A couple of years ago I was invited to attend a European convention in Slovenia. Quite excited I started looking for ways to get there. The year before, on my way back from Lanzarote, I was taken quite ill on the plane and spent a whole 4 hour journey on oxygen, later being met off the plane by an ambulance. I was not keen on flying so tried to find alternative ways of traveling. Coach seemed like a great idea, only *hint of sarcasm* 6 changes and only £300 odd quid. This idea quickly went out of the window as did the idea of train. The only other option I had was to fly… I looked up on many websites and found that the cheapest airline by far was 'Adria Airways'.
Adria, what?… I hear you ask.
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ADRIA AIRWAYS _________________
Adria Airways is an airline based in Ljubljana in Slovenia. Adria Airways is the national airline of Slovenia and links the country to many European destinations as well as the Middle East such as Turkey.
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BOOKING ________
The Adria Airways website is available in Slovenian and English. It is easy to use and give prices in Tollar (Slovenian currency), Euros and Pounds. The booking process is very easy and quick to complete. I paid with my debit card and got an online booking discount. Within 4 days of paying the full payment I received the tickets, baggage tags and an information booklet about Slovenia.
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FLIGHT ______
On arrival on the aircraft I was very impressed with the light airy appearance. They had loaded the plane in a strategic way 3 rows at a time so it was very pleasant to get on the plane, get shown to our seats and have our bags placed over head. The flight was full of empty seats so my mate and I managed to stretch out with 3 seats each. In front of me a young boy who was traveling alone was under the guidance of an air stewardess. He was going back to Croatia to visit his family and was classed as a 'minor' on the flight. He helped the cabin crew with the distribution of drinks and was given lots of 'important' tasks. I thought this was really sweet and showed that they were great with children.
The flight only lasted 2 hours so no meal was served online although they did go around twice with a drinks and snacks trolley. Our first order was free. I had a glass of white wine and a tub of Pringles. The second time the order came to a really good price of £1.20 for a chocolate bar and glass of cola.
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STAFF _______
The staff were lovely and friendly. They saw me take my inhaler out of my bag and proceeded to ask if I was OK or if I needed a drink. I was fine but it was very nice of them to ask. Just before we landed they handed out chunks of 'sticky rock' with the airline logo.
They were very well dressed in a tasteful uniform. I tend to find that with some airlines the cabin crew look very cheesy or like bright tomatoes/oranges/bananas. The staff of Adria wore a black shirt, black skirt with a turquoise jacket. The women worse darker blue scarves and the men wore ties.
On arrival on the plane they met us with a smile and "said welcome" and again when we left they wished us a lovely holiday. On the return journey they thanked us for traveling with Adria Airways and then wished us a safe journey home. Not only did this personal touch make me feel quite welcome it made me realise that should I return to Slovenia I would definitely use their service.
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COST _____
Adria Airways operate services from 4 airports in Britain - Dublin, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. I flew from London Gatwick in 2005 and I only paid £116 including taxes and fuel costs. I have paid a quick visit to their website and have noticed that you can fly from London Gatwick to Slovenia at the moment for £20.
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SUMMARY ___________
Adria Airways is a lovely little airline. I really enjoyed my journey and would travel with them again. Adria Airways offer transfers to other parts of Europe and the Middle East; it may even be cheaper to fly onto Slovenia then onto another destination than a direct flight. Slovenia is a beautiful place and one that can be visited very cheap all year round.
