Czech Airlines — BrandWiki

Czech Airlines

parent company	Smartwings‡R2R‡

founded	October 6, 1923

commenced	October 29, 1923

ceased	October 26, 2024 (as an airline)

headquarters	Prague, Czech Republic

revenue	CZK 9.5 bn (2014)‡R3R‡

operating income	CZK 285 m (2016)‡R3R‡

assets	CZK 2.2 bn (2014)‡R3R‡

equity	CZK (0.3) bn (2014)‡R4R‡

website	csa.cz

Czech Airlines (abbreviation: ČSA, ) is a Czech airline brand and holding company. Established in 1923 it was the world's fifth oldest operating airline, and part of the privately owned Smartwings Group since 2017,[5] before filling for bankruptcy, then ceasing air operations and being transformed into the holding's parent company on 26 October 2024.[6] In December 2025, it was announced the Turkish low-cost airline, Pegasus Airlines has signed an agreement to acquire the holding in a deal worth €154 million.[7]

As an airline, between 1923 and 2024, it operated as the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its hub was Václav Havel Airport Prague. It was the first airline in the world to fly regular jet-only routes (between Prague and Moscow). The airline ran a frequent flyer programme called "OK Plus" about the airline's International Air Transport Association designation, as well as the term of approval; OK also featured prominently in its previous livery, and was the prefix of Czech aircraft registrations. Since 2000, it was a member of the SkyTeam alliance.

The last scheduled flight of Czech Airlines was flight OK767 from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Václav Havel Airport Prague, operated by an Airbus A320-214 registered OK-IOO.

History

Early years

ČSA was founded on 6 October 1923 by the Czechoslovak government as ČSA Československé státní aerolinie (Czechoslovak State Airlines).[8] Twenty-three days later, its first transport flight took place, flying between Prague and Bratislava. It only operated domestic services until its first international flight from Prague to Bratislava and on to Zagreb in Yugoslavia in 1930. After the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and splitting the country into three parts, the airline was dissolved.

1945 to 1960

After the end of Second World War, the airline was renamed to Československé aerolinie N.P. (Czechoslovak Airlines) and started irregular operations in September 1945. Schedules followed on March 1, 1946. Following a coup in February 1948, the Czechoslovak Communist Party suspended some of ČSA's western European and Middle Eastern routes and also gradually replaced much of the fleet with Soviet-built airliners, due to the embargo imposed by the West on the western-built aircraft spares and other equipment. The Ilyushin Il-14 was updated and built under licence in Czechoslovakia as the Avia-14.

Corporate affairs

Head office

In 2016, Czech Airlines head office moved to Evropská Street in 6th district, Prague, Vokovice district[54] to lower overhead.[55] Czech Airlines formerly had its head office, the APC Building,[56] on the grounds of Václav Havel Airport Prague in Ruzyně, 6th district, Prague.[57] On 30 December 2009, ČSA announced it would sell its head office to the airport for CZK 607 million.[58] Before the insolvency application, in February 2021, Czech Airlines moved its headquarters to the Smartwings building at Prague airport.

Destinations

Scheduled flights

As of February 2021, Czech Airlines served four scheduled year-round and seasonal destinations including their home base at Václav Havel Airport Prague.[72] This figure was down from 33 routes in summer 2019.[73] Flights were operated mainly in Europe, with Beirut being the sole remaining Middle Eastern destination. ČSA offered more than 110 destinations and 45 countries from Prague, but none of the long-haul service via its codeshare partners.[74]

As of October 2024, routes to Paris and Madrid are operated by Smartwings under the Czech Airlines brand using two Airbus A320 aircraft in Czech Airlines livery.

Charter flights

In June 2007, ČSA signed a contract with Exim Tours, the largest Czech travel agency, extending their contract for another three years.

