Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Its head office is located in the

Vokovice Vokovice is a district of Prague city, part of Prague 6. It has been a part of Prague since 1922 and as of 2006, 11,197 people live there. Part of this district is Šárecké údolí, a natural valley, part of which was declared in 1964 as p ...

area of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

's 6th district and its hub is

Václav Havel Airport Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague ( cs, Letiště Václava Havla Praha), formerly ''Prague Ruzyně International Airport'' ( cs, Mezinárodní letiště Praha-Ruzyně, ) , is the international airport of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. T ...

. The company mainly operates scheduled flights,

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

3 April 2007 serving four destinations as of 2022. When, in 2018, 97.74% of Czech Airlines was bought by the privately owned

Smartwings Smartwings, a.s. (formerly ''Travel Service, a.s.'') is a low-cost leisure Czech airline, with its head office on the property of Václav Havel Airport Prague in Ruzyně, 6th district, Prague. It is the biggest airline in the Czech Republic an ...

, ČSA became a part of the Smartwings Group. The remaining 2.26% of ČSA was owned by insurance company Česká Pojišťovna. The airline runs a frequent flyer programme called "OK Plus" in reference to the airline's

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

designation, as well as the term of approval; OK also featured prominently in its previous

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

, and is the prefix of Czech Republic aircraft registrations. It is a member of the

SkyTeam SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...

alliance. ČSA is the fifth oldest airline in the world, after Dutch

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

(1919), Colombian

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...

(1919), Australian

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

(1920), and Soviet/Russian

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

(1923). It was the first airline in the world to fly regular jet-only routes (between

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

). ČSA filed for bankruptcy in March 2021 and went through an extensive business restructuring, exiting in June 2022. Currently, ČSA is under a new ownership structure with a new parent company called Prague City Air s.r.o. owning 70% of the company, with Smartwings retaining the remaining 30%. The airline currently operates flights to one destination.

History

Early years

ČSA was founded on 6 October 1923 by the Czechoslovak government as ČSA Československé státní aerolinie (Czechoslovak State Airlines). Twenty-three days later, its first transport flight took place, flying between

and

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. It only operated domestic services until its first international flight from Prague to Bratislava and on to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in 1930. After the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and the splitting of the country into three parts, the airline was dissolved. Following a coup in February 1948, the

Czechoslovak Communist Party The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominter ...

suspended some of ČSA's western European and Middle Eastern routes and also gradually replaced much of the fleet with

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-built airliners, due to the embargo imposed by the West on the western-built aircraft spares and other equipment. The

Ilyushin Il-14 The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950 in aviation, 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in Eas ...

was updated and built under licence in Czechoslovakia as the Avia-14. In 1950, ČSA became the world's first victim of a mass hijacking. Three Czechoslovak

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

airliners flown to an American

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

Erding Erding () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019. The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Erding is located around 31 kilometers nor ...

, near Munich, stirred the world on both sides of the "burnt through"

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

and the case intensified the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

between East and West overnight. On the morning of 24 March, the three aircraft landed near

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

instead of at Prague; the first from

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, at 08:20, the second from Moravská Ostrava at 08:40, and the third from Bratislava at 09:20. Two-thirds of the people on board were unwilling participants and later returned to Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak Communist government commissioned a 'flight to freedom' book, stage play, and film (all bearing the name ''Kidnap to Erding'') which celebrated the kidnapped returnees as heroes who had not allowed themselves to be swayed by promises of capitalist opulence. Those who remained and requested

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

were proclaimed criminals for whom the Prague government vigorously requested extradition – in vain. The pilot from Brno was Josef Klesnil, a former Royal Air Force pilot with 311 squadron, who flew from Brno to Erding with a pistol pointed at his head. In 1957, ČSA became the third airline to fly jet services, taking delivery of and putting into service the very first

Tupolev Tu-104A The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet, and was the only jetliner operat ...

that year. ČSA was the only airline other than

to operate the Tu-104. The Tu-104A service that began in 1957 between Prague and Moscow was the first jet-only connection (other airlines used both jets and piston/turboprop aircraft).Zeman 2003, p. 70 The airline's first transatlantic services started on 3 February 1962 with a flight to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

using a

Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved sus ...

turboprop leased from

Cubana de Aviación Cubana de Aviación S.A., commonly known as Cubana, is Cuba's flag carrier, as well as the country's largest airline. It was founded in , becoming one of the earliest airlines to emerge in Latin America. It has its corporate headquarters in Ha ...

