Czech Airlines

CSA-Czech Airlines
CSA-Ceske aerolinie
IATA ICAO Call sign
OK CSA CSA-LINES
Founded6 October 1923 (1923-10-06)
Commenced operations29 October 1923 (1923-10-29)
Ceased operations26 October 2024 (2024-10-26) (own flights)
HubsVáclav Havel Airport Prague
AllianceSkyTeam (2001–2024)[1]
SubsidiariesSmartwings[2]
Fleet size2[3]
HeadquartersPrague, Czech Republic
RevenueDecrease CZK 9.5 bn (2014)[4]
Operating incomeIncrease CZK 285 m (2016)[4]
Total assetsDecrease CZK 2.2 bn (2014)[4]
Total equityDecrease CZK (0.3) bn (2014)[5]
Employees587
Websitewww.czechairlines.com

Czech Airlines (abbreviation: ČSA, Czech: České aerolinie, a.s.) is a Czech aviation brand and privately held holding company. Between 1923 and 2024, it operated as an independent airline and served as the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Czech Airlines ended its own flight operations on 26 October 2024, handing them over to Smartwings while being repurposed into a holding company.[6]

ČSA was the fifth oldest airline in the world, after Dutch KLM (1919), Colombian Avianca (1919), Australian Qantas (1920), and Soviet/Russian Aeroflot (1923). It was the first airline in the world to fly regular jet-only routes (between Prague and Moscow).[7] 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. It was a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Its hub was Václav Havel Airport Prague.

When, in 2018, 97.74% of Czech Airlines was bought by the privately owned[8] Smartwings, ČSA became a part of the Smartwings Group. The remaining 2.26% of ČSA was owned by insurance company Česká Pojišťovna.[9] ČSA filed for bankruptcy in March 2021 and went through an extensive business restructuring, exiting in June 2022.[10][11] As of 2022, ČSA was 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%.

On 26 October 2024, Czech Airlines became the parent (holding) company of Smartwings. As part of this transition, Smartwings took over the operational management of flights previously operated by Czech Airlines.[12] 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. Following the flight's departure, "Featured flight alert" notifications were sent out to users of the ADS-B flight tracker Flightradar24 application for flight OK767, the last flight of Czech Airlines.[13] As of 2024, 2 aircraft fly under the Czech Airlines brand.

  1. ^ "SkyTeam Confirms CSA Czech Airlines Exit". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Smartwings (Czechia) on justice.cz". justice.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  3. ^ airfleets.net - CSA Fleet| retrieved 19 June 2024
  4. ^ a b c Annual Report 2014
  5. ^ Accounting statements of Český Aeroholding, a.s. for 2014, page 11, auditor Deloitte Audit s.r.o.
  6. ^ Sipinski, Dominik (28 Aug 2024). "CSA Czech Airlines to leave Skyteam in early 4Q24". ch-aviation.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zeman70 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Johnston, Raymond. "Travel Service Buys Czech Airlines". Prague TV. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  9. ^ "Travel Service to Become the Majority Owner of Czech Airlines". 7 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Stát ČSA nepomůže, věřitelé schválili jejich reorganizaci. Do výboru zasedli i zástupci Korean Air". Zdopravy.cz (in Czech). 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  11. ^ "ČSA oslavily 99 let. Až překonají stovku, chtěly by létat i s Airbusy A220-300". Airways.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  12. ^ "End of an era: The final Czech Airlines flight will land in Prague tonight". Expats.cz. 2024-10-26. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  13. ^ "Iconic Czech airline CSA to be wound down, OK code retired - AeroTime". www.aerotime.aero. September 4, 2024.