New Croatian start-up plans summer 2022 launch

The Adriatic Croatia International Club (ACI) is in the process of establishing a commercial seaplane operator - ACI Air - with plans for the airline to serve thirty destinations with up to five aircraft. It comes five years following the collapse of the German-owned and Split-based European Coastal Airlines (ECA). Speaking at a recent Aviation Arena Webinar, ACI’s head of Special Projects, Zdravko Delić, said, “We are launching our airline with a focus on hydro flights, similar to what ECA established a few years ago. Unfortunately, that company went into bankruptcy. However, ACI sees an opportunity in the market. We plan to operate Cessna Grand Caravan amphibian aircraft. We will acquire one turboprop, while another two will be leased. Depending on demand, the airline will have up to five aircraft in its fleet”.

The carrier plans to initially link its marinas through the seaplane service, while the second phase of its development will include operations from the mainland to the islands, primarily during the winter season. The third phase will entail international expansion, with flights between Croatia and Italy. “We opted for the Cessna Caravan because it can land at all of ACI’s marinas, which we have 22 of. Furthermore, we have acquired six seaports that were previously established by ECA. Therefore, we will have some thirty departure points on the Adriatic”, Mr Delić noted. He added, “Our plan is to acquire our first aircraft by the end of the year, and we are in the process of obtaining an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). We expect to have it within the next few months. Our plan is to launch operations by May 1, 2022 at the latest”.

ACI marinas

The airline’s owners have said its aircraft will be up to ten years old. The carrier will have its own maintenance base which will be Part-145 certified and has already begun selecting potential crew members. “We have observed the actions of our colleagues at ECA. We will take everything that was good from ECA, while those things that didn’t quite work out will be altered so we do not make the same mistakes as them”. The Adriatic Croatia International Club, established in 1986 as the Adriatic Club Yugoslavia, has expanded its operations from the initial sixteen marinas to 22. As a result, it now runs the largest chain of marinas in the Mediterranean.