Adria Airways has announced the opening of its third base at a press conference in Paderborn in north-western Germany. The Slovenian carrier initially intended on launching services from the city this summer, however, the delay in the lease of six Saab 2000 turboprop aircraft pushed back its plans. The airline will launch flights from Paderborn to London Southend, Vienna and Zurich. Services to Switzerland's largest city are tipped to run eleven times per week, while flights to London and Vienna are expected to operate three times per week. They will launch at the start of the 2018/19 winter season, on October 29.
Adria Airways will station a Saab 2000 turboprop in Paderborn. It recently announced that six aircraft of the type would join its fleet from this September. Paderborn Airport has a limited number of flights with Lufthansa serving the city from Frankfurt and Munich on a year-round basis. All other services are maintained seasonally during the summer, primarily to holiday hotspots in Turkey and Greece. The airport handles just over 700.000 passengers per year. Paderborn is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is Germany's most populous. Outside of Ljubljana, Adria boasts a base in Pristina from which it handled 177.166 passengers in 2017. Last year, the carrier closed down its base in Lodz in Poland.
Commenting on the development, Adria Airways' Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Schneider, said, "It is of great importance and an achievement that Adria Airways will open a new base in Paderborn and start connecting this economically strong region to three major European cities. We are excited to increase our footprint in the German market by adding Paderborn as our fifth destination in Germany. Today our passengers are given even more choice and a wider spread of possibilities to travel, msays Christian Schneider, Chief Commercial Officer of Adria Airways". Marc Cezanne, the General Manager of Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport added, "We welcome the renowned airline Adria Airways at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport. Broadbased surveys of companies in our region showed that Zurich, Vienna and London are the three most demanded European destinations. We are very pleased that Adria Airways will meet the demand by serving these European metropolises. Along with the connections to Frankfurt and Munich, we are now connected to the four hubs of the Lufthansa Group".
Over the past few years Adria also considered stationing aircraft in Klagenfurt in Austria, as well as Verona, Bratislava and Bern.
Over the past few years Adria also considered stationing aircraft in Klagenfurt in Austria, as well as Verona, Bratislava and Bern.
Illustration courtesy of Miha Žnidar
They only have enough crews for one airplane.
ReplyDeleteNot true. They can immediatly start with 4 airplanes.
DeleteIt is now becoming clear that the airline is Lufthansa owned.
ReplyDeleteBanana airliners in all cases.
DeleteAnd how has that become clear?
DeleteJust feeding LH hubs.
Deletejust because they open a base in Germany doesn't mean they are "LH -owned". German market is more lucrative than ex-yu or polish markets.. and the owners are Germans so they know this market better...
Deletethey are going just after some of the most profitable passengers that LH has in PAD. Does not look like they are supporting LH.
DeleteThey are Star alliance, what are they supposed to do, feed One World hubs??
DeleteThe General Manager of Paderborn Airport said "we are now connected to the four hubs of the Lufthansa Group".
DeleteSeems to me like they consider JP to be part of that goup.
*group
DeleteAnd just when I was happy they were focusing on LJU. They must be getting some subsidies to start flights from this city, like they did in Lodz.
ReplyDeleteThey have to do something with their Saabs
DeleteLJU market is too small for Adria's planned fleet at the current prices. It could probably support couple of LCCs 737/A320s, but that's a completely different price range.
DeleteAgree with the comment above. They have grown beyond Ljubljana and its potential. I support them exploring new markets.
DeleteBravo Nemčija!
ReplyDeleteThe first airline from the exyu to open bases outside our region!
ReplyDeleteGood work Adria!
+1
DeleteThey are truly becoming an international conglomerate
DeleteI still think they should have opened Skopje a couple of years ago. Could have made some good money there.
DeleteWho are they going to serve there? Is there a large catchment area or something?
ReplyDeleteIt is the biggest state of Germany's according to the article.
DeleteYes but this is not the biggest city and the state itself has many, many other airports. So who will fly on Adria's tiny turboprops?
DeleteTiny people, of course!
DeleteIt is a very affluent city.
DeleteThese routes, especially ZRH and VIE, were requested by the local economy. There are some big players in the region around the airport, for example Claas, Miele, Nixdorf or Benteler and additionally numerous smaller companies, which are highly specialized in their field. So hopefully, the new routes will be succesfull. I have some doubts regarding SEN...
DeleteThey are going for the people that normally fly business class on LH in the morning via FRA or MUC to ZRH and back in the evening of the same day.
