Croatia Airlines’ second Airbus A220-300 aircraft, leased from the Air Lease Corporation, is set to be delivered before the end of the year after the jet completed test flights at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport. The jet, currently bearing the temporary Airbus test registration C-FPBE, before being re-registered as 9A-CAI, performed an engine run and taxi check, as well as a test flight lasting over two hours on December 6 and 10. Croatia Airlines previously noted it anticipates for the aircraft to be delivered this month. Airbus typically conducts one to several test flights, depending on performance, prior to delivery to the customer.
Based on its current schedule, the aircraft, which will be named “Split”, is tentatively scheduled to enter into revenue service for the airline on the morning of January 3, 2025, with one A220 operating the Dubrovnik - Zagreb route, while the other will be deployed between the Croatian capital and Brussels at the same time. On average, the airline has scheduled for each of its two A220s to maintain six operations per day or three return flights throughout January. Adjustments to the date of entry remains possible. As Croatia Airlines starts to grow its A220 fleet, it plans to introduce new destinations to its network, with the carrier previously noting some eight new routes are planned for 2025.
Croatia Airlines’ third A220 jet, which has already received its serial number, is due to arrive in March 2025 and by December of next year a further five aircraft will be delivered. As a result, Croatia Airlines will have a total of eight new aircraft by the end of 2025. Four additional units will be added in 2026 and three more in 2027. All the aircraft are being produced at the A220 Mirabel production facility near Montreal in Canada. Croatia Airlines has secured the jets through a financial lease, with the frames owned by aircraft leasing companies. Two of the fifteen units will be the slightly smaller A220-100 series.
Nice. Good to see there are no more delays.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBrand new shiny!
DeleteEight aircraft by the end of 2025. Bravo 🎉 OU!
DeleteBravo
DeleteEspecially I want to thank Mr. Jasmin for making OU one of the best airline in Western Balkans. Plenkovic and HDZ made excellent choice!
Delete@21:38
DeleteHe was the head of controlling during the Mišetić excesses, only to name Networld...
Enough said
Why doesn't OU register aircraft in alphabetic order. I noticed the Dash 8s also don't follow the pattern and it does not seem A220s will either. Not an issue, just wondering.
ReplyDeleteI think the A220a are being named after Croatian cities in the order of size.
DeleteI meant the registrations, not the nicknames.
DeleteAh, sorry.
DeleteDash 8s have registration patter. They are all registered as 9A-CQx, and x is A-F.
DeleteI think the CAI is occupied.
DeleteNope, used to be but OU confirmed CAI will be the registration of the second A220.
DeleteExcellent news
ReplyDeleteHopefully they will start doing something with their network soon. This winter has been a total disappointment.
ReplyDelete8 new routes are coming
DeleteHope so
DeleteI don't believe the 8 new routes story. It's already down to 7 considering they didn't get Lisbon slots.
DeleteThey said they have 20 routes in the pipeline. If they don't get slots somewhere they will just replace it with another route.
DeleteThey said lots of things that are not true because the management is clueless but also likes to lie. Bajić is keeping it a secret that these aircraft are leased rather than bought.
DeleteThey will get Lisbon slots, don't worry. Stop spreading BS from analiticar.
DeleteNo-one is keeping secrets. Everyone knows the Aircraft are leased, so stop talking nonsense Anonymous 09:17.
DeleteMaybe they will get LIS slots, taht would be nice, but even U2 as a kind of home LIS carrier is on a waiting list for new slots.
DeleteAs predicted it will just be recycled routes they discontinued in 2019.
DeleteThis expansion plan feels overly ambitious for an airline like OU.
DeletePeople said the same about A220s but here they are.
DeleteAnd it has been in 15 years in the making since they ordered first the A320neo back then.
DeleteIt is being portraied as if someone has been stopping them from doing so until now???
DeleteThe new aircraft will change nothing
Any idea what the third A220 will be called?
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik would make most sense but who knows. They are not exactly happy with DBV :D
DeleteOr Zadar
DeleteIt will be Rijeka.
Delete^ that's an interesting and random choice.
DeleteHow is it random? Rijeka is the third biggest city in Croatia. Split is the second. Zagreb is the first.
Deleteso according to that it would be Velika Gorica before Dubrovnik, haha
DeleteExactly. Don't think they will be going by city size. ZAG and SPU make sense for the first two since it's their two largest airports by traffic.
DeleteIs it that important?
DeleteI mean it will be cro cities. Logic would be for first 8 to be after the commercial airports in Croatia they fly to.
Deleteit should be more commercial in my opinion. Names like Hvar, Plitvice Lakes, Dubrovnik...
DeleteAgree. Especially since they already have planes with city names.
DeleteAnd after they run out of the airport cities, you just know one of them will carry the name of Vukovar. I don't mind it, but at the same time don't think all 15 should carry the city names.