. ČSA's transatlantic flights were code-shared with Cubana's services to Prague, and Cubana's crews provided initial training and assistance in the operation of the Britannias.

1960 to 1990

From the late 1960s, ČSA used a range of Soviet-built aircraft and modified versions of them for its extensive European and intercontinental services which totaled some 50 international and 15 domestic destinations. The Britannia was replaced with long-range

Ilyushin Il-18D The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

turboprops at this time, and transatlantic routes were established to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in addition to Havana. Along with the Il-18D, aircraft in ČSA's fleet included the short-range

Tupolev Tu-134 The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain ot ...

, medium-range

Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...

, and long-range

Ilyushin Il-62 The Ilyushin Il-62 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 pa ...

. As with several other airlines, the Il-62 was the first long-range jet airliner to be put into operation by ČSA (also the first foreign customer to buy Il-62s from the USSR). ČSA operated a fleet of 21 Il-62s between 1969 and 1997, including six Il-62Ms. A ČSA-registered Il-62 and three Il-62Ms were used as official Czech government transports between 1974 and 1996. After absorbing the "heavier" part of

Slov-Air Slov-Air (also styled Slov Air or Slovair) was an airline from Czechoslovakia (Slovakia following the country's dissolution), which provided services for agriculture, civil engineering, helicopter emergency medical service and industry. Histor ...

and taking its Let L-410A Turbolet turboprop commuters into its fleet in the early 1970s, ČSA partner airliner Slov-Air became the world's first to have a captain, Ján Mičica, slain at the controls by a hijacker, during a hijacking to West Germany. The aircraft involved, OK-ADN, is currently displayed in an open-air aircraft museum in

Martin, Slovakia Martin (; sk, Turčiansky Svätý Martin until 1950, hu, Turócszentmárton, German language, German: ''Turz-Sankt Martin'', Latin: ''Sanctus Martinus / Martinopolis'') is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec (Váh), Turiec river, ...

The 1990s and 2000s

Airbus A310-304-ET, CSA - Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie AN0192312

After the

breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...

of the Czechoslovak Federation, the airline in May 1995 adopted its present name. By the late 1990s, most of its Soviet aircraft had either been sold to other airlines or retired (a number were preserved), replaced with Western models such as the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

Airbus A310 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bod ...

and

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

. ČSA became a full member of the SkyTeam alliance on 18 October 2000. As of March 2007, the airline, with 5,440 employees, was owned by the Czech Ministry of Finance (56.92%), Czech Consolidation Agency (34.59%), and other Czech institutions. On 1 January 2010, the whole non-office ground staff of ČSA was transferred to the ČSA Support subsidiary, now named Czech Airlines Handling S.R.O. In February 2010, ČSA sold off its

duty-free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, w ...

shops to another entity. EU competition regulators began an investigation into Czech Airlines on 23 February 2011, stating that it doubted the loss-making concern could return to viability and comply with European Union state aid regulations. In late 2012, ČSA Czech Airlines announced expansion plans and the resumption of long-haul flights from summer 2013 with Airbus A330 aircraft between Prague and Seoul. Starting in March 2013, it operated direct flights from Prague to

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administrat ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, Munich, Zurich, Seoul, and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. After stock sales to Korean Air on 10 April 2013, ČSA Czech Airlines was owned by Czech Aeroholdings a.s. (56%) and Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (44%). On May 14, 2013, Czech Airlines Extraordinary General shareholders' meeting elected

