croatia airlines ltd. is the state-owned flag carrier of croatia .

it is headquartered in buzin near zagreb and operates domestic and international services mainly to european destinations .

its main hub is franjo tuđman airport with focus cities being dubrovnik , split , and zadar .

since november 2004 , the airline has been a member of star alliance .

croatia airlines

croatia airlines jsc croatia airlines ltd croatia airlines , hrvatska zrakoplovna tvrtka d . d . croatia airlines
croatia airlines and air india are the first and only airlines to offer services between croatia and india .
* based on croatia airlines consolidated group accounts , calculated in hrk . source : capa centre for aviation , croatia airlines .
croatia airlines has code - share agreements with many airlines including tap portugal , klm , air france , air canada , alitalia , singapore airlines and turkish airlines .
following the first democratic elections in croatia , on 23 july , zagal changes its name to croatia airlines .
croatia airlines is a member of the prestigious star alliance since 2004 . since 1998 , croatia airlines has also been a member of the association of european airlines . croatia airlines and lufthansa also have a maintenance partnership agreement with each other . its subsidiaries include obzor putovanja , pleso prijevoz and amadeus croatia .
the top 10 also includes lufthansa , turkish airlines and austrian airlines , all of which are fellow star alliance members and codeshare partners of croatia airlines .
there are several airlines that have code - share agreements with croatia airlines and they include : air canada , alitalia , air france , klm , tap portugal , turkish airlines and singapore airlines .
croatia airlines have announced that they have signed a codeshare agreement with air india .
jasmin bajić was elected croatia airlines president and chief executive officer in november 2017 .
why not just merge adria and croatia airlines . could be a neat carrier .
croatia airlines was founded in 1989 as zagal or zagreb airlines . it was rebranded as croatia airlines in 1990 . in the early years , the airlines had cargo operations only . after croatian independence , the croatia airlines also saw a lot of change in their operations . it is the flag carrier airlines of croatia . it is owned by the croatian government , with the government controlling more than 95 percent stake in the airlines . its headquarters are located in buzin .
a conversation with … krešmir kučko , president and chief executive officer , croatia airlines .
croatia airlines was founded on august 20 , 1989 as zagreb airlines . the flag carrier of croatia was renamed as croatia airlines in the year 1990 and it has operated under the same name for the last 27 years . the airline is headquartered in zagreb , croatia and has its main hub at franjo tudman airport .
the global networks of these four other airlines offer long haul connectivity that is lacking in croatia airlines ' operations . in the case of lufthansa and turkish airlines , this is in partnership with croatia airlines . among the four global super connectors ( the gulf three and turkish ) , only etihad does not serve croatia .
croatia airlines have been star alliance member since 2004 , whilst air india joined in 2014 .
as a flag carrier , croatia airlines significantly contributes to the development of croatian tourism considering that , on an annual basis , one third of all tourists arriving to croatia by plane fly croatia airlines . for further information please visit urltoken
i see lufthansa group eventually buying croatia airlines and integrating it into eurowings but retaining its own brand . same as they did with brussels airlines
according to a survey carried out by the specialised international internet portal airlineratings . com , croatia airlines is one of the safest global airlines more
croatia airlines fly to european destinations only . major destinations include united kingdom , spain , greece , germany , the netherlands , norway and croatia .
given its patchy record of profitability , the improvement in croatia airlines ' 1q2017 result is welcome .
main news about possible external buyer for croatia airlines , side news about rwandair expansion . coincidence ?
june 17 , 2003 - croatia airlines d . d . lists on the zagreb stock exchange .
croatia airlines considers future aircraft
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the increasingly competitive landscape in croatia is partly offset by croatia airlines ' extensive codeshare partnerships . it codeshares with 12 other star alliance members in total : air canada , air india , austrian airlines , brussels airlines , lot polish , lufthansa , sas singapore airlines , swiss , tap portugal , turkish airlines and united airlines . it also has a ( more limited ) codeshare with klm .
croatia airlines d . d . is а croatia ' s state - owned flag carrier which provides passenger , mail and domestic and international cargo services .
i think the croatian government should organise an international tender and see who is interested in croatia airlines .
croatia airlines owns shares in two companies whose activities are complementary with providing passenger service in air transport .
at the end of the third quarter 2013 croatia airlines recoreded net profits of 20 . 3 million kuna
croatia airlines has recommenced scheduled flights from istanbul atatürk airport , which is being operated by tav airports , to croatia’s capital city zagreb . a ceremony was held to celebrate the launch of zagreb – istanbul scheduled flights that croatia airlines will operate three days a week .
looking for cheap croatia airlines flights ? skyscanner allows you to search and compare croatia airlines flights to help you find the lowest prices and most convenient flight times for your travel needs . follow the links and book your cheap flight directly with croatia airlines for the best price – skyscanner doesn ' t add any commission .
croatia airlines is 97 % owned by the republic of croatia , which has been considering a privatisation since 2013 . media reports have suggested that croatia airlines is looking to select a strategic partner in 2017 ( ex yu aviation news , 10 - jul - 2017 ) .
croatia airlines , the national airline , founded in 1989 , is a member of star alliance since 2004 .
delta airlines stands among the top three us airlines with american airlines and united airlines . delta is being one of the oldest and second busiest airline in us , carries over 165 million passengers to . . .
croatia airlines also has codeshare partnerships with fellow star members austrian , bmi , brussels airlines , lufthansa , sas , swiss , tap portugal and spanair . these partnerships virtually expand croatia airlines’ network to about 30 additional destinations beyond the 20 it serves with its own aircraft .
magazines & newspapers – the croatia airlines publishes its own in - flight magazine named croatia that carries information on the cultural and historical heritage of croatia . also , some of the most popular croatia airlines destinations as well as other interesting and entertaining topics of lifestyle , travel , technology are also some of the regular features in the magazine .
with croatia airlines web check - in you can check in for your flight in a quick and simple way .
croatia airlines is still the biggest airline in croatia , measured by seat capacity , but its 3ppt drop in seat share in 2017 is matched by a gain in the share of the remaining nine airlines in the top 10 .
aug 7 , 1989 – zagreb airlines d . d . is established in zagreb , the capital of croatia .
croatia airlines , which launched services in 1991 just as croatia declared independence from the former yugoslavia , has incurred losses every year since posting a breakeven result in 2007 . croatia airlines ceo srećko šimunović expects the carrier to end 2011 with a loss of eur9 million ( usd12 million ) .
based in zagreb , croatia airlines is the national carrier of the republic of croatia and is wholly - owned by the croatian government . the carrier operates an extensive network of services within europe from its base at buzin , zagreb . croatia airlines became a member of star alliance in 2004 .
with the implementation of this code share , croatia airlines and air india would be the first and only carriers from their respective countries to offer services between croatia and india . more
croatia airlines ' prospects of attracting a strategic partner may be aided by improved profitability , so far , in 2017 .
passengers flying in business class of croatia airlines flights are also offered a selection of domestic and foreign dailies and weeklies .
croatia airlines , the croatian flag carrier , was registered under the name of zagreb airlines d . d . in 1989 as the first joint stock company registered in croatia . since july 1990 , the company has operated under its present name .
checking in via urltoken is not possible if the first flight of your journey ( out - or inbound ) is with croatia airlines ( ou ) . in that case , please check in via the croatia airlines website or at the airport .
under the agreement , singapore airlines will add its ‘sq’ designator code to croatia airlines - operated flights beyond its european gateways at london and copenhagen to the croatian capital of zagreb . on a reciprocal basis , croatia airlines will add its ‘ou’ designator code on singapore airlines - operated flights between singapore and london as well as on flights between singapore and copenhagen . more
find out about our partner airlines and discover the many additional dream destinations served by connecting flights with our partner airlines .
representatives of ifc re now intensifying their negotiations with the greek , turkish and german flag carrier airlines in order to define the exact method in which they wish to invest in croatia airlines .
croatia airlines ranks a high 8th in terms of passenger satisfaction with the quality of service , punctuality and fulfilling passenger rights . more
the star alliance member has come under increasing competition on flights between croatia and the uk , especially with low - cost carriers entering the market . while british airways and croatia airlines are the only year - round operators , the summer months can see as many as ten airlines offering flights between points in croatia and the united kingdom . these include easyjet , flybe , jet2 . com , monarch airlines , norwegian , ryanair , thomas cook airlines and wizz air .
mr bajić joined croatia airlines in 1995 , where he held various managerial functions including corporate planning , strategy , fleet planning , network management , finance and controlling . before being appointed as president & ceo of croatia airlines , he was director of controlling and internal audit .
a strategic partner would also likely want to see a reduction in croatia airlines ' unit cost to make it more competitive against lccs .
on an annual basis , croatia airlines only carries about one out of every three passengers that flies in and out of the country’s airports .
the airline operates domestic and international croatia airlines flights to 27 destinations . flyers make croatia airlines reservations to mainly fly to european destinations including barcelona , berlin , london , milan , prague and venice . as per the official figures , the current fleet of caribbean airlines consists of 12 aircraft in service and orders have been placed for another four aircraft .
congratulations croatia airlines ! croatia airlines and adria airways have been making mature decisions and have been most successfull because of that . they are about to become full star alliance members and exceed 1 million passengers per year . hopefully , jat , b & h and montenegro can follow them .
