An unnamed company from the United States is considering becoming Adria Airways’ strategic partner and is currently reviewing the airline’s business. The Slovenian carrier has confirmed the reports, with the outcome of the talks expected within a month. At a press conference in June, Adria noted it needed a strategic partner in order to maintain scheduled services but emphasised that its part-owner, 4K Invest, would stay on. The German turnaround fund previously courted Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company as a potential strategic partner, however, talks between the two sides broke down earlier this year, with each accusing the other over the failed deal.
Adria’s CEO, Holger Kowarsch, said last month, "Adria needs a strategic partner. We had several talks over the past years. I can tell you that at the moment we are in discussions with various partners. I cannot disclose with whom at the moment, but I can promise you that I will give more information as soon as I am able to”. He added, “That does not mean that 4K will leave Adria. 4K believes in Adria and we believe we have a strong future. We will be part of the Adria story together with a strategic partner by our side. But we cannot survive on scheduled flights on our own".
Earlier this month, the carrier said it would seek opportunities outside of Slovenia and focus on becoming a regional airline. The company’s Managing Director, Sven Kukemelk, said, "Adria is no longer a carrier that operates from Ljubljana to European destinations. We are way bigger. We have outside operations, a base in Pristina, services for Lufthansa, Austrian, Luxair, and Swiss. Today, Adria is on a good path to becoming a strong regional player who is embracing, and happy to accept, the challenges of the future... In an essence, this is what a regional carrier has to be. We don't have too many other choices. The Slovenian market is not going to grow and the growth will be somewhere else".
I really really hope it's Indigo partners! Could be the saviour Adria has been waiting for.
ReplyDeleteWould be nice but I highly doubt it.
DeleteYou never know. Their new maintenance provider works for Wizz too.
DeleteOf course, because Adria will be great addition to Wizz business :)
DeleteIndigo partners is in their own soup. Last week they had things broke and their shareprice is down more than 20%. They will not be interested in such a small market that too at this stage. Lets accept the fact of business. Adria is indeed operating larger than its own market size even with all reductions.
DeleteWhy did there share price fall. What happened?
DeleteRumors that they could buy Adria happened hahaha
DeleteIncredible to read Kukemelk comments. He believes that he promotes Adria strategy when, actually, he describes the incompetence of its management. Small firms can only do one thing at a time, when they diversify and try to implement multiple strategies, they end up doing everything wrong. My flight to Paris cancelled twice two days in a row last week: Thank you Mr Kukemelk!
DeleteNo, it is Mexican operator who looking for solution how to rid off of their SSJ100..
Delete:-)
The best and longest aviation telenovela in the world... 4K reminds me of Hogan in many ways.
ReplyDeleteHaha exactly what I was thinking. Always with a cliffhanger at the end of each Adria story :D
DeleteIt’s not a “Telenovela” It’s a “Drama”
Deletekvisko pitalica
ReplyDeleteWell interestingly it is also being reported that unnamed American investors have apparently paid cash to acquire all assets related to flight operations from the bankrupt estate of WOW Air. These assets include the WOW Air logo and branding, its website and domain, flight operations manual, booking system, other software, computers, spare parts, crew uniforms, and more. It’s reported that the plan is to “resurrect low-cost flight operations to and from the country, both to Europe and the USA on the foundations of WOW air and in accordance with the philosophy that lay behind the low-cost model of WOW air.”
ReplyDeleteCould these guys be potential Adria buyers?
Weren't people writing in the comments here that it will be SAS?
ReplyDeleteAnd Lufthansa, and Aeroflot, and Lot, and Emirates, and Jupiter Express Spaceline.
DeleteThose were just baseless rumours.
DeleteAnd this isn't? Buying time is all this is. Who would honestly be crazy enough unless its someone with cash that wants to see the Adria brand survive??
DeleteNo harm in trying but once they see the state of the books, doubt anyone would invest.
Well no it isn't since Adria confirmed it. "The Slovenian carrier has confirmed the reports, with the outcome of the talks expected within a month".