Fleet

Current fleet

As of June 2025, the Czech Airlines-branded fleet consists of the following aircraft:[78][79]

The entire fleet of Czech Airlines-branded Airbus aircraft is operated by Smartwings, an airline which owns Czech Airlines.[81]

Historical fleet

Czech or Czechoslovak Airlines operated these aircraft types in the past:[82]

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.[85]
On August 13, 1938, a ČSA Savoia-Marchetti S.73 (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.[86]
On March 5, 1946, a ČSA Junkers Ju 52/3m (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.[87]

Sources

Futher reading

M.J. Hardy, "Ceskoslovenské Aerolinie", Air Pictorial monthly magazine (U.K.), September 1963
Ph. Fogg, "CSA", Aeroplane weekly magazine (U.K.), 7 August 1968
"CSA OK - 50 Years of Travelling on CSA Wings" booklet, CSA Publicity Dept., Prague, 1972
C. Ballantine, "CSA's 55th Anniversary", Aircraft Illustrated monthly magazine (U.K.), October 1978
"80 CSA|1923|2003" booklet, CSA, Prague
M. Noble, "Ok for take off", Commuter World monthly magazine (U.S.A.), September 1998
"We are here for you!" booklet, CSA-Czech Airlines, Prague, 2000s

External links

References

SkyTeam Confirms CSA Czech Airlines Exit aviationweek.com, retrieved 23 August 2024^
Smartwings (Czechia) on justice.cz justice.cz, retrieved 2024-10-30^
Annual Report 2014^

The 1990s and 2000s

On 1 January 1991, Czechoslovak Airlines split into two companies: Czechoslovak Airlines, which would become Czech Airlines, and Slov Air, which had previously been a subsidiary of the original Czechoslovak Airlines. The division of Czechoslovak Airlines ownership in 1991 between the governing bodies of the Czech and Slovak parts of Czechoslovakia had no connection to the split of Czechoslovakia two years later, in January 1993.

The post-split Czechoslovak Airlines became privatized in 1992. Air France and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development owned 19.1% of shares of the new company, while the Fund of National Ownership of the Czech Republic owned 49.3%. Czech Insurance Company owned 4.5%, the city of Prague owned 3.5%, and the last 2.3% was split evenly between three Slovak cities: Bratislava, Kosice, and Poprad.[14][15]

After the breakup of the Czechoslovak Federation in 1992, the airline adopted its present name on March 26, 1995. 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, Airbus A310 and Airbus A320. 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%), the 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 shops to another entity.[11] 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.[16]

In late 2012, ČSA Czech Airlines announced expansion plans and the resumption of long-haul flights in summer 2013 with Airbus A330 aircraft between Prague and Seoul.[17] Starting in March 2013, it operated direct flights from Prague to Perm, Nice, Munich, Zurich, Seoul, and Florence.[18]

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 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 2014, the airline sold its Airbus 320s, as it had become unprofitable to fly them due to low load factor and high maintenance costs. In the summer of 2015, the fleet consisted of seventeen planes: seven Turboprops, nine Airbus A319s, and one long-haul Airbus A330 that was leased to the airline by Korean Air.[19]

Erosion under Smartwings

In April 2015, Travel Service Group bought 34% of the airline, with Korean Air not exercising their first-preference option for the stake.[20][21] On 6 October 2017, Korean Air announced the sale of its 44% stake, which it had held for four years, to Travel Service. Travel Service by then owned 78.9% of ČSA.[22] Czech state company Prisko owned 20% of ČSA.[22] Travel Service later also acquired Prisko's stake, increasing its stake to 97.74%.[23] The remaining 2.26% of ČSA was owned by insurance company Česká Pojišťovna.[24]

In 2016, the airline returned to profit for the first time in several years transporting 2.26 million passengers, a 13% increase from 2015.[25][26] The average load factor increased from 10% to 75%, and the total number of flights increased by 9%. In the same year, it placed order for six new A320neo models. The airline operated a fleet of eighteen planes over the summer of 2017 to a total of fifty different destinations, including twenty-five distinct European and Asian countries, the most extensive coverage since the 2008 financial crisis.

