New Croatian start-up plans summer 2022 launch


The Adriatic Croatia International Club (ACI) is in the process of establishing a commercial seaplane operator - ACI Air - with plans for the airline to serve thirty destinations with up to five aircraft. It comes five years following the collapse of the German-owned and Split-based European Coastal Airlines (ECA). Speaking at a recent Aviation Arena Webinar, ACI’s head of Special Projects, Zdravko Delić, said, “We are launching our airline with a focus on hydro flights, similar to what ECA established a few years ago. Unfortunately, that company went into bankruptcy. However, ACI sees an opportunity in the market. We plan to operate Cessna Grand Caravan amphibian aircraft. We will acquire one turboprop, while another two will be leased. Depending on demand, the airline will have up to five aircraft in its fleet”.

The carrier plans to initially link its marinas through the seaplane service, while the second phase of its development will include operations from the mainland to the islands, primarily during the winter season. The third phase will entail international expansion, with flights between Croatia and Italy. “We opted for the Cessna Caravan because it can land at all of ACI’s marinas, which we have 22 of. Furthermore, we have acquired six seaports that were previously established by ECA. Therefore, we will have some thirty departure points on the Adriatic”, Mr Delić noted. He added, “Our plan is to acquire our first aircraft by the end of the year, and we are in the process of obtaining an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). We expect to have it within the next few months. Our plan is to launch operations by May 1, 2022 at the latest”.

ACI marinas


The airline’s owners have said its aircraft will be up to ten years old. The carrier will have its own maintenance base which will be Part-145 certified and has already begun selecting potential crew members. “We have observed the actions of our colleagues at ECA. We will take everything that was good from ECA, while those things that didn’t quite work out will be altered so we do not make the same mistakes as them”. The Adriatic Croatia International Club, established in 1986 as the Adriatic Club Yugoslavia, has expanded its operations from the initial sixteen marinas to 22. As a result, it now runs the largest chain of marinas in the Mediterranean.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Great news! Good luck to them

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  2. Anonymous09:04

    Interesting concept. Hope it works out.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      I think it coupd work out esspecialy if croatia will give them subsidies. But it can also by a thing that happend with pragusa one in dbv :')

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    2. Could you please stop with subsidies mantra for absolutely anything in Croatia. All these projects, including Pragusa, just show potentials of the croatian market which is suffocated by politics and Uhljebs and need absolutely no subsidies, which occasionally come as a result of ignorance as well as lack of competence and capability

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  3. Anonymous09:08

    So cool! Hoping they have better luck than ECA.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Operating all those marinas will help.

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    2. Anonymous09:10

      There are also less known cityes like Umag as far as I can see.

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  4. Anonymous09:09

    Great news, especially for people who live on islands, not to mention tourists!

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  5. Anonymous09:13

    Hope to see the planes also in Portoroz eventually :)

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  6. Anonymous09:14

    nice to see something different

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  7. Anonymous09:15

    I'm wondering what the fares will be like. ECA tickets were very expensive at times.

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    Replies
    1. But sometimes very cheap too. I flew with them for peanuts Split to Jelsa and Rijeka to Ancona

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  8. Anonymous09:17

    It was tried before and failed. I wish them good luck but I don't know how it will work when ECA couldn't make it.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      There are big differences. ECA didn't operate a network of marinas which already had clients. They also started everything from scratch, had to build seaports, educate the Croatian government about the benefits, go through a lot of red tape, none of which will be an issue now. Also, they made a few mistakes like compromising on safety by operating very old planes.

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  9. Anonymous09:19

    Bravo Hrvatska!

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  10. Anonymous09:20

    These seem to be becoming a trend. New seaplane airlines are also being established in Spain and Greece for next summer.

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  11. Anonymous09:21

    Very expensive venture ACI but for their sake and the tourism industry, I do hope it works out.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:26

      Why expensive? This airplane is around 1.5 mil EUR. I think this is very cheap to try. With right combination this can work.

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  12. Anonymous09:22

    What's up with Croatia and airlines? :D this will be the fourth start up established this year.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      Which four? I know ETF and Fly41 Air, which both seem to have had a good start.

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    2. Anonymous09:34

      It's FlyAir 41 ;)

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    3. Anonymous09:42

      Let's not forget Pragusa.One!