DeleteIf they can get 10 of those people on an average day, the whole operation is already profitable, no matter how the operation to Vienna and Southend preform. The catchment area would be rather large for touristic destinations, but they should not care for that, because if they preform reliably for the business travelers that are within 80km of the airport, everything will be perfect.
jer je SAAB jedna biznis masina.
DeleteThey shouldn't be criticized for trying.
ReplyDeleteThey tried in Lodz.
DeleteAnd they served until they were getting money for it from state government. Smart.
DeleteI'm just wondering how can this be profitable for JP? I mean they have to base crew there, they have to have some person on the ground there...
ReplyDeleteThey can hire people who will live there?
Deleteby selling few expensive tickets.
DeleteAdria always made the weirdest decisions :D
ReplyDeletethey never stop to amaze.
DeleteSmart strategy to move to higher yield markets.
ReplyDeleteAgree
DeleteThey should just move out of Ljubljana completely, move all their assets to higher yield markets.
No but it is good to seek new opportunities.
DeleteWhat's interesting is that Dortmund airport is just 82 km away and Wizz Air will be launching its own VIE-DTM flights this coming November.
ReplyDeleteDTM is less than an hour away from Dusseldorf meaning it can act as a cheaper alternative to DUS. Even with that the airport barely passed the 2 million passenger mark last year.
DTM-London isn't even that big, 118.500 to STN and 94.219 to Luton. I can imagine PAD will be even smaller. Hopefully there will be enough passengers on these flights but I think this has Lodz written all over it.
In my opinion JP should have concentrated on expanding LJU and in building a critical mass it desperately needs in order to make it.
Well, not everyone is obsessed with low cost carriers... business travelers avoid them so the fact that this is a business catchment area speaks in favour of the decision of Adria to base an aircraft there...
DeleteBusinessmen no longer avoid lowcost airlines. At least not in the west.
DeleteAnd a premium service they will get on these 20-something old Saabs. A glass of free water and some extra leg room on a flight that lasts an hour and a half.
DeleteThese Saabs are actually super comfortable. Comfort aside, I'd much rather fly with a legacy carrier than with a LCC due to frequencies and connectivity.
DeleteOk but what value as a legacy does JP bring to PAD? Their product is the same as Wizz or Ryan.
DeleteNemjee do you have numbers for Dtm to our region? :)
DeleteBusiness travellers avoid LCCs? Surely in the Eastern Europe where looking good is the most importan aspect, particularly if government is paying for your ticket. Try to board a Ryanair or easyJet flight in the UK and you will see 1/3rd of passengers are business people.
DeleteAnon 10.16
DeleteSure, here is the list for our region.
1. OTP - 118.798 (117.493)
2. SOF - 114.221 (109.379)
3. BUD - 81.757 (102.245)
4. SKP - 51.326 (49.575)
5. BEG - 51.257 (50.059)
6. TZL - 49.781 (49.319)
7. INI - 33.384
8. SKG - 27.151
Why such drop in BUD?
Deletethey are flying with a Saab targeting business travelers!
DeleteWhat insights you get by comparing with gastarbeiter routes on off hours?
No Dortmund flights to Croatia at all? Seems strange knowing how well Croatia is connected with Germany
DeleteOnly SPLIT is connected with DTM. Zadar failed by Germanwings and Zagreb failed by WIZZ, easyJet and Germanwings.
DeleteAnon 13.06
DeleteYes, PAD is known as a business hub. LOL!!!
Business people need reliability. As long as they are not cancelled or continuously delayed than businesses are more than happy to save a buck and fly their employers on LCCs. (Lower end employees in most cases I meant of course).
DeleteWhat's up with them doing so much in Germany? They fly to Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Dusseldorf and now they are opening a base in Paderborn.
ReplyDeleteWell the company is German owned.
DeleteIsn't 4K from Luxembourg?
DeleteТhat's just a cover because taxes in Luxembourg are extremely low. That's why half of US companies are registered there too. 4K is a company from Munich.
DeleteDidn't realize. Makes sense now.
DeleteThey should base one SAAB in OHD. They could at least use the subsidies offered
ReplyDeleteYeah right! Flying around 6.5h from OHD to CPH on a SAAB for 280 eur and getting a glas of water.
