At the end of July, Croatian air carrier Croatia Airlines welcomed an Airbus A320-214 with serial number 2178 into its fleet, previously operated by TAP Portugal.
The aircraft was manufactured in 2004 and was previously used by Vueling, Air Malta and the aforementioned TAP Portugal.
The interior decoration is according to TAP Portugal standards. This will be the first aircraft in Croatia Airlines’ fleet with the so-called “sharklets” on the wings.
We asked the carrier about the reason for renting this plane.
According to the professional assessment of Croatia Airlines, and with the aim of ensuring regular traffic at all times, meeting the needs of the market and passengers and taking care of safety, it is accurate that at the end of July, an Airbus 320-200 aircraft landed in the Technical Department of Croatia Airlines at MZL Zagreb, whose primary purpose will be to serve as a reserve aircraft of Croatia Airlines fleet in case of irregularity, i.e. bridging the period until the fleet is renewed.
Specifically, it is an aircraft with a capacity of 174 seats, whose previous operator was TAP Portugal. The aircraft still needs to undergo the usual technical checks, inspections and adjustments, after which it is planned to remain in the fleet of Croatia Airlines for the next two years, i.e. until the fleet is renewed.
The aircraft is leased according to the PBH (Power by the Hour) principle, which means that no fixed rent is paid, but only hours of operational use (flight), i.e. when and how much it will be flown, which is at the current moment when air traffic has started to return to normal, an extremely favourable solution compared to classic types of rent payments.
We believe that the technical inspection of the aircraft will pass properly and that the aircraft will soon be a regular member of the Croatia Airlines fleet. – Croatia Airlines told AvioRadar.
The aircraft will bear the registration number 9A-CTO.
