Tag Archives: Czech Airlines-CSA

Czech Airlines to resume long-haul services with Airbus A330s, will retire the last Boeing 737-500 at the end of the winter season

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) is again getting back into the long-haul business with leased Airbus A330s (previously operated with Airbus A310s). The first route will be to Seoul starting in June 2013. The airline is also adding short-range flights to Florence, Nice and Perm (Russia) on March 31, 2013. Czech Airlines is also retiring the last Boeing 737-500 (pictured) at the end of the current winter schedule. The company has issued the following statement:

After a three-year hiatus, Czech Airlines is again including its own long-haul flights in its flight schedule. A wide-body Airbus A330 will join the airline’s fleet, enabling Czech Airlines to launch new scheduled service to Seoul, South Korea, and to initiate more intensive code-share cooperation with Korean Air in operating long-haul flights from Prague via Seoul to the East Asia, based on the model of cooperation being successfully employed with Etihad Airways. The new agreement will also ensure better connections to Czech Airlines flights from Prague to Europe for Korean Air’s clients. In addition to Seoul, Czech Airlines will introduce new service to Perm, Nice, Munich, Zurich and Florence in the 2013 summer season.

The twice-weekly Airbus A330-300 service to Seoul (Incheon) will commence on June 1 per Airline Route. The carrier is expected to also launch A330 service to Almaty, Ekaterinburg and Moscow (Sheremetyevo).

Next June, a long-haul Airbus A330 hired on the basis of operative leasing will join the Czech Airlines fleet. Among other flights, the aircraft will be deployed on Czech Airlines’ new scheduled long-haul service to Seoul. The flights will leave Prague every Saturday and Sunday, and Seoul every Sunday and Tuesday, supplementing the four weekly Korean Air flights. The two airlines will share codes on the route.

Seoul is not the only new destination in the Czech Airlines flight schedule in the 2013 summer season. The airline will open regular service to Perm in Russia, as well as Nice, Munich, Zurich and Florence. To certain destinations, it is introducing a noon flight wave, and increasing the number of flights compared to the 2012 summer season. These destinations include Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Milan, Stockholm and Warsaw. In making a year-on-year comparison, the airline will also offer more weekly flights to Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don and Ufa. Czech Airlines will newly add Brisbane, Singapore and Nairobi to its flight schedule, which will be operated in cooperation with Etihad Airways. Another innovation in the summer flight schedule is a change in the model of operation to Baltic destinations. Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn will remain in Czech Airlines’ offer, and will be operated by airBaltic on a code-share basis.

In the 2013 summer season, only Airbus (A330, A320, A319) and ATR (ATR 72 and ATR 42) aircraft will be deployed on Czech Airlines flights. The airline will have thereby complied with one of its last restructuring tasks – the transition to a fleet of just two aircraft makes. Boeing 737-500 aircraft will be retired from the fleet by the end of the current winter season.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. Boeing 737-55S OK-XGE (msn 26543) is currently painted in the SkyTeam colors. The airliner is pictured at Palma de Mallorca.

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Czech Airlines secures European Union approval for a $130 million state loan

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) has secured European Union approval for a $130 million state loan after it agreed to a five-year restructuring plan according to this report by Bloomberg.

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Czech Airlines slips into the red for 2011

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) went into the red in 2011 with a pre-tax loss of $11.8 million. The airline blamed the loss on aircraft commitments and higher fuel costs.

The airline issued the following statement:

“The second year of Czech Airline’s three-year restructuring plan was marked primarily by the continued reorganisation of the company, transformations in its transport network model, and cost optimisation. Last year the airline was impacted by financial leasing obligations for aircraft ordered in the past, and a significant increase in fuel costs. Last year Czech Airlines transferred its subsidiaries Czech Airlines Handling, CSA Services, and HOLIDAYS Czech Airlines to Czech Aeroholding. The money that the airline obtained through these transactions was used to pay instalments on aircraft. This means that Czech Airlines invested nearly a billion crowns into its future assets last year. The airline finished the 2011 financial year with an aggregate loss of CZK 241 million.

Phase two of Czech Airline’s on-going restructuring influenced the airline’s financial results for last year. Czech Airlines continued its human resources optimisation and the optimisation of its sales and transport networks, with corresponding gradual changes in its fleet structure. “Last year Czech Airlines managed to reduce its personnel costs by nearly one third, year on year, and in terms of its fleet size, it is returning to a state that corresponds to the transport network and market potential of a small local market. The structural changes in the transport network unfortunately did not have enough time to fully manifest themselves in last year’s financial results, whether in terms of revenue or costs,” explains Philippe Moreels, Chairman of the Management Board and President of Czech Airlines, adding: “Financial obligations for aircraft ordered in the past had an adverse impact on our financial results. Last year alone Czech Airlines had to invest nearly a billion crowns that it obtained from the sale of assets into new aircraft.”

