Croatia Airlines plans to select a wet-lease capacity provider for turboprop planes by the end of next year, with the aircraft expected to enter service on behalf of the Croatian carrier in 2026. The airline, which is transitioning to a single-type, fifteen-member, Airbus A220 fleet, previously confirmed it would wet-lease turboprops for regional routes to replace its existing six-member Dash 8s. “What we plan to do next is find a partner for 2026 that will operate on our behalf on shorter routes through a wet-lease arrangement. That will involve the partner airline’s crew and aircraft. Austrian Airlines currently has the same agreement with Braathens. These aircraft will be used on shorter routes such as Sarajevo, Vienna, and Osijek”, Croatia Airlines’ CEO, Jasmin Bajić, said yesterday. By 2027, the Croatian carrier will take delivery of thirteen A220-300s, with the capacity to seat 149 passengers, and two A220-100s with 127 seats, the latter effectively becoming the smallest aircraft in its fleet.
Croatia Airlines’ existing turboprop fleet is under an operational lease. The agreement was concluded in 2007 with GOAL (German Operating Aircraft Leasing), a joint venture between Lufthansa and KGAL, for a period of ten years. GOAL has since sold the units utilised by Croatia Airlines to Falco Regional Aircraft. The lease for the Dash 8s has been extended on several occasions. The 76-seat Dash fleet has been a workhorse for the airline. During the first seven months of this year, the turboprops operated on a total of 8.601 flights compared to the Airbus jet fleet which has been utilised on 6.247 flights.
Mr Bajić said this year will be a challenge for the airline both operationally and financially due to the start of the carrier’s fleet transition. “This year will be challenging because it is a year of transition, we are moving from one type of aircraft to another, we have a lot of training, so we are very exposed on the cost side. We also had to remove pilots from their duties for two months in order for them to complete their training. That's why this year we hired fifteen new pilots. We are constantly taking in more pilots, and it is good that they come to us from other airlines, while even some who left us for other carriers are now coming back”, the CEO said.
Weren’t they all about a one type fleet and now not? Confusion?
ReplyDeleteOdd strategy.
Deleteone type operator only on paper.
DeleteWhat a confused airline.
DeleteDo you know what is a single type operator?
Delete^ i certainly hope OU pays you for your online defence service. Dr. Jasmin must be proud.
DeleteIt is a great tragedy if uhljebs know more about aviations than you.
Delete@Anonymous09:02
DeleteWeren’t they all about a one type fleet and now not? Confusion?
OU will be a single aircraft operator, it'll WET Lease 2 turboprops for above mentioned routes. These aircraft will be part of 3rd party and OU will just lease their services as sending A220 100 to Osijek is pointless. There's existing agreement with another operator on Osijek route. Forgot who operates it, not sure if it is Trade air on behalf of Croatian airlines. Same deal will apply in future but with an operator that has more capacity.
Sprint Air with Saab 340
DeleteAny idea on how many aircraft they will wet lease? 6 to replace all 6 Dash 8s?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing it will be 2-3
DeleteBy that logic then, many Q400 routes will be transferred to A220s.
DeleteThe thing is they use Dashes across their network. Even to destinations like Brussels. So I really wonder how many turboprops they will we lease.
DeleteAt most 2!!! They don't need more.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteHow much will this cost on top of the A220 payments?
ReplyDeleteConcerned tax payer? 😂
DeleteNo. just wondering since every other sentence about the the A220s was how they were going to save a lot of money.
Delete@9.05 try to separate your patriotism and national pride from a an airline run by Jasmin Bajic, alma mater Apeiron University Banja Luka .
DeleteBoth the A220s and turboprops will be earning money.
DeleteI wonder if it will be a single or more capacity providers.
ReplyDeleteDepends on how many planes they will wet-lease
DeleteYou can bet it will be Lufthansa affiliated.
DeleteAnother conspiracies with Lufthansa..
Delete^ yes, you are right. This was a coincidence too. At the time the company's CEO was also sitting on the board of Lufthansa Cityline. Complete coincidence too.
Delete"Croatia Airlines’ existing turboprop fleet is under an operational lease. The agreement was concluded in 2007 with GOAL (German Operating Aircraft Leasing), a joint venture between Lufthansa and KGAL, for a period of ten years."
“Mr Bajić said this year will be a challenge for the airline both operationally and financially due to the start of the carrier’s fleet transition.”
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me the financial results this year will be terrible.
He's already put it out there that OU needs more local taxpayers money to keep going.