on 4 may croatia airlines blessed and baptised another leased airbus a320 with the name of šibenik in the split airport . this aircraft has a star alliance livery . on 17 august we recorded a million passengers on our flights in 2005 . in august , croatia airlines aircraft transported a total of 193 , 425 passengers , which was a record number of passengers in one month in the history of the company . on 27 october croatia airlines launched its new , redesigned web site . visual , content and functional innovations of this new web site will make all travel arrangements easier and the travel itself even more comfortable . on 8 december croatia airlines successfully passed a very demanding iosa ( iata operational safety audit ) flight safety audit and renewed its iosa certificate . in december croatia airlines introduced a new telephone sales service providing air ticket bookings and payments by telephone for all scheduled domestic and international flights departing from croatia operated by croatia airlines .
i ' m not big on investment funds and institutions buying airlines . it hasn ' t worked for most . but then again airlines aren ' t all that interested in purchasing other airlines at the moment .
skyscanner allows you to find the cheapest flight prices with croatia airlines and thousands of other airlines without having to enter specific dates or even destinations , making it the best place to find cheap flights for your trip .
misetic ' s company could recapitalise ou so his return is possible . kucko said he wants croatia airlines to be recapitalised by croatian companies anyway .
if , during your journey , a croatia airlines flight is combined with a flight operated by another airline , your baggage will be subject to the regulations of the airline with which you fly the longest or most significant route . this rule is applicable for the same compartment bookings . the croatia airlines baggage concept may be more generous than other airlines ' . when connecting to other airlines , the passenger may be charged for excess baggage .
croatia airlines has managed to remain in profit since 2013 , when it recovering from a previous four year period of loss - making , but with wafer thin margins . a key challenge for croatia airlines is that it has a high level of unit cost , even by comparison with full service airlines , and with a very large gap to lcc unit cost levels .
according to data in croatia airlines ' annual report , its passenger share was 19 % in jul - 2016 and 60 % in jan - 2016 .
croatia airlines and its longstanding partner lufthansa technik ag are looking back on 25 years of common history . this partnership was honored in a joint ceremony in the croatian capital of zagreb on april 3 – precisely 25 years after croatia airlines took delivery of its first boeing 737 from lufthansa ' s fleet .
croatia airlines is still top dog , but easyjet is making great inroads into the market , and the importance of the scandinavian market can be seen .
the inclusion of the new dash 8 - q400 aircraft in regular croatia airlines traffic is expected on may 24th on a flight from zagreb to zadar .
about star alliance : the star alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach , recognition and seamless service to the international traveller . its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards , including the air transport world market leadership award , best airline alliance by both business traveller magazine and skytrax . the member airlines are : adria airways , air canada , air china , air new zealand , ana , asiana airlines , austrian , blue1 , bmi , brussels airlines , continental airlines , croatia airlines , egyptair , lot polish airlines , lufthansa , scandinavian airlines , shanghai airlines , singapore airlines , south african airways , spanair , swiss , tam airlines , tap portugal , turkish airlines , thai , united and us airways . aegean airlines and air india have been announced as future members . overall , the star alliance network offers over 21 , 050 daily flights to 1 , 167 airports in 181 countries .
in - flight entertainment – all flyers aboard croatia airlines airbus aircraft can relax while enjoying short films on the major attractions of croatia . the video systems in the aircraft are also used to broadcast instructions in case of emergency situations .
adria and croatia airlines seem like a natural fit since both are star * , both under lufthansa ' s influence , both countries part of the eu .
germany is croatia airlines’ biggest online destination and now accounts for the carrier’s three biggest routes – zagreb - frankfurt , split - frankfurt and zagreb - munich .
croatia airlines is providing the year - round services the country requires and is on the brink of profitability despite the challenging market conditions . as croatia becomes more of a year - round destination for both business and leisure , croatia airlines should be able to avoid the downward spiral facing a large portion of small european flag carriers and be able to pursue modest growth while finding a sustainable niche .
life expectancy in croatia is 80 years for women and 73 years for men .
in the capital zagreb , croatia airlines now accounts for 56 % of all capacity compared to 15 % for lccs ( see background information ) . in dubrovnik , croatia airlines currently accounts for 70 % of international capacity but the airport at this time of year is only served by one foreign carrier , british airways .
there was talk that aegean was interested . i think that would have been a great combo . aegean + croatia airlines . could have been a strong airline .
ban josip jelačić square in zagreb , capital of croatia . zagreb , which has about 700 , 000 inhabitants , is home to one in six inhabitants of croatia .
regardless of the operating carrier , passengers can fly a combination of air india and croatian airlines services using the ticket and code of either of the two airlines .
also in 2014 , croatia airlines achieved an excellent level of punctuality : 84 . 7 % of departures in scheduled traffic were realized within the 15 minutes , which is above the association of european airlines’ members’ average ( 83 . 6 % ) .
as of june 1st , croatia airlines aircraft will start direct flights on the route from zagreb to athens three times a week , on tuesdays , thursdays and sundays .
code share cooperation in passenger transport with singapore airlines was started in may , and in late october , also with air canada . these cooperation projects have offered the passengers an even greater selection of routes between croatia and singapore , and croatia and canada .
the smartest thing that could have been done was to merge adria and croatia airlines . both could have kept separate brands and similar networks to the one they have now .
the croatian government plans to sell a majority stake in croatia airlines , as the carrier’s privatisation process continues . the croatian minister for sea , transport and infrastructure , siniša hajdaš dončić , said , “the world bank is our consultant and we are looking for the best possible solution , whether it be recapitalisation or privatisation . we are interested in the survival of croatia airlines , in keeping the name , but the state wants to gradually withdraw from majority to minority ownership in the company . without a foreign partner , croatia airlines is not likely to survive on the market” . the ifc , a world bank subsidiary , is expected to identify potential investors for croatia airlines by the end of october .
croatia airlines is the biggest operator by seats at zagreb , where it has a seat share of 50 % in the week of 17 - jul - 2017 , according to oag data . lufthansa , emirates , turkish airlines and qatar airways complete the top five airlines , and each has between 4 % and 6 % of seats at zagreb .
» take a look at our gallery of japan airlines lounges , tokyo haneda airport .
first class and business class passengers can have access to the malaysia airlines golden lounge .
as part of this cooperation , united airlines allocates its international airline designator ( ua ) to croatia airlines ' flights from amsterdam , brussels , paris , frankfurt , london , munich and zürich to zagreb , and from frankfurt and munich to split and dubrovnik . more
no ou livery . they might just put croatia sticker . also crew will ve spanish .
croatia is joining the european union this year . what does this mean for your airline ?
reports that croatia airlines ' long running search for a strategic partner may be returning to the top of its agenda once more throw the spotlight on the zagreb - based flag carrier . croatia has enjoyed healthy growth in its aviation market in recent years , driven by strong inbound tourist traffic . however , croatia airlines ' growth has not kept pace . it is still the biggest airline in this market , but its seat share has halved since 2008 .
the chart below shows how croatia airlines is positioned on a scatter plot of cask versus average trip length , in comparison with the trend lines for other european airlines ( these are separated into full service carriers , low cost carriers and ultra - low cost carriers ) .
croatia airlines ' share of total seats to / from croatia is expected to be 27 % in 2017 . this compares with 30 % in 2016 , and comfortably over 50 % as recently as 2009 . in 2008 its share was 54 % – twice its 2017 level .
alternatively , croatia airlines code ( ou ) will be on air india flights from frankfurt , london , vienna , rome and paris to new delhi , and from london to mumbai .
emirates launched its daily dubai - zagreb service at the end of may - 2017 , together with interline connections via croatia airlines to the croatian cities of pula , dubrovnik and split .
so they are selling majority stakes in adria and in croatia airlines at the same time . i think one will get a partner but it is difficult both at the same time .
since 2004 , croatia airlines has been a member of the highly esteemed star alliance . they have also been an association of european airlines member since 1998 . the airline currently has a maintenance partnership agreement with lufthansa and its subsidiaries are comprised of plesoprijevoz , amadeus croatiaand obzorputovanja .
croatia airlines is celebrating its 25th birthday , marking two and a half decades since it launched operations as zagreb airlines ( zagal ) in what was still yugoslavia . over its history , the airline has developed into one of the busiest in the former yugoslavia . in 1990 it changed its name to croatia airlines and operated its first domestic flight on may 5 that same year between zagreb and split using an md - 82 . on april 5 , 1992 , the newly established national carrier inaugurated its first international service , from zagreb to frankfurt . over the past 25 years , croatia airlines has operated 469 . 000 flights and handled 29 million passengers .
the overhaul of its medium range fleet over the last two years has enabled croatia airlines to include copenhagen , priština , podgorica and barcelona into the network of its european destinations . these destinations are connected with zagreb by three or four flights a week on average , which is an additional contribution by croatia airlines to the development of croatian tourism , and the economy in general .
a few weeks ago , croatia airlines and lufthansa were able to celebrate another anniversary : for the 200th time , a lufthansa aircraft arrived at the technology center in zagreb for a check .
as a result , foreign carriers are able to capture a majority of croatia’s tourism market . mr šimunović estimates that croatia airlines now only captures 30 % of the tourist market . as it is on the adriatic coast , croatia is a popular beach destination for europeans . mr šimunović says the country attracts about one million tourists per year , with the majority coming during the summer season .
the growth of croatia as a tourist destination has provided a positive backdrop for croatia airlines . however , in the early years of this decade a period of growth for the airline was followed by capacity cut in 2013 as it underwent a restructuring programme to climb back out of making losses .