DeleteAdria confirmed it.... exactly my point. So 4K are honest all of a sudden?
DeleteYou are so jealous
DeleteBut isn't Lufthansa really behind Jupiter Express Spaceline ?
DeleteLet's hope it works out.
ReplyDeleteFrom Russians to Americans :D
ReplyDeleteLet me guess, their HQ is on the Cayman Islands and they are somehow related to 4K.
ReplyDeleteWho would be mad to invest in JP?
ReplyDeleteWell Etihad invested in Jat...
DeleteIt worked.
DeleteI know, that's why I wouldn't write Adria off completely.
DeleteBig difference is that the Serbian government was able to write off or take responsibility for pretty much all of Jats debts and financial burdens plus invest more money. Ljubljana can't do the same and it sounds like are not willing to help either.
DeleteWhen 4K bought Adria, the government gave them over 3 million euros. 4k invest bought Adria for just 100,000.
DeleteThey might want to first work on fixing their schedule. My Adria flight was cancelled 2 days ago and we were informed about the cancellation via email 2 hours AFTER the flight was supposed to depart. Great work.
ReplyDeleteAnd they are still merging flights.
DeleteYesterday they cancelled 2 out of 3 FRA flights, while at the same time running charters to Greece.
DeleteAnd they want to have a hub in LJU... (facepalm).
Today they have cancelled so far Zurich and Tirana while Skopje and Pristina will be merged tonight.
Delete@9.27
DeleteThose charters probably bring them money, while on scheduled flights they probably loose money.
It's the Adria headless chicken again.
DeleteWant to focus on hub, but it's not making money so we cancel flights.
Want to be a charter airline, but all of our heavy maintenance is in the summer, so we don't have enough aircraft.
I just don't know from where they will find the cash to repay compensation claims. There is currently a 10 month backlog on those.
DeleteNowhere. They will most probably announce bankruptcy by end September (if no supplier dares to break the ponzi scheme until that time), after collecting all summer revenue and disappear. Naive people expecting a compensation from a nose-diving company will have to wait for bankruptcy proceedings, where state companies always have the priority among creditors.
DeleteThink of the canceled flights not as a interest-free loan, but as a grant - something that will never be payed back. It is a perfect business model: still get all the profit from the flight that did not happen (100% reduction in expenses), compensation will never be payed (so not an interest-free loan but a grant), and Slovenes even get you some free PR by pointing out in the comments how many flights were canceled across Europe
DeleteTime buying ploy.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, these guys will probably also walk out like the Russians.
ReplyDeleteIf they are American, it means they can only take 49% stake, which means 4K will stay with 51%.
ReplyDeleteI really wonder who it is. Hoping for the best.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to get a big airline invest in Adria.
DeleteIt would be also nice if unicorns existed.
DeleteA massive opportunity was missed with China Southern a few years ago. They were actually keen to buy adria and the airport and even adria tehnika. But sucking up to the EU was the government's number 1 priority especially when we were on the brink of default.
ReplyDeleteAnother speculative piece about everyone's favourite punching bag on here, Adria. Yesss! Just getting my popcorn ready and waiting to read the inevitable onslaught of hilarious belittling comments. Off to a promising start already :)
ReplyDeleteHow is it speculative when airline confirms they are in talks. I think this is big news. And people criticize all the ex-Yu airlines here. Go on any news about Air Serbia, Croatia or Montenegro.
Delete4K has made Adria a laughing stock. Not anyone else. Once upon a time it was a respectable airline.
DeleteAnon 9:47.
DeleteCould just be a delaying tactic by the airline. Make the fuel companies, airport etc think there still is hope in them maybe getting paid so to not pull the pin just yet??
well lufthansa is waiting that all this small properties pass away and then they will do the most of the business in ex yu! just turkish might be a problem for them as they are doing really good, specially in LJU
ReplyDeleteAdria should try to establish its own network and via its hub in Ljubljana serving destinations throughout Europe. Spain, Portugal, Baltic, Italy, UK, France, Eastern Europe - these are regions where they don't have any good connections.