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    4. There is also Smile Air from Zagreb, preparing to start for few years already, by the people who know few things about aviation. I think it was even reported here on ex-yu. And did they just delay the start because of the current situation, or gave up completely, that part I don't know. But that actually make 5 start ups in HR

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    5. Anonymous09:58

      ^ LOL

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    6. Anonymous10:00

      The above comment was meant for anon 9.42

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    7. Anonymous10:22

      But none of these are scheduled airlines. I would love to see a Croatian airline be able to take on Croatia Airlines. Something like what Air Croatia was supposed to.

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    8. As long as the power on all levels in Croatia is in hands of the non-reformed wing of the KPJ/KPH, it will not happen. The people ruling Croatia, and I deliberately use verb rule instead of govern, their mindset is in 1945-1950. It is said that we today have less entrepreneur and economic liberties, and liberties and rights generally, than we had during the last decade of Yugoslavia.

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    9. sad, not said, typo

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    10. Anonymous17:08

      Pragusa One have new logo and plans 2022 launch;)))
      On their website!

      Delete
    11. notLufthansa11:10

      pozdrav iz Rijeke, I mostly agree with your aviation thoughts, but cool down with this KPJ/KPH bull...t, current state of affairs in Croatia is not due to KPJ/KPH "mentality", It is just plane nationalistic and narrow minded mentality. KPJ/KPH was light years ahead in terms of political and general development from what you have now. What you have now is just bunch of prodvača magle.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:30

    Finding pilots in Croatia for seaplanes may be a problem.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:33

      True, the ones that we did have are now working in other countries.

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    2. Anonymous09:37

      What about those flying the Canadair in the Croatian firefighting service?

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    3. Anonymous09:42

      Well they have to fight fires.

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    4. For a long while now, state borders are not an issue anymore in civil aviation

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    5. Anonymous10:22

      True but it could be more expensive that way.

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    6. Anonymous10:24

      Any pilot with an EU passport and EASA licence can work in Croatia without restrictions.

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    7. Anonymous13:39

      Well I don't have a SET nor a seaplane rating, but I'd be happy to work for them

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:43

    I find it impressive that they plan to purchase their own aircraft.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:29

      Why? It is less than good yacht...

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  15. Anonymous10:00

    lovely news. Can't wait to have a ride with one of those amphibian planes

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  16. Anonymous10:01

    Where is ACI's main location? HQ?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21

      Great! Thank you. Hopefully they will have quite a few flights from RJK.

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    2. Welcome! I doubt it very much, but OK, let's keep fingers crossed.

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  17. Anonymous10:22

    Wow, this is excellent news! Congrats from SLO.

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  18. Anonymous10:34

    It would be great if they managed to reach an agreement with Croatia Airlines or some codeshare agreement, if possible, and then Croatia Airlines could sell tickets to the islands via Zagreb or another city. I think it would a great way to attract tourists to fly with Croatia Airlines instead of the competition.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      That would be a one of a kind service offered by a national airline. Doubt they would ever think outside of a box like that.

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    2. Hahahaha, how about ZAG-FCO-SPU-FCO-ZAG first?

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:07

    Inače ACI je agencija u državnom vlasništvu i veliki uhljebistan ... ponašaju se mačehinski prema domaćim ljudima u mjestima na čijim lukama imaju koncesije ... projekt ima odličan potencijal i kasni 20g ... poznavajući njihove naknade usluge su predviđene samo za ultra VIP goste na jahtama ... sretno

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  20. Anonymous11:10

    This can actually work; especially if they go for VIP-ish config of the planes. Looking forward to seeing them fly

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  21. Anonymous13:39

    Just shows how much potential the coast has. The biggest challenge will be to have the necessary workforce even if it needs to import staff from abroad....

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  22. Anonymous17:05

    Bravo Croatia.
    Very smart. Croatia has great potential for such an airline.

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  23. Anonymous17:09

    Pragusa One is coming; )))

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  24. Anonymous17:12

    Croatia may have more new airlines in 2022.
    2021:
    FlyAir41/Sundair
    ETF Airways
    ACI
    Pragusa One (for now 2022 or never).

    ReplyDelete

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