore I asked if you meant Treviso and not Trieste), but saying that LCC presence in Klagenfurt or Trieste is big looks funny.
DeleteExactly due to the fact Slovens fly with LCC's from Treviso or Venice shows that Slovenia needs LCC airport and Maribor is perfect for it...
Unfortunately no vision about it.
Beside Venice, Treviso and Pula, Slovens also fly from Zagreb, Graz and Viena. Business with airports shuttles is growing.
DeleteAll airlines in the region are growing only JP is getting smaller .
ReplyDeleteOU isnt growing...but its neither shrinking.
DeleteOperationally not, but their passenger numbers are growing.
DeleteProbably LJU has the most competition from surrounding airports in all the exYU so the numbers for Adria aren't that bad actually (+considering the size of Slovene population).
ReplyDeleteand the smallest market
DeleteAt the end of the day, their passenger numbers don't mean that much. What is important is how their finances are performing.
ReplyDeleteJP please return to MBX!
ReplyDeleteThey won't.
DeleteIt's very unfortunate they don't even consider Maribor yet they fly from Pristina
DeleteSorry but every flight that was ever launched out of Maribor failed.
DeleteMaribor could only work for Adria if like in Nis the government gives subsidies for certain routes.
Deletei wish Wizz grab MBX, can serve the yu-diaspora in SLO
DeleteIt is such a pity FR does not fly to Maribor.
DeleteIt is perfect airport for them and it could be alternative to LJU. Slovenia is not a big country and by landing in Maribor one could see all country by car.
Especially if we take in consideration there are almost no LCC companies in surrounding airports (Ljubljana, Klagenfurt, Graz, Zagreb) and the fact village / spa tourism could largely benefit from these flights.
I know FR was flying to Maribor only from Stansted, but they stopped as soon as the financial stimulation dried out.
Shame.
Maribor could be a great option for ZAG too, since they are doing absolutely nothing to attract any LCC.
DeleteI would just re-phrase or re - formulate your post : If you don't have interested LCC'S, or airlines in general, you need to do stuff to attract them to fly to your airport. On the contrary, ZAG was approached by Wizz, Easyjet, Ryanair, Transavia, Laudamotion and Volotea, so ZAG does not need to do anything to attract LCC'S to fly there. They want to fly to ZAG. But ZAG is doing everything possible to CHASE THEM AWAY in order to protect grandious failure called Croatia Airlines.
DeleteTrue.
DeleteHopefully they will stabilize now and the second half of the year should be much better.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI think one of JP's problems is its fleet. They often have to fly their regular routes with an Airbus with 50 pax on board. It is just too big. Other than for charters, they really don't need those A319s.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly they are not leasing those out.
DeleteThe problem is not the fleet, but rather neccessity to do ACMI to get cash to keep running the show. And then keeping maintenance costs to a minimum, resulting in multiple AOGs at the same time, while not paying their maintenance provider and then publicly blaming them in the media.
DeleteBalkan style.
What was the most passengers they handled post-Yugoslav era?
ReplyDelete2008. They handled 1,302,172 pax.
DeleteThat was the year Slovenia held the rotating EU presidency. Numbers really went up. At LJU as well.
DeleteHopefully there will be a same affect in 2021 when Slovenia gets the presidency again.
DeleteAnd hopefully Adria will be around in 2021 to benefit from it.
DeleteIt is so sad and desperate when we hope that numbers will go up for next EU presidency (2021!). Same with ZAG. Hoping that EU presidency will save winter. Sad.
DeleteWell it has definitely lifted pax numbers in smaller markets in the past.
DeleteAnd? It's a one time occasion.
DeleteDecline not as big as I expected. So it makes sense now that LJU wasn't that affected and that foreign airlines were able to make up for JP's loss.
ReplyDeleteThe climate at JP is not well and as a passenger u feel it.
ReplyDeleteThe climate has been that way at Adria for the last 5 years.
DeleteEven more
DeleteI feel sorry for Adria. It was a good airline once but I think the same fate awaits all small Lufthansa feeder airlines.
ReplyDeleteAdria can be happy that it is in Star Alliance .
DeleteAlso it can be happy to feed LHs
Frankfurt and Munich .
LH is also feeding Adria dont forget this !
Without Star Alliance and LH Adria would be
gone ...some years before !
I agree if it weren't for LH group leasing planes from Adria, the company would have been gone long ago.
DeleteWell all airlines that are trying to concentrate on 4-coupon traffic to the Balkans will see the same fate of Malev. You just can't make profit out of these ethnic markets. JP has probably now learned its lesson after burning another 50 million € last year. Better would be to create a sister company called Balkan (name is neutral) and place 1-2 aircraft in PRN and 1-2 in SJJ. JP should be flying out of LJU just to main airports on daily/daily basis and codeshare with others where they don't fly (if mastermind LH allows that). Keep fingers out of "hubbing" into LJU.