DeleteActually they could connect OHD to their TIA base where passengers could connect their onward journey and use LH’s extensive network in MUC and FRA
DeleteWhy not LJU but TIA? Doesnt make any sense
DeleteBecause if they want to get the subsidies from the govmt, they have to fly to destinations that are not served from SKP (and vice versa)
DeleteIma li kraja ovim pokusa JP da nesto konkretno napravi ??? Mogli su napraviti i bazu i kompaniju u BiH kao EU kompanija dobro bi prosli ali su Slovenci prodali mozak odavno. Svakako su im slicni avioni - propelerci kao sto je BiH imala.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they only need to focus on the Balkans? Plenty of business opportunities elsewhere.
DeleteExactly what last anon said. Sometime I notice people here think only the Balkans matter.
DeleteNext summer season combined base Pula/Rijeka, mostly for leisure customers !
ReplyDeleteOr brac?
Deleteahahahahaha ok
DeleteWhat does a combined base mean?
DeleteIs Saab2000 certified for the approach into LCY? If yes, they should try to get a slot there instead of SEN as a majority of passengers to London will probably be businessmen getting to London City.
ReplyDeleteIt is, although slots are expensive and people prefer proper aircraft like E175/190/195 instead of old knackered turboprops. Have a look at ticket prices to LCY and ask yourself if you would be happy to fly on a 20 year old turboprop for that kind of money.
DeleteFlew to LCY from GVA last month for 80€ return, bought 3 weeks in advance. Also Alitalia has pretty reasonable fares from LIN. So it should not be too expensive.
DeleteIf for example VLM flies there from Antwerp I do not see a reason why Adria would not from Paderborn.
So whats the difference between flying SB20 or fishpacked bus of LX or LH? I recommend all the trolls to simply get a Gulf or Global. You can cert SB20 to LCY, D0 was flying it in the past, it just make no sense. Way too expensive.
DeleteBA operates wet leased Saab 2000 in BA livery from LCY.
DeletePAD is in the system now.
ReplyDeleteYep. Frequencies as mentioned in the text.
DeleteWhat are the prices like?
DeleteStick to LJU and develop it instead of spreading yourself thin with tiny bases elsewhere!!
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteThose birds will look nice in Adria livery. Love the illustration.
ReplyDeleteExactly my thoughts too. Absolutely love Adria's livery on the Saab 2000.
DeleteI think it look a lot better than on Airbus 319.
I will be rooting for them to do well.
wow go Adria - the new wings of Europe!
ReplyDeletelol I see what you did there.
DeleteIncredible!
ReplyDeleteHow can anything be so good?
GO ADRIA!
11 weekly to ZRH? Is there such strong demand?
ReplyDeleteIt's flights from Germany. Of course there is demand for Switzerland.
DeleteInteresting strategy they have going. Let's see if it will work
ReplyDeleteWell let's hope for the best. At the end of the day Adria is a regional airline with a very small base of potential travellers on scheduled routes out from Slovenia. In this situation there is just no other way for it than to expand on other markets too.
ReplyDeletePAD will probably subsidize the flights and that's why Adria is interested. Remember that the Lodz flights were also subsidized and as soon as those ended they stopped flying from Lodz.
ReplyDeleteAdria flew to Southend from Maribor in 2015. Hopefully Paderbron route will be more successful.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if or how long it will be before they open a base in Croatia. There seemed to have been a 'gentleman's agreement' between Adria and OU for sometime now but Croatia must be tempting for them.
ReplyDelete"Marc Cezanne, the General Manager of Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport added, "We welcome the renowned airline Adria Airways"
ReplyDeleteRenowned? That's going a bit too far.
Impressive work from Adria, recognizing the potential of the Slovenian market and the need to expand into other routes. They've been very creative with their expansion.
ReplyDeleteCan they do all this with one plane?
ReplyDeleteYes, without any issue.
DeleteWho will fly from Paderborn/Lippstadt to London Southend?! I can't get this one.
ReplyDeleteThere is a British army base next to Paderborn. Nowadays only some 200 folks. It used to be a massive base till few years ago.
DeleteThere is also demand for business travellers of course between the cities of Paserborn/Kassel/Bielefeld/Guetersloh/Lippstadt (In total 900.000 inhabitants) and London - plus leisure demand which will mostly be served by Wizz from DTM to LON though.
Adria will; why is this confusing?
DeleteSo from where will the cabin crew be? Slovenia or Germany?
ReplyDeleteJP are a smart arse airline. They chose PAD because there will be nearly zero competition from other airlines as 95% of the PAD routes are leisure to Egipat, Bugarska, turska, etc.
ReplyDeleteАlso Шпанија....
Bravo bravo JP, well done!!!