It’s a sad day for global aviation as Czech Airlines, the world’s 5th oldest airline, ceases operations. The flag carrier of the Czech Republic has been struggling mightily for years and was down to two routes from its home at Prague Václav Havel Airport (PRG). The carrier operated to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) using two Airbus A320 aircraft.
Czech Airlines was formed in 1923 and was the fifth oldest airline still in operation behind KLM (1919), Avianca (1919), Qantas (1920), and Aeroflot (1923). The title of the world’s fifth oldest airline will now fall to Finnair which was formed less than a month after Czech Airlines. The airline’s final flight, OK 767 from Paris, arrived in Prague roughly 40 minutes behind schedule at 10:33p local time. This marked the end of Czech Airlines’ 101 year run.
For a while, the airline appeared to be at the very least attempting to grow. Over the last few years it placed orders for four Airbus A220 aircraft and upgraded three existing A320neo orders to A321XLRs. Unfortunately, these growth plans never came to fruition and, as of October 26th, 2024, the Czech flag carrier is being absorbed into Smartwings.
Smartwings has been the majority shareholder of Czech Airlines for quite some time so this seems like a logical move, especially considering that Smartwings has a much more robust fleet and route map when compared to Czech Airlines.
Smartwings flies to a variety of destinations from its hub at Prague Václav Havel Airport and operates a fleet of roughly 40 Boeing 737 aircraft serving almost 50 destinations. The airline primarily serves leisure travelers with regularly scheduled and charter flights.
With its absorption into Smartwings, Czech Airlines is no longer a part of the SkyTeam alliance. This should have little to no impact on travelers given the extremely limited route network that the airline operated prior to ceasing operations. With Smartwings exclusively operating Boeing 737s, Czech Airlines’ A320s will also be looking for a new home.
While I understand Czech Airlines being absorbed into Smartwings, as the latter is in a much stronger market position, I can’t help but wonder why they are eliminating the Czech Airlines name. You would think a 100+ year old airline would have better brand recognition than a predominately leisure airline. However, with Czech Airlines being wholly owned by Smartwings and its parent company, there’s always a chance we could see the brand make a comeback.
During our recent trip to the Czech Republic and Norway, I decided to double connect on KLM and Widerøe rather than take the direct Smartwings flight between Prague (PRG) and
Tromsø (TOS) as I had never heard of the airline. I would have been more likely to book with a flag carrier who is part of a major airline alliance.
With Smartwings already owning Czech Airlines, I am assuming that the branding will be retained and can be reused down the road if the company so chooses.
Summary
Czech Airlines, the world’s fifth oldest airline, has officially ceased operations. This comes days after the carrier’s 101st birthday and its operations are being folded into Smartwings. Smartwings, which has long been the dominant airline in Czech aviation, is eliminating the brand in favor of the current Smartwings branding.
While it’s always sad to see an airline shut down, especially one with so much history, the case wasn’t there to keep operating a separate brand with only two aircraft and two routes.
(Images courtesy Airbus and Smartwings)
