Croatia Airlines has tentatively scheduled the entry into service of its second 149-seat Airbus A220-300 aircraft, named “Split”, for January 3, 2025. Based on its current schedule, the aircraft will enter into revenue service in the morning, with one A220 operating the Dubrovnik – Zagreb route, while the other will be flying between the Croatian capital and Brussels at the same time. On average, the airline has scheduled for each of its two A220s to maintain six operations per day or three return flights throughout January. Adjustments to the date of entry are possible at this early stage. The Croatian carrier has confirmed it will take delivery of the second A220 by the end of this year.
Croatia Airlines’ third A220 jet, which has already received its serial number, is due to arrive in March 2025 and by December of next year a further five aircraft will be delivered. As a result, Croatia Airlines will have a total of eight new aircraft by the end of 2025. Four additional units will be added in 2026 and three more in 2027. All the aircraft are being produced at the A220 Mirabel production facility near Montreal in Canada. Croatia Airlines has secured the jets through a financial lease, with the frames owned by aircraft leasing companies. Two of the fifteen units will be the slightly smaller A220-100 series.
As Croatia Airlines starts to grow its A220 fleet, it plans to introduce new destinations. The carrier’s CEO, Jasmin Bajić, recently said. “We are currently analysing twenty routes, which will be progressively introduced as new aircraft join the fleet. I can’t specifically say which ones due to the competition”. He added, “Foreign leasing companies purchased these aircraft for half a billion dollars and gave them to us to develop a business utilsing them, and that is exactly what we will do”. Croatia Airlines previously said the majority of the new routes it plans to introduce over the next three years will be in Europe and the Mediterranean region. Although the carrier has ruled out long-haul flights, it has said it is also eyeing longer-distance routes between three and six hours.
Excellent news
ReplyDeleteJasmin is a Legend
DeleteHe definitely is. He succeeded to portray himself as a kind of an expert who was fort years a dormant and neglected jewel buried in the company. Actually he was head of controlling in times of the most exaggerated over the top exhibitions of the Mišetić rule.
DeleteBut your biggest problem stays same no matter who is on top, you are losing money on every line. Yes, A220 use less fuel but it is heavier than Dash and you have such bad LF even on Dash.
DeleteWho is you?
DeleteA220 consumes less fuel even being heavier. It offers one more rotation per day. It is brand new and operational costs are definitely less. So, what is your point, other than jealousy?
DeleteJealous of what?
DeleteThe company behaves like a spoilt part whom his father the local mafia boss had bought a car so now he is showing off in front of his friends... Look what I got.
Buy it from your partner revenue.
Passenger revenue
DeleteHopefully they will start doing something with their network soon. This winter is a total disappointment.
ReplyDeleteI assume we will see some changes during the summer.
DeleteLet's hope so. I was hopeful with winter too.
DeleteConsidering they are not increasing any frequencies (or adding new routes), what are they going to do when the second A220 arrives? Ground one A319/A320? There won't be a need for it.
DeleteProbably the power by the hour Airbus will be sitting on the ground. Also they have to do maintenance on several aircraft in winter.
DeleteThey should first fix their European network and the way many European destinations miss regional connections. Only then should they focus on adding new routes.
DeleteIf there is no significant change to the summer schedule. Someone needs to start applying some pressure to the management team. Maybe a social media campaign or similar could be organised by someone who can and cares.
DeleteThe power by the hour Airbus is an A320 so it can probably sit idle for January-April period and the A220 can replace it. It makes sense actually.
DeleteSocial media pressure? This is a company that does not care at all about whether it is profitable or not, and where it flies to. Thankfully though, there is Ryanair in Zagreb.
DeleteYes, a good campaign could get people who matter or at least the media putting questions to the management. I can't believe this already is not a story in Croatian media.
DeleteAdding new planes is one thing, but will Croatia Airlines actually manage to fill them? Their current load factors aren’t great, and unless they drop their prices and improve the experience, I’m skeptical their finances will improve..
DeleteThere is an aviation blog in HR, but they are too much focused on Serbia and how "Serbian taxpayers money is wasted".
DeleteBut their money is Indeed wasted.
