ČSA updates its aging fleet

In the face of a recession that has hit already beleaguered airlines, Czech Airlines (ČSA) is in the beginning stages of updating its fleet with newer models for its medium- and long-haul flights. On May 7, the airline received its first Airbus A319 aircraft at Prague Airport with another ordered for the beginning of next year. The new model is intended to gradually replace and phase out the current "backbone" of the ČSA fleet, the Boeing 737, as the airline returns the older planes whose leases are expiring.

ČSA President Radomír Lašák stressed the airline is not expanding its fleet but merely updating it.

"This is … a replacement of an older aircraft with a new one that is more efficient and has lower operating costs. That's why we're continuing to renew our fleet even this year, in the midst of an economic crisis, which is not too favorable for investments," he said.

More to come

The new craft will help on longer routes, as the Airbus has a 1,200-km greater range and is 5 percent faster.

The airline has been hit with high leasing costs during the downturn, and recently took a 2.5 billion Kč ($127 million) loan from the state property administrator to repay lease installments and establish a cash reserve.

The A319 model, which is the fleet's most modern plane, is used on the airlines' "priority routes," flying connections between Prague and Brussels, Barcelona, Madrid and Amsterdam. It will also fly on the company's newest routes, introduced in 2008, which include Tbilisi, Rostov-on-Don and Damascus.

The fleet already includes eight Airbus A320s, which each hold 162 passengers; six Airbus A319s, which each hold 135 passengers; and two Airbus A321s, which can carry 212 passengers each. An initial tender in 2004 ordered 12 planes from Airbus, but ČSA recently exercised an option for an additional eight, to be delivered between 2011 and 2012.

An investment

An updated fleet is likely seen as an important financial investment, despite the current climate, as the state-owned airline is currently in the midst of a privatization process in which the government hopes to sell 91 percent of its stake. In late April, the first round of the tender concluded, and the Finance Ministry picked Air France-KLM and a consortium of Czech companies Unimex and Travel Service to advance to the next round, in which the only concern will be price.

Despite the collapse of the government, Prime Minister Jan Fischer's caretaker government has reaffirmed a commitment to proceed with the sale, and the new government, to be elected in October, will oversee the final choice. Analysts expect the airline to bring 5 billion Kč.

Claire Compton can be reached at
ccompton@praguepost.com