Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways, which has filed for bankruptcy amid financial pressures, was this week scheduled to operate more than 350 flights across 21 routes.
Flights operated by Swiss regional carrier Darwin Airline have been halted after it became the latest airline to file for insolvency, while Switzerland-focussed start-up Powdair has launched a desperate search for funding before its inaugural flight has even taken place.
Slovenian carrier Adria Airways will provide an important hub link into the Star Alliance network via Lufthansa’s Bavarian hub at Munich Airport, while Wizz Air will introduce a low-fare offering to London, introducing 27,000 seats to and from Olsztyn-Mazury in the current calendar year.
The aircraft, which is configured with 86 seats and will be leased between the busy summer months of June and September 2016, will allow Air Serbia to expand its flight network with non-stop flights to Hamburg in Germany and Kiev in Ukraine being introduced from its Belgrade base. In addition, the aircraft will be deployed on the carrier’s existing Belgrade – Sofia route.
The new Tallinn - Edinburgh route will certainly stimulate demand in a market that currently see around 2,500 indirect passengers a year. However, when this city pair was previously served by low-cost carrier Ryanair on a three times weekly basis between January 2011 and the end of the summer, generating just under 30,000 annual passengers, according to UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.
Speaking to Routesonline on the sidelines of the Routes Europe forum in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, Roger Clements, chief commercial officer, Southend Airport, confirmed the Star Alliance member chose London Southend Airport for the service above other airports because of its efficient operations and fast access into Central London.
The Star Alliance member first introduced flights to Łódź in March 2014 with a six times weekly connection to the German city of Munich, providing important connection opportunities via its global alliance partner Lufthansa from its Bavarian hub.