in a recent interview with ascend , croatia airlines president and chief executive officer krešimir kučko explains the factors at the heart of his airline’s success , as well as current and future strategic initiatives .
during a ceremony in zagreb , the director of croatia airlines ivan mišetić stated “with the arrival of the first , new dash 8 - q400 aircraft , croatia airlines has started the overhaul of its short - haul fleet , at the same time opening a new chapter in the company ' s books . the dash 8 - q400 is at the very top of the global airline industry in terms of flight specifications , technological achievements and cost - effectiveness , so we are convinced that , by acquiring these aircraft , croatia airlines will reaffirm its position as a regional leader in south - east europe , besides additionally contributing to connecting croatia with the world and expanding the croatian economy .
in the zagreb – london market there are two airlines competing with croatia airlines , comprising british airways directly in and out of heathrow with a daily flight and from this summer monarch airlines in and out of gatwick with a three times weekly link . wizz air previously linked zagreb to luton up until february 2011 , while easyjet offered flights between zagreb and gatwick from february 2011 until october 2014 .
croatia airlines transported its millionth passenger in 1994 , while from 2000 the airline has had over 1 million passengers annually . the trend will continue this year as well . croatia airlines has so far transported 900 . 000 passengers this year and is expected to break the million mark soon . the airline is experiencing a decline in passenger numbers of 4 . 7 % in the first 6 months of this year , which is still much less then other airlines operating within the ex - yu republics .
on friday , july 24 , croatia airlines transported its 20 millionth passenger during its almost 20 year history . the passenger , boris jakopović , was travelling on a scheduled service from amsterdam to zagreb . at zagreb airport , ivan mišetić , the airline’s ceo handed the passenger 2 return tickets to any destination within the croatia airlines network as well as a 4 day hotel accommodation voucher at that destinations .
codeshare relationships with fellow star alliance members help to shore up croatia airlines ' position at zagreb , where it is still the biggest airline . however , lcc competition dominates its other two international bases in split and dubrovnik . competition in the very seasonal croatia market is particularly fierce in the summer months .
the croatian government foresees for a company from the european union to acquire a majority stake in croatia airlines but those from outside the bloc will be limited to a 49 % share , in line with eu legislation . last week , the croatian prime minister held talks with japan airlines ( jal ) in tokyo , presenting the carrier with business opportunities in his country . in the past , several airlines from asia , including garuda indonesia and hainan airlines , expressed interest in purchasing a stake in croatia airlines . carriers from the far east rarely participate in public tenders and equity investments are a result of negotiations . jal is the second largest airline in japan and is a member of the oneworld alliance .
since 2001 , croatia airlines has performed base and line maintenance for other airlines , including lufthansa , thomas cook and many others , out if its zagreb - based technical center . the airline’s high level of safety standards applies not only to its aircraft but to that of the other companies it serves .
on 5th may croatia airlines celebrated in split the tenth anniversary of first commercial flight with croatian national code . on 25th october german aviation authorities ( lba ) issued croatia airlines with jar 145 certificate that is authority to carry out in technical centres base and line maintenance of aircraft according to the highest european standards . two regular c - checks were carried out on lufthansa aircraft . during year 2001 croatia airlines ' aircraft carried 1 . 242 . 468 passengers . that was 17 percent more than the year before and 2 percent above 2001 target . it was the bussiest year in the company ' s history .
“we are very pleased that we have signed a commercial agreement of a very high standard with air india , which extends the existing cooperation in the transport of passengers . as part of the agreement , croatia airlines , as a european regional airline , gets the opportunity to stronger position itself in the large and fast - growing indian market . i believe that passengers from croatia and india will recognize the value of our joint product and have even better choice of travel , ” said croatia airlines ceo krešimir kučko ,
croatia airlines along with adria have really done well in the region . they have made decisions which have only strengthened there position and i ' m sure they will continue to do so in the future .
croatia airlines made a net profit of hrk9 . 0 million ( usd1 . 3 million ) in 1q2017 , compared to a loss of hrk86 . 3 million ( usd12 . 4 million ) in 1q2016 .
privatisation or a capital increase process for croatia airlines enters the second round , and three new international flight operators are now expressing interest in our national airline , večernji list reports on november 23 , 2015 .
over the past quarter of a century , croatia airlines has grown into a medium - sized airline company recognized and valued by its passengers for flying safety , high - quality service and professional staff . more
the 76 - seat q400s were added in 2008 , replacing smaller , slower and older atr 42s . last year croatia airlines recorded an average daily utilisation of 7 . 9 hours for its q400 fleet .
croatia airlines slashes capacity by about 50 % every winter in response to lower demand . but even with such big adjustments the carrier’s load factor typically dips below 60 % during the off - peak months .
in - flight shopping – flyers on croatia airlines flights can buy varied articles such as beverages , watches , books , handbags , etc . as per the products and the prices mentioned in the catalog .
the main attraction would likely be the zagreb hub , where croatia airlines remains the biggest airline and where its star alliance and codeshare relationships have helped to defend it from growing competition . with the right cost base , the growing inbound tourism market in croatia provides an opportunity for a local airline to be successful .
according to večernji list aegean wants to buy the entire company while lufthansa is more in favour of a merger , asin the case with austrian airlines . given that aegean and lufthansa are both companies coming from eu member countries , there is no limit to their ownership stake in croatia airlines , while turkish airlines , coming from a non eu country would only be allowed to purchase 49 % of company shares .
first flight from zagreb to istanbul atatürk airport , which is being operated by tav airports , has been made as the scheduled zagreb - istanbul flights have restarted after 12 years . a cocktail party held at atatürk airport to celebrate the commencement of scheduled flights from croatia’s capital city zagreb to istanbul which will be operated by croatia airlines . passengers of airbus a319 of croatia airlines were greeted with flowers upon their arrival at istanbul atatürk airport , which is being operated by tav airports . tav istanbul general manager kemal ünlü and croatia airlines president & ceo srećko šimunović had participated in the ceremony . with scheduled flights from zagreb to istanbul three days a week , istanbul connected transfer flights to middle east and far east destinations will be available .
the zagorje aircraft ( registration number 9a - cqe ) was included in the croatia airlines fleet on april 23rd of this year . the first passengers flew onboard on a regular domestic flight from zagreb to split .
support for the development of croatia airlines ' own capacity for engineering and maintenance is likewise part of the partnership . since 2000 , the two partners have regularly exchanged personnel . in 2001 , when croatia airlines received their jar 145 certificate for their own technical centre in zagreb , the first two c - checks on lufthansa airbus a320 aircraft were carried out . since 2012 , inhouse capacity regarding heavy maintenance has been increased .
croatia airlines is in relatively good shape , being stronger both financially and from a network perspective than most of the region’s carriers . but it is no easy task to carve out a profitable and sustainable niche .
on friday , the airline also marked 5 years since becoming a regional star alliance member . the airline should become a full member by the end of the year as the alliance plans to shut down its regional network of airlines . croatia airlines first operated 20 years ago as zagal - zagreb airlines . while it mostly performed charters it was croatia’s first airline . two years later , in 1991 , croatia airlines was formed and it began operations from zagreb to split . a year later , in 1992 , the airline began its first scheduled international services , with its first destination being frankfurt . the airline has flown 11 . 14 million passengers on international services , 6 . 71 million on domestic and 2 . 14 passengers on charter services .
more commonly known in the past as zagreb or zagal airlines , this company was found in 1990 and then in the following in underwent quite a few renovations including a rebranding to croatia airlines . it is currently the main national carrier of croatia and its operations in early years consisted of only cargo movement . since croatia gained independence , the airline made more vast changes to their style of operations and made various expansions . the government has control of more than 95 % stake in the airline and the headquarters can be found in buzin .
based on current capacity figures from innovata , croatia airlines has a 100 % share of the country’s domestic market and 59 % of the international market ( see background information ) . low - cost carriers currently account for 18 % of international capacity to and from croatia , including a 10 . 6 % share by germanwings and a 7 . 7 % share by easyjet . three of croatia airlines’ star alliance partners are among the top eight carriers in the country , leading to a dominating 77 % share of the croatian market for star .
in 1992 , lufthansa technik started to support the boeing 737 fleet of croatia airlines with an integrated total technical support ( tts® ) contract . in 1997 , when croatia airlines ' included their first airbus a320 in its fleet , lufthansa technik was also chosen as provider for tts® . in addition , croatia airlines ' bombardier q400 - turboprops have been under a total component support ( tcs® ) since 2008 . today , subject matter of the contract for the airbus a319 / a320 fleet are component services , engine maintenance , wheels and brakes services , support for airframe related components ( arc® ) , and provision of auxiliary power units ( apu ) .
a : croatia airlines is implementing these systems with a single most important goal in mind — improving revenues and contributing to our bottom line . as we move from manual control and processing to the automated systems , we expect significant process changes . for croatia airlines , this will be a giant leap forward in the way we handle our daily work and manage revenue , which will result in considerable improvements in work efficiency and revenue generation .
the two airlines of copa holdings - copa airlines and copa airlines colombia - serve 52 destinations in 25 countries . the group recently strengthened its presence in colombia , by rebranding aero republica to copa airlines colombia . copa airlines’ hub of the americas at tocumen international airport in panama city , panama , is latin america’s leading hub , with major traffic from the caribbean , and central and south america . copa’s entrance into star alliance reinforces its 12 - year - old alliance with united - continental . copa left skyteam in october 2009 .
