Croatia Airlines eyes 12-15 new aircraft

Croatia Airlines, Aegean Airlines talks to resume soon - PM

Negotiations concerning Aegean Airlines' potential investment in Croatia Airlines will resume in the coming months, Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenković told media after meeting his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Mitsokakis raised the subject in his welcome address, according to the official handout. Neither of the two officials provided any further details.

The Croatian government has been trying to privatise its flag carrier for a while. In late 2019, advisers PBZ and DVB Bank outlined three potential paths for state divestment. Shortly after that, news emerged that privately-owned Aegean was one of two companies interested in acquiring Croatia Airlines alongside Spain's Air Nostrum. While the government hoped to conclude the sale by mid-2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put all plans on hold.

The privatisation was first delayed to the fourth quarter of 2020 and then indefinitely. With no news of a new investor, Croatia Airlines recently adopted a post-COVID strategy entailing, among other changes, the addition of 12-15 new aircraft to fully replace its fleet.

Croatia Airlines adopts post-COVID long-term strategy

Croatia's Fly Air41 completes certification

Fly Air41 Airways (BER, Zagreb) received its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Croatian civil aviation authority (Hrvatska Agencija za Civilno Zrakoplovstvo - HACZ) on August 18, 2021, and is set to begin revenue operations on August 20.

German sister SundAir (SR, Berlin Brandenburg Int'l) said in a press release that Fly Air41's sole aircraft, A319-100 9A-BER (msn 3950), would be based out of Leipzig/Halle and operate leisure charter flights on behalf of Sundair's existing customers, with the first flight scheduled to Kerkyra. The aircraft is painted in a livery identical to Sundair's own and was positioned to Germany on August 19.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Sundair operates two in-house A319-100s and three A320-200s. Until August 18, it also wet-leased another A319 from Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb). which was based out of Leipzig and will presumably be replaced by the Fly Air41 jet.

Sundair said it would add a further two A320-200s to its combined fleet in the coming weeks. Both of...

Editorial Comment: The article has been updated to correct the number of A319s operated by SundAir. - 23.08.2021 - 07:47 UTC

Germany's SundAir wet-leases an A319

SundAir (SR, Berlin Brandenburg Int'l) has wet-leased an A319-100 from Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb) to complement the four it operates in-house.

9A-CTN (msn 5085) was ferried from Zagreb to Leipzig/Halle on July 23, 2021, and began revenue operations for the German leisure specialist the next day. It remains based out of Leipzig and is deployed to various leisure destinations in southern Europe and northern Africa.

The contract has provisionally been signed through August 19 but may be extended through the end of August, both carriers confirmed.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, SundAir's in-house fleet comprises four A319-100s and three A320-200s. It also wet-leases a single A330-200 from Spain's Wamos Air.

In turn, Croatia Airlines operates six DHC-8-Q400s, five A319-100s, and two A320-200s.