Adria Airways: Increased passenger numbers vindicate focus on Ljubljana-based routes

Slovenia’s flag carrier shows further signs of stability since 4K Invest acquired the former publically owned airline.

The return by Adria Airways to its core principle of focusing on services from Ljubljana’s Brnik Airport has been vindicated by an 11% year on year increase in passenger numbers, for the four months to April 30th, 2017.

An unusually strong winter period and greater demand for its seasonal charter and scheduled services accounts for the 320,000 passengers using Slovenia’s flag carrier, who have mitigated the loss of several municipal-subsidized ventures in Poland by increasing frequencies from Brnik on many of its most popular, predominantly ex-Yugoslav routes. Whilst seen as Adria’s bread and butter services to the likes of Podgorica, Skopje, Pristina, and Sarajevo are enduringly popular and apparently profitable – routes that must remain at the heart of the airline’s ethos as part of an overall diverse roster of flights.

An interesting concept to address fluctuating passenger load factors has also been adopted by Adria. The innovative third-party Optiontown format allows travellers to upgrade for a nominal fee to business class on the day of departure, subject to availability. Whilst such an idea hardly represents new thinking within the industry, coupled with the option of allowing economy travellers to purchase an adjacent empty seat when the opportunity arises shows that the 4K Invest-owned airline will not die wondering when seeking to increase revenue through otherwise non-conventional but established industry-accepted practices.

Whilst Adria Airway continue to investigate additional routes there finally seems to be a general acceptance that although unglamourous, the traditional links with its fellow former Yugoslav republics that have strengthened since secession form the basis for its continued upturn in fortunes. In particular in the Balkan region Adria is an established, trusted name synonymous with Slovenian efficiency. Although putting most of its eggs in the South East European basket doesn’t necessarily represent sound business thinking, it is surely expedient for the airline to move away from a financial model that relied in part on Polish municipal subsidies that couldn’t guarantee success or longevity, for otherwise obscure routes that generated negligible interest.

In possibly the hardest industry of all to effectuate stable trading conditions, let alone turn a profit, aviation’s modus operandi has always been predicated on close attention to market conditions, and not being afraid to axe routes that could ultimately ruin an airline. If Adria has rediscovered its regional niche, this is where it should focus much of its resources. There is though a fine line between complacency and recklessness, which, when the airline seeks to broaden its range of destinations, must be carefully negotiated. The risk/reward ratio attached to future expansion must never put in jeopardy the routes that have effectively brought Adria back from the brink of extinction, ultimately stabilizing Slovenia’s primary carrier.

Source: Ex Yugoslav Aviation – exyuaviation.com