Adria Airways cancels Sukhoi jet deal
Adria Airways has cancelled plans to add fifteen Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft to its fleet, the first of which were to be delivered this month. In a statement, the Slovenian carrier said, "Over the last few months, Adria Airways has been intensively preparing for the arrival of the jets. While the aircraft type per se still seems very attractive, Adria Airways has not been able to finalise the contractual clauses with the Russian side. There were growing concerns on Adria´s behalf regarding SCAC´s [Sukhoi Civil Aviation Company] commitment to a fair and stable long-term partnership, as well as a lack of common vision of further strategic development of the company". Adria signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SCAC concerning the long-term lease of fifteen SSJ100s last November. Deliveries were to be completed by 2021.
The Russian manufacturer has not commented on Adria's decision. Several weeks ago, the Russian Minister for Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, said the contract with Adria was complex as it entailed the delivery of both new and formerly utilised SSJ100s, but noted that deliveries would begin in the near future. Sukhoi had already allocated the first of two aircraft for Adria, which were previously operated by CityJet. Furthermore, the Slovenian carrier sent its crew to train for the new jets and registered its own maintenance, repair and overhaul business, named Adria Airways Super MRO aircraft maintenance, which was to be an SSJ100 aircraft Maintenance and Repair Organisation.
Commenting on the decision, Adria's CEO, Holger Kowarsch, said, "We are naturally disappointed that the collaboration with Sukhoi did not reach a successful conclusion, but the partnership was only viable if given objectives set by the strategic business plan were attainable. Unfortunately, in this case, we did not think this was possible". The company added it would continue to focus on its existing business, consisting of four pillars: scheduled flights, charter and cargo flights, as well as its ACMI business. "The structure of the fleet will remain unchanged and Adria will continue to focus on operational reliability and stability with its fleet of existing aircraft types and their proven track record", it concluded.
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