croatia has more than a thousand islands and islets , and its adriatic shoreline is the third longest in mediterranean .
complete your croatia airline bookings to fly with the national carrier of croatia and experience a wide range of onboard services including in - flight shopping , delicious meals , in - flight entertainment and special services for children and infants .
croatia’s dependence on leisure traffic is higher than in other european countries . the major problem for croatia airlines is a seasonal demand and this seasonality represents the main issue to be resolved in future network development . the airline’s chief executive officer , krešimir kučko , says the airline will succeed , thanks to a little help from its friends .
web check - in is available to passengers booked on scheduled flights operated by croatia airlines . you can check in for your flight no earlier then 36 hours and no later than 60 minutes prior to take - off .
we take over the first aircraft of the airbus a320 type called rijeka , and open a joint representation of croatia airlines and the croatian tourist association in amsterdam . number of passengers carried that year : 866 , 000 .
croatia airlines is a joint - stock company . it ' s share capital amounts to hrk 277 . 879 . 530 and is divided into 27 . 787 . 953 ordinary shares with the nominal value of hrk 10 .
croatia airlines’ market share decreases significantly in the summer months across the country and especially at airports along the adriatic coast , which is a popular spot for beach holidays as well as a frequent stop for mediterranean cruise ships .
you can claim upto $ 700 / passenger for flight delays . check the amount airlines owes for you .
flying blue members can earn and spend miles on copa airlines flights with a cm or kl flight number .
flying blue members can earn and spend miles on malaysia airlines flights with a mh or kl flight number .
flying blue members earn and spend miles on ukraine international airlines flights with a ps or kl flight number .
✅ verified review | copenhagen to pula via zagreb . croatia airlines is a nice airline that i ' ve flown many times when visiting relatives in croatia . the crew is cheerful and friendly , and even if it was some time ago they served a cold meal the snacks they serve are ok for the short flights they offer . the age is however starting to show on the aircraft but still ok . i still recommend croatia airlines , mainly for the crew . the cake and sparkling wine available for purchase for someones birthday and special occasions is great .
croatia airlines is the number three airline by seats at split , where it has a seat share of 11 . 0 % in the week of 17 - jul - 2017 , according to oag data . easyjet is number one , with 22 . 0 % , and sas is second , with 14 . 1 % . after croatia airlines , vueling has 6 . 6 % , norwegian 5 . 4 % and eurowings 4 . 8 % .
he says the carrier is unable to get higher utilisation on its airbus fleet because during winter months there is not enough demand in the croatian market to keep all seven of its a319 / a320s flying . the market in croatia is extremely seasonal with monthly traffic figures at croatia airlines during the peak summer months typically double the winter figures .
croatia airlines ceo srećko šimunović expressed , “croatia airlines has always strived to move forward and improve the quality of services to provide passengers with new values and new attractive destinations . today i am proud that zagreb is connected with one of the most attractive destinations in south - east europe , istanbul by croatia airlines . i am certain that zagreb - istanbul flights will result in an even stronger economic cooperation between croatia and turkey and contribute to the development of tourism , an important economic sector in both countries . also , i believe that these flights will strengthen our friendship because flight connections mean an exchange of cultures and experiences , and communication with other nations . moreover , i would like to point out that zagreb - istanbul flights will also improve the global product of the star alliance association . ”
in a survey which included 448 airlines around the world , the international specialized web portal urltoken gave croatia airlines’ flight safety the highest rating ( seven stars ) , ranking the company among the world’s safest airlines . in early may , seasonal flights on the split – athens route were introduced for the first time in the company’s history . august 7th marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the croatian national air carrier . it was on this day in 1989 that zagreb airlines d . d . ( zagal ) was founded , and was renamed croatia airlines in july 1990 . since the first commercial flight ( july 1991 ) , croatia airlines’ air fleet had carried out 470 , 000 flights and transported more than 29 , 000 , 000 passengers . of this number , more than 20 , 000 , 000 were passengers on international flights , while 9 , 000 , 000 were passengers on flights within croatia . this year also marked the 20th anniversary of the croatia travel magazine , which plays a significant role in communicating not only corporate values , but also the national identity of the airline . the business year of 2014 was completed with net profits in the amount of 7 , 547 , 558hrk . number of passengers transported : 1 , 825 , 063
by unwto ( un world tourist organization ) in 2015 croatia was 5th by number of tourists in mediterranean europe ( 1 . spain , 2 . italy , 3 . turky , 4 . greece , 5 . croatia , 6 . portugal ) and 13th in all europe . and croatia was 24th in world ( including huge countries like china , usa , russia , brasil , india , australia . . . ) . in 196 countries in world that is more than good result . especially that croatia is tinny country with just 4 million inhabitants . in 2005 lonely planes made croatia no . 1 pick destination in 2006 national geographic named croatia destination of the year in world there was 15 , 6 million tourists in croatia last year and 78 , 1 million tourist nights . really poor result , isn ' t it ?
the replacement of the turboprop fleet of croatia airlines is part of the company’s development goals until 2012 , which include establishing the company as a regional leader in south - east europe , as well as increasing the number of flights . in terms of flight specifications , technological achievements and cost - effectiveness , the dash 8 - q400 is at the very top of the global airline industry and its inclusion in the croatia airlines fleet will provide the airline with an even more economic fleet structure and , therefore , better productivity in fund management . the lease contract also includes pilot training as well as cabin crew and ground personnel training . there is also a possibility that , within the framework of its technical sector , croatia airlines may offer the service of maintaining such aircraft to other airlines that operate them .
an interesting report from anna . aero on april 29 , 2016 on trends and statistics in croatia ' s statistics .
in its 2010 annual report , croatia airlines says it accounted for 32 % of total traffic across croatian airports . these figures include charter and scheduled passengers . croatia is a huge charter market , attracting 51 foreign charter carriers in 2010 , which in peak weeks during the summer season operated 116 weekly flights to 35 destinations throughout europe . in 2010 , 35 foreign scheduled carriers served croatia including 16 lccs , offering 409 weekly flights to 56 destinations during the peak season .
on 8 november we festively open a croatia airlines office in sarajevo , thus becoming the first european and world airline company to establish regular civil air traffic for this city . number of passengers carried that year : 823 , 000 .
checking in via urltoken is possible if the czech airlines ( ok ) flight ( out - or inbound ) is booked online via urltoken . if not , please check in via the czech airlines website or at the airport .
checking in via urltoken is not possible if the first flight of your journey ( out - or inbound ) is with malaysia airlines . in that case , please check in via the malaysia airlines website or at the airport .
checking in via urltoken is possible if the vietnam airlines ( vn ) flight ( out - or inbound ) is booked online via urltoken . if not , please check in via the vietnam airlines website or at the airport .
checking in via urltoken is possible if the xiamen airlines ( mf ) flight ( out - or inbound ) is booked online via urltoken . if not , please check in via the xiamen airlines website or at the airport .
✅ verified review | croatia airlines is a small regional european airline based in zagreb . i flew from zagreb to zurich to connect with my swiss airlines flight back to singapore . the aircraft was a turboprop dash - 8 . for the 1 hour flight to zurich , flight attendants came around to serve crackers and beverages . overall , the flight was more or less similar to other european airlines flying intra - european routes - basic standard service with no frills .
croatia airlines launched a new business class meal program in november 2016 called ‘inspired by croatia’ , passengers can expect locally sourced , quality traditional food such as purica s mlincima , pašticada , viška pogača or splitska torta . the airline teamed up with split - based uje oil bar , where chef dino galvagno created a range of dishes exclusively for business class .
the new hangar is suitable for carrying out the most demanding technical services on the airbus aircraft , including the so - called d - check , but also allows for faster and more efficient maintenance of the croatia airlines ' fleet . more
while still in the red , croatia airlines has been able to significantly improve its financial position this year following adjustments to its schedule and network , which have driven a 16 % growth in revenues and 11 % growth in passenger traffic . mr šimunović expects croatia airlines to end 2011 with eur195 million ( usd255 million ) in revenues and 1 . 95 million passengers carried , compared to eur168 million ( usd219 million ) in revenues and 1 . 76 million passengers in 2010 .
checking in online is possible if the china airlines ( ci ) flight ( out - or inbound ) is booked online via klm . com . if not , please check in via the china airlines website or at the airport .
mr šimunović says istanbul , which was only launched in may - 2011 , has already become an important transit hub for passengers heading further east as well as a big leisure destination for croatians , particularly in the summer . croatia airlines codeshares with star alliance partner turkish airlines on the zagreb - istanbul route with the two carriers combined offering a daily frequency .
the croatian government has announced it will once more attempt to secure a strategic partner for its croatia airlines ( ou , zagreb ) asset as part of its national reform program ( nrp ) . the nrp aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the croatian economy by improving the country ' s overall business climate , and through the reform of its various state - owned enterprises . according to an official statement , government has recognized that the development and improvement of croatia airlines . . .
the history of the croatian flag carrier , croatia airlines , was written from day to day , one step at a time , with each one coming nearer to the final goal - foundation of the national airline . in all the years of its existence and in rendering services of carrying passengers and goods , croatia airlines has connected croatian cities with all the most important capitals of europe , and through them , with the entire world . the company is a joint - stock company , of mixed ownership . the company ' s head office is in the capital of the republic of croatia , zagreb .


ashbritt environmental , commonly referred to as ashbritt or ashbritt , inc. , is located in deerfield beach , florida and is a company specializing in disaster relief operations .

