June 1 (SeeNews) - Croatia’s new privately held air carrier ETF Airways presented its first aircraft, a 189-seater Boeing 737-800, at Pula airport, it said.
The carrier expects to take delivery of a second aircraft of the same configuration in early June and will be operating the two planes this season, it said in a press release last week.
ETF Airways is in negotiations over acquiring a third plane next year and intends to expand its fleet to seven aircraft by 2025, it added.
“The market has undergone a speedy recovery after the pandemic subsided in the spring. The demand for our services outside Croatia has been growing beyond expectations," ETF Airways CEO Stjepan Bedic said in the press release.
The company will focus on charter flights and wet-lease agreements and has already signed its first permanent contract – connecting EU destinations with the non-EU countries of Southeast Europe.
“Smaller companies find it almost impossible to compete with the giants like Ryanair or Lufthansa,” said member of the board of directors Marko Bankovic. “But the market has many niches, some of them connected with tourism, with plenty of room for the companies like ours.”
ETF Airways is a limited liability company with a registered capital of 7.56 million kuna ($1.23 million/1 million euro) paid in full, according to data published by the company. Its major investors are private individuals Ratko Bajakic, Zdenko Adrovic and Velimir Sonje, the carrier said.
ETF Airways received an air operator certificate from the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency on May 28, thus officially becoming Croatia's newest commercial airline, local news portal Croatian Aviation reported last week.
(1 euro = 7.50924 kuna)