DeleteAnd the PM confirmed yesterday they would never not give them money
DeleteThe PM clearly does not understand EU law.
DeleteThe PM of Croatia is so powerful in the EU that he can do what he wants and Ursula will pretend she does not know about it. So our taxpayer money will be given once again to this disasterous loss-making company.
Delete"The PM of Croatia is so powerful in the EU"
Delete😂😂😂
He is actually quite well regarded because he does as he is told. Will probably get a high ranking position in the EU once he decides to no longer be PM, if EPP is still in power in Europe.
DeleteSo OU Dashes should be here for one more year
ReplyDeleteThey might start leaving next year
DeleteNo, last DASH will leave the fleet in 2027. ATRs have already been selected, this is just an attempt at lovering the cost.
DeleteSo which airline did they select then?
DeleteNo airline, a financial institution. Same as A220s.
DeleteLet's see if they go for ATR or Dashes.
ReplyDeleteATR for sure.
DeleteWhy are you so sure it will be ATR?
DeleteIt is far more economical aircraft than the Q400. Although it is slower.
DeleteBecause France is for Croatia what Germany used to be. US is confused, a result of a series of non-influential Ambassadors IN DC.
Delete"Anonymous11:55
DeleteBecause France is for Croatia what Germany used to be."
That is an odd statement. Just cause Croatia bought Rafale aircraft from France and some other defence systems doesn't mean Croatia is French sphere or w.e you tried to say, Croatia opted for Rafale fighters cause France offered best and fastest solution to HRZ. US was offering F-35s to Croatia and for a short while it was tempting offer, but delivery dates would have been around 2028/9, and HRZ needed new fighters in 2024/5, French came with the best offer and delivery dates and this is why the fighters were purchased.
Integration of most European companies means it really doesn't matter where you buy passenger aircraft for many parts for these aircraft are built across the EU. An a final note, Croatia airlines won't be the owner of turboprops, but will WET lease these aircraft, anyone can bid for the contract, anyone can win, if airline that uses ATR aircraft wins, then it'll be ATR, if it some other type.... These flights will be operated on behalf of Croatian Airlines, they won't be part of the OU fleet. It is a WET lese after all.
Wouldn't it make more sense to extend current leases of Dash 8s?
ReplyDeleteT he Dashes are 16 years old. Probably would need D check soon and also they would have to keep pilots and crew trained on the type, which they obviously don't want.
Delete* the
DeleteNo
DeleteSo what is the strategy exactly? They are getting rid of planes they obviously need in favor of planes that are too large for many routes so they are going to wet lease turboprops until the end of time?
ReplyDeleteThey most likely hope that over time they would be able to fill A220s to places like Sarajevo, although I don't see a chance of that happening.
DeleteYou can just imagine how many of these new birds will be sat around doing nothing in the depths of winter whilst wet leased propeller jobbies, with the correct capacity for the market will be flying around at additional expense to the tax payer.
Delete^ highly likely
DeleteThis completely defeats the purpose of their fleet renewal and is a confirmation they chose the wrong aircraft types and will have a wrong fleet structure. Disappointing.
ReplyDeleteFully agree. Terrible business strategy.
Delete@ anon 10:10
DeleteI don't buy that marketing bs "25% lower costs". Real life is often something else.
Good for you not buying it. Most airlines however do and thus make a profit with a cost efficient fleet.
DeleteIt makes sense considering the loads they have on routes like SJJ.
ReplyDeleteThere is a reason why the Dash 8 is the workhorse for the airline.
DeleteWhy didn't they just order 13 A220s and got 2 turboprops from ATR?
ReplyDeleteHow can Air Baltic survive without props and OU can't?
ReplyDeleteBy not flying almost exclusively to LH hubs only
DeleteExactly that is why they fly half their fleet for Eurowings, Swiss and LH 😂
Delete@anon 10:19
DeleteBT flies half their fleet for EW, LX and LH under very expensive wetlease agreements. They are money-making arrangements for BT.
Yes money making, but not needed for their own ops.
Delete@Vlad: the terms are very favourable for both sides. Swiss unions have been complaining vehemently about AirBaltic flying for them, as they undermine the collective agreements of Swiss. Crews of Air Baltic earn a fraction of the Swiss crews. But yes it is a win win situation. Without these BT would have have their fleet parked in RIX. So in response to the 9.27 commentator it is quite ironic that they do exactly (and more than OU) that, flying to LH hubs.
DeleteAnonymous11:23
DeleteBingo!!
