Croatia Airlines has begun preparations for the delivery of its first of four Airbus A320neo aircraft in three years time. The airline's aircraft technicians have begun training for servicing the two engine types used on the jet, the first being the Pratt&Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM engines and the other the CFM International - LEAP-1A engines. Following the completion of the training process and assessments towards the end of the year, the Croatian carrier will undertake certification procedures in order to carry out line and base maintenance on the aircraft type. This will also enable the airline to maintain aircraft of the same type operated by other carriers.
The first two A320neos are scheduled to arrive in Zagreb in 2022, while the other two are due a year later. Croatia Airlines successfully converted a 2008 order for four A319s to the neos in 2015. Although the new aircraft were originally to be delivered by the end of 2013, their arrival was put on hold and the deal was renegotiated. The carrier put off the arrival of the jets due to the company's financial situation at the time. The A320neo aircraft are designed to operate quieter with lower operating costs. Croatia Airlines has made some ten million dollars in advanced payments for the jets. "These A320neos are part of the package that has to be resolved with a future strategic partner", the carrier's CEO, Jasmin Bajić, said recently.
A320neo is suited for Croatia Airlines and will really help during the summer in terms of capacity.
ReplyDeleteBut what will they do during the winter? Their average annual LF is currently around 70%.
DeleteNot to mention that they will probably cram even more seats into the neo.
DeleteIdeally they should get these 4 neos and 2 100-seaters.
DeleteWhy four? They have less and less flights from the coast and they don't need that much capacity from Zagreb.
Delete@9.06 have you ever hear of leasing planes?
DeleteThis is like a terminally ill patient planning his holiday next summer.
ReplyDeleteWhat does this mean? Is there some issue with this order?
ReplyDelete"These A320neos are part of the package that has to be resolved with a future strategic partner"
Probably a bank that they are calling strategic partner.
DeleteI can only imagine how high the leases will be for these aircraft.
DeleteA future partner will have to finance the deal. OU has enough for the deposit payment which they have made but not to finance the whole thing.
DeleteLet's just hope they find someone this time around.
DeleteUnless its some business consortium, turnaround "experts" or financial fund I don't see a viable partner.
DeleteRemember the euphoria on here when 4K bought JP and when they started announcing flights, more planes... and in the end in turned into a complete and utter disaster. So OU needs to be careful but I think no one will touch them eve with this year's relatively bad results.
DeleteThey can always make a sale and lease back deal.
DeleteLike someone wrote, for that to happen it must be indicated in the contract between OU and Airbus. And we are not sure if it is.
DeleteThose A320neos will look great in Croatia livery :)
ReplyDeleteThey'll look ok especially now when they went albino.
DeleteMust say I'm not a fan of the albino livery. The plane is too white.
DeleteI like it. Hated that blue strip on the belly.
DeleteBut honestly, a new livery would be great.
Good luck, OU!
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if they could operate these planes in June, July, August and the first ten days of September. I can't imagine how they will get the cash to pay the leases when they are flying half empty in winter. This was such a bad move for them. Sticking to Q400s or getting Embraers should have been the right path for them.
ReplyDeleteAgree. They need more 100 seater jets not A320neos.
DeleteThe neos have to replace current A319/A320s which are getting quite old.
DeleteIt's also bad they almost have no connections in ZAG on their own to help fill those seats.
DeleteBecause the planes to operate to/from different destinations to feed its own hub in Zagreb, operate from the coastal towns to (mainly) Lufthansa group and AF/KL hubs. The most stupid way of running a legacy carrier ever.
DeleteWhat I don't understand is why they are not launching Bucharest, Thessaloniki, Athens... at night to offer connections via ZAG. A full Q400 from SKG can considerably boost the morning loads.
DeleteSo my guess is that an engine choice has not been made for these 4 neos?
ReplyDeleteProbably too early.
DeleteHopefully not P&W. They have had a lot of issues on the neos.
DeleteThe airbus320NEO has very unreliable 251 and 271 type of engines.The best engine for Airbus320 is older generation and very reliable 232 engine choice(made in Japan/America and Italy).The gear turbo fan engine put on Airbus 320 (neos) are facing problems leading to engine failures.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I notice that they have pushed back deliveries by a year. When they renegotiated the order they said first deliveries will be in 2021 and completed in 2022. Now they will start in 2022.
ReplyDeleteThis is an order they wanted to get rid off for a while but there was no way out of it so they had to go along and managed to deffer delivery. It's not the best that they are being hit by payments for this aircraft this year since the company still far from financially stable.
DeleteThis order is a financial burden for OU
ReplyDelete+1 and a big one. Also a burden for any potential partner/investor.
DeleteIf they find a big partner it won't be an issue to renegotiate. Etihad resolved Jat's 15 year Airbus order which burdened them a lot within a month.
DeleteYes but the chances of finding such a partner aren't big.
DeleteHappy that new aircraft are coming.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why the one that has the money gets them first! Aegean ordered the neos three years later than OU and they are gonna get the firsts in 2020.
ReplyDeleteYes but the main difference is that the Greek government isnt involved in Aegean like the Croatian government is involved with OU.
DeleteIf it wasn't for the Croatian government this crazy order would never have been made. It has been proven that the order was made on instruction by Sanader who wanted to cozy up to the French because of EU integration voting.
DeleteYep
Delete"Smatra se da je taj ugovor zapravo bio politički deal između bivšeg premijera Ive Sanadera i bivšeg francuskog predsjednika Nicolasa Sarkozyja.
U kuloarima se govorilo da je Sanader na taj način želio pridobiti naklonost Francuske, koja je tada predsjedala EU, i osigurati brži završetak pregovora s EU. Čak se tvrdilo da je tim ugovorom sebi osigurao ulaznicu za Elizejsku palaču, odnosno službeni prijem kod Sarkozyja."
