The assembly of Croatia Airlines' first Airbus A220 aircraft is entering its final phase. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, Croatia Airlines confirmed the first of fifteen units will be the 149-seat -300 series. The airline plans to take a total of twelve jets of the type and a further three of the smaller 127-seat A220-100. “The first of fifteen new Airbus A220 aircraft (serial number MSN 55290) is in the final stage of production. The scheduled completion of painting is May 31 and the takeover is expected by the end of June this year”, Croatia Airlines’ spokesperson, Davor Janušić, told EX-YU Aviation News. The airline will unveil its new livery with the arrival of the first A220, with an emphasis to be put on revamping the carrier’s logo.
Croatia Airlines plans to take delivery of its second A220 towards the end of the year. Apart from the aircraft, the airline is also acquiring 33 Pratt & Whitney GTF engines for the aircraft. All the A220s will be new and under a financial lease for a set period, after which the airline will have the option to replace them with newer aircraft, however, it will be unable to acquire them. Croatia Airlines has said that following the aircraft’s delivery to Zagreb, they will be put into service swiftly as soon as administrative procedures are completed. “The new and higher-quality A220 aircraft, will ensure a better response to the specific needs of passengers and a more efficient business model, thanks to which additional business opportunities will open up and enable the gradual expansion of the flight network, which will simultaneously ensure that passengers, the Republic of Croatia as the owner, as well as employees see an improvement", the carrier said.
Croatia Airlines will expand its network with the arrival of new A220s but will continue to primarily focus on Europe and the Mediterranean region. The carrier’s CEO, Jasmin Bajić, said, “Our network analysts always keep about twenty potential routes in the pipeline. They undertake daily monitoring of the wishes and needs of our passengers, as well as trends in the aviation industry. Some of our routes are year-round from Zagreb, and some are seasonal from our Adriatic coast. All new potential destinations are primarily located in Europe and the Mediterranean”.
Croatia Airlines’ A220s will boast an improved onboard product, with seats, in a two by three layout, featuring USB A and USB C ports, as well as smartphone and tablet holders. The carrier has selected Panasonic Avionics for its inflight WiFi, opting for the technology company’s Ku-band antenna, which became available on the market only last year. This includes support for both LEO (low earth orbit) and GEO (geostationary orbit) satellite networks, higher speed throughput, greater aerodynamic efficiency, gate-to-gate operations, and reduced operating costs. Apart from WiFi availability, the carrier will feature its own digital content which will be available to passengers through the airline’s application, accessible while airborne.
Will Croatian Government pay for these planes?
ReplyDeleteNo they will pay lease.
DeleteOU will be paying the lease.
Deletebravo Djasmine
DeleteNice, the A220s are beautiful jets
ReplyDeleteDashbus
DeleteSo if they get it end of June, when can it realistically enter into service?
ReplyDeleteEnd of July
DeleteIf the plane is arriving entering service in July, I'm surprised they haven't already scheduled it on some routes.
DeleteI think they still don't know exactly themselves when it will be able to enter service. I assume it will be used for a month on domestic hops for familiarization purposes.
DeleteSo we should finally see the new livery early next month.
ReplyDeleteI think it will be just some minor changes.
DeleteIt mentions in the text something to do with the logo.
DeleteWe will find out in two wees.
DeleteAgain the office on the second floor shifting into an irrelevant direction
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteWhere are the A220's produced?
ReplyDeleteIn France or in USA??
Isn't it Canada? This is former Bombardier plane
DeleteCanada.
DeleteMirabel production to 10 A220s a month, with 4 A220s a month in Mobile!
DeleteMobile in Alabama ..?
DeleteYup, where Airbus has their own fascility...
DeleteI believe that the Mobile plant only delivers to US customers, though. There are some big orders from Delta, JetBlue and Breeze to keep them busy. All non-US customers' aircraft should therefore be built in Montreal.
DeleteCan't wait
ReplyDeleteHopefully the issue with the GTF engines has been solved by Pratt on newly delivered frames.
ReplyDeleteI believe so
DeleteAfter a recent modification involving a change of oil pipe situation improved significantly but durability problems remain, so engines still come in for maintenance sooner than expected. The problem was also shortage of Pratt & Whitney engines for Airbus A220 jets, that have eased now but will still to take more than a year before disruption is lifted altogether. That’s why it is important that OU planned a spare engine from the beginning of its order.
DeleteThanks for explanation
DeleteSmart decision by OU.
DeleteCyprus Airways one of its two A220s is grounded because of engine issues and the airline was forced to lease an A320 from Dan Air I believe.
Their own A320s were leased to Aegean because they counted on flying with the A220s and now were left high and dry like so many others.
That isn't really a good sign
DeleteAnon 09:30 can you please tell us where those leased a320 from Cyprus to Aegean flying from because one thing is for sure , they don't fly from ATH .
Delete@Anon 12:23
Delete5B-DDQ is based in Rhodes and 5B-DDR is based in HER.
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/5b-ddq
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/5b-ddr
Make or break moment for OU. Hope they make it.
ReplyDelete+1
Deleteat least they are trying to improve
DeleteGetting an entire new fleet is much more than a mere shot aimed at improvement.
DeleteIt will surely boost the PLF...
DeleteElementary mathematics
How will loads be improved when loads on current fleet is below European average and they have less capacity now then they will with A220s?
DeleteI assume routes like ZAG-DBV and ZAG-SPU will be the first to get it. For training purposes.
