On this day 25 years ago, Croatian private airline Trade Air (TDR / C3) started operations for the first time. Since then, the company owned by Captain Marko Cvijin has become a respectable airline, despite the many difficulties they encountered.
Avioradar congratulates Captain Cvijin on his “birthday” as well as to all employees of the company, wishing them to overcome this global crisis as soon as possible and to continue to work.
Captain Cvijin’s announcement in its entirety:
- Trade Air has shipped medical equipment from China to Slovenia
- The second Airbus A320 for Trade Air arrived to Zagreb
“Dear colleagues and friends,
Today, on 22nd of May 2020, we are celebrating 25 years since the first flight of Trade Air.
On the same day in 1995, the first flight under the TDR sign was operated on a flight from Zagreb to Bergamo for the purpose of transporting consignments. That first flight with a plane rented from a Hungarian company was so strongly etched in my memory. While I was waiting at Zagreb Airport’s platform, together with my late father, for that plane to be parked after landing from a positioning flight from Hungary, it seemed larger than the largest Airbus because it landed because of us.
Who could have guessed that 25 years later this small company with a rented Turbolet and without any initial capital will grow into a carrier with two A320 and one F100 in its ownership, with (at least until this pandemic) stable operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and finally Australia? Who could have guessed that we would have a customer base of over 50 airlines and that our area of operations would be larger than ever before?
And of course, there were a lot of “ups and downs”. There were also difficult, almost impossible situations, various technical problems, storms and clouds, fog and volcanoes, deserts and snowy fields above which we flew, angry and happy passengers (still more of these happy ones), but also many wonderful moments in all parts of the world we were operating.
But in the end, none of this would have been possible without an exceptional team of people who worked or still work for Trade Air. They are the signature of every company, and each in their own way contributed to us getting where we are. And with these people, I sincerely hope that we will get even further, as much as possible. Because if we reached Australia with the F100, I believe that with these slightly larger aircraft we can go even further.
I would like to thank all the employees, but especially Srdjan, Goran, Zlatko, Ana, Vera, Drazen, as well as Seif, Dalia, Dedi, Petra, Edina, Tatjana, Nina, Ivek S, Marko V, Josip B, Goran C, Nikola (Grunfu), Ivona, Dina, Javorka, Željka, Marica, Morana, Marko S, Marija, Šima, Borna, and then Miki, Mislav, Lojza, David, Ivan P, Ivan B, Ivan Z, Luka P, Marko K , Josip P, Charlie and Zdenko, Mile and Miško, Ivana and Andrea M. Furthermore, there are Igor, Fabio, Martin, Irma, Hrvoje, Petar, Domagoj, Patrick, Laura, Victor, Matjaz, Tomo, Gabor, Stephen , Antonio, Janez, Joachim, then Matko and Marijana, Buco, Josipa, Tihomir, Sanda, Leo, Dijana, Robert, Anabela, Ana-Marija, Valentina Šmitova, Andrea Šmitova, Sven and Bianca. There is also a whole team of our and foreign cabin crews who gave their all in our operations – Sofia, Stephanie, Ileana, Hector, Virginia, Paula, Dusko, Nevena, Begona, Alba, Ana C, Lucia, Maria, Francisco, Dorin, Nives, Samantha, Stjepan-Ivan, Sara, Juraj, Mirna. I would also like to especially thank Željko K, Rata, Nikola, Sandi, Katja, Deka and many others who flew in the company for years and definitely left their mark with us.
I would especially like to express my gratitude to my late father because, without his strength and intellect, none of this would have happen. He laid the foundations on which this company is based today, and I am sincerely sorry that he is not with us to “make a circle” on one of our charters. I also thank my mother who kept “all four corners of the house” while my father laid the foundations of this company, working hard during the day and flying at night between Zagreb and Bergamo.
This is a big anniversary. Many airlines don’t live to be a decade old, and I’m proud to have reached a quarter of a century of existence. And I sincerely believe we can continue where we left off once this virus is defeated and all passengers return to the passenger seats.
Until then, I greet you all. If there were other times, we would mark this in a different way, but we will make up for all this somewhere on a shift, in Slovenia, Tel Aviv or anywhere else.
Greetings to you all dear colleagues and friends and peaceful skies to all.
Marko “