Croatia Airlines plans sale and leaseback of A320-family fleet
Croatia Airlines plans to sell and leaseback Airbus A320-family aircraft it currently owns as it prepares to take delivery of its first A220 jets next year and eventually become an all A220-operator. “In 2023, the company plans to agree on and effectuate a sale and leaseback of its own Airbus aircraft to ensure the flexibility needed for the implementation of the fleet renewal plan, while eliminating the risks of the disposal of non-airworthy aircraft”, Croatia Airlines said. The carrier owns five out of the thirteen aircraft within its existing fleet, including four A319s and one A320. The sole A320 in its ownership is 23 years old, while the four A319s average 24 years.
Croatia Airlines entered into long-term operating lease contracts for the first six Airbus A220 type aircraft (four A220-300 and two A220-100) with the Air Lease Corporation this January. For now, it plans to replace twelve aircraft, with the possibility to introduce another three in 2027, as envisaged by its post-Covid strategy. The first A220 is expected to enter into the fleet next April. “Airbus didn’t have aircraft available until 2025 and 2026 so we will first take delivery of planes from the leasing company. All aircraft will be financed through an operating lease”, Croatia Airlines’ CEO, Jasmin Bajić, said recently. An operating lease is a contract that allows for the aircraft’s use but does not give Croatia Airlines ownership rights. These leases will allow the carrier to use the jets without incurring the high expenses involved in purchasing it.
The carrier’s CEO noted that taking delivery of a new aircraft type will be challenging. “Taking delivery of new aircraft and phasing out old ones is a huge job that requires the commitment of everyone in the company, because it is a major project that necessitates all of us to give it our all. At one point we will have three aircraft types in our fleet, which is operationally, financially and in every other sense very demanding”, Mr Bajić said recently. Commenting on the aircraft the airline currently operates but does not own, the CEO said, “The Dash 8s and two Airbuses are owned by leasing companies and their fate depends on their owners”.
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