Delete@anon 11:49 Exactly! What's a bit frustrating is the fact that they could be profitable so easily. The reasons why they're not, are well known and I won't repeat them here.
DeleteI'm at a point where any good news from OU is welcome and I honestly do wish them well. At the same time, I never expect good news regarding OU, so if/when it happens, it's always a pleasant surprise.
Ultimately tho, all I really care about as a passenger is that there are alternatives. Regardless of whether they're cheaper LCC options - which btw aren't cheap any longer (even in the case of Ryanair), but they are cheaper and fly to some really cool destinations, or they're similarly priced, but in terms of the experience, often better other flagship carriers.
Any idea what the third A220 will be called?
ReplyDeleteIt will obviously be Dubrovnik after Zagreb and Split.
Deletelol true, I guess Zadar will be the fourth.
DeleteNot Dubrovnik. I predict Rijeka and then Osijek.
DeleteWhy? Wouldn't DBV make most sense considering it's their third largest airport in terms of ops. By their I mean OU's.
DeleteNikola Telsa
DeleteNikola Tesla already works for Serbia. No work permit in Croatia yet. hahahahaha
DeleteI like the model with the city names. Buzim would be the best name for the next airplane.
Sorry for the sarcasm, but the city names are optimal. Split, Osijek, Dubrovnik, Rijeka etc.
Because they are probably going in the order of population size, and it makes sense because they would be covering different regions. Zagreb-Split-Dubrovnik-Zadar is very coast-heavy. Zagreb-Split-Rijeka-Osijek covers practically the whole country.
DeleteCan't wait to fly with Karlovac and Sisak planes 😎
DeleteI would love to see Beli Manastir!
DeleteIf only Bosnia could get a airline working and adopt this scheme to name aircraft by cities.
DeleteThen I could fly on Jajce😂
No OU plane will ever be named Vrapče!
DeleteThere are plenty of names to choose from. They will include touristic hotspots for sure: Pula, Rovinj, Hvar, Plitvice National Park, Korčula... anything well known abroad.
DeleteWhen is the next Airbus A320-family supposed to leave?
ReplyDeleteI think the next one isn't due until something like September of next year. Not sure when the Dash's start leaving though.
DeleteThey said they will need a wet lease turboprop partner from 2026 so I assume that's when the Dashes start leaving.
DeleteWonder who that wet lease partner will be
DeleteProbably Braathens since it's now the wet lease partner for Lufthansa and they must do everything the same.
DeleteMaybe TradeAir
DeleteScandinavian Airlines and Braathens signed of a long-term wet lease partnership starting in Jan 2025. Braathens will operate the majority of its ATR 72-600 fleet for them. So, most of Braathens aircraft will operate for Sky Team (SAS).
DeleteBraathens also said it needs extra planes for existing clients so I don't think it's going to be them.
DeleteActually I would not be surprised at all if Trade Air gets ATRs and then OU wet leases it from them.
DeleteWhat airport is that on the photo?
ReplyDeleteBerlin
DeleteThank you!
DeleteModern control tower
DeleteFantastic news
ReplyDeleteFinally, considering it was supposed to be in the fleet this summer.
ReplyDeleteHow many seats will the A220-100s have?
ReplyDeleteThey have said it will have 127.
DeleteStill not sure what was the purpose of getting those.
DeleteThey can't operate with A220-300 from some airports. There were issues in Skopje this summer. The runway in Brac also can't accommodate A220-300 but can A220-100.
DeleteCan't wait to see a full apron of OU A220s in ZAG :)
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt’s hard to get excited about new planes when Croatia Airlines still hasn’t addressed the core issues that are affecting their business. Aircraft type certainly wasn't one of them.
DeleteAnd next to them the 12 Rafale!
DeleteJasmin went to Montreal last wee to check the aircraft. I believe it will be painted soon.
ReplyDeleteToo bad he didn't stay there.
DeleteWhat is the serial number of the second A220?
ReplyDeleteThere is one with serial number #55303 destined for Air Lease Corporation. I believe this will be OU's second A220.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering which are these 20 routes. Any guesses?