DeleteThe last five should be named after something else, like mountains.
Finally, considering it was supposed to be in the fleet this summer.
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never
DeleteHow many seats will the A220-100s have?
ReplyDeleteThey have said it will have 127.
DeleteWonder if it will have one unusable seat like the A220-300 :D
DeleteStill not sure what was the purpose of getting A221s
DeleteThey can't operate with A220-300 from some airports. There were issues in Skopje this summer. The runway in Brac also can't accommodate A220-300 but can A220-100.
DeleteInteresting, thanks
DeleteThe issue with A223 in SKP this summer is related only to A223 itself, not to SKP airport. However, yes, the need A221 for some thinner routes (all are thin, though :) ), but also for BWK airport.
DeleteI know it's not because of the airport but the aircraft. Do you happen to know what is the actual problem? It seemed to have to do with the heat and terrain right?
DeleteIssue was that engines on OU A220's have limitations at hot weather. That that in SKP was really hot and engines on A220 had limitations.
DeleteCan't wait to see a full apron of OU A220s in ZAG :)
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteActually you should be like "can't wait to see an empty apron" because a full apron would mean that Croatia Airlines continues to have a bad fleet utilisation. Ryanair's four A320s are on the apron in Zagreb at the same time only 4 hours a day, from 01:45 until 05:45.
DeleteIf they had proper departure waves they would have a full apron of their planes at some point :D
DeleteIt will change nothing
DeleteGreat news, no delay. Hope for new routes, for a change.
ReplyDeleteWell it was supposed to arrive during the summer, so it is delayed.
DeleteIt's late by some 8 months. Considering how late Airbus and Boeing deliveries are at the moment, that's not that bad.
DeleteFair point
DeleteWhat is the serial number of the second A220?
ReplyDeleteMSN55324
DeleteThank you!
DeleteGood. Finally time to spread their wings!
ReplyDeleteThey could have spread them for years.
DeleteYes, they have missed a lot of opportunities unfortunately.
DeleteWhat in God s name has been stopping them by now???
DeletePlease elaborate
The new aircraft look very sleek
ReplyDeleteLove the A220 series – quiet engines and modern interiors.
DeleteAgree. Nice for passengers.
DeleteWhere are the new routes for next summer? It's already mid December.
ReplyDeleteThey always announce them in February because all of them start in June/July and last 2 months.
DeleteThey start in May actually.
DeleteSo which ones are they?
DeleteThis probably means plane will just before Christmas.
ReplyDeleteIt will arrive next week
DeleteCroatia Airlines is stepping up their game for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt's losses are stepping up as well this year.
DeleteStepping up their game by leasing an A220?? Which it cannot afford?
DeleteSo far it is affording them.
DeleteGood to see more routes getting A220s.
ReplyDeleteA220s are a joy to fly in. Great choice by Croatia Airlines
ReplyDeleteI haven't flown on OU's but I have flown on LX's A220 and it really was great.
DeleteEight new destinations sound ambitious, but will they actually fill those seats? Croatia Airlines hasn’t had the best track record with either load factors or new routes.
ReplyDeleteTheir sales and marketing departments need to do a much better job.
DeleteThe main problem is that OU is a state owned company run by the same incompetent people for years.
DeleteWhat's the serial number for the 3rd jet?
ReplyDeleteAnyone flown with the first plane? How was it?
ReplyDeleteThere is a nice trip report here from the OU A220.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/09/trip-report-croatia-airlines-london.html
Deleteflew it, not too happy, pitch is worse than their a319 and overhead bins open downwards, a few passengers hit their heads when we landed, but all in all it does look nice...
DeleteI notice they are advertising job openings for A220 copilots.
ReplyDeleteWill they have enough pilots for both existing Airbus fleet and eight new A220 that will be in the fleet by the end of 2025? They are not going to retire A319 automatically as new A220s arrive.
DeleteI think some of their Dash pilots have retrained to A220. They get rid of 2 Dashes next year as was reported here.
DeleteThe bathroom on the A220 is going to be quite nice. 💩
ReplyDeleteHuh?
Deletewindow in bathroom. very unique feature of the a220. i guess u can look at the clouds while doing ur business 😆
DeleteOh hahha
DeleteI like planes with windows in toilets. Was recently on a Qatar 787 and they had it too. Much less claustrophobic.
DeleteExcellent news for Croatia Airlines
ReplyDeleteWe will see
DeleteBravo OU!
ReplyDeleteSo they will have two planes named Split... 9A-CTK, A320 also is named Split.
ReplyDeleteBizarre
DeleteWell it is Croatia Airlines after all
DeleteDo not make drama about that, and it is nothing bizzare. After less than 2 years all A320 family and Q400s will be replaced by A220s and there will be no any duplicate by names.
Delete