ashbritt

fema officials have yet to determine whether the rates charged by ashbritt are reasonable .
cbs : lion ' s share of katrina money went to politically connected ashbritt .
the corps eventually approved an emergency supplemental contract for ashbritt worth about $ 800 million .
he said about 70 percent of the contractors hired by ashbritt are from new jersey .
let’s first review some background about how florida - based ashbritt came to new jersey .
allowing their executives and lobbyists to reap large profits at the expense of taxpayers . ashbritt
ashbritt and their subcontractors do not abide by the rules . the occupational safety and health
death of a teenage worker . another subcontractor hired by ashbritt was a convicted felon with
ashbritt’s contract was , in fact , awarded through a competitive process involving 22 bidders .
ashbritt environmental is a national turnkey rapid - response disaster recovery and special environmental services contractor .
ashbritt maintains some of the strictest operational and management safety guidelines in the industry . learn more .
ashbritt , located in deerfield beach , florida , is a company specializing in disaster relief operations .
broward county government officials expressed similar concern about ashbritt’s fees . a letter from an assistant director in the facilities department questioned why ashbritts work had no written authorization . he added , “the pricing appeared unreasonably high and unfortunately because these services were outside the scope” of services to be provided by ashbritt .
to the extent that ashbritt’s disaster recovery work produced controversy , perkins chalks it up to naked politics .
ashbritt cited in race for rep . patrick murphy ' s u . s . house district 18 seat
establish an independent testing and monitoring program . ashbritt is responsible for environmental restoration of both public and leased sites . ashbritt will also remove all debris from sites for final disposal at landfills prior to closure .
the army corps of engineers confirmed that ashbritt worked briefly in new orleans before moving east to mississippi .
we also checked with the gao about ashbritt’s alleged role , and the agency confirmed that neither ashbritt nor any other disposal company was referenced in their report . the gao is the investigative arm of congress .
ashbritt was the biggest debris removal contractor in mississippi after katrina . ashbritt won a competitive contract with the corps of engineers to do the corps’ clean - up in mississippi , and this turned out to be a great blessing for our state . ashbritt did a tremendous job , subcontracted work to many mississippi companies and provided jobs to hundreds of our workers . originally i was skeptical of the corps bringing in an outside company , but ashbritt proved me wrong , and we will always be grateful for ashbritt in our state .
christie used a contract already in place between connecticut and ashbritt as the model for the new jersey contract .
ashbritt august 2015 , title sponsor for the overtown youth center “day of service – save our sons initiative” .
congressman chip pickering ( r - ms ) , however , pulled no punches describing ashbritt’s work after katrina .
barbour , who is a close friend of christie and helped shepherd his political career , personally suggested ashbritt .
brittany perkins is the chief executive officer at ashbritt environmental and a member of the company’s board of directors . brittany oversees the company direction and strategy of ashbritt . she directly manages business partnerships and client relations . after being named ceo in 2016 , brittany oversaw ashbritt’s response operations to the blue cut fire in san bernardino read more
still , perkins points to ashbritt as a shining example of how he could apply his business skills in congress .
ashbritt is well versed in collecting , managing , and disposing of mixed construction and demolition debris . learn more .
doherty was the target of a corruption investigation over the ashbritt contract , though no charges were ever brought against him . he was also accused of terminating another debris removal contract and awarding it instead to ashbritt due to political considerations .
subcontractors claimed in more than a dozen lawsuits that ashbritt didn ' t pay them all or part of the money they were owed for katrina cleanup work they did in mississippi . ashbritt and the plaintiffs settled most cases — confidentially .
ashbritt officials declined to comment on the hurricane katrina contracts . jean todd , a federal contracting officer who helps oversee the ashbritt deal for the army corps of engineers , said she was determined to ensure that the price was fair .
in mississippi , ashbritt conducted debris removal , hazardous tree mitigation and demolition services in 17 jurisdictions , covering over 8 , 400 square miles ( 22 , 000 km 2 ) and over 175 miles ( 280 km ) inland . ashbritt collected , hauled and processed 21 million cubic yards of debris and wreckage . ashbritt staffed , managed and operated 49 debris management sites . ashbritt hauled over 700 , 000 loads of debris , using 12 , 400 certified operational vehicles .
ashbritt’s critics contend it artificially drives up costs and takes advantage of officials in desperate circumstances , intimidated by washington bureaucracy .
the state contract allows the towns to hire ashbritt without bidding out the work and frees them of some environmental regulations . unlike any other contractor , ashbritt is allowed to bring in subcontractors that don’t have a state license to transport waste .
ashbritt general counsel jared moskowitz called tittel’s claim about the company’s role in new orleans and louisiana
hocus pocus .
former gov . haley barbour of mississippi — a founding partner of ashbritt’s washington lobbying firm — told the star - ledger he recommended that christie use ashbritt . christie took barbour’s advice , and 43 towns also hired the firm without bidding .
ashbritt was the initial response prime contractor for the usace in both louisiana ( la ) and mississippi ( ms ) . within the first 30 days following contract activation , ashbritt initiated debris removal operations in 11 louisiana jurisdictions as well as the causeway on highway 90 . additionally , usace assigned ashbritt , by task order , to service 16 separate jurisdictions in mississippi covering over 8 , 400 square miles providing debris removal operations from the coast to over 175 miles inland . in louisiana , ashbritt :
christie ' s spokesman , michael drewniak , said that the ashbritt contract was a temporary and fast solution to a crisis .
ashbritt has already made the commitment that all of our marketing proposals and internal documents will be printed on recycled paper . whenever applicable and possible , ashbritt encourages and performs paper - free transactions , eliminating paper completely for internal and external business transactions .
ented ashbritt’s ownership status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
coburn said he was concerned about high fees ashbritt claims to have paid subcontractors with federal and state taxpayer money . coburn questioned whether ashbritt was taking advantage of taxpayers like other environmental restoration companies did after hurricane katrina struck the gulf coast in 2005 .
over the years , ashbritt’s political ties cannot have hurt when it has sought out state contracts . randal perkins , the founder of ashbritt , has close ties to former gov . haley barbour of mississippi , one of gov . chris christie’s early supporters .
as a result , ashbritt is dominating the debris - removal market in parts of the state ravaged by sandy . but some local officials and haulers say ashbritt’s pitch is nothing more than a scare tactic to lure local officials to pay its higher premiums .
in long beach township , ashbritt was paid $ 719 , 309 to collect and haul 7 , 149 tons of debris — at a rate of $ 100 a ton — according to records provided by ocean county , which has encouraged towns to use ashbritt .
doherty and other new jersey officials , including gov . chris christie , who awarded contracts to ashbritt said their primary concern was a quick and effective sandy response . christie was fast - tracking a $ 100 million contract for ashbritt even before sandy made landfall .
he admitted that he had an ownership interest in one of ashbritt’s subcontractors on the sandy job , and another after hurricane katrina .
local mayors who have employed the company in sandy’s aftermath said they had little time to search on their own and welcomed ashbritt .
drewniak pointed out that towns were not obligated to use ashbritt . they could have hired their own cleanup crews , he said .
ashbritt is capable of performing salt and sand spreading services through utilization of our diverse , nationwide , subcontracting partners . learn more .
tittel acknowledged , however , that he had no evidence ashbritt was doing the same things that were questioned in the federal report .
taking the advice of former mississippi gov . haley barbour , christie awarded ashbritt a no - bid contract two days after sandy struck last october . barbour is a founding partner in the lobbying firm that has represented ashbritt’s interests in washington for a number of years .
seaside heights mayor william akers said ashbritt has subbed out the work to a local contractor who already was helping the town with debris removal .
they were on the site anyway , they agreed to ashbritt’s price and they’re still working today ,
akers said .
ashbritt also was a co - defendant in an unrelated lawsuit brought by former ambassador lewis lucke . the suit accused ashbritt and partner gb group of breaching their contract and owing lucke $ 492 , 000 for consulting services in the aftermath of the 2010 haiti earthquake .
the army corps of engineers awarded ashbritt a contract worth $ 850 million to remove hurricane katrina debris in mississippi , with an option to increase the dollar amount to one billion dollars . ashbritt had already been activated under a preexisting contingency contract for $ 150 million .
ashbritt does very little debris removal itself , but hires an army of subcontractors and pays them a fraction of the state’s contracted rates .
ashbritt is constantly considering new technology to divert waste away from landfills and into recyclable and sustainable streams of commerce . ashbritt always follows best management practices in reducing , diverting , and disposing of all disaster - generated debris to maximize the potential for recycling and beneficial use .
ashbritt is a provider of emergency clean up services . they have a history of using political connections and pure force to make money .
these questions need to be answered and i look forward to hearing from ashbritt tomorrow ,
ramos said at the news conference .
but perkins is aware he’s going to face a good deal of negativity because of controversies over ashbritt’s contracting and political contributions to republicans .
new jersey gov . chris christie ' s administration awarded ashbritt a no - bid contract to clean up after hurricane sandy in 2012 . before that , ashbritt had hired a lobbying firm founded by former mississippi gov . harley barbour , whom christie called a
mentor .
once the ashbritt trucks start removing household items , caldwell said he expects they will have to make multiple passes through the hardest hit neighborhoods .
the fourth contractor , crowder gulf of alabama , whose rates are closest to ashbritt’s , are charging $ 16 . 30 a cubic yard .
