Czech Airlines, which is a SkyTeam airline that has been flying for over 100 years, won’t exist after tomorrow, and will be folded into a competitor.
Czech Airlines being integrated into Smartwings
Czech Airlines will officially discontinue flying under its own branding as of Saturday, October 26, 2024. The airline has quite the history, as it was established in 1923 as Czechoslovak State Airlines, making it the world’s fifth oldest airline.
What’s happening is that Czech Airlines is being integrated into Smartwings, another airline based in Prague (PRG). With this, we’ll see Czech Airlines’ “OK” code no longer used, as all flights will instead operate with Smartwings’ “QS” code. Furthermore, Czech Airlines will be leaving the SkyTeam alliance, given that the airline will no longer exist in its current form.
The reality is that Czech Airlines has been slowly but consistently shrinking in recent years. Going back to before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the carrier had quite a bit of long haul service, including to Havana, Montreal, and New York, among other destinations.
However, over time the airline continued to shrink. Within the past decade, the carrier’s only long haul route was to Seoul Incheon, due to Korean Air having an ownership stake in the airline. For that matter, the A330 used for that service was even on loan from Korean Air.
However, at this point Czech Airlines is down to a single Airbus A320, so it’s a shell of its former self. In recent weeks, the airline has just flown to Madrid (MAD) and Paris (CDG). Smartwings, meanwhile, is a much larger airline. It operates a fleet consisting of nearly 40 aircraft, exclusively Boeing 737s.
So the reality is that Czech Airlines ending operations isn’t a huge deal in terms of the practical implications of service, given how much the carrier has already shrunk. However, it’s still sad to see an airline with such a long history cease operations.
Interestingly in 2019, Czech Airlines even placed an order for Airbus A220-300s and Airbus A321XLRs, though those aircraft never ended up being delivered.
What went wrong with Czech Airlines?
Czech Airlines has been struggling for a long time, due to a combination of poor management, increased competition, and frequent ownership changes. The carrier’s challenges go back decades, though the situation has become much worse in recent years, in particular since the start of the pandemic.
The airline largely started its decline in the mid-2000s, when the company’s CEO got the airline into a bunch of debt by not properly controlling costs, leading to the airline having to sell assets.
Czech Airlines got an investment from Korean Air in 2013, as the Korean SkyTeam carrier took a 44% stake in Czech Airlines. However, Korean Air then sold its stake in 2017 to Travel Service, the parent company of Smartwings.
So the reality is that Smartwings has already owned a large stake in Czech Airlines for quite some time, and is now finally eliminating the brand.
Bottom line
Czech Airlines is ceasing operations as of October 26, 2024, after being in business for over 100 years. The airline has been consistently shrinking over the years, and will now be folded into Smartwings. This also means that the SkyTeam alliance is losing a member airline.
Of course it’s sad to see an airline cease operations, but with only one plane left, it made sense to just integrate the airline into Smartwings.
What do you make of Czech Airlines ceasing operations?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.