Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb) has leased out one of its three Airbus Industrie (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) A320-200s, 9A-CTF (cn 258), to Tunisian carrier, Syphax Airlines (FS, Sfax). The A320 replaces SP-ACK (c/n 2645), previously on lease from Poland's Bingo Airways (BGY, Warsaw Chopin).

Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb) is faced with the prospect of bankruptcy if critical cuts that entail a 20% workforce reduction coupled with 40% wage cuts does not come into effect, Croatian Transport Minister, Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, has said. Mr Dončić made the revelation amidst an on.going strike by Croatia Airline pilots and cabin crew to protest the impending cuts which has caused mass disruptions to the airline's network. The walkout began early Tuesday, May 14 as management and unions failed to reach a deal on new contracts after two days of negotiations. The strike also has forced Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l) and Brussels Airlines (SN, Brussels National) to temporarily suspend all of their codeshare agreements with the Croat carrier. So dire has the situation become that the Government has now reportedly looked beyond the bankruptcy and is considering a future in which a renewed national carrier is borne, albeit with half the current staff and with Zagreb holding a 49% stake. Reportedly, a foreign carrier, ideally non-European, would be preferred for the remaining majority stake, though with Croatia's upcoming entry into the European Union, it is uncertain how this would proceed given EC regulations regarding foreign ownership of EU airlines.

Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb) is facing an uncertain future once Croatia enters the European Union in July owing to EU regulations forbidding state subsidies to individual companies. The largely state-held airline has been struggling to remain afloat since the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991 and as such, Zagreb is now considering its options in light of an onslaught from Europe's Low Cost Carriers. This year alone, 1 billion kuna (USD171.14million) will be needed to sustain the loss making carrier however, if no strategic partner is found, Croatia Airlines itself will have to finance roughly 50% of the costs of a restructuring plan already in place, resulting in 200 out of its 1'100 strong workforce being laid off. Government is reportedly in preliminary talks with "potential strategic partners" with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) rumoured to be among them. Etihad recently signed an MoU with neighbours, Jat Airways (JU, Belgrade), with the possibility of a 49% buy out on the cards. A Star Alliance member, Croatia Airlines currently flies three Airbus A320-200s, four A319-100s and 6 Dash 8-400s on a network that focuses mainly on Scandinavia and Western and Eastern Europe.

SkyWork Airlines (SX, Berne) has announced plans to move its twice daily Do328-100 service from Berne to Berlin from Berlin Schönefeld to Berlin Tegel from March 31. It joins Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb) and germanwings (4U, Cologne/Bonn) as the third carrier deciding to move to Tegel due to the on-going delays to the opening date of the new Berlin Brandenburg Int'l airport built at Schönefeld.

Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb) CEO Krešimir Kučko has met with Sarajevo officials yesterday to discuss a plan to operate non-stop services between Sarajevo and the European Union from next year according to EX-YU aviation news. Croatia currently operates two daily Dash 8-400 services from Sarajevo to Zagreb offering connections via its small hub there.