# Croatia Airlines

Croatia Airlines Ltd. is the flag carrier of Croatia. Its headquarters are in Buzin near Zagreb, the capital, and operates domestic and international services mainly to European destinations. Its main hub is Zagreb International Airport with focus cities being Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar. Since November 2004, the airline has been a member of Star Alliance.

## History
### Early years

The airline was established in June 1991 with no planes and already with poor economic prospects. Later in 1991, Croatia Airlines signed an agreement with Adria Airways which allowed it to lease a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 to commence domestic jet services between Zagreb and Split. Croatia Airlines acquired three Boeing 737s from Lufthansa and became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). As the flag carrier of newly independent Croatia, the airline launched its first international service on 5 April 1992, from Zagreb to Frankfurt.
In 1993, two new ATR 42s and two more 737s joined the fleet and representative offices were opened in several European cities and the company bought the travel agency Obzor to organize travel packages for groups and individuals. By 1994, Croatia Airlines had welcomed its millionth passenger. Later that year, Pope John Paul II flew the airline on a trip to Croatia.
In 1995, another ATR 42 was welcomed, as was the two millionth passenger. In 1996, Croatia Airlines became the first airline to fly to Sarajevo after the Bosnian War. In 1997, the airline's first Airbus A320 arrived and was named Rijeka. In 1998, another first plane of a new type arrived when the airline's first Airbus A319 joined the fleet. This airplane was named Zadar. In the same year, Croatia Airlines became a member of the Association of European Airlines (AEA). By 1999, two more Airbus jets had arrived and Croatia Airlines started selling the Boeing part of their fleet. The airline flew its five millionth passenger.

### Development since 2000

In 2000, two more Airbus planes arrived and an automated ticketing system was inaugurated. In 2001, the airline received maintenance and technical performing certificates from the German aviation authority Luftfahrt-Bundesamt. On 18 November 2004, Croatia Airlines joined Star Alliance.
Airbus and Croatia Airlines announced on 22 October 2008 the order of four additional 132-seat A319 aircraft, to be delivered from 2013. By March 2009, the airline also retired its fleet of three ATR 42 short-haul aircraft, after operating the type since 1993, and replaced it with a fleet of six Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s, the first of which was delivered in May 2008.
The airline carried its 20,000,000th passenger in July 2009, and has carried well over 1 million passengers annually from 2000.
Croatia Airlines and maintenance partner Lufthansa announced on 23 May 2011 the introduction of new slim-line Recaro economy seats to be retrofitted into certain A320 Family aircraft from summer 2012, increasing seating capacity by two rows.
Losses have been made for several years; in November 2012, the government announced that it would provide HRK 800m ($ 136m) for Croatia Airlines to become cost-effective from 2013 on. The government is seeking to restructure the airline, which includes plans to cut its workforce by ten percent within two years and it is also looking for a strategic investor.
In February 2020, Croatia Airlines announced two new seasonal flights to Podgorica and Sofia operated by Bombardier Dash 8 Q400.
In April 2024, Croatia Airlines concluded an agreement on the lease of an Airbus A319 aircraft with the Croatian airline Fly Air41, which is otherwise a sister company to SundAir.

### Renewal of the fleet

In October 2022, Croatia Airlines announced plans to reduce their fleet and replace all current aircraft with six new Airbus A220-300 by 2026. The airline decided against the competing Embraer E2 as it was able to use downpayments for a former and since cancelled order for Airbus A319s nearly 15 years ago. In November 2022, it has been stated that the airline will operate up to 15 A220 with 9 additional aircraft to be leased. In January 2023, a lease was agreed for the first six aircraft of four A220-300 aircraft and two A220-100 aircraft. The lease was concluded with Air Lease Corporation Clover based in the Republic of Ireland as the lessor.
In September 2023, Croatia Airlines sold and leased back its entire Airbus fleet from lessor World Star Aviation. Four Airbus A319 and one Airbus A320 were sold prior to the Airbus A220 delivery. In November 2023, Croatia Airlines has started retiring aircraft prior to its first Airbus A220 deliveries with the first aircraft to leave the fleet being an Airbus A319-100. The arrival of the first aircraft was confirmed for July 2024, while the second new A220 was expected at the end of the same year. The following six aircraft would be delivered in 2025, then four in 2026, and the last three in 2027. On 30 July 2024, first airplane named Zagreb, landed on Zagreb Airport. Second airplane arrived on 20 December 2024 and it was named Split.

