Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb Franjo Tuđman) will lease in six new aircraft as it pushes ahead with its fleet renewal plans. EX-YU Aviation News quotes CEO Krešimir Kučko as telling the Croatian news site Jutarnji that the renewal is part of management's medium-term strategy for the carrier.
"Our aim is to renew our fleet as soon as possible. We have given this serious consideration and could begin renewing our fleet this winter, with the addition of 100-seat jets," he said.
Last year, Kučko said the carrier would seek to source an additional four to six aircraft before 2018 with the Embraer E190 and E195 mentioned as top contenders.
However, Croatia Airlines still has four A319-100s on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) whose delivery has been deferred in light of the carrier's poor financial performance in the years prior to 2014.
“We are in discussions with Airbus regarding our order and I am very pleased that they have recognised the situation our company is in, as well as our demands," Kučko added. "We are counting on and want to continue our cooperation with them. However, the delivery of these aircraft currently depends on a range of factors."
The ch-aviation aircraft database shows Croatia Airlines operates a fleet of four A319-100s, two A320-200s, and six Dash 8-400s on flights covering much of the former Yugoslavia as well as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
As part of Croatia's longterm plan to develop the carrier into a sustainable enterprise, Zagreb has appointed the World Bank-affiliated International Finance Corporation (IFC) to find a strategic partner for Croatia Airlines by the end of the year. Failure to secure a suitable partner would not be detrimental Kučko has gone on record as saying, as Croatia Airlines, through a tough cost-cutting and restructuring programme, has been able to return itself to profitability.