ReplyDelete+100 exactly. But they already said they are again planning to link western Europe to the Balkans and turn LJU into a transfer hub *facepalm*
DeleteThere is actually good money to be made with multi-coupon tickets from a yields point of view. But then, many on this forum incorrectly think filling a plane with cheap seats rendering the route a loss is more important than flying a half-empty plane which is breaking even, or even better.
DeleteThe big question is: which market are their flights trying to serve? Local O&D? Connecting pax? High-yield business travellers? Leisure travel? Diaspora traffic? You *can't* do all of these at the same time!!
Deletewhy not?
Deleteoffer a nice business class product and cheap eco class, and you get em all. just look at Emirates.
Air Serbia tried that in the first few years and it didn't work. And yes it can work with Emirates with 200+ aircraft fleet. Not with small Balkan airlines with10-15 aircraft.
DeleteI'm an Slovene but I hope they will bankrupt soon and that we finish with this agony.
ReplyDeleteI work for big international company and travelling frequently. In last 2 months they have canceled 6 of my flights.my collegues are traveling as well and this is impacting our business.
I hope some other carrier comes and brings order and lower t8cket prices.
wow that is unfortunate - 6 flights cancelled in two months. I can imagine how annoying it must be.
DeleteI'm Slovenian and have a business partners who travels weekly to Slovenia. We've been lucky in the last 1.5 years had 3 irregularities. I know their operational performance is crap.
DeleteI hope Adria survive under another owner who would pick this airline from the embarrassment they brought in. It effects the country, citizens, employees, ... I'm sure, after JP, there will be never ever any airline flying to LJU for a long time double/tripple daily to major hubs in Europe.
More interesting would be LOADFACTOR
ReplyDeleteThere LF has for years been ranging between 65-69%
DeleteOuch
DeleteTo my opinion this figures doesn't tell much as the airline was flying ACMI's (and charters) in the period, which kept their liquidity up.
ReplyDeleteSame time this airline is serously legible to review (if not revoke) their operational license. License is based on route concessions which are part of state billateral agreements and many times they simply ignore their schedule.
As written above, their (Schedule) Completion rate was 97.4%. I question if that's true. I've seen worst KPI's but in reality this airline produced a lot more chaos. I can't recall any EU airline, particulary with such a heritage, to strend their passengers at their main hub while ignorat flying ACMI around Europe. I cant recall any airline in Europe would merge their flights. How embarrassing is that?
Does anyone know how that performed financially in the first half of 2019?
ReplyDeleteWe still don't even have their financial results for 2018 yet.
DeleteThe best solution would be for Adria:
ReplyDelete- operate key routes from LJU, prinarily Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Forget Balkan hub model.
- Try to get as many ACMI contracts as possible, particularly in winter.
- Keep PRN base with main links to Germany and Austria.
Easier said then done.
DeleteThere is huge competition in ACMI market too.
DeleteThat's why a partner like Mesa Airlines would be really beneficial.
DeleteMesa and other USA regional carriers (SkyWest, Republic etc) are not classic ACMI as what Adria is doing now. Big US3 are basically outsourcing regional flying to those lower cost providers, not just adding capacity to their own regional fleets where needed. They are also generally providing services to competing carriers (AA and UA in case of Mesa).
DeleteAdria planes on the other hand are being used by airlines using Miles&More loyalty. LH is out of Luxair but links are still there. LH would love to kill all regional services in the Group and give it to Adria (as Mesa Europe?) at a lower cost but it won't work for many reasons. Legal issues, unions, different countries and languages unlike single USA market, no scope clause as in the USA etc.
If not Mesa Europe others will. I think there is a business case operating for LH group.
DeleteSomebody knows where the OS DH4 will be going?
Most of the people writing here are just jelous because some people did something with their lives!!! Being a pilot or a cabin crew is a very hard and rewarding job. It's a lifestyle...and i applaud those people for standing up and figjting for their rights. LCCs did a damage to all aviation! Because of them aviation is no longer what it was and it will never be! I hope the story will have a happy ending. People who don't work in aviation don't have a clue about anything. They think that being a pilot or a cabin crew means that you travel to exotic countries, staying in 5 star hotels and doing nothing else. Sitting in an office for 8 hours or being in air for 8hours is a completly different story and they will never get it!!! I would say to those people, just try for 1 week flying every day for 10-12 hours and 56 hors in 7 days and than write stupid commentš. I really want to know how would they comment than..
ReplyDelete