Cho Won-tae Cho Won-tae (born 25 January 1976), also known as Walter Cho, is a South Korean businessman. Walter Cho is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hanjin Group and Korean Air. He is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IAT ...

as a new member of its supervisory board. Cho replaced Petr Matousek, who resigned from his position on the supervisory board. This personnel change took effect on 1 June 2013 as a result of Korean Air's equity purchase. In April 2015, Travel Service Group bought 34% of the airline, over which

Korean Air Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The present-day Korean Air ...

had an option. In 2016, the airline returned to profit for the first time in several years. On 6 October 2017, Korean Air announced the sale of its 44 percent stake in Czech Airlines, which it had held for four years, to Travel Service. Travel Service by then owned 78.9 percent of ČSA.aero.de - "Korean Air exits Czech Airlines"
(German) 6 October 2017 Czech state company Prisko owned 20 percent of ČSA. Travel Service later also acquired Prisko's stake, increasing its stake to 97.74%.

Latest developments

In March 2019, Smartwings announced that ČSA would undergo a fleet transition, with the

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a ...

and

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed b ...

to be retired.austrianaviation.net - "Smartwings establishes German subsidiary"
(German) 7 March 2019 In October 2019, Czech Airlines announced an order for four

Airbus A220-300 The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership. It was originally designed by Bombardier and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launched on 13 July 2 ...

and three A321XLR, which had been converted from orders for the

A320neo The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...

. But in August 2021, Czech Airlines announced the orders' cancellation. In the wake of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Czech Airlines announced in April 2020 the end of its already suspended sole long-haul route to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. Thus its sole

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...

was to be returned to lessor

by October 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic ČSA fell into

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

, applying for a moratorium in August 2020. In February 2021, a maintenance provider ordered the seizure of two Czech Airlines'

ATR 72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by ...

in Prague over unpaid debts. Prior to the incident, near the end of the moratorium, majority owner

announced that Czech Airlines faced

should it not receive state financial aid, but the aid raised controversy. That same month, the airline notified the Czech Republic's Employment Office that it might lay off its entire

workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling (resource management), pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single types of companies, company or ...

of some 430 people. In March 2021, it added that it had no means to meet its financial obligations and filed for bankruptcy. In March 2021, ČSA announced the immediate retirement of all

aircraft, considerably shrinking its remaining fleet.ch-aviation.com - CSA Czech Airlines retires all ATRs
10 March 2021 At the end of August 2021, ČSA was operating just one

aircraft; the second was inoperable. As of summer 2022, Czech Airlines had reduced its network to just three scheduled routes. In June 2022, ČSA exited business restructuring under a new ownership structure. Prague City Air, founded under the aid of Smartwings shareholders Jiří Šimáně and Roman Vik, was created to own 70% of ČSA while current majority shareholder Smartwings retained 30%. The airline now plans to rebuild its fleet and route network using Airbus A320 and

Airbus A220 The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership. It was originally designed by Bombardier and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launched on 13 July 2 ...

aircraft.

Corporate affairs

Head office

In 2016, Czech Airlines head office moved to Evropská Street in 6th district, Prague,

district to lower overhead. Czech Airlines formerly had its head office, the APC Building, on the grounds of

Ruzyně Ruzyně is a district of Prague city, part of Prague 6. It has been a part of Prague since 1960. Václav Havel Airport is located in this district. Czech Airlines has its head office on the grounds of the airport. Travel Service Airlines and its ...

, 6th district, Prague. On 30 December 2009, ČSA announced it would sell its head office to the airport for CZK 607 million. Prior to the insolvency application, in February 2021, Czech Airlines moved their headquarters to the Smartwings building at Prague airport.

