Czech Airlines

CSA Czech Airlines

File:Czech Airlines logo 2007.png
IATA ICAO Callsign OK CSA CSA-LINES
Founded	1923
Hubs	Ruzyně International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	OK Plus
Alliance	SkyTeam
Fleet size	50 (+12 orders)
Destinations	70
Parent company	Czech Airlines, a. s.
Headquarters	Prague, Czech Republic
Key people	Radomír Lašák (CEO)
Website	http://www.czechairlines.com

CSA Czech Airlines (in Czech: České aerolinie (abbreviation: ČSA) is the Czech national airline company, and former national carrier of Czechoslovakia based at Ruzyně International Airport, Prague. It operates scheduled services to more than 120 destinations in 52 countries, including most major European cities and to transit points in North America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa It also operates charter and cargo services. In 2006 it carried over 5 and half million passengers . The airline runs a frequent flyer programme called the "OK Plus Frequent Flyer Programme". It is a member of the SkyTeam alliance.

History

CSA was founded on October 6, 1923 by the Czechoslovak government as CSA Československé státní aerolinie. Twenty-three days later its first transport flight took place, flying between Prague and Bratislava. It operated only domestic services until its first international flight from Prague to Bratislava and Zagreb in 1930. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 development of the airline was terminated.

In January 1948 the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia, suspended some western European and Middle East routes, and replaced much of the fleet with Soviet-built aircraft. In 1957 CSA became one of the world's first airlines to fly jet services, taking delivery of the first Tupolev TU-104A. The first transatlantic services started on 3 February 1962 with a flight to Havana, using a Bristol Britannia jet-prop ceded by Cubana de Aviación. CSA's transatlantic flights were code-shared with Cubana's own services to Prague, and Cubana's crews provided initial training and assistance in the operation of the Britannias.

The Britannia was replaced with Ilyushin IL-62 aircraft in the late 1960s, and new transatlantic routes were established to Montreal and New York, besides Havana. Tupolev TU-134, Ilyushin IL-18 and other Soviet-built aircraft were used in CSA's European services. In the 1990s, all Soviet-built aircraft were replaced with Western-built ones, such as the Boeing 737s and A310s, Airbus A320s, and short-range ATR aircraft.

After the breakup of the Czechoslovak Federation the airline adopted its present name in May 1995. CSA became a full member of the SkyTeam alliance on 18 October 2000. The airline is owned by the Czech Ministry of Finance (56.92%), Czech Consolidation Agency (34.59%) and other Czech institutions. It has 5,440 employees (at March 2007).

ČSA Czech Airlines Airbus A310

ČSA Czech Airlines Boeing 737-400

ČSA Czech Airlines ATR72

ČSA Czech Airlines Airbus A320

Destinations

Further information: [[:Czech Airlines destinations]]

Fleet

The Czech Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of September 2007:

CSA Czech Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (Business/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Airbus A310-300	4	201 (21/188) 207	Long haul North America
Airbus A319-100	2 (4 orders)		Short-medium haul
Airbus A320-200	8		Short-medium haul
Airbus A321-200	2	212	Short-medium haul Europe and Middle East
Boeing 737-400	11	144 (12/132) 162	Short-medium haul	To be phased out Selling to: Centralwings and possibly LOT
Boeing 737-500	11	108 (12/90)	Short-medium haul
ATR 42-500	8	46	Short haul
ATR 72-200	4	64	Short haul

The average age of the CSA fleet is 8.6 years as of February 2007.

Incidents and accidents

CSA Czech Airlines Incidents and Accidents

Date	Aircraft	Location	Description	Injuries
				Fatal	Serious	Minor	Uninjured
March 28, 1961	Ilyushin 18V Flight 001	Nürnberg, Germany	Crashed While Approaching	52	0	0	0
July 12, 1961	Ilyushin 18V OK-PAF	Casablanca-Anfa, Morocco	Inclement Weather	72	0	0	0
August 20, 1975	Ilyushin 62 OK-DBF	Damascus, Syria	Crashed While Approaching	126	2	0	0
July 28, 1976	Ilyushin 18V OK-NAB	Bratislava, Czechoslovakia	Crashed While Approaching	77	2	0	0
February, 1994	Airbus A310 Flight 006	Toronto Pearson International Airport	Overshot Runway Due to Incliment Weather	0	0	56	102
May 24, 2007	Flight 727, Flight 104	Various	Andrew Speaker, Amercian Passenger Infected with Tuberculosis Later was Quarantined To Reduce Spread of Disease	0	1	0	?
May 29, 2007	Airbus A320-300 Flight 009	London Heathrow International Airport	Emergency Landing Due To Loss of Full Power in Engine 1 Managed to Land Safely at 3:30pm	0	0	0	?

References

• http://www.csanews.cz/en/news/news_tz_data/tz_27032007.htm

External links

• Czech Airlines
• Czech Airlines Fleet
• Photos of Czech Airlines aircraft