That is the hidden motive why all these airlines that are on periphery that buy A220. Of course BT is in bit more difficult situation than Croatia Airlines so the easier to see.in any case it is race to the bottom for the European aviation.
similar to what Austrian is doing now with wet leasing ATR72 after they got rid of Dashes. At least Croatia Airlines realized they would need them on time, unlike Austrian which took a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteAustrian has a much bigger fleet and more alternatives, including Embraers.
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteIf I made decisions like those, I would have been fired on the spot from the company I am working for. It is amazing how people (the employer) are willing to tolerate incompetent employees in their companies. All over Balkan...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey will probably contract Sky Alps DH8Ds and their Maltese partner airline.
ReplyDeleteDoes Sky Alps do wet leases?
DeleteYes, it recently had contracts with Aeroitalia, Malta MedAir and are working on an ACMI contract to fly on LHG routes
DeleteWow didn't know that. Thanks.
DeleteIt would not be easy to fill planes on Dash routes which have double the capacity, especially since their current LF is below average. So this makes sense, although ones has to question the financial rationale.
ReplyDeleteAnd for how many years will they wet lease these planes?
ReplyDeleteThe only way to grow your load factor, and therefore reduce the need of Dashes, is by growing your network, increasing transfer passenger share and having more competitive pricing. But this has not occurred to OU management
ReplyDeleteExactly. In order to have better loads, you need to have system of waves, so that your passengers can actually transfer to their flights in a reasonable time. You cannot have tickets that are more expensive on your system than on your code-share partner's system. You must have reasonable prices for both direct and transfer tickets. You must be competitive and offer something. New planes, internet on board, charging ports - that is all great, but if I can get a cheaper and more convenient flight times from another company, then these things will not make me select Croatia. Croatia's management are clowns that are worrying more about Lufthansa and their interest than about the interest of people of Croatia. Fascinating!
DeleteThey should hire Air Serbia's ATRs, they have them too many, of course if they would be interested. Btw. I don't understand the strategy of getting rid of the props just to get the new ones. It seems they'd like to be a single type operator on paper
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteNo, JU does not have "too many".
DeleteWhat a plonker!
ReplyDeleteWho?
DeleteWait, they are switching the whole fleet without a precise plan how, where and with what? They should have a plan detailing everything for each day for next two-three years. If my company (hardcore aviation industry) planed our big changes like OU is, we would be long dead and forgotten….
ReplyDeleteWhat a nonsense from the early beginning of the fleet change process! OU should keep their DH4s and exchange their 319/320s with a 5-8x A220s or simply exchange the whole DH4/319/320 fleet into 15-20x E175/E290/E295 and operate one family of aircraft to reduce costs. Now they are getting to many A220s which are simply to big and will pay much more to wetlease turboprops just to call themselves as one fleet type carrier. Its worth to remember that due to location of ZAG close to Alps use of ATR would be limited to ex-YU as well as VIE, BUD, PRG and Italy (south of Venice) as ATRs would be unable to fly over the Alps. So DH4s will be the only option.
ReplyDeleteSince when are ATRs unable to fly over the Alps?!?!
DeleteThe Dash is simply no longer competitive as an aircraft. Time for them to go
ReplyDeleteNever liked them. Lot's of issues with landing gear.
DeleteIf they were going for fleet renewal, would it not have been better to have ordered 3-5 regional jets and 5-7 A220s?
ReplyDeleteRemember that they were limited by an agreement they already had with Airbus.
DeleteNuts
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteI like how they put the squares on the winglets on the A220 on the photo. Looks nice.
ReplyDeleteSince these will be long term wet leases, would they paint the plane in OU livery? What did Austrian do?
ReplyDeleteWhen I say Austrian I mean did they paint those Braathens planes?
DeleteThe Brathens wet lease is short term, at least officially until the end of summer.
DeleteAs for OU, it's unusual for wet leased planes to be painted. I'm excluding the contractor deals US carriers have with regional airlines. The Brathens ones are not in Austrian livery.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if this is going to be some deal with Trade Air where Trade Air gets turboprops.
ReplyDeleteThey will need turboprops mostly in the winter
ReplyDeletethey will likely wet-lease ATRs from BRA, same as Austrian this summer.
ReplyDeleteI hear that BRA is struggling with lack of crew, so I doubt it's a good idea for them to expand their ACMI business abroad. Apparently, the pay is poor by Swedish standards and the reason why they get crew anyway is that they have been able to live in Swedish regional cities, having a comfortable life, returning home to their families almost every night instead of staying away in hotels. When they are now suddenly sent off to VIE to fly for OS, they look for other jobs instead.
Delete