First Airbus A220 aircraft of Croatia Airlines’ new fleet lands in Croatia
In the presence of numerous guests and media representatives, Croatia Airlines, Croatia’s flag carrier and member of Star Alliance, welcomed today in Zagreb its first Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 149 passengers. This marks the official beginning of the announced renewal of the company’s entire fleet, the biggest project in the company’s 35-year history.
The Airbus A220 aircraft embarked on its journey from the Airbus facility in Mirabel, Canada, covering 7500 kilometres on its way to Zagreb. The flight lasted 11 hours at an average altitude of approximately 12,000 metres, and included one technical landing in Copenhagen for refuelling.
Croatia Airlines’ new Airbus A220 bears the registration mark 9A-CAE and the name Zagreb. The aircraft will perform its first domestic scheduled flight next week on the commercial Zagreb – Split route, Similarly, and in keeping with Croatia Airlines’ tradition and history, the first international commercial flight to be operated by this new aircraft will be on the Zagreb – Frankfurt route. It will then gradually be introduced for the operation of Croatia Airlines’ other commercial flights as well.
Born from a clean sheet design, the Airbus A220 is a new generation aircraft offering the best performance in terms of efficiency and noise emission in its class. With an innovative design and the latest generation of technology, the A220 provides both crews and passengers a superior flying experience. Purpose-built for the 100 to 150 seat market segment, the A220’s range is up to 3,600 nm or 6,700 km.
It features a low-drag nose and tail cone design, including the smallest fuselage wetted area and optimised wing aerodynamics. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1500 GTF™ generation engines (geared turbofans). It is also worth pointing out that, per seat and compared to previous generation aircraft, it burns 25% less fuel, and emits 25% less CO2. Compared to previous generation aircraft, its noise footprint area is up to 50% smaller, and it emits approximately 40% less nitrogen oxides compared to civil aviation standards.
The A220 features an innovative cabin design for superior passenger comfort. More specifically, it has the widest seats and the highest ceiling in its class, a wider aisle, more leg room, and large panoramic windows for more natural light into the cabin. It also features more overhead stowage space, and lavatories with improved accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. Onboard Croatia Airlines’ A220, passengers will be provided with high-speed inflight Wi-Fi, and each seat features a USB-A and USB-C port alongside convenient smartphone and tablet holders, as well as access to digital media content.
The air in A220 cabins is a mix of fresh air drawn from outside, and air that has been passed through efficient HEPA filters, which remove 99.9% of air particles. The air in the A220 cabin is renewed fully every 2-3 minutes.
Jasmin Bajić, President of the Management Board and CEO of Croatia Airlines, highlighted the following: – This day will go down in history as the start of a new era in the history of Croatia Airlines, in the history of Croatian aviation and the Croatian state, as well as in the hearts of all of us that have gathered here, and all our employees and passengers. Today, a new era begins, one in which new development opportunities for Croatia’s tourism product and economy are opening up. Thanks to our great Airbus A220 fleet, we can now successfully spread our wings to new destinations, and optimise our flight network, while being more energy efficient, consuming less fuel and, most importantly, enhancing both passenger and stakeholder satisfaction. I look forward to the arrival of every new Airbus in our fleet because, with each arrival, we are getting closer to achieving the goal that we set together in our Post-COVID-19 Strategy, while consistently following our mission and vision, aware at every moment of the importance of Croatia Airlines for the Croatian state and its passengers. Allow me to take this opportunity to also thank our partner Airbus for their cooperation, as well as our other two partners, Air Lease Corporation, and Pratt & Whitney. Thanks to our joint expertise, understanding, and great enthusiasm, we have created a recognisable aircraft that we can all be very proud of.
Following today’s arrival of the first aircraft from the Airbus A220 Family, the delivery of the second aircraft is expected by the end of 2024, the next six are expected to be delivered in 2025, four in 2026, and three aircraft in 2027. In other words, Croatia Airlines’ fleet will total 15 new A220 aircraft, of which 13 will be A220-300 (whose seating capacity is 149 passengers) and two A220-100 (whose seating capacity is 127 passengers).
The renewal of the fleet of Croatia’s flag carrier marks the beginning of a new business development cycle, which will be accompanied by a refreshed visual identity, with the help of which the values of Croatia Airlines will continue to be consistently communicated, alongside an even greater orientation towards passengers and target audiences. The airline’s logo redesign and the new look of the aircraft further accentuate the company’s core messages, which are quality, safety, travel comfort, and hospitality. Likewise, the design of the logomark is now brought closer to the design of the tail of the aircraft, which is what makes Croatia Airlines recognisable.
Croatia Airlines’ fleet renewal project is the biggest project in the history of the company, which will facilitate the further development of the company, and the airline’s successful and sustainable operations in the future. It also further confirms the position of Croatia Airlines as a strategically important segment of Croatia’s transport and tourism infrastructure.