The third Croatia Airlines' hangar allows for the expansion of the technical maintenance of its own fleet and the aircraft of foreign airlines
Zagreb, 11th March, 2015
Today, in the technical center of Croatia Airlines at Zagreb International Airport, a press briefing was held, in which the company's Management Board presented the new third hangar of Croatia Airlines. At the briefing, the company also announced its financial results for the year 2014, upcoming plans for the year, as well as the most important news in this year's tourist season.
The third hangar of Croatia Airlines allows for the expansion of the technical maintenance of its own aircraft and the aircraft of foreign airlines, as well as additional development of the technical sector, a high-profit center for the company. The new hangar covers an area of 2200m² and was built with the company's own resources, amounting to HRK 13,000,000; approximately HRK 2,000,000 will be invested in the acquisition of new specialized tools and equipment so that the total value of the investment will amount to about HRK 15,000,000.
The new hangar is suitable for carrying out the most demanding technical services on the Airbus aircraft, including the so-called D-check, but also allows for faster and more efficient maintenance of the Croatia Airlines' fleet. The testing was conducted in February, when the C-check on the aircraft Airbus 319 of Croatia Airlines was successfully carried out, after which the company continued with the contracted works.
The third Croatia Airlines' hangar allows the experts in the company's technical sectors an even stronger export of Croatian knowledge and opens up even more possibilities for the maintenance of foreign aircraft, which will further contribute to the strengthening of the competitiveness of the Croatian economy. In addition, the opening of a new operating line will require the employment of 43 new employees in the technical sector of the company, while a programme for the professional training of an additional 15 avio-engineers is being prepared.
As a reminder, since 2011, Croatia Airlines has been authorised for base and line maintenance of foreign aircraft within its maintenance base in Zagreb. Since then, a total of 206 major aircraft maintenance checks have been carried out, including the most demanding D-check, and more than 280 different technical works on the aircraft of foreign airlines.
The trend of positive business operations continues
According to preliminary results, in 2014, for the second subsequent year, Croatia Airlines recorded a net profit. The company realized a profit of HRK 7,100.000 and HRK 13.1 million in operating income. In the previous year (2013), it recorded a profit of HRK 721,000 and 17.4 million in operating income, which were the first positive year-end results after 2007.
The positive trend in business operations is the result of continuous and consistent implementation of all measures of strategic, financial and operational restructuring of the company in line with the rules of the European Commission relating to state aid in the air transport sector, with the approval of the Croatian Competition Agency.
An important contribution to the smooth and regular operations of the company and the continued implementation of the restructuring program is a new collective agreement, which the Management Board of Croatia Airlines and all five trade unions organized in the company, signed in the beginning of February this year.
The new collective agreement is valid until 31 December 2016, and contains the same level of material and immaterial rights as the previous collective agreement. The signing of the agreement represents a consensus on the implementation of the business strategy of Croatia Airlines whose basic goals are further development of the company and long-term viability.
News in the 2015 tourist season
In 2015, Croatia Airlines continues actively contributing to the development of tourism in the Republic of Croatia. From 29 March until the end of October, Croatia Airlines aircraft will fly according to the summer flight schedule and during this period, the company will, in regular international traffic, directly connect Croatia with about thirty destinations in 18 European countries, and in cooperation with its partners in Star Alliance, with the entire world.
One of the novelties is scheduled international flights: Rijeka – Munich (three times a week) and Dubrovnik – Nica (twice a week).
The number of weekly flights on existing routes is set to increase, and seasonal flights to a number of European markets are being introduced. The most important market this year is again Germany, while seasonal flights connect Croatia with the markets of Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, etc.
Also, charter flights connect several European destinations with airports on the Adriatic coast.
Like last year, in this tourist season, the company has a fleet of 12 aircraft: six Dash 8-Q400s with the capacity of 76 seats, four Airbus 319 aircraft with 144 seats and two Airbus 320s with 174 seats.