Former subsidiaries

Holidays_Czech_Airlines_Airbus_A320_Vanzura

*Czech Airlines Handling provided ground handling or passenger and aircraft handling for many airlines operating flights from Prague. *Czech Airlines Technics provided aircraft maintenance and regular certified servicing for the Czech Airlines fleet and other airlines. *Czech Aviation Training Centre provided training to future aircrew members, as well as refresher and further training to existing crews operated by the state-owned enterprise Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic. In addition to Czech Airlines, services of the training centre were also used by other airlines. Furthermore, "Flying without Fear" and "Stewardess/Steward Try-outs" courses were offered, as well as the "Flying for Fun" adventure course. These special trainings were also open to the public. *Holidays Czech Airlines, a defunct

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

subsidiary, focused mainly on flying to holiday destinations such as Greece, Turkey and Spain. The airline launched on 1 June 2010, and ceased in July 2014.

Financial results

Since its transformation to a joint-stock company in August 1992, ČSA has never paid dividends. The sale of a minority share to

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

was a fiasco, and the French airline withdrew. Subsequently, Antonín Jakubše and Miroslav Kůla stabilized the company and enlarged its fleet. In September 2003, Miroslav Kůla was fired. New CEO and ex-minister Jaroslav Tvrdík agreed with the unions to increase wages by a third and announced an "unprecedented" enlargement of the fleet. In 2005, the financial situation sharply deteriorated. Although the sale of two ATR aircraft improved operating results by CZK 198 million, the operating loss was almost half a billion Czech crowns and the Government of Jiří Paroubek replaced Jaroslav Tvrdík with Radomír Lašák. The airline generated further operating losses, despite revenues of CZK 2.1 bn from the sale of almost all real estate and CZK 1.2 bn from aircraft sales. In 2005–2010, ČSA generated an operating loss of CZK 3.4 bn; without long-term asset sale revenues, the operating loss would have been twice as large. The gross margin did not even cover personnel expenses.Annual reports of České aerolinie a.s., calendar years 1997-2014 In 2016, the airline handled 2.7 million passengers and announced a net profit of 241 million crowns.

Corporate identity

Logo

A new look for Czech Airlines was revealed in September 2007. The new logo was created by Michal Kotyza, who works for the airline. File:ČSA logo.png, Historic logo File:Czech Airlines Logo.svg, 2007–present

Livery

File:CSA Tupolev Tu-124 Soderstrom-3.jpg, Pre–1975 Czechoslovak Airlines livery, with a feathered-wing-like branched line on fuselage bottom and "wind-swept" serifs File:Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie Il-62 OK-DBE.jpg, 1975–1993 Czechoslovak Airlines livery: a red line over windows and OK (JET) prominent on tail File:Aircraft being fueled by tanker.jpg, 1993–2007 Czech Airlines livery: large abbreviation, blue line added, triangles on tail File:Airbus A319-112, CSA Czech Airlines JP6520421.jpg, 2007–present Czech Airlines livery, with a rounded triangle

Destinations

As of February 2021, Czech Airlines serves four scheduled year-round and seasonal destinations including their home base at

.csa.cz - Destinations
retrieved 1 July 2022 This figure is down from 33 routes in summer 2019. Flights are operated mainly in Europe, with

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

being the sole remaining Middle Eastern destination. Via its codeshare partners, ČSA offers more than 110 destinations and 45 countries from Prague.

Codeshare agreements

Czech Airlines codeshares with the following airlines: *

Aeroméxico Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AM), is the flag carrier airline of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central Ameri ...

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport w ...

Air Malta Air Malta plc (stylized as airmalta) is the flag carrier airline of Malta, with its headquarters in Luqa and its hub at Malta International Airport. It operates services to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. History ...

airBaltic airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in T ...

Azerbaijan Airlines Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Belavia Belavia, formally Belavia Belarusian Airlines ( be, ААТ «Авіякампанія «Белавія»; russian: ОАО «Авиакомпания «Белавиа»), is the flag carrier and national airline of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk ...

Bulgaria Air Bulgaria Air ( bg, България Ер) is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, with its headquarters at Sofia Airport in Sofia. The company is owned by Chimimport AD and is a leader in terms of local market share. The airline operates short ...

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...

China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

Finnair Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internationa ...

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, ma ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...

Saudia Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...

