Adria Airways' Managing Director, Holger Kowarsch, has held talks with the Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec to discuss cooperation and the company's future plans. It comes just weeks after Mr Šarec blasted the company, labelling it as an example of a Slovenian brand tarnished by foreign investors. "Following the Prime Minister’s statement given on Labour Day, Adria Airways requested the meeting and we are genuinely pleased that the Prime Minister accepted the initiative. The meeting was held on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 during which Adria presented the Prime Minister with the company's status and business plans for the future", the airline said. It added, "Discussions were also held on ways to implement greater cooperation, especially in light of the forthcoming Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union [from July until December of 2021]. The company wants to form a constructive dialogue and more active cooperation with the state in addressing the issues of the private sector, while at the same time anticipating for the state to actively participate in the shaping of the business environment".
Adria was forced to deny reports made by Slovenian portal "Siol" of a fiery meeting between the two, during which Mr Kowarsch requested state aid. According to "Siol", Adria's part-owner, 4K Invest, has threatened to shut the airline and lay off several hundred employees if the government did not help. It reported that voices were raised at the meeting which was designed to secure state aid. Denying the reports, the carrier said, "Adria Airways strongly rejects all claims on requesting state aid, and again emphasises that the meeting was held with the aim of improving co-operation and expectations regarding the future vision of the development of air transport in Slovenia. Adria Airways condemns the continuing negative reporting about the company and its business, and expresses concern over extremely harmful claims occurring in the media. The management, employees and owners are striving not only for the existence of a Slovenian carrier on a daily basis, but also for its stable development". It added, "Constant negative reporting continues to cause severe business damage and due to lies in the media Adria Airways is being forced to take legal action in order to protect its interests and the interests of its employees".
The Prime Minister's office confirmed that a meeting took place, during which he was presented with information regarding Adria's current business situation. Mr Šarec and State Secretary Vojmir Urlep expressed hope that Adria would provide regular and stable air links between Slovenia and key European cities with an appropriate business strategy and development plan. No mention was made of the alleged exchange between the two sides regarding state aid, as reported by "Siol".
When politics get involved with airlines, things start to become fishy...
ReplyDeleteWell, they showed the transcript of the conversation between our PM and Kowarsch - Kowarsch is lying, he was 'threatening' the PM.
ReplyDeleteBut it doesn't really matter: Petrol has pulled the plug, meaning they have to pay the fuel regularly, further meaning that they will not be able to pay other contractors, who unlike Petrol don't give a damn about 4K.
The only question now is, are wages on time? Once they're not, it's over.
Could you give us a summary of what was said?
DeleteKowarsch told the PM that they need state aid or at least states infulence on Petrol, which has stopped accepting JP's IOUs, otherwise they will close down the company, fire workers (which is kind of logical if you're closing down the company, but he emphasized it anyways) and Slovenia will be without an airline right before taking over EU presidency.
DeletePM said they have a contigency plan and they don't need JP, and he refered them to his minister of infrastuctre, who said, they cannot give JP state aid, since the too little time has passed since the last state injection (as EU regulation dictates).
Thank you. Sounds about right.
DeleteI really wonder what the contingency is.
DeleteProbably to get LCCs to open a base in LJU.
DeleteLH Group will probably fly to VIE/FRA/MUC/BRU and the rest is not that important to them.
DeleteI'm sure Ryanair would be keen to enter the market.
DeleteThe contingency probably involves LOT opening a base in Ljubljana.
DeleteWhy LOT?
Delete"The carrier's CEO, Rafał Milczarski, noted that the airline will be focusing on the Baltics and the Balkans region, which could see similar expansion in the future. Notably, emphasis will be put on cities in the area which serve as hubs for Star Alliance member airlines with whom LOT can cooperate. Both Zagreb and Ljubljana are home to national carriers which are part of the alliance, while Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways codeshare on LOT's flights from their respective hubs to Warsaw."
DeleteOr maybe the government might should to set up a new national airline? Air Slovenia or Slovenian Airways.
DeleteNo way. The experiment failed. They should let the free market take it's course. Look at MKD. Its airports are doing just fine without a national airline.