but while a full picture has yet to form , anecdotal evidence shows towns that did not use ashbritt spent less than those that did .
we encourage safety through our “safety pays” program to reward workers for continued support and compliance with osha and ashbritt safety procedures . learn more .
ashbritt is proficient in the removal of derelict , abandoned , and submerged vessels / vehicles and the management of aggregation sites . learn more .
tittel said christie did not do the due diligence on the contract , adding that does not mean
getting advice from ashbritt’s lobbyist .
soon after perkins met with the dccc , perkins and ashbritt were the subject of a whisper campaign concerning the debris - removal company’s work after disasters like hurricanes katrina and sandy , as first reported friday in politico florida’s playbook . critics over the years have accused ashbritt of using its political influence to secure contracts or of over - charging the government – charges ashbritt has denied and that have never resulted in criminal charges .
in recent actions , the federal government went after local governments after reviewing cleanup costs . fema has not sought money from contractors like ashbritt .
a day after hurricane sandy struck new jersey , the christie administration awarded ashbritt a $ 100 million no - bid emergency contract to help clean state roads and waterways , also allowing towns to hire the firm without bidding . the contract allowed ashbritt to bypass several business and environmental regulations .
similarly , ashbritt points to alleged inaccuracies in the j & a , including several which it says are found within the portion of the j & a document ashbritt describes as the crux of the agency ' s justification .  protester ' s comments at 12 . this passage states :
as it did in new jersey , ashbritt cultivated high - level political connections as it eyed lucrative contracts after the hurricane struck the gulf coast .
description : ashbritt is a provider of emergency clean up services . they have a history of using political connections and pure force to make money .
we turn first to ashbritt ' s contention that the use of a set - aside is beyond the authority provided agencies by the stafford act .
[ 12 ] we also note for the record that we have heard no suggestion from ashbritt that the exercise of this option by the corps was improper or not needed because the corps had wrongly determined that it was approaching the $ 500 million ceiling applicable to ashbritt ' s base contract .
yet critics claimed ashbritt benefited from its inside connections in the christie administration . ashbritt charged towns $ 21 . 25 per cubic yard to gather roadside debris , nearly double the $ 11 . 70 asking price of another florida company , according to a 2013 asbury park press review of municipal bills .
the pressure local officials felt to open up contracts for bids stemmed from controversy over the rates that ashbritt charged for some of its debris removal services .
as a result , ashbritt has nearly all of the contracts in the county . and fear of losing out on federal dollars helped drive its success .
ashbritt offers client - specific pre - planning , and considers this one of the most advantageous steps in disaster response and recovery operations . learn more .
in addition to osha and other jurisdictional safety requirements , ashbritt continually updates and promotes our incentive driven ‘safety first’ and ‘safety pays’ programs . learn more .
ashbritt is well versed in all waterway debris operations to include floating debris , submerged debris , and sediment removal such as dredging operations . learn more .
u . s . sen . tom coburn ( r - ok ) on wednesday questioned the propriety of a no - bid contract ashbritt obtained from new jersey gov . chris christie . christie awarded ashbritt a no - bid contract last november to remove debris in the wake of extra - tropical storm sandy . late last month , the chairman of ashbritts lobbying firm appeared to be returning the favor , hosting a fundraiser for christie at his virginia home .
schito said his middletown - based company m & s ; waste services was replaced in sea bright by ashbritt after he already had started to haul debris for half the price . he also said local contractors are not getting work while ashbritt and the companies they brought into the state are reaping the rewards .
all of the towns in new jersey that used ashbritt and subsequently contacted by the star - ledger said they were pleased with the company’s speed and efficiency .
ashbritt provides full - service emergency snow and ice support operations to include loading , hauling , sand / salt spreading , and site management . learn more .
the legislators warned that the work being done by the firm , ashbritt inc . of pompano beach , may also pose a danger to the state’s environment .
the reason she called [ hearings on ashbritt’s contracts ] was political , but she absolutely had an absolute right to do it , for the record .
perkins boasts that ashbritt pays 100 percent of its employees ' health insurance and has transferred about 25 percent of the company ' s shares to some of them .
this claim caught our eye since ashbritt received a no - bid contract from new jersey to handle the bulk of the hurricane sandy cleanup . even more eye - catching ? the nearly 40 - page gao report cited by tittel not only never mentions ashbritt , it looks only at debris disposal in the new orleans area .
moskowitz said ashbritt was only in louisiana for a couple of weeks after katrina before the army corps of engineers moved them to do debris removal work in mississippi .
finally , ashbritt mounts several challenges to the j & a used here to justify the agency ' s decision to limit competition . specifically , ashbritt contends that the j & a does not fully comply with far requirements , contains factual errors , and does not logically support the limited competition approach selected by the agency . we have reviewed each of ashbritt ' s contentions in this area , and find that none of them lead to a conclusion that the agency has acted improperly here .
“ashbritt , as well as any company , will use every available resource to stay competitive . we are proud of the work we do , ” moskowitz added .
the investigation by the office of inspector general with the department of homeland security was disclosed in a state comptroller’s report released tuesday focusing on whether ashbritt overcharged eight shore towns . the report found the towns were mistakenly overcharged more than $ 300 , 000 , but the errors were made by a group debris monitors , not ashbritt .
a 2006 congressional investigation into fraud and waste in the hurricane katrina cleanup found ashbritt ' s $ 500 million contracts were considered wasteful and mismanaged . ashbritt charged the federal government 44 percent more than a local contractor testified he would have charged . the resulting house minority report found “the people doing the actual work were paid just a fraction of the contract price . ” the company paid subcontractors on average $ 10 of the $ 23 ashbritt was paid per cubic yard , according to the report .
it also allowed ashbritt to engage in a practice that critics would later describe as
double dipping .
perkins was a partial owner of some of the contractors to which it delegated work , meaning in some cases he was making money both from the fee that ashbritt took off the top and the funds allocated to its subcontractor .
a review of the company’s contract with new jersey , obtained by the star - ledger under the state’s open public records act , shows where the ashbritt magic lies .
beaufort county contracted with ashbritt environmental , a company that specializes in disaster recovery services , to find and extract the abandoned boats . they will go to a landfill .
officials insist they can manage two large cleanups at once . throughout the weekend , disaster specialist ashbritt inc , drc emergency services and waste haulers , including waste management (
[ 6 ] we note for the record that ashbritt ' s home office is located in broward county , florida . protester ' s comments at 2 , 10 .
ashbritt has been criticized by local media and members of congress for its cleanup work during hurricane katrina , after accusations that the company was inflating costs of debris removal .
ashbritt is able to provide snow management operations for communities when snow fall gets past the point of simple road maintenance . from plowing to removal , salt spreading to transporting , each event can require a different combination of techniques to clear the rights of way ; ashbritt is a full - service contractor that is able to address each client’s snow / ice support needs . ashbritt assisted over 43 clients during the halloween snowstorm event in 2011 , and most recently assisted more than 10 clients for winter snowstorm jonas .
a week after katrina made landfall , ashbritt , which already employed the lobbying firm founded by mississippi gov . haley barbour , brought on another lobbyist : mike parker , who until just a few years prior was the bush administration official in charge of the army corps of engineers . ashbritt employed parker’s son at the time , perkins noted .
randal “randy” perkins founded ashbritt as a florida corporation in 1992 . randy sets the vision for the organization through his leadership of the ashbritt board of directors . with 25 years of industry leadership , randy has in - depth knowledge of the disaster response and recovery process and stakeholders . randy has completed course work at the university of read more
during catastrophic events , ashbritt can provide necessary services from emergency power , to food , water and ice supplies through the establishment of full man - camps . learn more .
in mississippi , we collected , hauled and processed 20 . 5 million cubic yards of vegetative debris and wreckage while staffing , managing and operating 52 dms . ashbritt specifically :
michael drewniak , a spokesman for the governor , questioned the timing of the news conference , a day before democrats have called a joint legislative hearing on the ashbritt contract .
christie’s decision to award a no - bid contract to ashbritt , described in a series of articles in the star - ledger , has come under fire from democratic lawmakers .
dow knight is a graduate of the united states merchant marine academy in kings point , new york . his maritime and inter - modal experience , both ashore and at sea , provides ashbritt with the logistics and transportation experience necessary to conduct large scale operations for both domestic and international response requirements . for over a decade , ashbritt has applied read more
quinn said the new contracts would give local officials options if disaster strikes again rather than having to choose between ashbritt or cobbling together their own plan , which happened after sandy .
perkins defended ashbritt’s approach to government contracting , which he admitted entailed getting involved in the political process to sway lawmakers and regulators in charge of doling out billions in government aid .
ashbritt had been recommended to christie by haley barbour , the former republican governor of mississippi who oversaw the cleanup there from hurricane katrina , according to state sen . bob gordon .
former governor haley barbour , a friend of ( christie ' s ) , contacted governor christie and told him he would recommend a company called ashbritt because of its work related to katrina . we later learned that mr . barbour has a business relationship with ashbritt ,
said gordon , who spoke on behalf of state senate democrats to abc news .
ashbritt is exclusively a disaster response and recovery contractor . we are tenured in collection , removal , reducing , hauling , and disposal of disaster generated debris streams . learn more .
ashbritt ' s contention in this area is based on the premise that the agency is making multiple awards so that it will later be able to hold mini - competitions for this cleanup work . under this rubric , ashbritt argues that the far restrictions above should have led the agency to conclude that it could not reasonably make multiple awards under this solicitation .
ar , tab m ( j & a ) , at 3 . in this regard , ashbritt argues that this statement wrongly includes obligations for roofing and temporary building contractors as part of the justification for awarding a new contract for debris removal , and wrongly implies that local contractors were not ready to compete earlier but are ready now - - even though ashbritt claims that two of the three large mississippi contractors that the j & a identifies as able to compete here , in fact , submitted proposals in the earlier competition that ashbritt won .
ashbritt has to be used in order to maximize the fema reimbursement ,
david breeden , the ocean township ( ocean county ) administrator , told the town council when it was weighing other options , according to minutes of the meeting .
if the township does not use ashbritt , it jeopardizes the fema reimbursement regarding solid waste collection and disposal .
the christie administration did not use ashbritt to clean up state roads , but the contract allowed municipalities , 53 in all , to hire the firm without bidding . christie has said it gave towns devastated by sandy speedy options to accelerate the recovery efforts . the oig is investigating debris removal costs in at least two municipalities that employed ashbritt : belmar and beach haven .