* TAROM *

Ural Airlines Ural Airlines (russian: Ура́льские авиали́нии, ''Ural’skiye avialinii'') is an airline based in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, that operates scheduled and chartered domestic and international flights out of Kolt ...

Vietnam Airlines Vietnam Airlines ( vi, Hãng Hàng không Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Vietnam National Airlines) is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a Government-owned corporation, state-owned enterprise i ...

Vueling Vueling S.A. is a Spanish low-cost airline based at El Prat de Llobregat in Greater Barcelona with hubs at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main), Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, France and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy (seconda ...

Charter flights

In June 2007, ČSA signed a contract with Exim Tours, the largest Czech travel agency, extending their contract for another three years. In May 2010, ČSA withdrew its last Airbus A310 used for these services.

Fleet

Airbus A319-112, CSA - Czech Airlines AN1710502

Current fleet

, the Czech Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Historical fleet

Czech or Czechoslovak Airlines operated these aircraft types in the past: * Aero A.14 Brandenburg *

Airbus A310-300 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bo ...

Airbus A319-100 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final asse ...

Airbus A321-200 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the ba ...

Airbus A330-300 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...

ATR 42-300 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and Ae ...

* ATR 42-400 *

ATR 42-500 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and A ...

ATR 72-200 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by ...

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

Boeing 737-500 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, ...

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

de Havilland DH.50 The de Havilland DH.50 was a 1920s British large single-engined biplane transport built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, and licence-built in Australia, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. History In the early 1920s, Geoffrey de Havi ...

Fokker F.XVIII The Fokker F.XVIII was an airliner produced in the Netherlands in the early 1930s, essentially a scaled-up version of the Fokker F.XII intended for long-distance flights. Like its predecessor, it was a conventional high-wing cantilever monoplane ...

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

Ilyushin Il-12 The Ilyushin Il-12 (NATO reporting name: Coach) was a Soviet twin-engine cargo aircraft, developed in the mid-1940s for small and medium-haul airline routes and as a military transport. Design and development The Il-12 was developed as a priva ...

* Avia II-14 *

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

Ilyushin Il-62M The Ilyushin Il-62 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 p ...

Junkers Ju 352 The Junkers Ju 352 ''Herkules'' ("Hercules" in German) was a German World War II transport aircraft that was developed from the Junkers Ju 252. Design and development During the late spring of 1942, the Junkers-Dessau project office was instructe ...

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

Let L-200 Morava The Let L-200 Morava is a two-engine touring and light passenger aircraft of the 1960s, designed and produced by Let Kunovice in the Czech Republic. Development The Let L-200 Morava light twin-engine transport was preceded in production at ...

Let L-410 Turbolet The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short an ...

* Let L-410M Turbolet *

Lisunov Li-2 The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Khimki, Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at Tashkent Aviation Pro ...

Saab 340B The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

Saro Cloud The Saro Cloud was a British passenger amphibian flying boat designed and built by Saunders-Roe as the A.19. It was later produced as the A.29 for the Royal Air Force for pilot and navigator training. Development Following on the success of the ...

Savoia-Marchetti S.73 The Savoia-Marchetti S.73 was an Italian three-engine airliner that flew in the 1930s and early 1940s. The aircraft entered service in March 1935 with a production run of 48 aircraft. Four were exported to Belgium for SABENA, while seven others ...

Tupolev Tu-124 The Tupolev Tu-124 (NATO reporting name: Cookpot) was a 56-passenger short-range twinjet airliner built in the Soviet Union. It was the first Soviet airliner powered by turbofan engines. Design and development Developed from the medium-range ...

Tupolev Tu-134A The Tupolev Tu-134 ( NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain o ...

Tupolev Tu-154M The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...

Yakovlev Yak-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Ya ...

Services

Catering

Czech Airlines offers

buy on board Buy may refer to a trade, i.e., an exchange of goods and services via bartering or a monetary purchase. The term may also refer to: Places * Buy (inhabited locality), any of several inhabited localities in Russia * Burlington-Alamance Regional A ...

service on some flights in addition to free service.

