Croatia Airlines to lease A319, Q400
Croatia Airlines plans to lease an Airbus A319 and Dash Q400 aircraft in the coming months, while it is also likely to renew a wetlease for a single Bombardier CRJ1000 jet. According to the “Tango Six” portal, the A319 and Q400 will be delivered to Zagreb on March 29 and May 1, respectively. The two aircraft will be dryleased, meaning they will be operated by the carrier’s own crew on a long-term basis. The airline is also expected to finalise a short-term wetlease of a CRJ1000 jet, which would form part of the fleet only during the summer months. As in previous cases, it would be operated by foreign crew. Over the past few years, Croatia Airlines has wetleased two CRJ1000s from Air Nostrum, which has expressed interest in acquiring shares in the Croatian carrier.
The fleet expansion will enable Croatia Airlines to add new routes and strengthen frequencies on a select number of routes. The airline is expected to introduce flights from Zagreb to Podgorica, Sofia and Tirana this summer. It is in discussions with Montenegro Airlines over cooperating on services between Podgorica and the Croatian capital. The General Manager of operator Airports of Montenegro, Danilo Orlandić, confirmed this week that flights to Zagreb would commence this summer. Croatia Airlines has so far also scheduled an additional weekly frequency on flights from Zagreb to Amsterdam and has boosted capacity to selected cities. The carrier is also expected to increase its number of charter operations, which will include flights from Ljubljana to Greece, among others.
The future structure of the country’s Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights will also have an impact on Croatia Airlines’ network. A new four-year contract for the upkeep of subsidised domestic flights will come into force this year, with the Croatian government looking to increase funding in order to include more services. Croatia Airlines told EX-YU Aviation News last month of its intention to expand both its fleet and route network during the year. The carrier said it was in the process of drafting such plans after which it would make a definitive decision. The developments come in the lead-up to the final stage of Croatia Airlines’ privatisation process, which is expected to be finalised by June.
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