Croatia Airlines has announced it has completed its recapitalisation process valued at 46.2 million euros. The Croatian carrier issued 35 million new shares which have been acquired by the state in order to “return the airline’s capital to pre-Covid levels i.e. to the same levels as on December 31, 2019”, the company said. It added, “This is one of the applicable financial support mechanisms Croatia has adopted based on the European Commission’s temporary framework for state aid measures to support the economy in the current Covid-19 outbreak”. The Croatian government already holds a 99% stake in the national airline.
The company now has registered capital amounting to 82.6 million euros. In addition to the capital increase, the government had previously also provided 33.2 million euros to the carrier as an equity loan and 11.7 million euros as direct aid, which has been approved by the European Commission. “The aid will secure the continuity of the airline’s business during and after the pandemic”, the Croatian government said. Croatia Airlines has so far introduced a number of measures to bring down costs and plans to maintain them in the coming months. “Until further notice, we are continuing to rationalise our business in all segments. We have undertaken rigorous cost saving with the aim to safeguard our liquidity and preserve jobs”, it said.
Commenting on the year ahead, Croatia Airlines noted, “We will continuously harmonise our business activities during 2021 based on the existing epidemiological situation at the given time. In line with announcements and the gradual normalisation of the health crisis, as well as the expected lifting of travel restrictions, we stand ready to gradually increase capacity and flight operations on routes that we were forced to reduce in 2020. The normalisation of passenger flow and the return of confidence in air travel will be key to restoring market demand, which will dictate the business rhythm for the entire aviation sector, including Croatia Airlines”, it said.
Keep pumping.....
ReplyDeleteJust like every other airline in our region and the rest of Europe.
DeleteThis is wasting our taxpayer's money in a time when we need more money to help businesses affected by Covid19. It would be far cheaper to have an LCC service most of the routes and would probably bring more passengers to tourist destinations.
DeleteBusinesses weren't affected by covid, they were affected by needless government lockdowns!
DeleteAnon 15:12
DeleteAnd OU is not a business?
It's a mismanaged business that needs subsidies, covid or no covid.
DeleteLet's hope the money is used wisely.
ReplyDeleteThey will use it to cover losses. Don't expect miracles.
DeleteAt least they will cancelled the A320neos. That would be a big waste.
DeleteYes, it would have been unfeasible. It's only a shame they spent 8 million on it.
DeleteThey could have cancelled neos without this huge amount of money
DeleteThey'll use it to keep status quo with excessive number of overpaid back office penciled pushers.
DeleteThis won't be enough.
ReplyDeleteIt's the taxpayers who will foot the biggest bill from corona.
ReplyDeleteSame as every other country both in the region and in Europe.
DeleteThese are quite high amounts
ReplyDeleteLet's paint those engines back in blue and stay passive in Montenegro and elsewhere :-P
ReplyDeleteOU have a nearly 4% market share in SKP and they can easily increase it to 6%.
DeleteIncrease it with 2 weekly Q400 with limited connections in ZAG?
DeleteTalking of SKP and ZAG, Windrose is operating Zagreb to Kiev via Skopje today. That should be a fun experience for the passengers.
DeleteIt's because this will be their almost last flight to SKP. There will be no more flights in February nor March with the exception of 21.03. Guess that demand was catastrophic compared to ZAG.
DeleteI guess loads from ZAG weren't that great either which is not surprising since it's February. I wonder why Windrose did this. Thwy should have cancelled the flight and refunded passengers.
DeleteI doubt any flight out of ZAG has good loads today. KLM cancelled the flight today, OU operates all flights with Q400 expect on rotation to SPU and Windrose linked ZAG with SKP like someone mentioned before. Really difficult time.
DeleteThey also cancelled PUY/ZAD tomorrow.
DeletePUY/ZAD operates Thursdays and Sundays only for the past month.
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteOU is a big contributor to the tourism industry. Last summer the season would have been even worse without them. They deserve for the losses to be covered. They could have easily parked planes to save costs but then many other industries would have struggled even more.
