June 12 (SeeNews) - State-controlled flag carrier Croatia Airlines [ZSE:CRAL] said on Wednesday it expects to take delivery of its first new Airbus A220 next month.
"Croatia Airlines is currently amidst a period of transition and a process of renewal of fleet, which is a challenging operational scenario, which numerous other airline companies across the world passed," company spokesman Davor Janusic said in a written statement to SeeNews after regional news portal Ex-Yu Aviation News reported Croatia Airlines will cut the number of flights on several international and domestic destinations from and to Zagreb and Dubrovnik due to shortage of aircraft.
Due to a prolonged period of maintenance of the company’s own fleet and subsequently a shortage of capacity to maintain the planned flight schedule featuring four new seasonal lines, as well as due to introduction of the new type of aircraft in the fleet, the company is optimizing as much as possible its traffic with less consequences for the passengers, Janusic said.
Croatia Airlines has offset part of the capacity shortage with rent of aircraft from other airlines, for some flights in regular and charter traffic, and it has cancelled some flights in lower demand, offering passengers other solutions in advance, he explained. However, Croatia Airlines does not expect a significant impact on its operations in the current period.
In May, it carried out 2,490 commercial flights offering almost 288,000 seats. For comparison, in May last year it carried out 2,414 commercial flights offering less then 263,000 seats.
In November 2022, Airbus said it has signed a firm order for six new A220 passenger aircraft with Croatia Airlines. "Croatia Airlines plans to lease an additional nine A220s, taking its total commitment for the type to 15," the European aerospace manufacturer said back then. The A220s will replace previous generation aircraft in Croatia Airlines' fleet, reducing operating costs and improving environmental efficiency and competitiveness.
In January, Croatia Airlines [ZSE:CRAL] said it will transfer an existing deal with Airbus for the purchase of six new A220-300 aircraft to Griffin Global Asset Management and simultaneously lease the planes from Griffin.
Janusic did not specify which flights will be reduced. According to Ex-Yu Aviation News, the flag carrier will cut this month the number of planned flights from Zagreb to Tirana, Brussels, Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, Zurich, Mostar and Skopje, as well as some flights from Dubrovnik to Athens and Rome.
Shares of Croatia Airlines last traded on April 9, closing flat at 5.00 euro ($5.42) on the Zagreb bourse.
($ = 0.923 euro)