Slicna prica i sa Jatovom narudzbinom za A319 1998.
DeleteOnly difference is that JU managed to get out of it, both that and the neo deal and on top of that they got the deposit back. They were pretty lucky, unlike OU which will get the planes they don't need.
DeleteWhat about regional jets? They can't wet lease CRJ1000s forever.
ReplyDeleteThey can if they want.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska like you all say. The addition will further contribute to the tourism and business of the country. The OU livery will look amazing on the A32N!
ReplyDeleteGreets from Sofia.
Not all we say that.
DeleteYou have to be crazy to buy new aircraft knowing the financial status of the company. Better to lease out older planes.
ReplyDeleteThey can't do anything about it. Originally planes were ordered for political reasons. But now they can't get out of it.
DeleteWhen planes were ordered OU was actually doing well financially. The only problem it was over 10 years ago.
DeleteFor all the people saying they don't need these neos, I will just remind you that the current Airbuses are getting old and will need to be replaced.
ReplyDeleteYes they don't have to replace them with an expensive new aircraft. THey could lease older jets which are younger then their current ones.
DeleteThey should base two in both Split and Dubrovnik and operate flights with full capacity from March to October.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge difference between what they could/should do and what they will actually do in the end.
DeleteIt's not all that easy. Competition on the coast is ripe.
DeleteDo they really need that size? Wouldn't be A220 enough?
ReplyDeleteThis order was made 10 years ago when the A220s weren't around. It was also renegotiated when A220 program was owned by Bombardier.
DeleteNow that airbus has taken over the CS project i hope CA will rethink their order in more economical and efficient cs planes
DeleteWhat they need is more CRJ planes if you ask me. Lower capacity plus cheaper.
ReplyDeleteAgain with what money? As you can see they don't have the cash for these Airbuses let alone extra planes.
DeleteThat is why they should replace the A319 with Q400!
DeleteCongrats OU and kudos for the hard efforts.
ReplyDeleteHow many planes does Croatia Airlines own?
ReplyDelete5 airbuses. 4 A319s and 1 A320.
DeleteAnd also 7 engines. 6 for Airbuses and 1 for Q400.
DeleteIt's impressive that they own more than half of their fleet. That brings down costs quite a lot.
Delete4x a319
Delete2x a320
6x dash q400
If they are struggling to pay, can't they just arrange a sale and leaseback?
ReplyDeleteEasier said then done.
Deleteif the contract with airbus would allow it. sometimes there is such a clause that they cannot do it for let say 5y after the aircraft was delivered
DeleteThis is great news for LH Group! Neos are very efficient meaning OU can carry passengers to Star Alliance hubs for even less money once they are arrive. lol
ReplyDeleteThey must act on doing something with their fleet. It is becoming older and older. The Airbus fleet is now 20 yrs old. Yes, the neos are coming but that's only 4 of them. A strategic partner would definitely help here. They don't have the funds to finance a fleet modernization on their own.
ReplyDeleteThis Airbus order which probably costs over 300 million euros is the worst for attracting any sort of potential investor.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteInstead of neos they should have picked the CRJ1000. Good plane, good economics and passenger friendly.
ReplyDeleteIt is also expensive.
DeleteAnd this neo deal is not?
DeleteWe don't know the price of the neo deal.
DeleteAnd what happens with this order if they don't find a strategic partner? I doubt they would be able to cancel it.
ReplyDeleteGovernment will probably cover the cost.
DeleteNo matter what people say I'm glad OU is finally getting these planes :)
ReplyDeleteThere are still 3 years until they arrive. I hope they come but there is a lot that can happen in that time.
DeleteFrom the article, the CEO of Croatia Airlines seems to say that this neo order depends on on a future strategic partner.
DeleteNew aircraft are the least necessary thing that OU needs at the moment
ReplyDeleteAnd fly with what, by that time 25 year old planes?
DeleteThey can always lease 10-15 year old planes that are much much cheaper than the brand new ones.
DeleteDoes anyone know what will be the capacity of these neo jets?
ReplyDelete180 seats.
DeleteIt all depends on the layout. Wizz Air with tight pitch has 186 seats. For example Air Seychelles which just took their A320neo yesterday and has a similar pitch to Croatia Airlines has 174 seats.
DeleteOU definitely needs a change so this is a good development.
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting to see what their fleet will look like in 5 years.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it will be much different than today's. Just a few A320neos which will replace A320s.
DeleteIt all depends if a partner is found. But the process is very slow. The financial adivosr is still at phase 1 meaning they are just analyzing OU. i.e even if they find a partner, this won't be finalized until late 2020.
DeleteA strategic partner would definitely help here. They don't have the funds to finance a fleet modernization on their own.
ReplyDeleteAt some point you would hope they would get planes to expand their fleet and open new markets and not just to replace older aircraft.
ReplyDeleteThe neos will be a great addition.
ReplyDeleteThis plane could open some new markets for OU because it has a bigger range.
ReplyDeleteNot exactly. Range on A320neo is just marginally greater than on the A320.
DeleteThis move indicates imho that OU is thinking of a rather 110-120 seater instead of a 90-100-seater jet as a medium sized plane between the Dash and the then larger A320 fleet. Otherwise they would not have converted from the smaller 319 to 320 for all their four open orders.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see these birds in Zagreb!
ReplyDeleteDa li ce Er-Srbija dobiti A320neo pre ili posle Kroacije? Hvala.
ReplyDeleteNece ih dobiti. Narudzbina je otkazana.
Delete