DeleteWhat arrogance! So the media is the problem Adria is doing poorly? Not the hundreds and hundreds of cancelled flights last year, not that many are still waiting to be compensated, not that aircraft are flying with broken seats and ripped carpets, not that its PR team is arguing with customers on social media if they complain of a bad flight, not that they are still cancelling flights (even yesterday there were cancelled flights), not that they are wet leasing 30 year old planes, not that their market research was so poor that they launched 8 new routes and discontinued 7, not that they acquired Saab aircraft of which some are still grounded, not that they went and bought an airline in Switzerland through Adria and bankrupted it within a month, not that they were playing games to acquire Russian planes.... None of this has "harmed" Adria's business like they say but it is media reporting. Who are they kidding?
ReplyDeleteI truly hope the media continues to expose their complete and utter incompetence, ignorance and lies. People with no aviation knowledge purchased an airline to play with so now Kowarsch & co should live with the consequences of their actions. Hope the 30 year old Estonian helps them out. I'm so angry at what this relatively respected airline has turned into. A laughing stock ranked just recently as one of the world's worst airlines based on delayed flights and unreturned compensation claims. It must be because of the media. Not because of German or should I say 4K 'know-how'.
+ 100000
Delete@Anonymous31 May 2019 at 09:06:
DeleteVery well put! However, let's not forget who sold the company.
Well it just goes to show that not everything that is foreign is better as many people in ex-Yu republics seem to think.
DeleteFrom all this I get this is what happened. Adria met the PM to answer his concerns during his speech like any responsible business and presented their plans and version. PM got the insight and was checking what is good for Slovenia. And some irresponsible journalism started destructive campaigns like in most of the cases they do. Calm down every one. We need businesses running in this country not destroy them for our future.
ReplyDeleteExYU Aviation has to be appreciated in most of the articles they publish they maintain dignity and bring more reality than fiction in their articles. Exception ofcourse is some irresponsible user comments. They are not a full news agency though. Hope every one follows this standards.
There was a transcript of the talk published. Kowarsch literally said that he expects government to help them financially, as all other governments help airlines with aircraft upgrades and crew training costs and such...
DeleteHe does not get the concept of private ownership.
Is there somewhere we could see this transcript?
Deletehttps://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/dnevnik/174618265
Delete0:30
*grabs popcorn*
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to feel sorry for Adria. It seems everything they do turns into a mess, even a meeting with PM got them bad press.
ReplyDeleteSeeming something coordinated going against them
DeleteWho woud have something against Adria to organize a campaign? It's not as if there is firece competition on the Slovenian market.
Deletethe left parties to make an example how privatization is bad for the country. Thats why Siol (which is government owned) is always the one writing bad press Adria; they have been writing negative articles about Adria since the day it was sold to 4k.
DeleteAko se o Adriji lose pise,sta onda da kaze ErSrbija?
ReplyDeleteWell they were right to discipline the Prime Minister over the statement he made. Such statements do no good to anyone.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Is he not allowed to express his opinion. Things are far from rosy at Adria
DeleteAs a politician, he should be more responsible with his statements.
DeleteEverything he said was correct.
DeletePM just summed up everything their passengers were complaining about for more than a year now.
DeleteDon't they get subsidies from the government for flights to and from Brussels? What other sort of cooperation do they want during the presidency?
ReplyDeleteInfluence state owned companies who provide services to Adria to hold off charging them.
DeleteAs well as get money for aircraft upgrade and crew training costs, as apparantly all governemnts help their airlines like this.
DeleteI know this sounds harsh and I mean no ill will but I'm starting to doubt that Adria will be around for the presidency in 2 yrs.
ReplyDeleteThey will be around, don't worry.
DeleteNo one's worried, but how exactly are you sure they will be?
DeleteExactly, all the trends are less then promising. When management starts making threats against the media and start accusing it of impacting their business they start to sound like some start up airline and makes me think the end is near.
DeleteHow could the government even give them state aid? Isn't it against EU regulations.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at Alitalia.
DeleteIronically Adria complained about the aid Alitalia gets.
DeleteThey did??
DeleteYes!
Delete"Adria Airways has filed a complaint against Alitalia with the European Commission over what it sees as illegal state aid provided by the Italian government to its national carrier"
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/06/adria-complains-over-alitalia-aid.html?m=1
State aid can only be given once every 10 years. JP is eligable in 2021.
Delete@9.29 wow I missed that. Ironic indeed.
Delete@9.32 but can the state provide aid to a 100% privately owned company?
Delete@0942
DeleteIt can, but (quote from EC):
''Therefore, the Treaty generally prohibits State aid unless it is justified by reasons of general economic development''
Given the many EU airlines that were closed in the past few years, it is highly unikely JP's state aid would be justified.
The soap drama continues.