ReplyDeleteAt least I would do like this if I would have the chance.
They already did that and it didn't work out.
DeleteAt best these small national airlines should focus on having frequent flights to a handful of large european hubs and some direct charters for convenient holiday destinations for the masses in the Mediterranean. National pride should be contained to interconental code shares!
DeleteI think that the biggest problem for adria airways and ljubljana airport are vienna, trieste and mostly. venice airport. Vienna is only 3hours away by car from ljubljana, as far Venice is less than 2 hours and they have cheaper carriers and also long-haul flights. From Venice you have direct flights to USA, Canada and also to the Middle East ... So why would people fly from lju with adria and conecting with lufthansa or some other european airlines, when they can have much cheaper flights with emirates and qatar airways from vce? .... but still something has to be ok if they startrd to biuld new airport terminal in ljubljana
ReplyDeleteDo not forget Bratislava (4 hours from LJU), Budapest (3,5 hours from LJU), Treviso (2 hours from LJU) and those are big LCC airports. Zagreb is in just 1,5 hour...
DeleteThe problem is not Ljubljana airport and its location. If that was the case then why are all foreign airlines experiencing growth? The only problem is here Adria and its incompetence.
DeleteForeign carriers in LJU grow only in two destinations where ZAG has capacity problems, London and Amsterdam (due to lack of LCC, slot issue at destination etc.)
DeleteForeign carriers are growing on all routes. JP has 15% less pax than last year, but the pax numbers for LJU are growing nevertheless.
DeleteGreat news for Adria and Slovenia! With a strong partner the airline will become a formidable competitor not only in ex-Yu but in the whole of Balkans.
ReplyDeleteThey deserve a break.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it is one of the major American airline holding companies. But who knows, we will see.
ReplyDeleteGo Adria, good luck! Hoping for a positive news update next month.
ReplyDeleteI just hope they pay my flight cancellation fee before they go bust...
ReplyDeleteIt really is a 'do or die' situation. Because if they don't raise some money they will have to liquidate the airline and that would be bad for everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteI might be sounding like a broken record but to me it would have been best to have merged JP and OU. Make Zagreb the main hub but keep the Adria name and preserve existing routes from LJU. In time bring in YM to the mix.
ReplyDeleteSounds good in theory. In practice probably wouldn't have worked. This is ex-Yu after all.
DeleteFunny how no Croatian media mention OU's privatization process. I guess they can't find a strategic partner.
Delete+1
DeleteCroatia airlines strategic partner process is just a con, just like the Croatian government is a major con.
DeleteCroatia airlines, if they were competent wouldn't bother with a merger. Just park a few planes in Ljubljana (wet leased like I mentioned before) and fly them at first to Star hubs to hurry the demise of the airline and complete a hostile takeover. They could run 2 airlines from Zagreb without increasing staff costs by much at all.
Would be great if they surprised us all and tell us the private investor is Delta :P
ReplyDeleteThey are a bit busy with Alitalia ;)
DeleteWhat does Adria still own? Does anyone know their assets? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFlights school and I think they still haven't sold their share in Amadeus Slovenia.
DeleteDon't they own some planes?
DeleteNo, not for almost a decade.
DeleteNo, all planes are leased.
DeleteDo the own the SAAB2000s? They could sell these. I think REX in Australia could use some and if the interior is still decent they could at least do sell them to raise some capital.
DeleteSaabs are also leased from an American leasing company I think. I can't remember correctly but I remember someone appealed with Swiss authorities over how the lease was carried out because there seemed to be some collusion between the Americans and Adria but I can't remember the whole story anymore.
DeleteSaabs are leased. And REX only operate Saab340, which doesn't have a lot in common with Saab2000.
DeleteOk. It is, what it is. Let's hope Adria will be able to function successfully and hopefully it will be able to serve travellers better than it did hitherto.
ReplyDeleteThese are definitely tough times from small aviation companies especially those operating under EU rules.