## Corporate affairs
### Ownership

Croatia Airlines is a joint-stock company. Its share capital is divided into 92.388 million ordinary shares (as of 2023):
| Share owner | Number of shares | Percentage |
| Republic of Croatia | 91,610,821 | 99.16% |
| Zagreb Airport Ltd. | 477,121 | 0.52% |
| Hrvatska poštanska banka for the Republic of Croatia | 173,768 | 0.19% |
| JANAF | 22,000 | 0.02% |
| Others | 104,243 | 0.11% |

### Business trends

The key trends for Croatia Airlines group over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):
| Year | Turnover (€ m) | Net profit (€ m) | Number of employees | Number of passengers (m) | Passenger load factor (%) | Number of aircraft |
| 2007 | 204 | 0.13 | 1,052 | 1.7 | 64.9 | 10 |
| 2008 | 229 | −11.9 | 1,113 | 1.8 | 65.2 | 10 |
| 2009 | 192 | −26.3 | 1,131 | 1.7 | 61.4 | 12 |
| 2010 | 196 | −20.7 | 1,117 | 1.6 | 62.0 | 13 |
| 2011 | 234 | −15.0 | 1,101 | 1.8 | 67.0 | 13 |
| 2012 | 237 | −64.7 | 1,086 | 1.9 | 69.1 | 13 |
| 2013 | 219 | 0.19 | 1,041 | 1.7 | 68.8 | 12 |
| 2014 | 218 | 1.1 | 908 | 1.8 | 69.2 | 12 |
| 2015 | 214 | 1.9 | 898 | 1.8 | 69.7 | 12 |
| 2016 | 215 | 1.0 | 967 | 1.9 | 70.7 | 12 |
| 2017 | 233 | 3.5 | 924 | 2.1 | 75.2 | 12 |
| 2018 | 236 | −10.9 | 959 | 2.1 | 73.5 | 12 |
| 2019 | 236 | −10.6 | 999 | 2.1 | 73.6 | 12 |
| 2020 | 100 | −47.5 | 980 | 0.61 | 49.6 | 12 |
| 2021 | 112 | −38.3 | 920 | 0.78 | 49.9 | 13 |
| 2022 | 210 | −18.2 | 909 | 1.4 | 62.0 | 12 |
| 2023 | 252 | 2.0 | 911 | 1.7 | 65.3 | 12 |
| 2024 | 220 | −19.6 | | 1.8 | 65.1 | 13 |

## Destinations

As of August 2024, Croatia Airlines flies to the following destinations:
| Country | City | Airport | Notes |
| Albania | Tirana | Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza | |
| Austria | Vienna | Vienna International Airport | |
| Belgium | Brussels | Brussels Airport | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Mostar | Mostar International Airport | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo | Sarajevo International Airport | |
| Croatia | Brač | Brač Airport | |
| Croatia | Dubrovnik | Dubrovnik Airport | |
| Croatia | Osijek | Osijek Airport | |
| Croatia | Pula | Pula Airport | |
| Croatia | Rijeka | Rijeka Airport | |
| Croatia | Split | Split Airport | |
| Croatia | Zadar | Zadar Airport | |
| Croatia | Zagreb | Zagreb Airport | Hub |
| Czech Republic | Prague | Václav Havel Airport Prague | |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | Copenhagen Airport | |
| France | Lyon | Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport | |
| France | Paris | Charles de Gaulle Airport | |
| Germany | Berlin | Berlin Brandenburg Airport | |
| Germany | Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf Airport | |
| Germany | Frankfurt | Frankfurt Airport | |
| Germany | Munich | Munich Airport | |
| Greece | Athens | Athens International Airport | |
| Ireland | Dublin | Dublin Airport | |
| Israel | Tel Aviv | Ben Gurion Airport | Suspended until 13 May 2025 |
| Italy | Milan | Milan Malpensa Airport | |
| Italy | Rome | Rome Fiumicino Airport | |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | |
| North Macedonia | Skopje | Skopje International Airport | |
| Norway | Oslo | Oslo Airport, Gardermoen | |
| Romania | Bucharest | Henri Coandă International Airport | |
| Spain | Barcelona | Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport | |
| Sweden | Stockholm | Stockholm Arlanda Airport | |
| Switzerland | Zürich | Zürich Airport | |
| Turkey | Istanbul | Istanbul Airport | Seasonal |
| United Kingdom | London | Gatwick Airport | |
| United Kingdom | London | Heathrow Airport | |

### Codeshare agreements

Croatia Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
* Air Canada
* Air France
* Air India
* Asiana Airlines
* Austrian Airlines
* Brussels Airlines
* ITA Airways
* KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
* LOT Polish Airlines
* Lufthansa
* Singapore Airlines
* Swiss International Air Lines
* TAP Air Portugal
* Turkish Airlines
* United Airlines

## Fleet
### Current fleet

As of September 2024, Croatia Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
| Airbus A220-100 | — | 2 | 127 | Deliveries since July 2024. |
| Airbus A220-300 | 2 | 11 | 149 | Deliveries since July 2024. |
| Airbus A319-100 | 4 | — | 144 | To be replaced by Airbus A220. |
| Airbus A320-200 | 2 | — | 174 | To be replaced by Airbus A220. |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-Q400 | 5 | — | 76 | To be replaced by Airbus A220. |
| Total | 13 | 13 | | |

### Former fleet

Croatia Airlines formerly also operated the following aircraft types:
Croatia Airlines historical fleet :
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired |
| ATR 42-300QC | 3 | 1993 | 2009 |
| BAe 146-200 | 2 | 2000 | 2002 |
| Boeing 737-200 | 5 | 1992 | 1999 |
| Fokker 100 | 1 | 2001 | 2005 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 2 | 1990 | 1991 |