Slovenia’s Finance Minister, Klemen Boštjančič, who was also the CEO of the now-defunct flag carrier Adria Airways, has urged caution over plans to establish a new national airline, stating the country’s budget could not handle another loss-making state-owned company. The comments were made after several ministers in the cabinet expressed their support for the creation of a new airline and an expert study showed a Public Private Partnership (PPP), which would see the government join forces with a private company to set up the new carrier, was presented to the public. “The analysis represents just 15% of the data required to make a decision about setting up a new airline”, Mr Boštjančič, said.
The Finance Minister noted, “There is no doubt that Slovenia's air connectivity is poor, this has to be addressed. But this can be done in multiple ways. A Public Private Partnership is the only realistic option to create a local airline - if it is created in the first place. The state is not an institution that can strategically manage such a company. I am repeatedly surprised, and critical in internal talks, by statements made by my fellow ministers who vehemently argue how public finances can easily handle various projects, in this case an airline. This is not true. We need to decide what the strategic projects are and what are the things that we really need. I know a little bit about the aviation business. It is one of the most competitive industries globally”.
During his time at Adria Airways’ helm, Mr Boštjančić implemented wide-scale cost cutting measures at the airline, which stabilised the carrier’s finances. However, it came at a cost, with the company diminishing its route network, resulting in a major plunge in passenger numbers. In 2012 the carrier handled under a million travellers for the first time in seven years. The former CEO was praised for securing bank loans and government handouts for Adria. Mr Boštjančić pushed for the airline’s privatisation and said that national carriers from the former Yugoslavia should merge if the Slovenian airline failed to find a buyer. Adria was eventually privatised in 2016, which ultimately sealed its fate.
An opinion poll conducted on behalf of the Slovenian daily “Delo” has shown that 70.6% of Slovenians support the creation of a new airline if it were to be profitable. However, only 17.6% believe it should be established even if it were to produce losses. Asked whether the government should include a private partner, 55% of respondents answered affirmatively, while 22.9% were against it. Just over 22% of respondents were undecided. Some 26% said they would choose a Slovenian carrier for a trip abroad even if the airfare was more expensive than from a nearby airport outside of Slovenia.
Comments
Any reason to think so?
That's completely different..
In "yugocomunist" mentality, especially during the last decade of Yugoslavia, both Adria and JAT were managed by highly skilled professionals, were self-sustaining entities doing succesfully business on the open market, and making profits, were innovative, with out of the box thinking, and let my just remind you, were the first, or among the first in Europe to receive brand new super modern at those times state of the art A320/B737-300 respectively. What we have today in both Slovenia and Croatia is not 'yugocomunist mentality' but Danke Deutschland mentality, combined with the worst misuse of ultraliberal capitalism
With such small planes, it will be very hard to be profitable + the study says average ticket should be 134 EUR (that is probably one way without taxes, without luggage). I visit Ljubljana often and I use that airport. When you drive to the airport from the city center, you drive in the opposite direction from where most people live. Slovenia does not have big diaspora and Gastarbeiters like the rest of EXYU. Majority of "Gastarbeiters" in Slovenia are going crossborder to Austria. So no Gastarbeiter flights like in the rest of EXYU. Fraport people are not stupid, the airport is just a victim of its geography.
Where are all these phantomatic pax from Slovenia, flying to these "new" destinations, at such prices coming from?
Where do you find a big amount of business pax from Slovenia and abroad using such service?
Where do you find all the tourists from abroad, flying to Slovenia, from just some "new" airports, at non competitive prices, year round?
With all the additional options already available: no way.
Stop this Slovenia centrism mentality, come on, this is not basketball!
Don't push, fake huge numbers of interest and need when there is not and can't be artificially created.
LCC with a base in Ljubljana can do the needed job.
You don't need a new airline to add a daily rotation to FRA, MUC etc as a feeder airline.
Start Skopje and that's it.
Don't dream of a not LCC carrier flying to Copenhagen or Madrid year round. Will not work.
As parents,we are teaching our preschool kids that they can't get whatever they want, father (and mother) have not a no limit income.
Go figure.
Cmon guys, if Slovenia lack og connectivity and foreign airlines clerly does not want to base an aircraft here then something has to be done. Im not taliing about airline with 20 aircraft but 5 would be nice addition for LJU
Am I missing something?
Why not try to attract a LCC to Maribor first, minimum money input needed. What do you think about it?
It is not point of the right size, but rather size + other factors such as described in my initial comment @Anonymous11:37. Look at Slovakia for example. Very similar example. They even lost air connection to Prague after decades, but to be honest they nice road to Prague that takes less time than flying. Ofc you can make an airline flying out of Maribor to Sydney, with enough money, but you better build a hospital or whatever is needed with that cash.
You mentioned hospital, but we all know that most of them (at least in Slovenia) are making loss. So why should be invest money into something which brings loss? It's a sarcastic question but it is very related to "concerned taxpayers" mindset when new national carrier is on topic.
I could also write similar case for passengers coming to Slovenia, there are not many of it who will take a go-opti and drive 3 hours from VCE (if you need to wait for some other passengers then even more).
So stop please with airports "near" us because it's not convenient for politicians / business pax / high valued tourists.
"V primeru, da se bo slovenska politika res odločila, da gre v nek korak postavitve, pa da ne bomo govorili o prevoznikih, ampak povezljivosti Slovenije in da bo to neka skupinska zgodba ... to se pravi, ne samo letalski prevoznik, ampak tudi promocija Slovenije v tujini, podpora od diplomacije, da se dobi prave slote, tudi z drugimi letalskimi družbami. V taki zgodbi bi z veseljem sodelovali," pravi Krajnc.
For start 3-5 aircrafts are not such a big deal that we could not finance it. Actually it should not be even a question from where to get money as it was explained that for every spend euro we get 10 back (multiply effects).
Montenegro, Luxemburg, Albania, Latvia, Malta....
Since late 2000's it's a garbage dump on fire.