ReplyDeleteHighly likely
DeleteHow much training do they need other than the training they will get before the plane arrives? Their longest flight is to London which is like 2 hours 40 minutes. It's not like they got a widebody and need to prepare for 10 hour legs.
DeleteI really hope Croatia makes it work. Would be great to see them fly those birds for a decade or two. Let's see what happens, and wish them all the best
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird and comfortable ride for passengers.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the first pics
ReplyDeleteWould it have been possible to get the E2s sooner if they had gone for them? Or does it also have isaues?
ReplyDeleteIt also has the same Pratt engine.
DeleteDidn't know that. Thanks.
DeleteHow many airlines even operate the E2? It hasn't really taken off with airlines.
DeleteIn Europe: Helvetic, KLM, LOT, Luxair
DeleteThey'll have 127 seats as minimum with PSO flights from Pula, Brač, Mostar.... My guess is than sooner or later they'll be leasing an ATR or two - Austrian style
ReplyDeleteTheir LF will definitely struggle in the beginning.
DeleteThey have more than 3 years to find solution for those short flights with relatively low LF. Maybe some kind of cooperation with Trade Air to operate those flights.
DeleteQ 400s will remain in the fleet till late 2027, by which point all A220s should be delivered. There's a tiny chance 2 Q400s will remain in the fleet past 2027, depends on demand of course.
DeleteTradeair discussed a possibility of buying ATR42-600 so that would be a perfect solution. Add some "visit Croatia" stickers to it and you are good to go
Delete^ not a bad idea actually
DeleteI don't think OU would give up the opportunity for PSO funding no matter what plane Trade Air gets.
DeleteGreat idea. Trade has a good record operating Turbolet ...
DeleteTurbolet operations was a wet-lease. Trade Air did not operate those flights.
DeleteFinally we have serial number :)
ReplyDeleteWhat new routes are they thinking about?
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit disappointed tgat it does not seem they plan anything outside Europe.
Delete*that
Deletethere go my hopes of them introducing Dubai or another destination in the Middle East.
DeleteTLV could work.
DeleteThey already flew to TLV before the war.
DeleteAny idea what the Croatian registration will be for the first aircraft?
ReplyDelete9A-CAE
DeleteWhy not start with 9A-CAA?
DeleteWho cares?
DeleteAviation enthusiasts that usually frequent aviation sites like this one.
DeleteIt's finally happening!
ReplyDeleteAnd people were saying how it would not. So much for that.
Delete^ people are generally extremely negative in this part of the world. No matter the country or topic.
Delete@10:37
DeleteTrue dat! Hating on the neighbor is the favorite Balkan past time.
It's a completely different vibe when it comes to Eurovision, i.e. Don't know when aviation became so toxic...
DeleteHonestly the comments seem way more civilized as of late.
DeletePerhaps the mods finally started enforcing TOS and swept away the trolls.
Bravo OU! The next improvement needs to be upgrading business class product which is currently dismal.
ReplyDeleteMuch more important is them improving their connectivity. They have so much potential, especially being Star Alliance member and they offer so few transfer opportunities (excluding domestic flights). Even on their website you can't buy connecting flights to many cities where the schedule actually works.
DeleteBoth points are valid. Their catering for example has been one of the most impacted in the last few years. A big slide down from what it used to be (in business) and I don't think it would take a big investment to improve.
DeleteOf course, when the operating costs surge multiple fold. There will be plenty of money to do all that and more
DeleteWow very good news
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the A220s but I really hope they try to explore some new regions with them.
ReplyDeleteThe shores of Bankruptcy?
DeleteI'm wondering which are these 20 routes that they have in the pipeline. Any guesses?
ReplyDeleteMost of the routes that they have not resumed from Zagreb are now on the airport's incentives list. My guess it is some of those.
DeleteYes, it was just the airplane that was holding them back. It was impossible to find an airplane to bring to fruition all those phenomenal bright ideas they had (bright people as they are). Airplanes are impossible to find. It was the other way around; they got them and now don't know what to do with them. So they'll have to do something.
DeleteNot too long to go now before it arrives in ZAG :)
ReplyDeleteI was expecting them to make a bit more noise about the new planes. What is their marketing/PR team doing?
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about a PR team that did a photo shoot in 2019 dressing two models in some made up uniforms (not OU uniforms) and now they use those on all promo material. I just don't understand why when they are not even in OU's uniform! Crazy (and it's not even similar).
DeleteWonder if wifi will be free
ReplyDeleteFree wifi only makes sense if it is a large airline.
DeleteIt will probably be free for business class pax and *A gold. The rest will be paying a fee.
DeleteLet's see how this plays out on the airline's bottom line.
ReplyDeleteHow long does each lease for the A220 last? 10 years?
ReplyDeleteDepending on the jurisdiction and type of lease. One thing is sure they will NOT opt to buy them at the end of the lease... They'll lease them again at the same cost. That they did with the infamous DH4. What's the financial logic behind that?? We can only speculate.
DeleteTony
What will be the seat pitch?
ReplyDelete32 inches I thing.
DeletePersonally, I prefer Embraer 175/195 over A220. Much more comfortable and more quit airplane.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteReally? CS3 was famed for its pax experience inside the cabin incl the massive windows, storage, mood lighting, minimal noise. At least E1 jets cannot come close in any of these categories. Dunno about E2, never flew with any, but from what I read, doubt it can beat A220 in only one category.
DeleteWhy did Bulgaria Air get the A220 so much sooner and faster?
ReplyDelete