Adria Airways will today commence one of its biggest network expansions to date with seven new routes to be launched this summer season. Despite scheduling inaugural flights from Ljubljana to Sofia, Bucharest and Hamburg for today, the airline has pushed back the latter two, as new crew members undergo training. Instead, only the service to Sofia will be launched this afternoon, with Bucharest to follow on March 27 and Hamburg on April 1. Services to Geneva and Dusseldorf, as well as seasonal flights to Dubrovnik and Brač, will be introduced over the next month. Initially, all of the airline's new routes were to run with the fifty-seat Saab 2000 turboprop aircraft, previously operated by its now defunct subsidiary Adria Airways Switzerland. However, their arrival has been delayed with entry into service not expected before June. Until then, all of the airline's new flights will be operated by a mix of Bombardier CRJ700 and CRJ900 aircraft. The carrier recently added two newly leased CRJ900s to its fleet.

Launch of new Sofia service, Ljubljana Airport

Commenting on the new route launches, the company said, "At Adria Airways, we want to maintain our position as a reliable airline and good market player. By introducing these new connections we will also be opening up new opportunities for both business and tourism". It added. "Adria Airways will consistently continue to improve its offerings and has ambitious plans for 2018. The year will be dedicated to opening more connections between cities in Europe and the Balkan region. With the implementation of novelties and optimisations, Adria Airways is continuously committed to improving the travel experience and offering the most convenient way of travelling in the region".

Route	Launch date
Ljubljana - Sofia	25.03.2018
Ljubljana - Geneva	26.03.2018
Ljubljana - Bucharest	27.03.2018
Ljubljana - Hamburg	01.04.2018
Ljubljana - Dusseldorf	26.04.2018
Ljubljana - Dubrovnik	27.04.2018
Ljubljana - Brač	28.04.2018

Adria's Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Schneider, said, "This year will be key for Adria Airways and this is why we are happy to follow our growth strategy by launching seven new destinations out of Ljubljana. This is good for the market, this is good for the customer, because it gives more variety, more choice. We have seen the demand already in 2017 and this is why we believe that 2018 with seven new destinations will be good for the market". Adria carried over 1.2 million passengers in 2017, representing an increase of 10% on the year before. It expects for the strong growth to continue throughout 2018.