Croatian start-up charts development with growing fleet

Croatian start-up carrier Fly Air41 Airways, which began operations this summer, has taken delivery of its third aircraft. The Airbus A320 jet, registered 9A-SHO (pictured), is twelve years old and previously operated on behalf of Air Arabia and Air Cairo. Since its registration, the plane has been stationed in Dusseldorf out of which it has been operating holiday flights. The carrier’s other two jets, an A319 registered 9A-BER and A320 registered 9A-IRM, are also operating out of Germany in cooperation with leisure carrier Sundair. Speaking at a recent Aviation Arena Webinar, Fly Air41’s Accountable Manager, Branimir Vuković, said, “Fly Air41 and Sundair are separate companies. One is Croatian and the other German. They are linked through the owner. The same person owns both airlines. We are trying to completely separate these two companies. Each has their own accounts, postholders and so on. Each company looks after themselves. However, we have inherited some of the agreements Sundair has with its strategic partners. These are German tour operators”.

Commenting on the prospects of commencing operations out of Croatia, Mr Vuković said, “Coming to Croatia and launching flights out of Croatia is the next step. We will work with Croatian tour operators at a later stage. For now, in the beginning, our fleet is fully utilised”. He added, “As a charter airline, we are in talks with various stakeholders. For example, we held talks with Osijek Airport. However, in our industry, things move quickly. We are part of a global system and we have constant expenses, meaning that we must generate revenue. So, whoever is the quickest to offer us a contract, we will accept it. If a tour operator from Germany offers us a contract, we will take it. The game is to make those contracts as durable as possible, as well as to make firm agreements with the other side. No one is going to wait for an airport in Croatia or anywhere else. If an airport asks us to fly somewhere, we respond that our aircraft is available for the next three years. That means that we have made an extensive and firm agreement and positioned ourselves on the market. Therefore, it is not a choice. It is about securing contracts. We don’t think that we need to force Croatian destinations but, of course, we are open to discussions with everyone”.

Fly Air41 Airways was established at the end of last year and started the process of obtaining an Air Operator’s Certificate in February 2021. It received the permit in August and has cooperated with another newly established Croatian-registered charter airline ETF Airways. “Currently, the situation is quite favourable for start-ups. Previously, they were considered as problematic and risky compared to established airlines, while acquiring aircraft was expensive. The current situation is such that existing airlines have significant debts, problems and risks associated with them. This means we can independently talk with aircraft owners, which are leasing companies or banks, and we are confident that we have negotiated sound terms for our jets”.