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joining with jeff tittel , head of the new jersey chapter of the sierra club , legislators called attention to a 2008 federal report that criticized ashbritt’s handling of debris after hurricane katrina .
in 2012 , new jersey governor chris christie came under scrutiny after his administration awarded ashbritt a no - bid contract to clean up the aftermath of hurricane sandy . a federal investigation found that christie did not break any laws , but public outrage centred around the cost of the contract and ashbritt ' s significant political donations to organisations such as the republican governors association .
ashbritt is able to conduct removal , transport and disposal of abandoned vehicles , boats and other vessels to include aggregation staging ; inventorying and indexing for easy location and retrieval ; information dissemination ; owner contact ; and supplemental investigations for proper disposition will be conducted . ashbritt also conducts decontamination and recycling of vehicles and vessels and has a significant amount of experience removing abandoned vehicles .
jared moskowitz , a vice president with ashbritt , said last night the oig audits
all disaster operations
and its inquiry in new jersey was expected and not indicative of potential trouble .
ashbritt’s moskowitz stressed that new jersey used the same prices the company charged connecticut in 2011 following a massive snowstorm , and that connecticut used a competitive bidding process that attracted nine other companies .
ashbritt’s practical experience , in addition to our extensive fema training , allows us to conduct and apply the lessons learned to our clients through annual on - site training opportunities . learn more .
ashbritt argues that the agency ' s decision to limit this competition to mississippi firms exceeds the authority granted by the stafford act . specifically , ashbritt contends that the preference envisioned by the act does not include the authority to use a set - aside , and that the use of a set - aside , without express statutory authority , violates the competition in contracting act . ashbritt also argues that the stafford act does not permit limiting the preference to firms located in only one state , to the exclusion of firms located in other states similarly affected by the same major disaster , in this case , hurricane katrina . finally , ashbritt argues that the j & a prepared here does not support the agency ' s decision to limit competition to mississippi firms .
ashbritt has come a long way since 1992 , when it received its first subcontract from brown & root ( a halliburton subsidiary ) after hurricane andrew . the company also employs top lobbyists , including former representative james a . hayes , d - louisiana , and mississippi governor haley barbour’s former firm , barbour griffith and rogers , which helped ashbritt get work after the 2004 florida hurricanes .
ashbritt , right now , is focused on removing that vegetative material that will eventually be taken to nine mile road landfill where it will be ground up to reduce its volume , caldwell said .
in two major categories — cleaning up construction and demolition debris along with trees and other vegetative waste — ashbritt’s rates in most cases were more than double those charged by other companies awarded contracts .
belmar eventually awarded ashbritt a no - bid contract for debris removal in the town . moran and doherty insisted that they never discussed the contract and that their marriage was irrelevant to its award .
he said he is not concerned , like other local officials , that wall would lose out on the maximum fema reimbursement — 75 percent of cleanup costs — if he didn’t go with ashbritt .
perkins said christie skipped the time - consuming bidding process because he had to act fast in light of the devastation , and the contract was modeled after a connecticut contract ashbritt won after bidding .
but critics say that the speed with which ashbritt was ushered in to help the state meant that 40 - plus municipalities also quickly agreed to hire them , using the emergency contract christie approved .
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perkins ' issues extend beyond ashbritt . two contractors accused perkins and his wife , saily , of not paying for part of the work the contractors performed at the couple ' s broward county home .
but gordon , who was among the democrats who requested the records and asked the ashbritt ceo to testify to the state legislature recently , said that towns felt confident adopting a state - approved contract .
ashbritt environmental is a u . s . based disaster recovery and special environmental services contractor . since 1992 , we have managed and executed more than 230 disaster recovery missions and numerous special environmental projects .
ashbritt provides vessel recovery ; underwater welding and salvage ; debris removal from canals and waterways ; deployment of divers ; deployment of remote operated vessel ( rov ) ; deployment of barge and landing craft as work platforms for equipment and supply transport ; mechanical and hydraulic dredging of canals , marinas and navigable waterways . in 2012 , new jersey tasked ashbritt to remove vessels from the bay following hurricane sandy .
ashbritt raises three other challenges to the solicitation here . first , it contends that regardless of whether the agency acted within its discretion in conducting this procurement as a mississippi set - aside , the solicitation is improperly ambiguous because it fails to provide clear guidance on what constitutes residing , or primarily doing business , in that state . second , ashbritt argues that the agency has failed to comply with the far regulations that govern the use of multiple - award contracts . third , ashbritt contends that the solicitation impermissibly fails to include an estimate for the demolition work that will be covered by the contract .
“ashbritt has been , is and will continue to be the leader in our industry . we have done more disaster cleanup work than any other company in our industry over the last five years and we are responsible for the largest cleanup ever done by a single company after hurricane katrina devastated the state of mississippi , ” said jared moskowitz , ashbritt’s general counsel and executive vice president of business development .
when the state did go out to bid last month , ashbritt’s prices in key areas were significantly higher — sometimes more than three times as much — than the three other firms that won work .
ashbritt is well - versed in all aspects of debris management operations . this encompasses emergency push operations for critical facility and priority route clearance ; right - of - way debris collection ; curbside segregation ; dms reduction , recycling and final disposal ; permitting ; dms site closeout ; and final reconciliation and auditing . ashbritt understands that operations with the client must be conducted in a symbiotic manner with full transparency .
even at that lower price new jersey has paid ashbritt , the contract has drawn criticism , with some local officials arguing that local waste disposal companies could have done the job at an even lower price .
ashbritt environmental 565 east hillsboro blvd . deerfield beach , fl 33441 tel : 954 . 725 . 6992 tf : 1 . 800 . 244 . 5094 fax : 954 . 725 . 6991 response @ urltoken
ashbritt provides training opportunities to our clients in order to learn and adapt to experiences and trends . they are customized to meet specific client needs , often after direct input and inquiry from the client . from hurricane katrina and hurricane sandy , to winter storms across the us , to trends taking place in fema and other federal agencies , ashbritt continues to evaluate and compile lessons learned for our clients and staff .
mokowitzs deerfield beach - based company is no stranger to controversy . in 2010 , an auditor determined ashbritt received $ 765 , 000 in overpayments from the broward county school board for cleanup following hurricane wilma .
the company hired george gilmore , then the chairman of the republican party of ocean county , where a gop - controlled county board offered to pay towns for sandy cleanup costs if they awarded contracts to ashbritt .
a large mound of clean sifted sand on the beach in seaside heights made as part of the cleanup contracted by the state to ashbritt , inc . ( photo by tony kurdzuk / the star - ledger )
perkins parlayed his lawn maintenance business into one of the nation ' s largest privately held debris cleanup companies , ashbritt environmental inc . , after getting a small contract to clean up after hurricane andrew in 1992 .
new jersey , for the most part , is hiring its contractors directly , with about 15 communities already selecting ashbritt environmental , a contractor based in florida that also played a major role in the hurricane katrina cleanup .
ashbritt itself does very little , if any , actual debris removal . instead , it uses a mix of local and out - of - state contractors and pays them a fraction of the state - contracted rate .
days before sandy struck , former mississippi gov . haley barbour advised christie to go with the firm based on his experience with them after katrina . barbour is a founding partner in a lobbying firm that represents ashbritt .
hurricane sandy slammed new jersey on oct . 29 , 2012 , causing widespread damage here , in new york and connecticut . hours after the storm , gov . chris christie awarded ashbritt a no - bid contract that piggybacked off one the company had with connecticut . the decision has drawn public scrutiny for a variety of reasons , such as higher - than - usual disposal costs to towns for which ashbritt has handled debris disposal .
ashbritt has cleaned up debris for fema and other government agencies after other hurricanes . besides possessing a huge roster of subcontractors and the logistics expertise to route hundreds of trucks , the company is also politically well connected .
that angered mr . perkins , ashbritt ' s owner , who said the new contract would not benefit small companies , which he said were already getting more than 70 percent of money his company spent in mississippi .