ReplyDeleteOU knows that even if they fly empty they would still get government money.
DeleteEven if they don't fly they will get taxpayers' money
DeleteJust like JU.
DeleteSame with Trade Air's flight from OSI, only survives thanks to subsidies.
DeleteOU is EU company, JU isn't.
DeleteTherefore these 2 companies can't be compared by their rights to be financed by their Governments.
Exactly and as an EU company they have more advantages as an airline. Why they didn't make the most of it is a good question.
Delete+100
DeleteToday OU has just 12 flights out of ZAG. Of those 6 or 50% are subsidized domestic flights. The situation seems to be going from bad to worse.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? If the Italians and Germans can do so without any repercussions from the EU, then Croatia should do the same
ReplyDeleteLufthansa's aid will be repaid. They just issued bonds worth €1.6 billion and LH is traded company meaning these are not loans that won't be repaid.
DeleteAnd OU will also repay their debt :-)
DeleteSure.
OU will repay it about the same time JU will.
DeleteActually you are wrong. JU is able to repay its own loans, OU not so much.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/09/air-serbia-repays-576-million-etihad.html
LOL, the government of Serbia you mean repaid the loan it got from Etihad with the extremely high interest rate!
DeleteNope, you might want to read the article before commenting.
DeleteDebt to goverment, not etihad, he tought.
DeleteNope, Sinisa Mali made sure that the state gave the necessary funds to JU to repay its loans.
Deletehttps://airwaysmag.com/airlines/serbian-state-to-help-air-serbia-repay-etihad-loans/
Which still doesn't change the fact JU paid back one of its loans. Yes, let's discuss that in stead of OU which is today's topic.
DeleteAny word on when the government will start tenders for PSO funding? Original contract expired in March last year, they just keep extending the same terms.
ReplyDeleteIn total 107,5 mil EUR for such a small company in only 12 months...
ReplyDeleteWhat a waste of money!
And it excludes more than 100 mil EUR they got for PSO in last 8 years.
DeleteDoes the €100 million also include subsidies given by the city of Dubrovnik?
DeleteNo, it doesn't. It is extra. Cherry on the cake.
DeleteWhich is still a very small amount of money compared to what JU has been getting from the Government of Serbia.
DeleteActually it's not when you factor in what OU got over the past 20 years and how little Croatia benefited from that.
DeleteCroatian tourism industry has benefited significantly from Croatia Airlines. It's just that you are not aware, which is normal since you are not from Croatia.
DeleteAnonymous 10:17
DeleteActually what OU has got is miniscule compared to what Jat Airways and Air Serbia got from the Government of Serbia.
And Croatia's tourism industry has benefited greatly.
@Anon 10:22
DeleteDid you calculate all the money OU got from CRO Government before Croatia became EU member?
Only the last allowed financial injection before entering EU was 140 mil EUR.
Only the last.
The way I see things with both airlines is that economies of both countries are generally developed. In all of ExYu countries people most often can't afford to fly frequently and you can just think of how many people around you have never flown on an airplane. Next, Serbia is not a world renowned tourist destination, while Croatia is very seasonal. Taking all that into consideration, you can't expect major success from national airlines. Yet, they are essential - proven by Slovenia and now Montenegro.
DeleteDid you calculated how many millions Ju was getting as Jat from the state as well as from the airport in free services?
DeleteNo? I thought so.
The millions that it got since it became Air Serbia? No, right?
How is that related to today's topic on OU getting yet more funds?
DeleteWe need to invest in our airlines no matter what. Its not like any country spend 1 billion in last 10 years.
Delete"We need to invest in our airlines no matter what."
DeleteI bet all the employees will be very hardworking and business-driven with that kind of mentality.
Hm, why bother with optimising this business process, the government will bail us out anyway.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, Slovenia was not allowed to help Adria Airways because the European Commission DID NOT allow it, today everyone invests in airlines because of the virus, double standards? Good luck OU
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much dividends to they expect from all these "investments".