DeleteAt this moment, Adria has again one (out of five) accounts blocked due to lack of funds.
ReplyDeleteCrazy. How does the CAA allow this?? Last week at one point they had all five accounts blocked.
DeleteBalkans. It would never happen in Western Europe. Airlines have had their AOCs suspended for minor insolvencies.
DeleteWell, Adria is playing classical "too big to be killed" game with Slovenia...
DeleteBut Slovenia is not Balkan !!!
DeleteGeographically, you are correct. The mentality of a lot of people on the other hand...
Delete2 accounts blocked as of this morning.
DeleteBasically this will be more of the same. Nothing will change at Adria.
ReplyDeleteAre they likely to renegotiate with Sukhoi? They might give them a hefty discount...
ReplyDeleteI think that deal is well and truly dead. And they didn't end those talks on good terms.
DeleteSince they talk about becoming a regional airline, why don't Adria try Kraljevo airport with Saab? They can try to base an aircraft over there and launch destinations such as IST, FRA, BER, ARN, ZRH or even code share with TK or LH?!
ReplyDeleteYes I'm sure the Serbian government will let them after they reported Air Serbia to the EU.
DeleteHahahahaha joke of the day :)
DeleteGood one.
https://www.jetairgroup.com/
ReplyDeleteThese are the investors?
DeleteI belive so, yes. Don't ask how I know..
DeleteThe planes they seem to operate look about the right size for the Slovenian market :P
DeleteDo they have a stake in any other airline? :/
DeleteThe investor here is Skywest, but they are looking only for permit to fly in Europe like they do in America. Feeder company for United, American, etc.
DeleteThere are no scope clauses in Europe as in the US. They enabled 76 seat and below RJ niche market for lower cost outsourcing to whitelabel airlines like Skywest in the States. EU unions would rip them apart for attempting the same in Europe. Without that framework Adria will not be able to offer lower cost regional services to all three major airline alliances in Europe as Skywest is doing with US3.
DeleteNewest speculations are with this company.. http://bateleurcap.com/
DeleteThese guys tried to make a offer for Flybe but it was rejected...
DeleteLet's hope for the best. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteCan they pull the Alitalia move? The company keeps reinventing itself using all sorts of various options, even fairies and unicorns.
ReplyDeleteAdria does not own its name, the fleet is leased, no real estate. They can just wrap it down, sell whatever remains, and start over, rent planes, logo, wash the uniforms and here we go again...
Rgds, 8
Maybe Donald Trump is buying Adria as a birthday gift for Melania.
ReplyDeleteOr for his little son Barron to have something to play with ...
Now that would be the best solution for JP.
DeleteBut Trump doesnt like loosers ...
DeleteUS investor would not be able to have controlling stake in Adria. Why would anyone pour money into a deal with majority 51% control by 4K when 4K already proved incompetent in managing Adria? If I was an investor I would require 4K to be replaced with people I can trust.
ReplyDeleteThe US Investor is a 4K bootleg which is registered in the US -
DeleteDont let them fool you ! They are scammers .
Da da. A ja vam potvrđujem da se za mene zanima 23godišnja američka udovica i spremna je platiti 20 milijuna samo da je ženim. Službeno. Ali ne mogu o imenima.
ReplyDeleteGuys....seriously, does anyone REALLY believe there are some phantom US investors willing to even touch a company which may go bankrupt any day? This is just another stunt by the incompetent management in order to extend the agony, all in a hope that miracle will happen and someone will give them tens of millions EUR just to survive the summer.
ReplyDeleteEmployees still believe in a miracle.
DeleteEmployees are stupid. There will be no miracle. Adria will not survive. They will lose their jobs.
Deleteand you will grow horns and die of cancer
Delete4K is acting like “nije to govno, neg se pas usrao.”
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.ch/amp/s/simpleflying.com/adria-airways-criminal-investigation/amp/
ReplyDeleteAn American (non-EU) company is only allowed to hold a minority share in an EU airline anyway.
ReplyDelete