There are literally hundreds of airlines operating scheduled passenger services around the world. Most people, if they are lucky, will only fly a handful in a lifetime. This series looks to show-off those lesser-known airlines, past and present.

Adria Airlines

Based out of the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, Adria Airways is the smallest full member of the Star Alliance airline grouping. The airlines has a fleet of just 12 planes, mainly regional jets such as the Bombardier CRJ200 and CRJ900 series, as well as two Airbus A319s and an A320. The airline currently flies to 21 scheduled destinations around Europe over the summer period, dropping to 15 during the winter, as well as a number of regular charter flights.

Adria Airlways has been around for a little over 50 years, prior to Slovenian independence the airline operated charter flights connecting western Europe with popular destinations along the Adriatic Sea such as Dubrovnik and Split. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the airline started offering domestic flights within what was at the time Yugoslavia, at its peak in 1987 the airline was carrying more than 1.7 million people annually.

The company’s growth however, came to a grinding halt after Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia and the the airline was banned for flying for three months by the Yugoslav Civil Aviation Authority. When flights were allowed to resume Adria lost a lot of its business as it could no longer fly from its prime tourism destinations (Dubrovnik and Split) as a flag carrier but now as a foreign airline.

The relationship with Star Alliance started in 1995 when the airline began operating codeshare flights for German carrier and Star Alliance founding member Lufthansa, the relationship between the two carriers expanded over the next decade and in December 2004 the airline became a full member of the airline group.

The airline recently painted one of its A320s in a retrojet livery to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, and while the symbol on the current livery looks like a large mirrored A, it is actually meant to also symbolize a Linden tree leaf, one of the Slovenia’s national symbols.

You can check out the details and book flight via their website here.