The Slovenian national air carrier, company Adria Airways, has dismissed Mr. Klemen Boštjančič and has appointed its outgoing commercial director, Mark Anžur, as the new head of the company. Mr. Boštjačič was dismissed “for economic and business reasons”, the airline said in a statement.
Mr. Mark Anžur will serve at the helm of the company for a maximum of six months. It is expected for the management board to announce a public call for applications for a new CEO within the next 45 days. Prior to joining Adria Airways earlier this year, Mr. Anžur held managerial positions at A.T. Kearney (2010 – 2011) and Bramac International (2003 – 2010). A.T Kearney is a major consulting group based in the United States while Bramac is an Austrian company specialising in roof solutions.

The next six months will be important for Adria Airways. The airline is currently in the midst of large scale cost cutting which have so far proven successful, with losses halved this year. However, the measures have come at a cost of a diminishing route network and a major plunge in passenger numbers. Furthermore, the airline is being investigated by the European Commission for government aid it received between 2007 and 2011. The Commission is set to rule on the issue next year. The outcome of Adria’s September tender for the sale of a 75% stake in the airline is still unknown.

Mr. Klemen Boštjančič became the CEO of Adria Airways in 2011. He is often criticised for implementing the rigorous cost cutting measures but also praised for securing bank loans and government handouts for the carrier (which are now under fire from the European watchdog). The changes at the top of Adria are the third to take place this year amongst EX-YU airlines. During the summer Amir Jažić took over from Altan Buyukyilmaz as the CEO of B&H Airlines while in September Mr. Krešimir Kučko became the new head of Croatia Airlines, replacing Srećko Šimunović.

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