ReplyDeleteYou can just see that something isn't right and that something did happen at the meeting. Sarec says how Adria was told to operate with an appropriate business strategy and development plan. Doubt it was a tea party the airline wants us to believe.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of what happened Adria needs to hire some PR agency to do major positive campaign about them. The airline has lost a lot of trust and PM is completely right that the brand has been tarnished.
ReplyDeleteYou need to have at least some minor positive things happening before lunch a PR campaign.
DeleteThere is no any good news from Adria lately...
Not only that you also have to have money to launch a campaign. Something they are obviously in short supply of.
DeleteI remember reading some two years ago an interview with Ljubljana Airport's CEO and he said how they have good cooperation with 4K but how at the first meeting the Adria representatives were very arrogant and acted as if they knew everything. So I would not be surprised if the Siol report is correct.
ReplyDeleteExperts :)
DeleteThe main culprit here is the pilots union. Yes, the 4K guys should be locked up, but the union had some good cards in their hand right after privatisation, but they chose to drive in the backseat. Now they are at the complete mercy of 4K - the moment they go on strike, JP goes bankrupt.
ReplyDeletePilots at JP knew Saabs were a scam, they knew SSJ was a scam, they believed the LH nonsense, chose to swallow the pill and go with the flow.
This is not how you do business in neoliberalism - these guys (hedge fund managers) are professional swindlers, if the union isn't ready to take the gloves of, you will simply lose your job.
+100
DeleteJP was run by pilot union before privatisation. They made a lot of profit back then, right? And most certainly never needed any government help.
Delete@0955
DeleteNo,it was run by politics. JP was a taxpayer funded ATM for the friends of the politicians. Yes, employees got paid for doing their job, wow.
So no 1 hour cargo flights were ever delayed for lack of meal? None of the pilots flew very slowly on a Sunday night flight, as they were paid by actual flight time or to get the larger per-diem?
Delete@Anonymous31 May 2019 at 09:44:
DeleteCome again? It's pilots fault as in not going on strike or did I misunderstood you?
@Anonymous31 May 2019 at 10:08:
DeleteIn the old days, some 10 years ago.
@1008
DeleteSure, but you can hardly put tens of millions of euros of loss year by year on 3 min of flight time.
They had no strategy, just to move the money from taxpayers pockets to the Cayman islands.
I am not saying union could now save the company - JP cannot exist in today's world. But they could be more proactive - negotiate as a group with other airlines in need of pilots, for one.
@1012
DeleteIt's pilots fault because they knew 4K were scammers, yet they chose to go with the flow as it was inconvinient for them to face the truth. Now you will have 100+ JP pilots without a job, in a cooling economy. Good luck finiding a decent job. I'm a pilot myself, I know a lot of guys from JP, and they have no contact with reality.
Pilot union in Adria has always been somewhat of a toothless tiger. Apart from one strike, they have achieved nothing. The conditions kept deteriorating, partly due to the company loosing money every year.
Delete@Anonymous31 May 2019 at 10:20:
DeleteAs one pilot to another: maybe LH's union would be able to stand up to the new owners, not Adria's. But let's be honest, what could have they done? There was a strike, but that didn't do any good. It's not like you can force a change of ownership. We all knew that 4K had no clue what they were doing and there was a good chance of the company closing down.
But you're right in one thing, some pilots still think they'll be able to get a job of their choosing. Not so, I say.
Well, you can't expect conditions to improve when the company is making record losses.
DeleteAs for finding another job, the pilot market has never been so good in the past years until just recently, where signs of cooldown are becoming very visible. But you have to pack your bags and work abroad, which for some of the Adria divas is unimaginable...
@Anonymous31 May 2019 at 10:33:
DeleteI guess you haven't been in touch with any of Adria's pilots lately, have you? All of them (apart from postholders) are working mainly out of base (perhaps 5 days/month flying from LJU). And this has been going on for at least 2 years. So much about divas ...
As everyone who's ever lived abroad will tell you, going on a business trip with all-paid expenses and everything organised by the company is not quite like moving your entire life to a different place/country.
DeleteEmphasis is on singular - trip. Sleeping every day in a different hotel for 5 day and coming home for 2 (evey week) is not a business trip! And not knowing were you'll be in 6 months is not easier than moving abroad. I should know, have tried both. Have you?
DeleteI have.
DeleteTo each his own then.
DeleteInteresting that newspaper Finance praised Prime Minister Marjan Šarec in Friday's editorial for turning down Adria Airways's demand for state help.
