Croatia Airlines and Airbus sign contract for the purchase of state-of-the-art Airbus A220 aircraft
Croatia’s flag carrier replaces existing fleet with a new unified fleet by switching to single-type jet-powered aircraft by 2026
29th November 2022, Zagreb – With a view to making the flight offer more competitive and to improving the quality of Croatia Airlines service, and in accordance with Croatia Airlines’ post-Covid-19 strategy which was adopted in August last year, representatives of Croatia Airlines, Croatia’s flag carrier, and representatives of Airbus, the leading aerospace company that designs, manufactures, and sells aerospace products, services, and solutions to customers worldwide, yesterday evening signed a contract for the purchase of state-of-the-art Airbus A220 aircraft.
Based on this contract, by 2026, Croatia Airlines’ existing fleet will in its entirety be replaced with a new, single-type fleet of jet-powered aircraft. This will ensure that the flights Croatia Airlines offers to its passengers are more pleasant and of a significantly better quality. This will also make the business operations of Croatia’s flag carrier far more economical and sustainable.
The signing of the contract was attended by Jasmin Bajić, CEO and President of the Management Board of Croatia Airlines, and Ville Arhippainen, Airbus Vice President Sales Western & Southern Europe.
This contract represents the continuation of the long-term collaboration and partnership between Croatia Airlines and Airbus, and is signed to the benefit and satisfaction of both companies.
During the signing of the contract, Jasmin Bajić, CEO and President of the Management Board of Croatia Airlines, pointed out the following:
– After taking into account the needs of our passengers, the trends in the highly competitive aviation market both in Croatia and the world, fuel prices, CO2 emissions, the goals of the European Commission’s Green Deal policies, and how old our existing fleet is, the decision to replace Croatia Airlines’ fleet has become an imperative, and is, furthermore, fully compliant with the post-Covid-19 strategy adopted by the company. I’m happy that we are entering a new business development cycle with a partner whom we know well, and who has offered us, thanks to our long-term collaboration, terms and conditions that we can now accept. The renewal of our fleet is the continuation of our collaboration with Airbus. More specifically, we have just signed an addendum to our pre-existing contract, thanks to which all of Croatia Airlines’ existing, old aircraft will be replaced with new ones by 2026. By flying new and higher-quality aircraft whose capacity will be in the market segment of 100 to 150 passenger seats, we will be able to meet the specific needs of our passengers in a much better way. In turn, this will, I am convinced, ensure the development of an even more efficient business model, thanks to which additional business opportunities will open up to the company. Ultimately, this will be to the benefit of both our passengers, and our employees – said Jasmin Bajić, CEO and President of the Management Board of Croatia Airlines.
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International, said:
-We are thrilled to add Croatia Airlines as a new A220 customer. The A220 is ideally suited to Croatia's aviation needs, providing operational flexibility and efficiency allowing its airline to pursue its ambition for both regional and international connectivity without compromising on any aspect, be it passenger comfort or trip and seat cost economics.
It is worth recalling that Croatia Airlines replacing its entire fleet represents a long-term process of transition of the company’s business operations as a whole. This implies that all the employees of Croatia’s flag carrier are facing a period in which all business processes will have to be adapted to the new aircraft. This will further optimise the company’s operations, and improve passenger cabin occupancy, and cabin crew utilisation. This will concurrently make Croatia Airlines an even more environmentally friendly airline, and will significantly reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, which is today, given the latest developments in the oil and oil derivatives market, the largest share in the expenses of airline companies.