A significant increase in the price of aircraft fuel also had an adverse impact on the airline’s finances last year. In spite of the planned decrease in aircraft movements by nearly one fifth last year, Czech Airlines noted a nearly 40% year-on-year increase in fuel costs. “The same trend was manifest in the first four months of this year. Although on the revenue side, certain other positive effects of the gradual transformation of the transport and sales network are beginning to show, the increase in fuel costs has nearly eliminated them, at least in the first four months of the year. In its last, third year of restructuring, Czech Airlines will therefore focus even more on reducing its costs, primarily fixed costs, and will also enhance some of its modern pro-revenue projects,” concludes Philippe Moreels.”

Item	2011 (in CZK ‘000)	2010 (in CZK ‘000)
Total revenue	16 905 211	21 518 307
Sales of fixed assets and material	876 271	2 694 502
Total costs	17 146 567	21 442 148
Equity	108 226	376 367
Share capital	5 235 510	5 235 510
Profit/loss before tax	-241 356	76 159

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Czech Airlines to eliminate Helsinki on March 14

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) will drop service to Helsinki and the Prague-Helsinki route on March 14. The route is currently served with Airbus A319s per Airline Route.

Czech Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Czech Airlines cancels plans for five new summer routes

Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie (CSA-Czech Airlines) Boeing 737-55S OK-XGB (msn 26540) ARN (Stefan Sjogren) (1957 retrojet), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) is canceling plans to add the following routes from Prague this summer: Athens, Beirut, Larnaca, Oslo and Skopje per Airline Route.

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Czech Airlines to close its Slovakia operation

Czech Airlines-CSA Boeing 737-55S OK-EGO (msn 28475) ZRH (Rolf Wallner), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) is dropping its Bratislava operation immediately. The company was using Boeing 737-500s to fly to Amsterdam, Larnaca and Paris (CDG).

CSA is expected to retire its remaining Boeing 737-500s.

The company issued the following statement:

“Czech Airlines will no longer operate its scheduled flights from Bratislava and will discontinue air service to Poprad and Žilina. This decision is based primarily on financial reasons. The Airline has decided to take this step due to Slovak passengers’ declining interest in using the service, and the dropping bookings for the first quarter of next year. The decision was accelerated by the illegal protest of some of Czech Airline’s pilots, the announced strike readiness, and the need to ensure sufficient capacity on scheduled flights operated from Prague.

Czech Airlines is abandoning its unprofitable activities, but continues to look for new opportunities. For example, to Russia and Ukraine, it is dispatching an additional twenty flights per week this winter. There are also new destinations in the flight schedule, in the form of the long-haul flights of Etihad, and on 18 December, the first aircraft will be dispatched on the Baku route. Czech Airlines continues to have a presence on the Slovak market, as its service to Košice will carry on in line with the current winter flight schedule.

Czech Airlines announced capacity reductions on individual routes and the discontinuation of operations on certain routes last month, in its letter to the unions and to all employees. It is a step whereby Czech Airlines is responding to market developments and the growing crisis in Europe.”

Czech Airlines Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Czech Airlines to eliminate one third of its pilots

Czech Airlines-CSA Airbus A319-112 OK-NEO (msn 3452) ARN (Ole Simon), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) is in the middle of a financial crisis. The debt-ridden state-owned carrier announced yesterday (December 5) it will dismiss 100 of its 300 pilots in a restructuring plan according to this report by Reuters.

CSA has also announced plans to transfer its short and medium-haul fleet of 11 aircraft and European routes to its lower-cost Holidays charter subsidiary.

The pilots last week protested against the plans to transfer the Airbus aircraft and some pilots called in sick in an attempt to disrupt the airlines’ operations.

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Czech Airlines celebrates the jet era with this 1957 retrojet

Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie (CSA-Czech Airlines) Boeing 737-55S OK-XGB (msn 26540) ARN (Stefan Sjogren) (1957 retrojet), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) has introduced this 1957 Soviet-era retrojet color scheme on this Boeing 737-500. In 1957 CSA introduced the Tupolev Tu-104A jetliner and was one of the first airlines in the world to operate a jet aircraft on scheduled airline service.

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Czech Airlines to drop Belgrade, Tel Aviv, Venice and Zurich

Czech Airlines-CSA Airbus A319-112 OK-NEO (msn 3452) ARN (Ole Simon), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) has announced it will end all service to Belgrade (served since 1946), Tel Aviv, Venice and Zurich. The airline is reorganizing and is cutting underperforming routes.

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Czech Airlines to add the Prague-Abu Dhabi route

Czech Airlines-CSA Airbus A319-112 OK-NEO (msn 3452) ARN (Ole Simon), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) will add the Prague-Abu Dhabi route starting on September 21. The new route will be operated four times a week with Airbus A319 equipment according to this article by Al Bawaba.

The company is also dropping the Prague-Tel Aviv route. This route will now be flown by Travel Service Airlines.

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