Assets belonging to the former flag carrier of Slovenia, Adria Airways, continue to be put on sale. The bankruptcy administrator is now selling 20 airplane models of Adria Airways CRJ900 aircraft in a single package. The auction starting price is 1,500 EUR (1750 USD), and all bids must be submitted within the next 14 days.
Adria Airways is looking for cash
Adria Airways was the flag carrier of Slovenia and one of Europe’s oldest airlines, operating continuously for 58 years. It went bankrupt last year, following months of operational difficulties and even a criminal investigation.
Following its bankruptcy, the receiver of Adria Airways, Janez Pustatičnik, approved a total of 88 million Euros (104 million USD) of claims against the bankrupt Slovenian airline. This included over 15 million euros (18 million USD) of unpaid wages to Adria Airways employees. Even though these unpaid wages have been prioritized against other debts, the sum exceeds the estimated value of the remaining Adria Airways assets.
As a result, the bankruptcy proceeding has so far yielded some very interesting developments. Adria Airways’ Air Operator Certificate was put on an auction back in January when it was bought by the “King of Bananas.” There are rumors that he is planning to re-establish a Slovenian national airline with this asset. At the same time, Slovenian-based cargo airline Solinair is also making plans to establish the second Adria Airways.
Then, in March, 1,734 Adria Airways uniforms were put on sale, also through an auction. The starting price was €50,000 ($59,000), but this attracted no purchases, and so no money was made from this asset. The auction process has now moved on to the next asset: Adria Airways airplane models.
Airplane models now on sale
Ex-Yu Aviation News reports that twenty collectible airplane models that used to belong to Adria Airways are now on sale, for a starting price of 1,500 euros (1,760 USD). They will be on sale until 17th August, so for another two weeks.
The models are of Adria Airways Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft, 1:50 in scale. This makes them 120 centimeters long.
The auction participation deposit is a third of the starting price, which is a model that has proven unsuccessful in the past few months when it comes to selling Adria Airways assets. Along with the cabin crew uniforms, previous unsuccessful auctions were also for catering equipment, pillows, air sickness bags, and even the Adria Airways brand name.
What’s been going on in Slovenia?
Apart from some recent rumors that there are several parties interested in setting up a new airline in Slovenia, not much has been going on in the aviation industry in the country since Adria Airways went bankrupt.
Ljubljana Airport sees only a handful of departures per day these days. Today, for example, the only departures are Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, Air Serbia to Belgrade, LOT to Warsaw, and Air France to Paris.
Do you think the bankruptcy administrator for Adria Airways will ever manage to generate enough money from asset sales to pay back the old debts of this former airline from Slovenia? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.