DeleteWasted money once again
ReplyDeleteIt is really not. We need Croatia Airline despite it is not succesful carrier. Especially in these times.
DeleteThese times will not last forever. Few more months. Year, year and a half the most. And I would tend to agree with you if "these times" would be used to take advantage of the situation and get prepared to conquer markets where demand exists and the airlines which flown between Croatia and the USA, Canada and the Far East stopped operations because of the situation. To increase domestic connectivity when fleet is available. To focus more on coastal summer charters as coastal airports will have much less options now compared to before. To get prepared to increase regional traffic and try to make sinergy between ZAG and OU, creating little decent hub of it. To get rid of uhljebs working on invented positions non existent in any other airline. To get rid of the excessive administration. And so on and so on. But nothing of mentioned will happen, the same like last 30 years. That's why WE don't need Croatia Airlines in this form. Maybe you, and those benefiting, which are very few, need it, but WE, the people in Croatia, especially people who know how the aviation is supposed to function, no, we don't need it
DeleteDon't get me too wrong, Rijeka but you are almost very critical each and everytime there is a post about Croatia Airlines. The airline has undergone major changes and faced challenges but this does not mean it remains insignifiant in Croatia. It operates to main airports, has a decent network coverage and most importantly sustains the domestic market, which believe it or not, is very important for a country. Perfect examples are Roma and Milano, Madrid and Barcelona.
DeleteYou are more than free to express your scepticism but Croatia today will not be able to allow not having a national airline. This is one of Europe's most visited countries with more than 15 million and that number would've grown more if it wasn't for this stupid virus.
Croatia enjoys a very good and developed range of airports and the government has been keen in ensuring this happens. Look at ZAG, SPU and DBV airport terminals today. Out of seasonality, there is still room for improvement but still, the country is doing great compared to others.
I suggest you change the model of glasses you are using and think positive once in a while and APPRECIATE you have a national airline that sustains the national economy and defends national interests.
OU is not perfect, but it definitely survived all by its own and without any external aid from external airlines similar to other airlines. It is part of a prestigious world alliance and there is a reason to be proud of it. Just saying!
"These times will not last forever. Few more months. Year, year and a half the most"
DeleteOh no, it will last for at least 4-5 years. New vaccines will have to be developed and people might have to be vaccinated on at least annual basis.
Dr. Anthony Fauci: Getting Vaccinated Is ‘Not A Free Pass’ To Travel. Even a second dose of the vaccine does not give you 100% efficacy. Variants of the virus have been discovered and more are likely to occur over time. “We do not know as a fact” that getting vaccinated prevents someone from spreading a future infection, said Dr. Fauci.
Even if large percentage of the US gets vaccinated, destination country might not, or they might have an outbreak of a new strain for which current vaccines are not effective. It will take years for travel industry to recover.
You get me wrong @An.15.51. I was one of the founders of Croatia Airlines. I quit job from JAT in order to go to Croatia Airlines. I never said I didn't want national airline or flag carrier for Croatia. On the contrary, I was one who helped made it. But everything that followed after the first 3 or 4 years of enthusiasm and good spirit was pure disaster. Switching to ATR instead going on with ex-LH DC-10, making it feeder instead real player, and precisely for the reasons you talk about and potentials, then getting rid of owned 737's in perfect shape in order to acquire leased Airbuses, at double price than market price, for own personal benefits, then negative professional selection on all levels, then politics in the company, much much more then there were politics in ex JAT, and imagine, we are not in the "dark" any more, and much many more reason why I cannot acceppt OU as it is. And onc again, I have absolutely nothing to be proud about - on the contrary. You say iz has decent network coverage - Ryanair and Croatia Airlines started approximately the same time - compare FR and OU network. OU one decent, I wouldn't say so. You say it is significant in Croatia - yes, sir, but how about being significant little bit wider, even not globally, let's say regionally - is it? - it is not. You say it is a part of prestigious alliance - alliances are only 3 and it is nothing prestigious today about being member of an alliance - it's important you benefit from it and OU does not benefit - it feeds global star members on the expense of croatian tax payers. It sustains national economy and defends national interests - tell me please how? - buy sucking hundreds of millions from the budget every year in order to employ party members who don't give a s-it about its development and future. Are you aware that today (not including corona time which is exception) Croatia Airlines remains smaller than what Aviogenex was in ex-Yugoslavia? Are you aware that Serbia, which has no tourism, no advantages of EU membership, much worse living standards, approximatelly the same diaspora, is slowly building decent and succesfull airline? Should I be proud of that? Or should I be prod that OU carries less than 2 million passengers, which is approximately 1 million tourists, in the country which has 15 millions of them, as you say, or 2 million passangers in country which has 11 million passangers yearly, less than 20 percent. If you are proud of it, very good for you, just go on. But please don't try to convince me to chage my mind with, pardon my French, BS phrases like "undergone major changes and faced challenges" because those are just the phrases which has nothing to do with the reality and are simply empty phrases, like entire OU is.
