The Prague Post
http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2
September 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation
Prague Art & Antiques Prague Art Prague Antiques

Home » Archives » Business

ČSA to launch eastern expansion

Airline's return to profit prompts Asian routes

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
April 2nd, 2008 issue

Back in the black after several shaky years, Czech Airlines (ČSA), the state-owned national carrier, is launching the largest expansion of its flights and destinations in more than three years.
While ramping up its most popular flights to Western Europe, many of ČSA new destinations have a decidedly eastern feel.
In April, the airline will launch connections with Georgia’s Tbilisi, Syria’s Damascus and Russia’s Rostov. In May, flights to Kazakhstan’s Almaty will be added.
In addition to its own flights, ČSA began collaborating with China Airlines March 30. The two carriers will now jointly operate four flights a week to Taipei.
By boosting its number of eastern destinations, ČSA seeks to further leverage Prague’s status as a hub for Central Europe.
“We primarily focused on business travelers when planning the flight schedule for this summer,” said ČSA Marketing Director Jan Kaše.
When planning the new routes for this summer, ČSA used for the first time travel data from commercial international databases. The airline’s previous management had estimated traffic on particular routes.
“We’ve invested millions of crowns into acquiring this data, but it surely is paying off,” said Petr Pištělák, vice president for marketing.
The airline’s improving financial situation has enabled these initial investments and the expansion. In 2007, ČSA escaped from the red for the first time in several years, reporting 111 million Kč ($6.8 million) in operational profit. Pištělák said the improved financial situation helps ČSA fight for customers with competing airlines.
Still, Pištělák said, ČSA will be looking to share flights with other partner airlines when contemplating further expansion eastward.
“It gives us an opportunity to offer our customers services that we’d be unable to provide otherwise,” he said.
Today ČSA operates merely three long-haul Airbus A310 jets, with their fourth A310 leased to Air India. As a result, these types of “code-sharing” collaborations are essential for ČSA to be able to operate flights to remote eastern destinations.
For example, the newly launched code-share with China Airlines will see ČSA transporting passengers on Airbus A320 jets between Prague and Germany’s Frankfurt. China Airlines will then fly passengers on Airbus A340 jets to Taipei.
End of the stag?
Czech Airlines isn’t the only airline expanding its flights. Several carriers operating out of Prague’s Ruzyně Airport have also followed suit. Budget airlines such as SkyEurope and SmartWings have boosted their flights to the Mediterranean and southern destinations. For example, SkyEurope recently added flights to Sardinia and SmartWings now has flights to Dubai.
Despite the overall expansion in the number of flights and destinations that can be reached directly from Prague, several UK budget airlines have announced recently that they will be dropping flights to the city.
Flyglobespan is set to end flights between Prague and Edinburgh, Scotland. And earlier in March Jet2 and Thomsonfly, announced similar retreats, Jet2 ending its flights between Prague and Belfast and Thomsonfly terminating flights between Prague and Bournemouth.
This decline in low-cost British flights could mean that the days of stag tourism in Prague could be numbered, market analysts say.

František Bouc can be reached at fbouc@praguepost.com


Other articles in Business (2/04/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.