From the fall of 2018 through the winter of 2019, the Smartwings Group management eliminated many airline routes, including the Prague-Bratislava and Prague-Ostrava routes that the airline has been flying since its inception. Soon after, profitable routes into select Russian cities were eliminated and immediately replaced by new routes operated by Smartwings.[27] Under the leadership of the Smartwings Group, the Czech Airline's fleet was planned to be transformed into a fully integrated Boeing 737 fleet, the same model that the Smartwings fleet used.[28] However, due to technical and safety issues in the Boeing 737 MAX model found in early 2019, management decided to operate the ongoing Airbus fleet. In March 2019, Smartwings announced that ČSA would undergo a fleet transition, with the Airbus A319 and ATR 72 to be retired.[29] In April 2019, the fleet experienced a reduction of three out of the four operating Airbus A319s. However, one of these was later reintroduced.[30]

The A320neo order was halved to three planes in 2019,[31] and then converted into three orders for the Airbus A321XLR model instead at the beginning of 2020, with plans to launch North American routes. Manufacturer Airbus planned to deliver the planes in 2023 and 2024. However, the airline cancelled the order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Czech Airlines announced in April 2020 the end of its already suspended sole long-haul route to Seoul.[32] Thus, its sole Airbus A330 was to be returned to lessor Korean Air by October 2020.[33][34] ČSA fell into insolvency, applying for a moratorium in August 2020.[35] The company's workforce declined from 700 to 300 employees,[36] and by the end of the year, the active fleet declined from five planes to two, both of which were under lease, flying to only five European destinations. In February 2021, a maintenance provider ordered the seizure of two Czech Airlines' ATR 72-500 in Prague over unpaid debts. Before the incident, near the end of the moratorium, owners announced that Czech Airlines faced insolvency should it not receive state financial aid,[37]

In March 2021, ČSA announced the immediate retirement of all ATR 72-500 aircraft.[40] At the end of August 2021, ČSA was operating just one Airbus A320 aircraft; the second was inoperable.[41] As of summer 2022, Czech Airlines had reduced its network to just three scheduled routes.[42]

"Reverse takeover" of Smartwings and the final flight

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%.[43][44] As of late 2022, the airline also planned to rebuild its fleet and route network using Airbus A320 and newly acquired Airbus A220 aircraft. Since 2023, the only remaining route operated by Czech Airlines was Prague-Paris.[45]

On 20 February 2024, Prague City Air s.r.o. purchased 49.92% shares in Smartwings a.s. from Rainbow Wisdom Investment Limited. Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková announced that the Czech shareholders now own 100% of the shares in both Smartwings and CSA Czech Airlines.[46]

In October 2024, Czech Airlines was restructured into a holding company, with Smartwings taking over all flight operations under both brand names.[47]

Non-fatal accidents

On November 9, 1946, a ČSA Douglas C-47A (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.[106]
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.[107]
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.[108]
On March 16, 1963, a ČSA Tupolev Tu-104A (registration OK-LDB) caught fire and burned out while being refuelled at Santa Cruz Airport, India; no casualties except for a flight attendant who was injured after jumping from the plane.[109]
On August 18, 1970, ČSA Flight 744, a Tupolev Tu-124V (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.[110]
On August 29, 1973, ČSA Flight 531, a Tupolev Tu-104A (registration OK-MDE) slid off the runway while landing at Nicosia Airport; all 70 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[111]
On January 2, 1977, a ČSA Tupolev Tu-134A (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.[112][113]
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.[114]
On June 9, 2012, a Czech Airlines ATR 42-500 (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.[115]

num employees
airline	ČSA-Czech Airlines ČSA-České aerolinie
iata	OK
icao	CSA
callsign	CSA
aoc	CZ-1
hubs	Václav Havel Airport Prague
alliance	SkyTeam (2000–2024)‡R1R‡
fleet size	6 (operated by Smartwings)

Czech Airlines

History

Early years

1945 to 1960

Corporate affairs

Head office

Destinations

Scheduled flights

Charter flights

Fleet

Current fleet

Historical fleet

Accidents and incidents

Fatal accidents

See also

Sources

Futher reading

External links

References

1960 to 1990

The 1990s and 2000s

Erosion under Smartwings

"Reverse takeover" of Smartwings and the final flight

"Reverse takeover" of Smartwings and the final flight

Former subsidiaries

Financial results

Corporate identity

Logo

Livery

Logo

Livery

On-board services

Frequent-flyer program

Codeshare agreements

Non-fatal accidents

Hijackings