Delete"Maybe you, and those benefiting, which are very few, need it, but WE, the people in Croatia, especially people who know how the aviation is supposed to function, no, we don't need it"
DeleteYes, im benefiting from Croatia Airlines because it is the only airline which provides decent connectivity in PUY, ZAD, RJK and SPU all year round. And our economy also benefits from OU, especially in these times, when a lot of airlines are not flying towards Croatia. So please stop talking nonsense that only "few" benefit from it. And no, im not a "uhljeb" in OU or any other state company, i do not even work in aviation industry, im just regular citizen who understands immportance of OU in these times. And we should not get rid of it now because we will probably end like LJU, and we would pay massive compesation to airport consetionare.
@An.16.49
DeleteEntire travel industry expect travel, including air travel, to start normalizing in the second half of this year and to get back to normal until summer season 2022. If you need to discuss epidemiology matters and possibilities and chances with viruses, I suggest you visit some medical blog instead aviation one
@An.18.07
DeleteHahahahahahahaha, that"s the only thing I can say about your post, except liking how you spell consetionare LOL. And regular citizen hahahahahaha And decent connectivity, especially for Rijeka with ZERO flights hahahaha
Oh, im sorry my lord, correct speling is "concessionaire". I deeply apologize. For other things you seems to be left without arguments. And please inform yourself about flights from Rijeka. 3 weakly from RJK to MUC. I think they are not currently operating these, but usually they do. Hahahahahah
DeleteAnd one more thing, Aviogenex was never larger then OU.
DeleteOk, 3 weekly Dash to MUC, in after ZAG the most developed HR region with over 300 000 people plus million tourists. If that is decent connectivity, btw established to feed others, than I deeply apologize to you, and letting others judge who is right. For Aviogenex - 1989 it had 5 units 727 seating 170 and 5 units 737 seating 110, which is totally 1400 seats offerred, and Croatia Airlines fleet composed mostly of turboprops has about 1300 seats. And I am now quitting one more pointless discussion with the person who is either party bot or has no idea what civil aviation today looks like
Delete"party bot" hahahahhahahaah, oh yes im a party bot now because i dont agree you? I respect your oppinion but you seems to be a really disrespectful person towards anyone who doesnt want to agree with you about OU. And yes, it is decent when you consider that they have usually 10 weakly flights to MUC, 10 towards FRA and 7 towards FCO during the winter out the coast. I think that is really ok to consider that "decent". And about Aviogenex, they carried only 700.000 passengers at its peek, with having 1300 seats capacity. OU had 2.179 mil. passengers with 1528 seats capacity. You should really start to think a little bit when you are bashing another commentator because he doesnt belive everything you say. Have a nice evening sir.
