A former Adria Airways pilot wants to get a new Slovenian airline into the air together with partners. This is to go under the name SouthEast Airlines with a pure Airbus A320 fleet.

The Chinese investor who had already bought the flight school from the bankruptcy assets of Adria Airways is said to be on board. Initial talks with the Slovenian civil aviation authority have already been held. Initially, one wants to concentrate on the implementation of charter flights, whereby the entry into the scheduled business is planned at a later point in time.

Initiator Blaž Berdnik told Sierra5: “At some point in early 2019 my team and I decided that it was time for a new approach in Slovenia. Of course, the preparations for such a project are very intensive and that is why it took us between 18 and 20 months to present our plans to the public. In January, after the first official interview with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Slovenia, we officially confirmed our intention to set up a new airline based in Slovenia ”.

Maribor as a home base in the running

The fact that it has not yet been decided whether Ljubljana or Maribor will be the home base of the planned carrier is also very exciting. The fact that the airport is located near Styria is cheaper than Ljubljana should speak for the operation from the airport. You could also benefit a little from the proximity to Graz. Against this, however, is the fact that no flight offer from Maribor has been successful for many years. Without exception, all scheduled flights had to be discontinued after a short time due to a lack of demand.

According to its own information, SouthEast Airlines has also signed initial preliminary contracts with tour operators. You even want to fly in the summer of 2021, but that could be pretty tight, because you currently have neither AOC nor an operating license. Berdnik makes no secret of this fact: “It is always difficult to get started, which is why we are currently concentrating on markets within the European Union. Given the current status of the epidemic, we assume that the aviation market in Europe will stabilize sometime in the spring or summer of next year. This year is going to be a year full of opportunity, especially for those with a good plan and good business connections. Europeans want to travel, which was also shown last summer when certain countries opened up for a short time ”.

In any case, SouthEast Airlines wants to fly immediately after regulatory approval if possible. No details were given about the origin of the A320 aircraft. Nor was it said how big the fleet should be at the start. It was only announced that the seating would be all-economy.