Frequent-flyer program

The OK Plus frequent flyer programme gives passengers "OK Plus Miles" for flights with Czech Airlines,

member airlines, other partner airlines or non-airline partners such as hotels, car rentals, banks etc. OK Plus membership cards are available with the following tier levels: OK Plus membership, OK Plus Silver, OK Plus Gold, and OK Plus Platinum. The higher the card level, the greater the number of benefits passengers receive.

Accidents and incidents

Fatal accidents

* On August 12, 1930, a ČSA Ford 5-AT-C Trimotor (registration OK-FOR) crashed near Jihlava (Iglau) while attempting to avoid a thunderstorm. The aircraft struck the ground in poor visibility after a sharp turn to avoid a chimney and caught fire, killing 12 of 13 on board. * On August 13, 1938, a ČSA

(registration OK-BAG) struck a wooded mountain near Oberkirch on approach to Strasbourg en route from Prague via Paris, killing all 17 on board, the stewardess survived, but died a day later. * On March 5, 1946, a ČSA

/3m (registration OK-ZDN) crashed near Prague after two landing attempts, killing 10 of 15 on board. The aircraft was operating a Paris-Strasbourg-Prague passenger service. * On February 13, 1947, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (registration OK-XDU) crashed shortly after takeoff from Ruzyne Airport while on a training flight, killing all three on board; improper maintenance was blamed, leading to a five-day crew strike. * On December 21, 1948, ČSA Flight 584 (a Douglas C-47A, registration OK-WDN) struck a hillside near Pilos, Greece in bad weather, killing all 24 on board. Other reports state the aircraft was shot down after the pilot lit a flare or crashed into the hill while dropping weapons for communist insurgents. The aircraft was operating a passenger service from Czechoslovakia to Israel with stops at Rome and Athens. * On February 27, 1950, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (registration OK-WDY) struck Praded Mountain en route to Prague from Ostrava, killing six of 25 on board. * On January 12, 1954, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (registration OK-WDS) struck a chimney and power lines and crashed near Prague after nearly failing to take off, killing all 13 on board. * On January 18, 1956, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (registration OK-WDZ) struck Mount Skapova after the aircraft was blown off course by strong winds, killing 22 of 26 on board. * On November 24, 1956, a ČSA

(registration OK-DBP) crashed into a field near Egislau, Switzerland, killing all 23 on board. * On January 2, 1961, a ČSA Avia 14 (registration OK-MCZ) crashed on climbout from Prague during a pilot training flight after failing to gain height on takeoff, killing all 10 on board. * On March 28, 1961 ČSA Flight 511 (an Ilyushin Il-18V) crashed in Gräfenberg near Nürnberg during a Prague-Zurich service due to structural failure, killing all 52 on board. * On July 12, 1961, ČSA Flight 511 (an Ilyushin Il-18V, registration OK-PAF) crashed near Anfa Airport due to possible crew error, killing all 72 on board. * On October 10, 1962, ČSA Flight 306 (an Avia 14, registration OK-MCT) crashed near Slavkov while on approach to Brno, killing 13 of 42 on board. * On September 5, 1967

ČSA Flight 523 ČSA Flight 523, operated by an Ilyushin Il-18D, was a scheduled flight from Prague Ruzyně International Airport (PRG/LKPR), Czechoslovakia to Havana via Shannon Airport and Gander International Airport, with 69 people on board, on 5 September 1 ...

, an Ilyushin Il-18D (registration OK-WAI), crashed on climbout from

Gander International Airport Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The ...

while on a Prague-Shannon-Gander-Havana passenger service, killing 37 of 69 on board; the cause was never determined. * On October 11, 1968, a ČSA Avia 14-32A (registration OK-MCJ, named ''Svit Gottwaldov'') crashed near Ptice shortly after takeoff from Prague, killing 11 of 40 on board. * On June 1, 1970, a ČSA Tupolev Tu-104A (registration OK-NDD, named ''Plzen'') crashed after two attempted approaches to Tripoli International Airport, killing all 13 on board. * On August 20, 1975 ČSA Flight 540, an

