Croatia Airlines is due to take delivery of its first 127-seat Airbus A220-100 aircraft in October. As the carrier continues its transition to an all A220 fleet, the jet will become the smallest aircraft in its fleet, which will be dominated by the slightly larger A220-300s. Starting October 26, the airline plans to deploy the aircraft exclusively between Zagreb and Brussels. It will replace the 76-seat Dash 8 turboprop which was primarily utilised on the service the previous winter season. At this point, between late October 2025 and late March 2026, the aircraft will not be used on any other route, however, this is subject to change at this early stage.
From the start of the 2026 summer season, in late March of next year, the airline will gradually roll out the introduction of the A220-100 on a select number of other routes. From April, the aircraft will operate the most rotations on the Zagreb - Split - Rome service, followed by Zagreb - Brussels. Other routes that will see the aircraft type during that month include services from the Croatian capital to Dubrovnik (five flights), Skopje (three flights), Munich and Frankfurt (one flight each), as well as between Dubrovnik and Athens (one flight). In June, Zurich will be added to the list of destinations, with the aircraft used between Split and the Swiss city.
Croatia Airlines plans to have a total of two A220-100s in its fleet by 2027. “According to the current delivery situation, the next two A220[-300s] should be delivered by the end of June, and the remaining two aircraft are expected by the end of this year. The transition period for the aircraft fleet replacement is very challenging. Our fleet replacement plan includes the flexibility to retire existing aircraft in multiple scenarios. The same approach applies to pilot training planning as well”, the carrier said in a statement. Croatia Airlines has already retired two Dash 8s so far this year, with an A320 to be removed from the fleet by the end of 2025.
Will be interesting to see if they can fill an extra 50 seats on the BRU flights in winter.
ReplyDeleteWith 58% LF in winter, it's going to be a challenge.
DeleteI dont get when the load factor is so low on the BRU flight, I flew around the 20 of January and the 223 was at least 65 procent full, 221 will make lf better
DeleteBRU does not have 58%. That's the average for the entire winter across all routes.
DeleteWell they use the A319 now to BRU every day
DeleteIn winter it is Dash all the time
DeleteYou would think the logic would be commercial. But if they used the Dash 8s in winter, even though they have more than enough A319/A320s during winter time, then I can only conclude they decided to use the A220-100 on this route for political reasons.
DeleteReady for bankruptcy ..
DeleteWell it is not just BRU. All of the routes listed were primarily Dash
Delete@admin, could you tell us what was the annual LF for ZAG-BRU last year? Thanks.
DeleteThere were 51.334 passengers last year on this route with an average annual load factor of 55.5%
DeleteThat's a disaster.
DeleteThe issue with OU is that they are full in summer but literally empty in winter. And that's why the LF is so low on annual average.
DeleteMaybe it's okay even with the low loads. Maybe the people that fly. Are paying enough to make it profitable? At least for that route
DeleteCompany which is full in summer and empty in winter going for one-type fleet is peak Alan Ford.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI hope its utilization won't be a single flight per day in winter.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it
DeleteI think they are not sure if it will actually arrive in October. That's why they probably just scheduled it on one route.
DeleteThey should have gotten more than 2 A220s.
ReplyDeleteThis is a huge upgrade over the noisy and bumpy Dash 8s.
ReplyDeleteHow long did the flight take with the Dash 8,
DeleteI have a feeling their load factor will sink even lwoer.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the LF is bad pricing policy and not lack of interest. OU is simply too expensive.
DeleteThe schedule seems limited. Why introduce a new aircraft if you’re only using it on a single route for months.
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines has always struggled with strategic planning. Let’s see if they can actually deploy the fleet effectively this time.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile their network has been an absolute mess all week. Flights delayed and cancelled. And it is not even June!
ReplyDeleteI think a few aircraft had technical issues this week. That's why there have been so many delays and cancellations.
DeleteThey also have shortage of pilots.
DeleteThey have a lot of pilots retiring and all the new pilots are training for A220. Because the retirement of planes is delayed, becase the A220s are coming late, it creates huge problems.
DeleteThanks god they only have 20 routes and 12 aircraft otherwise it would have been worse.
DeleteAre you for real? They have 70 routes
DeleteOut of which 50 are for Vrankvurt and Minken
DeleteI’ll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if the Brussels route is seeing higher demand? Seems odd to launch a jet there as the only A220-100 deployment initially.
ReplyDeleteHighly unliekly.
DeleteWhy Dubrovnik to Athens with just one flight?
ReplyDeleteFleet renewal is important, but what matters more is frequency and pricing. The new jets won’t solve everything if the airline keeps cutting corners elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance to the Dash.
ReplyDeleteOn June 17 an A220-300 will be deployed on OU675 ZAG-PUY-ZAD-ZAG service
ReplyDeleteWith LF of 17 % as for June 17. Bravo Hrvatska!
DeleteI kinda hoped they would launch LCY with them... I realise how silly I am, but 4-5pw with reasonable pricing would have made a difference in competing with Ryanair and BA.
ReplyDeleteSame but maybe there is still a chance. They are going to have two of these planes.
DeleteIf it's in their plans, I think they will wait with operationally complex airports like LCY until they have more crew experience with the A220. LCY requires special training.
DeleteWill the first A220-100 be named Dubrovnik?
ReplyDeleteYes. But I'm not sure what the fourth and fifth A220-300 will be named.
DeleteMy suggestion : Buzin and Središnjica
Delete