There are few surprises within Adria Airways’ recently released summer schedule, most of the destinations in a timetable slated to come into force on March 26th have figured in the Slovenian flag carrier’s roster for many years. Although ownership of the Brnik-based airline has now passed to German investment vehicle 4K Invest Adria’s schedule is unaffected, enabling its new custodians to assess the performance of a summer timetable so vital to the carrier’s bottom line. Although it is uncertain if 4K are in it for the long haul, it is certain they will closely monitor the cost-effectiveness and load factors of each route to determine the direction of the corresponding 2017 schedule.
Although there are few standout routes from its primary Ljubljana base and additional hubs in Pristina, Tirana and Lodz, a new service connecting the Slovenian capital with Cologne three times per week is predicated on boosting reciprocal tourist trade. There is also an additional flight each week between Brnik and Schiphol but crucially, there is no mention in Adria’s summer timetable of any services it intends to schedule from Maribor, from where in 2015 it operated its first flights in fifteen years from Edvard Rusjan Airport.
Whilst reinforcing their presence in Albania and Kosovo, Adria have sought to broaden their horizons away from its finite Slovenian market. The operation of the former Estonian Air’s(EA) schedule under the aegis of its newly formed successor, the Nordic Aviation Group, affords Adria an opportunity to diversify its portfolio using EA’s fleet under its Slovenian Air Operator’s Certificate(AOC). The arrangement with the Estonian government is expected to last up to 18 months. Further services operated away from its traditional borders see a Slovenian aviational slant added to sunshine charter flights to the Greek resorts of Kefalonia and Kavala from nearby Austrian cities of Graz and Klagenfurt.
The one introduction to Adria’s summer schedule that the airline successfully managed to keep below the radar sees a somewhat left-field introduction of flights to Munich from the little known northeastern Polish city of Olsztyn, a service presumably heavily subsidized by the local municipality. A well-researched destination in Poland’s lake district, an area once heavily populated with a Teutonic demographic prior to their expulsion at the end of World War 2, should though prove popular with German tourists.
Summer season flights from Ljubljana, Pristina, Lodz and Tirana are now available for sale; as of yet seats on Adria’s thrice weekly service from Olsztyn are unavailable for purchase.
Adria Airways’ initiatory summer timetable can be viewed in full at:
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