(registration OK-DBF, named ''Brno Trade Fair'') flew into the ground during a night-time approach to Damascus International Airport due to a mis-understanding between the pilots and the control tower that resulted in an incorrect altimeter setting, killing 126 of 128 on board in Syria's worst ever air disaster. * On July 28, 1976 ČSA Flight 001, an Ilyushin Il-18V (registration OK-NAB, named ''Košice''), which was operating as a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Prague's Ruzyně airport to Bratislava-Ivanka Airport, both in Czechoslovakia, which crashed into the Zlaté Piesky (Golden Sands) lake while attempting to land in Bratislava. All 6 crew members and 70 out of 73 passengers died. * On February 11, 1977, a ČSA Avia 14T (registration OK-OCA) struck trees and crashed near Ivanka Airport due to crew error, killing four of five on board. This is ČSA's last fatal accident.

Non-fatal accidents

* On November 9, 1946, a ČSA

Douglas C-47A The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

(registration OK-XDG) force-landed near Dobrovíz after running out of fuel while in a holding pattern due to bad weather; all 18 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On December 24, 1946, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (registration OK-WDD) was written off following an emergency landing near Paris; all 15 on board survived. * On January 25, 1947, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (registration OK-WDB) was struck by a crashing Douglas Dakota while parked at Croydon Airport; there were no casualties, but the aircraft was written off. See

1947 Croydon Dakota accident The 1947 Croydon Dakota accident occurred on 25 January 1947 when a Spencer Airways Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Dakota) failed to get airborne from Croydon Airport near London, and crashed into a parked and empty ČSA Douglas C-47 destroying bot ...

. * On March 16, 1963, a ČSA

(registration OK-LDB) caught fire and burned out while being refueled at Santa Cruz Airport, India; no casualties except for a flight attendant who was injured after jumping from the plane. * On August 18, 1970, ČSA Flight 744, a

V (registration OK-TEB, named ''Centrotex''), landed wheels-up at Kloten Airport after the crew became preoccupied with cabin pressurization problems; all 20 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On August 29, 1973
ČSA Flight 531, a Tupolev Tu-104A (registration OK-MDE)
slid off the runway while landing a
Nicosia Airport
all 70 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On January 2, 1977, a ČSA

(registration OK-CFD) collided on the runway at Ruzyne Airport with a ČSA Ilyushin Il-18 (OK-NAA) that was taking off; all 48 on board the Tu-134 survived, but it was written off; the Il-18 (all six on board survived) was substantially damaged but was repaired and returned to service, it was retired in 1981 and is now in a museum. * On October 11, 1988, a ČSA Tupolev Tu-134A (registration OK-AFB) landed hard at Ruzyne Airport; there were no casualties, but the aircraft was written off and flown to Piešťany where it served as a restaurant. * On June 9, 2012, a Czech Airlines

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

-500 (registration OK-KFM) was destroyed in a hangar explosion and fire at Ruzyne International Airport. A second ATR 42 (OK-JFK) was also damaged by the fire. Two Czech Airlines Technics employees were working with an explosive liquid. The liquid was sucked into a heavy technic vehicle, which then blew up near the aircraft and caused the fire.

Hijackings

* On April 6, 1948, a ČSA Douglas DC-3 was hijacked to Neubiberg Air Base, Germany by 20 people wishing to escape Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. * On March 24, 1950, three

s from Czechoslovakia were simultaneously hijacked. All three aircraft landed at the US Air Force Base at Erding, West Germany. In all, 26 of 85 passengers chose to stay in West Germany to escape Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. * On March 23, 1952, a ČSA Douglas C-47 was hijacked by four people who demanded to be taken to Germany. The aircraft landed safely at

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

with no casualties.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* {{Authority control Airlines of the Czech Republic Airlines of Czechoslovakia Airlines established in 1923 1923 establishments in Czechoslovakia Association of European Airlines members Companies based in Prague Companies of Czechoslovakia Czech brands Government-owned airlines SkyTeam