DeleteOk, I said I won't comment any more, but I really have to say just this : Blaming me to be disrespectful because I don't look at OU through the pink spectacles like you is really hilarious. Of course Croatia Airlines transports more passengers than Aviogenex did - they fly on short segments in order to feed LH group. Aviogenex had been flying 3 or 4 hours flights, not 45 minutes or 1 hour flights like OU, and therefore transporting less passengers. But what matters is that only 3rd airline company in Yugoslavia, 30 years ago, was bigger, or if you are so much hurt with it, I will say the same size as Croatia Airlines, was MAKING MONEY. And if not party bot or uhljeb, as you claim, you should be aware that both you and me are paying for the company which is supposed to be much bigger and much better than Aviogenex, even without dotations and subventions from you and me, and all other, not to mention with all of the money we pumped in it. I really don't understand you don't want to understand that I don't want Croatia Airlines to go bankrupt or to cease operations. Because it has potential. I am unhappy and dissapointed that OU did not become what it was supposed to become and to be bigger and better,not to have same fleet size and slightly more passengers than Aviogenex. 30 years and hundreds of millions of euros pumped in it should have made it possible. I am really sorry if you don't understand that, and if it makes me disrespectful, I apologize. And now definitely terminating commenting on this theme.
DeleteI agree with your criticism about OU and its managment, and i totally understand you but i really dont know where did you found that i see OU in any positive light? My point was, that we need OU in these times when aviation is recovering, not that it is succesuful, does good job, or is great, etc. It helps our economy by transporting passengers out of croatia all years round, and that we need in these times when most of the airlines suspended flights toward Croatia. But i agree, that it is not a good airline, and it should be better.
Deletehas anyone noticed that for the past year, croatia has been the only eu country which doesn't have a travel ban for the us? could this obvious advantage not have been used somehow? surely a single weekly flight ZAG-NYC is not unfeasible and would be profitable.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter now since the US introduced strict entry requirements and demand collapsed even more.
DeleteBan was for Schengen countries, that's why Croatia was not on the list (same as Bulgaria and Romania). I think what Croatian government should do is to negotiate visa free entry for Croatians traveling to the States. Croatia is one of few EU members (if I am correct together with Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania) that still needs visa for entering USA. That would probably also boost demand for USA.
Delete@An.14.58
DeleteIt is already done. Last year data show that refusal rate for croatian passport holders applying for the US visa was under 3%,which is the rate at which visa free travel is available. That was one before the last factor. The last one is double taxation abolishment agreement which is already prepared and should have been already signed but postponed because of corona. The US ambassador to Croatia announced visas will be lifted within few next months, the latest end of the year. I agree it is the step which will significantly boost the travel once corona crisis is over. And once again I repeat that OU could have benefit a lot from this (and not only NYC service) but as we all know it would not happen because they are to incompetent and to lazy to do anything on their own, except feeding Mutti
Do you think last year data will stand? Since there was so little travelling? But glad to hear that.
DeleteOU would bennefit so much from NYC route, especially during the winter when they would have another grounded aircraft for 60% of the time due low demand.
DeleteEver heard of maintenance? Ever heard of charter flights? Ever heard of leasing planes out? Ever heard of combining destinations from opposite hemispheres? Ever heard of bigger regional network and codesharing which contribute to reducing seasonality and increasing LF? Enjoy your sandwich!
DeleteCharter flights with widebody to where? Who would even lease legacy configured aircraft for charters or anything when you have bunch of these on a market with better configurations? Bigger regional network on the balkans? Oh, thats what JU, OS have and JP and MA had. All were succesful airlines.
DeleteYou show you have no idea what I talk about because you equal charter flights with lease out. Cabin configuration can be changed in less than 24 hours, although are not necessary for what I suggested and you didn't understand. Regional network does not have to include Balkans only in case of Croatia. Thinking out of the box can be answer to some of the questions you asked instead answering my questions. As far as I know, JU and OS still exist, and are in much bettet shape than OU, which has much more money pumped in it with no result. I can't comment MA because it is specific, but I can JP which worked on much smaller market, geographically closer to most emitive markets, with less diaspora and much less tourism, especially overseas, and it feeder status contributed to its demise. Now I will withdraw from the discuss ion because I cannot talk to people who don't want to hear what I am saying. In addition to that, pametniji popusta
Delete