Croatia Airlines and Croatian Football Federation continue successful partnership
28 October 2024, Zagreb
The Croatian Football Federation (CFF) and Croatia Airlines have agreed to extend their business partnership, securing Croatia’s flag carrier as the official carrier for CFF and the Croatian National Football Team.
The contract extension, covering an additional two years, was signed by the President of CFF, Marijan Kustić, and the CEO of Croatia Airlines, Jasmin Bajić, in the cockpit of Croatia Airlines’ first new Airbus A220 aircraft, whose introduction to the fleet in July marked the beginning of the complete renewal of Croatia Airlines’ fleet. Also in attendance were Stipe Pletikosa, Technical Director of the A and U-21 teams, Ante Cicvarić, Marketing Manager at CFF, as well as Slaven Žabo, Commercial Division Director at Croatia Airlines, Anamarija Jurinjak, Marketing Director at Croatia Airlines, and Marija Pavić, Head of Sales at Croatia Airlines.
This successful partnership between CFF and Croatia Airlines, which began in 2018, has celebrated remarkable achievements. It started with the Croatian National Football Team returning home triumphantly on a Croatia Airlines charter flight, bringing home the silver medal from the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Since then, the national team has added two additional major accolades: a bronze medal at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, and a silver medal at the UEFA Nations League in 2023.
– I would like to thank the leadership of Croatia Airlines, led by Mr. Bajić, for their trust in us. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Croatia’s flag carrier. It’s fitting that we’re signing this contract aboard a new aircraft, symbolising Croatia Airlines’ fleet renewal. Like our team, sometimes you need new players or new aircraft to keep achieving success and good results. We won’t ever forget the two triumphant flights with Croatia Airlines after the last two World Cups, and so we’re signing this contract with hope, joy, and the belief that we’ll continue to have smooth, celebratory flights together – said Marijan Kustić, President of CFF.
– During our partnership with CFF, we’ve celebrated the greatest achievements in Croatian football history. I’m confident that we’ll continue to celebrate new successes with the Croatian National Football Team. This contract extension is symbolic indeed, as the successful rejuvenation of the national team coincides with Croatia Airlines’ fleet renewal with new Airbus A220 aircraft. We look forward to many more joint flights aboard this new generation of aircraft – stated Jasmin Bajić, CEO of Croatia Airlines.
It is worth recalling that the tradition of flying the Croatian National Football Team home from major tournaments began 26 years ago; in July 1998, to be precise, when Croatia Airlines flew the team and their bronze medal from the FIFA World Cup in France back home.