Croatia Airlines took delivery of its sixth Airbus A220-300 aircraft this afternoon. The 149-seat jet, registered 9A-CAP, departed from Mirabel in Canada earlier today and arrived in Zagreb just after midday local time following a brief stop in Copenhagen. This marks the airline’s fourth A220 delivery in 2025. Nicknamed "Zadar", it joins "Zagreb", "Split", "Vukovar" and "Osijek". Another jet is slated to join the fleet by the end of October, the first of two smaller -100 series aircraft. Croatia Airlines plans to complete its transition to an all-A220 fleet of fifteen aircraft by 2027, subject to any delays. All fifteen units are on a financial lease.
Croatia Airlines has tentatively scheduled the end of operations with its A320 fleet. The carrier has confirmed that one of the two A320s will be retired this year. Based on the airline’s filed schedule, the second A320 is now set to retire on the evening of February 8, 2026. The last service with the aircraft type is between Frankfurt and Zagreb. However, this is subject to change over the coming months. “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 is confident a single-type fleet of new A220s will make it more profitable and competitive in the long-term. However, the initial transitional period is expected to generate greater losses. “By the end of 2025, Croatia Airlines plans to operate seven brand-new Airbus A220 aircraft. This initiative, the largest in the airline’s history, marks a turning point and lays the foundation for the company’s long-term sustainable growth. The modern fleet will bring a range of benefits: streamlining daily operations, improving financial efficiency and strengthening environmental responsibility. By renewing its fleet, Croatia Airlines will significantly cut fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions, an especially important step in line with global aviation’s ongoing drive toward decarbonisation”, the airline said.
Congratulations
ReplyDeleteAny chance for any new routes this winter besides the seasonal one being extended?
ReplyDeleteWell done
ReplyDeleteWhen can we expect it to enter into service?
ReplyDeleteNext week
DeleteExcellent
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that all the delivery flights have gone via Copenhagen. Any particular reason? Is this Airbus' or OU's decision? Just find it curious.
ReplyDeleteNot enough range due to weaker model of engines picked by OU. Also, these A220s do not have ETOPS and have to fly at FL220 over the Atlantic which burns more fuel.
DeleteProbably the lessor is based there and the aircraft needs to at least fly over the lessor's country of registry prior to delivering it to the customer.
DeleteIt's not lessor related.
DeleteAnon 10:03 has hallucinated an answer. A220s have a single engine option which is exclusively PW1500G. Airbus is working with CFM on developing an alternative engine for A220 but that engine is far from entering service and is not yet offered to airlines.
Delete^ Exactly. The planes use the North Atlantic route simply because it's the shortest one.
DeleteNo, you have three variants of PW1500G engine regarding thrust. Same engine, but different thrust.
DeleteNo HF radio, so they have to fly at lower levels so they don't have the range to reach ZAG
DeleteFantastic! A new era begins as yet another brand new plane joins the OU fleet. Great to see them keeping high standards
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteTo be more profitable you have to make a profit to begin with, something OU seems allergic to.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't have to. It is state owned.
DeleteOh, I thought we were not in communism any more. Those hailing Bravo Hrvatska and similar are the loudest about it, yet with communism still in OU, everything ok. Hypocrites.
Delete^ Dont think too much Pozdrav. Nowadays thinking is also considered communism.
Deletedoes anyone know why OU doesn't serve Stuttgart? There are so many Croats in Stuttgart, and flights with Eurowings tend to be fully booked.
ReplyDeleteBecause that would take away connecting traffic from Mutti and that's a big no-no.
DeleteReally, so explain to me how could they open ARN, BER and HAM if they are "not allowed to take away connecting traffic from Mutti"?
DeleteYou are right it is purely based incompetence and mismanagement. Imagine a European airline braging in the 21st century that they have introduced seasonal flights to Stockholm and presenting it as their biggest achievement.
DeleteStockholm is year round from this winter.
DeleteBig success in 2025.
DeleteI hear the plane is being called Jasmin after the great man himself.
ReplyDeletehahaha +1000
DeleteAnd the next one will be named Djezva, honouring his favourite and main job of drinking coffee
DeleteThe comfort on these planes is just fantastic compared to the standard mid-range flights I'm used to in Europe. So happy they opted for comfortable seats and adjustable/tall headrests. The fact that it's noticeably more quite and bright is just a bonus.
ReplyDeleteJust bright? You forgot shiny 🤣 And yeah, all that comfort is really needed and will pay off totally on all those long flights to New York and Chicago. Oh, ups, my mistake, Minken and Vrankvurt
DeleteDon't forget Stockholm, the big new route of the year!
DeleteYup. Love 'em!
DeleteI guess you mean Minkholm and Stockvurt ..
Delete"More quite"- one of the typical examples of English language proficiency from the 3rd floor in Buzin
Delete^ It's clearly a typo. Meanwhile your repetitive and boring "jokes" about the Buzin, Središnjica, Minken and Vrankvurt...have stopped being funny 6 -7 years ago. A typical example of how "creative" the couple of you are.
DeleteGod forbid someone, anyone really expresses their own experience or opinion without involving your BS internal Croatian politics.
An opinion about a plane, mind you...on an aviation forum. How dare they??!
All the best
ReplyDeleteMore losses incoming.
ReplyDeleteQ3 results will be interesting to see.
DeleteSeems like all the deliveries this year have been on time
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteWhen is it expected for them to wet lease turboprops? Next year or 2027?
ReplyDeleteI believe they mentioned it for next year.
Delete