Croatia Airlines: A220 “perfect fit” for fleet

Croatia Airlines has said the Airbus A220 aircraft is an ideal choice for its upcoming fleet renewal, as the European plane manufacturer presented the jet in Zagreb yesterday. During a demonstration flight for airline executives and aviation industry stakeholders, the national carrier’s Chief Commercial Officer, Slaven Žabo, said, “This is an aircraft that has been designed today for the next thirty years, which is something we need. These are narrow-body jets that delight with their comfort and I think they would perfectly fit within Croatia Airlines fleet”. The Croatian carrier is on the lookout for new jets as it plans to renew its fleet with up to fifteen aircraft. The A220 is believed to be the front-runner in their selection process.

Airbus’ Head of Single-Aisle Market Development, Claude Debaquenne, noted that the A220 would allow Croatia Airlines to launch a number of new routes, with its range enabling the carrier to cover all of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The CEO of airBaltic, Martin Gauss, who was present in Zagreb yesterday as the largest operator of the A220, said that Croatia Airlines could have similar benefits from the aircraft as the Latvian carrier, since it is profitable to operate both on longer routes, as well as short sectors, such as the one Croatia Airlines has domestically. airBaltic now exclusively operates the A220 and has retired other aircraft types from its fleet. Its longest route with the jet is between Riga - Dubai, taking over six hours. 

The A220 family, comprising the A220-100 and the A220-300, is considered to be the most efficient small single-aisle aircraft. It has a range of up to 6.390 kilometres, as well as widest seats, largest windows and 20% more overhead stowage space per passenger than other narrow-body aircraft. Its windows are bigger than that on the Boeing 777. Currently there are ten operators committed to the type. In addition to airBaltic, they include, Swiss, Korean Air, Delta Air Lines, Air Tanzania, Egypt Air, Air Canada, jetBlue, Air Manas and Air Austral. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW1500G latest generation engines (geared turbofans), belonging to the same engine family as those powering the A320neo family.

EX-YU Aviation News

Share this post