Croatia Airlines to deploy turboprops on most routes in winter
Croatia Airlines will be utilising its Dash 8 Q400 turboprops on the majority of its international flights during the upcoming 2020/2021 winter season, which begins on October 25, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to crush demand for air travel. Based on preliminary plans, the Croatian carrier will deploy the 76-seat aircraft on flights from Zagreb to Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Munich, Rome, Sarajevo and Zurich. The airline will continue to operate its jet-engine Airbus A320 family fleet on services to London, Skopje and Paris, although flights to the French capital will on occasion see the Q400 based on current schedules. From Split, the carrier will utilise the turboprops on services to Munich and Rome, while flights to Frankfurt will continue to see the deployment of the Airbus fleet.
Croatia Airlines has six Q400s in its fleet, which have come as a useful asset during the ongoing period of reduced demand. Speaking at this week’s Aviation Arena Seminar, Croatia Airlines’ Chief Pilot, Davor Mišić, said, “As we continue to reduce costs, we have decreased capacity on many routes by deploying our Dash fleet. This winter, we will utilise the Dash aircraft much more than in previous years compared to the Airbuses”. He added, “The existing capacity we have is far too much under the current circumstances. Even during the first half of next year we expect to be using the Dashes more than before”.
The Croatian Chamber of Economy now estimates Croatia Airlines will register a 52.5 million euro net loss this year, while it predicts losses during the first half of 2021 will amount to 25 million euros. “As soon as the new restrictive measures were imposed across Europe in recent weeks, we saw a significant decline in demand. Compared to last year, we plan to operate around 50% of our flights this winter, which is around twenty to thirty flights per day, including both domestic and international services. Revenue from these flights will be insufficient for our future operations. The national carrier, along with all airports in the country, anticipates a financial injection from the state. We hope to be able to find a satisfactory model for it”, Mr Mišić noted.
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