ReplyDeleteDelo has also picked up on the story. Adria is very popular today in the media.
DeleteIt'a gonna be a busy day for Adria's PR department.
ReplyDeleteOr for their legal department based on their threat :D
DeleteJust wait until their 2018 financial results are released. Then the s*it will really hit the fan.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just that they are still cancelling flight from LJU, they are now cancelling flight flown for Austrian airlines. If they will be in busines more than three weeks from now, it will be a miracle.
ReplyDeleteWhy did the Austrian flights they operate get cancelled?
Delete@Anonymous31 May 2019 at 10:13:
DeleteAircraft going tech.
Is it a CRJ700 or 900 flying for Austrian?
Delete2x CRJ900.
DeleteAll of this is not looking very good.
ReplyDeleteBetter if they didn't hold these talks considering the outcome.
ReplyDeleteObviously PMs office is not very Adria-friendly. No need to guess from where the transcript of the meeting came from.
ReplyDeleteŠarec 1, Adria 0
DeleteAnd good thing the transcript was published, as the media can tell people the truth.
DeleteWhich is what media should be all about anyway.
Can the new guy in the management from Estonia turn things around?
ReplyDeleteI would not put my money on it.
DeleteYes the recycled Balkan transfer airline model he is advocating for is really going to help Adria.
DeleteWell, he said he's been dreaming about running his own company since he was a child. That makes it what, 10 years ago :).
DeleteLet's be honest, Adria was not in good shape when 4K took over. The Germans just drilled the hole deeper.
ReplyDeleteIf the government left Adria in their grave half dug up at the time of sale, 4K dug a hole to China.
DeleteFor sure people are avoiding flying with Adria due to media reports but it wasn't the media that gave them a bad reputation. It's the constant flight cancellations.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons why I think LCCs are not introducing flights to Zagreb is because they are waiting for Adria to go bust so they can open a base in Ljubljana which would naturally lower its fees.
ReplyDelete+1.
DeleteWouldn't Adria's demise benefit Zagreb Airport? I mean many people would go to Zagreb to catch a flight,
DeleteInitially yes, but if it becomes a major LCC base than no in the long run.
DeleteAgain another missed opportunity for OU!
I feel the main point here is the fact that Petrol is to stop supply unless the bills are paid. That could mean grounding the fleet rather soon, and JP demise quickly afterwards.
ReplyDeleteRgds, 8
Government should renationalize Adria and try to sell it to someone that is competent in running an airline business.
ReplyDeleteWho on earth would be interested in Adria in this state?
DeleteI think taxpayers had enough of triple 8 with Adria...
Delete80 million EUR in 8 years, so they can buy tickets for 800 EUR to BRU. And of course government buys most of those tickets, so another pile of taxpayers money goes towards Adria.
The Adria story is turning out a lot like the Maribor Airport story.
ReplyDeleteYep, it seems all our governments screwed things up royally. Now they should clean up the mess. More money!
DeleteIn both cases, the screw up was letting the projects remain alive despite the fact they are highly unprofitable.
DeleteYeah, I wonder why. A laundry machine comes to mind.
DeleteSo 4K now has an alibi. When Adria collapses it will be the government's fault.
ReplyDeleteThe tickets on Adria between Ljubljana and Brussels are INSANE. 550 euros return. Are they nuts??? And they get money from the government for this route.
ReplyDeleteyou little troll...I just checked prices on Amadeus...If you are searching for ticket 2 days before the flight....then this is even more trolling
ReplyDeleteIm not anonymus that posted prices, but:
DeleteLJU-BRU, return ticket, June 17/19 - 583€, hand luggage (price from Adria web site)
Depending of dates selected, fares can be crazy high.
Additionally, it looks that Adria uses "dynamic" pricing, so same outbound flight has different prices depending of return date.
LJU-BRU return June 21/24 - 217€ return from expedia and Adria website. It is all how we want to show things from our perspective and throw allegations on others. Even bus journeys are expensive than that and easyjet or wizzair to london cost much much more this month to london.
DeleteIf you search for select dates when the flights are full and want to shout either you dont understand how airlines worldwide work or you just want to fool someone around.
Government sell out Adria years ago for a "penny" and now to help with $€???Are they serious???
ReplyDeletethey should just close the company. it is important that slovenian taxpayers are not feeding german investors pockets. they rented half of the fleet and they still dont get it in the green numbers? close it.
ReplyDeleteWhy S5-AAX is out of service for more than a month. Seem to be long time for C check...
ReplyDelete