Croatia Airlines expands fleet
Croatia Airlines, the only national carrier in the former Yugoslavia maintaining scheduled commercial flights, has taken delivery of a newly leased Airbus A319 aircraft. The jet, now registered 9A-CTN, has been painted in the company’s full colour scheme and is eight years old. It initially operated on behalf of Germania, before being utilised by HiFly Malta. It has been in storage since November of last year. The aircraft has the capacity to seat 150 passengers, which is slightly more than the rest of Croatia Airlines’ A319 fleet. The lease was negotiated prior to the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus Covid-19 in Europe. The A319 has been leased for a period of eight years and will become the fifth of the type in its fleet. Furthermore, the aircraft will become the youngest member of the carrier’s fleet.
Croatia Airlines also arranged a lease of a Dash 8 Q400 prior to the Covid crisis. It is unclear whether the lease will go ahead. The aircraft is to be delivered at the end of April and is to have a low utilisation rate. The plan is for the turboprop to be primarily used as a spare, so as to limit network disruption, by supplementing any aircraft which may go out of service due to technical reasons. Croatia Airlines also plans to go ahead with the launch of two new routes from Zagreb this summer, to Sofia and Podgorica, although their inaugural service has been moved by a month to early June.
Croatia Airlines continues to maintain a limited network in Europe as the coronavirus progresses. The majority of the carrier’s fleet is still in use. The company recently noted its booking numbers and overall demand have sharply decreased. During the first twenty days of the month, Croatia Airlines has been carrying an average of 2.590 passengers per day. The carrier’s privatisation process has been suspended until further notice “due to the risks and unfavourable circumstances currently prevalent in the aviation sector”, as a result of the coronavirus.
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