ReplyDeleteThey should expand to Portugal before Ryanair starts it. There is no hope for Spain anymore since Ryanair has taken that market.
DeleteLisbon, Cairo, Stockholm please!!
DeleteThose would be good
DeleteAll three could work year round. OU used to fly to Lisbon and so did TAP. Pity there is now no longer any airline serving these two capitals.
Delete"Foreign leasing companies purchased these aircraft for half a billion dollars and gave them to us to develop a business utilsing them, and that is exactly what we will do"
ReplyDeleteThey didn't give it to you. You are paying for them.
Meanwhile they are about to report loss for Q3 in 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteNot good
DeleteThey have been spending a bit of money recently so the loss could be a decent size one.
Delete'Spending money they don't have.
DeleteLet’s be real—Croatia Airlines has always struggled to keep up with profitability and competition. I’m not convinced adding new planes will change much if they don’t fix their poor route planning.
DeleteThe state will prop them up.
Delete^ Unfortunately that's truem
Delete* true
DeleteGood. Finally time to spread their wings!
ReplyDeleteThey could have spread them for years.
DeleteThey will spread their wings. More flights to MUC, FRA.
DeleteThe new aircraft look very sleek
ReplyDeleteInside too. Great cabins
DeleteReally nice.
ReplyDeleteSmart move by Croatia Airlines to upgrade their fleet with the A220s. It’s a modern and fuel-efficient aircraft that should help lower operating costs while offering more comfort for passengers. I’m particularly curious about the longer-distance routes they’re eyeing—maybe we’ll see connections to the Middle East or even parts of North Africa?
ReplyDeleteFor them, they'll probably launch something in Portugal and just maybe CAI. Otherwise, highly unlikely with this managment we'll see something in the Middle East.
DeleteAnd Scandinavia, to add to my reply.
DeleteThere is really nothing they can do in the Middle East. I highly doubt they will compete with Flydubai by serving Dubai. Destinations like Beirut, Amman etc are off the cards now and I highly doubt they are going to try something like Kuwait or Bahrain.
DeleteIf they were smart, they could fly from DBV or SPU to Saudi Arabia or the UAE during the summer. They would be full of Arab tourists.
DeleteIt’s about time Croatia Airlines upgraded their fleet, but I doubt this will fix their long-standing issues with lack of profitability and high ticket prices.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThis probably means plane will arrive towards end of December. Maybe just before Christmas.
ReplyDeleteMore aircraft, same old problems. I wouldn’t be surprised if this just leads to more inefficiency and financial troubles down the line.
ReplyDeleteThe main problem is that OU is a state owned company run by people loyal to the club with no expertise, rather than a dynamic profit orientated company taking advantage of a large tourism potential.
ReplyDeleteVery true. But, I believe they run her at a loss on purpose. State money can be funnelled into who knows which pockets. Harder to get state money if your are profitable.
DeleteTrue
DeleteDoes not change the fact that management is incompetent.
DeleteCurrently OU has 4 A319, 3 A320 and 6 Q400 = totaling 1554 seats across all of those planes.
ReplyDeleteWith all the A220 they wil have 2191 seats across.
This is almost 40% capacity increase.
Just saying
They also have one A220 now, a total of 14 aircraft. After all A220 are in and all other aircraft are out, they will have a total of 15 aircraft. While seat capacity will increase, going from 14 to 15 aircraft does not allow them to add 20 new routes. Constraint is not seat capacity but number of aircraft. Uness they add a lot of wet leased ones.
DeleteRotations will increase with a jet only fleet.
DeleteThey will have more jets as there will be 15, compared to current 7. Dashes are being replaced by wet leases so A220s won't be used on Dash routes.
Delete14:54 Q400 does most routes in about an hour. Management wants to deploy some A220 on longer-distance routes between three and six hours, so rotations will drop unless they grow overnight operations, like some other regional airlines already do.
DeleteDont they use the Q400 even to places like Brussels
DeleteFrom time to time, yes
DeleteBetter late than never
ReplyDeleteIt's late by some 8 months. Considering how late Airbus and Boeing deliveries are at the moment, that's not that bad.
DeleteFair point
Delete