“we’re not restricted [ from posting subcontracts ] , ” ashbritt’s perkins says . “we submit all our contracting data to the army corps on a weekly basis and that’s all available from them if they so choose . ”
perkins also has ties to top south florida democrats like former miami heat star center alonzo mourning , intellectual - disabilities activist anthony shriver and lobbyist ron book , who all run charities that perkins and ashbritt have supported .
the contract and the multiple waivers ashbritt got were meant to speed up a monumental cleanup task , making life easier for mayors and local officials flooded with work in a post - sandy world , the governor’s office said .
ashbritt assures that any jurisdiction in which we operate a dms it will be properly remediated . there will be significant costs associated with this operation as well as close scrutiny by the local press and environmental groups . site remediation will go smoothly if baseline data collection and site operation procedures are followed . ashbritt has operated more than 50 dms sites at one time and is able to consider all environmental factors that may be affected by the project .
in the end , the town paid bergeron $ 753 , 959 to remove about 64 , 000 cubic yards . if ashbritt was hired , the same job would have cost $ 1 . 36 million , bowden said .
in 2016 , the republican party aired attack ads against ashbritt ' s record after ceo randall
randy
perkins ran as the democratic party candidate for the treasure coast - palm beach congressional seat in florida , usa .
ashbritt also contributed $ 136 , 224 to the republican governors association since 2011 , according to a 2013 newark star ledger report concerning sandy . the star - ledger also reported ashbritt contributed $ 150 , 000 to the democratic governors association , since 2011 , and that perkins personally gave “ $ 218 , 500 to federal candidates or committees since 2001 , with nearly every dollar going to republican causes , according to the center for responsive politics . ”
i’m probably one of the most politically astute people in any business industry , let alone my own industry ,
said perkins , owner and ceo of disaster relief contractor ashbritt inc . , in a wednesday evening interview .
so far , ashbritt , working directly for about 50 local jurisdictions in new jersey , has collected and disposed of about three million cubic yards of debris , at a total cost of about $ 150 million , officials said .
the company , ashbritt , left new contaminated sites in its wake as it did cleanup along the gulf coast after 2005’s hurricane katrina , jeff tittel said in a feb . 22 opinion column he wrote for njtoday . net .
when sandy hit new jersey in late 2012 , the company enlisted the services of leading political operatives in the state , some of whom had direct connections to local officials who signed off on millions of dollars in payments to ashbritt .
perkins downplayed the role of ashbritt’s political operation in securing the initial sandy contract , but admitted that the company took advantage of that operation in order to ensure that it retained its position as one of the state’s dominant sandy contractors .
the company was already under contract with the u . s . army corps of engineers , the agency tasked with the government’s immediate response . but given the scale of the disaster , the financial potential for ashbritt was far higher .
ashbritt’s comprehensive going green program reduces our organization’s adverse impact on the environment through activities such as reductions in waste generation and carbon emissions . our long - term goal is to lessen the amount of carbon generated from our recovery operations .
according to his official florida house webpage , moskowitz is the director of government relations and general counsel for ashbritt environmental . the company claims to be the “national turn key rapid - response disaster recovery and special environmental services contractor . ”
susan greatorex , a fema spokeswoman , said last week the agency has yet to determine whether ashbritt’s prices are
fair and reasonable ,
saying those conclusions will be made in the months ahead as towns submit for federal reimbursement .
on dec . 27 , the town wrote ashbritt a check for $ 4 . 62 million for collecting and hauling an estimated 108 , 430 cubic yards of debris , according town financial records obtained under the state’s open public records act .
it also hired maggie moran , once an aide to former gov . jon corzine and the wife of belmar , n . j . , mayor matt doherty . moran crafted a marketing strategy designed to sell city officials on ashbritt’s services .
for example , the emergency contract with the state pays ashbritt $ 400 for every tree it removes from the roadway , but the company can hire a subcontractor who is willing to do it for $ 200 and then pocket the difference .
an ashbritt subcontractor hauls away katrina induced debris , feb . 16 , 2006 in pass christian , miss . the u . s . army corps of engineers announced friday , march 21 , 2006 , that a $ 150 million award to gulfport - based necaise brothers construction had been sidelined by protests from other companies . in the end , the beneficiary will be pompano beach , fla . - based ashbritt inc . , which earlier had been awarded a $ 500 million contract .
the senate democrats have requested all correspondence among christie and his top administration staff as they decided in october 2012 to fast - track a contract for the firm ashbritt to clean up sand , roads and other debris in the wake of sandy .
yet government watchdogs maintain that there’s much more to the game than pure merit - based competition . companies like ashbritt are able to anticipate potentially lucrative opportunities because they have hired former fema and corps officials who can guide them through the process .
barbour himself faced questions in new jersey in the weeks and months after the hurricane because his political lobbying firm represented ashbritt , the florida - based company that was awarded a lucrative emergency contract by christie to perform debris removal after the storm .
audits of the work by hurricane katrina contractors — although not necessarily ashbritt — found instances where the companies had been paid twice for collecting a single load of debris or overestimating how many miles they drove to dump it , resulting in higher fees .
the christie administration once again disputed the characterization that it was a no - bid contract , noting it
piggybacked
off a competitively bid contract by the state of connecticut . ashbritt beat out nine other bidders in connecticut , the administration notes .
ashbritt , which is headquartered in florida , is a client of barbour ' s lobbying firm , bgr group . christie attended a february fundraiser at the home of bgr ' s chairman , ed rogers , according to the center for public integrity .
after beating out the competition , like so many contractors , ashbritt’s ability to maintain its advantage in the future will continue to depend upon its ability to anticipate opportunities and develop a cozy relationship with the army corps of engineers and other government bureaucracies .
new jersey democratic legislators set up hearings last month to investigate ashbritts no - bid contract . the newark star / ledger reports democrats questioned whether taxpayers are getting the best deal and whether the decision may ultimately jeopardize reimbursements from the federal government . ”
the administration chose the connecticut contract because it is
regionally comparable , both economically and geographically ,
drewniak said . the connecticut towns that used ashbritt saw the maximum reimbursements by fema , and drewniak said new jersey towns can expect the same .
jeff bertrand , the administrator for wall township , said ashbritt officials made their pitch to him days after the storm . they drove around town and estimated it would cost $ 2 million to remove the downed trees and other debris that had piled up .
a report by the us general accountability office ( gao ) in 2008 found that the disposal of katrina wastes by ashbritt in the south resulted in the creation of contaminated sites along the gulf coast and two new superfund sites in new orleans .
the investigators are asking how much money ashbritt will collect and , in turn , what it will pay subcontractors performing the work , said a house investigator who did not want her name used because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter .
but three communities in mississippi , which found their own contractors rather than accept the terms offered by ashbritt , have negotiated contracts of $ 10 . 64 a cubic yard to $ 18 . 25 a cubic yard , including collection , processing and disposal .
ashbritt is central to his rags - to - riches campaign story , as he said he was a father who once relied on food stamps . today the company has branched out to provide demolition services , as well as environmental mitigation and public works services .
christie hired the firm for up to $ 100 million of work two days after the storm devastated much of the jersey shore and rampaged through the northeast . the total earned by ashbritt could be more , since new jersey towns hired the firm as well .
randy sets the vision for the organization through his leadership of the ashbritt board of directors . with 25 years of industry leadership , randy has in - depth knowledge of the disaster response and recovery process and stakeholders . randy has completed course work at the university of central florida in business administration and the university of miami in global business concepts . he holds seats on the board of directors of several national charitable organizations and is very active in state and local charitable endeavors . he sits on the ashbritt foundation board .
ashbritt , which has won the biggest share of those contracts , is being paid about $ 15 per cubic yard to collect and process debris , federal officials said . it is also being reimbursed for costs if it has to dispose of material in landfills .
a bulldozer contracted by ashbritt , inc . piles debris being collected in a temporary dump at the base of the route 37 bridge in seaside heights in the wake of hurricane sandy ' s destruction . ( photo by tony kurdzuk / the star - ledger )
christie’s no - bid contract with florida - based ashbritt inc . — which gave the firm unequaled access to local towns stricken by the storm — borrowed wholesale , or
piggybacked
from the company’s 2008 contract with connecticut to help speed up recovery efforts .
following hurricane katrina in august 2005 , as the united states army corps of engineers ( usace ) advanced contracting initiative ( aci ) contractor for u . s . region 3 , ashbritt was the initial response contractor for both louisiana and mississippi . ashbritt was ultimately tasked by the usace as the prime contractor for the entire debris mission in the state of mississippi . owing to the severity of the damage , this mission proved to be the largest debris cleanup and recovery by a single company in u . s . history .
the company was a lead government contractor working chiefly on debris removal after two of the country’s most devastating recent natural disasters : hurricane katrina and superstorm sandy . in both cases , ashbritt flexed its political muscle in order to maximize its piece of ensuing procurement opportunities .
jared moskowitz , legal counsel for ashbritt , told abc news that there was nothing amiss in the company ' s dealings with new jersey . in times of crisis or disasters , states don ' t have time to put contracts out for bid , he said .
according to senate filings , ashbritt paid about $ 40 , 000 in the first half of 2005 to barbour griffith & rogers , the washington lobbying firm co - founded by governor barbour of mississippi , who is also a former chairman of the republican national committee .
in a conference call with the record on wednesday , they said they are getting plans in place to help people like the husers . the county has a contract with disaster recovery contractor ashbritt environmental to help remove
all storm - related debris ,
caldwell said .
ashbritt’s chief draw in new jersey and elsewhere was its contracting model : rather than doing the work itself , the company brought on subcontractors and took a fee from the awards delegated to them . that allowed for a high degree of coordination , but it swelled costs .
a dec . 6 news release from toms river describes ashbritt as a
fema - approved
contractor . asked about the toms river statement , albert pillot , a spokesman with fema , said ,
fema does not endorse , approve or recommend any contractors .