airline

History

CSA was founded on October 6, 1923, by the Czechoslovak government as CSA ČeskoSlovenské Aerolinie. Twenty-three days later its first transport flight took place, flying between Prague and Bratislava. It operated only domestic services until its first international flight from Prague to Bratislava and Zagreb in 1930. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 development of the airline was terminated.^[2]

Boeing 737-400 in the airline's new colours

In February 1948 the Communist Party used the demission of right and center parties' ministers to take power in Czechoslovakia; later it suspended some western European and Middle East routes, and, also because of the embargo imposed by the West on the western-built aircraft spares etc., gradually replaced much of the fleet with Soviet-built airliners. The venerable Il-14 was even updated and built under licence in Czechoslovakia as the Avia Av-14. In 1957 ČSA became the second of the world's airlines to fly jet services, (or third one, if one counts the disastrous first introduction of the de Havilland Comet airliner as a regular operation), taking delivery/putting in service the first Tupolev Tu-104A in 1957. Almost unknown is the fact that the ČSA was also the world's first airline to fly the jet-only lines (other airlines used both jets and piston/turboprop aircraft on their lines simultaneously). The first transatlantic services started on 3 February 1962 with a flight to Havana,^[2] using a Bristol Britanniaturboprop leased from Cubana de Aviación. ČSA's transatlantic flights were code-shared with Cuba's own services to Prague, and Cuba's crews provided initial training and assistance in the operation of the Britannias.

ČSA Tupolev Tu-104 OK-LDA, 1958. This aircraft is displayed in thePrague Aviation Museum, Kbely

ČSA Czech Airlines Airbus A320

The Britannia was replaced with Ilyushin Il-18D turboprops in the late 1960s, and transatlantic routes were established to Montreal and New York, besides Havana. Tupolev Tu-134, Ilyushin Il-18, Ilyushin Il-62 Tupolev Tu-154 and modifications of these Soviet-built aircraft were used in CSA's European services. In the 1990s, most of the Soviet-built aircraft were replaced with Western ones, such as the Boeing 737s and A310s, Airbus A320s, and short-range ATR aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

After the breakup of the Czechoslovak Federation the airline adopted its present name in May 1995. CSA became a full member of the SkyTeam alliance on 18 October 2000. The airline is owned by the Czech Ministry of Finance (56.92%), Czech Consolidation Agency (34.59%) and other Czech institutions. It has 5,440 employees (at March 2007).^[2]

[edit]Destinations

Further information: Czech Airlines destinations

Czech Airlines operates 32 monopoly routes from Prague Airport, including three domestic routes to Brno, Ostrava and Karlovy Vary, alongside with the feeding routes from Slovak cities Košice, Žilina and Bratislava. These 32 routes represent about 40% of total flights and just over 30% of total capacity. On 27 other routes, representing around 40% of flights, the airline faces direct competition from one other carrier, while on 11 major European routes (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Madrid, Milan MXP, Paris CDG, Rome FCO and Thessaloniki) the airline faces two competitors face-on.

On April 25, 2009 Czech Airlines will launch new long-haul service to Miami.

[edit]Fleet

The Czech Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 16 December 2008):^[3]

CSA Czech Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (Business/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Airbus A310-300	3	206 (18/188)	Long haul Miami, New York, Toronto	one aircraft is operated for Air India
Airbus A319-112	6 (10 orders)	135	Medium haul Europe and Middle East
Airbus A320-200	8	162	Medium haul Europe and Middle East
Airbus A321-211	2	212	Medium haul charter flights
ATR 42-300	1	46	Short haul Central Europe	to be phased out
ATR 42-500	7	46	Short haul Central Europe	leased from Air Contractors
ATR 72-202	4	64	Short haul Central Europe
Boeing 737-400	10	144 162	Short-medium haul Europe, charter flights
Boeing 737-500	10	108	Short-medium haul Europe
Saab 340	2	34		wet-lease from Central Connect Airlines

As of 29 October 2008, the average age of the Czech Airlines fleet is 9.5 years ([1]).

[edit]Charter flights

In June 2007, CSA signed a contract with Exim Tours, the largest Czech travel agency, extending their contract for another three years. Under the agreement, CSA will continue to provide air travel services to Exim Tours' clients heading to destinations such as Varadero in Cuba, La Isla Margarita in Venezuela, La Romana in the Dominican Republic, as well as to destinations in Egypt, El Salvador, Tunisia and Greece.

Foreign tour operators, as well as sports teams and companies, use Czech Airlines’ charter flights. The share of flights for foreign clients, compared with the total number of Czech Airlines charter flights, is around 40 percent.